Mixed contracts for the newsvendor problem with real options and discrete demand

In this paper we consider the newsvendor model with real options under discrete demand. We consider a mixed contract where the retailer can order a combination of q units subject to the conditions in a classical newsvendor contract and Q real options on the same items. We provide a closed form solution to this mixed contract when the demand is discrete and study some of its properties. In particular we demonstrate that a mixed contract may be superior to a real option contract when a manufacturer has a bound on how much variance she is willing to accept.     

WILL GIRLS BE GIRLS? RISK TAKING AND COMPETITION IN AN ALL‐GIRLS' SCHOOL

We conduct an experiment that examines the relationship between girls only schooling and risk taking and competitive behavior. In it, we compare decisions made by students in an all‐girls' school to those made by students in a closely matched coeducational school. We further investigate the developmental nature of this behavior by comparing choices made by younger students (Grades 7 and 8) with those of older students (Grades 11 and 12). We focus on the differences between those who select into the all‐girls' school, and find that although girls educated in a single sex environment are the most risk averse, they are also among the most competitive. These results lend texture to the hypothesis that “nurture matters” in the gender differences debate. (JEL C93, J16, I21)     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

This installment of "Serials Spoken Here" covers events that transpired between late September and late October 2008. Reported herein are two Webinars, one on ONIX for Serials, the other on SUSHI, and two conferences: the eighty-fourth annual Meeting of the Potomac Technical Processing Librarians and the New England Library Association's Annual Conference.     

Book reviews

New scholarship on rape in American history

Sex Without Consent: Rape and Sexual Coercion in America. Edited by Merril D. Smith. New York: New York University Press, 2001, 308 pages. Cloth, $60.00; paper, $19.50.

The enigma of sexual desire

Sexual Appetite, Desire and Motivation: Energetics of the Sexual System. Edited by Walter Everaerd, Ellen Laan, and Stephanie Both. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Knaw Edita, 2001, 156 pages. Paper, NLG 80.00, Euro 36.30.

American sex in the private and public sectors

Sex, Love, and Health in America: Private Choices and Public Policies. Edited by Edward O. Laumann and Robert T. Michael. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000, 535 pages. Hardcover, $48.

Enlarging the landscape of sexual pleasure

Good Sex: Feminist Perspectives from the World's Religions. Edited by Patricia Beattie Jung, Mary E. Hunt, and Radhika Balakrishnan. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001, 220 pages. Cloth, $50.00; paper, $20.00.

Another stab at sexual theory

The Role of Theory in Sex Research. Edited by John Bancroft. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000, 366 pages. Cloth, $49.95.