Sequential procurement auctions and their effect on investment decisions

We characterize the optimal mechanism and investment level in an environment where (i) two projects of independent costs are purchased sequentially, (ii) the buyer can commit to a two‐period mechanism, and (iii) the winner of the first project can invest in a cost‐reducing technology between auctions. We show that, in an attempt to induce more competition in the first period, the optimal mechanism gives an advantage to the first‐period winner in the second auction. As a result of this advantage, the first‐period winner invests more than the socially efficient level. Optimal advantages, therefore, create two different channels for cost minimization in buyer‐supplier relationships.     

邯郸学步

中国有一则古老故事，说的是一个年轻人来到北方的一座城市邯郸，专门学那里人走路的姿势，结果到最后，他不但没有学会邯郸人走路的姿势，连原来怎么走路都忘了。像其他古老故事能给我们带来启迪一样，这个故事尤其可以给一些中国朋友们在学习英语方面一点忠告。     

九十年代新一辈

1990年之后出生的年轻人如今正在准备成为未来中国的领军人物。他们将证明自己是一群非常有趣的领军人物，因为在中国之前还从没有出现过这样的孩子们。我很荣幸每天和这群孩子一起工作、聊天，阅读他们的文章。我觉得他们非常特别。     

什么是“伟大的文学”？

关于什么样的文学作品可以称之为伟大，其中一个可以确定的标准就是，这部作品自问世以来，一直被珍爱、被学习，并且可以激励一代又一代的读者，不单单去学习和与他人分享它，甚至因为遵循“史诗传统”，还要尝试将作品的力量融入到自己的工作中。     

你被什么所禁锢？

南非前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉也许是近代历史上最著名的囚犯之一。在他的自传中有一段精彩的描述,讲述了在他漫长的监禁岁月里对自由二字的追求和提炼。     

An empirical comparison of nonparametric and parametric Engel functions

Nonparametric techniques are used to estimate income densities, Engel functions and their derivatives, and income elasticities. Nonparametric kernel methods give less ambiguous estimates of the densities than discrete, maximum penalised likelihood estimation. The nonparametric estimates of the Engel functions, their derivatives, and the income elasticities are compared with some corresponding parametric estimates. The nonparametrically estimated Engel functions provide a better fit to the data. Also, the nonparametric elasticity estimates are qualitatively similar to the parametric estimates. Some statistically significant differences are observed between the parametric versus nonparametric estimates, but not to the extent of having any major policy implications.     

Accounting for Variation in the Explanatory Power of the Psychometric Paradigm: The Effects of Aggregation and Focus

Most psychometric studies of risk perception have used data that have been averaged over participants prior to analysis. Such aggregation obscures variation among participants and inflates the magnitude of relationships between psychometric dimensions and dependent variables such as overall riskiness. However, most studies that have not averaged data over participants have also shifted the focus of analysis from differences among hazards to differences among participants. Hence, it is unclear whether observed reductions in the explanatory power of psychometric dimensions result from the change in the level of analysis or from the change in the focus of analysis. Following Willis et al.'s (2005 Willis, H. H., DeKay, M. L., Fischhoff, B. and Morgan, M. G. 2005. Aggregate, disaggregate, and hybrid analyses of ecological risk perceptions. Risk Analysis, 25(2): 405–428. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) analysis of ecological risk perceptions, we unconfound these two variables in a study of risk perceptions in Santiago, Chile, although we use more traditional hazards, attributes, and statistical procedures. Results confirm that psychometric dimensions explain less variation in judgments of riskiness and acceptability at the disaggregate level than at the aggregate level. However, they also explain less variation when the focus of analysis is differences among participants rather than differences among hazards. These two effects appear to be similar in magnitude. A simple hybrid analysis economically represents variation among participants' judgments of hazards' riskiness by relating those judgments to a common set of psychometric dimensions from a traditional aggregate‐level analysis.     

我观西子风

飞机刚落地,我就觉得,在中国,除了山东和北京,杭州将是我今后可以经常拜访的一个城市了.我在想,杭州究竟有什么魅力,能让我第四次来到这里.     

Effects of fixed and continuously distributed delays in a monopoly model with constant price elasticity

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of a monopoly model with constant elasticity in which the monopolist faces a form of bounded rationality due to limited accessibility to information. We assume the firm adopts a gradient mechanism to adjust the output level, and we investigate how the introduction of fixed and continuously distributed delays within the resulting continuous-time system may affect the long-run dynamics. We find that the stability of the equilibrium depends on the weighting function adopted to model continuously distributed delays, and the convergence of the realized output toward the steady state is crucially affected by the choice of the delay type which, in turn, reflects the availability and the weight assigned to information. Indeed, depending on the assumptions on modeling delays, the equilibrium point may undergo a Hopf bifurcation after which a limit cycle arises.     

Do good institutions improve fiscal transparency?

We study the role of institutional quality on the fiscal transparency of a country. We show that such a link does exist even when controlling for endogeneity. Our findings are robust to changes in specification and a host of transparency sub-measures. An advantage of our study is that we use new data on fiscal transparency for a cross-section of 82 countries, which are based on in-depth reports based on a standardized methodology and protocol. Furthermore, the fiscal measures were obtained with the collaboration of government authorities, which makes them particularly reliable.