Do you have an idea for climate mitigation or adaptation in Tanzania that has the potential to attract private investors? Join the Mobilising More (MoMo) Challenge and submit your idea before August 31^st. The best proposal will win € 25,000 to further develop their business case.

How it works

• Do you have an idea how to involve the private sector in climate adaptation or mitigation in Tanzania?
• Go to the website www.momo4climate.org to submit your idea
• The MoMo Panel, consisting of financial experts, will assess your business case to determine its viability and the potential to mobilise private investments
• Late 2018 the best ideas will be presented in Tanzania for a live audience of investors that will select the winning proposal
• The winner will receive a € 25.000 price to strengthen and scale up their business case, with the support of the MoMo Panel
• Deadline for submitting proposals is 31^st of August

About MoMo Challenge

MoMo is an initiative from IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands (IUCN NL) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NL MFA). The aim of the MoMo initiative is to guide ideas that have strong potential to positively impact climate change to projects that are ‘investor-ready’.

MoMo Challenge Tanzania is held in cooperation with the Royal Dutch Embassy in Tanzania. Entrepreneurs, companies and non-government organisations are invited to bring forward innovative proposals with a business case that aims to attract private investment for a climate mitigation or adaptation project in Tanzania with a focus on the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor (SAGCOT).

Further, Information to apply online

This is a call to explore and implement initiatives supportive of the effective use of digital technologies for agricultural transformation in Africa.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). Its mission is to advance food and nutritional security, increase prosperity and encourage sound natural resource management in ACP countries.

CTA is launching a Call for proposals to support the implementation of ICT-enabled mechanisation services in Africa. Applications have to be sent by email by Thursday, 11 October 2018 @ 6:00 PM Netherlands time.

The overall indicative amount made available under this Grant / Call for Proposals is a maximum of Euro 250,000.

More information are available in the call documentation at the links below:

Applicants may send questions by email no later than 21 days before the deadline for receipt of applications to: Ken Lohento, Senior ICT4Ag Programme Coordinator, lohento@cta.int . Only inquiries (and not proposals) will be sent to that address. The email to which proposals will be sent is indicated in the Guidelines for Applicants.

Learn more

The National Geographic Society (NGS) and Microsoft’s AI for Earth program are partnering to support the exploration of how AI can help us understand, engage, and protect the planet. The $1 million AI for Earth Innovation Grant will provide grants to 5-15 novel projects that improve the way we monitor, model, and ultimately manage Earth’s natural systems for a more sustainable future.  

The grants will support the creation and deployment of open source trained models and algorithms that are available to other environmental researchers and innovators and thereby have the potential to provide exponential impact.

To qualify, applications should outline a proposal to use AI for conservation in at least one of the following core areas:  

• Biodiversity conservation: Species are going extinct at alarming rates, and our planet’s last wild places need protection. AI can help in areas like:
  • Protected area management and restoration
  • Sustainable trade
  • Invasive species and disease control
  • Pollution control
  • Realizing natural capital (including valuing natural capital, species identification)

• Climate change: Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, higher global temperatures, and increased ocean acidity threaten human health, infrastructure, and the natural systems we rely on for life itself. AI can help in areas like:
  • Climate resilience
  • Extreme weather and climate modeling
  • Sustainable land-use change
  • Ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration and afforestation/reforestation)

• Agriculture: To feed the world’s rapidly growing population, farmers must produce more food on less arable land, and with lower environmental impact. AI can help in areas like:
  • Land-use planning and management
  • Natural resource conservation
  • Sustainable supply chains
  • Climate-resilient agriculture

• Water: In the next two decades, demand for fresh water—for human consumption, agriculture, and hygiene—is predicted to dramatically outpace supply. AI can help in areas like:
  • Water supply (including catchment control)
  • Water quality and sanitation
  • Water efficiency
  • Extreme-event (droughts, floods, disasters, etc.) management
  • Healthy oceans

Below are just a few examples of the types of tools that we are interested in supporting:

• Biodiversity conservation: acoustic and image classification, geotemporal distribution models
• Climate change: temperature and precipitation model downscaling, risk optimization
• Agriculture: health monitoring in crops and livestock, yield modeling
• Water: groundwater modeling, flood prediction

Grant Resources: Typical proposal requests should be less than $100,000; however, applicants may request up to $200,000. Successful applicants may use awarded funds over one year. (Please see the Preparing Your Proposal page regarding stipend eligibility and other budgetary guidance.)

