Financial Intermediation, Competition, and Risk: A General Equilibrium Exposition

We study a simple general equilibrium model in which investment in a risky technology is subject to moral hazard and banks can extract market power rents. We show that more bank competition results in lower economy-wide risk, lower bank capital ratios, more efficient production plans and Pareto-ranked real allocations. Perfect competition supports a second best allocation and optimal levels of bank risk and capitalization. These results are at variance with those obtained by a large literature that has studied a similar environment in partial equilibrium. Importantly, they are empirically relevant, and demonstrate the need of general equilibrium modeling to design financial policies aimed at attaining socially optimal levels of systemic risk in the economy.General Equilibrium;Bank Competition;Market Power Rents;Risk

Caracterização de melões transgênicos acc oxidase antisense e estudo bioquímico de álcool aciltransferases envolvidas na biossíntese de aromas

L'augmentation de la production d'éthylène est une des principales causes de l'accélération du métabolisme post-récolte de melons "Cantaloups Charentais". Dans le but de prolonger la vie post-récolte de ces fruits, les melons ont été transformés avec un clone de l´ACC oxydase (pAP4) de pomme "Royal Gala", en orientation antisens. Trois transformants ont été obtenus et le clone montrant la plus importante réduction de la production d'éthylène, appelé AS3, a été retenu pour la suite des travaux. Avec ce modèle végétal on a pu discriminer certains événements comme étant éthylène-dépendants et d´autres comme éthylène-indépendants. Par exemple, les melons AS3 ont eu un retard de maturation d’environ 10 jours et en conséquence, une accumulation de sucres plus importante. En plus, ces fruits ont préservé une plus grande fermeté de pulpe, une plus grande teneur en chlorophylles et une plus forte acidité que les non transformés. Cependant, la teneur de caroténoïdes n'a pas été modifiée par la transformation génétique. D'autre part, l'intensité aromatique des ces fruits a été réduite. Des modifications phénotypiques telles qu’une moindre sénescence des feuilles et une plus grande émission des branches latérales ont été observées. Afin de confirmer que la dégradation des chlorophylles, la perte de fermeté et la synthèse de composés volatiles étaient réellement des événements éthylène-dépendants, des fruits AS3 ont été soumis à l’action d’éthylène exogène. La restauration du processus de maturation a été seulement partielle, c'est-à-dire qu’il a y bien eu réduction de la fermeté de la pulpe mais pas de restauration complète de la production de composés volatiles, ni du jaunissement de l'écorce. Comme les plantes AS3 ont présenté des modifications de phénotype rappelant des réponses à l'action de cytokinines, on a déterminé la concentration de cette hormone dans les melons AS3 et non transformés. Nous avons ainsi trouvé que les concentrations de zéatine et de zéatine-ribose étaient 4 à 6 fois supérieures à celles des melons non transformés. Ce résultat suggère que la transformation génétique qui a conduit à une forte réduction de production d’éthylène et a eu pour conséquence de modifier le cycle végétatif des plantes, a stimulé la synthèse de cytokinines, hormones connues pour retarder la sénescence et l'action de l'éthylène. Sur d´autres melons "Cantaloup Charentais", transformés avec un clone de l´ACC oxydase de melon, appelé pMEL1, les réponses à la action d’éthylène ont été intégralement restaurées. Dans ces fruits des clones d’AAT (Cm-AAT1, Cm-AAT3 and Cm-AAT4) ont été isolés qui ont permis une