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How much capital should financial intermediaries hold? We propose a general equilibrium model with a financial sector that makes risky long-term loans to firms, funded by deposits from savers. Government guarantees create a role for bank capital regulation. The model captures the sharp and persistent drop in macro-economic aggregates and credit provision as well as the sharp change in credit spreads observed during financial crises. Policies requiring intermediaries to hold more capital reduce financial fragility, reduce the size of the financial and non-financial sectors, and lower intermediary profits. They redistribute wealth from savers to the owners of banks and non-financial firms. Pre-crisis capital requirements are close to optimal. Counter-cyclical capital requirements increase welfare.

Background and context Breastfeeding peer support is valued by women, but UK trials have not demonstrated efficacy. The ABA feasibility trial offered proactive peer support underpinned by behaviour change theory and an assets‐based approach to women having their first baby, regardless of feeding intention. This paper explores women's and infant feeding helpers' (IFHs) views of the different components of the ABA intervention. Setting and participants Trained IFHs offered 50 women an antenatal meeting to discuss infant feeding and identify community assets in two English sites—one with a paid peer support service and the other volunteer‐led. Postnatally, daily contact was offered for the first 2 weeks, followed by less frequent contact until 5 months. Methods Interviews with 21 women and focus groups/interviews with 13 IFHs were analysed using thematic and framework methods. Results Five themes are reported highlighting that women talked positively about the antenatal meeting, mapping their network of support, receiving proactive contact from their IFH, keeping in touch using text messaging and access to local groups. The face‐to‐face antenatal visit facilitated regular text‐based communication both in pregnancy and in the early weeks after birth. Volunteer IFHs were supportive of and enthusiastic about the intervention, whereas some of the paid IFHs disliked some intervention components and struggled with the distances to travel to participants. Conclusions This proactive community assets‐based approach with a woman‐centred focus was acceptable to women and IFHs and is a promising intervention warranting further research as to its effect on infant feeding outcomes.

The UK has low breastfeeding rates, with socioeconomic disparities. The Assets‐based feeding help Before and After birth (ABA) intervention was designed to be inclusive and improve infant feeding behaviours. ABA is underpinned by the behaviour change wheel and offers an assets‐based approach focusing on positive capabilities of individuals and communities, including use of a Genogram. This study aimed to investigate feasibility of intervention delivery within a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Nulliparous women ≥16 years, (n = 103) from two English sites were recruited and randomised to either intervention or usual care. The intervention – delivered through face‐to‐face, telephone and text message by trained Infant Feeding Helpers (IFHs) – ran from 30‐weeks' gestation until 5‐months postnatal. Outcomes included recruitment rates and follow‐up at 3‐days, 8‐weeks and 6‐months postnatal, with collection of future full trial outcomes via questionnaires. A mixed‐methods process evaluation included qualitative interviews with 30 women, 13 IFHs and 17 maternity providers; IFH contact logs; and fidelity checking of antenatal contact recordings. This study successfully recruited women, including teenagers, from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas; postnatal follow‐up rates were 68.0%, 85.4% and 80.6% at 3‐days, 8‐weeks and 6‐months respectively. Breastfeeding at 8‐weeks was obtained for 95.1% using routine data for non‐responders. It was possible to recruit and train peer supporters to deliver the intervention with adequate fidelity. The ABA intervention was acceptable to women, IFHs and maternity services. There was minimal contamination and no evidence of intervention‐related harm. In conclusion, the intervention is feasible to deliver within an RCT, and a definitive trial required.

In contemporary higher education, teachers and administrators must make choices about how best to allocate resources for maximum benefit. In many STEM fields, this has led to closer scrutiny of many costly offerings, such as laboratory and field experiences. In response, several investigators have highlighted the many educational benefits these high‐impact practices provide, while also shedding light on concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Field courses are especially notable for disproportionately engaging students from high socioeconomic backgrounds, racial and ethnic majorities, and—in some disciplines—men. To address inequities in STEM, field courses should therefore be investigated to better understand students who are underrepresented in the disciplines—whether based on their nationality, language proficiency, socioeconomic background, race or ethnicity, their gender identity or sexuality, etc. Here we report on findings from a series of interviews in which students in an international, graduate‐level field course discussed which of their identities, either visible or hidden, were most salient in the field‐course context. Respondents reflected on how these identities served as either promoters or barriers to engagement in the course, and shared course interactions that intersected with these identities in either positive or negative ways. Our analysis of these interviews allowed us to identify several key themes, among them the idea that the interviews themselves are a type of pedagogical intervention that instructors could adopt to promote inclusion. By identifying how student identities interact with course practices to impact engagement, we can begin to outline best pedagogical practices for field courses. Thus, we can ensure investments in these experiences benefit all students and help to make STEM diverse, equitable, and inclusive. To address inequities in STEM, field courses should therefore be investigated to better understand students who are underrepresented in the disciplines—whether based on their nationality, socioeconomic background, race or ethnicity, their gender identity or sexuality, etc. Here we report on findings from a series of interviews in which students in an international, graduate‐level field course discussed which of their identities, either visible or hidden, were most salient in the field‐course context. Our analysis of these interviews allowed us to identify several key themes, among them the idea that the interviews themselves were a type of pedagogical intervention that instructors could adopt to promote inclusion.

