Does context matter more for hypothetical than for actual contributions? Evidence from a natural field experiment

We investigated the importance of the social context for people’s voluntary contributions to a national park in Costa Rica, using a natural field experiment. Some subjects make actual contributions while others state their hypothetical contribution. Both the degree of anonymity and information provided about the contributions of others influence subject contributions in the hypothesized direction. We found a substantial hypothetical bias with regard to the amount contributed. However, the influence of the social contexts is about the same when the subjects make actual monetary contributions as when they state their hypothetical contributions. Our results have important implications for validity testing of stated preference methods: a comparison between hypothetical and actual behavior should be done for a given social context.      

Incentive-based regulation of CO2 emissions from international aviation

We explore the possibilities of using incentive-based environmental regulations of CO₂ emissions from international civil aviation. In theory incentive-based instruments such as an emission charge or a tradable emission permit system are better regulations than so-called command-and-control regulations such as emission limits or technology standards. However, the implementation of these instruments is a complex issue. We therefore describe and discuss how an emission charge and a tradable emission permit system for international aviation should be designed in order to improve efficiency. We also compare these two types of regulations. In brief, we find that an emission charge and a tradable emission permit system in which the permits are auctioned have more or less the same characteristics. The main advantage of a tradable emission permit system is that the effect, in terms of emission reductions, is known. On the other hand, we show that under uncertainty an emission charge is preferred. The choice of regulation is a political decision and it does not seem likely that an environmental charge or a tradable emission permit system would be implemented without consideration of the costs of the regulation. Revenue-neutral charges or gratis distribution of permits would, for this reason, be realistic choices of regulations. However, such actions are likely to result in less stringent regulations and other negative welfare effects.     

How Much is Too Much?

In a split sample design, we examine how the number of choice sets, design of the first choice set (context dependence), and the choice of attribute levels in the cost attribute affect the precision in the elicited preferences in otherwise completely identical choice experiment surveys. These issues are investigated for Swedish households’ marginal willingness to pay to reduce power outages. Our results indicate that neither the number of choice sets nor the design of the first choice set has a significant impact on estimated marginal willingness to pay, while the effect was significant for the additive scaling of the cost vector. At the end of the article we discuss the implications of our results on future developments and applications of choice experiments.      

An historical wealth assessment – measuring the Swedish national wealth for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

This article provides historical account of wealth accumulation and composition in Sweden during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A detailed account on capital formation during the industrialisation process shows that produced capital grew faster than natural capital from the 1850s. Natural capital was changing from a predominance of forest towards crop land as the main asset in the early twentieth century. Produced capital was largely bounded in the agriculture sector up till the second half of the nineteenth century. Heavy investments in the infrastructure sector and later in the manufacturing section changed the produced capital structure and thereby lowered transport costs and return of investment in manufacturing and services; providing incentives for accumulating the stock of produced capital and enhance consumption and living standard. The return on capital was dispersed from the outset of the period but has converged over time.     

Über das Makeham'sche Gesetz und das Zinsfussproblem bei der Leibrente

Abstract

In dem Folgenden werde ieh einige praktisehe Folgen einigen der vielen bis heute ersehienenen Arbeiten ü das MAKEHAM'sche Sterblichkeitsgesetz und das versicherungstechnische Problem bei Zinsänderungen andeuten. Es handelt sich um einige Zusammenstellungen für die praktische Verwendung einigen der vielen schönen theoretischen Resultaten in diesem Gebiete der Versicherungsmathematik; praktische Zusammenstellungen, die mir bekannt nicht früher klar ausgesprochen worden sind.     

FDI and wage spillovers in Indonesian manufacturing

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment in Indonesian manufacturing on wages in locally owned Indonesian manufacturing plants. The issue is examined in a cross section of Indonesian manufacturing industries and provinces in one of the few years for which data on worker characteristics were available. Wages in locally owned plants were high in industries and industries within provinces with large foreign presence. Since the foreign plants also pay higher wages than locally owned ones, the two factors together imply that higher foreign presence raises the general wage level in a province and industry. JEL no. F2, J3 This paper was prepared as part of an ICSEAD project on “Foreign Multinational Corporations and Host-Country Labor Markets in Asia”. Earlier versions appeared as ICSEAD Working Paper 2001–02 and NBER Working Paper No. 8299.     

How to draft ‘good’ minutes of monetary policy decisions

The minutes of monetary policy decisions at central banks vary substantially. A common norm does not exist. To ensure accountability and guide policy expectations, the minutes should satisfy some basic requirements. In search of criteria for ‘good’ minutes, it is relevant to look at how supreme courts write their decisions. Four criteria for ‘good’ minutes are proposed. The minutes of six central banks are assessed against the proposed criteria. In spite of the substantial variation in format, their minutes largely satisfy the criteria. The central banks' minutes seem to reflect their individual communication histories. The central banks could learn from each other, but also from the supreme courts, especially in terms of how they organise the writing of the minority view.