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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Economics

Coöperaties In Zorg. Een Verkenning Van Vraagstukken En Goede Praktijken In Binnen- En Buitenland, Wim Van Opstal May 2011

Coöperaties In Zorg. Een Verkenning Van Vraagstukken En Goede Praktijken In Binnen- En Buitenland, Wim Van Opstal

Wim Van Opstal

Reeds meer dan twee eeuwen worden coöperaties opgericht om de levensstandaard van arbeiders en boeren te verbeteren. Hoewel de coöperatie in Vlaanderen al enkele decennia aan zichtbaarheid moest inboeten, begint men de laatste jaren ook bij ons de coöperatie opnieuw te ontdekken als instrument voor het combineren van een economische activiteit met sociale doelstellingen. Ook, en misschien zelfs vooral, binnen de social profitsector doen zich tal van interessante ontwikkelingen op dat vlak voor. De social profitsector, en de zorgsector in het bijzonder, wordt anno 2011 immers geconfronteerd met de dubbele uitdaging van toenemende maatschappelijke noden in een context van een …


Persuading Consumers With Social Attitudes, Stefan Buehler, Daniel Halbheer Jan 2011

Persuading Consumers With Social Attitudes, Stefan Buehler, Daniel Halbheer

Stefan Buehler

This paper analyzes persuasive advertising and pricing in oligopoly if firms sell differentiated products and consumers have heterogenous social attitudes towards the consumption by others. Deriving product demand from primitives, we show that the demand-enhancing effect of persuasive advertising varies across consumers and increases in the average degree of conformity. In equilibrium, both quality and cost leaders choose higher advertising intensities and charge higher prices than their competitors. In addition, we show that an increase in the average degree of conformity among consumers reinforces asymmetries between firms.


Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz Jan 2011

Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

This short nontechnical article reviews the Arrow Impossibility Theorem and its implications for rational democratic decisionmaking. In the 1950s, economist Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no method for producing a unique social choice involving at least three choices and three actors could satisfy four seemingly obvious constraints that are practically constitutive of democratic decisionmaking. Any such method must violate such a constraint and risks leading to disturbingly irrational results such and Condorcet cycling. I explain the theorem in plain, nonmathematical language, and discuss the history, range, and prospects of avoiding what seems like a fundamental theoretical challenge to the possibility …


Trust And Trustworthiness Among Economics Majors, Utteeyo Dasgupta, Arjun Menon Jan 2011

Trust And Trustworthiness Among Economics Majors, Utteeyo Dasgupta, Arjun Menon

Utteeyo Dasgupta

We use a simple trust-game to elicit trusting and trustworthy behavior among students majoring in economics and other disciplines. We also administer a Social Values Orientation (SVO) survey to evaluate any possible correlation between an individual's levels of trust indicated in the survey and his/her action in the game. Our results suggest that although students pursuing a major in economics appear to be no different than other students in choosing trusting actions, when it comes to being trustworthy, the former group always chooses the self payoff maximizing action rather than the trustworthy action. Scores from the SVO survey do not …


Using Spectrum Auctions To Enhance Competition In Wireless Services, Peter Cramton, Evan Kwerel, Gregory Rosston, Andrzej Skrzypacz1 Jan 2011

Using Spectrum Auctions To Enhance Competition In Wireless Services, Peter Cramton, Evan Kwerel, Gregory Rosston, Andrzej Skrzypacz1

Peter Cramton

Spectrum auctions are used by governments to assign and price licenses for wireless communications. Effective auction design recognizes the importance of competition, not only in the auction, but in the downstream market for wireless communications. This paper examines several instruments regulators can use to enhance competition and thereby improve market outcomes.


Determination Of Import Demand In Pakistan: The Role Of Expenditure Components, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Amatul R. Chaudhary Dec 2010

Determination Of Import Demand In Pakistan: The Role Of Expenditure Components, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

The paper uses imperfect substitution approach to derive the aggregate import demand function on the basis of disaggregated expenditure components. This derived import demand function is then empirically tested for Pakistan by using co-integration and error correction mechanism. The empirical results show that elasticity of import demand with respect to different macro components of final expenditure is different. The import demand in Pakistan is affected positively and significantly by all expenditure components. The relative prices have negative but insignificant relationship with import demand in Pakistan. The findings indicate that use of aggregate expenditure variable in the aggregate import demand function …


Poverty, Inflation And Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence From Pakistan, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amjad Ali, Amatul R. Chaudhary Dec 2010

Poverty, Inflation And Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence From Pakistan, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amjad Ali, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study aims to investigate the role of economic growth and inflation in explaining the prevalence of poverty in Pakistan. ARDL bound testing approach to co-integration confirms the existence of long run relationship among the variables of poverty, economic growth, inflation, investment and trade openness over the period of 1972-2008. Empirical results show that economic growth and investment have negative and inflation has positive impact on poverty. The effect of trade openness on poverty is insignificant in this study. The short run analysis reveals that economic growth has negative and inflation has positive impact on poverty whereas the role of …


Financial Crises And Economic Growth In Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis, Rauf -I- Azam, Iram Batool, Rabia Imran, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Javed Mahmood Jasra Dec 2010

Financial Crises And Economic Growth In Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis, Rauf -I- Azam, Iram Batool, Rabia Imran, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Javed Mahmood Jasra

Muhammad Irfan Chani

The purpose of this research is to investigate causal relationship between economic growth and major indicators of financial crisis -- inflation rate, interest rate and the volume of foreign debt-- in Pakistan. This study also highlights the stability of the relationship between indicators of financial crisis and economic growth. The annual time series data ranging from 1972 to 2010 is used for the analysis. Johansen's co-integration test is used to check the stability of long nm equilibrium relationship between the variables used in the study. The results indicate that is long nm stable equilibrium relationship between economic growth and the …


Gender Inequality And Economic Growth: A Time Series Analysis For Pakistan, Zahid Pervaiz, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amatul R. Chaudhary Dec 2010

Gender Inequality And Economic Growth: A Time Series Analysis For Pakistan, Zahid Pervaiz, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This paper attempts to analyze the impact of gender inequality on economic growth of Pakistan. An annual time series data for the period of 1972-2009 has been used in this study. We have regressed growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita on labour force growth, investment, trade openness and a composite index of gender inequality. The results reveal that labour force growth, investment and trade openness have statistically significant and positive impact whereas gender inequality has a significant and negative effect on economic growth of Pakistan.