infonet-economy

It is well known that ex-ante randomization can improve uponnsecond best contracts in principal-agent problems. In this note, we show that even the first-best can be dominated by a random contract. Our example isncast in a standard textbook set-up with two effort levels and two states of nature.

There is growing interest in discrete-choice experiments (DCE) as a method to elicit consumers' preferences in the health care sector. Increasingly this method is used to determine willingness-to-pay (WTP) for health-related goods. However, its external validity in the health care domain has not been investigated until today. This paper examines the external validity of DCE...

Der Begriff der Gewerbsmässigkeit hat im schweizerischen Luftrecht eine grosse Bedeutung. Werden gewerbsmässige Flüge ohne die entsprechenden Bewilligungen und Voraussetzungen durchgeführt, so resultieren gravierende zivilrechtliche, strafrechtliche und administrative Konsequenzen.

In den massgebenden internationalen Luftfahrtabkommen findet sich keine Definition der...

Under certain cost conditions the optimal insurance policy offers full coverage above a deductible, as Arrow and others have shown. However, many insurance policies currently provide coverage against several losses although the possibilities for the insured to affect the loss probabilities by several prevention activities (multiple moral hazard) are substantially different. This...

The previous literature on the determinants of individual well-being has failed to fully account for the interdependencies in well-being at the family level. This paper develops an ordered probit model with multiple random effects that allows to identify the intra-family correlation in wellbeing. The parameters of the model can be estimated with panel data using Maximum Marginal...

Das Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und Technologie (BBT) erhebt in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Fraunhofer-Institut für Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (FhG-ISI) periodisch die Patentanmeldungen des Standorts Schweiz sowie der Schweizer Unternehmen weltweit. Daraus lässt sich ein Technologieportfolio ermitteln. Es bildet die Gesamtheit der technischen Fähigkeiten und Errungenschaften...

This paper examines the competitive effects of reorganizing a network industry's vertical structure. In this industry, an upstream monopolist operates a network used as an input to produce horizontally differentiated final products that are imperfect substitutes. Three potential pitfalls of restructuring integrated network industries are analyzed: (i) double marginalization, (ii...

It has been widely argued that, with the decline in trade costs, the importance of distance has declined over time. On the other hand, most gravity models find that the importance of distance on bilateral trade has increased over time. This puzzle is examined here. The paper develops a new measure of the distance of trade (dot) and shows that the dot falls over the period 1962-2000...