Rating variables indicate the extent to which a quality is present, or absent, in a unit of observation. In this paper, we discuss a class of non-linear regression models for rating dependent variables and their estimation by parametric and semiparametric methods. An application to life...

A utilitarian social planner who maximizes social welfare assigns the available income to those who are most efficient in converting income into utility. However, when individuals are concerned about their income falling behind the incomes of others, the optimal income distribution under...

This paper studies the interaction between two dynamic domains, (1) an evolutionary biological system ('the environment') whose behaviour determines the availability of a resource stock, and (2) an industry where access to the resource stock is determined by the outcome of a patent race. The...

An important evaluation problem in developing countries is assessing the value and optimal use of environmental resources as inputs into production. This is a key methodology required for many general evaluation approaches, e.g. ensuring the most efficient use of a resource requires...

This paper explores the link between poverty and resource allocation, including the management of natural resources, by chronically indebted rural smallholders in developing countries. The paper proposes a formal intertemporal model of a credit constrained farm household that can invest in...

This paper studies the impact of equity considerations on the stability of international agreements between heterogeneous countries. We show that allowing countries to finance abatement projects in developing countries which, due to equity-reasons, have no binding emission targets can reduce the...

Despite the decline in the discovery of new chemical entities for pharmaceutical use, there is a significant proliferation of patents on products and processes that cover minor, incremental innovations. A study conducted in five developing countries - Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India and South...

After the introduction in Section 2, we very briefly sketch out current theoretical and empirical developments in the social sciences. In our view, they all point in the same direction: toward the acute and increasing need for multidisciplinary longitudinal data covering a wide range of living...