Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Case For Affirmative Auction: From Conscience To Coffers, Ian Ayres, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

The Federal Communications Commission’s auction of wireless communication licenses last fall has been criticized as a huge Government giveaway because of the substantial bidding preferences granted to women and minorities. In March, Federal court action delayed the FCC’s June auction until August to consider the legality of similar preferences. But far from being a giveaway, affirmative action actually increased the total amount paid to the Government by about $15 million. Women and minority bidders were granted a 40 percent bidding credit on certain licenses and the right to pay the Government in installments over 10 years at a favorable rate. …

What's Wrong With Exploitation?, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Abstract: Marx thinks that capitalism is exploitative, and that is a major basis for his objections to it. But what's wrong with exploitation, as Marx sees it? (The paper is exegetical in character: my object is to understand what Marx believed,) The received view, held by Norman Geras, G.A. Cohen, and others, is that Marx thought that capitalism was unjust, because in the crudest sense, capitalists robbed labor of property that was rightfully the workers' because the workers and not the capitalists produced it. This view depends on a Labor Theory of Property (LTP), that property rights are based ultimately …

In Defence Of Exploitation, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

The concept of exploitation is thought to be central to Marx's Critique of capitalism. John Roemer, an analytical (then-) Marxist economist now at Yale, attacked this idea in a series of papers and books in the 1970s-1990s, arguing that Marxists should be concerned with inequality rather than exploitation -- with distribution rather than production, precisely the opposite of what Marx urged in The Critique of the Gotha Progam.

This paper expounds and criticizes Roemer's objections and his alternative inequality based theory of exploitation, while accepting some of his criticisms. It may be viewed as a companion paper to my What's …

Money Out Of Thin Air: The Nationwide Narrowband Pcs Auction, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

The Federal Communications Commission held its first auction of radio spectrum at the Nationwide Narrowband PCS Auction in July 1994. The simultaneous multiple-round auction, which lasted five days, was an ascending bid auction in which all licenses were offered simultaneously. This paper describes the auction rules and how bidders prepared for the auction. The full history of bidding is presented. Several questions for auction theory are discussed. In the end, the government collected $617 million for ten licenses. The auction was viewed by all as a huge success—an excellent example of bringing economic theory to bear on practical problems of …

Decption And Mutual Trust: A Reply To Strudler, Peter Cramton, J Gregory Dees

Peter Cramton

Alan Strudler has written a stimulating and provocative article about deception in negotiation. He presents his views, in part, in contrast with our earlier work on the Mutual Trust Perspective. We believe that Strudler is wrong in his account of the ethics of deception in negotiation and in his quick dismissal of the Mutual Trust Perspective. Though his mistakes may be informative, his views are potentially harmful to business practice. In this paper, we present arguments against Strudler’s position and attempt to salvage the Mutual-Trust Perspective from his attack. Strudler’s work reaffirms the need for a more pragmatic approach to …

Ratifiable Mechanisms: Learning From Disagreement, Peter Cramton, Thomas R. Palfrey

Peter Cramton

In a mechanism design problem, participation constraints require that all types prefer the proposed mechanism to some status quo. If equilibrium play in the status quo mechanism depends on the players’ beliefs, then the inference drawn if someone objects to the proposed mechanism may alter the participation constraints. We investigate this issue by modeling the mechanism design problem as a two-stage process, consisting of a ratification stage followed by the actual play of the chosen game. We develop and illustrate a new concept, ratifiability, that takes account of inferences from a veto in a consistent way.

Examining The Role Of Economic Opportunity And Amenities In Explaining Population Redistribution, Peter R. Mueser, Philip E. Graves

PHILIP E GRAVES

This paper develops a model of migration integrating equilibrium and disequilibrium components in which individuals and firms form rational expectations about future opportunities. Levels of migration are derived as functions of variations in factors influencing migrant labor demand ("economic opportunity") and migrant labor supply ("residential amenities"). The model is used to estimate the extent to which migration in the United States over the period 1950-1980 is determined by these two classes of exogenous factors.

Union Myopia And The Taxation Of Capital, Dwight Lee, Robert L. Sexton, Philip E. Graves

PHILIP E GRAVES

After an extensive discussion of the nature of the interactions among unions, corporations, and government, we find that government in granting privileges to workers organized into unions implicitly taxes capital formation. The result has been to lessen the attention business decisions pay to the future, to substitute excessive wages for appropriate capital investment, and to reduce the competitive vitality of major U.S. industries.

Earnings Inequality In Germany, Susan Houseman, Katharine Abraham

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.

Job Growth And The Quality Of Jobs In The U.S. Economy, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.

Labor Adjustment Under Different Institutional Structures: A Case Study Of Germany And The United States, Katharine Abraham, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.

Union Myopia And The Taxation Of Capital, Dwight Lee, Robert L. Sexton, Philip E. Graves

Robert L Sexton

After an extensive discussion of the nature of the interactions among unions, corporations, and government, we find that government in granting privileges to workers organized into unions implicitly taxes capital formation. The result has been to lessen the attention business decisions pay to the future, to substitute excessive wages for appropriate capital investment, and to reduce the competitive vitality of major U.S. industries.

Restricting Taxation: The Impact Of Proposition 13 On California Tax And Expenditure Trends, Robert L. Sexton, Gary M. Galles, James E. Long

Robert L Sexton

Abstract: This paper examines trends in California taxes and expenditures at the state and local level. In particular, it considers whether Proposition 13, which has been blamed by politicians and the press for virtually every ensuing fiscal problem facing state and local governments in California, deserves such criticism, or whether the roots of those problems lie elsewhere.

Union Myopia And The Taxation Of Capital, Dwight Lee, Robert L. Sexton, Philip E. Graves

Robert L Sexton

After an extensive discussion of the nature of the interactions among unions, corporations, and government, we find that government in granting privileges to workers organized into unions implicitly taxes capital formation. The result has been to lessen the attention business decisions pay to the future, to substitute excessive wages for appropriate capital investment, and to reduce the competitive vitality of major U.S. industries.