- 05 Sep 2007
- First Look
- 04 Sep 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?
to find and thereby induce consumers to walk along aisles carrying other products. This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that intermediaries create value by reducing search and transaction costs. It proposes a model that sheds light on the economic motivations that in some contexts may lead Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Aug 2007
- Research & Ideas
High Hills, Deep Poverty: Explaining Civil War in Nepal
and poverty were the greatest predictors of violence in Nepal. The root cause of Nepal's civil war was economic, not social. Investments in poverty reduction strategies bring direct economic as well as political benefits to countries like Nepal. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Jul 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Economic Catastrophe Bonds
Pooling economic assets into large portfolios and tranching them into sequential cash-flow claims has become a big business, generating record profits for both the Wall Street originators and the agencies that rate these securities. This paper by business economics doctoral student Jakub Jurek and Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Jul 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Toward a Theory of Behavioral Operations
still assumes that agents—be they decision makers, problem solvers, implementers, workers, or customers—either are fully rational or can be induced to behave rationally, usually with economic incentives. This paper builds on earlier studies to explore the theoretical and practical Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Jul 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Platform Envelopment
one platform provider adding another platform's functionality to its own, and then offering a multiplatform bundle. Eisenmann and his colleagues describe a variety of envelopment attacks based on the relationship between the attacker's platform and its target's, and then discuss the economic and Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jun 2007
- First Look
- 28 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Alignment in Cross-Functional and Cross-Firm Supply Chain Planning
economic sense. Key concepts include: Alignment can be achieved even if incentives are misaligned. The communication structure often determines whether or not alignment occurs. The key to alignment is less how each function is rewarded (i.e., transfer prices) but rather what each function knows about the Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Contracting in the Self-reporting Economy
prevents the licensor from capturing all of the economic surplus via a fixed royalty agreement; and accounting and auditing costs that reduce the benefits of a variable royalty agreement. Key concepts include: The owner of intellectual property will enter into a variable royalty agreement with an Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Jun 2007
- First Look
- 21 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Multi-Sided Platforms: From Microfoundations to Design and Expansion Strategies
increased tremendously the opportunities for building larger, more powerful, and more valuable platforms. At the same time, by expanding the potential scope of platforms, information technology has also increased the number and complexity of factors, both economic and technical, that drive the strategic Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Merchant or Two-Sided Platform?
pure two-sided platform; and Apple's iTunes digital music store exhibits both merchant and platform features. This research is a first pass at delineating the economic tradeoffs between the merchant and two-sided platform modes. Key concepts include: Economic tradeoffs are affected by several Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jun 2007
- First Look
- 08 Jun 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Poverty, Social Divisions and Conflict in Nepal
country, resulting in the deaths of more than 13,000 people. Do and Iyer considered a wide range of economic and social factors that they hypothesized could affect the likelihood of violent conflict, and econometrically examined their relationship with conflict intensity. These factors include geographic Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 May 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets
focus only on the gains from trade to make headway in changing these laws. But that does not mean that gains from exchange can't be realized. Behavioral economics has been concerned mostly with how individuals make choices. But attitudes about repugnance shape whole markets, and therefore shape what choices people face, and so may be an important way that "behavioral" considerations affect the economy. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 May 2007
- First Look
- 22 May 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Strategy-Proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the NYC High School Match
school choice due to the fact that many students are regarded by schools as equivalent. The research develops and expands on economic theory demanded by the design of school choice mechanisms. Key concepts include: As economists are more often asked to design practical markets and allocation Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 May 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
An Empirical Approach to Understanding Privacy Valuation
telemarketing. Key concepts include: Contrary to some research, the chief privacy concern appears based on data use, not data itself. There is consumer demand for social control that focuses on data use. Sophisticated consumers care about economic context and indirect economic effects. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 May 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
On The General Relativity of Fiscal Language
The failure to distinguish economics from linguistics is distressingly common in fiscal policy and theoretical research. Like measures of time and distance, standard fiscal measures such as deficits, taxes, and transfer payments depend on one’s reference point, reporting procedure, language, and Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
The Excess Burden of Government Indecision
getting voted out of office. Delaying the resolution of fiscal imbalances incurs two costs, however. First, it leaves a larger bill for a smaller number of people to pay. Second, and of primary interest to this research, it perpetuates uncertainty, leading economic agents to make suboptimal saving, Closed for comment; 0 Comments.