caractérisation biochimique des protéines recombinantes. Ces protéines ont toutes montré une capacité à synthétiser des esters soufrés, mais la protéine Cm-AAT1 est la plus active. Ces protéines sont actives seulement sous forme tétramérique, avec un poids moléculaire autour de 200 kDa. La cinétique a montré que le CoA-SH, un des produits de la réaction, est activateur à des concentrations basses et inhibiteur à des concentrations plus élevées. L’enlèvement du CoA-SH du milieu réactionnel, via l’addition de phosphotransacétylase, s’est traduit par une réduction de la valeur du Km de 2 à 3 fois, vis-à-vis du co-substrat Acyl-CoA. Enfin, des mutations dirigées sur quelques aminoacides spécifiques dans les séquences Cm-AAT ont changé la sélectivité des enzymes et le nombre d’esters produits. ABSTRACT : The increase of ethylene production in ‘Cantaloupe Vedrantais’ melon is one of the main causes of the pre and post harvest alterations. In order to extend the shelf life of this fruit, melon plants were transformed with an ACC oxidase DNA sequence of "Royal Gala" apple in antisense orientation (pAP4). Three transformants were obtained. One of them showing the greatest reduction in ethylene production (AS3) was analysed further and used as a model to discriminate between ethylene- dependent and ethylene-independent processes during fruit ripening. AS3 melons exhibited a delay of about 10 days for ripening and accumulated more soluble solids than untransformed melons. Besides, fruit firmness, chlorophyll content and titratable acidity were higher in AS3 melons than in untransformed melons. However, the carotenoid content was unaffected and the aroma intensity was reduced in AS3 fruits. In AS3 plants the senescence of the leaves was reduced and the formation of lateral branching was increased. In order to confirm that chlorophyll degradation, cell wall degradation and synthesis of volatile compounds were ethylene-dependent events, ethylene was applied on AS3 fruits. However, the reversion of the process was limited. While the reduction of pulp firmness occurred, the production of volatiles compounds and the yellowing of the skin were not achieved. Considering that the phenotype of AS3 plants resembled a response to cytokinins action, the concentration of this phytohormone was monitored in both AS3 and untransformed melons. This hypothesis was confirmed as the cytokinins concentration in the pulp and skin of AS3 melons was fourth to eight fold higher. This result suggests that reduction in ethylene production induced changes in the vegetative cycle of the plant, and favoured the synthesis of cytokinins, hormones that are known as retardants of senescence and ethylene action. Using plants from a different lineage, "Cantaloupe" "Charentais", transformed with an ACC oxidase DNA sequence from melon, in antisense orientation (pMEL1), the responses to ethylene action were all observed. For this reason, AAT clones (Cm-AAT1, Cm-AAT3 and Cm-AAT4) were isolated for biochemical characterization. All recombinant proteins were active to synthesize sulfur-containing esters but Cm-AAT1 was the most active. Only the tetrameric form of these proteins, with molecular mass of 200 kDa, were active. The kinetic analysis indicated that CoA-SH, a product of the reaction, is an activator at low concentration and inhibitor at higher concentration. The removal of CoA-SH from the reaction medium, by adding phosphotransacetylase, resulted in Km values two to three fold lower for the co-substrate acyl-CoA. The site directed mutation of a few amino acids in the Cm-AAT sequences affected the selectivity of the original protein and the number of esters produce