In addition to financial support, successful proposals will receive free access to AI for Earth API’s, applications, tools, and tutorials, and support for their computational work on Microsoft Azure.

Project Requirements: All models supported through this grant must be open source, and grant recipients must be willing to share their models for use by other environmental researchers and innovators.

Applicant Qualifications: We recommend that the main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and/or technology, and we require that at least one member of the team has strong enough technical skills (such as AI, machine learning, statistical data analysis, scientific modeling, software development, and/or remote sensing) to complete the proposed project successfully.

THE DEADLINE FOR THE AI FOR EARTH INNOVATION RFP IS OCTOBER 8, 2018 AT 11:59 PM EST.

Learn more

CALL FOR PAPERS

1. Financial System and Macroeconomy in Emerging Economies

Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (promoted by the Reserve Bank of India)

December 7 and December 8, 2017, Mumbai, India

The Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL), a leading research organization promoted by the Reserve Bank of India, invites submissions for its flagship conference on the Financial System and Macroeconomy in Emerging Economies. The conference will be held in Mumbai, India on December 7 and December 8, 2017.

CAFRAL aims to conduct high-quality research in areas of macroeconomics, banking, and finance - particularly in areas of policy interest. Please visit our web site http://www.cafral.org.infor more details.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: The keynote speakers will be Professor John Leahy, Allen Sinai Professor of Macroeconomics and Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and Professor Martin Uribe, Professor of Economics at Columbia University.

TOPICS OF INTEREST: We invite completed working papers on the financial system and macroeconomics in emerging economies. We especially welcome papers that examine national and global issues surrounding macroeconomic, financial and policy linkages between emerging and developed economies. Papers addressing the theme of the conference in the context of specific countries, especially India, would also be very welcome. 

Doctoral students on the job market are encouraged to submit papers.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: We aim to have between 6-8 papers in the program. The deadline for submission of papers is September 15, 2017. We hope to have the decisions finalized by October 15, 2017. Please submit your papers to conf2017.cafral@rbi.org.in. Please do note that your paper needs to need to be smaller than 7 MB in size. Please compress your submission file if it is larger than 7 MB.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE: The papers will be reviewed by a Program Committee chaired by Professor Amartya Lahiri, Royal Bank Faculty Research Professor, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia and Director (CAFRAL) (starting September 1, 2017).

FUNDING: For presenters and discussants, we will provide a travel grant that should be adequate to cover air fare, cover local airport transfers, conference stay, and meals. Participants who receive funding are expected to stay for the full duration of the conference and may be requested to act as discussants for other papers.

ATTENDANCE: We warmly welcome researchers from policy institutions, faculty members and doctoral students from research intensive universities in India and abroad to attend the conference (including meals) without any charge. However, participants who do not have a paper or discussion in the program will not be provided any financial support. Please do email us in advance if you are interested in attending with your CV to the above email address by November 1, 2017. Please mention "Participant Request" in the subject line of the email if you do not have a paper or discussion, and want to attend.

All conference presenters can expect quality discussants, an active audience, and many informal interactions with participants. Participants can also expect to interact with officials of the Reserve Bank of India, other financial and regulatory bodies in Mumbai, as well as faculty from premier research institutions in economics, finance, and management in India.


2. Central Banking and Green Finance

Submission Deadline: September 17, 2017

Workshop: November 28-29, 2017, Amsterdam, Netherlands

BACKGROUND: When the Leaders of the G20 met in China in 2016 they highlighted the necessity to scale up green financing. They also endorsed efforts to "provide clear strategic policy signals and frameworks" to target this objective. The question to what extent central banks can and should contribute t this momentum is moving up policy agendas worldwide.

