Credit default swaps and systemic risk

We present a network model for investigating the impact on systemic risk of central clearing of over the counter (OTC) credit default swaps (CDS). We model contingent cash flows resulting from CDS and other OTC derivatives by a multi-layered network with a core-periphery structure, which is flexible enough to reproduce the gross and net exposures as well as the heterogeneity of market shares of participating institutions. We analyze illiquidity cascades resulting from liquidity shocks and show that the contagion of illiquidity takes place along a sub-network constituted by links identified as ’critical receivables’. A key role is played by the long intermediation chains inherent to the structure of the OTC network, which may turn into chains of critical receivables. We calibrate our model to data representing net and gross OTC exposures of large dealer banks and use this model to investigate the impact of central clearing on network stability. We find that, when interest rate swaps are cleared, central clearing of credit default swaps through a well-capitalized CCP can reduce the probability and the magnitude of a systemic illiquidity spiral by reducing the length of the chains of critical receivables within the financial network. These benefits are reduced, however, if some large intermediaries are not included as clearing members

The Enowning of Translation

Congreso Internacional celebrado en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid del 24 al 26 de septiembre de 2012This paper focuses on the meaning of translation (Über-setzung) in Heidegger’s late work. The German prefix über- suggests a „jump” from one field of experience to another, thus implying a duality of the „own” and the „other”. This seminal duality will be examined by studying the etymology of the English word „translation”, which will bring to the fore the key role played by the verb „to bear”, understood as an essential enabling of the „other” to stand on its own in the horizon of the „own”. The paper will then focus on the significance of „enabling” as the very sense of translation and will discuss the rendering of the central Heideggerian term Ereignis as „enowning” by the American translators P. Emad & K. Maly in 1999

Affective life, "vulnerable" youths, and international volunteering in a residential care programme in Cusco, Peru

This paper critically engages with the implications of the "affect turn" in the geographies of development and volunteering. By way of considering "affective life" at a residential youth care centre in Peru through an ethnographic study, we aim to contribute to current discussions of "(self‐)transformation" taking place through affectivity in the experience of volunteering. Conceptually, our approach to investigating "affective life" and volunteering involves two steps. First, we critically review this body of work's recent focus on the individualistic mode of volunteer self‐transformation in encountering "vulnerable others." We identify the need to think about affect and embodiment also from the perspectives of the "vulnerable" groups whose lives are entangled with the presence of international volunteering. Second, we argue for an affect‐informed approach to socio‐politically shaped vulnerability, with a particular emphasis on lived experiences and affective capacities related to enduring social and material conditions. Against the backdrop of marginalisation of adolescent mothers from rural and indigenous backgrounds, many of whom are survivors of sexual abuse, we analyse the experiences of these youths living at a specific residential care centre and interacting with volunteers on a daily basis. In doing so, we employ a series of perspectives from the residents, while taking into account the organisational environment. We also show the complex ways in which resident–volunteer encounters are at play in life‐enhancing affective states, capacities, and relations emerging among the residents. Our findings on the residents' self‐ and shared capacity of transformation highlights the importance of attending to the spatialities of affective life in academic work focused on the contemporary geographies of international volunteering

Simple and Effective Visual Models for Gene Expression Cancer Diagnostics

In the paper we show that diagnostic classes in cancer gene expression data sets, which most often include thousands of features (genes), may be effectively separated with simple two-dimensional plots such as scatterplot and radviz graph. The principal innovation proposed in the paper is a method called VizRank, which is able to score and identify the best among possibly millions of candidate projections for visualizations. Compared to recently much applied techniques in the field of cancer genomics that include neural networks, support vector machines and various ensemble-based approaches, VizRank is fast and finds visualization models that can be easily examined and interpreted by domain experts. Our experiments on a number of gene expression data sets show that VizRank was always able to find data visualizations with a small number of (two to seven) genes and excellent class separation. In addition to providing grounds for gene expression cancer diagnosis, VizRank and its visualizations also identify small sets of relevant genes, uncover interesting gene interactions and point to outliers and potential misclassifications in cancer data sets

