Kick-Starting Economic Growth: An Interview With Dr K. V. Subramanian, India's Chief Economic Advisor,
2019
Singapore Management University
Kick-Starting Economic Growth: An Interview With Dr K. V. Subramanian, India's Chief Economic Advisor, K V Subramanian, Havovi Joshi
Asian Management Insights
Dr K. V. Subramanian emphasises the importance of higher investment rates, good quality loans, and structural reforms for boosting India’s economic growth.
Rationalizable Implementation Of Correspondences,
2019
Singapore Management University
Rationalizable Implementation Of Correspondences, Takashi Kunimoto, Roberto Serrano
Research Collection School Of Economics
A new condition, which we call uniform monotonicity, is shown to be necessary and almost sufficient for rationalizable implementation of corre-spondences. Uniform monotonicity is much weaker than Maskin monotonic-ity and reduces to it in the case of functions. Maskin monotonicity, the key condition for Nash implementation, had also been shown to be necessary for rationalizable implementation of social choice functions. Our conclusion is that the conditions for rationalizable implementation are not only starkly different from, but also much weaker than those for Nash implementation, when we consider social choice correspondences. Thus, dropping rational ex-pectations significantly expands the class of rules …
Strategically Simple Mechanisms,
2019
Singapore Management University
Strategically Simple Mechanisms, Tilman Börgers, Jiangtao Li
Research Collection School Of Economics
We define and investigate a property of mechanisms that we call "strategic simplicity," and that is meant to capture the idea that, in strategically simple mechanisms, strategic choices require limited strategic sophistication. We define a mechanism to be strategically simple if choices can be based on first-order beliefs about the other agents' preferences and first-order certainty about the other agents' rationality alone, and there is no need for agents to form higher-order beliefs, because such beliefs are irrelevant to the optimal strategies. All dominant strategy mechanisms are strategically simple. But many more mechanisms are strategically simple. In particular, strategically simple …
Breaking Up: Experimental Insights Into Economic (Dis)Integration,
2019
Chapman University
Breaking Up: Experimental Insights Into Economic (Dis)Integration, Gabriele Camera, Lukas Hohl, Rolf Weder
ESI Working Papers
Standard international economic theory suggests that people should embrace economic integration because it promises large gains. But recent events such as Brexit indicate a desire for economic disintegration. Here we report results of an experiment, based on a strategic analytical framework, of how size and distribution of potential gains from integration influence outcomes and individuals’ inclination to embrace integration. We find that cross-country inequality in potential gains acts as a friction to realize those gains. This suggests that to better understand recent phenomena, international economic theory should account for distributional considerations and behavioral aspects it currently ignores.
Parametric Rationing With Uncertain Needs,
2019
Singapore Management University
Parametric Rationing With Uncertain Needs, Yan Long, Jingyi Xue
Research Collection School Of Economics
We study resource allocation in the face of uncertain needs. We extend Young (1987)’s parametric rules to the uncertain context. We re-establish the axiomatic char-acterization of parametric rules and show the optimality of the rules.
Human Rights And Economic Democracy: Reinvigorating The Human Rights Movement,
2019
Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Human Rights And Economic Democracy: Reinvigorating The Human Rights Movement, Curtis T. Kline
Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights
A 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that in order to avoid a seemingly inevitable ecological collapse that would bring intense suffering especially on the most marginalized and excluded sectors; the world needs to develop “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”. There are many local experiences which demonstrate the possibilities of achieving these needed changes. There are a number of community organizations and associations, social movements, and municipal efforts, among others, with creative visions on this front. In Jackson, Mississippi, for example, Cooperation Jackson strives to be a means …
Non-Separable Models With High-Dimensional Data,
2019
Singapore Management University
Non-Separable Models With High-Dimensional Data, Liangjun Su, T Ura, Yc Zhang
Research Collection School Of Economics
This paper studies non-separable models with a continuous treatment when the dimension of the control variables is high and potentially larger than the effective sample size. We propose a three-step estimation procedure to estimate the average, quantile, and marginal treatment effects. In the first stage we estimate the conditional mean, distribution, and density objects by penalized local least squares, penalized local maximum likelihood estimation, and numerical differentiation, respectively, where control variables are selected via a localized method of L-1-penalization at each value of the continuous treatment. In the second stage we estimate the average and marginal distribution of the potential …
Continuous Implementation With Small Transfers,
2019
Singapore Management University
Continuous Implementation With Small Transfers, Yi-Chun Chen, Takashi Kunimoto, Yifei Sun
Research Collection School Of Economics
The robust mechanism design literature investigates the global robustness of op-timal mechanisms to large changes in the environment. Acknowledging the global robustness as an overly demanding requirement, we propose continuous implementa-tion as a local robustness of optimal mechanisms to small changes in the environment. We say that a social choice function is continuously implementable “with small trans-fers” if there exists a mechanism which yields the outcome close to the desired one for all types close to the designer’s initial model. We show that when a generic cor-relation condition is imposed on the class of interdependent values environments, any incentive compatible …
Make It Too Difficult And I’Ll Give-Up; Let Me Succeed And I’Ll Excel: The Interaction Between Assigned And Personal Goals,
2019
Naval Postgraduate School
Make It Too Difficult And I’Ll Give-Up; Let Me Succeed And I’Ll Excel: The Interaction Between Assigned And Personal Goals, James Fan, Joaquin Gomez-Minambres, Samuel Smithers
ESI Working Papers
We examine the motivational effects of setting both assigned and personal non-binding goals on a real effort laboratory experiment. In order to derive conjectures for our experiment, we develop a model with goal-dependent preferences. In line with previous studies, we find that goal setting leads to a higher performance. We also find that goal-setting is most effective if subjects were able to achieve previous goals. Therefore, in goal setting, “success breeds success”. In particular, we observe that when subjects are initially allowed to attain assigned goals, they are better at self-motivating in the future when performing under personal goals.
