The sub prime crisis : implications for emerging markets

This paper discusses some of the key characteristics of the U.S. subprime mortgage boom and bust, contrasts them with characteristics of emerging mortgage markets, and makes recommendations for emerging market policy makers. The crisis has raised questions in the minds of many as to the wisdom of extending mortgage lending to low and moderate income households. It is important to note, however,that prior to the growth of subprime lending in the 1990s, U.S. mortgage markets already reached low and moderate-income households without taking large risks or suffering large losses. In contrast, in most emerging markets, mortgage finance is a luxury good, restricted to upper income households. As policy makers in emerging market seek to move lenders down market, they should adopt policies that include a variety of financing methods and should allow for rental or purchase as a function of the financial capacity of the household. Securitization remains a useful tool when developed in the context of well-aligned incentives and oversight. It is possible to extend mortgage lending down market without repeating the mistakes of the subprime boom and bust.Debt Markets,,Access to Finance,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Emerging Markets

Electric dipole moments and the search for new physics

Static electric dipole moments of nondegenerate systems probe mass scales for physics beyond the Standard Model well beyond those reached directly at high energy colliders. Discrimination between different physics models, however, requires complementary searches in atomic-molecular-and-optical, nuclear and particle physics. In this report, we discuss the current status and prospects in the near future for a compelling suite of such experiments, along with developments needed in the encompassing theoretical framework.Comment: Contribution to Snowmass 2021; updated with community edits and endorsement

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Most processes within organisms, and most interactions between organismsand their environment, have distinct time profiles. The temporal coordinationof such processes is crucial across levels of biological organization, but disciplinesdiffer widely in their approaches to study timing. Such differences areaccentuated between ecologists, who are centrally concerned with a holisticview of an organism in relation to its external environment, and chronobiologists,who emphasize internal timekeeping within an organism and themechanisms of its adjustment to the environment. We argue that ecologicaland chronobiological perspectives are complementary, and that studies atthe intersection will enable both fields to jointly overcome obstacles that currentlyhinder progress. However, to achieve this integration, we first have tocross some conceptual barriers, clarifying prohibitively inaccessible terminologies.We critically assess main assumptions and concepts in either field, aswell as their common interests. Both approaches intersect in their need tounderstand the extent and regulation of temporal plasticity, and in the conceptof ‘chronotype’, i.e. the characteristic temporal properties of individuals whichare the targets of natural and sexual selection. We then highlight promisingdevelopments, point out open questions, acknowledge difficulties and proposedirections for further integration of ecological and chronobiologicalperspectives through Wild Clock research.This article is part of the themed issue ‘Wild Clocks: integrating chronobiologyand ecology to understand timekeeping in free-living animals’