infonet-economy

This paper shows how asymptotically valid inference in regression models based on the weighted least squares (WLS) estimator can be obtained even when the model for reweighting the data is misspecified. Like the ordinary least squares estimator, the WLS estimator can be accompanied by heteroskedasticity-consistent (HC) standard errors without knowledge of the functional form of…

It is shown that the n-player lottery contest admits a best-response potential (Voorneveld, 2000, Economics Letters). This is true also when the contest technology reflects the possibility of a draw. The result implies, in particular, the existence of a non-trivial two-player zero-sum game that is best-response equivalent to a game with identical payoff functions.

As in most OECD countries, smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption have been decreasing in Germany since the early 2000s. This paper analyses whether smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption, as well as their development over time, differ between socio-economic subgroups. Identifying these differences provides insights into the effect of policy interventions on German…

We document that U.S. employment polarization in the 1980-2008 period is largely generated by women. Female employment shares increase both at the bottom and at the top of the skill distribution, generating the typical U-shape polarization graph, while male employment shares decrease in a more similar fashion along the whole skill distribution. We show that a canonical model of skill…

Objectives: Limited information is available on physician-related factors influencing therapeutic inertia (TI) in multiple sclerosis (MS). Our aim was to evaluate whether physicians’ risk preferences are associated with TI in MS care, by applying concepts from behavioral economics.
Design: In this cross-sectional study, participants answered questions regarding the management…

Efficiently growing a group often requires integrating individuals from lower performing entities. We explore the effectiveness of policies intended to facilitate such integration, using an experiment that models production as a coordination game. We create an efficient group and an inefficient one. We then allow individuals to move into the efficient group under different mechanisms…

Changing environmental conditions introduce uncertainty into organizational operations, and airlines respond in various ways. Scholars traditionally explore responses to environmental uncertainty by drawing upon theories of communication networks, coordination, organizational resilience, and high reliability organizing. Yet, the research has competing communication predictions, which…

Why did lodging corporations opt for the asset light model in the first place and why did they adopt it at different times? The answer to such questions could not only help further explore the fundamental question in strategy of why do firms’ strategy differ, but also provide insights to managers as to the implications of such strategic choices on corporate performance. Built around…

Neuromodulators such as dopamine can alter the intrinsic firing properties of neurons, and may thereby change the configuration of larger functional circuits. The primate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) receives dopaminergic input from midbrain nuclei, but the role of dopamine in the OFC is still unclear. Here we tested the idea that dopaminergic activity changes the pattern of…