Economics, Psychology, and Social Dynamics of Consumer Bidding in Auctions

With increasing numbers of consumers in auction marketplaces, we highlight some recent approaches that bring additional economic, social, and psychological factors to bear on existing economic theory to better understand and explain consumers' behavior in auctions. We also highlight specific research streams that could contribute towards enriching existing economic models of bidding behavior in emerging market mechanisms. This paper is based on the special session at the 6th Triennial Invitational Choice Symposium, University of Colorado Boulder, June 2004 (co-chaired by the first two authors).     

The big-bang-for-your-buck theory

Do it right, and your investment in information technology can have all sorts of strategic payoffs. Do it wrong, and you'll be paying, dearly, for nothing. Here's a guide to evaluating IT and measuring its impact.     

Consumer Demand for New Reduced-fat Foods: An Analysis of Cheese Expenditures

The dairy products industry is adjusting the types of products being marketed by increasing the availability of reduced-fat foods. The desire of consumers to purchase foods with lower fat content is affecting the cheese market with the introduction of recently developed reduced-fat cheese varieties. Econometric models of cheese expenditures for three specific cheese types are estimated, which incorporate censoring of cheese expenditures and the interrelationship between expenditures of full and reduced-fat varieties.     

The Current Position of Statistics: A Personal View

Some current aspects of statistical work are reviewed under three broad headings, applied probability modelling, design of investigations and statistical analysis and interpretation of data. The emphasis is on applications in science and science-based technology, although some incidental comments are made about statistics in public affairs. While no technical details are given, there is some discussion of potential fields for development. The choice of topics reflects the author's personal interests.