We propose a computational model to study (the evolution of) post--secondary education. "Consumers" who differ in quality shop around for desirable colleges or universities that also differ in quality. We study the dynamics and asymptotics for three nested variants of this matching model: the...

In this study, we ask whether the presence of precautionary savings substantially reduces the optimal replacement rate in an economy characterized by equilibrium unemployment and moral hazard. In line with previous studies, the optimality criterion based on comparisons of steady states leads to...

For typical parametrizations of the standard Holmstrom (1979) agency model, this paper demonstrates that the set of first-order conditions characterizing the optimal contract can be reduced to a single equation. A problem of investment financing under moral hazard is used to illustrate the...

The European Environmental Agency (EEA) assigns periodically air pollution emission rights among the EC member states, who, in turn, share their respective endowment among the polluting firms. There exists a moral hazard problem since the EEA does not observe abatement efforts. We propose a...

We study computational aspects of moral-hazard problems. We consider deterministic contracts as well as contracts with action and/or compensation lotteries, and formulate each case as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). We investigate and compare solution properties of...

In a series of papers, Schelling presented a microeconomic model of neighbourhood segregation that he called a "spatial proximity model". The model specifies a spatial setup in which the individual agents care only about the composition of their own local neighbourhood. Agents belong to two...

A well known problem in economics is to describe properly a situation where N agents are repeatedly competing to use the same limited resource. A version of this problem is known in the literature as the El Farol game: week after week N agents face the decision whether to go or not to go to a...

The Use of a Simple Decision Rule in Repeated Oligopoly Games Much interest has been directed towards decision rules and conditions when firms make decisions converging to a non-cooperative Nash equilibrium in repeated oligopoly games. We explore the use of a simple decision rule where firms...