Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using Auctions To Divest Generation Assets, Peter Cramton, Lisa J. Cameron, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

In most states, ratepayers will compensate utilities for their stranded costs. As a result, these costs must be measured as accurately as possible, in a manner that is easily understood by all concerned parties. We describe the options for measuring stranded costs and argue that a simultaneous ascending auction is the best approach.

Arbeid En Samenleving. Een Essay Over De Herpolitisering Van Arbeid, Jurgen De Wispelaere

Jurgen De Wispelaere

No abstract provided.

Descentralización Y Participación Social, Fernando Carrión Mena

Fernando Carrión Mena

Las principales características del Estado Nacional en el Ecuador pueden definirse en los siguientes términos: Estado unitario, régimen presidencialista, organización descentralizada (a través de provincias y cantones) y sectorializada (ministerios), y estructura funcional (ejecutivo, legislativo y judicial).

Todo Estado unitario, en su integración, da prioridad a los siguientes criterios:

1. Mayor importancia de lo sectorial sobre lo territorial, lo cual significa que la intervención estatal se la hace desde ciertos recortes de la realidad definidos por el centro y hacia la periferia. En la actualidad el desarrollo nacional descansa en las políticas sectoriales, descuidando las regionales, provinciales y locales.

2. …

A Theory Of Trustees, And Other Thoughts, Eric Bennett Rasmusen

Eric Bennett Rasmusen

This paper combined a brief description of my work on negotiation with comments on other papers presented on central banking and a new paradigm for thinking of judges and central bankers as trustees working on behalf of beneficiaries as directed by settlors. It has my 4 P's Theory of motivation: Place, Pride, Policy, and Power. Available, including a post-publication postscript adding Principle

Package Bidding For Spectrum Licenses, Peter Cramton, John Mcmillan, Paul Milgrom, Bradley Miller, Bridger Mitchell, Daniel Vincent, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

The FCC was an innovator in adopting the rules of the simultaneous ascending-price auction for its sales of spectrum licenses. While these rules have performed well in the auctions conducted so far (and would perform even better with the design improvements suggested in our first report), there are two inherent limitations in any design that seeks to assign and price the licenses individually. First, such designs create strategic incentives for bidders interested in multiple licenses that are substitutes to reduce their demands for some of the licenses in order to reduce the final prices of the others; this is the …

Stylizedfacts Of Government Finance In The G-7, Riccardo Fiorito

riccardo fiorito

The stylized facts of government finance in the G-7 show that revenues lag real GDP procyclically, while government spending mostly fail to lead the economy pro-cyclically. This is shown using detailed spending and revenue variables for quarterly, hp-filtered, data. Government deficits are always counter-cyclical bu there is little evidence that stabilization is equally successful in stimulating the economy before shocks materialize.

On The Probability Of Existence Of Pure Equilibria In Matrix Games, S. Mishra, T. K. Kumar

Srijit Mishra

In a recent paper (Ref. 1), Papavassilopoulos obtained results on the probability of the existence of pure equilibrium solutions in stochastic matrix games. We report a similar result, but where the payoffs are drawn from a finite set of numbers N. In the limiting case, as N tends to infinity, our result and that of Papavassilopoulos are identical. We also cite similar results obtained independently by others, some of which were already independently brought to the notice of Papavassilopoulos by Li Calzi as reported in Papavassilopoulos (Ref. 2). We cite a much earlier result obtained by Goldman (Ref. 3). We …

Auction Design Enhancements For Non-Combinatorial Auctions, Peter Cramton, John Mcmillan, Paul Milgrom, Bradley Miller, Bridger Mitchell, Daniel Vincent, Robert Wilson

Peter Cramton

We evaluate a number of possible enhancements to the FCC auctions. We consider only changes to the current auction rules that stay within the basic format of the simultaneous multiple round auction for individual licenses. This report summarizes and extends our e-mail exchanges with FCC staff on this topic. A subsequent report will cover auctions with combination bids. Overall, the FCC spectrum auctions have been an enormous success. However, there are two design goals in the auction where important improvement can be achieved within the basic rules structure. These are restricting collusion among bidders and reducing the time taken to …

El Regreso A La Ciudad Construida, Fernando Carrión Mena

Fernando Carrión Mena

La relación entre suelo urbano y ciudad es indisoluble; es tan así que durante mucho tiempo se los entendió como si fueran lo mismo. Por eso, originalmente el desarrollo urbano fue concebido como el resultado de los cambios en los usos de suelo propuestos por la planificación urbana.

