Moral hazard,risk seeking,and free riding

This article reports on a laboratory study of moral hazard in insurance markets. The experimental literature on the provision of public goods suggests that agents often sacrifice their narrowly defined self-interest for the good of the group. However, in those experiments, losses are deterministic. We find cooperation in experiments with stochastic losses to be much lower than in otherwise identical experiments with deterministic losses. We argue that the combination of risk seeking and free riding under stochastic returns to investment in loss control makes moral hazard particularly problematic for insurance markets.     

Moral hazard in insurance claiming: Evidence from automobile insurance

This article provides new evidence on moral hazard in insurance markets by analyzing the frequency of automobile bodily injury liability (BIL) claims. We conduct cross-sectional regressions of statewide BIL claims frequency rates on variables representing state economic, demographic, and legal characteristics that affect the marginal costs and benefits of filing claims. As an indicator of moral hazard, we use survey data on consumer attitudes toward various types of dishonest behavior relating to insurance claims. The results provide strong support for the hypothesis that attitudes toward dishonest behavior are related to BIL claims frequency, and thus provide evidence of significant moral hazard in automobile insurance markets.     

Multilateralism under threat: Causes,impact, and the policy debate on government intervention in trade

Several forces fostered trade liberalization since the end of World War II. Production and trade interacted quite favorably during the period. In the past quarter century real income in the OECD economies grew at almost 4% yearly, while the volume of export increased by almost 7 percent. However, in the first half of the 1980s, the chemistry of the situation seems to have changed as protectionist tendencies developed almost everywhere in the world. The very same multilateral nature of the world trading system is under threat, as illiberal discriminatory practices are being implemented bilaterally and, even more often, unilaterally. What are the forces at play to increase the pressure towards government intervention in trade? The paper reviews (i) macroeconomic issues and policy situations, as well as (ii) structural issues concerning the working of the economic systems of industrial countries. The pressure for trade intervention in the U.S. is addressed separately with respect to Europe, given the structural and cyclical differences between the two economies The case of Japan is dealt with with reference to the alleged interrelation between Japan's international competitiveness and its macroeconomic policies. Matters of more direct concern to the LDCs are covered at the end of the paper, with emphasis placed on the restructuring process under way in response to, and as a consequence of, the external debt. The paper ends with a recommendation to all countries to make efforts to preserve and strengthen the multilateral and liberal foundations of the international trading system.     

Adverse selection,moral hazard and propitious selection

We propose a simple model with preference-based adverse selection and moral hazard that formalizes the cherry picking/propitious selection argument. This argument assumes that individuals differ in risk aversion, potentially resulting in more risk averse agents buying more insurance while being less risky. The propitious selection argument is summarized by two properties: regularity (more risk averse agents exert more caution) and single-crossing (more risk averse agents have a higher willingness to pay for insurance). We show that these assumptions are incompatible with a pooling equilibrium, and that they do not imply a negative correlation between risk and insurance coverage at equilibrium.

Abortion costs, sexual behavior, and pregnancy rates

This paper empirically examines the question: Do the direct (price) and indirect (restrictive abortion laws) costs of obtaining an abortion have an impact on the likelihood of women becoming pregnant? Using the economic model of fertility control, the empirical results find that increases in the real price of obtaining an abortion cause a statistically and numerically significant decrease in the pregnancy rate of all women of childbearing age (15–44 years) and teens (ages 15–19). A state parental involvement law is also found to decrease the pregnancy rate of all women of childbearing age and an even numerically larger decrease for teens. A state Medicaid funding restriction of abortion, waiting period law, and mandatory counseling law do not have a statistically significant impact on the pregnancy rate of either group. Taken together the empirical results are consistent with the hypothesis that women's sexual behavior is influenced by the direct and indirect cost of obtaining an abortion.     

Food stamps,food costs,nuctrient availbility,and nutrient intake

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is designed to increase the food expenditures and the diet status of low income households. However, suprisingly little is known about the relationships among income, FSP bonus, FSP participation, availability of nutrients in household food supplies and individual nutrients intakes. Data from the special Low Income Component of the 1977–1978 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey were utilized to estimate effects of FSP participation on food expenditures, nutrient availability, and nutrient intake. The estimation procedure utilized a principal components index for characterizing availability and intake of the included nutrients. Results showed that FSP participation and the bonus increased food expenditures and improved the nutritional status of diets of low income household members. Nutrient availability and intake levels for FSP participants were increased by as much as 10–15% per week for selected nutrients.     

