Evolution of cooperation in asymmetric commons dilemmas

Field experiments with asymmetric commons dilemmas have shown that groups who are able to derive high social efficiency also had higher equity compared to groups who were not able to derive significant levels of social efficiency. These findings resemble the high productivity in long-lasting irrigation systems based on self-governance. We present an agent-based model based on cultural group selection that shows that the patterns observed in the field experiments can be evolved in cases where agents participate regularly in less challenging symmetric public good dilemmas. These results indicate that cooperation in asymmetric dilemmas can evolve and persist when the agents contend with other social dilemmas than the asymmetric dilemmas.     

On the strategic potential of technological aid in international environmental relations

Prior to noncooperative choices of abatement of a transboundary pollutant, a technologically advanced country considers making an unconditional transfer of abatement technology to its less-advanced rival. Even though technological aid is given unconditionally and abatement strategies are chosen noncooperatively, in a number of plausible circumstances, a transfer of a superior control technology will induce Pareto-superior pollution abatement.     

Banking as a basis for economic cooperation in less developed Europe

This article examines to what extent Russia's increasing reliance on foreign capital could potentially kick-start the economy and generate growth. The analysis highlights more fundamental issues of governance and institutional arrangements, for which the focus on foreign economic activities serves merely as an example to reflect on pathologies of the Russian economy as a whole. The article consists of a theoretical framework, discussing the change of institutional arrangements in the first section and analysing crucial issues of corporate governance and property rights in the last, while empirical information is compiled for Russia as a whole and its constituent regions in the second and third core sections. The article concludes that the Russian map of high foreign trade activities will be shaped only by patchy growth spots, located either where the domestic market is largest or opportunities for export exist, mainly in large urban agglomerations (economies of scale) and commercial hubs, resource-rich and gateway territories (gravitation to international trading blocs). Major investment disincentives will remain as long as the existing system of taxation has not been substantially changed, property rights are not protected, land and bankruptcy legislation is not properly enforced and local authorities are not prevented form rent-seeking activities.     

Time as a strategic variable: business hours in the gasoline market

A popular argument in policy discussions on the liberalization of business hours proceeds on the assumption that business hours are strategic complements: if some firms open longer hours, competitors will be forced to extend their opening hours too. We provide first empirical evidence on the impact of competition and the form of strategic interaction in business hours between firms by using detailed information on business hours as well as the location of retail gasoline stations in Austria. Our findings reject the presumption of business hours being strategic complements. Firms tend to have longer opening hours in a more competitive environment.     

Product availabilty as a strategic variable: The implications of regulating retailer stockouts

We study product availability as a strategic variable in a sequential game between consumers and a monopolist. We use a perfect Bayesian equilibrium concept to solve the game under different regulatory regimes. We show that under certain assumptions about the regulatory environment, a two-price equilibrium in which the quantity of the lower-priced good is limited may exist even when a single retailer sells two brands that are perfect substitutes. The FTC Guides Against Bait Advertising are shown to be potentially welfare enhancing as they facilitate commitment on the part of a monopolist credibly to plan for stockouts. Paradoxically, our analysis suggests that the more stringent FTC regulation prohibiting stockouts by retail food stores from 1971 to 1988 was Pareto worsening, as it removed the monopolist's commitment mechanism.     

内部审计价值变迁的结果:风险导向内部审计

波特的价值链理论将企业的价值活动分为五种基本活动和四种辅助活动,作为辅助活动的内部审计通过整个价值链而不是单个活动起辅助作用.本文运用价值链相关理论分析了内部审计在企业价值链上的定位以及内部审计价值的发展变迁,内部审计的价值决定了内部审计的地位和发展.企业内部审计的发展史也是内部审计价值的发展史,风险导向内部审计是内部审计价值发展变迁的结果.同时还运用价值链理论探讨了风险导向内部审计在公司治理和风险管理中的作用.     

