Effects of syndicators and risk management on equity pricing of the LIHTC

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).A study was carried out to examine the impacts of risk characteristics on equity pricing of tax credits issued under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). The results indicate that credit pricing is not correlated with most traditional real estate risk factors. We hypothesize that risks are mitigated by the services of syndicators, who act as intermediaries between developers and investors, thus managing the perceived risk of the investment. We tested this theory by examining the impact of individual syndicators on credit prices. Additionally, we tested the effect of syndicator fees and other syndicator-specific fixed effects on credit prices. Findings suggest that syndicator fixed effects and fees impact pricing, as do certain tax structure characteristics of the LIHTC developments. Developers appear to be less pricesensitive than investors, reflecting perhaps different levels of negotiating power in their relationships with syndicators, as well as lack of perfect information. Investors appear to focus more on internal rate of return than on price per unit of credit in their investment decisions, thereby confusing the relationship between syndicator effects and credit prices for investors. Housing policy implications and directions for future research are also discussed.by Jenny Schuetz and Laura E. Talle.M.C.P

Assessing the influence of CCAFS’ climate data and tools: findings from an Outcome Harvesting evaluation

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) integrates climate change research across all CGIAR Research Centres and Research Programs. Some of CCAFS’ work since 2010 has involved the development of high quality, accessible and easy-to-use climate data and tools. With an increased focus on achieving development outcomes influenced by such data and tools, a study was carried out starting in 2016 to evaluate the development effectiveness of some of CCAFS’ climate products: the GCM Climate Portal, MarkSimGCM, and the Climate Analogues tool (Box 1). The study was designed to explore whether use of these three products has led to development outcomes, and if so, what type of changes have been observed and how exactly the products have contributed to such changes. Outcomes here are defined as behavioural changes in individuals, groups or institutions doing something differently with respect to climate-change-related knowledge, attitude, capacity, policy or practice. Outcome Harvesting (Box 2) was used for the evaluation, along with some elements from Impact Pathways thinking (Douthwaite et al. 2008) and Contribution Analysis (Mayne 2008). We started the harvest by collecting outcome leads from project documents and an online survey. These leads provided the basis for selecting those cases that appeared promising to be turned into SMART outcomes (Box 3). A majority (70%) of the 30 cases investigated that employed CCAFS’ climate products were new in the sense that they were not directly related to the CCAFS program. Results from the survey indicated that the data and tools frequently were employed in countries not directly targeted by the CCAFS program and that users often discovered the tools via web search. These observations suggest strongly that CCAFS’ climate data and tools are widely used even without specific promotion, which is consistent with CCAFS’ mandate as a provider of international public goods (IPGs). After email exchanges and phone interviews, we identified a total of 14 cases with a plausible linkage to one of the tools and sufficiently detailed information to qualify as SMART outcomes (Box 4). Of these 14 SMART outcomes, eight related to the GCM Climate Portal and six to the use of the Climate Analogues tool. We found several MarkSimGCM leads, but no SMART outcomes at this stage. One SMART outcome was developed into an extended outcome story (“Farms of the Future, Africa”, Box 5) and one (“Seeds for Needs, India”, Box 6) was unpacked in considerable detail

Lessons and Insights from CCAFS Results-Based Management Trial

Lessons learned from Flagship 4's Results-Based Management trial, based of an extensive survey to the trial project managers, coordinators and partners

Apoptosome activation, an important molecular instigator in 6-mercaptopurine induced Leydig cell death.

Leydig cells are crucial to the production of testosterone in males. It is unknown if the cancer chemotherapeutic drug, 6-mercaptopurine (6 MP), produces Leydig cell failure among adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Moreover, it is not known whether Leydig cell failure is due to either a loss of cells or an impairment in their function. Herein, we show, in a subset of childhood cancer survivors, that Leydig cell failure is related to the dose of 6 MP. This was extended, in a murine model, to demonstrate that 6 MP exposure induced caspase 3 activation, and the loss of Leydig cells was independent of Bak and Bax activation. The death of these non-proliferating cells was triggered by 6 MP metabolism, requiring formation of both cytosolic reactive oxygen species and thiopurine nucleotide triphosphates. The thiopurine nucleotide triphosphates (with physiological amounts of dATP) uniquely activated the apoptosome. An ABC transporter (Abcc4/Mrp4) reduced the amount of thiopurines, thereby providing protection for Leydig cells. The studies reported here demonstrate that the apoptosome is uniquely activated by thiopurine nucleotides and suggest that 6 MP induced Leydig cell death is likely a cause of Leydig cell failure in some survivors of childhood cancer

Exploring and developing effective evaluative approaches for evidencing the contribution of CCAFS climate data and tools towards development outcomes

Do CCAFS’ climate data and tools contribute to development outcomes? The production of International PublicGoods (IPGs) – such as high quality, easy to use climate data and tools – is part of CGIAR CCAFS’ delivery promise. With CCAFS’ transition to a results-based management approach there is an increased focus on achieving development outcomes. Hence, resources have to be balanced between i) IPG development, maintenance & support, ii) programs aiming to deliver development outcomes employing these IPGs, and iii) monitoring and evaluation efforts to assess such programs

Lessons from evaluation of CCAFS outcomes to improve outcome delivery and reporting: Lessons learned from 2016-2019 outcome case evaluations

To help CCAFS projects improve on reporting outcomes, we looked at all project outcome cases that were submitted between 2016 and 2019 and how they were evaluated. The findings of this investigation provide some lessons learned on what helps to make a strong outcome story as well as common mistakes to avoid

Measuring how communication and engagement efforts help deliver outcomes

Key messages Initial steps towards outcome-focused monitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) on communication and engagement can be small, but they must be systematic. To achieve broad participation, MEL needs to be lean and do-able. Well-designed MEL adds value by feeding information and lessons into future work and decision-making. Adequate time must be devoted to embedding MEL into the initial activity plan and following it throughout the communication engagement activity and afterwards. MEL is easier when it is done more often. It is helpful to draw upon resource persons. Preparatory work and capturing feedback through mechanisms built into the communication- engagement activity is more informative than soliciting responses afterwards. Peer exchanges about MEL practices and adaptable templates are beneficial. Aligning specific communication activities with the established impact pathway can ensure more strategic and focused activities and products that contribute to outcomes and impact

A decade of science for climate change adaptation and mitigation

This working paper synthesizes findings and reflections from an analysis of 300 CCAFS outcomes reported by project and program leaders between 2011 and 2020. The analysis, organized in the form of an outcome harvest, was aimed to distil typologies of outcomes achieved across geographies and groups of beneficiaries; the contributions of outcomes to program and institutional targets and sustainable development goals (SDGs) and targets; as well as key impact pathways derived from the activities, outputs and outcomes reported by CCAFS teams in relation to interventions targeting policy/investment and services/farm. The study also reveals examples of outcomes that progressed from one maturity level to the next, that expanded the scope of work, scaled to new geographies, or marked an increase in the number of innovations developed over the years, indicating a diversity of forms in which CCAFS outcome-oriented work has evolved towards increased impact

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London