Ask Prices, Offers, and Time to Sale in an Online Exchange

By examining an online computer exchange, we find that sellers who place higher nonbinding ask prices have higher outstanding offers and remain on the exchange longer, suggesting a willingness to hold out for higher offers. Additionally, higher ask prices deter buyers from making offers. The results are stronger in thinner market segments, suggesting that gains from waiting for a high price are greater when buyers' tastes are idiosyncratic. These relationships are consistent with models in which buyers engage in costly search and suggest that online exchanges may not eliminate the frictions related to bilateral transactions.     

What is meta for?

Metaphors provide bold, rich and distintive windows on the world. They offer dynamic and dramatic views beyond the surface of things into their deeper significance. This paper offers guidelines for discovering and developing metaphors in clinical practice with individuals and families. It also demonstrates how dramatization techniques are used to extend, enlarge and shape metaphors for effective diagnosis and treatment. It builds upon real case material of active metaphorical work with individuals and families for illustrative exposition.     

Revisiting the Work Ethic in America

Starting with a reflection on the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center and the corporate fraud and bankruptcies of 2002, the authors provide an overview of the professional literature concerning the origins, evolution, practice, and future implications of the work ethic in the United States. Discussion focuses on the American work ethic from both a historical and a modern‐day perspective, highlighting the formation of what is now considered a major paradigm of work; views on the changing nature of the work ethic, especially for women and members of minority groups; and implications for career counselors.