Economic Theory Commons^™

Firing Threats And Tenure In Virtual Organizations: Incentives Effects And Impression Management, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hernán González, Stephen Rassenti

ESI Publications

We study the effect of firing threats in a virtual workplace that reproduces features of existing organizations. We show that organizations in which bosses can fire up to one third of their workforce produce twice as much as organizations for which firing is not possible. Firing threats sharply decrease on-the-job leisure. Nevertheless, organizations endowed with firing threats underperformed those using individual incentives. In the presence of firing threats, employees engage in impression management activities to be seen as hard-working individuals in line with our model. Finally, production levels dropped substantially when the threat of being fired was removed, whereas on-the-job …

Disfluent Fonts Don’T Help People Solve Math Problems, Andrew Meyer, Shane Frederick, Terence C. Burnham, Juan D. Guevera Pinto, Ty W. Boyer, Linden J. Ball, Gordon Pennycook, Rakefet Ackerman, Valerie A. Thompson, Jonathon P. Schuldt

ESI Publications

Prior research suggests that reducing font clarity can cause people to consider printed information more carefully. The most famous demonstration showed that participants were more likely to solve counterintuitive math problems when they were printed in hard-to-read font. However, after pooling data from that experiment with 16 attempts to replicate it, we find no effect on solution rates. We examine potential moderating variables, including cognitive ability, presentation format, and experimental setting, but we find no evidence of a disfluent font benefit under any conditions. More generally, though disfluent fonts slightly increase response times, we find little evidence that they activate …

Cyber-Shilling In Automobile Auctions: Evidence From A Field Experiment, David Grether, David Porter, Matthew Shum

ESI Publications

We run a large field experiment with an online company specializing in selling used automobiles via ascending auctions. We manipulate experimentally the "price grid," or the possible amounts that bidders can bid above the current standing price. Using two diverse auction sites, one in New York and one in Texas, we find that buyer and seller behavior differs strikingly across the two sites. Specifically, in Texas we find peculiar patterns of bidding among a small but prominent group of buyers suggesting that they are "cyber-shills" working on behalf of sellers. These patterns do not appear in the New York auctions.

The Rise And Fall Of Macro (Draft), Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• The rise and fall of macroeconomics by Anwar Shaikh, PhD.

Stock Market Theories, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Stock market theories folder notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-34_Stoc... p. 1)
• Interest rate nominal & real manuscript notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-34_Stoc... p. 4)
• Interest rates & inflation manuscript notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-34_Stoc... pp. 6, 9)
• Capitalism: real competition, turbulent dynamics, and global crises book outline and draft chapters by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-34_Stoc... pp. 11-12, 14, 16, 19)
• The new palgrave: a dictionary of economics excerpt by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate, and Peter Newman (23-34_Stoc... p. 29)
• Warranted price-earnings ratio charts and notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-34_Stoc... p. 42)
• Faculty course …

Micro Foundations Lecture, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

as an archivist detailing a new entry, analyze the uploaded file and give an outline of the material with all dates standardized, all bullet-point item formatting, and sentence case for titles, and italics for all titles, 1.5 spacing between paragraphs, and expand the published items into full apa references with publisher details and journal information but without internet links, or any further description of the different items, standardize the handwritten notes, emails, and comments into full apa-style manuscript citations so they match the level of formality of the published papers, with all handwritten notes credited to anwar shaikh, phd unless …

Guardian / Doen Foundation Seminar, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Guardian Doen Foundation folder notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-29_Guar... p. 1)
• Seminar discussion notes on capitalism and new economic models by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-29_Guar... p. 2)
• Correspondence regarding the Guardian / Doen Foundation seminar confirmation by Bridgette Mohammed (23-29_Guar... p. 3)
• Presentation outline for mainstreaming new economic models by Anwar Shaikh, PhD (23-29_Guar... pp. 4-5)
• Correspondence regarding seminar schedule and final logistics by Bridgette Mohammed (23-29_Guar... pp. 8-9)
• Biographical profile of Anwar Shaikh by New School University (23-29_Guar... p. 10).