How effective are bad bank resolutions? New evidence from Europe

The paper studies the effectiveness of bank resolutions using a comprehensive database on banks headquartered in 18 European countries over the period 2000–19. By means of difference-in-differences methodology, we find that impaired asset segregations – otherwise known as bad banks – have been more effective than state-funded recapitalisations of distressed banks. While recapitalised banks seem to have used the injected funds mainly to clean up their balance sheets by reducing problem loans and cutting down on lending, banks that segregated assets increased progressively their lending after the creation of the bad bank. For both types of banking crisis interventions, we find a significant ex-post reduction in the cost of bank funding and shift towards deposit funding

Climate bonds: Are they invested efficiently?

Achieving a Net-Zero goal is heavily reliant on transitioning to green methods, making it a top priority. Our research, which used the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) panel method, found that each Macro-region should invest at least 2% more per capita annually in Climate Bonds, a type of green bond. Although some studies have questioned the effectiveness of Climate Bonds, our focus is on their efficient use in countries that produce more fossil fuels. Our findings show that globally, a) Climate Bonds are underutilized in areas with higher per capita use of fossil fuels, and b) High-income countries are gradually reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, while low-income countries have always used very little (with a forecast of future growth). Allocating financial resources in the form of Climate Bonds for the green transition should consider per capita use of fossil fuels, as well as the heterogeneity of population growth and different Macro-Regional economic development. Developing countries, with their large populations, will require more financial resources for an ethically acceptable green transition in the future

Development of a prototype detector for MeV gamma-ray detection on a CubeSat

Trotz der beeindruckenden Fortschritte, die die Röntgen- und Gammastrahlenobservatorien in den letzten Jahrzehnten erzielt haben, ist der Energiebereich zwischen 200 keV und 50 MeV nach wie vor kaum erforscht. Diese Lücke, die in der Literatur oft als ``MeV-Lücke'' bezeichnet wird, ist nicht auf einen Mangel an überzeugender Wissenschaft zurückzuführen, sondern auf technische Herausforderungen und Nachweisschwierigkeiten, die mit MeV-Beobachtungen einhergehen. COMPTEL an Bord von CGRO (1991-2000) war das letzte Teleskop, das eine vollständige Durchmusterung des MeV-Himmels mit einer relativ bescheidenen Empfindlichkeit durchführte. Für die Zukunft sind zahlreiche Missionen vorgeschlagen worden, insbesondere AMEGO, die die Leistung von COMPTEL um mindestens eine Größenordnung verbessern sollen. Der Zeitrahmen für die Entwicklung, den Aufbau und den Start solch großer Missionen beträgt jedoch etwa 10 Jahre und ist mit erheblichen Kosten verbunden. In diesem Szenario könnte ein viel kleinerer Satellit, der sich der neuen Welle von schnellen, relativ kostengünstigen Weltraumforschungsmissionen anschließt, die durch CubeSats ermöglicht werden, in kürzerer Zeit rentabel sein. In dieser Arbeit werden die Verfügbarkeit und die Leistung eines Compton-Teleskops auf der Grundlage des CubeSat-Standards, genannt MeVCube, untersucht. Die Auswirkungen der Materialwahl und verschiedener CubeSat-Nutzlasten wurden durch Simulationen bewertet. Trotz der begrenzten Größe kann selbst ein kleines Teleskop, das auf einem CubeSat fliegt, den Energiebereich von Hunderten von keV bis zu einigen MeV mit einer Empfindlichkeit abdecken, die mit der der letzten Generation von Großmissionen wie COMPTEL und INTEGRAL vergleichbar ist. Es wurden auch experimentelle Messungen an Cadmium-Zink-Tellurid-Halbleiterdetektoren und einer für den Weltraumbetrieb geeigneten Ausleseelektronik mit geringem Stromverbrauch durchgeführt.Despite the impressive progresses achieved both by X-ray and gamma-ray observatories in the last decades, the energy range between 200 keV and 50 MeV remains poorly explored. This gap in coverage, often referred in literature as the ``MeV gap'', is not due to lack of compelling science, but instead to technical challenges and detection difficulties that comes with MeV observations. COMPTEL, on-board CGRO (1991-2000), was the last telescope to accomplish a complete survey of the MeV-sky with a relatively modest sensitivity. Many missions have been proposed for the future, most notably AMEGO, aiming to improve COMPTEL's performance by at least one order of magnitude. However, the timescale for development, assembly and launch of such large missions is around 10 years, with substantial costs. Looking at this scenario, a much smaller satellite, joining the new wave of rapid, relatively inexpensive space science missions enabled by CubeSats, may be profitable on a shorter time-scale. This thesis evaluates the availability and performance of a Compton telescope based on the CubeSat standard, named MeVCube. The impact of material choice and different CubeSat payloads has been evaluated through simulations. Despite the limited size, even a small telescope flying on a CubeSat can cover the energy range from hundreds of keV up to few MeVs with a sensitivity comparable to that of the last generation of large-scale missions like COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. Experimental measurements on Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride semiconductor detectors and low-power read-out electronics suitable for space operation have been performed as well

