Narrow search
Showing 1 - 10 of 112
Cover Image
Satisficing Contracts
Bolton, Patrick; Faure-Grimaud, Antoine - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2009
face time-costs of deliberating current and future transactions. We show that equilibrium contracts may be incomplete and … contract. Still, agents tend to resolve conflicts up-front by writing more complete initial contracts. A more complete contract … contracting agents tend to result in excessively complete contracts in the sense that the maximization of joint payoffs would …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005830681
Cover Image
Imperfect Competition in Selection Markets
Mahoney, Neale; Weyl, E. Glen - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2014
Standard policies to correct market power and selection can be misguided when these two forces co-exist. Using a calibrated model of employer-sponsored health insurance, we show that the risk adjustment commonly used by employers to offset adverse selection often reduces the amount of...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010890106
Cover Image
Conflict, Evolution, Hegemony, and the Power of the State
Levine, David; Modica, Salvatore - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2013
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...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010950707
Cover Image
Market Liquidity -- Theory and Empirical Evidence
Vayanos, Dimitri; Wang, Jiang - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2012
In this paper we survey the theoretical and empirical literature on market liquidity. We organize both literatures around three basic questions: (a) how to measure illiquidity, (b) how illiquidity relates to underlying market imperfections and other asset characteristics, and (c) how illiquidity...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010951230
Cover Image
When Is Prevention More Profitable than Cure? The Impact of Time-Varying Consumer Heterogeneity
Kremer, Michael; Snyder, Christopher M. - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2013
We argue that in pharmaceutical markets, variation in the arrival time of consumer heterogeneity creates differences between a producer's ability to extract consumer surplus with preventives and treatments, potentially distorting R&D decisions. If consumers vary only in disease risk, revenue...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010951276
Cover Image
The Macroeconomics of Subsistence Points
Ravn, Morten; Schmitt-Grohé, Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe; … - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2004
This paper explores the macroeconomic consequences of preferences displaying a subsistence point. It departs from the existing related literature by assuming that subsistence points are specific to each variety of goods rather than to the composite consumption good. We show that this simple...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005078621
Cover Image
Do Americans Consume Too Little Natural Gas? An Empirical Test of Marginal Cost Pricing
Davis, Lucas W.; Muehlegger, Erich - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2010
This paper measures the extent to which prices exceed marginal costs in the U.S. natural gas distribution market during the period 1991-2007. We find large departures from marginal cost pricing in all 50 states, with residential and commercial customers facing average markups of over 40%. Based...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008628445
Cover Image
The Complementary Role of Exports and R&D Investments as Sources of Productivity Growth
Roberts, Mark J.; Aw, Bee Yan; Winston, Tor - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2005
This paper examines two potential channels of knowledge acquisition that underlie firm productivity growth in the Taiwanese electronics industry: participation in the export market and investments in R&D and/or worker training. We focus on the argument that a firm's own investments in R&D are...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005720390
Cover Image
The Response of Prices, Sales, and Output to Temporary Changes in Demand
Hall, George; Copeland, Adam - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2005
We determine empirically how the Big Three automakers accommodate shocks to demand. They have the capability to change prices, alter labor inputs through temporary layoffs and overtime, or adjust inventories. These adjustments are interrelated, non-convex, and dynamic in nature. Combining weekly...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005828581
Cover Image
Health Insurance as a Two-Part Pricing Contract
Lakdawalla, Darius; Sood, Neeraj - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2006
inefficiently constraining quantity. This view of health insurance contracts has several implications: (1) Low ex post copayments to …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005829561