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Ebook Dynamic Financial Index Models: Modeling Conditional Dependencies via Graphs

Submitted by puput on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 01:55

Since the seminal work of Sharpe (1964), Financial Index Models are in the core of asset pricing and portfolio allocation problems. These models assume that all systematic variation in the returns of financial securities can be explained by one, or a set of market indices (factors). The central empirical implication of this assumption is a highly structured covariance matrix for the distribution of returns as, after conditioning on the chosen set of market indices, the residual covariance matrix is diagonal. The attractiveness of this approach is immediate as it offers a very simple, economically justifiable and stable way to estimate potentially very large covariance matrices. A vast body of literature is dedicated to testing the validity of Index Models and the selection of indices we refer the reader to Cochrane (2001) for a detailed account of the area.

The covariance matrix of returns is a key input in building optimal portfolios and its estimation is often challenging as the number of parameters grows exponentially with the number of assets considered. It is necessary, therefore, to work with structured models that reduce the dimensionality of the problem and deliver more effective estimates and, in turn, better investment decisions. In this paper, we explore a generalization of Financial Index Models with more complex patterns of covariation between returns by allowing conditional dependencies via the introduction of graphical constraints. We work with the matrix-variate dynamic graphical model (DGM) framework of Carvalho & West (2007a,b) but, unlike their original work, graphs are used to increase complexity and not to reduce it.

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Ebook Diabetes and the disadvantaged: reducing health inequalities in the UK

Submitted by puput on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 03:29

Diabetes is one of the greatest health challenges facing the UK today. The numbers diagnosed are expected to reach over 3 million by 2010. Around half these cases will be people from disadvantaged communities. These are also the people who are less likely to access the appropriate care. Unless it is diagnosed and effectively treated diabetes can put people at risk of complications such as heart and kidney disease, blindness, strokes and amputations. Deaths from diabetes are expected to rise by 25 per cent in the next 10 years.

This report looks at the current link between diabetes and socio economic deprivation in the UK. It also examines possible solutions to tackling this pattern of high diabetes prevalence and poor outcomes amongst diverse communities. These groups by definition include: people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, people with diabetes and severe mental illness, prisoners with diabetes, homeless people with diabetes and refugees/asylum seekers, young people, the elderly and people in residential homes. A common theme running through most of these groups is deprivation and socio economic disadvantage.

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Ebook Special Dietary Needs Manual

Submitted by puput on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 04:15

In recent years, we have seen increasing emphasis on the importance of ensuring that children with disabilities have the same opportunities as other children to receive an education and education related benefits, such as school meals. Congress first addressed this concern in section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities in the programs or activities of any agency of the federal government's executive branch or any organization receiving federal financial assistance. For schools, these laws are enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the United States Department of Education.

Subsequently, Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 which requires that a free and appropriate public education be provided for children with disabilities, who are aged 3 through 21, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a comprehensive law which broadens and extends civil rights protections for Americans with disabilities. One effect of these laws has been an increase in the number of children with disabilities who are being educated in regular school programs. In some cases, the disability may prevent the child from eating meals prepared for the general school population. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) nondiscrimination regulation (7 CFR 15 (b)), as well as the regulations governing the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, make it clear that substitutions to the regular meal MUST be made for children who are unable to eat school meals because of their disabilities, when that need is certified by a licensed physician.

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