Premium Risk net of Reinsurance: from short-term to medium term assessment

Solvency II requirements introduced new issues for actuarial risk management in non-life insurance, challenging the market to have a consciousness of its own risk profile, and also investigating the sensitivity of the solvency ratio depending on the insurance risks and technical results on either a short-term and medium-term perspective. For this aim, in the present paper, a partial internal model for premium risk is developed for three multi-line non-life insurers, and the impact of some different business mixes is analyzed. Furthermore, the risk-mitigation and profitability impact of reinsurance in the premium risk model are introduced, and a global framework for a feasible application of this model consistent with a medium-term analysis is provided. Numerical results are also figured out with evidence of various effects for several portfolios and reinsurance arrangements, pointing out the main reasons for these differences

F-theory on singular spaces

We propose a framework for treating F-theory directly, without resolving or deforming its singularities. This allows us to explore new sectors of gauge theories, including exotic bound states such as T-branes, in a global context. We use the mathematical framework known as Eisenbud's matrix factorizations for hypersurface singularities. We display the usefulness of this technique by way of examples, including affine singularities of both conifold and orbifold type, as well as a class of full-fledged compact elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures, minor revision

F-theory at order α′3\alpha'^3

We study the effective physics of F-theory at order $\alpha'^3$ in derivative expansion. We show that the ten-dimensional type IIB eight-derivative couplings involving the graviton and the axio-dilaton naturally descend from pure gravity in twelve dimensions. Upon compactification on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfolds, the non-trivial vacuum profile for the axio-dilaton leads to a new, genuinely N=1, $\alpha'^3$ correction to the four-dimensional effective action.Comment: 24 pages, minor improvements, typos correcte

T-branes through 3d mirror symmetry

T-branes are exotic bound states of D-branes, characterized by mutually non-commuting vacuum expectation values for the worldvolume scalars. The M/F-theory geometry lifting D6/D7-brane configurations is blind to the T-brane data. In this paper, we make this data manifest, by probing the geometry with an M2-brane. We find that the effect of a T-brane is to deform the membrane worldvolume superpotential with monopole operators, which partially break the three-dimensional flavor symmetry, and reduce supersymmetry from N=4 to N=2. Our main tool is 3d mirror symmetry. Through this language, a very concrete framework is developed for understanding T-branes in M-theory. This leads us to uncover a new class of N=2 quiver gauge theories, whose Higgs branches mimic those of membranes at ADE singularities, but whose Coulomb branches differ from their N=4 counterparts.Comment: 36 page

Kiakhta ou l'épaisseur de la frontière

International audienceThis article is a reflection on the question of what is a “frontier.” The history of the three Kiakhtas (this name also designates Troitskosavsk and the Chinese trading town of Maimaicheng) reveals throughout the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries some particularly exceptional features. These were due to the unique position of the city on the border between the Russian and Chinese Empires. As a result of important trading and smuggling activities, which gave rise to a pidgin language between Russian and Chinese merchants and to the vanishing of social barriers, this frontier, which gathers together people and civilizations rather than separates them, became a lively battering hub. A window onto the world, the “Millionnaires’ town,” known as “The Venice of the Desert,” was also an exchange post for revolutionary ideas, an outpost for Orientalism and the cultural centre of Transbaikalia. Engaging with Kiakhta – which is considered here from the point of view of Western culture (including Russia) – is an opportunity to broach various debates: the fashion of chinoiserie in Russia as well as asiatism in that country; the status of Siberia given its proximity to China; and the historiography of Russian-Chinese relations.Cet article s’ordonne autour d’une réflexion sur la frontière. L’histoire de la triple ville de Kiakhta (celle-ci désignant également Troitskosavsk et Maimaicheng, la ville marchande chinoise) révèle, tout au long des xviiie et xixe siècles, des particularités assez exceptionnelles qui tiennent à sa position aux limites des Empires russe et chinois. La frontière, en ce lieu, a réuni plus qu’elle n’a séparé ; elle s’est animée grâce à un commerce fondé sur le troc et à un trafic d’envergure ; elle a engendré un pidgin à usage des marchands russes et chinois et, phénomène plus singulier, elle a entraîné dans le même temps un décloisonnement social marqué. Fenêtre sur le monde, la « ville des millionnaires », dénommée aussi la « Venise des sables », a été à la fois un lieu de passage des idées révolutionnaires, un avant-poste de l’orientalisme et le centre culturel de la Transbaïkalie. L’évocation de Kiakhta, abordée ici dans une optique occidentale (russe incluse), est l’occasion d’effleurer des débats concernant la mode des chinoiseries en Russie, l’asiatisme russe, le statut de la Sibérie entre Chine et Russie occidentale ainsi que l’historiographie des relations russo-chinoises