Investment Choice Architecture In Trust Games: When “All-In” Is Not Enough,
2019
Chapman University
Investment Choice Architecture In Trust Games: When “All-In” Is Not Enough, Joaquin Gómez-Miñambres, Eric Schniter, Timothy W. Shields
ESI Working Papers
While many economic interactions feature “All-or-Nothing” options nudging investors towards going “all-in”, such designs may unintentionally affect reciprocity. We manipulate the investor’s action space in two versions of the “trust game”. In one version investors can invest either “all” their endowment or “nothing”. In the other version, they can invest any amount of the endowment. Consistent with our intentions-based model, we show that "all-or-nothing” designs coax more investment but limit investors’ demonstrability of intended trust. As a result, “all-in” investors are less generously reciprocated than when they can invest any amount, where full investments are a clearer signal of trustworthiness.
Labor Contracts, Gift-Exchange And Reference Wages: Your Gift Need Not Be Mine!,
2019
Chapman University
Labor Contracts, Gift-Exchange And Reference Wages: Your Gift Need Not Be Mine!, Hernán Bejarano, Brice Corgnet, Joaquín Gómez-Miñambres
ESI Working Papers
We extend Akerlof’s (1982) gift-exchange model to the case in which reference wages respond to changes in the work environment such as those related to unemployment benefits or workers’ productivity levels. Our model shows that these changes spur disagreements between workers and employers regarding the value of the reference wage. These disagreements tend to weaken the gift-exchange relationship thus reducing production levels and wages. We find support for these predictions in a controlled, yet realistic, workplace environment. Our work also sheds light on several stylized facts regarding employment relationships such as the increased intensity of labor conflicts when economic conditions …
Nonbinding Goals In Teams: A Real Effort Coordination Experiment,
2019
Naval Postgraduate School
Nonbinding Goals In Teams: A Real Effort Coordination Experiment, James Fan, Joaquin Gómez-Miñambres
ESI Publications
Problem definition: We investigate the impact of nonbinding (wage-irrelevant) goals, set by a manager, on a team of workers with “weak-link” production technology. Can nonbinding goals improve team production when team members face production complementarity? Academic/practical relevance: Nonbinding goals are easy to implement and ubiquitous in practice. These goals have been shown to improve individual performance, but it remains to be seen if such goals are effective in team production when there is production complementarity among workers. Methodology: We first develop a theoretical model where goals act as reference points for workers’ intrinsic motivation to complete the …
Give Me A Challenge Or Give Me A Raise,
2019
Chapman University
Give Me A Challenge Or Give Me A Raise, Aleksandr Alekseev
ESI Working Papers
I study the effect of task difficulty on workers' effort and compare it to the effect of monetary rewards in an incentivized lab experiment. I find that task difficulty has an inverse-U effect on effort, and that this effect is quantitatively large when compared to the effect of conditional monetary rewards. Difficulty acts as a mediator of monetary rewards: conditional rewards are most effective at the intermediate or high levels of difficulty. I show that the inverse-U pattern of effort response to difficulty is not consistent with the Expected Utility model but is consistent with the Rank-Dependent Utility model that …
Self-Selecting Into Being A Dictator: Distributional Consequences,
2019
Universitat de les Illes Balears
Self-Selecting Into Being A Dictator: Distributional Consequences, Lara Ezquerra, Praveen Kujal
ESI Working Papers
We allow for principals to self-select into delegating, or not, the allocation decision to an agent in a modified dictator game. The standard dictator game arises when principal´s choose to make the allocation decision themselves. Dictators thus obtained transfer lower amounts to receivers, relative to when the decision making is passed to an agent under delegation (or in the standard dictator game). Principals choose to be a dictator nearly half of the time. The average amount transferred by individuals who delegate in more than half of the rounds is significantly higher than the quantity transferred by those who choose to …
The Plight Of Retail Investors In The Pakistani Stock Market,
2019
Institute of Business Administration
The Plight Of Retail Investors In The Pakistani Stock Market, Ahmed Jamil
MSJ Capstone Projects
PSX has a reputation for being biased towards big investors; Experts blame lack of information, brokers’ disinterest in smaller returns, and govt.’s indifference towards spreading investment awareness.
