The Catalan simplicial set

The Catalan numbers are well-known to be the answer to many different counting problems, and so there are many different families of sets whose cardinalities are the Catalan numbers. We show how such a family can be given the structure of a simplicial set. We show how the low-dimensional parts of this simplicial set classify, in a precise sense, the structures of monoid and of monoidal category. This involves aspects of combinatorics, algebraic topology, quantum groups, logic, and category theory.Comment: 15 pages. Replaces and expands upon parts of arXiv:1307.0265; remaining parts of arXiv:1307.0265 will be incorporated into a sequel. Version 2: minor revision; to appear in Math. Proc. Camb. Phil. So

Protecting mobile money customer funds in civil law jurisdictions

The provision of financial services through mobile phones is a powerful tool to foster financial inclusion, and thus economic growth, in developing countries. However, it raises important regulatory issues. Given the vulnerability of most potential customers of these services, the protection of customer funds is important. In common law countries, trust accounts are an effective response to these concerns. In civil law jurisdictions however, in the absence of trusts, protection of customer funds is more difficult. This paper identifies the theoretical and practical problems that regulators in civil law jurisdictions might face when trying to protect customer funds and explores how fiduciary contracts, mandate contracts and direct regulation might be used to achieve this goal. It offers a series of practical recommendations for policymakers in developing countries that provide a range of regulatory options that combine private law and regulation

How East Asia Could Amplify Its Voice in Global Economic Governance

East Asia’s voice in global and economic governance is far smaller than it should be given the region’s contribution to world growth and its general significance. The region is under-represented, by any measure, on the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements, and the Financial Stability Board. Only in the G20 does the region have fair representation, but because it doesn’t speak with a unified voice, even there the region’s impact is limited. This article explores how regional nations might work together to rectify this situation and what keeps the region’s three largest economies apart on so many issues. In particular, the article explores how Japan needs to take responsibility for its history and understand the price it is paying for not doing so. The article also contrasts China’s generally adroit use of aid, soft loans, and other measures to garner influence, with its highly counter-productive belligerence over territorial claims in the South China and East China Seas. The article advances a thesis that might explain this ‘split-personality’ behavior by China, why in some fora its behavior is subtle and highly effective in attaining its national interests, yet when it comes to territoriality issues it behaves utterly differently and in ways quite adverse to its larger agenda

A Force for Globalization: Emerging Markets Debt Trading From 1994 to 1999

This Article analyzes the history from 1994-1999 of the secondary market in emerging markets debt, identifying the lessons learned from that period of market development. It pays particular attention to the increasing integration of the secondary market for emerging markets debt with traditional financial markets, and to the force for globalization that this secondary market therefore exerted in the period