A DYNAMIC EXPLANATION OF THE WILLINGNESS TO PAY AND WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT DISPARITY

Recent evidence from laboratory experiments suggests that important disparities exist between willingness to pay (WTP) and compensation demanded for the same good. Because a fundamental postulate in neoclassical theory is that with small income effects and many available substitutes, the willingness to accept (WTA) and WTP measures of value for a commodity should be roughly equivalent, this finding has vast implications in both a positive and normative sense. This study advances, and experimentally tests, a new explanation of the WTP/WTA disparity—a dynamic theory based on the presence of commitment costs. Although to date neoclassical models have not explained the observed data patterns well, we find that the commitment cost theory combined with a simple behavioral anomaly is able to lend insights into the causes and severity of the WTA/WTP disparity. Furthermore, we find that market experience attenuates the behavioral anomaly, consistent with the notion that no value disparity exists for agents with sufficient market experience. (JEL Q21, Q26)     

BURDA FASHIONS - A WISH THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE WISHFUL THINKING: HOME-DRESSMAKING IN AUSTRIA 1950-1970

The German fashion magazine Burda epitomized the success of many pattern magazines in the immediate post-war era that aimed at providing information about creating one's own fashion clothes, as well as tips about adapting existing wardrobes. This concept proved highly topical in Austria too, as it offered women almost unlimited possibilities in their search for a new ‘feminine’ identity full of elegance and style after a period of austerity. This essay sketches opposing theoretical approaches towards the popular practice of home-dressmaking among women, linking these approaches to post-war discourse about femininity.     

A GUIDE TO THE PITFALLS OF IDENTIFYING PRICE DISCRIMINATION

This paper demonstrates that plausible cost-based explanations exist for what are commonly perceived to be cases of price discrimination. We explain such commonly discussed problems as the price spreads of retail gasoline products, the "high" price of dinners at restaurants, the "high" price of popcorn at movie theaters, and the fact that airline ticket prices vary with how long the ticket is purchased before the flight's departure. Our explanations benefit from not relying on consumer ignorance or implicit collusion among numerous sellers.     

叶叔华:探索宇宙是一辈子的浪漫事业

叶叔华是中国科学院院士、新中国第一位女天文台台长。有人说她是名副其实的“追星族”,因为一颗名为“叶叔华星”的小行星在天际闪耀。从守望星空的小姑娘磨砺成建立“北京时间”的女天文学家,使我国世界时系统的精度进入国际先进行列,叶叔华经历了不平凡的人生路。     

A COMPARISON OF FAMILY ADAPTATIONS TO HAVING A CHILD WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS

The effect of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) on the structure and social climate of the family was examined with self-report scales and independent observations of family functioning. Families in which the child with CF was not the firstborn were found to be functioning more healthily than those in which the child was the firstborn. This was found on 7 of 10 family environment scales, a family hierarchy test, and on all three of the family system scales used by the independent observers (power, cohesion and closeness). Significant correlations between specific family variables and problem behaviors and social competencies were also found.     

RESPONSE BIAS IN A POPULAR INDICATOR OF READING TO CHILDREN

This paper examines the hypothesis that parents exaggerate their reading with children aged 3 to 5 when asked typical single-item questions and that the extent of exaggeration is greater for better-educated parents. It examines differences in parental reporting of reading to children that may result from differences in response bias. It examines whether differences in reading with children by race/ethnicity, income, and family structure hold up after controlling for maternal education and other factors. Finally, it examines whether any bias we find affects the relationship between reading and achievement test scores. Data are from the Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative sample of children and their parents who were asked detailed questions about their lives and activities in 1997.     

ASSET MANAGEMENT,ALLOCATION OF TIME,AND RETURNS TO SAVING*

The paper entertains the proposition that individuals' time performs a productive role in generating nonwage income through the management of nonhuman capital assets. The asset management hypothesis is used to develop a life cycle model of consumptive and productive decisions. The model allows for variations in gross rates of return both across persons at a point in time and for any one person over his life cycle. The behavioral implications developed show that differences across consumption units in their time allocations and in their borrowing, saving, and asset holding decisions may be the result of differences in opportunities rather than “tastes.”     

MIGRATION TRENDS AND EARNINGS OF FREE AGENTS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, 1976–1979

This paper is an empirical investigation of the effect of team characteristics on the migration pattern of free agents in Major League Baseball during the period 1976–1979. The results indicate that high-quality free agents tend to leave winning teams and move to teams in cities with large or rapidly growing populations. The compensation paid to free agents is shown to depend on these team characteristics as well as the players' personal characteristics and market conditions.