Comparative statics in a simple class of strategic market games

This paper investigates the effects of entry in two-sided markets where buyers and sellers act strategically. Applying new tools from supermodular optimization/games, sufficient conditions for different comparative statics results are obtained. While normality of one good is sufficient for the equilibrium price to be increasing in the number of buyers, normality of both goods is required for equilibrium bids and sellers' equilibrium utilities to be increasing in the number of buyers. When the economy is replicated, normality of both goods and gross substitutes guarantee that the equilibrium of the strategic market game converges monotonically (in quantities) to the competitive equilibrium. Simple counter-examples are provided to settle other potential conjectures of interest.     

从城市中心主义到统筹立法:饮用水安全保障立法理念的嬗变

城市中心主义立法理念导致农村饮用水安全保障的制度供给严重不足。在城乡分割的二元对峙场景下,走出饮用水安全问题泥淖之根本在于立法理念的突破,即向饮用水安全保障统筹立法的方向转变。城乡饮用水安全保障统筹立法与综合生态系统管理理论具有高度契合性;区际公平理论要求矫正饮用水安全保障立法存在的分配非正义、制度非正义和承认非正义;饮用水安全保障统筹立法以权利平等保障为最终依归。在城乡统筹立法理念下,应推进城乡水务一体化的综合管理模式、突出农村居民饮用水安全权利保障、完善和建构适宜的法律制度并确立城乡均衡化的融资保障机制,以实现城乡饮用水安全保障一体化。     

The boundaries of firms in the new economy: M&As as a strategic tool toward corporate technological diversification

Following the dynamic capabilities approach, we understand the recent wave of M&As as a corporate strategy mainly stimulated by the increasingly complex and uncertain techno-socio-economic environment in which firms operate. In this new situation, the boundaries of firms are in greater flux since firms are unable to develop individually all the competencies required to keep pace with the continual redefinition of business lines being driven by corporate competition. Using US patents granted to the world's largest firms, this paper analyses the dynamics of the sectoral specialisation of corporate technological profiles following large shocks that require some M&A deal. The findings of the analysis enable us to evaluate the adoption of M&As as a strategic tool to reshape corporate technological boundaries. On these grounds, we are able to identify patterns of technological diversification into strategic fields according to different models of industrial technological development.     

联合国工发组织积极推动中非合作

作为联合国系统唯一一个负责工业促进的专门机构,联合国工业发展组织今年首次应邀以观察员身份出席中非论坛.此前,来自非洲塞拉里昂的工发组织总干事尤姆凯拉说,感谢中国政府邀请其参加中非论坛,由于其正在非洲访问,特委派副总干事皮斯科诺夫先生和高级顾问阿科帕先生代表该组织及其本人出席有关会议活动.     

推动中蒙经贸合作升级发展

近些年,中蒙经贸合作关系呈现出贸易总额增速放缓、蒙古对华贸易顺差扩大、贸易结构互补性强、中国对蒙古国投资流量整体下降且投资结构相对集中的特点。蒙古国"第三邻国"的对外政策、不稳定的国内经济政策,以及落后的基础设施、双边市场参与主体不规范的行为等对中蒙双边经贸合作可持续发展形成制约。要推动中蒙经贸合作健康稳定发展,中蒙双方应增进长期政治互信,充分利用现有平台,推动区域层面的经贸合作;不断完善基础设施及边境口岸建设,提升通关能力;调整对蒙投资领域,切合蒙古国经济社会发展需求;规范双边市场参与主体行为,构建和谐关系。     

Research cooperation and international standards in a model of coalition stability

Suggestions on international cooperation in climate policy beyond 2012 include substituting or complementing international environmental agreements (IEA) with technology-oriented agreements (TOA). We look at the impact of TOA on environmental cooperation in a framework of coalition stability. Using a numerical model, we analyze the differences of several TOA and how they interact. We find that participation in and environmental effectiveness of the IEA are raised less effectively when the TOA focuses on research cooperation in mitigation technology rather than cooperation on augmenting productivity in the private good sector. This is due to the former having an effect on all actors via emissions, whereas effects of the latter are exclusive to research partners. For the same reason, we find that restricting research cooperation to the coalition is only credible when it focuses on productivity. Technology standards that reduce the emission intensity of production are unlikely to raise participation by themselves and may suffer from inefficiencies. However, these disadvantages do not apply when standards are implemented as a complementary instrument. Separately negotiated technology standards may hence facilitate participation in an IEA without adding to its complexity.     