Más allá del posmodernismo : viaje a través de la paradoja moderna

La reflexión desarrollada en este artículo parte de la premisa que el análisis posmoderno en geografía y en las ciencias sociales ha evidenciado las contradicciones y paradojas de la concepción moderna de las relaciones entre espacio y sociedad, pero frecuentemente no ha sabido encontrar la forma de superarlas eficazmente. El problema se plantea ahora recuperando el pensamiento de Marshall Berman y las sucesivas reflexiones sobre la naturaleza utópica del espacio moderno de Kevin Hetherington, con el objetivo de mostrar como la modernidad y sus expresiones espaciales se fundamentan en la paradoja. Por esta razón, este texto, en lugar de superar la modernidad, propone recuperar su dimensión ambigua y un análisis del poder inscrito en dicha ambivalencia. De esta recuperación, la geografía tiene mucho que ganar, siendo sus metáforas el fruto de procesos interpretativos que por definición incorporan ambigüedad y ambivalencia, pero al mismo tiempo también una capacidad descriptiva/normativa formidable para aprehender de lo moderno muchos aspectos que las metáforas científicas y la razón cartográfica a menudo reducen al silencio.La reflexió desenvolupada en aquest article parteix de la premissa que l'anàlisi posmoderna en geografia i en les ciències socials ha palesat les contradiccions i paradoxes de la concepció moderna de les relacions entre espai i societat, però freqüentment no ha sabut trobar la forma de superar-les d'una manera eficaç. El problema es planteja ara recuperant el pensament de Marshall Berman i les successives reflexions sobre la naturalesa utòpica de l'espai modern de Kevin Hetherington, amb l'objectiu de mostrar com la modernitat i les seves expressions espacials es fonamenten en la paradoxa. Per aquesta raó, aquest text, en comptes de superar la modernitat, proposa recuperar la seva dimensió ambigua i una anàlisi del poder inscrita en l'esmentada ambivalència. D'aquesta recuperació, la geografia hi té molt per guanyar, i les seves metàfores són el fruit de processos interpretatius que per definició incorporen ambigüitat i ambivalència, però alhora també una capacitat descrip- tivonormativa formidable per tal de copsar del modern molts aspectes que les metàfores científiques i la raó cartogràfica sovint redueixen al silenci.La réflexion développée dans cet article se dégage de la prémisse selon laquelle l'analyse postmoderne, en géographie et en sciences sociales, a mis en évidence les contradictions et les paradoxes de la conception moderne des relations entre espace et société, mais souvent elle n'a pas su trouver la façon de les dépasser efficacement. À présent, le problème se pose en récupérant la pensée de Marshall Berman et les successives réflexions sur la nature utopique de l'espace moderne de Kevin Hetherington, dans le but de montrer comment la modernité et ses expressions spatiales se fondent sur le paradoxe. C'est pourquoi ce texte, au lieu de dépasser la modernité, propose de récupérer sa dimension ambiguë et une analyse du pouvoir inscrit dans cette ambivalence. De cette récupération, la géographie a beaucoup à gagner, ses métaphores étant le fruit de processus interprétatifs qui, par définition, incorporent l'ambiguïté et l'ambivalence, mais aussi une capacité descriptive/normative formidable d'appréhender les nombreux aspects du moderne que les métaphores scientifiques et la raison cartographique réduisent souvent au silence.The reflection that is developed throughout this article is based on the premise that postmodern analysis in geography and in the social sciences has provided evidence of the contradictions and paradoxes in the modern conception of relations between space and society, but has frequently been unable to find the manner in which such incongruities can be efficiently overcome. The question is now raised through a recovery of the thoughts of Marshall Berman and through successive reflections on the utopian nature of Kevin Hetherington's modern space, with the aim of illustrating how modernity and its spatial expressions are based on paradox. For this reason, the text proposes that instead of overcoming modernity, its ambiguous dimension ought to be recuperated, and suggests that there be an analysis of the power pertaining to that very ambivalence. From such recuperation, geography has much to gain, its metaphors being the fruit of interpretative processes that, by definition, incorporate ambiguity and ambivalence, but at the same time also having a formidable descriptive/normative capacity to apprehend, from the modern, many aspects that scientific metaphors and cartographic logic often reduce to silence