The government, the market, and the problem of catastrophic loss

This article addresses the comparative advantage of the government to the private property/casualty insurance industry for the provision of insurance coverage for catastrophic losses. That the government can play an important role as an insurer of societal losses has been a central public policy principle since at least the New Deal. In addition, our government typically automatically provides forms of specific relief following unusually severe or unexpected disasters, which itself can be viewed as a form of ex post insurance. This article argues that, for systemic reasons, the government is much less effective than the private property/casualty insurance market in providing coverage of losses generally, but especially of losses in contexts of catastrophes.     

Developmental Trajectories of Sympathy,Moral Emotion Attributions,and Moral Reasoning: The Role of Parental Support

We examined the role of parental support to children's sympathy, moral emotion attribution, and moral reasoning trajectories in a three‐wave longitudinal study of Swiss children at 6 years of age (N = 175; Time 1), 7 years of age (Time 2), and 9 years of age (Time 3). Sympathy was assessed with self‐report measures. Moral emotion attributions and moral reasoning were measured with children's responses to hypothetical moral transgressions. Parental support was assessed at all assessment points with primary caregiver and child reports. Three trajectory classes of sympathy were identified: high‐stable, average‐increasing, and low‐stable. Moral emotion attributions exhibited high‐stable, increasing, and decreasing trajectories. Moral reasoning displayed high‐stable, increasing, and low‐stable trajectories. Children who were in the high‐stable sympathy group had higher self‐reported support than children in the increasing and low‐stable trajectory groups. Children who were in the high‐stable moral emotion attribution group or the high‐stable moral reasoning group had higher primary caregiver‐reported support than children in the corresponding increasing trajectory groups. Furthermore, children who were members of the high‐stable group in all three moral development variables (i.e., sympathy, moral emotion attribution, and moral reasoning) displayed higher levels of self‐reported parental support than children who were not.     

意志、道德意志、善良意志

意志是以自由为存在前提的,其策动的行为处于善恶之间;道德意志是道德活动中的意志,是意志中指向善的那一部分,其行为以善为指向;善良意志是道德意志中的纯粹利他部分,它是道德意志的一种特殊状态,其行为以"善本身"为目的.从道德动机的角度来看,从意志到道德意志再到善良意志,表现为人的道德属性不断增强的发展过程,既不能将意志等同于道德意志,也不能将道德意志等同于善良意志.因此,厘清三者的各自内涵,既是道德理论探讨的需要,也是道德实践的需要.     

西方政府绩效评估:理论、实践及启示

政府绩效改革是西方国家在新公共管理思潮影响下风靡起来的一项管理改革举措,旨在提高政府机构的效率和公信力。作为“重塑政府”活动的重要内容,政府绩效评估在英美等国都得到了很大发展。本文主要介绍了政府绩效评估在英国、美国、澳大利亚、韩国的实施过程,从而为我国政府绩效改革提供有价值的借鉴,以期全面提高我国政府的执行力。     

Commodity market stabilization: A comparison of simple and optimal intervention strategies in the world copper market

With the publication of the Brandt Report, international commodity policy has again become an important issue. Commodity stabilization agreements have been proposed as a means of stabilizing producers' incomes and/or redistributing wealth to less developed economies. This paper examines, in the context of a single market, the extent to which prices can be stabilized, the potential costs of such a scheme, and whether this redistribution would be achieved. By comparing the bandwidth rules that have been proposed with optimal stabilization rules, we find that significant stabilization is possible but expensive and that bandwidth rules are likely to prove inadequate because they cannot anticipate.     