以物流业为核心的近代早期产业结构演进与启示

目前的所谓“物流”不是经济学上的概念，而是管理学上“物流业”的概念。中国近代经济结构是以近代物流业为核心建立起来的。随着物流业的发展，中国近代重要工业结构初现端倪，并且初步显现出对经济发展的重要推动作用。当前，世界范围的现代物流业“革命”正在兴起，从近代物流业产生与发展中得到的一些规律性的总结，对我国现代物流业的发展，赶上国外物流业发展步伐，将大有裨益。     

我国高速铁路公司引入战略成本管理的思考

目前,我国高速铁路处于起步阶段,经营存在诸多问题。由于受经营管理体制的影响,目前高速铁路公司在成本管理方面普遍不够深入。因此,分析了高速铁路公司目前在成本管理方面存在的缺陷,即成本管理观念滞后、可控成本空间较小、成本管理资料缺乏等。结合自身工作体会,提出高速铁路公司要加强成本管理,就必须在引入战略成本管理理念、塑造企业战略成本文化、发挥专业部门成本源头控制作用、明确受托方的经营责任、硬化成本约束、提高投入效益等6个方面加强成本管理。     

Developing a tool to measure pharmacoeconomic outcomes of post-surgical pain management interventions

Background:

Financial pressures have limited the ability of providers to use medication that may improve clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. New interventions are often fraught with resistance from individual cost centers. A value realization tool (VRT) is essential for separate cost centers to communicate and comprehend the overall financial and clinical implications of post-surgical pain management medication interventions (PSMI). The goal was to describe development of a VRT.

Methods:

An evaluation of common in-patient PSMI approaches, impacts, and costs was performed. A multidisciplinary task force guided development of the VRT to ensure appropriate representation and relevance to clinical practice. The main outcome was an Excel-based tool that communicates the overall cost/benefit of PSMI for the post-operative patient encounter.

Results:

The VRT aggregated input data on costs, clinical impact, and nursing burden of PSMI assessment and monitoring into two high-level outcome reports: Overall Cost Impact and Nurse & Patient Impact. Costs included PSMI specific medication, equipment, professional placement, labor, overall/opioid-related adverse events, re-admissions, and length of stay. Nursing impact included level of practice interference, job satisfaction, and patient care metrics. Patient impact included pain scores, opioid use, PACU time, and satisfaction. Reference data was provided for individual institutions that may not collect all variables included in the VRT.

Conclusions:

The VRT is a valuable way for administrators to assess PSMI cost/benefits and for individual cost centers to see the overall value of individual interventions. The user-friendly, decision-support tool allows the end-user to use built-in referenced or personalized outcome data, increasing relevance to their institutions. This broad picture could facilitate communication across cost centers and evidence-based decisions for appropriate use and impacts of PSMI.     

Cost-utility of pregabalin as add-on to usual care versus usual care alone in the management of peripheral neuropathic pain in Belgium

Abstract

Background and objectivess:

The cost effectiveness of pregabalin as an add-on to the standard treatment of Belgian patients with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) had been demonstrated in a previously published Markov model. The purpose of this study was to update that model with more recent cost data and clinical evidence, and reevaluate the cost effectiveness from the payer’s perspective of add-on pregabalin in a wider set of NeP conditions.

Methods:

The model, featuring 4-week cycles and a 1-year time horizon, consisted in four possible health states: mild, moderate or severe pain and withdrawn from therapy. Three versions of the model were developed, using transition probabilities derived from pain scores reported in three placebo-controlled studies. The two treatment arms were ‘usual care’ or ‘usual care?+?pregabalin’. Resource use and utility data were obtained from a chart review and unit costs from recent published data. The final outcome of the model was the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained when adding pregabalin to standard care.

Results:

Based on 1000 simulations, two versions of the model showed that pregabalin was dominant respectively in 94.8% and 67.2% of the simulations, while the incremental cost per QALY was below €32,000/QALY in respectively 99.1% and 94.6% of the simulations. The third version did not show cost effectiveness, despite an incremental cost of only €300 after 1 year. However, in the corresponding study, patients seemed less responsive to GABA analogs, since 55% of them had failed to respond to gabapentin before study inclusion.