This paper responds to challenges around how to generate robust evidence in keeping with the principles of an asset-based approach based on mobilization of community strengths. The design of a collaborative evaluation of a multi-site Asset Based Community Development program is described and emergent learning discussed. A qualitative mixed method design was used to capture changes at community and program level drawing on diverse sources of evidence. Shared principles on the conduct of the evaluation were developed with program leads and community practitioners and opportunities for shared learning were built in. The paper distils learning on evaluation into six design features including the asset-based model as a framework, understandings of evidence and outcomes, ethical conduct, and the centrality of a collaborative and developmental approach. The paper concludes that these features form a coherent approach to asset-based evaluation which can link the theory and practice of Asset Based Community Development. Plain Language Summary Designing a collaborative evaluation of an Asset Based Community Development program Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a way of working with communities based on understanding the strengths within communities. It is difficult to evaluate whether ABCD works as each community is different and there is very little agreement about the best way to research ABCD. This paper responds to these challenges and describes in detail how we went about designing a collaborative evaluation of an ABCD program across multiple neighborhoods in one city. The methods used to capture changes at community and program level are discussed. We developed shared principles with program leads and community practitioners about how the evaluation should run and built in lots of opportunities for shared learning. The paper distils this learning on evaluation into six design features which are all in keeping with an asset-based approach. The paper concludes that these features can be used to guide other asset-based evaluations as they link the theory and practice of Asset Based Community Development.

We estimate a production-based general equilibrium model featuring demand- and supply-side uncertainty and an endogenous term premium. Using term structure and macroeconomic data, we find sizable effects of uncertainty on risk premia and business cycle fluctuations. Both demand- and supply-side uncertainty imply large contractions in real activity and an increase in term premia, but supply-side uncertainty has larger effects on inflation and investment. We introduce a novel analytical decomposition to illustrate how multiple distinct endogenous risk wedges account for these differences. Supply and demand uncertainty are strongly correlated in the beginning of our sample, but decouple after the Great Recession.

'Active ageing' has become core to ageing policy internationally. This paper argues that housing, and specifically home purchase, is fundamental to the governance of active ageing in liberal welfare states such as Australia, the UK, the US and Canada. Specifically, the paper expands understanding of how neoliberally inflected active ageing agendas are advanced in conjunction with housing consumption, and builds new knowledge of the governance of asset-based welfare, the investor subject, and housing marginality, showing how these practices and identities are governed temporally through ideas about what it means to age well. Arguments are advanced through analysis of Australian government ageing and age-connected housing strategies in the 20 years to 2015. These strategies construct three key connections between housing and ageing. First, housing is framed as a base (or location) for active ageing, with secure, appropriate and affordable housing depicted as enabling participation. Second, home ownership is positioned as an individual responsibility. In this framing home ownership becomes a 'choice' and means through which individuals can demonstrate responsibility by self-insuring against the fiscal risks of older age. Third, home ownership is connected to the activation of ideal ageing identities by enabling home owners as productive agers (the home as a form of income) and active consumers (home as a resource to fund prudential and age-defying consumption in older age). Significantly, in framing home ownership as an individual responsibility and choice the importance of structural factors shaping housing access are downplayed. This is a question of key geographical significance, foregrounding an interlinked agenda of not just how, but where, ageing should take place.

Purpose Grounded in strategic choice and resource-based views, this study aims to investigate the antecedents and consequences of relational strategic emphasis of foreign subsidiaries operating in Thailand. Four types of relational strategies were identified with associated differential performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Data collected via self-administered surveys from a diverse sample of 168 foreign subsidiaries were analyzed in two stages. First, multinomial logistic regression was used to test whether resource-bridging capability, nonmarket-based assets and market-based assets were significant predictors of relational strategy type. Then, multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine whether the four relational strategy types differed in their strategic performance and financial performance. Findings The three resource-based motives are significant predictors of relational strategy. Firms adopting the “dual-relational” strategy tend to have the highest level of resource-bridging capability and nonmarket-based assets while firms pursuing the “business-oriented” strategy are likely to possess a higher level of market-based assets. Extensive reliance on relational ties enables foreign subsidiaries to achieve a much higher level of strategic and financial performance than those that chose to only rely on transactional or contractual relations. Practical implications Foreign subsidiaries operating in emerging markets characterized by an unstable market environment have to establish good relationships with buyers, suppliers and distributors, as well as government agents. Originality/value Using a juxtaposition of political and business ties, a typology of the relational strategy was conceptualized. This study extends non-market strategy research by investigating the relationship between resource and capability in the choice of relational strategy. Diverse degrees of political and business ties show different impacts on strategic and financial performances.

Advancements in conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) have led to rapid growth in firms’ use of AI chatbots in customer service roles. While the shareholder wealth effects of AI chatbots have yet to be investigated, recent findings suggest that AI investment may contribute negatively to firm value. This cautionary evidence, and the growing prevalence of AI chatbots, underscore that a clear understanding of their impact on firm value is urgently needed. An event study of 153 AI chatbot announcements demonstrates that implementation of AI customer service chatbots generates a .22% abnormal stock return, indicating investors respond favorably to this practice. Importantly, B2B (vs. B2C) firms have substantially more to gain from implementing AI chatbot customer service. However, we find chatbot anthropomorphism interacts with customer type, as investors respond less (more) favorably to anthropomorphized chatbots used in B2B (B2C) customer service roles. Two additional studies provide support for this pattern of findings.

This paper explores the resources Accounting teachers draw on and how they use the identified resources in the teaching of Accounting in a rural school. The study adopted an interpretive qualitative case study and employed semi-structured individual interviews to collect data from the Accounting teachers. Thematic analysis revealed that Accounting teachers used capacities, skills and resources from the school, neighbouring schools and wider community outside the school to improve their teaching practices. Despite the continuous curriculum changes, the nature of the discipline of Accounting and the school's context, Accounting teachers were able to identify and utilise assets at different levels, starting from the talents and capacities of learners. The paper concludes that instead of using the deficits as a starting point in development of Accounting teachers, development must build upon the capacities and strengths that exist within the school community.