Against this background, the Council on Economic Policies and De Nederlandsche Bank are organizing a workshop on "Central Banking and Green Finance". The event will convene researchers from academia, central banks, and other non-academic research institutions on November 28-29, 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

TOPICS: We are particularly interested in the following topics, but will also consider papers that deal with related issues that are not specifically mentioned below.
- What are current impediments in financial markets for a significant expansion of green finance? What are the levers within their mandates that central banks have to help overcome these impediments?
- What is the role of central banks and financial supervisors in the transition to a low carbon economy? How can these institutions best facilitate this transition?
- How do monetary policy instruments (e.g. policy rates, collateral frameworks and quantitative easing) and financial regulation (e.g. capital requirements, disclosure rules) influence capital flows into different sectors? Through which transmission channels do these effects emerge? Are there sector biases in these effects?
- Are there alternatives to the current design of conventional and unconventional monetary policy instruments and financial regulation that would be better aligned with the goal of scaling up green finance? What are potential consequences of these measures for the effectiveness of monetary policy?
- What is the effect of green finance instruments (such as green bonds) on green investments? Specifically, what is the effect on the funding costs and the quantity of green investments?

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Papers should be submitted by September 17 to monetary@cepweb.org. We have a preference for completed papers, but will also consider preliminary versions.

IMPORTANT DATES:
- September 17, 2017: Submission deadline
- October 13, 2017: Participant selection
- November 15, 2017: Deadline for final papers
- November 28-29, 2017: Workshop

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:
- Jakob de Haan, De Nederlandsche Bank
- Prakash Loungani, International Monetary Fund
- Pierre Monnin, Council on Economic Policies
- Guido Schotten, De Nederlandsche Bank
- Misa Tanaka, Bank of England
- Maarten Vleesschouwer, De Nederlandsche Bank


3. Netspar International Pension Workshop

January 17 - 19, 2018, Leiden

Deadline For Paper Submission: November 1, 2017

Netspar stimulates innovative academic research in all disciplines in the social sciences related to ageing and retirement. For the Netspar International Pension Workshop to be held on January 17-19, 2018, Netspar invites contributions from all areas of Netspar's research program.

TOPICS: Topics of interest are:
- Wellbeing and Welfare of Older People
- Communications and choice
- Work, Retirement, Housing, and Healthcare
- Savings, investments, and insurance
- Institutions, governance, and solidarity

DESCRIPTION PENSION WORKSHOP JANUARY 17 - 19, 2018:
Date January 17 - 19, 2018
Location City Resort Hotel, Leiden, the Netherlands
(Approx 16 minutes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol by train)
The workshop consists of contributed paper sessions and invited talks.
Invited talk by Prof. Dirk Krueger (The University of Pennsylvania).

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATION: Researchers interested in participating are requested to submit a complete paper to Netspar (events@netspar.nl) before November 1, 2017. If you are not interested in submitting a paper but you are willing to participate as a discussant, please also let us know as this will be highly appreciated.

For speakers and discussants who are also Netspar fellows, the organization will provide two or three nights of accommodation and reimburse travel costs (up to the agreed university limits) based on economy class travel. For other conference participants, there is a conference fee of Euro 350 (this fee will be waived for Netspar fellows and representatives of the Netspar partners). For researchers who are not Netspar fellows, limited funding possibilities may be available. Please indicate with your submission whether you would like to apply for such funding.

FURTHER INFORMATION For any questions, please contact the events coordinator of Netspar: Joost van Dun, +31 (0)13 466 3206, events@netspar.nl

 4. CEAR/MRIC Behavioral Insurance Workshop 2017

December 6 and 7, 2017, Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk, (http://cear.gsu.edu), Georgia State University, Atlanta

OVERVIEW: This workshop brings together researchers interested in the manner in which risk management and insurance can be understood with behavioral methods. Alternative theoretical models are welcome, although analyses that are disconnected from theory are not. We expect researchers from a variety of disciplines will find this workshop of interest, including economics, finance, risk management, insurance, accounting, and psychology. This workshop is held jointly with the Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR) and the Munich Risk and Insurance Center (MRIC), alternating from year to year between sunny Atlanta and sunny Munich. This is the 8th workshop in this series and will be held at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

For each paper we typically allocate one hour (40 min. presentation, 10 min. discussion by the discussant, 10 min. general discussion) to provide participants with the opportunity for an in-depth presentation of their work. If possible all sessions will be plenary, but there may be one or two parallel sessions if needed.

