Searching for the sunk cost fallacy

We seek to isolate in the laboratory factors that encourage and discourage the sunk cost fallacy. Subjects play a computer game in which they decide whether to keep digging for treasure on an island or to sink a cost (which will turn out to be either high or low) to move to another island. The research hypothesis is that subjects will stay longer on islands that were more costly to find. Eleven treatment variables are considered, e.g. alternative visual displays, whether the treasure value of an island is shown on arrival or discovered by trial and error, and alternative parameters for sunk costs. The data reveal a surprisingly small sunk cost effect that is generally insensitive to the proposed psychological drivers. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at . Jel Classification C91, D11     

Bridges over contested terrain: Exploring the radical account of the employment relationship

Richard Edwards' account of the transformation of the employment relationship in the twentieth century is used as a vehicle for integrating the radical analysis into the more conventional treatment. Most non-radical analyses rely on idiosyncratic skills to explain the existence of job security and other features of the modern employment relationship. Here an alternative explanation is proposed and some of its implications are explored.     

管理文化演进的规律性探究

管理文化是指人类在管理活动中共同创造、共同维持、共同发展的物质财富和精神财富的总和。它包括四个层次的内容:一是管理物质文化,二是管理制度文化,三是管理意识文化,四是管理心理文化。管理文化的演进是按照这四个层次由低到高依次循环进行的。现代管理文化近百年的演进历程可分为三个大的周期。     

商业银行顾客忠诚问题研究

我国银行业的竞争日趋激烈，顾客资源成为商业银行之间竞争的焦点，赢得顾客忠诚将是商业银行在竞争中取胜的关键。本文对商业银行顾客忠诚的内涵、价值和影响因素进行了分析，对商业银行培育顾客忠诚提出了相关对策。     

论美国风险投资维护金融安全的经验及启示

风险投资对于维护金融安全而言有利也有弊,而美国风险投资却趋利避害,不仅促进了美国实体经济的发展,也为稳定美国金融安全作出了贡献。究其原因,美国风险投资有科学的组织模式、广泛的资金来源、谨慎的投资方式的选择、健全的服务与监管体系,而且还有美国政府的大力支持。本文以美国的成功经验为鉴提出了发展我国风险投资的一些看法。     

Analysis and Forecast of the State of Environmental Protection in Russia

The main purpose of the present study is to analyse the emission dynamics of atmospheric and water pollutants in Russia and cost of their removal in the 1980s and early 1990s, and to forecast them by means of a Dynamic Input–Output Model according to different scenarios of future economic development till 1998. Main results of the work are:– methodological principles have been elaborated for singling out the environmental protection sector within the national economy;– a method has been offered for including the ecological block into a Dynamic Input–Output Model of the Russian economy;– a method of data preparation has been elaborated for the ecological block of the above-named model, the data base which characterizes the ecological situation in Russia has been formed and analysed;– calculations for 1994–1998 have been executed for forecasting the economic and ecological development of Russia using the above-mentioned model and the results obtained have been analysed. The results showed that if the existing tendencies towards low environmental protection capital costs remain the same, then the negative environmental impact will increase. In order to implement ecological programs and international agreements, to increase the proportion of removed pollutants, it is necessary to increase substantially expenditures on purifying water and air resources. The proportion of environmental protection investments in the total amount of the national economy capital costs should increase by up to 12–40% according to different scenarios of the economic development and different purposes of the environmental protection policy.     

特许经营体系的组织性质:属性与内涵

特许经营体系是一种中间性体制组织,它用较低的组织成本获得了较高的非一体化下的合作程度,用较低的交易成本获得了较高的交易市场化程度。从不同的角度看,特许经营体系具有不同的组织内涵。具体而言,从制度经济学的角度看,特许经营体系是一种介于科层组织和纯市场之间的中间性体制组织;从创新经济学的角度看,特许经营体系又是一个创新系统。     

会计信息披露的产权结构研究

本文对会计信息披露的产权结构进行了分析,发现会计信息披露实质是由信息支配权所有者向信息要求权所有者提供会计信息的过程.会计信息要求权的形成是与企业性质分不开的,而会计信息支配权的形成则取决于信息披露过程中的交易费用是否最小化.     

Two-moment decision models and rank-dependent utility

This paper extends results on the consistency of two-moment decision models with expected utility to rank-dependent utility preferences. The representations of expected utility and rank-dependent utility by --preferences have very similar comparative statics properties for linear distribution classes, except for the behavior with respect to small independent risks.I thank Soo Hong Chew for helpful discussion and three anonymous referees for valuable comments.