An Evaluation Of The Proposal To Implement A Chained Weighted Cpi, David Lock

Applied Economics Theses

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently developed a way to view price changes in the economy called the chained consumer price index (C-CPI-U). There is much debate over this calculation because, if implemented, it would greatly affect government spending on programs such as Social Security and Veteran benefits. A quick overview of how the C-CPI-U is calculated does not appear to be anything to disagree with. A conclusion which can be drawn, and will be discussed in this thesis, is that the major controversy lies in what will happen to those who benefit from possible reduction of benefits in …

Linnear Standard Prices, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (2014, January 17). Linear standard prices [Handwritten research notes with mathematical derivations on standard disaggregation, eigenvalues, and input-output matrices]. Unpublished manuscript. New School for Social Research.
• Shaikh, A. (2015, May 30). Price-value and Wicksell effect [Handwritten research notes with mathematical derivations on normalizations, sufficient conditions for small Wicksell effect, and limits]. Unpublished manuscript. New School for Social Research.
• Shaikh, A. (2014, January 10). Parallel between v/R → 1 and matrix size N → ∞ in effect on A [Handwritten research notes with mathematical derivations referencing Frazer, Duncan, and Collar's work on elementary matrices]. Unpublished manuscript. …

Econophysics Papers, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (2014, October 3). Inequality and social structure: Comments on Piketty [Lecture notes, heavily annotated manuscript with handwritten marginalia throughout]. Department of Economics, New School for Social Research. Prepared for presentation; notes "to appear in" Shaikh, A. (2016). Capitalism: Real competition, turbulent dynamics, and global crises. Oxford University Press. [Two versions present in folder: one clean typescript with yellow highlighting, one heavily annotated copy with handwritten notes credited to Anwar Shaikh, Ph.D., and audience notes in additional hands including names "Dennis Badeen," "Tom," and "Elyseum"; annotations include economic formulae, timing cues, and marginal commentary. Accompanied …

Algebraic Summary Of The Macro-Monetary Interpretation, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Moseley, F. Algebraic summary of the macro-monetary interpretation (Unpublished manuscript).
• Shaikh, A. Handwritten notes on value theory and price of production equations (Unpublished manuscript).
• Shaikh, A. Handwritten notes on regenerative capitalism, neoliberalism, and corporate paradigms (Unpublished manuscript).

The New Dynamics Of El Paso's Post Industrial Development: An Analysis Of The El Paso Chihuahua's Ballpark Controversy, Alan Matthew Serna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis has sought to highlight a controversial event that occurred in El Paso, Texas when a wealthy group of local business interests, entered into a public/ private agreement with the City of El Paso to bring Triple-A baseball to the city. In doing so, the partnership drew large amounts opposition to their plan, when it was revealed that the city hall building would be demolished to make way for a new stadium, and that the issue would not be put to a vote. After analyzing all of the behaviors utilized by both opponents and proponents of the ballpark during …

The Impact Of Monetary Policy On The Stock Market, Simin Hojat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior studies examining the impact of monetary policy instruments on the equity market have produced mixed results. This problem is important to address because of the substantial impact of monetary policy on the economy and economic resource allocation via the equity market. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of change in money supply (M2), change in Federal Funds Rate (FFR), and change in Federal Funds Futures (FFF) on the expected rate of returns of publicly traded companies while controlling for the rate of return of the whole equity market and size of the sampled companies. The …

Loose Notes And Papers, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (2011, March 27). Notes on imperfect competition, the marginal principle, and entrepreneurship (Handwritten note).
• Graz Schumpeter Centre. (2011, March 27–29). Economic thinking in the classical tradition: symposium in honour of prof. heinz d. kurz on the occasion of his 65th birthday (Conference program). University of Graz (2, 3).
• Shaikh, A. (c. 2015). Notes on the measurement of essentials in economic production, engagement with mandel, and terms of trade in developing countries (Handwritten note) (6).
• Shaikh, A. (c. 2015). Notes on uneven development in the united states and the case and deaton study on deaths of …

Book Galleys With Corrections, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Capitalism: Competition, conflict, crises (Unpublished manuscript) by Anwar Shaikh.

