Bosonic Spectral Action Induced from Anomaly Cancelation

We show how (a slight modification of) the noncommutative geometry bosonic spectral action can be obtained by the cancelation of the scale anomaly of the fermionic action. In this sense the standard model coupled with gravity is induced by the quantum nature of the fermions. The regularization used is very natural in noncommutative geometry and puts the bosonic and fermionic action on a similar footing.Comment: 14 page

The Importance of Being Consulted

Does management consulting facilitate the access to credit for start-ups? This paper tries to answer the question by developing a theoretical framework where a firm applies for a bank loan to implement a risky project. The probability of success increases if the firm exerts a costly managerial extra-effort, but the bank is unable to observe such an effort: a moral hazard problem may therefore occur. During an economic downturn the project’s expected profitability is likely to be low relatively to the effort cost. In this case we find that credit is granted only if the bank hires a management consultant, even when the latter does not improve the business practice.

Higgs-Dilaton Lagrangian from Spectral Regularization

In this letter we calculate the full Higgs-Dilaton action describing the Weyl anomaly using the bosonic spectral action. This completes the work we started in our previous paper (JHEP 1110 (2011) 001). We also clarify some issues related to the dilaton and its role as collective modes of fermions under bosonization

Spectral Action from Anomalies

Starting from a theory of fermions moving in a fixed gauge and gravitational background we implement the scale invariance of the theory. Upon quantization the theory is anomalous but the anomaly can be cancelled by the addition of another term to the action. This term comes out to be basically the Chamseddine Connes spectral action introduced in the context of noncommutative geometry. An alternative realization of the dilaton may involve a collective scalar mode of all fermions accumulated in a {scale-noninvariant} dilaton action. The entire spectral action describes gauge and Higgs fields coupled with gravity. Here this action is coupled with a dilaton and we discuss how it relates to the transition from the radiation to the electroweak broken phase via condensation of Higgs fields.Comment: Proceedings of the Corfu Summer Institute on Elementary Particles and Physics - Workshop on Non Commutative Field Theory and Gravity, September 8-12, 2010 Corfu Greec

Credit availability in the crisis: which role for the European Investment Bank Group?

In this paper we consider a moral hazard problem between a creditworthy firm which needs funding and a bank. We first study under which conditions the firm does not obtain the loan. We then determine whether and how the intervention of an external financial institution can facilitate the access to credit. In particular, we focus on the European Investment Bank Group (EIBG), which provides (i) specific credit lines to help banks that finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)and (ii) guarantees for portfolios of SMEs'loans. We show that only during crises the EIBG intervention allows to totally overcome the credit crunch.

Comparison of Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Minority and Non-minority Children with Asthma

Objective—Determine if secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) is related to asthma-related functional morbidity by examining racial/ethnic differences in Non-Latino White (NLW), African American, and Latino families and whether racial/ethnic SHSE differences across families persist when accounting for smoking factors. Methods—Participants were 305 caregiver smokers of children with asthma. Two passive dosimeters measured SHS: one in the home and one worn by the child. Results—Higher SHSE was related to greater asthma-related functional morbidity. African Americans had higher levels of home SHSE than Latinos (p = .003) or NLWs (p = .021). SHSE as assessed by the child worn dosimeter did not differ across race/ethnicity. African American families were less likely to report a household smoking ban (46.4%) compared to Latinos (79.2%) and NLWs (67.9%; p \u3c .05). African Americans were less likely to report having two or more smokers in the home (37.2%) compared to NLWs (53.6%; p \u3c .05). NLWs reported the highest number of cigarettes smoked daily (Mdn = 15.00) compared to Latinos (Mdn = 10.00; p = .001) and African Americans (Mdn = 10.00; p \u3c .001). SHS home exposure levels were regressed on race/ethnicity and relevant covariates. Household smoking ban (p \u3c .001) and only one smoker in the home (p = .005) were associated with lower levels of SHS in the home; race/ethnicity was not significant. Conclusions—Differences in SHSE across race/ethnicity exist among children with asthma, possibly due to differential presence of a household smoking ban and number of smokers in the home

Technology replaces culture in microcredit markets: the case of Italian MAGs

We collect data from three Italian microcredit institutions which operate in urban areas by granting individual loans to two categories of wealthless borrowers: single entrepreneurs and organizations (cooperatives and associations).Evidence shows that organizations repay with higher probability and are charged a lower average interest rate than individuals. We use these findings to construct a lending scheme which consists of granting loans provided that borrowers form production teams (i.e. organizations). We consider a microcredit market with adverse selection à la De Meza- Webb and we verify that repayment rate increases, while interest rate falls with respect to individual lending if the above scheme, which we refer to as production team lending, is implemented. Our instrument, like joint liability implemented in rural economies, extracts information from borrowers through a peer selection mechanism but, differently from joint liability, fits to urban contexts where borrowers are less likely to know each other and social sanctions are weak.Microcredit, Urban areas, Production Team Lending, Adverse Selection

Quantum corrected electron holes

The theory of electron holes is extended into the quantum regime. The Wigner--Poisson system is solved perturbatively based in lowest order on a weak, standing electron hole. Quantum corrections are shown to lower the potential amplitude and to increase the number of deeply trapped electrons. They, hence, tend to bring this extreme non--equilibrium state closer to thermodynamic equilibrium, an effect which can be attributed to the tunneling of particles in this mixed state system.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure