Regulatory capital for credit risk: Is there a loophole in the system?

Treballs Finals del Màster de Ciències Actuarials i Financeres, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2022-2023, Tutor: Dr. Luis Ortiz GraciaGiven the Spanish housing and mortgage market, there is an important incentive for young property buyers to exceed the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, using a loophole in the database, CIRBE. The objective of this paper is to analyze whether there could be a possibility of a loophole in the system and therefore how it could affect the calculation of regulatory capital for credit risk requirements. The main hypothesis is that if this practice is commonly used by the borrowers, then there could be a significant difference between the VaR calculated by the banks and the actual VaR needed to cover the regulatory capital

Determinants of Income Diversification among Rural Farm Household in Soddo District, Gurage Zone of Southern Ethiopia

Soddo Woreda is one of the major producers of agricultural product in Gurage zone but, it lacks well-organized and arranged marketing system that highly affects fair distribution of income diversification. The overall objective of this study was to analyze the determinants of income diversification rural farm households in Soddo Woreda. This paper examines the determinants of income diversification among rural households using cross sectional data collected through a multi-stage random sampling technique and selected 200 sample from farm households of Soddo District of Gurage Zone, southern Ethiopia. Both descriptive statistics and rigorous econometric models are used to analyze the data. Multinomial logit model was used to analyze factors influencing households’ participation in off/non-farm income activities. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), shows that agricultural activities are the most important and basic source of income for rural households in Soddo District contributing crop income 58.16% and livestock income 28.49% summing up farm income 86.7% of total household income with the remaining 13.3% originating from off-farm 3.7% and non-farm 9.6% income activities. About 74% of the sample households involved in off/non-farm income activities and 26% involves in farm income only. The involvement in off/non-farm employment activities and the level of income derived are found to be influenced by human capital related variables (gender and age of household head, number of family m embers, education level of household head, attitude to risk and ), livelihood assets (livestock holding, size of cultivated land, irrigated land, wealth of households, aggregate total crop product) and infrastructure related variable (proximity to market, extension service, access to credit and cooperative). The results imply that these factors need to be considered by policy makers in the planning of agricultural and off/non-farm initiatives in this study area. Keywords: Income diversification, Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-10-02 Publication date:October 31st 202

The role of daylight on user's seat preferences

Seating that meets the needs and preferences of students can promote a longer stay in libraries and keep students motivated, which in turn influences their emotions and learning abilities. However, existing knowledge on the interaction between daylighting and seating preferences is limited. This study aims to understand what type of spaces are in more demand and the relationship between seat occupancy and daylight availability. Occupancy data of the UCL Bartlett library acquired from motion sensors located underneath each desk was used to assess occupancy, which was then compared to characteristics of space, including daylight availability. The study revealed that although daylight has a considerable impact on students’ seat selection, the seating preference of the students cannot be explained by daylight alone. The seats with a good combination of daylight, outdoor view and privacy are in more demand compared to seats that provide only a high level of daylight. Future research should involve individual perception in addition to occupancy monitoring data, considering daylight conditions together with other components such as privacy, outdoor views, and quietness

The impact of daylight availability on seat selection

Seating that meets students' needs and preferences could promote a longer stay in the libraries they use and keep students motivated, influencing their emotions and learning abilities. However, studies regarding seat preference in learning environments have mostly focused on interior elements, such as colours and furniture. Existing knowledge on the relationship between daylighting and seating preference is limited. This study aims to understand the contribution of daylight availability on seating preference. In this study, participants were asked to select three best and three worst seat locations in a library and the most and least liked within those categories. Participants were also asked to indicate the reasons for their selection to examine whether the daylight in the selected desks (best and worst) coincides with those where daylight levels were high and low in order to understand whether the daylight component is an influential factor when deciding where to sit. This study demonstrated that daylight is the most dominant reason when selecting desks, followed by privacy, outdoor view, and quietness. Although the reasons for seat selection varied, the majority of the participants agreed that satisfactory daylighting level, facing the least people, and a greenery outdoor view are particular reasons for seat selection. Future research is suggested where other reasons for seating selection are studied further; quietness, outdoor view, privacy, and their interaction with daylight

Conceptual Framework of Cultural Background in the Lit Environment

In environmental terms, culture represents the climatic and indoor conditions people have experienced during a significant part of their life. Consequently, people exposed to different cultures might have different expectations of the lighting environment. Knowing the lighting expectations due to cultural experiences have numerous advantages; it could help meet the occupants’ needs and preferences and provide occupant satisfaction, reducing unnecessary energy consumption in the built environment. This paper aims to summarise a s ystematic review to create a conceptual framework of cultural background in the lit environment, which could help understand the impact of cultural background on daylight perception and expectation. This review highlighted that cultural background in lighting environment should be evaluated considering (1) the ethnicity and/or physiological characteristics of the individual eyes, (2) the area (luminance environment) where people used to live (3) the luminance environment they were recently exposed to and (4) the socio-cultural background of individuals. Future research should further test these components together and separately to investigate which component or combination is more influential on daylight perception

