Second and third party punishment under costly monitoring

In a laboratory experiment we study how costly punishment behavior of second and third parties in a social dilemma situation is affected by monitoring costs. Subjects have to pay a fee over and above punishment costs if they wish to condition punishments on previous play, which is equivalent to a binary choice between the acquisition of perfect information on the target subject’s behavior and no information at all. When monitoring is costly both second and third party punishment is weaker and less discriminate and hence generates weaker incentives for cooperation than when monitoring is free. There are subtle differences between second and third parties: The presence of monitoring costs leads subjects to withhold sanctioning more often as second parties than as third parties, and to punish indiscriminately more often as third parties than as second parties. The results contribute to the understanding of peer-enforcement of cooperation in social dilemmas and whether there is a common motivational structure underpinning second and third party punishment.     

Sustainable business – Leading yourself and business into the future

Abstract

In the industrial era the development and use of the term ‘economic efficiency’ was too narrow. The exclusive one-sided focus on financial success led to consequences with yet unforeseeable risks and dangers. We must radically redefine economic efficiency if we want to foster well-known and needed sustainable living conditions on earth. To act in an economical fashion must imply value creation for the company, the environment and society. The evaluation of economic success must take all three criteria of value into account equally. To achieve such sustainable win-win-win situations, the full utilization of employee and business partner potential is required. Only an evolving culture of cooperation at all levels will ensure best solutions for developing and maintaining a healthy life base, leading away from the paradigm of absolute competition. Ways and means to reach these objectives are presented: old wisdom is combined with modern management control systems and the consequent change in evaluating the success of management.     

Understanding governmental activism

This article seeks to understand an understudied phenomenon: governmental players joining forces with non-governmental players in contentious actions against policies they want to prevent or redress. This behaviour, which we call ‘governmental activism’, problematizes important assumptions in the social movement literature on state–SMO dichotomies and on seeing ‘the state’ as a homogeneous and unified actor that solely provides the context for SMO activities. Governmental activism also problematizes assumptions on cooperation and ‘new’ modes of coordination in the governance literature. To understand governmental activism, we build on the strategic interaction perspective from social movement studies and on third-phase institutionalism from political science. In our analysis, we show the particulars of governmental activism. Our arguments are illustrated by empirical material on a case of municipal amalgamation in the Netherlands.     

ECONOMIC CALCULATION UNDER SOCIALISM: THE AUSTRIAN CONTRIBUTION

Economic theories of socialism during the 1930's were based on Walrasian general equilibrium models in which the central planning board was to function as the auctioneer. Socialists assumed that "market socialism" would achieve all the efficiencies characteristic of perfect competition while avoiding the serious market failures of real capitalist economies. The Austrians, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, argued that even market socialism would fail to 'achieve the efficiency of real market capitalism because Walrasian models used to construct the economic theory of socialism left out important features of real markets that generate efficient outcomes. Specifically, the entrepreneurial nature of the adjustment process, the importance of decentralized information and the role of incentives under vaying institutional settings.     

GRIND OR GAMBLE? AN EXPERIMENT ON EFFORT AND SPREAD SEEKING IN CONTESTS

We conduct a contest experiment to study if spread seeking and effort can be managed when participants can invest in increasing both the mean and the spread of an uncertain performance variable. Subjects are treated with different prize schemes and in accordance with theory, we observe higher investments in spread for the winner-take-all scheme. Both types of investments can be controlled with a three-level prize scheme. However, the control management is imperfect and behavior is characterized by inertia. We also explore the correlation between effort and spread across subjects and find that is robustly positive.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC INCENTIVES TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge‐sharing arrangements are an important part of the innovation process as they help firms acquire technological capabilities, shorten development time, and spread risk and cost. A question central to the study of knowledge‐sharing arrangements is the impact of competition on cooperation. While cooperation has the benefit of avoiding duplication, it may have an adverse effect on the competitive advantage of a leading firm. Hence, firms face a difficult challenge during the innovation process while deciding which components of it, if any, to carry out in collaboration with other firms. This paper reports the results of controlled laboratory experiments which identify how the decision to form research joint ventures changes with both relative progress during the R&D process and the intensity of product market competition. The design is based on a modified version of Erkal and Minehart “Optimal Sharing Strategies in Dynamic Games of Research and Development.” Research Paper 1038, University of Melbourne, Department of Economics, 2008. The results indicate that if expected profits are such that the lagging firms always stay in the race, cooperation unravels as firms move forward in the discovery process and as monopoly profits become more attractive. These results are generally consistent with the theoretical predictions. (JEL C91, L24, O30, D81)     

