Managing Credit Booms and Busts: A Pigouvian Taxation Approach

We study a dynamic model in which the interaction between debt ac- cumulation and asset prices magni es credit booms and busts. We find that borrowers do not internalize these feedback e¤ects and therefore suf- fer from excessively large booms and busts in both credit flows and asset prices. We show that a Pigouvian tax on borrowing may induce borrowers to internalize these externalities and increase welfare. We calibrate the model by reference to (i) the US small and medium-sized enterprise sector and (ii) the household sector, and nd the optimal tax to be countercycli- cal in both cases, dropping to zero in busts and rising to approximately half a percentage point of the amount of debt outstanding during booms.boom-bust cycles;financial crises;systemic externalities;macro-prudential regulation;precautionary savings

An econometric method of correcting for unit nonresponse bias in surveys

Past approaches to correcting for unit nonresponse in sample surveys by re-weighting the data assume that the problem is ignorable within arbitrary subgroups of the population. Theory and evidence suggest that this assumption is unlikely to hold, and that household characteristics such as income systematically affect survey compliance. The authors show that this leaves a bias in the re-weighted data and they propose a method of correcting for this bias. The geographic structure of nonresponse rates allows them to identify a micro compliancefunction, which they then use to re-weight the unit-record data. An example is given for the U.S. Current Population Surveys, 1998-2004. The authors find, and correct for, a strong household income effect on response probabilities.Statistical&Mathematical Sciences,Economic Theory&Research,Scientific Research&Science Parks,Science Education,Environmental Economics&Policies

Decoupling and Recoupling

We develop a stylized model that captures the phenomena of decoupling and recoupling in an environment where heterogeneous entrepreneurial sectors face financial constraints in their relationship with a common set of lenders. In response to adverse shocks, a financially constrained sector must reduce its borrowing and cut down on production. In particular, as the constrained sector absorbs less and less capital, the real interest rate in the economy declines. Other sectors that compete for the same inputs (including capital) thus experience lower costs, which boosts investment, output, and profits, reflecting the phenomenon of "decoupling." As long as the shock is small, the entrepreneurial sector repays what is owed and the lenders' ability to supply funds is unaffected. For large shocks, however, the constrained sector is no longer able to honor its debts in full and lenders experience losses that erode their lending base. This induces them to cut their supply of credit to the rest of the economy, which reduces output and profit for all other entrepreneurial sectors, capturing the phenomenon of "recoupling" or contagion.

XPS and EELS characterization of Mn2SiO4, MnSiO3 and MnAl2O4

NSERCX-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) are strong candi- date techniques for characterizing steel surfaces and substrate-coating interfaces when investigating the selective oxidation and reactive wetting of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) during the continuous galvanizing process. However, unambiguous identification of ternary oxides such as Mn2SiO4, MnSiO3, and MnAl2O4 by XPS or EELS, which can play a significant role in substrate reactive wetting, is difficult due to the lack of fully characterized standards in the literature. To resolve this issue, samples of Mn2 SiO4 , MnSiO3 and MnAl2O4 were synthesized and characterized by XPS and EELS. The unique features of the XPS and EELS spectra for the Mn2 SiO4 , MnSiO3 and MnAl2 O4 standards were successfully derived, thereby allowing investigators to fully differentiate and identify these oxides at the surface and subsurface of Mn, Si and Al alloyed AHSS using these techniques

Using photos of basic facial expressions as a new approach to measuring implicit attitudes