Makeshift camp geographies and informal migration corridors

Makeshift camps have increasingly become a permanent presence along border areas and in cities around Europe and elsewhere, constituting a ‘hidden geography’ that is crucial to overland mobilities of thousands of migrants each year and essential to understanding contemporary informal migration. While there is rich and burgeoning scholarship on makeshift camps, substantial gaps remain in the understanding of these informal geographies which have not yet been conceptualized in terms of the key roles they play in the production of informal migration corridors nor the unique forms of daily life en route that they support, as this paper intends to do

Affective life, “vulnerable” youths, and international volunteering in a residential care programme in Cusco, Peru

This paper critically engages with the implications of the “affect turn” in the geographies of development and volunteering. By way of considering “affective life” at a residential youth care centre in Peru through an ethnographic study, we aim to contribute to current discussions of “(self‐)transformation” taking place through affectivity in the experience of volunteering. Conceptually, our approach to investigating “affective life” and volunteering involves two steps. First, we critically review this body of work's recent focus on the individualistic mode of volunteer self‐transformation in encountering “vulnerable others.” We identify the need to think about affect and embodiment also from the perspectives of the “vulnerable” groups whose lives are entangled with the presence of international volunteering. Second, we argue for an affect‐informed approach to socio‐politically shaped vulnerability, with a particular emphasis on lived experiences and affective capacities related to enduring social and material conditions. Against the backdrop of marginalisation of adolescent mothers from rural and indigenous backgrounds, many of whom are survivors of sexual abuse, we analyse the experiences of these youths living at a specific residential care centre and interacting with volunteers on a daily basis. In doing so, we employ a series of perspectives from the residents, while taking into account the organisational environment. We also show the complex ways in which resident–volunteer encounters are at play in life‐enhancing affective states, capacities, and relations emerging among the residents. Our findings on the residents' self‐ and shared capacity of transformation highlights the importance of attending to the spatialities of affective life in academic work focused on the contemporary geographies of international volunteering

"That Thin Red Line": Memory and Yugonostalgia among Italian Minority in Istria

This article examines how the documentary Vedo Rosso may be seen as a form of Yugonostalgia on the part of the Italian minority living in Rovinj, Croatia. Based on a textual analysis and video elicitation, this project explores the multiple and somewhat ambivalent ways in which this specific community has reacted to a visual reconstruction of the 1980s under socialism. A combination of interviews conducted by the authors and interviews presented in the documentary enables the reconstruction of a memoryscape influenced by intragenerational factors, as well as by the broader geopolitical changes that have transformed, at several times and in several ways, the Istrian Peninsula and the maritime town of Rovinj in particular. Deeper links between memory and nostalgia were the subject of detailed analysis in what is now vast and rich interdisciplinary literature. This article is an attempt to contribute to the existing debates on Yugonostalgia, in the sense that it shows that Yugonostalgia, as a form of memorialization, represents a complex and articulate way to interpret a mutable and uncertain present on the part of a relatively marginal ethno-linguistic minority in contemporary Croatia

(In)Stability for the Blockchain: Deleveraging Spirals and Stablecoin Attacks

We develop a model of stable assets, including non-custodial stablecoins backed by cryptocurrencies. Such stablecoins are popular methods for bootstrapping price stability within public blockchain settings. We derive fundamental results about dynamics and liquidity in stablecoin markets, demonstrate that these markets face deleveraging feedback effects that cause illiquidity during crises and exacerbate collateral drawdown, and characterize stable dynamics of the system under particular conditions. The possibility of such `deleveraging spirals' was first predicted in the initial release of our paper in 2019 and later directly observed during the `Black Thursday' crisis in Dai in 2020. From these insights, we suggest design improvements that aim to improve long-term stability. We also introduce new attacks that exploit arbitrage-like opportunities around stablecoin liquidations. Using our model, we demonstrate that these can be profitable. These attacks may induce volatility in the `stable' asset and cause perverse incentives for miners, posing risks to blockchain consensus. A variant of such attacks also later occurred during Black Thursday, taking the form of mempool manipulation to clear Dai liquidation auctions at near zero prices, costing $8m.Comment: To be published in Cryptoeconomic Systems 202