Sex Differences in the Ultimatum Game: An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective

In the two-person ultimatum game, an allocator is required to split a given sum of money with a recipient. Subsequently the recipient can either accept or reject the offer. If it is accepted, both players receive their respective splits, while if it is rejected neither of them get anything. Using evolutionary psychology as the theoretical framework, we predicted and found that males made more generous offers when pitted against a female as opposed to a male. While females made equal offers independently of the sex of the recipient. That male allocators are altruistic towards female recipients and competitive with male recipients is construed as a manifestation of social rules, which evolve from the male pre-disposition to use resources for attracting mates. In contrast, females have not evolved such a pre-disposition, and thus, female allocators are more concerned about fairness when making offers to recipients. Several alternate explanations of the above findings are discussed and the evolutionary explanation is concluded as the most parsimonious one. Other potential moderators that are amenable to evolutionary explanations, namely, physical attractiveness, age and ethnicity of participants, are also discussed in this context. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An Economic Analysis of the Returns to Canadian Swine Research: 1974–97

This paper reports a new set of estimates of the returns to swine research in Canada. These estimates are obtained using Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada's Canadian Regional Agricultural Model (CRAM). Positive Mathematical Programming is incorporated into the model for use in this study. The CRAM allows the effects of supply shifts from technological change in the hog industry to interact with product and factor market conditions in the rest of Canadian agriculture. Extensive sensitivity analysis is conducted to examine the robustness of the return estimates under variations in some of the key assumptions employed in the analysis. The costs of public and private sector swine research are estimated. Public sector research costs are inclusive of the marginal excess burden of taxation. Overall, the estimated benefits from Canadian swine research are high relative to the estimated costs for the time period considered. Previous estimates of the returns to Canadian swine research were obtained by Huot et al. (1989) with a partial equilibrium model that did not allow for intra‐sectoral resource use adjustments. The estimated returns obtained in the present study are generally higher than those obtained by Huot et al. For example, the estimates obtained from the direct application of the econometrically estimated supply function in this study gave an internal rate of return of about 124% and a benefit‐cost ratio of 22.4 to 1. Huot et al reported comparable estimates of about 43% for the internal rate of return and 6–7 to 1 for the benefit‐cost ratio. The differences in returns are not solely attributable to the use of a multi‐market versus a single‐market partial equilibrium approach. There are also differences in the estimates of the marginal excess burden of taxation between the two studies. L'analyse que void présente une nouvelle série d'estimations quant au rendement de la recherche porcine au Canada. Ces estimations dérivent du Modèle d'analyse régionale de l'agriculture du Canada (MARAC) du ministère canadien de l'Agriculture et de l'Agroalimentaire. Aux fins de la présente étude, on avait intégré au modèle une programmation mathématique positive. Le MARAC autorise l'interaction entre les retombées d'une modification de l'offre attribuable au virage technologique de l'industrie porcine et les conditions du marché des produits et des facteurs dans le reste de l'agriculture canadienne. Les auteurs ont effectué une analyse de sensibilité poussée en vue d'établir la robustesse de leurs estimations quand variaient quelques‐unes des principales hypotheses de l'analyse. On a estimé le coût de la recherche sur les pores poursuivie par les secteurs public et privé. Dans le secteur public, le coût de la recherche incluait une charge fiscale légérement excessive. Dans l'ensemble, la recherche sur les porcs entreprise au Canada a rapporté beaucoup comparativement à ce qu'elle a coûté pendant la période à l'étude. Les estimations antérieures, établies par Huot et ses collaborateurs (1989), venaient d'un modèle àéquilibre partiel ne permettant aucun ajustement pour l'utilisation intra‐sectorielle des ressources. Les revenus estimés ici sont généralement plus élevés que ceux de Huot et de ses collaborateurs. Ainsi, une application directe de l'offre estimée par des méthodes économétriques à l'analyse donne un taux de rendement interne d'environ 124 % et un indice de rentabilité de 22,4 pour 1. À titre de comparaison, Huot et ses collaborateurs rapportent des résultats d'environ 43 % pour le taux de rendement interne et de 6 à 7 pour 1 en ce qui concerne l'indice de rentabilité. Pareil écart ne résulte pas uniquement du choix d'un modèle àéquilibre partiel reposant sur plusieurs marchés au lieu d'un seul; on relève aussi des variations dans l'estimation du léger excès de la charge fiscale entre les deux études.     

Living conditions of mine workers from eight mines in South Africa

Poor living conditions are a consequence of the history of the South African mining industry (SAMI), despite legislation having been implemented to attempt to address this challenge. This paper describes the living conditions of mine workers from eight mines in South Africa in 2014, and assesses changes made over the previous decade. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected at three platinum, two gold, one coal, one diamond, and one manganese mine in 53 interviews with mine management, 11 interviews with labour representatives, 14 focus groups with mine workers, and 875 questionnaires completed by mine workers. The use of single-sex hostels and hostel room occupancy rates has reduced, while the use of living-out allowances (LOAs) has increased. Problems included the high proportions of informal accommodation; a lack of access to water, sanitation, and electricity; and poor roads. While improvements to the living conditions in the SAMI are evident, challenges still remain.     

Valuing and value in diversity: the policy‐implementation gap in an IT firm

The focus of UK‐based research on diversity theory and diversity managers has led to a relative dearth of studies focusing on the critical issue of line managers' agency in policy implementation. This article provides a context‐sensitive organisational case study of the policy‐implementation gap in the UK base of one multinational IT company. The article explores male and female managers' perspectives on valuing diversity at a level of general abstraction, and the extent to which they see value in diversity for the effectiveness of their project teams. In the context of a White, male‐dominated industry, the case study shows how the gap is sustained rather than bridged despite the implementation of numerous diversity initiatives.     

'On the side of the Angels': community involvement in the governance of neighbourhood renewal

Community involvement in regeneration is far from easy, and is difficult to define. The New Deal for Communities programme has directly involved residents in the governance of neighbourhood renewal with some success. However, community capacity has proved to be limited, adequate representation is difficult to achieve and there has been friction with local government. Community empowerment has to be enabled and supported by getting the structures and processes right, and supporting community representatives.     

Nonparametric American option pricing

A nonparametric method is introduced to accurately price American-style contingent claims. This method uses only historical stock price data, not option price data, to generate the American option price. The accuracy of this method is tested in a controlled experimental environment under both Black, F and Scholes, M (1973) and Heston, S (1993) assumptions, and an error-metric analysis is performed. These numerical experiments demonstrate that this method is an accurate and precise method of pricing American options under a variety of market conditions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28:717–748, 2008