In a model of evolution driven by conflict between societies more powerful states have an advantage. When the influence of outsiders is small we show that this results in a tendency to hegemony. In a simple example in which institutions differ in their "exclusiveness" we find that these...

We analyze the effectiveness of consumer financial regulation by considering the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act in the United States. Using a difference-in- differences research design and a unique panel data set covering over 160 million credit card...

The great housing convulsion that buffeted America between 2000 and 2010 has historical precedents, from the frontier land boom of the 1790s to the skyscraper craze of the 1920s. But this time was different. There was far less real uncertainty about fundamental economic and geographic trends,...

We analyze how admission policies affect stereotypes against students from disadvantaged groups. Many critics of affirmative action argue that lower admission standards cause such stereotypes and suggest group-blind admissions as a remedy. We show that when stereotypes result from social...

There are many possible ways of reforming the Government-Sponsored Enterprises that insure mortgages against default, including a purely public option, complete privatization or a hybrid model with private firms and public catastrophic insurance. If the government is sufficiently capable and...

Industry, Space and Competition rediscovers the contributions of the past on industrial organization and spatial economics and analyses these within the context of current movements towards globalization, regionalization and localization.

Herbert A. Simon has been a leading contributor to cognitive psychology, computer science, public administration, philosophy and statistics, and is the winner of the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. As this authoritative collection demonstrates, his impact on economics has been felt in...

Nancy and Richard Ruggles’s seminal work on prices has a contemporary relevance for modern-day theorists and practitioners. These carefully selected essays provide a core analysis of pricing systems and the behavior and measurement of prices.

This timely volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the dynamics of firms’ behaviour and organization, providing an essential outline of the ways in which our understanding of firms and markets is evolving.

Incentive theory is the most important development in economics in the last forty years. The principal-agent model is the core of this theory. This authoritative collection brings together the essential literature concerning the principal-agent model when no restrictions on the design of the...