Walrasian equilibria as limits of noncooperative equilibria. Part II: Pure strategies

We examine the connection between Walrasian equilibria of a limit economy (with infinitesimal firms) and noncooperative (Cournot) equilibria of approximating finite economies (with significant firms). Nonconvex production sets, decreasing returns in the aggregate, and endogenous determination of the number of active firms are allowed. A Walrasian equilibrium is a limit of pure strategy noncooperative equilibria only if a condition (loosely analogous to downward sloping demand in the partial equilibrium constant returns to scale case) holds. The condition is also sufficient to guarantee the existence of a robust sequence of pure strategy noncooperative equilibria which converges to the Walrasian equilibrium.     

Inequality of Opportunity in Europe

Using the EU‐SILC database, we estimate and compare the Inequality of Opportunity (IO) of 23 European countries in 2005. IO is estimated as the between‐type (ex‐ante) inequality component following the parametric procedure of Ferreira and Gignoux (2011 ), which allows for the inclusion of the large set of circumstances in the database. We also measure the degree of correlation between IO estimates and a set of past and contemporaneous economic factors related to the degree of development, labor market performance, investment in human capital, and social protection spending.     

On dividends in the phase–type dual risk model

The dual risk model assumes that the surplus of a company decreases at a constant rate over time, and grows by means of upward jumps which occur at random times with random sizes. In the present work, we study the dual risk renewal model when the waiting times are phase-type distributed. Using the roots of the fundamental and the generalized Lundberg’s equations, we get expressions for the ruin probability and the Laplace transform of the time of ruin for an arbitrary single gain distribution. Then, we address the calculation of expected discounted future dividends particularly when the individual common gains follow a phase-type distribution. We further show that the optimal dividend barrier does not depend on the initial reserve. As far as the roots of the Lundberg equations and the time of ruin are concerned, we address the existing formulae in the corresponding Sparre-Andersen insurance risk model for the first hitting time, and we generalize them to cover also the situations where we have multiple roots. We do that working a new approach and technique, approach we also use for working the dividends, unlike others, it can be also applied for every situation.     

Delegation and the Regulation of Risk

Political principals typically use low-cost “fire-alarm” signals transmitted by the media, interest groups, and disaffected constituents to monitor the activities of regulatory agencies. We argue that regulatory decision making is biased and inconsistent if the instruments of political oversight are simple and the information flows to the principal are coarse relative to the complexity of the regulatory environment.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: D72, L51.     

BOLIVIA AND SOUTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE

The pending merger between the Andean Pact and Mercosur will advance South American free trade. Each member country will have to adjust to free trade and the various sectors of each economy will adjust differently. This article uses a specific factor model of production to predict output changes and income redistribution in Bolivia with South American free trade. Adjustments in outputs and factor prices in the model are substantial.     

Impact of Market Orientation and ICT on the Performance of Rural Smaller Service Enterprises*

Market orientation (MO) is considered as a competitive strategy for the smaller service enterprises based in rural locations. A model is proposed and validated for the rural tourism sector that encompasses the effects of MO and of the use of information and communications technology (ICT) on business activity, taking into account the business's financial results, improvements to the rural location, and the more personal, intangible impact on the local entrepreneur. ICT is found to have a positive impact on MO and outcomes, whereas, similarly, the adoption of MO is found to have a positive effect on outcomes.     

The influence of perceived risk on Internet shopping behavior: a multidimensional perspective

The present study analyzes the influence that perceived risk in online shopping has on the process of e‐commerce adoption by end consumers. With this aim, the Technology Acceptance Model is taken as a reference framework, proposing an Extended E‐Commerce Acceptance Model that includes the diverse constructs of perceived risk: financial, performance, social, time, psychological and privacy. Empirical evidence is obtained from two samples, one is composed by Internet users with no experience in web shopping and the other is formed by online buyers. The results obtained confirm that the intention to shop through the Internet is positively influenced by general attitude toward the system and negatively influenced by the risk associated with the Web. Regarding the importance of the risk dimensions considered in the study, the economic and performance facets are the ones that have a greater influence on e‐commerce adoption, while social and time dimensions are the less relevant.     

Valuación de opciones de tipo de cambio asumiendo distribuciones α-estables

This paper aims to present the valuation of options using the Black-Scholes method assuming α-stable distributions as an alternative option valuation in the Mexican market. The use of α-stable distributions for modelling financial series allows to overcome the classical valuation main weakness which assumes normality, by capturing the presence of heavy tails and asymmetry in financial time series. One of the main results is the price differential between the two models and the effect of alpha and beta parameters on prices; to show the difference valuation is made of a call option and a put option for the peso-dollar exchange rate. Likewise, basic sensitivity measurements of options (delta, gamma, and rho) were made and the effect of the stability parameter (α) was made on the implied volatility of options assuming the α-stable price as the market price.