Marketmaking in the Laboratory: Does Competition Matter?

This paper is the first experimental study of the effects of competition and adverse selection on the performance of market maker (MM-) markets. Information distribution may is either symmetric or heterogeneous. MM-markets are either monopolistic (the specialist markets), or competitive (the multi MM-market). Welfare comparisons are with respect to a continuous double auction (DA-) market. Informed subjects receive an imperfect signal of the true state of the world. We find three main results. First, competition among market makers significantly reduces the bid-ask spread, and increases transaction volume. Second, competition among market makers induces competitive undercutting, yielding net trading losses for market makers as a group in most periods. Third, from the perspective of uninformed traders, a competing MM-regime is optimal, since it minimizes their expected trading losses.     

The impact of referendums on the centralisation of public goods provision: a political economy approach

The paper compares decision-making on the centralisation of public goods provision in the presence of regional externalities under representative and direct democratic institutions. A model with two regions, two public goods and regional spillovers is developed in which uncertainty over the true preferences of candidates makes strategic delegation impossible. The political economy argument against centralisation of Besley and Coate (J Public Econ 87:2611–2637, 2003) does therefore not apply. Instead, it is shown that the existence of rent extraction by delegates alone suffices to make cooperative centralisation more likely through representative democracy under reasonable assumptions. In the case of non-cooperative centralisation, the more extensive possibilities for institutional design under representative democracy increase the likelihood of centralisation. Direct democracy may thus be interpreted as a federalism-preserving institution.     

Measuring Lifetime Redistribution in Dutch Occupational Pensions

Summary  This paper assesses how the Dutch system of occupational pensions redistributes between and within generations. The approach in this paper deviates from the usual approach by incorporating the full life cycle in the measurements, rather than only the annual effects. In order to quantify redistribution, we use the level of educational attainment, gender and age to classify the pension fund population. For all groups distinguished, we measure in present value terms the average net benefit from participating in occupational pensions. The results indicate a sizable redistribution from males to females and from low educated to higher educated workers. On a lifetime basis, the impact of intergenerational transfers is modest. I am grateful to the two anonymous referees, Ed Westerhout, Casper van Ewijk, Lex Meijdam, Yvonne Adema and Peter Kooiman for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and to Andre Nibbelink for his valuable computational assistance.     

Weiter behandeln oder nicht?

Ein Fallbeispiel - Frau Schneider erkrankte im Alter von 73 Jahren an einer akuten myeloischen Leuk?mie (AML). Die eingeleiteten Therapien griffen nicht. Schlie?lich stimmte sie der Therapiebegrenzung zu. Vor welchen klinischen und normativen Herausforderungen stand das Behandlungsteam? Welche L?sungsans?tze für das praktische Vorgehen k?nnen aus diesem Fall geschlussfolgert werden?     

» Mehrwertkommunikation erfordert nach vollziehbare Kriterien für den Kunden «

Schweizer Konsumenten setzen sich sehr kritisch mit Lebensmitteln auseinander und sch?tzen Produkte, die über einen erkennbaren und relevanten Mehrwert verfügen. Mit einer innovativen Produktpalette an hochwertigen Frischeprodukten ist es Emmi gelungen, im In- und Ausland zu einem führenden Anbieter von Mehrwertprodukten aufzusteigen. Urs Riedener erkl?rt diesen Mehrwert und wieso Authentizit?t eine unabdingbare Voraussetzung für Glaubwürdigkeit ist.     

OPTIMAL DIVIDEND PAYMENTS WHEN CASH RESERVES FOLLOW A JUMP‐DIFFUSION PROCESS

We consider a model in which a firm faces two types of liquidity risks: a Brownian risk and a Poisson risk. The firm chooses a dividend policy to maximize shareholder value. We characterize the optimal firm value and we show that the optimal dividend policy is a barrier strategy: the firm keeps cash inside when the cash reserves level is less than a critical threshold and pays cash in excess of this threshold. We also analyze the problem of insurance against the Poisson risk. We find that it is optimal for the firm to buy full insurance when its cash reserves are above a critical threshold and not to insure otherwise.     

The supportive expatriate spouse: An ethnographic study of spouse involvement in expatriate careers

Previous research on the influence of accompanying expatriate spouses has emphasized the negative impact on the business expatriates that could contribute to unsuccessful outcomes of the foreign assignments. But spouses’ influences could also be positive. Applying ethnographic field-work methodology, this study investigated female spouses’ involvement in the career of a sample of Danish business expatriates living in the same compound in Saudi Arabia. Results showed that the accompanying partners were active in trying to support and further their expatriate husbands’ immediate careers and repatriation opportunities by using social strategies, such as creating alliances and establishing social networks with influential others through social contacts and dinner parties. The female trailing partners also tried as a group to influence company decisions regarding working schedules, pay, and holidays. These findings are consistent with recent theoretical developments focusing on positive outcomes of the work–family interface and social capital theory and are in line with empirical research on repatriation and post-assignment careers.     

Gene-environment interactions and the complexity of human genetic diseases

In the assessment of mortality and morbidity risk, the ability of family history and genetic test results to predict the age of occurrence, severity, and long-term prognosis of 'genetic' diseases is important. An increasing number of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions have been demonstrated in a number of monogenic Mendelian diseases. These interactions can significantly modify the clinical presentation (disease phenotype) of diseases previously regarded purely as 'genetic.' As a result, 'genetic' diseases can be positioned in a continuum between classic Mendelian and complex disease where the extremes, pure genetic or solely non-genetic, do not exist. The position of any given disease in this continuum is defined by three components: the major gene(s) contributing to the phenotype, the variability added by modifier genes and the significance of environmental factors influencing the phenotype. As the predictive value of genetic test results can be significantly influenced by additional genetic and environmental risk factors, a better understanding of these factors may influence the quantification of mortality and morbidity risk.     

Efficient rank tests for semiparametric competing risk models

We consider a semiparametric competing risk model given by k independent survival times. The paper offers an asymptotic treatment of tests for the semiparametric null hypothesis of equality of the underlying risks. It turns out that modified rank tests are asymptotically efficient for certain semiparametric submodels, where the baseline hazard is a nuisance parameter. In addition, the asymptotic relative efficiency of the present tests is derived. A comparison of asymptotic power functions can then be used to classify various tests proposed earlier in the literature. For instance a chi-square type test is efficient for proportional hazards. Data driven tests of likelihood ratio type are proposed for cones of alternatives. We will consider certain stochastically increasing alternatives as a special example. The paper shows how the concept of local asymptotic normality of Le Cam works for hazard oriented models.