Inequality Pyramid, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (September). Wicksell effect (Unpublished manuscript).
• Shaikh, A. (September). Inequality pyramids (Unpublished manuscript).

Chamberlin Monopolistic Competition, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Chamberlin, E. H. (1951). Monopolistic competition revisited. Economica, New Series, Volume 18, Number 72. Blackwell Publishing.

Why Supply Chain Collaboration Fails: The Socio-Structural View Of Resistance To Collaboration Strategies, Stanley E. Fawcett, Matthew W. Mccarter, Amydee M. Fawcett, G. Scott Webb, Gregory Magnan

ESI Publications

Purpose

The relational view posits that supply chain integration can be a source of competitive advantage. Few firms, however, successfully co-create value to attain supernormal relational rents. We therefore elaborate theory regarding the reasons why collaboration strategies fail.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a quasi-longitudinal, multi-case interview methodology to explore the reasons why collaboration strategies fail to deliver intended results. We interviewed managers at 49 companies in Period 1 and managers at 57 companies in Period 2. Fifteen companies participated in both rounds of interviews.

Findings

This paper builds and describes a taxonomy of relational resistors. We then explore how sociological …

The Effect Of Earned Vs. House Money On Price Bubble Formation In Experimental Asset Markets, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hernán González, Praveen Kujal, David Porter

ESI Publications

Does house money exacerbate price bubbles? We compare house money asset market experiments with an earned money treatment where initial portfolios are constructed from a real effort task. Bubbles occur; however, trading volumes and earnings dispersion are significantly higher with house money. We investigate the role of cognitive ability in accounting for the differences in earnings distribution across treatments by using the cognitive reflection test (CRT). Low CRT subjects earned less than high CRT subjects. Low CRT subjects were net purchasers (sellers) of shares when the price was above (below) fundamental value. The opposite was true for high CRT subjects.

Risky Business: An Analysis Of Teacher Risk Preferences, Daniel H. Bowen, Stuart Buck, Cary Deck, Jonathan N. Mills, James V. Shuls

ESI Publications

A range of proposals aim to reform teacher compensation, recruitment, and retention. Teachers have generally not embraced these policies. One potential explanation for their objections is that teachers are relatively risk averse. We examine this hypothesis using a risk-elicitation task common to experimental economics. By comparing preferences of new teachers with those entering other professions, we find that individuals choosing to teach are significantly more risk averse. This suggests that the teaching profession may attract individuals who are less amenable to certain reforms. Policy-makers should take into account teacher risk characteristics when considering reforms that may clash with preferences.

Do Prediction Markets Aid Defenders In A Weak-Link Contest?, Cary Deck, Li Hao, David Porter

ESI Publications

Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that prediction market prices weakly aggregate the disparate information of the traders about states (moves) of nature. However, in many practical applications one is attempting to predict the move of a strategic rival. This is particularly important in aggressor–defender contests. This paper reports an experiment where the defender may have the advantage of observing a prediction market on the aggressor's action. The results of the experiments indicate that: the use of prediction markets does not increase the defender's win rate; prediction markets contain reliable information regarding aggressors’ decisions that is not being exploited by defenders; and …

The Role Of The Decision-Making Regime On Cooperation In A Workgroup Social Dilemma: An Examination Of Cyberloafing, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hernán-González, Matthew W. Mccarter

ESI Publications

A burgeoning problem facing organizations is the loss of workgroup productivity due to cyberloafing. The current paper examines how changes in the decision-making rights about what workgroup members can do on the job affect cyberloafing and subsequent work productivity. We compare two different types of decision-making regimes: autocratic decision-making and group voting. Using a laboratory experiment to simulate a data-entry organization, we find that, while autocratic decision-making and group voting regimes both curtail cyberloafing (by over 50%), it is only in group voting that there is a substantive improvement (of 38%) in a cyberloafer’s subsequent work performance. Unlike autocratic decision-making, …

