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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

The Nature of Excess: Using Randomized Treatments to Investigate Price Dynamics

list, john; Price, Michael K.; Al-Ubaydli, Omar - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2010

This study explores empirically the price dynamics within two distinct market institutions - a double oral auction, which resembles modern asset markets, and a bilateral exchange market, which represents markets that have existed for centuries. To provide a theoretical basis to our...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008533384

Field Experiments: A Bridge Between Lab and Naturally-Occurring Data

list, john - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2007

Laboratory experiments have been used extensively in economics in the past several decades to lend both positive and normative insights into a myriad of important economic issues. This study discusses a related approach that has increasingly grown in prominence of late--field experiments. I...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005084551

Directed Giving: Evidence from an Inter-Household Transfer Experiment

Batista, Catia; Silverman, Dan; Yang, Dean - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2014

We investigate the determinants of giving in a lab-in-the-field experiment with large stakes. Study participants in urban Mozambique play dictator games where their counterpart is the closest person to them outside their household. When given the option, dictators do a large fraction of giving...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010951192

What Happens in the Field Stays in the Field: Exploring Whether Professionals Play Minimax in Laboratory Experiments

Levitt, Steven; list, john; Reiley, David - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2009

The minimax argument represents game theory in its most elegant form: simple but with stark predictions. Although some of these predictions have been met with reasonable success in the field, experimental data have generally not provided results close to the theoretical predictions. In a...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008614935

Checkmate: Exploring Backward Induction Among Chess Players

Levitt, Steven; list, john; Sadoff, Sally E. - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2009

Although backward induction is a cornerstone of game theory, most laboratory experiments have found that agents are not able to successfully backward induct. Much of this evidence, however, is generated using the Centipede game, which is ill-suited for testing the theory. In this study, we...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10008615812

Equilibrium Tax Rates and Income Redistribution: A Laboratory Study

Agranov, Marina; Palfrey, Thomas R. - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2014

rates, inequality, and income redistribution. We also extend that model to incorporate social preferences in the form of … altruism and inequality aversion. The experiment varies the amount of inequality and the collective choice procedure to … determine tax rates. We report four main findings. First, higher wage inequality leads to higher tax rates. The effect is …

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010821742

Institutions and Contract Enforcement

Falk, Armin; Huffman, David; MacLeod, W. Bentley - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2008

We provide evidence on how two important types of institutions -- dismissal barriers, and bonus pay -- affect contract enforcement behavior in a market with incomplete contracts and repeated interactions. Dismissal barriers are shown to have a strong negative impact on worker performance, and...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005710573

Does the Certainty of Arrest Reduce Domestic Violence? Evidence from Mandatory and Recommended Arrest laws

Iyengar, Radha - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2007

Domestic violence remains a major public policy concern despite two decades of policy intervention. To eliminate police inaction in response to domestic violence, many states have passed mandatory arrest laws, which require the police to arrest abusers when a domestic violence incident is...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005774842

Giffen Behavior: Theory and Evidence

Jensen, Robert T.; Miller, Nolan H. - National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - 2007

This paper provides the first real-world evidence of Giffen behavior, i.e., upward sloping demand. Subsidizing the prices of dietary staples for extremely poor households in two provinces of China, we find strong evidence of Giffen behavior for rice in Hunan, and weaker evidence for wheat in...

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005828463