infonet-economy

In humans, two completely different motives may nevertheless lead to exactly the same behavior. Because we can't directly observe motives, modern economists often completely disregard them. However, Hein et al., using fMRI, show that different human motives can yield observable responses in the brain (see the Perspective by Gluth and Fontanesi). In empathy-based and reciprocity-...

We show that the Diamond and Mirrlees (1971) linear tax model contains the Mirrlees (1971) nonlinear tax model as a special case. In this sense, the Mirrlees model is an application of Diamond-Mirrlees. We also derive the optimal tax formula in Mirrlees from the Diamond-Mirrlees formula. In the Mirrlees model, the relevant compensated cross-price elasticities are zero, providing a...

We propose a dynamic general equilibrium model that yields testable implications about the fiscal policy run by governments of different political color. Successive generations of voters choose taxation, expenditure, and government debt through repeated elections. Voters are heterogeneous by age and by the intensity of their preferences for public good provision. The political...

The ability to generalize previously learned information to novel situations is fundamental for adaptive behavior. However, too wide or too narrow generalization is linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. Previous research suggests that interactions between the dopaminergic system and the hippocampus may play a role in generalization, but whether and how the degree of generalization...

Finding ways to adapt natural tendencies and nudge collective action is central to the well-being of future generations, say Helga Fehr-Duda and Ernst Fehr.

Why do cable TV companies force people to purchase channels they don’t even like? Wouldn’t consumers be better off if they could purchase channels individually rather than only as part of large packages? Not necessarily. This research shows that channel prices would be higher on average if they were offered individually, and if the increase in prices is large enough it can more than...

This paper studies stability aspects of solutions of parametric mathematical programs and generalized equations, respectively, with disjunctive constraints. We present sufficient conditions that, under some constraint qualifications ensuring metric subregularity of the constraint mapping, continuity results of upper Lipschitz and upper Hölder type, respectively, hold. Furthermore, we...

Despite the fact that most companies have embraced social media as part of the mar-keting mix, there still remains a significant lack of knowledge as to what drives com-munication effectiveness in this new kind of peer-to-peer environment where tradi-tional, well-settled marketing communication paradigms like domination and control do show their limits. Accordingly, corporate...