Improving the Performance of Contingent Valuation Studies in Developing Countries

This paper discusses three main reasons why so many of the contingentvaluation studies conducted in developing countries are so bad. First,the contingent valuation surveys themselves are often poorly administeredand executed. Second, contingent valuation scenarios are often very poorlycrafted. Third, few CV studies conducted in developing countries aredesigned to test whether some of the key assumptions that the researchermade were the right ones, and whether the results are robust with respectto simple variations in research design and survey method. The paper concludesthat research on stated preference methods in developing countries iscritically important to the successful implementation of these methodsbecause (1) there is no empirical evidence to suggest that rapid,”streamlined” CV surveys yield reliable, accurate results, and (2)there is a significant risk that the current push for cheaper, simplerCV studies could discredit the methodology itself. Moreover, the policydebates to which CV researchers are asked to contribute are often oftremendous importance to the well-being of households in developingcountries. Because the costs of policy mistakes can prove tragic, itis critical that VC researchers push for excellence in this researchenterprise and that funding agencies think more carefully about thevalue of policy-relevant information in the fields in which thecontingent valuation method is being used to study household preferencesand behavior (e.g., water and sanitation services, urban air pollution,soil erosion, deforestation, biodiversity, watershed management,ecosystem valuation, vaccines for the poor).     

审计行为及其法律责任的博弈分析

会计师事务所对企业的审计过程中会产生必须由其中一方承担的法律责任。然而人们不禁要问,在这一交易过程中,交易的主体应该避免产生这样或那样的责任,以免给自己造成损失,但是,在实际的业务执行过程中,针对事务所或企业的法律诉讼,给双方造成了很大的负担。这说明,在市场经济中,审计法律责任的产生具有某种必然性。本文试图通过博弈论这一分析工具,从经济学的角度来详细讨论这种必然性。     

基于中小企业信用行为的博弈分析

中小企业信用境差一直是倍受关注的社会问题。本文以中小企业之间的信用交易行为为切入点,运用博弈理论,从一次博弈和多次动态博弈的角度分别对其信用行为进行分析,发现一次博弈的结果很可能是不守信,而多次动态博弈的最优结果则是守信。基于此,建立中小企业征信机制,提高其失信成本,营造良好的信用氛围是解决其失信行为的有效方法。     

Functional form problems in modeling insurance and gambling

Defining the outputs of the property insurance and gambling sectors of an economy has proved to be a difficult problem for national income accountants. It is well known that the traditional expected-utility model is not consistent with economic agents fully insuring their property. Thus the present paper adapts existing non-expected-utility theories to yield useful measures of output for the property insurance and gambling sectors.     

从博弈论看当前的彩电价格竞争

价格竞争已是我国企业惯用策略行为。文章以彩电行业为例,用博弈论的观点来分析揭示易发生价格竞争的产业特征,提出产业内企业可行的价格竞争与非价格竞争策略。     

Problems in valuing the benefits of biodiversity protection

This paper considers two problems in valuing the benefits of biodiversity protection. These are, firstly, that preferences for biodiversity protection may be lexicographic rather than utilitarian. The more individuals for whom this is true, the less is cost-benefit analysis validated as a means of decision making for biodiversity protection, since lexicographic preferences are incompatible with the Kaldor-Hicks Compensation Test. Secondly, people may be poorly informed about the meaning of biodiversity, complicating the use of contingent valuation as a means of measuring preservation benefits. This paper first discusses the meaning of biodiversity, and trends in diversity over time. We offer some empirical evidence with regard to lexicographic preferences; consider the implications of having poorly-informed consumers; and then report the results of a contingent valuation study of biodiversity protection with varying levels of information. We find that willingness to pay for biodiversity protection increases with the level of information provided.We thank David Pearce, participants at a seminar at University College London, and two referees for comments on earlier versions of this paper.     

中日纺织服装产业合作博弈分析

中国与日本同为东北亚的两个纺织强国,在国际出口环境不断恶化的条件下,中日两国纺织服装产业开展合作,对扩大两国内需、促进两国经济增长及调整我国纺织服装产业结构具有重要意义。本文结合影响中日纺织服装产业发展的具体因素,建立合作博弈模型,对中日纺织服装合作需要满足的充分必要条件进行分析,并对合作的可行性进行了验证,得出结论认为合作博弈是中日纺织服装产业的最优选择。     

Agricultural innovation in less developed countries

We identify and elaborate some critical factors and mechanisms that foster the emergence of cooperative behavioral patterns. Through institutionalization, which solves social dilemmas through habituation, these factors and mechanisms provide the foundation of contingent cooperation and contextual trust in specific interaction ‘arenas’ and ‘meso’-sized ‘platforms’ (and related carrier groups) in these. This, then, may in turn support the emergence of general trust in the whole population, i.e., across all specific arenas and platforms. The emergence of institutions of cooperation may gain traction more easily in smaller arenas. This, and the transfer, spillover, or generalization to other arenas and platforms, is by no means determined, and the analytical foundation we offer permits to account for the different levels of cooperation, general trust, and socioeconomic performance observable in real-world economies (varieties of capitalisms). Directions of future research, as well as a policy focus, are provided as well.     

A Field Experiment Involving Cash and Hypothetical Charitable Donations

An important focus for concern about Contingent Valuation (CV) is that hypothetical payments for non-market goods are biased upwards in comparison to cash payments. Lack of realism, through its influence on incentives to mis-report payments, may explain the divergence. This paper reports on a study which attempts to overcome this problem by emulating a real fund-raising solicitation by the Isle of Eigg Trust for both real and hypothetical donations. In contrast to previous results, the mean cash donation was higher (£3.71) than the man CV donation (£3.41). A third survey, which used a neutral CV design, implemented by a research organization, obtained a mean donation which was much higher (£6.21) than the cash equivalent.