作为后现代情感的网络爱情：一个过程论的视角

由于网络爱情所具有的既隔离又连结的特性，使得人们获得较高的安全感的同时，又保有与他人的亲密感。所以，在网络中形成和发展的网络爱情所反映出的需要别人的许可和接受，需要别人的支持和合作，人们既想发泄内心深处的不安全感，渴望社会生活，同时又不想被伤害等精神旨趣，与“后现代情感”存在着逻辑的耦合与同构性。     

Cooperative relationships in competitive markets

This paper focuses on cooperative and relationships in competitive markets. According to economic theory, stable relationships between buyer and seller should only emerge due to some kind of market deficiencies. However, our results suggest that buyer and seller cooperate and develop relationships in a competitive market. In the international salmon industry, importers tend to concentrate their import on one or a few exporters only. However, the importers will occasionally buy salmon from other exporters. This observation indicates that both cooperation and competition will be present in a competitive market. For buyers and sellers there may be efficiency gains by both cooperating and being exposed to competition.     

Markets,prices and symbolic value: grands crus and the challenges of global markets

Certain authors have drawn attention to the fact that competition between businesses has taken the form of competition for the power over regulation and the imposition of a particular style of production. The dominant businesses can thus create barriers to those entering the market, which can either be cultural or legal. The strategies employed essentially consist of establishing norms of production which prevent competitors from entering the market in such a way that competition, as Simmel refers to it, never takes the form of direct fonflict. By examining the French wine industry, the aim of this work is to investigate how this form of market control, which is only favourable for a certain number of businesses, can be brought into question. Given that it is usually technological innovation which is responsible for the transformation of the market forces involved with industrially produced products, the wine market is very interesting to study as such innovation is often excluded through the institutionalisation of scarcity. This institutionalisation is constructed on the valorisation of ‘traditional’ methods and the delimitation of certain privileged zones of production. How can such rules which attribute the principle of non-reproductibility to history and nature be brought into question? Firstly, we can investigate the specificity of newcomers to the market who are capable of destabilising the current norms of production. We can also investigate whether we should attribute such questioning of the dominant norms to the particular distinctive properties of said norms, or whether we need to take into account other relevant transformations occurring in a wider social context. Notable examples of such transformations are the increase in standing of oenology from mere knowledge to the status of a science with its recognised professions, the reorganisation of rural space and the reorganisation of market structures, in particular the social composition of demand.     

Interview: Sukaynah Salameh,director of the Vocational Development Association (VDSA), Lebanon

In this interview, Sukaynah Salameh, director of the nongovernmental Vocational Development Association (VDA) of Lebanon, states that the VDA was created to provide Palestinian and Lebanese youth with employment skills appropriate for local market conditions. The young men and women served by the VDA have had their education curtailed by 15 years of civil war and deteriorating economic conditions in their country. The situation is particularly difficult for Palestinian refugee women who face employment opportunities limited by scarce jobs, laws regulating the employment of refugees, competition by cheaper migrant labor, and women's unequal status. Most training programs provide refugee women with skills that do little but enhance their housekeeping skills. The VDA offers 6-9 month training courses using its own curricula. In addition, the VDA keeps a roster of its graduates to evaluate the usefulness of its training. This record-keeping allowed the VDA to determine that the market was being saturated with the skills they were offering. Therefore, the VDA conducted a market analysis that focused on the socioeconomic status of refugee women. This research revealed that the number of refugee girls enrolled in primary and intermediate school has gradually declined, although most young women 15-25 years old want to learn skills in order to find jobs. In order to increase the level of female enrollment in its vocational courses, the VDA decided to provide women who already have basic education skills with additional training in subjects the market is demanding, like architecture and design and computer studies. In addition, the VDA has begun an individual outreach program to promote the idea of female education and employment and has developed a network to help women find jobs.     