Anaemia and nutritional status of adolescent girls in Babile District, Eastern Ethiopia

Introduction: Nutritional status during adolescence plays an important role in the human lifecycle that influences growth and development and during this period nutrient needs are the greatest. The objective of this study is to assess anaemia and nutritional status of adolescent girls in the Babile district, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Data were collected from 547 adolescent aged 10-19 years by cross sectional study design. WHO Anthro-plus software was used to analyse Nutritional statuses of adolescents and magnitudes were determined using WHO 2007 references point. Haemoglobin was measured on site by hem cue machine. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was carried out depending on the nature of variables. Results: The result of the study show that 21.6% thin, 4.8% were over weighted and 1.1% was obese, 32% were anaemic and 15% of adolescents were stunted/ short stature than normal. Nutritional status of adolescent were low both in urban and rural adolescents, but severe thinness were higher among of rural (39.3%) compared to urban (37.5%) adolescents. Factors independently associated with stunting were place of residence, father occupation source of drinking water and age of the adolescents. Conclusion: Nutritional status of adolescent girls contributes to the nutritional status of the community. There is a need to initiate intervention measures to improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls who are the future 'mothers-to-be'. Hence, there is a need to create awareness among adolescents and their family about nutrition and health.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

The prevalence of infertility and factors associated with infertility in Ethiopia:Analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS)

Background Despite having a high fertility rate, low-resource countries are also home to couples with infertility problems. Although many couples are suffering from the psychological impacts of infertility, its level and determinants are not adequately known. The main objective of this study is to assess the prevalence and factors associated with infertility among couples in Ethiopia using the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) data. Method The study employed a cross-sectional study design extracting variables from the 2016 EDHS. The study included all married or cohabitating women aged 15 to 49 years in the Couples Recode (CR) file data set. Weighted samples of 6141 respondents were analyzed. We used Stata 14 software for analyzing the data. The association of selected independent variables with primary, secondary, and total infertility was analyzed using a logistic regression model. We presented the results using an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p-value &lt;0.05 as a cut-off point for declaring statistical significance. Results The prevalence of infertility in the past 12 months was 24.2% (95% CI: 23.1-25.3%), of which the majority (90.7%) was secondary infertility. Greater than 35 years of age (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI (1.58-3.79)), rural residence (AOR = 1.06, 95% CI (1.01-1.39)), smoking (AOR = 2.29, 95% CI (1.39-3.77)), and &lt;18.5 Body Mass Index (BMI) (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI (1.43-2.04)) were significantly associated with infertility. Conversely, infertility was less likely among women with formal education and better wealth index. Primary infertility was significantly higher among women whose partners drink alcohol (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI 1.06-2.28)) and chew khat (AOR = 1.62; 95% CI (1.12-2.36)). Secondary infertility was significantly higher among women with &lt;18.5 BMI (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI (1.37-1.84)), &gt;30 BMI (AOR = 1.54; 95% CI 1.01-2.35)), and &lt;15 years of age at first birth (AOR = 1.40; 95% CI 1.15-1.69)). Conclusion More than one in five couples in Ethiopia has an infertility problem. Both male and femalerelated factors are associated with infertility. Primary infertility was significantly higher among women whose partner chews khat and drinks alcohol. Secondary infertility was significantly associated with being underweight, obese, smoking, and young age at first birth. Hence, taking action on preventable factors is the most critical treatment approach and will improve the health status of the couples in other ways.</p

