Liquidity Cycles and Make/Take Fees in Electronic Markets

We develop a model in which the speed of reaction to trading opportunities is endogenous. Traders face a trade‐off between the benefit of being first to seize a profit opportunity and the cost of attention required to be first to seize this opportunity. The model provides an explanation for maker/taker pricing, and has implications for the effects of algorithmic trading on liquidity, volume, and welfare. Liquidity suppliers’ and liquidity demanders’ trading intensities reinforce each other, highlighting a new form of liquidity externalities. Data on durations between trades and quotes could be used to identify these externalities.     

Does Calculating Retirement Needs Boost Retirement Savings?

Calculating retirement savings needs is often viewed as an essential first step in retirement planning. Yet, little empirical evidence exists to support the value of this activity. This case study examines the connection between calculating retirement savings needs and retirement savings through analysis of an online survey of benefits‐eligible employees at a large Mountain West university. Controlling for a variety of possible covariates, and using an instrumental variable approach, the case study shows that having estimated a retirement savings target increases self‐reported retirement savings. The results provide support for financial educators and planners in their efforts to encourage people to estimate their retirement needs early in the retirement planning process.     

News Trading and Speed

We compare the optimal trading strategy of an informed speculator when he can trade ahead of incoming news (is “fast”), versus when he cannot (is “slow”). We find that speed matters: the fast speculator's trades account for a larger fraction of trading volume, and are more correlated with short‐run price changes. Nevertheless, he realizes a large fraction of his profits from trading on long‐term price changes. The fast speculator's behavior matches evidence about high‐frequency traders. We predict that stocks with more informative news are more liquid even though they attract more activity from informed high‐frequency traders.     

TRACING THE EFFECTS OF GUARANTEED ADMISSION THROUGH THE COLLEGE PROCESS: EVIDENCE FROM A POLICY DISCONTINUITY IN THE TEXAS 10% PLAN

The Texas 10% law states that students who graduated among the top 10% of their high school class are guaranteed admission to public universities in Texas. We estimate the causal effects of this admissions guarantee on a sequence of connected decisions: students' application behavior, admission decisions by the university, students' enrollment choices conditional on admission; as well as the resulting college achievement. We identify these effects by comparing students just above and just below the top 10% rank cut off. We assume that other student characteristics and incentives are continuous at this cut off. We find that students react to incentives created by the admissions guarantee—for example, by reducing applications to competing private universities. The effects of the admissions guarantee depend on the university and the type of students it attracts. The 10% law is binding and alters the decisions of the admissions committees. We find little evidence that the law increases diversity or leads to meaningful mismatch for the marginal student admitted. (JEL I23, I28)     

Measuring What Really Matters to Consumers

Virtually every major interest group except consumers has developed a ranking system or report card that can be used to galvanize the public and pressure policy makers for change. This article discusses the potential value of consumer‐relevant indices that permit international comparisons and addresses some of the challenges to constructing these measures.     

Partial Identification in Monotone Binary Models: Discrete Regressors and Interval Data

We investigate identification in semi-parametric binary regression models, y = 1( x β +υ+ε > 0) when υ is either discrete or measured within intervals. The error term ε is assumed to be uncorrelated with a set of instruments z , ε is independent of υ conditionally on x and z , and the support of − ( x β +ε) is finite. We provide a sharp characterization of the set of observationally equivalent parameters β . When there are as many instruments z as variables x , the bounds of the identified intervals of the different scalar components β _k of parameter β can be expressed as simple moments of the data. Also, in the case of interval data, we show that additional information on the distribution of υ within intervals shrinks the identified set. Specifically, the closer the conditional distribution of υ given z is to uniformity, the smaller is the identified set. Point identified is achieved if and only if υ is uniform within intervals.     

Collective Labour Supply: Heterogeneity and Non-Participation

We present identification and estimation results for the "collective" model of labour supply in which there are discrete choices, censoring of hours, and non-participation in employment. We derive the collective restrictions on labour supply functions and contrast them with restrictions implied by the usual "unitary" framework. Using the large changes in the wage structure between men and women in the U.K. over the last two decades, we estimate a collective labour supply model for married couples without children. The estimates of the sharing rule show that male wages and employment have a strong influence on bargaining power within couples.     

EMPIRICAL SUPPORT FOR AND THE EVALUATION OF AN INTERVENTION MODEL FOR ELDERLY CONSUMERS*

This paper reports the development and evaluation of a consumer education intervention model for elderly consumers. Data on the consumer decision making patterns of married elderly were analysed to ascertain the correlates of a specialized or syncratic decision pattern. No differences were found relative to the type or intensity of consumer problems. Additionally, no support was observed for a resource theory of consumer decision-making power. T-test and analysis of covariance suggested that the educational model was effective. Suggestions for future research are offered.