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Mortgage pricing and monetary policy
No full textThis paper examines how central bank policies influence mortgage pricing in the United Kingdom. It shows that lenders price discriminate by offering two-part tariffs of interest rates and origination fees, and during unconventional monetary policies like the Funding for Lending Scheme, lenders reduced interest rates while increasing fees. Using a model of mortgage demand and lender competition, we find that central bank policies increased mortgage lending. Additionally, banning origination fees would reduce lending, as fees help lenders capture surplus while allowing them to price discriminate across borrowers with different sensitivities to rates and fees
Self-dual Maxwell fields from Clifford analysis
No full textThe study of complex functions is based around the study of holomorphic functions, satisfying the Cauchy-Riemann equations. The relatively recent field of Clifford Analysis lets us extend many results from Complex Analysis to higher dimensions. In this paper, I decompose the Cauchy-Riemann equations for a general Clifford algebra into grades using the Geometric Algebra formalism, and show that for the Spacetime Algebra Cl(3, 1) these equations are the equations for a self-dual source free Maxwell field, and for a massless uncharged Spinor. This shows a deep link between fundamental physics and the Clifford geometry of Spacetime
Space, place and knowledge: the case of temporary showrooms at Paris Fashion Week
No full textThis article discusses the role of space and place in the production and dissemination of fashion knowledge. Drawing on a multi-sited ethnography carried out at Paris Fashion Week events in 2017–2018 and in-depth interviews with thirteen wholesale fashion agents, it presents fashion knowledge as at once ‘sticky’ [Bathelt, Harald, Anders Malmberg, and Peter Maskell. 2004. “Clusters and knowledge: local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation.” Progress in Human Geography 28 (1): 31–56] and place-bound, while also global and free-flowing. This study analyses the relationship between fashion knowledge, geographic locations – such as the Marais neighborhood in Paris – and interior spaces – such as seasonal showrooms. Ultimately, it argues that spatial literacies are among the key forms of knowledge deployed by fashion wholesale professionals in their work: firstly, they need an intimate familiarity with the ever-shifting geographies of Paris fashion clusters; secondly, they must possess an aesthetic skill set that can enable them to quickly assemble particular atmospheres in temporary locations. Finally, by analysing the heterotopic [Foucault, Michel. 1984. Des Espaces Autres. Architecture, Mouvement, Continuité, 5: 46–49], neither-public-nor-private nature of fashion showrooms, this study considers how fashion week events exclude local residents, thus rearticulating the symbolic boundaries around the field of fashion
IPECAD modeling workshop 2023 cross-comparison challenge on cost-effectiveness models in Alzheimer's Disease
No full textDecision-analytic models assessing the value of emerging Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatments are challenged by limited evidence on short-term trial outcomes and uncertainty in extrapolating long-term patient-relevant outcomes. To improve understanding and foster transparency and credibility in modeling methods, we cross-compared AD decision models in a hypothetical context of disease-modifying treatment for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD. A benchmark scenario (US setting) was used with target population MCI due to AD and a set of synthetically generated hypothetical trial efficacy estimates. Treatment costs were excluded. Model predictions (10-year horizon) were assessed and discussed during a 2-day workshop. Nine modeling groups provided model predictions. Implementation of treatment effectiveness varied across models based on trial efficacy outcome selection (CDR-SB, CDR-global, MMSE, FAQ) and analysis method (observed severity transitions, change from baseline, progression hazard ratio, or calibration to these). Predicted mean time in MCI ranged from 2.6-5.2 years for control strategy, and from 0.1-1.0 years for difference between intervention and control strategies. Predicted quality-adjusted life-year gains ranged from 0.0-0.6 and incremental costs (excluding treatment costs) from -US11,896. Trial data can be implemented in different ways across health-economic models leading to large variation in model predictions. We recommend 1) addressing the choice of outcome measure and treatment effectiveness assumptions in sensitivity analysis, 2) a standardized reporting table for model predictions, and 3) exploring the use of registries for future AD treatments measuring long-term disease progression to reduce uncertainty of extrapolating short-term trial results by health economic models
Towards water regionalism? Examining the linkages between water, infrastructures, and regionalism in Turkey
No full textMoving beyond the purely material understanding of infrastructures, new perspectives in infrastructural regionalism assert that infrastructures and regions simultaneously shape each other. Drawing on this reciprocal relationship, we introduce the concept of ‘water regionalism’ to examine how regional factors, dynamics, and complexities shape water infrastructures, and how water infrastructures concurrently shape regions. Through qualitative research methodologies, we empirically demonstrate how this concept operates in practice by examining the history of regional planning and hydraulic infrastructure development in Turkey, particularly the process of how the South-eastern Anatolia Project (GAP) and the GAP region have shaped each other since the 1970s
Population-health impact of new drugs recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England during 2000–20: a retrospective analysis
