PAYOFF LEVELS,LOSS AVOIDANCE,AND EQUILIBRIUM SELECTION IN GAMES WITH MULTIPLE EQUILIBRIA: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Game theorists typically assume that changing a game's payoff levels—by adding the same constant to, or subtracting it from, all payoffs—should not affect behavior. Although this invariance is an implication of the theory when payoffs mirror expected utilities, it is an empirical question when “payoffs” are actually money amounts. Loss avoidance is a phenomenon where payoff‐level changes matter when they change the signs of payoffs: gains become losses or vice versa. We report the results of a human‐subjects experiment designed to test for two types of loss avoidance: certain‐loss avoidance (avoiding a strategy leading to a sure loss, in favor of an alternative that might lead to a gain) and possible‐loss avoidance (avoiding a strategy leading to a possible loss, in favor of an alternative that leads to a sure gain). Subjects in the experiment play three versions of Stag Hunt, which are identical up to the level of payoffs, under a variety of treatments. We find strong evidence of behavior consistent with certain‐loss avoidance in the experiment. We also find evidence of possible‐loss avoidance, although weaker than that for certain‐loss avoidance. Our results carry implications for theorists modeling real‐life situations with game theory and for experimenters attempting to test theory and interpret observed behavior in terms of theory. (JEL D81, C72, C73)     

The New Individualism and Contemporary Japan: Theoretical Avenues and the Japanese New Individualist Path

Recent social theory has identified various institutional forces operating at a global level promoting novel trends towards “individualization”, “reflexive self‐identity” and “new individualism” (Beck and Beck‐Gernsheim, 2001; Giddens, 1991, 1992; Elliott and Lemert, 2009, 2009a). This article develops an exploratory overview of the theory of new individualism with reference to Japanese sociologies of self specifically and contemporary Japanese society more generally. Detailing the large‐scale societal shift in Japan from traditional forms of identity‐construction (based on a citizenship model of social order) to post‐traditional forms of identity‐construction (promoted by globalization and neoliberal policies), the article distinguishes between four discourses of the self in post‐war Japanese society: the age of the ideal; the age of the dream; the age of fiction; and, the age of fragmentation. Moreover, the article examines the Japanese employment system and the emergence of new individualist employment, as well as considering the emotional impacts of a rise in suicides in contemporary Japan. The argument is that the new individualist thesis can contribute to a sociological understanding of recent social transformations in Japan. However, situating new individualism in the context of Japan also highlights significant tensions in processes of new individualism, tensions between individual initiatives and institutional pressures.     

Trend Analysis of Anticipated Lifetime Income Inequality among Post‐war Japanese Youth

This study aims to measure the inequality of anticipated lifetime income and the inequality of annual income among the younger generation (24–29‐year‐old men), and to examine any trends that can be found in terms of inequality between 1955 and 2005 in Japan. Anticipated lifetime income is defined in this study as the present value of the total anticipated annual income that one is likely to earn each year between the ages of 24 and 59 years, assuming that there is no intragenerational class mobility. The anticipated lifetime income for each young male is estimated using the Social Stratification and Social Mobility Survey dataset, which is a Japanese national cross‐sectional survey of social stratification and social mobility. An inequality in the anticipated lifetime income can be regarded as an “inequality of outlook” among the younger generation. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the Gini coefficient, the most general measurement of income inequality, had significantly increased for anticipated lifetime income between 1995 and 2005. At the same time, the gap between the Gini coefficient of anticipated lifetime income and that of annual income had narrowed. It is suggested that “inequality of outlook,” which cannot be easily identified using a superficial index, has increased significantly.     

《白鹿洞书院揭示》与江户儒学

日本的江户时代(公元1603-1867 年)是一个儒学日本化的全盛时期,也是一个教育勃兴的时期。朱熹的《白鹿洞书院揭示》通过多种途径传到了日本。藤树书院是日本最早的书院,其学规几乎全盘照录揭示。以山崎斋著《白鹿洞书院揭示集注》及《白鹿洞书院集注序》为契机,儒学者开启研究和传播《白鹿洞书院揭示》的潮流,一直持续到明治维新。考察当时的儒学者们如何理解与接受这篇学规,不仅有助于了解它给江户时代学校教育带来的深刻影响,同时也给研究同时期日本接受与发展朱子学等儒家思想提供了依据。