The primary keynote address will be given by Assistant Professor Ben Handel from the University of California, Berkeley: http://eml.berkeley.edu/~bhandel. His research focuses on the microeconomics of consumer choice and market structure in the health care sector, with an emphasis on health insurance markets. His most recent research has emphasized the role that consumer choice frictions, such as inertia and limited information, can have when assessing the welfare outcomes of different regulatory policies in health insurance markets. In addition, his work studies incentive design and adoption of information technology by medical providers. Ben has partnered with a range of large firms and policy organizations in the health care sector to study questions in these areas.

This year the Behavioral Insurance Workshop will overlap for one day, by design, with another annual workshop co-sponsored by CEAR on Behavioral and Experimental Health Economics. The keynote address for the Behavioral and Experimental Health Economics workshop will also be given on the overlap day and will be given by Professor Judd Kessler from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania: http://assets.wharton.upenn.edu/~juddk. In his research, he uses a combination of laboratory and field experiments to answer questions in Public Economics and market design. He investigates the economic and psychological forces that motivate individuals to contribute to public goods, with applications including organ donation, worker effort, and charitable giving. He also investigates market design innovations, placing particular emphasis on bringing the market design from theory to practice, with applications including course allocation and priority systems for organ allocation.

FUNDING: CEAR will provide travel support and cover local expenses for participants that are presenting papers or acting as discussants. The usual university guidelines apply, although we can provide extra nights of support for overseas visitors if needed.

There will be a modest charge for participants that are not presenting papers or are members of the Scientific Committee. This is to cover some fraction of catering and dinner costs. This charge will be noted on the participation link when that is set up.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit either the full paper (if available), or an extended abstract that addresses objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. All submissions should be in PDF. Submissions should be made by Monday, September 4 at http://cear.gsu.edu/call-papers-behavioral-insurance-2017. Authors will be notified regarding the acceptance of their paper by Monday, October 2 at the latest.

5. The 5th Workshop on Behavioral and Experimental Health Economics

December 7 and 8, 2017, Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk, (http://cear.gsu.edu) , Georgia State University, Atlanta

OVERVIEW: Following the success of previous workshops in Oslo, Hamilton, Essen, and Cologne, we are pleased to host the 5th Workshop on Behavioral and Experimental Health Economics in Atlanta. The workshop brings together economists who apply behavioral economics and experimental methods in health economics research to present and discuss their research papers. We also welcome researchers from related fields, such as Public Health, Epidemiology and Medicine. We welcome contributions on all topics within health economics using experimental methods and behavioral economics applications.

For each paper, we typically allocate one hour (40 min. presentation, 10 min. discussion by the discussant, 10 min. general discussion) to provide participants with the opportunity for an in-depth presentation of their work. If possible all sessions will be plenary, but there may be one or two parallel sessions if needed.

The primary keynote address will be given by Professor Judd Kessler from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania:http://assets.wharton.upenn.edu/~juddk. Judd received a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University in 2004, an M.Phil. in Economics from Cambridge University in 2005, and a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University in 2011. In his research, he uses a combination of laboratory and field experiments to answer questions in Public Economics and market design. He investigates the economic and psychological forces that motivate individuals to contribute to public goods, with applications including organ donation, worker effort, and charitable giving. He also investigates market design innovations, placing particular emphasis on bringing the market design from theory to practice, with applications including course allocation and priority systems for organ allocation.

