The Case for a Financial Approach to Money Demand

The distribution of money across households is much more similar to the distribution of financial assets than to that of consumption levels. This is a puzzle for theories which directly link money demand to consumption. This paper shows that the joint distribution of money and financial assets can be explained in an heterogeneous agent model where both a cash-in-advance constraint and financial adjustment costs, as in the Baumol-Tobin literature, are introduced. Studying each friction in turn, I find that the financial friction explains 85% of total money demand. Classification-JEL: E40, E50.Money Demand, Money Distribution, Heterogeneous Agents.

Fiscal Policy in a Tractable Liquidity-Constrained Economy

In this paper, we analyse the effects of transitory fiscal expansions when public debt is used as liquidity by the private sector. Aggregate shocks are introduced into a tractable flexible-price, incomplete-market economy where heterogenous, infinitely-lived agents face occasionally binding borrowing constraints and store wealth to smooth out idiosyncratic income fluctuations. Debt-financed increases in public spending facilitate self insurance by bond holders and may crowd in private consumption. The implied higher stock of liquidity also loosens the borrowing constraints faced by firms, thereby raising labour demand and possibly the real wage. Whether private consumption and wages actually rise or fall ultimately depends on the relative strengths of the liquidity and wealth effects that arise following the shock. The expansionary effects of tax cuts are also discussed. Classification-JEL: E21; E62.Borrowing constraints; Public Debt; Fiscal Policy Shocks.

Prices and volumes of options: A simple theory of risk sharing when markets are incomplete

We present a simple theory of business-cycle movements of option prices and volumes. This theory relies on time-varying heterogeneity between agents in their demand for insurance against aggregate risk. Formally, we build an infinite-horizon model where agents face an aggregate risk, but also different levels of idiosyncratic risk. We manage to characterize analytically a general equilibrium in which positive quantities of derivatives are traded. This allows us to explain the informational content of derivative volumes over the business cycle. We also carry out welfare analysis with respect to the introduction of options, which appears not to be Pareto-improving.Option Pricing, Open Interest, Incomplete Markets.

Incomplete markets, liquidation risk, and the term structure of interest rates

We analyze the term structure of real interest rates in a general equilibrium model with incomplete markets and borrowing constraints. Agents are subject to both aggregate and idiosyncratic income shocks, which latter may force them into early portfolio liquidation in a bad aggregate state. We derive a closed-form equilibrium with limited agent heterogeneity (despite market incompleteness), which allows us to produce analytical expressions for bond prices and returns at any maturity. The attractiveness of bonds as liquidity makes aggregate bond demand downward-sloping, so that greater bond supply raises both the level and the slope of the yield curve. Moreover, time-variations in liquidation risk are shown to help explain the rejection of the Expectations Hypothesis.Incomplete markets; yield curve; borrowing constraints.

The future of monetary policy Summary of the conference held in Rome on 30 September and 1 October 2010.

The recent economic and financial crisis does not call for a change in monetary policy strategy, but rather better integration of financial conditions and financial-crisis risks in the implementation of this strategy: this appears to be the main conclusion of a conference organised by the Banque de France, the Banca d’Italia and the Einaudi Institute.asset price bubbles, financial crisis, interbank market, macroprudential policy, monetary policy.

The use of a 30-degree radiolucent triangle during surgery in distal avulsion fractures of the patella.

Avoiding patella baja or alta after the Krackow suture technique for distal avulsion fractures of the patella can be challenging. We aim to introduce a simple and reproducible technique using a 30-degree radiolucent triangle involving the contralateral knee to ensure the correct positioning of the patella intraoperatively. The radiolucent triangle is positioned under the contralateral knee before operating the injured knee. A strict lateral view is obtained using fluoroscopy as a reference before a Krackow technique is performed on the avulsion fracture of the patella. The triangle technique is straightforward and easily reproducible by surgeons of all levels. It allows the surgeon to correctly position the patella intraoperatively in avulsion fracture repair and modify tension on the patellar tendon. This method avoids millimetric mispositioning of the operated patella, thus improving the management intraoperatively and could decrease postoperative complications

Le futur de la politique monétaire : synthèse de la conférence tenue à Rome le 30 septembre et le 1er octobre 2010.

La récente crise économique et fi nancière appelle non pas une modification de la stratégie de politique monétaire, mais une meilleure prise en compte des conditions financières et du risque de crise fi nancière dans la mise en oeuvre de cette stratégie : telle semble être la principale conclusion d’un colloque organisé par la Banque de France, la Banque d’Italie et l’institut Einaudi.Bulles de prix d’actif, crise financière, marché interbancaire, politique macroprudentielle, politique monétaire.

Improving hypertension management through pharmacist prescribing; the rural alberta clinical trial in optimizing hypertension (Rural RxACTION): trial design and methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with hypertension continue to have less than optimal blood pressure control, with nearly one in five Canadian adults having hypertension. Pharmacist prescribing is gaining favor as a potential clinically efficacious and cost-effective means to improve both access and quality of care. With Alberta being the first province in Canada to have independent prescribing by pharmacists, it offers a unique opportunity to evaluate outcomes in patients who are prescribed antihypertensive therapy by pharmacists.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study is a randomized controlled trial of enhanced pharmacist care, with the unit of randomization being the patient. Participants will be randomized to enhanced pharmacist care (patient identification, assessment, education, close follow-up, and prescribing/titration of antihypertensive medications) or usual care. Participants are patients in rural Alberta with undiagnosed/uncontrolled blood pressure, as defined by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program. The primary outcome is the change in systolic blood pressure between baseline and 24 weeks in the enhanced-care versus usual-care arms. There are also three substudies running in conjunction with the project examining different remuneration models, investigating patient knowledge, and assessing health-resource utilization amongst patients in each group.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>To date, one-third of the required sample size has been recruited. There are 15 communities and 17 pharmacists actively screening, recruiting, and following patients. This study will provide high-level evidence regarding pharmacist prescribing.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinicaltrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00878566">NCT00878566</a>.</p