Capital Regulation, Liquidity Requirements and Taxation in a Dynamic Model of Banking

This paper formulates a dynamic model of a bank exposed to both credit and liquidity risk, which can resolve financial distress in three costly forms: fire sales, bond issuance and equity issuance. We use the model to analyze the impact of capital regulation, liquidity requirements and taxation on banks' optimal policies and metrics of efficiency of intermediation and social value. We obtain three main results. First, mild capital requirements increase bank lending, bank efficiency and social value relative to an unregulated bank, but these benefits turn into costs if capital requirements are too stringent. Second, liquidity requirements reduce bank lending, efficiency and social value significantly, they nullify the benifits of mild capital requirements, and their private and social costs increase monotonically with their stringency. Third, increases in corporate income and bank liabilities taxes reduce bank lending, bank effciency and social value, with tax receipts increasing with the former but decreasing with the latter. Moreover, the effects of an increase in both forms of taxation are dampened if they are jointly implemented with increases in capital and liquidity requirements.Capital requirements;liquidity requirements;taxation of liabilities. JEL Classifications

Multivariate KPI for energy management of cooling system in food industry

Within EU, the food industry is currently ranked among the energy-intensive sectors, mainly as a consequence of the cooling system shareover the total energy demand. As such, the definition of appropriate key performance indicators (KPI) for ammonia chillers can play a strategic role for the efficient monitoring of the energy performance of the cooling systems. The goal of this paper is to develop an appropriate management approach, to account for energy inefficiency of the single compressors, and to identify the specific variables driving the performance outliers. To this end, a new KPI is proposed which correlates the energy consumption and the different process variables. The construction of the new indicator was carried out by means of multivariate statistical analysis, in particular using Kernel Partial Least Square (KPLS).This method is able to evaluate the maximum correlation between dataset and energy consumption employing nonlinear regression techniques. The validity of the new KPI is discussed on a case study relevant to the cooling system of a frozen ready meals industry. The assessment of the proposed metric is one against Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) like indicator, typically used in the context of the Energy Management Systems

Alterazioni dell'emostasi in pazienti affetti da epatopatia cronica e cirrosi epatica: individuazione di nuovi indicatori prognostici

Scopo della ricerca è stato quello di individuare parametri emostatico-coagulativi con valore predittivo sull’evoluzione del processo cirrotico e sulla mortalità. A tal fine abbiamo indagato in quali termini valori di P¬ selectina plasmatici (sP-sel) possano riflettere l'attivazione piastrinica in vivo in pazienti affetti da epatopatia cronica e cirrosi, biopticamente accertata ed HCV correlata. I risultati ottenuti ci permettono di avanzare l’ipotesi che la trombocitopenia associata ad epatopatia cronica HCV correlata potrebbe essere dovuta non soltanto ad un meccanismo di tipo autoimmunitario, ma anche ad una condizione di attivazione piastrinica in vivo causata direttamente dall’infezione virale. L’attivazione piastrinica in vivo che si verifica nei pazienti con epatite cronica C sembra correlata con la gravità della malattia; tuttavia per nessuno dei parametri studiati è stato provato un valore predittivo

Bank Market Structure, Systemic Risk, and Interbank Market Breakdowns

This paper explores theoretically the implications of bank market structure and banking system risks concentration for the functioning of interbank markets. It employs a simple model where banks are exposed to both credit and liquidity risk, there is no asymmetric information, no market power, no friction in secondary markets and deposit contracts are fully contingent. We show that (a) the concentration of risks induced by changes in bank market structure makes interbank market breakdowns more likely; (b) welfare monotonically decreases in risk concentration; and (c) risk concentration and a high probability of interbank market breakdowns can be driven by risk control diseconomies of scale and scope and increases in financial firms’ size. As banking systems become more concentrated, improvement of risk control technologies in financial institutions and in regulatory bodies appear as important as other policies considered in the literature to minimize the probability of interbank market breakdowns.bank market structure; systemic risk; interbank markets