Stochastic better-reply dynamics in finite games

In this paper, we analyze a model where individuals from finite populations are repeatedly drawn to play a finite game and in every period choose a weakly better reply to a sample distribution from a finite history of past play. For all finite games and sufficiently incomplete information, we prove convergence to minimal sets closed under better replies. This result complements previous findings in a deterministic continuous-time framework and implies convergence to strict Nash equilibria in many well-known classes of games.     

Demand for redistribution,support for the welfare state,and party identification in Austria

This paper describes subjective wage inequality and the demand for redistribution in Austria using individuals’ estimates of occupational wages from the International Social Survey Program. Although these estimates differ widely across individuals, the data clearly show that most individuals would like to decrease wage inequality, relative to the level of inequality which they perceive to exist. The empirical analysis also shows that the demand for redistribution is strongly associated not only with variables describing self-interested motives for redistribution, but also with perceptions of and social norms with respect to inequality. Further, the demand for redistribution is a strong predictor for whether an individual is supportive of redistribution by the state. On the other hand, however, I find almost no evidence for an empirical association between the demand for redistribution and individuals’ party identification.     

The long-run impact of ICT

This paper examines the growth impact of digital capital in the US and the EU-15 countries from a long-run perspective. It estimates the elasticity of output with respect to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within a production function framework, by means of a panel cointegration analysis. ICT capital is found to significantly spur GDP growth over time, and above its income share. This sharply contrasts with existing aggregate evidence, and with the view that the growth impact of this factor is confined to the contribution given to the productivity resurgence of the 1990s.     

Testing the higher education-led growth hypothesis in a small island: an empirical investigation from a new version of the Solow growth model

This study employs a new version of the Solow Growth Model in order to investigate the higher education-led growth (HELG) hypothesis in the case of North Cyprus. Results reveal that a long-run equilibrium relationship exists between real income growth of North Cyprus and its determinants, namely capital, labor, and the higher education sector. Results show that real income growth converges to its long-term equilibrium level by 10.9 %. Granger causality tests suggest undirectional causality from higher education growth to real income growth in North Cyprus. Therefore, the HELG hypothesis can be inferred for the Turkish Cypriot economy.     

The riches of relevance

This paper looks at the reality of joined-up communications in the financial sector, taking into account new developments in variable printing and insertion that allow a far greater degree of personalisation than ever before. Personalised reporting on financial products used to be very much a service only for the highest value customers. Now, the economics offered by high-speed variable colour printing mean that even the low-value customers can receive such a service. Next, the paper looks at the emerging practice of using bills and statements as a medium for targeted advertising, known as transpromo (transpromotional) advertising. The available advertising value of unused white space on bills and statements stands at £502?807?600 in the UK alone and represents a huge, as yet, fully unexploited opportunity. The issue of personalised web content is also explored in order to demonstrate its ability to improve customer retention, satisfaction, cross-sales and ultimately profitability. How to measure the outcomes of such targeted activity is tackled in the penultimate section, which examines the key underlying business measurement that should result from efficient and effective database marketing. Finally, the paper addresses the issue of managing customer retention post-mergers and acquisitions, particularly in respect of one-to-one communications challenges.     

Policy Implications of the Effects of Concentration and Multimarket Contact in China’s Airline Market

Unlike many other mergers in developed countries, which might have been assessed and their effects estimated by antitrust authorities before being granted antitrust immunity, the airline mergers that swept China’s airline industry in 2002 occurred with no antitrust challenge. These mergers provide the opportunity to study important market power issues in China’s airline markets. Given that increased concentration and multimarket contact are the main legacies of an airline merger, the effects of mergers on these variables can raise the potential for the exercise of market power. However, an examination of the period 2002–2004 during which the Chinese airline mergers occurred shows that the resulting increased concentration and enhanced multimarket contact did not have important consequences for airfares in Chinese city-pair markets. The presence of Hainan Airlines appears to have played an important role in suppressing the airfares charged by China Eastern and China Southern.     

Effects of Transparency in Procurement Practices on Government Expenditure: A Case Study of Municipal Public Works

This paper examines the effect of improved transparency in the bidder qualification process, using the experience gained from a case study of municipal public works auctions. A difference-in-differences analysis reveals that improved transparency reduces procurement cost by up to 8%. This finding is robust with regard to the concerns of both endogeneity and sample selectivity. The bidding-function estimates, combined with features of Japanese procurement system, imply that the introduction of transparent practices is insufficient to bring about efficiency in public procurement.