This year the Workshop on Behavioral and Experimental Health Economics will overlap for one day, by design, with another annual workshop co-sponsored by CEAR on Behavioral Insurance. The reason is that the topics overlap, and this provides an opportunity for intellectual arbitrage. The keynote address for the Behavioral Insurance workshop will also be given on the overlap day and will be given by Professor Ben Handel from the Department of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley: http://eml.berkeley.edu/~bhandel. He received an A.B. in Economics from Princeton in 2004, a Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University in 2010, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2011. His research focuses on the microeconomics of consumer choice and market structure in the health care sector, with an emphasis on health insurance markets. His most recent research has emphasized the role that consumer choice frictions, such as inertia and limited information, can have when assessing the welfare outcomes of different regulatory policies in health insurance markets. In addition, his work studies incentive design and adoption of information technology by medical providers. Ben has partnered with a range of large firms and policy organizations in the health care sector to study questions in these areas.

FUNDING: CEAR will provide travel support and cover local expenses for participants that are presenting papers or acting as discussants. The usual university guidelines apply, although we can provide extra nights of support for overseas visitors if needed.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: If you are interested in presenting a paper, please submit either the full paper (if available), or an extended abstract that addresses objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. All submissions should be in PDF. Submissions should be made by Monday, September 4 at http://cear.gsu.edu/call-papers-behavioral-experimental-health-economics-2017. Authors will be notified regarding the acceptance of their paper by Monday, October 2 at the latest.


6. Announcement of the 3rd Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award

To promote China-related research in financial economics, the Sun Yefang Economic Science Foundation (SYESF) established the Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award(SYFIA) in 2013. This award focus on innovative research works, which makes the significant contribution to the prosperity and development of Chinese finance field. The SYFIA, in line with the principles of openness and fairness, is awarded every two years. The third round award competition opens on July 2017.

ELIGIBILITY: Books and papers, published during the period from January 1, 2012, to October 31, 2017, are eligible for the Award. The main content should be conducive to Chinese financial reform and policy development, and innovative in financial theory and industry practice.

AWARDS COMMITTEE: Awards Committee Members are invited by the Board of SYESF, from academia, financial regulatory authorities, and financial industry.

The Board of SYESF entrusted Tsinghua University National Institute of Financial Research as the supporting academic organization, and the Office of Awards Committee resides in Tsinghua University National Institute of Financial Research.

REWARD DETAILS: The Sun Yefang Economic Science Foundation will grant RMB 200,000 to Book Award winner and RMB 100,000 to Paper Award winner. The SYFIA will disburse the awards and certificates in mid-2018.

PROCEDURE:
1. Preliminary Review: The Awards Committee Office takes on the responsibility for preliminary procedural review;
2. Evaluation: The Awards Committee organize the external evaluation, works will be assigned to external experts randomly. For those finalists, the Awards Committee hold extensive deliberation and anonymous vote for the final awardee list;
3. Announcement: The final awardee list will be posted on the official websites of the SYESF and the National Institute of Financial Research, Tsinghua University for one month;
4. Approval: The final awardee list will be submitted to the Board of SYESF for approval;
5. Award granting: The final awardees will be announced and presented at the award ceremony.

SUBMISSIONS: Applicants shall submit their works before December 31, 2017, including all appendices. Documents for the Book Award shall include:
1. A completed Application Form for the Third Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Book Award (Appendix1);
2. Two reference letters (Appendix 3);
3. Three copies of the book.

Please send all the documents to:

Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award Review Committee Office
PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University
43 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083

Documents for the Paper Award shall include:
1. A completed Application Form for the Third Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Paper Award (Appendix 2);
2. Two reference letters (Appendix 3);
3. An electronic version of the paper.

Please send all the documents in electronic format to syffia@pbcsf.tsinghua.edu.cn

All appendices can be found on the website: http://eng.pbcsf.tsinghua.edu.cn/NIFR/innovation1.html

There is no application fee.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Tel: 010-6279 2735
E-mail: syffia@pbcsf.tsinghua.edu.cn

Address:
Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Awards Committee Office
PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University
43 Chengfu Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083

7. The XVII International Business and Economics Conference

January 4-7, 2018, San Francisco, California, USA

http://www.ibec-info.org/2018

Hosting Institution: San Francisco State University

IMPORTANT DATES:
Early Decision: July 15, 2017
Regular Submission: September 15, 2017

REFEREED SUBMISSIONS - GUIDELINES: You are invited to submit either an Extended Abstract or a Completed Manuscript of research papers or teaching case studies for presentation at the conference.