A systematic review of the influence of taxation on corporate capital structure

Purpose: The aim of this paper is a systematic review of the corporate finance literature on tax and capital structure since the complexity of legislation on taxation. It is a challenge for to researchers to understand the influence of this legislation on corporate financing. Approach/Methodology/Design: A systematic review is a useful and important tool to check what has being studied and what are the gaps on the specific subject. Therefore, the study provides an examination of a sample of 33 most cited articles in the period from 2013 to 2017 that have been published in the main international financial journals. It is assumed that this analysis is sufficiently robust to support and contribute to the knowledge gaps identification. Findings: It presents the most relevant papers about the influence of taxes on corporate capital structure, classifies and codifies the various characteristics of these articles, describes the strengths and the weaknesses of the studies in the available literature, and provides an agenda and a research framework to address the key gaps in the current knowledge on the theme. Practical Implications: The study will contribute positively to the understanding of foreign direct investment for the governments, world organizations, academia, companies and investors. Originality/Value: To the best of the authors´ knowledge, this is the first systematic review identifying what is missing in the literature on taxation and capital structure.peer-reviewe

A New Approach to Electricity Market Clearing With Uniform Purchase Price and Curtailable Block Orders

The European market clearing problem is characterized by a set of heterogeneous orders and rules that force the implementation of heuristic and iterative solving methods. In particular, curtailable block orders and the uniform purchase price (UPP) pose serious difficulties. A block is an order that spans over multiple hours, and can be either fully accepted or fully rejected. The UPP prescribes that all consumers pay a common price, i.e., the UPP, in all the zones, while producers receive zonal prices, which can differ from one zone to another. The market clearing problem in the presence of both the UPP and block orders is a major open issue in the European context. The UPP scheme leads to a non-linear optimization problem involving both primal and dual variables, whereas block orders introduce multi-temporal constraints and binary variables into the problem. As a consequence, the market clearing problem in the presence of both blocks and the UPP can be regarded as a non-linear integer programming problem involving both primal and dual variables with complementary and multi-temporal constraints. The aim of this paper is to present a non-iterative and heuristic-free approach for solving the market clearing problem in the presence of both curtailable block orders and the UPP. The solution is exact, with no approximation up to the level of resolution of current market data. By resorting to an equivalent UPP formulation, the proposed approach results in a mixed-integer linear program, which is built starting from a non-linear integer bilevel programming problem. Numerical results using real market data are reported to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The model has been implemented in Python, and the code is freely available on a public repository.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Translating Tolkien. The thin line between translation and misrepresentation. An italian case-study

This article deals with the translation of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. It investigates the possibility that translation may represent a potential weapon, in the hands of tolkien\u27s patronizing critics, to transform from the inside , id est through misrepresentation, what could not be incorporated or normalized “from the outside”, i.e. by traditional criticism. The basis for these considerations is a case-study related to the Italian context. Recently (2019), the previous Italian translation of The Lord of the Rings was withdrawn from the market by the publisher, in order to replace it with a different one. The way in which this operation was conducted and its results have caused severe perplexity in many Italian readers of Tolkien

Italian Lifelong Learning in Europe: Notes to the Second Millennium

In Italy the Education and Training System is undergoing a period of complex reorganization. This occurs within a European Integration Process aimed at achieving a full Citizenship right and the maximum mobility among Member States. Starting from the latest European Directives, which make the concept of Competence the cornerstone of Education, Training and Work, and examining data from some very recent surveys of national and international significance, here we propose a picture of the current Italian situation