BACKGROUND: Measuring implicit attitudes is difficult due to social desirability (SD). A new method, the Emotion Based Approach (EBA), can solve this by using emotions from a display of faces as response categories. We applied this on an EBA Spirituality tool (EBA-SPT) and an Actual Situation tool (EBA-AST). Our aim was to assess the structure, reliability and validity of the tools and to compare two EBA assessment approaches, i.e., an explicit one (only assessing final replies to items) and an implicit one (assessing also the selection process). METHODS: We obtained data on a sample of Czech adults (n = 522, age 30.3±12.58; 27.0% men) via an online survey; cortisol was assessed in 46 participants. We assessed the structure and psychometric properties (internal consistency and test-retest reliability; convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity) of the EBA, and examined the differences between explicit vs. implicit EBA approaches. RESULTS: We found an acceptable-good internal consistency reliability of the EBA tools, acceptable discriminant validity between them and low (neutral expression) to good (joy) test-retest reliability for concrete emotions assessed by the tools. An implicit EBA approach showed stronger correlations between emotions and weaker convergent validity, but higher criterion validity, than an explicit approach and standard questionnaires. CONCLUSION: Compared to standard questionnaires, EBA is a more reliable approach for measuring attitudes, with an implicit approach that reflects the selection process yielding the best results

Left Ventricular Structure and Function Basic Science for Cardiac Imaging

The myofiber geometry of the left ventricle (LV) changes gradually from a right-handed helix in the subendocardium to a left-handed helix in the subepicardium. In this review, we associate the LV myofiber architecture with emerging concepts of the electromechanical sequence in a beating heart. We discuss: 1) the morphogenesis and anatomical arrangement of muscle fibers in the adult LV; 2) the sequence of depolarization and repolarization; 3) the physiological inhomogeneity of transmural myocardial mechanics and the apex-to-base sequence of longitudinal and circumferential deformation; 4) the sequence of LV rotation; and 5) the link between LV deformation and the intracavitary flow direction observed during each phase of the cardiac cycle. Integrating the LV structure with electrical activation and motion sequences observed in vivo provides an understanding about the spatiotemporal sequence of regional myocardial performance that is essential for noninvasive cardiac imaging

Whither Capitalism? Financial externalities and crisis

As with global warming, so with financial crises – externalities have a lot to answer for. We look at three of them. First the financial accelerator due to ‘fire sales’ of collateral assets -- a form of pecuniary externality that leads to liquidity being undervalued. Second the ‘risk- shifting’ behaviour of highly-levered financial institutions who keep the upside of risky investment while passing the downside to others thanks to limited liability. Finally, the network externality where the structure of the financial industry helps propagate shocks around the system unless this is checked by some form of circuit breaker, or ‘ring-fence’. The contrast between crisis-induced Great Recession and its aftermath of slow growth in the West and the rapid - and (so far) sustained - growth in the East suggests that successful economic progress may depend on how well these externalities are managed

Right ventricular dysfunction in patients with Brugada-like electrocardiography: a two dimensional strain imaging study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sodium channel blockers augment ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads in patients undergoing Brugada-type electrocardiography (ECG). However, their effect on echocardiographic features is not known. We address this by assessing global and regional ventricular function using conventional Doppler and two- dimensional (2D) speckle tracking techniques.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-one patients with Brugada-type ECG were studied. A pure sodium channel blocker, pilsicainide, was used to provoke an ECG response. The percentage longitudinal systolic myocardial strain at the base of both the right ventricular (RV) free wall and the interventricular septum wall was measured using 2D speckle tracking. Left ventricular (LV) and RV myocardial performance (TEI) indices were also measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The pilsicainide challenge provoked a positive ECG response in 13 patients (inducible group). In the inducible group, longitudinal strain was significantly reduced only at the RV (-27.3 ± 5.4% vs -22.1 ± 3.6%, <it>P </it>< 0.01), and both RV and LV TEI indices increased (RV: 0.19 ± 0.09 vs 0.27 ± 0.11, <it>P </it>< 0.05; LV: 0.30 ± 0.10 vs 0.45 ± 0.10, <it>P </it>< 0.01) after pilsicainide administration.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Temporal and spatial analysis using the TEI index and 2D strain imaging revealed the deterioration of global ventricular function associated with conduction disturbance and RV regional function in patients with Brugada-type ECG and coved type ST elevation due to administration of a sodium channel blocker.</p