Optimal investment under behavioural criteria -- a dual approach

We consider a discrete-time, generically incomplete market model and a behavioural investor with power-like utility and distortion functions. The existence of optimal strategies in this setting has been shown in a previous paper under certain conditions on the parameters of these power functions. In the present paper we prove the existence of optimal strategies under a different set of conditions on the parameters, identical to the ones which were shown to be necessary and sufficient in the Black-Scholes model. Although there exists no natural dual problem for optimisation under behavioural criteria (due to the lack of concavity), we will rely on techniques based on the usual duality between attainable contingent claims and equivalent martingale measures.Comment: Forthcoming in Banach Center Publications. Some errors have been corrected, in particular in Assumption 2.3

CYTOCHROME C; A POTENTIAL EARLY BIOMARKER OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Diabetic retinopathy is an ocular disease which appears in patients who experience progression of diabetes mellitus over a continuous period of time. Oftentimes, patients remain undiagnosed through the first stages of diabetic retinopathy due to the fact that there is not a specific way to determine when a patient develops the disease. Ophthalmologists and other eye specialists diagnose a patient with diabetic retinopathy once the patient begins to show progressed symptoms of the disease. Previous experiments have been performed to increase our knowledge of diabetic retinopathy and early biomarkers of the disease. Several studies have determined the effects of diabetic retinopathy and apoptosis with cytochrome c presence using bovine retinal cells and rat models. The purpose of this experiment is to understand, analyze and quantify the effects of diabetic conditions on cytochrome c presence in the mitochondria of human retinal pericyte cells by using TUNEL, heme staining and Western Blot methods. In doing so, I will determine whether cytochrome c could serve as a potential biomarker in the early detection of diabetic retinopathy

Use of a simulated directional social network to compare measures of user influence

This paper proposes a new method for measuring user influence in directional social networks, derived from the works of Reilly et al. and Cha et al. The method being proposed in this paper considers an element from each of the two works. The first is the ratio of ‘messages forwarded’ over ‘messages posted’. The second element is the size of the audience. The second part of this study entails modeling and simulating an online social network. Using a data sample from the Twitter network to implement the simulation, it is going to allow us to compare the methods that are used to measure influence. The behaviors modeled include the act of gaining a follower, the act of creating a message, and the act of forwarding a message. These are the three behaviors we are using to compute influence

Outcomes of and Satisfaction with the Inflatable Penile Prosthesis in the Elderly Male

Objective. To determine the outcomes of and satisfaction with the multi-component inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) in the elderly male (age >71). Methods. Using a chart review and telephone survey, we retrospectively assessed patients who underwent IPP or combined IPP/artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) from 2004–2006. Results. We identified 56 patients that underwent IPP (48) or IPP/AUS (8). The age range was 71–86 (mean 74.3) at the time of surgery, with a follow-up range of 0.5–2.4 years (mean 1.5). The overall complication rate was 3.8% (2 of 56) with one device removed for infection and a second patient requiring exploration for a postoperative hematoma. The telephone interview was conducted with 35 of 56 patients. Patients rated ease of use (a scale from 1–5, 5 meaning very easy) and overall satisfaction (a scale of 1–5, 5 meaning very satisfied) at an average of 4.1 and 4.3, respectively. IPP usage varied from 0–7 times per month (mean 3.3). 32 of 35 patients (91%) said they would undergo the procedure again. Conclusion. Our review demonstrates that the IPP is well tolerated in the elderly male population, who report a high degree of satisfaction and ease of use with this device

Monetary Policy and Inequality in Mexico

Despite growing interest regarding the distributive impact of macroeconomic policies, the relationship between monetary policy and inequality has received relatively little attention in the literature. This is partly explained by the fact that the workhorse model used for monetary policy analysis summarises the demand-side of the economy by means of a representative agent, whose welfare is the normative criterion of optimal policy. However, alternative formulations using incomplete market models which feature heterogeneous agents, indicate that monetary policy does have an effect on the distribution of income, consumption and wealth, which potentially has implications for the design and conduct of optimal policy. The document empirically investigates the nature of the relationship between monetary policy and household income inequality in Mexico. The ultimate purpose is to uncover certain regularities which characterise the relationship, which can eventually serve as stylised facts for the design of theoretical models. The response of household's income inequality, and its components, to monetary policy shocks indicate that unanticipated increases in the nominal interest rate are correlated with a reduction of household income inequality in the short run, and that the effect dissipates over a two-year horizon. The results are robust to the particular measure of inequality used, as well as the procedure used to identify the policy shocks

Monetary policy and inequality under household heterogeneity and incomplete markets

Motivated by the evidence of the effects of monetary policy on the evolution of inequality, and the importance of insurance mechanisms to deal with idiosyncratic risks, the paper explores the relationship between household inequality and monetary policy in the context of a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. In contrast to the traditional approach where the demand-side of the economy is summarised by a single representative agent, the model considers heterogeneous households which face idiosyncratic shocks which they can not fully insure against. The model, which is calibrated using data from Mexico, is able to capture the main features that characterise both the business cycle dynamics, as well as the distribution of income and wealth across households. The results stemming from a series of counterfactual experiments indicate that the the presence of heterogeneity impinges upon the transmission of monetary policy, and that the design of monetary policy has important distributive effects

Efectos socio económicos de la privatización del servicio de electricidad en Panamá.