Extended abstracts: A submission should explicitly contain: 1. Background & Problem Statement; 2. Objectives; 3. Methods / Procedures; 4. [Expected or Preliminary] Results; and 5. References. Extended abstracts between 3 to 5 pages are preferred.

Complete papers: No specific structure is required for complete papers. We strongly recommend complete papers not to exceed 12 pages. Quantitative Papers should include full data analysis.

Formatting guidelines: for either extended abstracts or complete papers are provided on the conference website. Follow the PROCEEDINGS GUIDELINES document.

Proposals should be written in English. Submissions will be peer reviewed, acceptance being based on quality and relevance.

Plagiarism is unacceptable. All authors must fully cite the work of others using one of the standard citation systems (APA/MLA).

Decision notifications will be sent to authors by October 30th. Those opting for the July early acceptance will be notified by August 30. Authors of accepted proposals will have up to 30 minutes (Q&A included) to present their topic in the conference.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Submissions should be submitted to the IBEC website. To submit, you also need to "Register for IBEC 2018" on the website: http://www.ibec-info.org/2018. In case you have problems registering, email your proposal to IBEC@tnstate.edu. Within two days of submission you will be contacted to acknowledge your submission. If you do not hear from IBEC after two days, contact the editor-in-chief or the conference chair.

Accepted papers and cases presented in the conference will be published online, at the discretion of authors, in the Social Science Research Network [Conference proceedings with the U.S. Library of Congress, ISSN 1537-2316]. Proceedings will be published after the conference. Authors retain copyright of their works. Papers presented in Bangkok (2015), Germany (2016) and Chile (2017) are posted in http://www.ssrn.com[Research network: Management / Conference and Meetings]. When submitting your proposal for the conference, closely follow the PROCEEDINGS GUIDELINES document available on the conference website.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR IBEC 2018:

IBEC Permanent Organizers:
Sharon V. Thach (Conference Chair), Business Administration, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA [ibec@tnstate.edu]
Carlos Trejo-Pech (Conference Chair Emeritus), Agricultural & Resource Economics Department, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN, USA and Adjust Professor, Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara, Mexico [ctrejope@utk.edu]
John Manley (Chair Emeritus and Treasurer), Iona College, New York, USA [jmanley@iona.edu]
Tomas Kincl (Chair of Proceedings and Webmaster), University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic [kincl.tomas@gmail.com]
Jay Kang (Senior Executive Emeritus), San Francisco State University, USA [jkang@sfsu.edu]

Host Institution Organizers:
Jai S Kang, Chair San Francisco State University [jkang@sfsu.edu]
Bruce A Heiman, San Francisco State University [bheiman@sfsu.edu]
Mahmood Hussain, San Francisco State University [Hussain@sfsu.edu]

IBEC Directors (in alphabetic order according to last names):
Fang, Jianing, Associate Professor of Accounting, School of Management at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA [jianing.fang@marist.edu]
Heiman, Bruce, Associate Professor of International Business, College of Business, San Francisco State University, CA, USA [bheiman@sfsu.edu]
Manley, Robert, Professor. Retired. NY, USA [rjmanley@optonline.net]
Shetty, Anand, Professor and Chair of Finance, Business Economics and Legal Studies, Hagan School of Business, Iona College, New Rochelle, New York, USA [ashetty@iona.edu]
Strach, Pavel, Professor, SKODA AUTO University, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic [pavel.strach@savs.cz]
Thach, Sharon V., Professor of International Marketing, College of Business Administration, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA [sthach@tnstate.edu]

Editor: Tomas Kincl, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic [kincl.tomas@gmail.com]
Associate Editor: Carlos Trejo-Pech, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN, USA, and Adjunct Professor, Universidad Panamericana at Guadalajara, Mexico [ctrejope@utk.edu]