Lying And Shirking Under Oath,
2019
Université de Lorraine
Lying And Shirking Under Oath, Nicolas Jacquemet, Alexander James, Stéphane Luchini, James J. Murphy, Jason F. Shogren
ESI Working Papers
This study explores whether an oath to honesty can reduce both shirking and lying among crowd-sourced internet workers. Using a classic coin-flip experiment, we first show that a substantial majority of Mechanical Turk workers both shirk and lie when reporting the number of heads flipped. We then demonstrate lying can be reduced by first asking each worker to swear voluntarily on his or her honor to tell the truth in subsequent economic decisions. The oath, however, did not reduce shirking as measured by time- at-coin-flip-task, although it did increase the time they spent answering a demographic survey. Conditional on response, …
Kinship, Fractionalization And Corruption,
2019
Simon Fraser University
Kinship, Fractionalization And Corruption, Mahsa Akbari, Duman Bahrami-Rad, Erik O. Kimbrough
Economics Faculty Articles and Research
We examine the roots of variation in corruption across societies, and we argue that marriage practices and family structure are an important, overlooked determinant of corruption. By shaping patterns of relatedness and interaction, marriage practices influence the relative returns to norms of nepotism/favoritism versus norms of impartial cooperation. In-marriage (e.g. consanguineous marriage) generates fractionalization because it yields relatively closed groups of related individuals and thereby encourages favoritism and corruption. Out-marriage creates a relatively open society with increased interaction between non-relatives and strangers, thereby encouraging impartiality. We report a robust association between in-marriage practices and corruption both across countries and within …
Computed Tomography Shows High Fracture Prevalence Among Physically Active Forager-Horticulturalists With High Fertility,
2019
Université Toulouse
Computed Tomography Shows High Fracture Prevalence Among Physically Active Forager-Horticulturalists With High Fertility, Jonathan Stieglitz, Benjamin C. Trumble, Horus Study Team, Caleb E. Finch, Dong Li, Matthew J. Budoff, Hillard Kaplan, Michael D. Gurven
ESI Publications
Modern humans have more fragile skeletons than other hominins, which may result from physical inactivity. Here, we test whether reproductive effort also compromises bone strength, by measuring using computed tomography thoracic vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture prevalence among physically active Tsimane forager-horticulturalists. Earlier onset of reproduction and shorter interbirth intervals are associated with reduced BMD for women. Tsimane BMD is lower versus Americans, but only for women, contrary to simple predictions relying on inactivity to explain skeletal fragility. Minimal BMD differences exist between Tsimane and American men, suggesting that systemic factors other than fertility (e.g. diet) do not …
Adding Tournament To Tournament: Combining Between-Team And Within-Team Incentives,
2019
Georgia State University
Adding Tournament To Tournament: Combining Between-Team And Within-Team Incentives, Michael Majerczyk, Roman Sheremeta, Yu Tian
ESI Working Papers
We examine theoretically and experimentally how combining between-team and within-team incentives affects behavior in team tournaments. Theory predicts that free-riding will occur when there are only between-team incentives, and offering within-team incentives may solve this problem. However, if individuals collude, then within-team incentives may not be as effective at reducing free-riding. Consistent with the theoretical predictions, the results of our experiment indicate that although between-team incentives are effective at increasing individual effort, there is substantial free-riding and declining effort over time. Importantly, a combination of between-team and within-team incentives is effective not only at generating effort but also at sustaining …
A Dynamical Systems Approach To Cryptocurrency Stability,
2019
Chapman University
A Dynamical Systems Approach To Cryptocurrency Stability, Carey Caginalp
ESI Publications
Recently, the notion of cryptocurrencies has come to the fore of public interest. These assets that exist only in electronic form, with no underlying value, offer the owners some protection from tracking or seizure by government or creditors. We model these assets from the perspective of asset flow equations developed by Caginalp and Balenovich, and investigate their stability under various parameters, as classical finance methodology is inapplicable. By utilizing the concept of liquidity price and analyzing stability of the resulting system of ordinary differential equations, we obtain conditions under which the system is linearly stable. We find that trend-based motivations …
