The logic of partial-risk aversion: Paradox lost

One rational individual may be willing to pay less than another to insure a risk % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWefv3ySLgznf% gDOfdaryqr1ngBPrginfgDObYtUvgaiuaacuWF1oG8gaacaaaa!41B4!\[\tilde \varepsilon \] when another risk % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGabm4Dayaaia% aaaa!36F7!\[\tilde w\] is present even though he would pay more to insure any isolated risk, and even though % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaamyraiGacI% cadaabcaqaamrr1ngBPrwtHrhAXaqeguuDJXwAKbstHrhAG8KBLbac% faGaf8xTdiVbaGaaaiaawIa7aiqadEhagaacaiGacMcaciGG9aGaai% imaaaa!47F3!\[E(\left. {\tilde \varepsilon } \right|\tilde w) = 0\] for all w. Noticing this, Ross (1981) proposed excluding such reversals and gave equivalent analytical conditions. Reconsidering, we explain why some reversals are natural and show that prohibiting them has peculiar and undesirable properties. Although we also simplify the conditions and prove them necessary for partial-risk portfolio results, we conclude that they represent revealing restrictions on comparative statics rather than natural implications of increased aversion to risk.     

Getting affairs in order: influences of social support and religious coping on end-of-life planning among open-heart surgery patients

Despite growing interest in end-of-life issues, little research has been done concerning end-of-life plans made by patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), a disease that constitutes the highest mortality in the United States. Even less information is available on patients who undergo major cardiac surgery, a life-altering procedure with some risk of death, in terms of their engagement in end-of-life planning (EOLP). This prospective study enabled the contributors to explore EOLP among 309 middle-aged and older open-heart surgery patients, using survey data from three sequential interviews. A hierarchical logistic regression model shows that older age, higher education, greater social support, and negative religious coping were positively related to the likelihood of engaging in EOLP. Minority race was inversely related to EOLP. Findings suggest the potential role for social workers in helping cardiac patients to access social spiritual resources, and to consider engagement in EOLP.     

Evaluation frequency and evaluator’s experience: the case of venture capital investment firms and monitoring intensity in stage financing

In this paper we analyze the relation between an investor’s experience and the intensity of monitoring activities. Specifically, we consider venture capitalist firms and their choices of time intervals between financing rounds. We hypothesize that more industry investment experience leads to longer time intervals between financing rounds and hence, lower monitoring intensity. Using a unique data set of venture capital firms from Germany during the period from 1995 to 2005 we find evidence for our hypothesis that in a given time frame more experienced investors evaluate and monitor their investments less often than less experienced investors. In addition, VC investors pool their experience and share the risk involved in investing by forming syndicates which reduces the incentives to monitor subsequently. On the basis of our results we argue that the optimal frequency of performance evaluations should take into account the experience of the evaluator.     

Trust and Information Sharing in Supply Chains

Drawing on behavioral research, we construct a multi‐period model with which to examine the role of trust and other social characteristics in a supply chain. Specifically, we focus on trust building in the context of a salesperson who acts as a representative of a manufacturer and shares demand forecast information with a retailer. The actions of the salesperson affect both her immediate economic gain and her future credibility as determined by retailer's trust. Our analysis reveals that, in such environments, although salespersons of widely varying types (e.g., honest, self‐serving, benevolent, loyal) lie some extent about their forecast information, they tend to be trusted in long relationships, provided their forecasting accuracy is higher than that of the retailer. Furthermore, while the presence of a salesperson can improve the profits of both the retailer and manufacturer, there are cost structures under which the manufacturer is better off without a salesperson. Finally, we make the general observation that the appropriate salesperson compensation scheme depends on her social characteristics, and the specific observation that when the salesperson cares for the retailer, the linear compensation scheme commonly suggested in the literature as the optimal compensation scheme for the salesperson is no longer optimal.