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Disaggregate wealth and aggregate consumption: An investigation of empirical relationships for the G7
To date, testing for wealth effects in consumption has mainly used aggregate wealth definitions,
and/or is on a single-country basis. This study breaks new ground by analysing disaggregated wealth in
consumption functions for G7 countries. Contrary to other empirical work, illiquid financial wealth, (securities,
pensions and mortgage debt), tends to be a more significant long-run determinant of consumption than liquid
financial wealth. We suggest that this pattern reflects a shift from liquidity constrained to life cycle behaviour
following financial liberalisation. Results were robust in SURE analysis, tested in a nested manner, using
varying definition of liquid assets and using non-property income instead of personal disposable income. Wald
tests indicate similar long-run behaviour for all EU countries including the UK
Panel estimation of the impact of exchange rate uncertainty on investment in the major industrial countries
We estimate the impact of exchange rate uncertainty on investment, using panel estimation
featuring a decomposition of exchange rate volatility derived from the components
GARCH model of Engle and Lee (1999). For a poolable subsample of EU countries, it is
the transitory and not the permanent component of volatility which adversely affects
investment, implying high frequency shocks of the type that may be generated by volatile
short term capital flows are most deleterious for investment. Results based on EGARCH
also suggest that the response of investment to exchange rate uncertainty may depend
partly on the sign of the initial shock. (100 words
Term Structure Dynamics, Macro-Finance Factors and Model Uncertainty
This paper models and predicts the term structure of US interest rates in a data rich environment. We allow the model dimension and parameters to change over time, accounting for model uncertainty and sudden structural changes. The proposed time-varying parameter Nelson-Siegel Dynamic Model Averaging (DMA) predicts yields better than standard benchmarks. DMA performs better since it incorporates more macro-finance information during recessions. The proposed method allows us to estimate plausible real-time term premia, whose countercyclicality weakened during the financial crisis
Decomposing Global Yield Curve Co-Movement
This paper explains the co-movement of global yield curve dynamics using a Bayesian hierarchical factor model augmented with macro fundamentals. Our novel modeling approach reveals the relative importance of global shocks through two transmission channels: the policy and risk channels. Global inflation is the most important traditional macro fundamentals for international yields and operates through a policy channel. Economic uncertainty and sentiment are also important in driving global yield co-movements, through a risk channel
Concentric left ventricular remodeling and aortic stiffness: A comparison of obesity and hypertension
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licens
Habitat structure: a fundamental concept and framework for urban soil ecology
Habitat structure is defined as the composition and arrangement of physical matter at a location. Although habitat structure is the physical template underlying ecological patterns and processes, the concept is relatively unappreciated and underdeveloped in ecology. However, it provides a fundamental concept for urban ecology because human activities in urban ecosystems are often targeted toward management of habitat structure. In addition, the concept emphasizes the fine-scale, on-the-ground perspective needed in the study of urban soil ecology. To illustrate this, urban soil ecology research is summarized from the perspective of habitat structure effects. Among the key conclusions emerging from the literature review are: (1) habitat structure provides a unifying theme for multivariate research about urban soil ecology; (2) heterogeneous urban habitat structures influence soil ecological variables in different ways; (3) more research is needed to understand relationships among sociological variables, habitat structure patterns and urban soil ecology. To stimulate urban soil ecology research, a conceptual framework is presented to show the direct and indirect relationships among habitat structure and ecological variables. Because habitat structure serves as a physical link between sociocultural and ecological systems, it can be used as a focus for interdisciplinary and applied research (e.g., pest management) about the multiple, interactive effects of urbanization on the ecology of soils
Putting our money where their mouth is: alignment of charitable aims with charity investments - tensions in policy and practice
Given the values-driven nature of the mission of most charities, it might be expected that investment behaviour would be similarly values-driven. This paper documents the ethical investment policies and practices of the largest UK charities and explores how these are aligned with the charitable aims, drawing upon accountability, behavioural and managerial perspectives as theoretical lenses. The study employs two distinct research methods: responses to a postal questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews with selected charities. The evidence indicates that a significant minority of large charities do not have a written ethical investment policy. Charities with larger investments, fundraising charities and religious charities were more likely to have a written ethical policy. We suggest that there is a pressing need for improved alignment between charities' aims and their investment practices and better monitoring of investment policies
Spanish medical students’ attitudes and views towards Mental Health and Psychiatry: a multicentric cross-sectional study.
Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes
towards mental illness and psychiatry among fifth year
Spanish medical students.
Methods The study included 171 students from three medical
schools located in different areas of Spain: Cádiz; UCA (n=
113), Madrid; San Pablo-CEU (n=22), and Barcelona; UAB
(n=36). They responded, prior to their undergraduate medical
course in psychiatry, to the AMI questionnaire to measure the
attitudes towards mental illness and to Balon’s adapted questionnaire
to investigate their view towards psychiatry.
Results The students (93.4 %) had a positive attitude towards
mental illness (AMI). Attitudes towards psychiatry were fairly
positive with a few negative views, specifically regarding the
role of psychiatrists (items 11 and 13) and the prestige of the
specialty (item 16). There were some statistically significant
differences between the three medical schools in the perception
of psychiatry as a medical discipline. A better attitude
towards mental illness was associated with a better view of the
overall merits of psychiatry.
Conclusions Findings suggest that Spanish medical students
do not have a negative attitude towards mental illness and they
have a good perception of psychiatry, although there are still
some misconceptions about this specialty. These student’s
attitudes could favor an appropriate management of patients
suffering from mental illness
Multiphase modelling of tumour growth and extracellular matrix interaction: mathematical tools and applications
Resorting to a multiphase modelling framework, tumours are described here as a mixture of tumour and host cells within a porous structure constituted by a remodelling extracellular matrix (ECM), which is wet by a physiological extracellular fluid. The model presented in this article focuses mainly on the description of mechanical interactions of the growing tumour with the host tissue, their influence on tumour growth, and the attachment/detachment mechanisms between cells and ECM. Starting from some recent experimental evidences, we propose to describe the interaction forces involving the extracellular matrix via some concepts coming from viscoplasticity. We then apply the model to the description of the growth of tumour cords and the formation of fibrosis
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