Moral Values, Moralism, and the 2004 Presidential Election

The "moral values vote" in the 2004 American presidential election should be interpreted more broadly than as a reflection of concerns about same-sex marriage and abortion. Instead of specific hot-button social policy issues, a general personality trait of moralism—the tendency to perceive a moral dimension in everyday decisions—may have contributed to the election outcome. Specifically, we hypothesize that some Bush supporters shared Bush's high level of moralism (as reflected in his rhetoric) and that this moralism motivated their votes. Consistent with our hypothesis, a preliminary empirical investigation suggests that Bush voters were, indeed, higher in moralism than were Kerry voters. Plans for further research and political strategy implications are discussed.     

Moral Reasoning in Violent Contexts: Displaced and Non-displaced Colombian Children's Evaluations of Moral Transgressions, Retaliation, and Reconciliation

In order to assess the effects of displacement and exposure to violence on children's moral reasoning, Colombian children exposed to minimal violence (non-displaced or low risk; N  =  99) and to extreme violence (displaced or high risk; N  =  94), evenly divided by gender at 6, 9, and 12 years of age, were interviewed regarding their evaluation of peer-oriented moral transgressions (hitting and not sharing toys). The vast majority of children evaluated moral transgressions as wrong. Group and age differences were revealed, however, regarding provocation and retaliation. Children who were exposed to violence, in contrast to those with minimum exposure, judged it more legitimate to inflict harm or deny resources when provoked and judged it more reasonable to retaliate for reasons of retribution. Surprisingly, and somewhat hopefully, all children viewed reconciliation as feasible. The results are informative regarding theories of morality, culture, and the effects of violence on children's social development.     

Autism, Empathy and Questions of Moral Agency

In moral psychology, it has long been argued that empathy is a necessary capacity of both properly developing moral agents and developed moral agency ( Blair, 2008 ; Hume et al., 1978 ). This view stands in tension with the belief that some individuals diagnosed with autism—which is typically characterized as a deficiency in social reciprocity (including empathy)—are moral agents. In this paper we propose to explore this tension and perhaps trouble how we commonly see those with autism. To make this task manageable, we will consider whether high functioning individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder are capable of empathetic responses. If they are, then they possess a capacity that, on the view above, is required for moral agency. If they are not so capable, and yet sometimes engage in moral behaviour, this casts some doubt on the claim that empathy is required for moral agency. This second possibility will necessitate an exploration of the capacity of some individuals with autism to engage in moral behaviour, giving us further grounds to re-see these individuals as moral agents.     

Two-sided intergenerational moral hazard,long-term care insurance,and nursing home use

Two-sided intergenerational moral hazard occurs (i) if the parent’s decision to purchase long-term care (LTC) coverage undermines the child’s incentive to exert effort because the insurance protects the bequest from the cost of nursing home care, and (ii) when the parent purchases less LTC coverage, relying on child’s effort to keep him out of the nursing home. However, a “net” moral hazard effect obtains only if the two players’ responses to exogenous shocks fail to neutralize each other, entailing a negative relationship between child’s effort and parental LTC coverage. We focus on outcomes out of equilibrium, interpreting them as a break in the relationship resulting in no informal care provided and hence high probability nursing home admission. Changes in the parent’s initial wealth, LTC subsidy received, and child’s expected inheritance are shown to induce “net” moral hazard, in contradistinction to changes in child’s opportunity cost and share in the bequest.     

Private investment and government protection

Hurricane Katrina did massive damage because New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were not appropriately protected. Wherever natural disasters threaten, the government—in its traditional role as public goods provider—must decide what level of protection to provide to an area. It does so by purchasing protective capital, such as levees for a low-lying city. (“Protection” also consists of prohibiting projects that raise risk levels, such as draining swamps.) We show that if private capital is more likely to locate in better-protected areas, as would be expected, then the marginal social value of protection will increase with the level of protection provided. That is, the benefit function is convex, contrary to the normal assumption of concavity. When the government protects and the private sector invests, there may be multiple Nash equilibria due to the ill-behaved nature of the benefit function. Policy makers must compare them, rather than merely follow local optimality conditions, to find the equilibrium offering the highest social welfare. There is usually considerable uncertainty about the amount of private investment that will accompany any level of protection, further complicating the government’s choice problem. We show that when deciding on the level of protection to provide now, the government must take account of the option value of increasing the level of protection in the future. We briefly examine but dismiss the value of rules of thumb, such as building for 1000-year floods or other rules that ignore benefits and costs.