Editorial Review Board (alphabetic -last names):
Lorenz Braun, Professor, Nurtingen-Geislingen University, Nurtingen, Germany [lorenz.braun@hfwu.de]
Erskin Blunck, Associate Dean, Nurtingen-Geislingen University, Nürtingen, Germany [erskin.blunck@hfwu.de]
Ernst, Dietmar, Professor of International Finance, Nurtingen-Geislingen University, Nurtingen, Germany [dietmar.ernst@hfwu.de]
Fang, Jianing, Associate Professor of Accounting, School of Management at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA [jianing.fang@marist.edu]
Garcia-Santillan, Arturo, Professor of Business and Economics, Universidad Cristobal Colon, Veracruz, México [agarcias@ucc.mx]
Gevorkyan, Aleksandr V., Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John's University in New York City, USA [gevorkya@stjohns.edu]
Ghosh, Jayati, Dean and Professor of International Business, School of Business Administration, Widener University, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA [jghosh@widener.edu]
Gillpatrick, Tom, The Juan Yong Professor of Marketing and Food Management, School of Business Administration, Portland State University, USA [tomg@pdx.edu]
Gutierrez-Renteria, Maria E., Professor of Media Economics and Media Management, Universidad Panamericana at Guadalajara, Mexico [egutierr@up.edu.mx]
Heiman, Bruce, Associate Professor of International Business, College of Business, San Francisco State University, CA, USA [bheiman@sfsu.edu]
Hussain, Mahmood, Associate Professor of Marketing, College of Business, San Francisco State University, CA, USA [hussain@sfsu.edu]
Jaiswal-Dale, Ameeta, Associate Professor of Finance, the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, USA [a9jaiswal@stthomas.edu]
Kyaw, NyoNyo, Associate Professor of Finance, Hagan School of Business, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, USA [nkyaw@iona.edu]
Manley, Robert, Professor. Retired. NY, USA [rjmanley@optonline.net]
Morote, Elsa-Sofia, Professor. NY, USA [sofiamoroteE@gmail.com]
Ngienthi, Wanida, Professor of Economics, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand [wngienthi@au.edu]
Noguera, Magdy, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Idaho, USA [mnoguera@uidaho.edu]
Pitta, Carlos, Business School, Austral University of Chile at Puerto Montt, Chile [cpitta@ufl.edu]
Strach, Pavel, Professor, SKODA AUTO University, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic [pavel.strach@savs.cz]
Tangjitprom, Nopphon, Assistant Professor, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand [nopphontng@au.edu]
Theingi, Hla, Assistant Professor, International Business Management, Martin De Tours School of Management, Assumption University, Thailand [hlatheingi@au.edu]
Theingi, Assistant Professor, Dep. Of Marketing, Martin De Tours School of Management, Assumption University, Thailand [theingi@au.edu]
Yang, Chunmei, Professor, School of Economics, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, China [jane_ycm@126.com]

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT

1. New Perspectives on Consumer Behavior in Credit and Payment Markets

September 7-8, 2017, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

The Consumer Finance Institute and the Research Department are hosting the Bank's ninth biennial research conference on topics related to consumer credit and payments.

The papers accepted for this year's conference address a wide range of issues including leverage, consumption smoothing, information frictions, and the relationship between other markets and credit market outcomes.

PROGRAM:

Thursday, September 7 (5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.)

WELCOME AND RECEPTION

Friday, September 8 (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)

PAPERS:

High-Cost Debt and Borrower Reputation: Evidence from the U.K.
Presenter: Andres Liberman, New York University

Credit Score Doctor
Presenter: Andrei Simonov, Michigan State University

The Effect of Health Insurance on Home Payment Delinquency: Evidence from ACA Marketplace Subsidies
Presenter: Emily Gallagher, Washington University in St. Louis

Did the ACA's Dependent Coverage Mandate Reduce Financial Distress for Young Adults?
Presenter: Nathan Blascak, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Real Effects of Search Frictions in Consumer Credit Markets
Presenter: Bronson Argyle, Brigham Young University

Regulating Household Leverage
Presenter: Anthony DeFusco, Northwestern University

Rainy Day Credit? Unsecured Credit and Local Employment Shocks
Presenter: Jeremy Tobacman, University of Delaware

The Marginal Propensity to Consume Out of Credit: Evidence from Random Assignment of 54,522 Credit Lines
Presenter: Deniz Aydin, Washington University in St. Louis

NOTE: The conference is free of charge, but space is limited and registration is required. The registration deadline is August 23 2017.