Experimental Evolution And Economics, Terence C. Burnham, Aimee Dunlap, David W. Stephens

ESI Publications

This is a theory paper that advocates experimental evolution as a novel approach to study economic preferences. Economics could benefit because preferences are exogenous, axiomatic, and contentious. Experimental evolution allows the empirical study of preferences by placing organisms in designed environments and studying their genotype and phenotype over multiple generations. We describe a number of empirical studies on different aspects of preferences. We argue that experimental evolution has the potential to improve economics.

Peer Pressure And Moral Hazard In Teams: Experimental Evidence, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hernán-González, Stephen Rassenti

ESI Publications

Team incentives have been found to be particularly effective both in the lab and in the field despite the moral hazard in teams problem identified by Holmström (1982). In a newly developed virtual workplace, we show that, in line with Holmström, moral hazard in teams is indeed pervasive. Subsequently, we find strong evidence for the conjecture of Kandel and Lazear (1992) that peer pressure may resolve the moral hazard in teams problem. Organizations equipped with a very weak form of peer monitoring (anonymous and without physical proximity, verbal threats or face-to-face interactions) perform as well as those using individual incentives.

First Full Uncorrected Proofs Of Capitalism, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Capitalism: competition, conflict, crises, by Anwar Shaikh. Unpublished — first uncorrected proof, dated October 11, 2015.

Title Page, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

Capitalism: competition, conflict, crises, by Anwar Shaikh. Unpublished, uncorrected proof, third copy in collection, revised October 25, 2015.

Comment: Entering The "Great School Of Self-Command": The Moralizing Influence Of Markets, Language, And Imagination, Sandra J. Peart

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Economists for centuries have struggled to understand the self-other relationship and its implications for economic life. For economists in the classical tradition of Adam Smith, this was a central question regarding the wealth and flourishing of nations. Later, as this volume demonstrates, the relationship of the self to others was forgotten as economics became associated almost exclusively with the pursuit of what Peter Boettke and Daniel Smith describe as "ruthless efficiency."

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and a growing body of experimental and empirical evidence showing the predictive shortcomings of narrow self-interest models, a more capacious economics …

On "Strongly Fortified Minds": Self-Restraint And Cooperation In The Discussion Tradition, Sandra J. Peart, David M. Levy

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Accordingly, this essay explores some unappreciated benefits of discussion. While educators frequently favor discussion as a means to encouraging engaged learning, they nonetheless rarely attempt to explain how or why these benefits arise. More than this, the role of economists from Adam Smith through Frank Knight and his student, James Buchanan, in explaining the benefits associated with discussion has been neglected both within economics and throughout the academy. In this tradition one accepts the inevitability of an individual "point of view" and the good society is one that can govern itself by means of an emergent consensus among points of …

A Class Of Symmetric And Quadratic Utility Functions Generating Giffen Demand, Massimiliano Landi

Research Collection School Of Economics

I provide a simple example of a quadratic utility function that generates a Giffen demand. The utility function is symmetric, increasing and concave. Interestingly, the Giffen effect arises in the subspace where the utility function is strictly increasing and strictly concave. A full characterization of the parameter conditions under which the Giffen demand arises is provided.

Language And Cooperation In Hominin Scavenging, Bart J. Wilson, Samuel R. Harris

ESI Working Papers

Bickerton (2009, 2014) hypothesizes that language emerged as the solution to a scavenging problem faced by proto‐humans. We design a virtual world to explore how people use words to persuade others to work together for a common end. By gradually reducing the vocabularies that the participants can use, we trace the process of solving the hominin scavenging problem. Our experiment changes the way we think about social dilemmas. Instead of asking how does a group overcome the selfinterest of its constituents, the question becomes, how do constituents persuade one another to work together for a common end that yields a …