Limitations:

The studies upon which the model is based have a short follow-up time as compared to the model horizon. The endpoints of two studies were only provided at the aggregated level and do not necessarily reflect the real practice.

Conclusion:

Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that from a Belgium payer perspective pregabalin offers a slight increase in quality of life in the studied populations as compared to standard care. Pregabalin is cost effective in the majority of cases except in one published clinical study, despite a low incremental cost per year (€300).     

The impact of culture and ecology on cooperation in a common-pool resource experiment

Context affects decision-making in many ways. In this paper we explore differences in cooperation behaviour between communal farmers in Namibia and South Africa, who share the same ethnic origin but have had different historical and ecological constraints. We report on a series of field experiments based on a common-pool resource model. Our experimental design is framed according to the grazing situation in semi-arid rangelands. Dependent on the behaviour in previous rounds, participants are facing different states of resource availability with varying need to cooperate, coordinate and to be patient. While only 4% of the grazing areas in South Africa remain in good quality, Namibians achieve a level of 42%. We analyse the different experimental states and find that Namibians behave in all states more cooperatively. We argue that the large difference between the two regions is due to a combination of different historical developments and ecological preconditions: Namibian resource users have a longer experience in cooperative resource management and intact traditional norms. Moreover, the real-life payoffs to cooperation are higher in Namibia stemming from ecological factors.     

Sustaining cooperation in laboratory public goods experiments: a selective survey of the literature

I survey the literature post Ledyard (Handbook of Experimental Economics, ed. by J. Kagel, A. Roth, Chap. 2, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1995) on three related issues in linear public goods experiments: (1) conditional cooperation; (2) the role of costly monetary punishments in sustaining cooperation and (3) the sustenance of cooperation via means other than such punishments. Many participants in laboratory public goods experiments are “conditional cooperators” whose contributions to the public good are positively correlated with their beliefs about the average group contribution. Conditional cooperators are often able to sustain high contributions to the public good through costly monetary punishment of free-riders but also by other mechanisms such as expressions of disapproval, advice giving and assortative matching.     

基于BP神经网络的断陷湖生命演化阶段分类研究

利用BP神经网络对云南高原九大湖泊和长江中下游平原鄱阳湖和巢湖的生命演化阶段进行分类。样本的采集主要包括已知演化阶段的断陷湖和未知演化阶段的断陷湖两部分。根据湖泊演化阶段分类初级指标选取滇池、洱海、抚仙湖(1992~2010年)、鄱阳湖(1994~2012年)、巢湖(1986~1995、2000~2008)18年各指标数据以及程海、泸沽湖、星云湖、异龙湖、杞麓湖、阳宗海(2005~2012年)连续8年数据来进行分类研究。研究结果表明,BP神经网络测试样本能够与训练样本很好的吻合,可以利用其对未知样本分类。分类结果为:青年期湖泊包括抚仙湖、鄱阳湖、泸沽湖;成年期湖泊包括洱海、巢湖、程海、星云湖、杞麓湖、异龙湖和阳宗海;老年期湖泊包括滇池。其中巢湖和异龙湖有向老年期发展的趋势。     

Spatial Evolution of Social Norms in a Common-Pool Resource Game

We study the conditions for the emergence of cooperation in a spatial common-pool resource (CPR) game. We consider three types of agents: cooperators, defectors and enforcers. The role of enforcers is to punish defectors for overharvesting the resource. Agents are located on a circle and they only observe the actions of their two nearest neighbors. Their payoffs are determined by both local and global interactions and they modify their actions by imitating the strategy in their neighborhood with the highest average payoffs on average. Using theoretical and numerical analysis, we find a large diversity of equilibria to be the outcome of the game. In particular, we find conditions for the occurrence of equilibria in which the three strategies coexist. We also derive the stability of these equilibria. Finally, we show that introducing resource dynamics in the system favors the occurrence of cooperative equilibria.