No full textHealth systems experience difficult trade-offs when paying for new drugs. In England, funding recommendations by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for new drugs might generate health gains, but inevitably result in forgone health as the funds cannot be used for alternative treatments and services. We aimed to evaluate the population-health impact of NICE recommendations for new drugs during 2000-20. For this retrospective analysis, we identified technology appraisals for new drugs in England published in NICE's publicly available database of appraisals between 2000 and 2020. We excluded products with terminated appraisals, not recommended, or subsequently withdrawn from the market and excluded appraisals in programmes focusing on medical devices, diagnostics, or interventional procedures. We included drugs that underwent NICE appraisal within 5 years of initial regulatory approval. We collected data on drug name, appraised indication, and specific features of both the drug and its appraisal. We noted the value for money offered by new drugs, expressed as the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), and data on health benefits, expressed as quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). We estimated the number of patients receiving new drugs recommended by NICE using proprietary data on the total volumes of new drugs sold in England between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2020. We calculated the net health effect of each appraisal using the difference between the incremental QALY gains from implementing the new drug within the National Health Service (NHS) and the estimated QALYs that could hypothetically be obtained by reallocating the same funds to other NHS services or treatments. We obtained forgone QALYs by dividing the incremental cost of the new drug by the health-opportunity cost of NHS expenditure. NICE appraised 332 unique pharmaceuticals between 2000 and 2020; 276 (83%) had positive recommendations. Of these 276, 207 (75%) had a NICE appraisal within 5 years of regulatory approval. We included 183 (88%) of 207 drugs in this analysis, after excluding drugs that did not meet eligibility criteria. The median QALY gain across all 339 appraisals was 0·49 (IQR 0·15-1·13), equivalent to an additional half a year in full health. Median ICER for recommending new drugs increased from £21 545 (IQR 14 175-26 173) per QALY gained for 14 appraisals published between 2000 and 2004 to £28 555 (19 556-33 712) for 165 appraisals published between 2015 and 2020 (p=0·014). Median ICER varied by therapeutic area, ranging from £6478 (3526-12 912) for 12 appraisals of anti-infective drugs to £30 000 (22 395-45 870) for 144 appraisals of oncology drugs (
Seeing into the trees; why EU personnel and professionals studies are flourishing and why they matter
No full textIn a detailed bibliographical essay, the editors examine the way in which EU personnel and professionals studies have developed and evolved over time, gradually branching out into different disciplines and different cultural traditions. They chart the way the literature has followed the growth and evolution of the EU itself, including more institutions, agencies and other bodies, more policy areas and more member states. They argue for an interdisciplinary approach whilst also pushing at the boundaries of different disciplines, concluding that such approaches can only strengthen the general impact of EU studies
Nation branding in the Americas: contested politics and identities
No full textNation Branding in the Americas: Contested Politics and Identities provides an overview of nation branding in the Americas, an often neglected continent(s) in debates about the creation, dissemination and management of national images. Drawing on insights from promotional cultures, nationalism, geopolitics, media and communication, as well as their own research, the authors look at national promotion experiences in twelve countries - Canada, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile - , examining how these cases relate to broader challenges and commonalities, such as the relationship between nation branding and stereotypes, invisibility, heritage or internal contradictions. Nation Branding in the Americas: Contested Politics and Identities is an important contribution to the study of practices and concepts such as nation branding, public diplomacy, soft power, and strategic communication. It highlights the multifaceted nature of nation branding, and how this can be used to perpetuate local and global hierarchies, legitimize the agendas of specific governments, and discipline the inhabitants of a nation, but also become a venue for people to negotiate and communicate the kind of society they want to be. The book will therefore be of interest for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students specialized in marketing, media and communication, and international relations. It will also appeal to professionals in public diplomacy, strategic communication, public relations, and branding, offering a broad overview to the practice and discussion of national promotion in an increasingly contested and cacophonic global communication environment
Corporate criminal liability under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
No full textThe passage into law of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) marks the first time that Parliament has made significant changes to the common law principles of corporate criminal liability. First, for fault-based crimes, the ECCTA 2023 extends the common law practice of identifying a company with the criminal acts of its directors. By virtue of section 196 of the Act, a company may now also be identified with fault-based criminal acts engaged in by its ‘senior managers’ below directorial level. Secondly, the ECCTA 2023 creates a new corporate offence of failing to prevent fraud, although this may be committed only by so-called ‘large organisations’. I argue that the first of these reforms was not properly thought through, and that it should in any event have been made largely redundant by giving wider scope to the second of these reforms. An opportunity was missed in the ECCTA 2023 to make a failure-to-prevent serious crime a more generally applicable principle of corporate criminal liability
Governing in the face of a global crisis: when do voters punish and reward incumbent governments?
No full textThe recent COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare opportunity to understand how citizens attribute responsibility for governments’ responses to unanticipated negative—and in this case, systemic—exogenous shocks. Classical accounts of responsibility are complicated when crises are pervasive, involve multiple valence dimensions, and where individuals can make relative assessments of performance. We fielded a conjoint experiment in 16 countries with 22,147 respondents. In this experiment, subjects made re-election decisions regarding 178,184 randomly assigned incumbent profiles. We find that incumbents’ performance along both health and economic dimensions drives these hypothetical reelection decisions. Using machine learning techniques, we find only muted heterogeneity in the magnitude and distribution of these treatment effects. This result suggests that these widely reported performance signals have consistent political effects across countries. In a complementary analysis, we also find that subjects’ intentions to vote for incumbent governments are positively correlated with subjective and relative evaluations of the government’s pandemic performance, along both health and economic dimensions. These results provide consistent evidence that evaluations of pandemic performance matter politically