Si bien esta comprensión inicial perdura hasta ahora, no se puede negar la existencia de un avance en la comprensión de la temática urbana, que ha llevado a superar esta visión espacialista caracterizada por la sobredeterminación de lo espacial sobre lo social. Pero también, por aquella antítesis que postula la llamada «teoría …

International Trade And Open-Access Renewable Resources: The Small Open Economy Case, M. Scott Taylor, James A. Brander

M. Scott Taylor

We examine a small open economy with an open-access renewable resource. Using a novel two-sector general equilibrium model, we characterize the autarkic steady state, and then show that trade reduces steady-state utility for a diversified resource exporter. Instantaneous gains occur as trade opens, but they are eroded by ongoing resource depletion. The present value of utility falls for appropriate discount rates, and terms of trade "improvements" may be welfare reducing. We also show that autarky prices, the pattern of trade, and the structure of production are all linked to a simple ratio of the intrinsic resource growth rate to labor …

The Learning Curve In A Competitive Industry, Eric Bennett Rasmusen, Emmanuel Petrakis, Santanu Roy

Eric Bennett Rasmusen

We consider the learning curve in an industry with free entry and exit, and price- taking firms. A unique equilibrium exists if the fixed or entry cost is positive. While equilibrium profits are zero, mature firms earn rents on their learning, and no firm can profitably enter after the date the industry begins. However, under some cost and demand conditions, firms may have to exit the market despite their experience gained earlier. Furthermore, in an equilibrium with exit, identical firms facing the same prices produce different quantities. Industry concentration need not increase in the intensity of learning. The market outcome …

Electronic Money: Developments And Issues, Warren Coats

Warren Coats

What is electronic money and what issues does its use raise for users, issuers, regulators, and monetary authorities?

A Retrospective Study Of Determinants Of Length Of Stay In A Geropsychiatric State Hospital., Evan D. Parks

Evan D Parks

This pilot study investigated the importance of social, clinical, and discharge factors in predicting extended length of stay (LOS) in a state geropsychiatric hospital. The authors reviewed medical records of all first time admissions during a 22 month period. A total of 272 patients age 60 and older were admitted for the first time during this period. Nine variables comprised of medical, demographic, social, and discharge information were examined in a retrospective analysis to assess their relationship to LOS. The mean and standard deviation of days spent in hospital was 392.3 +1- 752.81. The median number of days of hospitalization …

The Trade Induced Degradation Hypothesis, M. Scott Taylor, Brian R. Copeland

M. Scott Taylor

This paper develops a simple two-sector dynamic model to examine the effects of international trade when government policy regarding the environment is short-sighted, but still responsive to changes in income levels and in the quality of the environment. We show that free trade can usher in a negatively reinforcing cycle of increased pollution, lower environmental quality, and lower real incomes. Such cycles are not possible in autarky. We link the potential for trade to cause large environmental consequences to the structure of tastes and technologies and the attributes of industrial pollution.

La Paradoja De La Sociedad Civil, Michael W. Foley, Bob Edwards

Bob Edwards

No abstract provided.

Professional Development Seminars: Scouting Out Your Best Opportunities, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

No abstract provided.

Choosing Among Signalling Equilibria In Lobbying Games, Eric Bennett Rasmusen

Eric Bennett Rasmusen

Randolph Sloof has written a comment on the lobbying-as-signalling model in Rasmusen (1993) in which he points out an equilibrium I missed and criticizes my emphasis on a particular separating equilibrium. In this response, I discuss how to interpret multiple equilibria in games and how to interpret mixed strategy equilibria in which two types of player with identical incentives must pick different mixing probabilities.

Transformaciones Sociodemográficas De La Élite Parlamentaria En Venezuela (1993-1998), Flavia Freidenberg, María Luisa Ramos Rollón

Flavia Freidenberg

No abstract provided.

Reply Statement On The Effect Of Nextwave’S Participation In The C-Block Auction On Antigone And Devco, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

For Antigone and Devco.

The Paradoxes Of Contemporary Democracy: Formal, Participatory, And Social Dimensions, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyn Huber, John Stephens

Dietrich Rueschemeyer

No abstract provided.

