A Theory of Child Protection against Kidnapping

This paper studies the microeconomics of child vulnerability to kidnapping in an environment where child protection is produced through a private effort, a public investment and a foreign aid. We first show that in absence of public investment and foreign aid, private investment in child protection may exhibit a vicious cycle of rising child's vulnerability, which justify public production of child safety resources on efficiency grounds. However, the introduction of a redistributive taxation to finance public investment may lead to a reduction of the global child protection, and then to an increase of the number of kidnapped children. In addition, richer families prefer private production of child safety resources to public production, while poorer families are in favour of public production. In this context, a foreign help is useful to deal with this disagreement. Nevertheless, foreign aid may raise an aid dependency. We then conclude that State and international organisms have a duty to assist households for building a protective environment. However, State's policy and foreign aid have to be chosen with care in order to avoid crowding out the parents' effort, and create an aid dependency.Child trafficking, child kidnapping, public policy, foreign aid, vulnerability

Innovation and Information Acquisition Under Time Inconsistency and Uncertainty

We propose to analyse the hyperbolic discounting preferences effect on the innovator's research investment decision. Investing in research allows him to acquire information, and then to reduce the uncertainty of the risks of his project. We find that whatever the innovator's preferences, that is hyperbolic or time-consistent, there exists a research investment constraint that limits the information acquisition. However, even if the information is free, while a time-consistent agent always acquires information, a hyperbolic agent may prefer staying ignorant. We also emphasize that hyperbolic discounting preferences induce and information precision constraint that leads the hyperbolic innovator to ignore the information whilethe time-consistent innovator gets it. Moreover, the possibility that the agent has a commitment power in the future strengthens this ignorance strategy. Finally, we investigate the impact of existing liability rules on the innovator's decision to acquire information.Innovation, information acquisition, uncertainty, self-control, time inconsistency, liability rules

Innovation and information acquisition under time inconsistency and uncertainty

This paper analyzes the impact of hyperbolic discounting preferences on theagent's information acquisition decision who wants to undertake a potentialdangerous activity for human health or the environment. We find that belowcertain discount rate threshold, an agent prefers ignoring information andcontinuing his project. On the other hand, above this threshold, it is optimal forhim to acquire information, and the investment for acquiring the information isincreasing with the discount rate. We then conclude that hyperbolic discountingpreferences limit the information acquisition. Moreover, we explain that the lackof self-control induced by hyperbolic discounting preferences also restraints theinformation acquisition. Finally, we analyze the efficiency of the strict liabilityrule and the negligence rule to motivate the agent to acquire information.Innovation, information acquisition, uncertainty, self-control, time inconsistency,liability rules

Manufacturing Doubt

In their persistent fight to affect regulation, firms have developed specific strategies to exploit scientific uncertainty. They have spent large amounts of money to generate and publicize favorable scientific findings, to discredit and downplay unfavorable ones and to shape the public’s perceptions through large-scale communication campaigns. We develop a new model to study the interplay between scientific uncertainty, firms’ communication and public policies. The government is benevolent but populist and maximizes social welfare as perceived by citizens. The industry can provide costly evidence that its activity is not harmful. Citizens incorrectly treat the industry’s information on par with scientific knowledge. We characterize the industry’s optimal communication policy. As scientists become increasingly convinced that the industrial activity is harmful, firms first devote more and more resources to reassure people. When scientists’ beliefs reach a critical threshold, however, the industry stops its efforts abruptly. We then study the impact of firms’ communication on scientific funding. A populist government may, perversely, want to support research to better allow firms to miscommunicate. Populist policies can entail significant welfare losses. Establishing an independent funding agency always reduces these losses and may lead to under- or over- investment in research with respect to the first-best

Swiss holacratic organizations’ strategies illustrated by their recruitment practices

The ability to respond quickly to an increasingly changing environment is nowadays an important business imperative for organizations. Hierarchical models are reaching their limits. With a shift towards agility coupled to new employee expectations for a meaningful occupational environment, self-managing models have developed worldwide over the last decade and are getting more managerial and scholarly attention. One of these new organizational models is Holacracy, where authority is decentralized, that dynamically updates and where changes sensed in the environment are rapidly processed. Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest relative (number 1) and absolute (number 4) number of organizations using Holacracy. In holacratic organisations where each individual has a high responsibility in fulfilling the company purpose and strategy, the recruitment process is expected to reflect more directly the company purpose and strategy than in hierarchical organisations. Through a qualitative analysis of the holacratic organizations in Switzerland, using the analysis of their digital resources and semi-structured interviews, it was possible to assess their recruiting strategy, practices and targeted candidate profiles. Among the main findings, we saw their recruiting strategies are closely related to their main strategies, and both are continuously adjusted according to tensions sensed in the environment. Another element is that most interviewed companies (small and medium) rely a lot on their network for recruiting. Lastly, we learned that individuals’ qualities like self-organization, eagerness to learn, standing up for yourself, communicating well with your peers, the ability to question oneself, and sometimes having past experience in self-management models, are among the characteristics likely to help a candidate enter and thrive in a Holacracy

People's perception and cost effectiveness of home confinement during an influenza pandemic evidence from the French case