基于管理者视角的区域城市品牌结构研究——以广东为例

同一区域内的城市之间既存在广泛的竞争,也天然要求彼此间的合作发展。城市品牌日益成为城市间竞争的首选工具。城市品牌的发展既需要广泛的营销推广,更需要扎实的品牌基础建设工作。本文从城市管理者的视角出发,以广东省21个地级以上城市为例,构建了城市品牌建设综合水平评价指标体系,进行了区域内不同层级的城市品牌结构分析,并在此基础上提出了促进城市间良好竞合发展格局的城市品牌发展战略对策。     

城市公交客运市场的竞争与协作

随着公交改革的深化,建立规范、有序的市场秩序。通过既有竞争、又有协作的经营来搞活企业。     

Can gender differences in distributional preferences explain gender gaps in competition?

We design a lab experiment to specifically examine whether a preference for favorable inequality and behindness aversion, as well as egalitarian preferences, affect competitive choices differently among males and females. Using data on approximately 2,000 subjects, we find that selection into competitive environments is negatively related to egalitarian preferences, with smaller negative impacts of being egalitarian on females’ choice to compete. Further, behindness aversion and preference for favorable inequality affect willingness to compete in opposite ways. The willingness to compete is negatively affected by behindness aversion, while a preference for favorable inequality positively influences willingness to compete. Interestingly, when we disaggregate behavior along gender lines, we find that compared to behindness averse males, behindness averse females are more likely to enter the competitive environment. In contrast, there is no significant gender difference in the impact of preference for favorable inequality on competition. Our results suggest that the observed gender difference in competitiveness can stem from male-female differences in distributional preferences and selected personality traits developed during one’s lifetime.     

Cooperation versus competition: is there really such an issue?

This author argues that youth sports can move beyond the dichotomy of cooperation versus competition by redefining competition. This can be accomplished by considering the development of cooperative skills and achievement motivation. The article addresses how cooperative skills can be taught within a competitive sport. First, it is important to understand how children and youth understand and process competition based on their developmental stage. Parents need to consider whether a child is mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically mature enough to participate in an organized sport. Readiness for a sport is just as important as readiness for school. Teaching cooperative skills within a competitive context involves a focus on personal development rather than performance. By asking themselves a series of developmental questions, such as, "Is the sport appropriate for the developmental age of the child?" parents and coaches can form realistic expectations of young athletes. Motivation is also a key determinant of a child's readiness for youth sports and competition. Children want to play a sport when they feel competent. It is up to parents and coaches to create a motivational climate that is focused on doing one's best and not on external rewards like winning. Children and youth receive specific and constructive feedback that focuses on improvement in this type of climate. The author also discusses three models of competition: the military model, the reward model, and the partnership model. The partnership model is the approach that balances competition in youth sports. The author concludes by introducing the "athletic square" model as an important and appropriate way to promote youth sports.     

Language Policy in Practice: Re‐bordering the Nation

We present findings from an anthropological field study on the role of language and language policy in migration from Poland to Norway, and the larger implications for emerging language and immigration policy in Europe. Initial fieldwork in Norway found that Polish workers without knowledge of the Norwegian language struggled to secure employment in the formal economy. The 2008 financial crisis intensified competition in the labour market and underscored fluency in Norwegian as a means of discriminating among workers. Comparative case studies of language schools revealed that these organizations are active participants in channeling Polish migrants' movements into a segmented labour market, often in ways that involve cooperation between private companies and the State. We frame the Norwegian case within the larger context of Europe and the trend there toward favoring integration over multiculturalism. The emergence of restrictive language policies in Europe may be interpreted as a legally and culturally acceptable means for discouraging access to rights associated with permanent residency or citizenship by work migrants from CEE countries, while at the same time permitting them access to the labour market for temporary work. The long‐term consequences of such policies for European society are uncertain.     

UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND RACIAL COMPETITION IN LOCAL LABOR MARKETS

The primary concern in this paper is to analyze the effects of black population concentration on black and white men's relative and absolute underemployment levels in labor market areas while controlling for the degree of occupational segregation by race. We draw hypotheses from two primary bodies of research; one literature focuses on general racial competition and the other considers competition to be more limited. Our findings that racial inequality in underemployment levels increases with blacks' population share are most consistent with the general competition model. However, we also find some support for the limited competition model which holds that not all whites benefit from increased competition with blacks. Finally, we find that occupational segregation helps to determine the form that racial discrimination in employment adequacy takes. Where occupational segregation is high, black men hold relatively more low-wage jobs, but where occupational segregation is low, they experience higher levels of unemployment and more disadvantage relative to whites.     

对当前我国金融改革的思考

我国在初步形成了较高水准的产业资本力之后,亟待提升基于市场竞争形成的金融资本力,而我国目前的市场竞争格局却在约束金融资本力的提升。无疑,我国金融业应在更大程度、更高层次扩大对内开放的基础上,全面构筑竞争性金融市场体系,切实降低民营资本参与市场竞争的准入门槛,营造良性的竞争环境,力争在金融创意、机制设计与市场运营方面取得根本性突破,以期激活民间营商禀赋,提高金融要素配置效率,锻造中国版金融资本力。     

COOPERATION SPILLOVERS AND PRICE COMPETITION IN EXPERIMENTAL MARKETS

Firms often cooperate explicitly through activities such as research joint ventures, while competing in other markets. Cooperation in research and development can allow firms to internalize the external benefits of knowledge creation and increase the returns from research and development (R&D) expenditures. Such cooperation may spill over to facilitate collusion in the market, however, potentially lowering welfare and efficiency. This paper uses a laboratory experiment to examine if sellers successfully coordinate to fund a joint research project to reduce their costs, and how this collaboration affects their pricing behavior. The experiment includes control treatments with separate R&D cooperation and markets. Our results show that although participants usually cooperate when given an opportunity, cooperation is observed less frequently when they also compete in the market. Communication improves cooperation in all environments, particularly when the market is present. Nevertheless, the data provide no evidence of seller collusion in the market. (JEL D43, D71, H40, O3)     

Intergenerational correlation of labor market outcomes

This paper contributes to the relatively limited literature on the correlation of labor market outcomes of parents and their children. This literature is relevant to the larger literature on intergenerational income mobility since correlation in intergenerational labor market outcomes is one of the potential factors contributing to the intergenerational correlation of permanent incomes. In this paper, we consider the time spent in unemployment by both sons and daughters, while accounting for the potential endogeneity of education. Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia data, we find evidence of a positive correlation of labor market outcomes between fathers and sons and, to a lesser extent, between mothers and daughters. In addition, the results reveal a significant relationship between parents’ and children’s education levels, indicating that there is an indirect association of parental education with their children’s labor market outcomes through education.     

广州城市国际形象及其对外传播研究

良好的城市国际形象有助于城市扩大对外交往、集聚资源和提升国际影响力,对外传播则是城市国际形象塑造和推广的重要平台。调查显示,广州城市国际知名度不断提升,＂国际商贸中心＂的形象定位逐步确立。广州城市国际形象对外传播应以此为抓手,加大对在国内居住的外国人的传播力度,强化网络媒体传播作用,丰富传播内容,根据受众调整传播重点,促进城市国际形象的不断优化和提升。