Un Fenómeno Que Le Llega Al Ecuador. La Violencia Sin Fin En Colombia, Fernando Carrión Mena

Fernando Carrión Mena

No se puede desconocer que el tema de la violencia, como fenómeno social, existe desde tiempos inmemoriales y que, por tanto, se podría decir que es consustancial a la sociedad.

La violencia no es un problema, es una relación social

La violencia debe ser comprendida más allá del análisis patológico de las conductas individuales y concebidas a partir de lo que es: un tipo particular de relación social. Esta consideración de la violencia como relación social permite conocer la organización del delito, las distintas formas que asume y, sobre todo, diseñar políticas preventivas que vayan más allá de lo punitivo, …

Cooperative Monitoring And Its Role In Regional Security, Kent Biringer, John Olsen, Richard Lincoln, Fred L. Wehling, Wayne Einfeld, Pauline Spalding, Ahmed Hasan, David Betsill

Fred L. Wehling

Cooperative monitoring systems can play an important part in promoting the implementation of regional cooperative security agreements. These agreements advance the national security interests of the United States in a post Cold War environment. Regional issues as widely varying as nuclear nonproliferation, trade and environmental pollution can be the source of tensions which may escalate to armed conflict which could have global implications. The OffIce of National Security Policy Analysis at the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an interest in seeking ways to promote regional cooperation that can reduce the threats posed by regional conflict. DOE technologies and …

Statement On The Effect Of Nextwave’S Participation In The C-Block Auction On Antigone And Devco, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

For Antigone and Devco.

Policy Complementarities: The Case For Fundamental Labor Market Reform, Dennis Snower, David T. Coe

Dennis Snower

The paper analyzes complementarities among a variety of labor market policies. It shows that (a) a wide range of labor market institutions (.e.g unemployment benefits, job security legislation, and payroll taxes) have complementary effects on unemployment and thus (b) policies aimed at reforming these institutions are also complementary. These policy complementarities imply that partial labor market reform (directed at one institution, while leaving the other institutions in place) is unlikely to achieve significant reductions in unemployment. Rather labor market reform becomes particularly effective only once a broad range of institutional rigidities are dismantled simultaneously and the distributional objectives of the …

Ciudad, Comunicación Y Cultura, Fernando Carrión Mena

Fernando Carrión Mena

INTRODUCCION: EL ECUADOR URBANO DE FIN DE SIGLO

El predominio de la población urbana, el incremento del número de ciudades y la generalización de la urbanización en el territorio nacional nos lleva a concluir que el Ecuador se ha convertido en un país con población eminentemente urbana (55%) compuesto por ciudades (196 cantones).

Este agudo proceso de urbanización que vive el país ha significado que el hecho organizador de la sociedad ecuatoriana se haya desplazado del campo a la ciudad. Ello tiene dos aspectos que deben ser tomados en cuenta: el primero, que hay un cambio notable en la sociedad …

Expanding The Welfare System, Michael J. Orszag, Dennis Snower

Dennis Snower

The proposal involves the establishment of “welfare accounts” for every person in a country. There are to be four accounts: a retirement account (covering pensions), an unemployment account (covering unemployment support), a human capital account (covering education and training), and a health account (covering insurance against sickness and disability). Instead of the current welfare state systems - where welfare services are financed predominantly out of general taxes - people would make ongoing, mandatory contributions to each of these welfare accounts. The balances in these accounts would cover people’s major welfare needs. The government is to set mandatory minimum contribution rates …

Planning + Execution + Follow-Up = Great Trade Show Performance, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

No abstract provided.

Technology And Distance Education - Lecture 1, David Morgan Lochhead

Dr. David Morgan Lochhead

First of three talks presented to the SACEM Annual Meeting, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, January 10-12, 1997: Content and Context in Education

Collection Development In The Context Of Electronic Publications And Networking: Problems And Prospects, Maheswarappa S, Tadasad G

Prof B S Maheswarappa

Critically examines the issues in development of collection for libraries in the context of electronic publication and networking with special reference to formulation of policies, users, formats, storage, mode of access, selection, acquisition, bibliographical control, finance, evaluation,-and manpower. It concludes that developing a need-based, relevant and cost-effective collection, consisting of electronic and other publications in document form, requires systematic planning, and effective implementation.

Abandon All Hope...Profit Reigns Supreme, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

No abstract provided.