A theory of self-selection in a market with matching frictions: An application to delay in refereeing times in economics journals

A matching market with imperfect information is studied. With imperfect information, it is shown that friction in a meeting process can facilitate self-selection and thus may improve the matching outcome. As an application, the effect of delay in refereeing time on publication outcome is analyzed in a publication process in economics journals. Though the delay causes efficiency loss by postponing the dissemination of new research, it will better sort the papers to each journal by their qualities by preventing mediocre papers from being submitted to a prestigious journal and published by luck. If an assortative outcome (good papers in prestigious journals and mediocre papers in less prestigious journals) is efficient, the delay may actually improve the publication outcome. Other matching market examples are also discussed.     

Harmful signaling in matching markets

Several labor markets, including the job market for new Ph.D. economists, have recently developed formal signaling mechanisms. We show that such mechanisms are harmful for some environments. While signals transmit previously unavailable information, they also facilitate information asymmetry that leads to coordination failures. In particular, we consider a two-sided matching game of incomplete information between firms and workers. Each worker has either the same “typical” known preferences with probability close to one or “atypical” idiosyncratic preferences with the complementary probability close to zero. Firms have known preferences over workers. We show that under some technical condition if at least three firms are responsive to some workerʼs signal, the introduction of signaling strictly decreases the expected number of matches.     

Counting combinatorial choice rules

I count the number of combinatorial choice rules that satisfy certain properties: Kelso–Crawford substitutability, and independence of irrelevant alternatives. The results are important for two-sided matching theory, where agents are modeled by combinatorial choice rules with these properties. The rules are a small, and asymptotically vanishing, fraction of all choice rules. But they are still exponentially more than the preference relations over individual agents—which has positive implications for the Gale–Shapley algorithm of matching theory.     

Two-sided Markets,Competitive Bottlenecks and Exclusive Contracts

We provide a framework for analyzing two-sided markets that allows for different degrees of product differentiation on each side of the market. When platforms are viewed as homogenous by sellers but heterogeneous by buyers, we show that “competitive bottlenecks” arise endogenously. In equilibrium, platforms do not compete directly for sellers, instead choosing to compete indirectly by subsidizing buyers to join. Sellers are left with none of the gains from trade. Despite this, it is sellers who choose to purchase from multiple platforms (multihome). Finally, the role of exclusive contracts to prevent multihoming is explored. We are very grateful to Jose Miguel Abito for research assistance, and to the editor and a referee for helpful comments.     

Incompatible theoretical bases underlying accounting standards

The paper presents evidence that demonstrates that U.K. and International Accounting Standards require entries in income statements that are sometimes based on a matching approach and sometimes on a valuation approach. It indicates that the two approaches are fundamentally different and that they produce different net income figures that have different meanings. In these circumstances, the imposition of the standards currently required results in figures of net income that have no defined meaning and are therefore potentially confusing. Consequently, one can argue that the regulators have been misguided in failing adequately to differentiate between the two approaches. Each income statement published should be based on a clearly identified model and be interpretable by reference to known assumptions.     

供给侧生产端变化对中国粮食安全的影响研究

在“谷物基本自给、口粮绝对安全”的粮食安全战略背景下,粮食供给侧生产端对于保障中国粮食安全起到关键性作用。近年来,随着城镇化和农业现代化的推进,新型农业经营主体和土地规模化经营快速发展,粮食生产在质量效益和专业化水平不断提高的同时,其土地生产效率的提高和市场风险的防范面临挑战;粮食生产成本的攀升和比较收益的下降,使农业支持家庭生计的功能不断弱化,导致农户种粮意愿普遍降低;居民食物消费结构升级引致种植结构调整,使保障口粮绝对安全的政策成本上升。粮食生产主体结构与行为、生产成本与比较收益、供需匹配关系等生产端的重要变化,对粮食供给能力进而对国家粮食安全产生重要影响。为此,需要优化粮食安全目标,合理协调“保产量”与“优结构”的关系;完善价格激励机制,以需求升级为导向优化生产结构;优化收储调控机制,增强粮食安全风险应对能力;多举措提高农户种粮和地方政府发展粮食的积极性的同时充分利用国外资源和国际市场。     

中国信贷市场匹配机制的再设计

我国的银行信贷市场呈现二元结构--目标客户与非目标客户信贷市场.两者有着不同的运行机制.目标客户信贷市场的议价过程存在一个类似企业"求婚"的递延接受程序,市场的运行结果稳定.非目标客户信贷市场不存在导致稳定结果的分散化匹配程序,市场广度和深度不够.为提高非目标客户信贷市场的稳定性和运行效率,我们建议通过公布银行信贷方案、设立非目标客户信贷中心、设立中央化的匹配清算所等,把分散化的议价过程变成中央化的匹配程序,从而完善和降低中小企业的交易成本,为中小企业的发展拓展广阔空间.     

Content and advertising in the media: Pay-tv versus free-to-air

We compare the advertising intensity and content of programming in a market with competing media platforms. With pay-tv, media platforms have two sources of revenues, advertising revenues and revenues from viewers. With free-to-air, media platforms receive all revenues from advertising. We show that if viewers strongly dislike advertising, the advertising intensity is greater under free-to-air television. We also show that free-to-air television tends to provide less differentiated content whereas pay-tv stations always maximally differentiate their content. In addition, we compare the welfare properties of the two different schemes.     

能力柔性与知识管理战略匹配对竞争优势的影响

能力柔性与知识管理战略相互影响形成匹配，对企业战略选择而言，匹配模式及其对竞争优势的影响至关重要。基于匹配及战略管理理论，构建知识管理战略与能力柔性匹配模式，运用独立样本T检验探究匹配对竞争优势的影响。研究发现，能力柔性与知识管理战略存在两种一致性匹配模式，即高能力柔性与积极知识管理战略匹配、低能力柔性与保守知识管理战略匹配。匹配对竞争优势产生积极影响，即高能力柔性与积极知识管理战略匹配能够增强企业灵活性、提升顾客优势、增强创新优势，而低能力柔性与保守知识管理战略匹配更有利于提升顾客优势及创新优势。     

网络产业组织理论的历史、发展和局限

自上个世纪80年代以来,网络产业的研究一直沿用着新古典经济学的理性经济人假定,普遍采用博弈论的方法,并依照产品的特征分别侧重对直接网络外部性与间接网络外部性的讨论。经典模型的研究发现,网络外部性的存在会影响消费者对网络的选择,以及企业的技术选择和兼容决策,进而影响社会福利,有可能出现并非最优的均衡。早期的拓展模型传承着经典模型的最基本的假定与函数形式,进一步考虑各种竞争状况。近十年,从双边市场的角度研究具有网络外部性的产业成为网络产业组织理论分析的热点。本文梳理了传统的网络产业组织理论及在此基础上的各种拓展与最近的进展,不仅对研究的内容进行了归纳,更重要的是对研究的思路与模型拓展的方式进行了总结。