Online firstIn France, home confinement is not a common preventive measure against an influenza pandemic, although it is used around the world. Based on a stated method approach, we analyze the attitude that the French would adopt if this measure were put in place. Next, we propose a cost–benefit analysis to discuss the cost-effectiveness of this measure. We find that over three-quarters of respondents report complying with home confinement. Their choice depends on their individual characteristics, the interaction they may have with an infected person and home confinement conditions, but not their experience with preventive measures. We find that behaviors such as sensitivity to certainty, selfishness and altruism emerge. As far as cost-effectiveness is concerned, our study shows that home confinement is a prevention path that should not be neglected and should even be prescribed.Bien que le confinement soit utilisé dans le monde entier comme mesure préventive contre une pandémie de grippe, en France, il n'est encore pas très employé. Nous analysons l'attitude que les Français adopteraient si cette mesure était mise en place. Ensuite, nous proposons une analyse pour discuter du rapport coût-efficacité de cette mesure. Nous obtenons que plus des trois quarts des répondants déclarent qu'ils se conformeraient au confinement. Leur choix dépend de leurs caractéristiques individuelles, de l'interaction qu'ils peuvent avoir avec une personne infectée et des conditions de confinement, mais pas de leur expérience des mesures préventives. Nous constatons que des comportements tels que la sensibilité à la certitude, l'égoïsme et l'altruisme émergent. En ce qui concerne le rapport coût-efficacité, notre étude montre que le confinement est une voie de prévention qui ne devrait pas être négligée et devrait même être prescrite

Selective inhibition of GluN2D-containing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors prevents tissue plasminogen activator-promoted neurotoxicity both in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND: Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) exerts multiple functions in the central nervous system, depending on the partner with which it interacts. In particular, tPA acts as a positive neuromodulator of N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamatergic receptors (NMDAR). At the molecular level, it has been proposed that the pro-neurotoxicity mediated by tPA might occur through extrasynaptic NMDAR containing the GluN2D subunit. Thus, selective antagonists targeting tPA/GluN2D-containing NMDAR signaling would be of interest to prevent noxious effects of tPA. RESULTS: Here, we compared three putative antagonists of GluN2D-containing NMDAR and we showed that the new compound UBP145 ((2R*,3S*)-1-(9-bromophenan-threne-3-carbonyl)piperazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid) is far more selective for GluN2D subunits than memantine and PPDA (phenanthrene derivative (2S*, 3R*)-1-(phenanthrene-2-carbonyl)piperazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid). Indeed, in vitro, in contrast to the two other compounds, UBP145 prevented NMDA toxicity only in neurons expressing GluN2D (ie, in cortical but not hippocampal neurons). Furthermore, in cultured cortical neurons, UBP145 fully prevented the pro-excitotoxic effect of tPA. In vivo, we showed that UBP145 potently prevented the noxious action of exogenous tPA on excitotoxic damages. Moreover, in a thrombotic stroke model in mice, administration of UBP145 prevented the deleterious effect of late thrombolysis by tPA. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, tPA exerts noxious effects on neurons by acting on GluN2D-containing NMDAR and pharmacological antagonists of GluN2D-containing NMDAR could be used to prevent the ability of tPA to promote neurotoxicity

Matrix metalloproteinase-10 effectively reduces infarct size in experimental stroke by enhancing fibrinolysis via a thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor-mediated mechanism

BACKGROUND: The fibrinolytic and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) systems cooperate in thrombus dissolution and extracellular matrix proteolysis. The plasminogen/plasmin system activates MMPs, and some MMPs have been involved in the dissolution of fibrin by targeting fibrin(ogen) directly or by collaborating with plasmin. MMP-10 has been implicated in inflammatory/thrombotic processes and vascular integrity, but whether MMP-10 could have a profibrinolytic effect and represent a promising thrombolytic agent is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: The effect of MMP-10 on fibrinolysis was studied in vitro and in vivo, in MMP-10-null mice (Mmp10(-/-)), with the use of 2 different murine models of arterial thrombosis: laser-induced carotid injury and ischemic stroke. In vitro, we showed that MMP-10 was capable of enhancing tissue plasminogen activator-induced fibrinolysis via a thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor inactivation-mediated mechanism. In vivo, delayed fibrinolysis observed after photochemical carotid injury in Mmp10(-/-) mice was reversed by active recombinant human MMP-10. In a thrombin-induced stroke model, the reperfusion and the infarct size in sham or tissue plasminogen activator-treated animals were severely impaired in Mmp10(-/-) mice. In this model, administration of active MMP-10 to wild-type animals significantly reduced blood reperfusion time and infarct size to the same extent as tissue plasminogen activator and was associated with shorter bleeding time and no intracranial hemorrhage. This effect was not observed in thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor-deficient mice, suggesting thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor inactivation as one of the mechanisms involved in the MMP-10 profibrinolytic effect. CONCLUSIONS: A novel profibrinolytic role for MMP-10 in experimental ischemic stroke is described, opening new pathways for innovative fibrinolytic strategies in arterial thrombosis

A Theory of Child Protection against Kidnapping

This paper studies the microeconomics of child vulnerability to kidnapping in an environment where child protection is produced through a private effort, a public investment and a foreign aid. We first show that in absence of public investment and foreign aid, private investment in child protection may exhibit a vicious cycle of rising child's vulnerability, which justify public production of child safety resources on efficiency grounds. However, the introduction of a redistributive taxation to finance public investment may lead to a reduction of the global child protection, and then to an increase of the number of kidnapped children. In addition, richer families prefer private production of child safety resources to public production, while poorer families are in favour of public production. In this context, a foreign help is useful to deal with this disagreement. Nevertheless, foreign aid may raise an aid dependency. We then conclude that State and international organisms have a duty to assist households for building a protective environment. However, State's policy and foreign aid have to be chosen with care in order to avoid crowding out the parents' effort, and create and aid dependency