Fixed-prize tournaments versus first-price auctions in innovation contests

This paper analyzes a procurement setting with identical firms and stochastic innovations. In contrast to the previous literature, I show that a procurer who cannot charge entry fees may prefer a fixed-prize tournament to a first-price auction. The reason is that holding an auction may leave higher rents to firms when the innovation technology is subject to large random factors. I would like to thank Dominique Demougin and Carsten Helm for helpful comments and discussions. Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the SFB 649 “Economic Risk” is gratefully acknowledged.     

The role of health insurance in labor supply decisions of divorced females

Labor economics literature provides evidence that marital dissolution induces an increase in labor supply of females. This paper explores an explanation for this finding: Marital separation might place wives at risk of losing health insurance or increase the need for expanded health coverage. Thus, wives must increase their labor supply in order to qualify for health benefits. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, results confirm that marital dissolution is associated with increased female labor supply. However, this effect is mostly concentrated among women who were not previously enrolled in their husbands’ health insurance plans. For wives who were dependent on their husbands for coverage, continuing coverage laws appear to mitigate the effect of marital dissolution on female labor supply.     

Visions of the future: two success strategies for software selection

The first and most crucial step in any system implementation is the specification and subsequent selection of the software. It is important to make the "right" choice--one where the software works with the hardware to integrate the users so it helps them do their jobs better now and into the future. This article will review the software selection process utilized by two companies to choose the software that was "right" for them. Insights and experiences will also be shared to assist others in their software selection activities.     

Decentralization in Peru's Agricultural Policy: A Critical Review from 1993 to 1998

In 1983 decentralization was already being described as the latest fashion in development administration and it has been gaining in popularity ever since. This theoretical concept has been embraced world-wide and incorporated into economic and political reform plans. In this paper, the proclaimed desire for decentralization in Peru's public administration is tested by reviewing the example of its agricultural policy and in particular its strategy with regard to public agricultural subsidies. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to illustrate the discrepancies between the theoretical objectives of decentralization and how it is implemented in practice; (2) to analyse the structure of Peru's agricultural support policies, evaluate the process of decentralization in this sector and subsequently identify possible problem areas and make policy recommendations; and (3) using the regionally differentiated public expenditures for the agricultural sector in the period from 1993 to 1998, to cross-check the lip-service paid to decentralizing agricultural policy in Peru.     

The purity of impure public goods

In this paper, we provide a new perspective on the links between the analysis of the voluntary provision of pure and impure public goods. In particular, it is shown that the impure public good model can be transformed into a pure public good one. This innovative method not only leads to new comparative statics results, but also provides new insights on the impure public good model, for example, on causes of the nonneutrality of income transfers with regard to Nash equilibria in the impure public good case.     

Hohe Sterblichkeit

Diagnostik und Therapie der Lungenentzündung - Verschiedene Erreger wie Viren, Bakterien oder Pilze k?nnen das Lungengewebe angreifen und urs?chlich für eine Pneumonie sein. Daraus resultiert, dass es für die verschiedenen Formen der Pneumonie und auch verschiedene Behandlungsans?tze gibt.     

Combating “maritime terrorism” off the coast of Somalia

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the international naval mission in the Gulf of Aden from 2008 to 2010, both in terms of its counter-piracy and its counter-terrorism objectives. We draw on arguments developed in the literature of terrorism and law and economics, detailed statistical analyses and a large number of in depth interviews. Counter-piracy operations are a qualified success: their main effects are the stabilisation of attacks at a high level and the substitution between the relatively well protected transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden and the open sea. However, the counter-piracy measures deterred pirates from forming alliances with Islamist movements and may therefore made a major contribution to international security.