REGISTRATION/FURTHER INFORMATION: For your convenience, a block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Omni Hotel. Reservations must be reserved by August 14 in order to guarantee a room. For details on how to book a room, see the conference website, https://www.cvent.com/events/new-perspectives-on-consumer-behavior-in-credit-and-payments-markets/registration-1ab7947f67be410e8d4f832af8d1d2ef.aspx

For questions and clarifications, please email PHIL.CFI_2017@phil.frb.org

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: Manuel Adelino, Mitchell Berlin, Ronel Elul, Bob Hunt, and Vyacheslav Mikhed.

The pace of technology development determines the pace of replacement of old products. Here is a list of items according to Dr. James Canton and other experts consulted by NBC News MACH say are likely to go the way of typewriters and cassette tapes. Read more

• Metal Locks & Keys
• Parking Meters
• Cash
• ATMs & BANKS
• Desktop Computers
• TVs
• Telephones

      Read more

Robots are now tackling tricky and dangerous jobs to help the environment, from clearing invasive species to fighting wildfires. Key areas innovation in robots recorded as the hero are:-

• Reef Protector
• Pipeline Inspector
• Nuke Cleaner
• Fire Fighter's Friend
• Sewer Scraper

     Read more

It's common for people to pack on more pounds as they age, but now a new study may have an explanation for this weight gain — and it has nothing to do with exercise or poor food choices. Researchers identified an enzyme that appears to increase its activity in animals as they age. The increase in this enzyme's activity may play a role in the weight gain and fitness decline that come with aging, they said. In experiments in mice on a high-fat diet, the researchers found that mice that had this enzyme blocked gained less weight than normal mice. Our society attributes the weight gain and lack of exercise at mid-life … primarily to poor lifestyle choices and lack of will power," study author Dr. Jay Chung, head of the Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in a statement. "But this study shows that there is a genetic program driven by an overactive enzyme that promotes weight gain and loss of exercise capacity at mid-life," Chung said. [The Best Way to Keep Weight Off]

Because the new study was conducted in mice, researchers don't yet know if blocking this enzyme in humans will have the same effect. But the researchers said that, with more research, the findings could potentially lead to the development of new weight loss medications that would block this enzyme.

 Read more from the Journal Cell Metabolism.

BE RDN -OPEN DATA CHAMPION 2017

"Make data easily accessible, freely used, re used and redistributed by anyone"

It is our great pleasure to announce the forthcoming WORLD OPEN DATA DAY on March 4,2017. In Tanzania World Open Data Day organized by the College of ICT Data lab - UDSM will take place on March 4, 2017 at Postal Ground Kijitonyama. RDN as key stakeholders in making innovative ideas easily accessible, will participate in the exhibition of WORLD OPEN DATA DAY locally in Tanzania and internationally via online. As our contribution to the World Open Data Day, RDN will run  RDN OPEN DATA CHAMPION COMPETITION to make data or publications that are not easily accessible  to be easily accessible, freely used, re used and redistributed by anyone. This is eight (8) days competition  will run from February 25,2017 to March 4, 2017.

 Who can participate?

 RDN- OPEN DATA CHAMPION COMPETITION is open for any one. Both RDN Platform members or non members can participate in this competition.

 How to participate?

Simply visit www.rdnplaform.com and then:-

1. Log in if you are already RDN Member or Sign up if you are not RDN Member
2. Upload data that are not easily accessible in the database (https://rdnplatform.com/rdn-statistic.html
3. Submit your most recent publication in e-library (https://rdnplatform.com/e-library-service-2/1445/books.html)