Financial Development and the Distributional Effects of Monetary Policy Do the distributional consequences of monetary policy depend on the extent of financial development? Should optimal monetary policy vary across countries? In order to answer these questions, we develop a monetary growth production model with heterogeneous agents. In our economy, optimal policy needs to weigh the effects of policy across two groups — capital owners and individuals who hold liquid assets. While banks help limit the exposure to inflation, there are limits because money alleviates the frictions of private information and limited communication. In this environment, we compare two economies that are identical in every aspect except for their level of financial development. In a country with limited financial development, a stock market is absent. In the other, an equity market is active. In either economy, inflation adversely affects capital formation and output. Individuals who hold liquid assets are always adversely affected by inflation, but the attitude of capital owners depends on the level of financial development. In particular, in the presence of a stock market, the impact of inflation on the welfare of capital owners is non-monotonic. Nevertheless, optimal monetary policy is always more conservative at higher levels of financial development.

Financial Development, Friedman Rule, Monetary Policy, Stock Market

Syntenin-ALIX exosome biogenesis and budding into multivesicular bodies are controlled by ARF6 and PLD2.

Exosomes are small vesicles that are secreted by cells and act as mediators of cell to cell communication. Because of their potential therapeutic significance, important efforts are being made towards characterizing exosomal contents. However, little is known about the mechanisms that govern exosome biogenesis. We have recently shown that the exosomal protein syntenin supports exosome production. Here we identify the small GTPase ADP ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) and its effector phospholipase D2 (PLD2) as regulators of syntenin exosomes. ARF6 and PLD2 affect exosomes by controlling the budding of intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) into multivesicular bodies (MVBs). ARF6 also controls epidermal growth factor receptor degradation, suggesting a role in degradative MVBs. Yet ARF6 does not affect HIV-1 budding, excluding general effects on Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport. Our study highlights a novel pathway controlling ILV budding and exosome biogenesis and identifies an unexpected role for ARF6 in late endosomal trafficking.journal article2014 Mar 182014 03 18importe

Vigilant Measures of Risk and the Demand for Contingent Claims

I examine a class of utility maximization problems with a not necessarily lawinvariant utility, and with a not necessarily law-invariant risk measure constraint. The objective function is an integral of some function U with respect to some probability measure P, and the constraint set contains some risk measure constraint which is not necessarily P-law-invariant. This introduces some heterogeneity in the perception of uncertainty. The primitive U is a function of some given underlying random variable X and of a contingent claim Y on X. Many problems in economic theory and financial theory can be formulated in this manner, when a heterogeneity in the perception of uncertainty is introduced. Under a consistency requirement on the risk measure that will be called Vigilance, supermodularity of the primitive U is sufficient for the existence of optimal continent claims, and for these optimal claims to be comonotonic with the underlying random variable X. Vigilance is satisfied by a large class of risk measures, including all distortion risk measures. An explicit characterization of an optimal contingent claim is also provided in the case where the risk measure is a convex distortion risk measure

Towards a national pharmaceutical strategy in Lebanon: E nsuring access to quality and safe medications for all

Introduction: Lebanon is facing challenges affecting the whole health sector, including access to medications. Lebanon has only proposed very few short-term national pharmaceutical strategic solutions. Previous reform attempts targeting the pharmaceutical sector, could not protect it from the crises and their detrimental consequences on patient and population health. Purpose: This document unveils the critical elements that should be addressed in the planned National Pharmaceutical Sector Strategy (NPS) being developed by the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon (OPL) in consultation with the concerned stakeholders. Method: Strategic goals were proposed for adoption and implementation by the competent authorities based on consultations, situational assessments, and gap analyses. The objectives and an implementation plan were developed based on the available resources and policy dialogue, respectively. Conclusion: The National Pharmaceutical Strategy would help the Lebanese authorities/policy-makers, aided by competent healthcare professionals, develop and implement a time-bound roadmap to attain a nation with access to quality and safe medications for the whole population. Implementing this strategy would require the commitment of decision-makers, the accountability of involved parties, innovation in finding solutions, close collaboration between stakeholders, and lengthy efforts to attain the stated vision. © 2023, International Pharmaceutical Federation. All rights reserved