Rational asset pricing bubbles

This paper provides a fairly systematic study of general economic conditions under which rational asset pricing bubbles may arise in an intertemporal competitive equilibrium framework. Our main results are concerned with non-existence of asset pricing bubbles in those economies. These results imply that the conditions under which bubbles are possible inc1uding sorne well-known examples of monetary equilibria-are relatively fragile

Circumstellar Disk Evolution: Constraining Theories of Planet Formation

Observations of circumstellar disks around stars as a function of stellar properties such as mass, metallicity, multiplicity, and age, provide constraints on theories concerning the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Utilizing ground- and space-based data from the far-UV to the millimeter, astronomners can assess the amount, composition, and location of circumstellar gas and dust as a function of time. We review primarily results from the Spitzer Space Telescope, with reference to other ground- and space-based observations. Comparing these results with those from exoplanet search techniques, theoretical models, as well as the inferred history of our solar system, helps us to assess whether planetary systems like our own, and the potential for life that they represent, are common or rare in the Milky Way galaxy.Comment: To appear in IAU Symposium No. 258, Eds. E. Mamajek, D.R. Soderblom, and R.F.G. Wys

Poverty, Prosperity and the Challenges of the Good Company

The articles in this volume originate from papers delivered at the 9th International Conference on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education at De La Salle and Ateneo Universities in Manila, Philippines (February 26–28, 2015). The theme of the conference was “Poverty, Prosperity and the Purpose of Business” within the Catholic social tradition. In attendance were approximately 300 participants representing 22 countries from 80 Catholic colleges and universities. They came from disciplines in management, philosophy, finance, accounting, theology, marketing, economics, and others. There were also leaders from business, many of whom were from the Philippines, who brought their experiences to bear on the conversations. Along with this diversity of education and experience were people of different faith traditions whose moral and spiritual commitments run deep on the importance of mission and identity of Catholic universitie

A new genus of Prioninae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)

Neoma, a new genus of Cerambycidae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae: Macrotomini) is described for Mallodonopsis corrosus Bates, 1879, compared to related genera (Aplagiognathus Thomson, 1861; Archodontes Lameere, 1903; and Mallodonopsis Thomson, 1861), and its tribal position discussed. A lectotype for Mallodonopsis corrosus is here designated with the species redescribed and figured

Incentivizing Excellence: A Suggestion for Merit-Based Reductions from a Twenty-Six-Year Federal Prison Insider

America’s prison population has soared since the early 1970s, when a commitment to mass incarceration began. We now incarcerate more people than any other nation. Further, recidivism rates show that the longer we expose people to “corrections,” the less likely those people become to emerge as law-abiding, contributing citizens. As Justice Kennedy has said, our nation incarcerates far too many people, and they serve sentences that are far too long. We can improve the outcomes of our nation’s prison system by incentivizing a pursuit of excellence, creating mechanisms through which people in prison can earn freedom in gradually increasing levels through merit. The late University of Chicago Law Professor Norval Morris wrote about a merit-based system on Australia’s Norfolk Island. Stanford Law Professor Joan Petersilia has also written about merit-based systems in The Oxford Handbook of Sentencing and Corrections. This Essay, authored by someone who served twenty-six years in federal prisons of every security level, offers suggestions to implement a merit-based system in the U.S. prison system. The article disrupts the concept that we should measure justice through the length of time that an individual serves in prison. Rather, following the principles that have made America prosperous, this Essay posits the theory that we should pursue justice differently. Instead of waiting for calendar pages to turn, we should incentivize people in prison to pursue a path that will lead to their emergence as law-abiding, contributing citizens. The Essay suggests that we should measure the success of our prison system by the outcomes it produces. It makes a contribution to discussions on how we should reform our nation’s sentencing and prison systems