Nutritional status of lactating mothers and their children 6-23 months of age in pre- and post-harvest seasons in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to assess seasonal variation in nutritional status and feeding practices among lactating mothers and their children 6-23 months of age in two different agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia (lowland zone and midland zone). Food availability and access are strongly affected by seasonality in Ethiopia. However, there are few published data on the effects of seasonal food fluctuations on nutritional status and dietary diversity patterns of mothers and children in rural Ethiopia. A longitudinal study was conducted among 216 mothers in two agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia during pre and post-harvest seasons. Data were collected on many parameters including anthropometry, blood levels of haemoglobin and ferritin and zinc, urinary iodine levels, questionnaire data regarding demographic and household parameters and health issues, and infant and young child feeding practices, 24 h food recall to determine dietary diversity scores, and household use of iodized salt. Chi-square and multivariable regression models were used to identify independent predictors of nutritional status. A wide variety of results were generated including the following highlights. It was found that 95.4% of children were breastfed, of whom 59.7% were initially breastfed within one hour of birth, 22.2% received pre-lacteal feeds, and 50.9% of children received complementary feedings by 6 months of age. Iron deficiency was found in 44.4% of children and 19.8% of mothers. Low Zinc status was found in 72.2% of children and 67.3% of mothers. Of the study subjects, 52.5% of the children and 19.1% of the mothers were anaemic, and 29.6% of children and 10.5% of mothers had iron deficiency anaemia. Among the mothers with low serum iron status, 81.2% and 56.2% of their children had low serum zinc and iron, respectively. Similarly, among the low serum zinc status mothers, 75.2% and 45.3% of their children had low serum in zinc and iron, respectively. There was a strong correlation between the micronutrient status of the mothers and the children for ferritin, zinc and haemoglobin (P <0.001). There was also statistically significant difference between agro-ecological zones for micronutrient deficiencies among the mothers (p<0.001) but not for their children. The majority (97.6%) of mothers in the lowland zone were deficient in at least one micronutrient biomarker (zinc or ferritin or haemoglobin). Deficiencies in one, two, or all three biomarkers of micronutrient status were observed in 48.1%, 16.7% and 9.9% of mothers and 35.8%, 29.0%, and 23.5%, of children, respectively. Additionally, about 42.6% of mothers had low levels of urinary iodine and 35.2% of lactating mothers had goitre. Total goitre prevalence rates and urinary iodine levels of lactating mothers were not significantly different across agro-ecological zones. Adequately iodised salt was available in 36.6% of households. The prevalence of anaemia increased from post-harvest (21.8%) to pre-harvest seasons (40.9%) among lactating mothers. Increases were from 8.6% to 34.4% in midland and from 34.2% to 46.3% in lowland agro-ecological zones. Fifteen percent of mothers were anaemic during both seasons. Predictors of anaemia were high parity of mother and low dietary diversity. The proportion of stunted and underweight children increased from 39.8% and 27% in post-harvest season to 46.0% and 31.8% in pre-harvest season, respectively. However, wasting in children decreased from 11.6% to 8.5%. Major variations in stunting and underweight were noted in midland compared to lowland agroecological zones. Anthropometric measurements in mothers indicated high levels of undernutrition. The prevalence of undernutrition in mothers (BMI <18.5kg/m2) increased from 41.7 to 54.7% between post- and pre-harvest seasons. The seasonal effect was generally higher in the midland community for all forms of malnutrition. Parity, number of children under five years and regional variation were predictors of low BMI among lactating mothers. There were differences in minimum meal frequency, minimum acceptable diet and dietary diversity in children in pre-harvest and post-harvest seasons and these parameters were poor in both seasons. Dietary diversity among mothers was higher in lowland zone but was poor in both zones across the seasons. In conclusion, malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are very prevalent among lactating mothers and their children 6-23 months old in the study areas. There are significant seasonal variations in malnutrition and dietary diversity, in addition to significant differences between lowland and midland agro-ecological zones. These findings suggest a need to design effective preventive public health nutrition programs to address both the mothers’ and children’s needs particularly in the preharvest season

Variations between post- and pre-harvest seasons in stunting, wasting, and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices among children 6-23 months of age in lowland and midland agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia

Introduction: Food availability and access are strongly affected by seasonality in Ethiopia. However, there are little data on seasonal variation in Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices and malnutrition among 6-23 months old children in different agro-ecological zones of rural Ethiopia. Methods: Socio-demographic, anthropometry and IYCF indicators were assessed in post- and pre-harvest seasons among children aged 6–23 months of age randomly selected from rural villages of lowland and midland agro-ecological zones. Results: Child stunting and underweight increased from prevalence of 39.8% and 26.9% in post-harvest to 46.0% and 31.8% in pre-harvest seasons, respectively. The biggest increase in prevalence of stunting and underweight between post- and pre-harvest seasons was noted in the midland zone. Wasting decreased from 11.6% post-harvest to 8.5% pre-harvest, with the biggest decline recorded in the lowland zone. Minimum meal frequency, minimum acceptable diet and poor dietary diversity increased considerably in pre-harvest compared to post-harvest season in the lowland zone. Feeding practices and maternal age were predictors of wasting, while women’s dietary diversity and children age was predictor of child dietary diversity in both seasons. Conclusion: There is seasonal variation in malnutrition and IYCF practices among children 6-23 months of age with more pronounced effect in midland agro-ecological zone. A major contributing factor for child malnutrition may be poor feeding practices. Health information strategies focused on both IYCF practices and dietary diversity of mothers could be a sensible approach to reduce the burden of child malnutrition in rural Ethiopia