La metodología utilizada, para realizar esta investigación, fue aplicar un instrumento de recolección de datos al público en general, utilizando los tipos de investigación exploratorio, descriptivo explicativo y las entrevistas. El propósito del trabajo es analizar, los efectos socioeconómicos que ha causado en el bienestar social de la población, la privatización del servicio de energía eléctrica. y examinar el impacto causado en la familia, la privatización del servicio de energía eléctrica. Así como comparar los niveles de cobertura del servicio de electricidad, antes y después de su privatización; comparar cuantitativa y cualitativamente la calidad del servicio y el costo del servicio de luz en una empresa de propiedad del Estado y una empresa privada. Los resultados obtenidos son: que el costo de la energía eléctrica en manos de la empresa privada, actualmente es más cara que cuando estaba en manos del gobierno (IRHE). Se comprueba la hipótesis que el precio o costo del servicio de energía eléctrica ha aumentado. El 57% de los encuestados manifestó, que el precio del servicio de energía eléctrica es alto, en comparación con lo que era el IRHE, se corrobora con los datos estadísticos del Ente Regulador. En cuanto a la calidad del servicio de energía eléctrica, con respecto al mantenimiento, la mayoría de los encuestados dijo que es regular, sin embargo, el Ente Regulador dice haber mejorado. La calidad, con respecto a cambio de voltaje (fluctuaciones), apagones y daños que causa a los aparatos eléctricos, la mayoría de los encuestados dice que es poco frecuente. Sin embargo, en cuanto a las instalaciones, se manifestó que el servicio es rápido, en cambio las reconexiones son lentas, aún más en las áreas rurales. En síntesis, la privatización del servicio de energía eléctrica, no ha causado un impacto positivo en el bienestar de la población, tal como se planteó en el plan de privatización, puesto que en la práctica no ha ofrecido, un servicio de excelente calidad y a precio bajo como lo esperaba la población. El sistema de electricidad, en el poco tiempo de estar en manos privada, ha aumentado más que cuando estaba en manos del IRHE

Monetary policy and inequality under household heterogeneity and incomplete markets

Motivated by the evidence of the effects of monetary policy on the evolution of inequality, and the importance of insurance mechanisms to deal with idiosyncratic risks, the paper explores the relationship between household inequality and monetary policy in the context of a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. In contrast to the traditional approach where the demand-side of the economy is summarised by a single representative agent, the model considers heterogeneous households which face idiosyncratic shocks which they can not fully insure against. The model, which is calibrated using data from Mexico, is able to capture the main features that characterise both the business cycle dynamics, as well as the distribution of income and wealth across households. The results stemming from a series of counterfactual experiments indicate that the the presence of heterogeneity impinges upon the transmission of monetary policy, and that the design of monetary policy has important distributive effects

Monetary policy shocks and labour-income inequality in Mexico

Despite growing interest regarding the distributive impact of macroeconomic policies, the relationship between monetary policy and inequality has received relatively little attention in the literature. This is partly explained by the fact that the workhorse model used for monetary policy analysis summarises the demand-side of the economy by means of a representative agent, whose welfare is the normative criterion of optimal policy. However, alternative formulations using incomplete market models which feature heterogeneous agents, indicate that monetary policy does have an effect on the distribution of income, consumption and wealth, which potentially has implications for the design and conduct of optimal policy. The document empirically investigates the nature of the relationship between monetary policy and household's labour income inequality in Mexico. The results indicate that inequality of aggregate household's labour-income increases as a result of an unanticipated increase in nominal interest rate. However, the result is differentiated across labour markets, as well as across the distribution of income, with inequality declining among households in the bottom half of the distribution, whose head is employed in the informal labour market. The findings are robust to the particular measure of inequality used, as well as the procedure used to identify the policy shocks

Financial Services and Household Inequality in Mexico

The Mexican government has recently launched several initiatives aimed at increasing the use of formal financial services, under the implicit assumption that they allow households to smooth consumption and finance investment in human capital. This study seeks to determine what is the impact of the use of formal financial services, proxied by the use of credit cards, on the level and distribution of household consumption in Mexico. Using data from the 2010 household income and expenditure survey, an instrumental variables approach is used in the context of quantile regressions, to correct for the bias that stems from households' self-selection in the decision to use formal financial services. The results indicate that financial services increase consumption of those households that use them, and that this effect is strongest for households in the lowest quantiles, thus reducing inequality of consumption across households