Consider autonomous agents endowed with two goods and the capability of producing each. Regularly each agent can produce one (only) of the goods or trade with other agents. Each good yields utility according to a utility function. This paper studies how utility-maximizing agents optimize in...

Consider autonomous agents endowed with two goods and the capability ofproducing each. Regularly each agent can produce one (only) of the goods or trade with other agents. Each good yields utility according to a utility function. This paper studies how utility-maximizing agents optimize in these...

Consider a simple economy in which autonomous agents are endowed with two goods, g1 and g2, and with the capability of producing more of each. At regular intervals each agent is allowed to produce one of the goods, at a rate determined by his own unique production function, or to trade with...

Consider a simple world populated with two kinds of individuals, those who work and create wealth (peasants) and those who survive by taking the property of others (bandits). The presence of bandits creates an incentive for peasants to seek protection, to defend their property. But protection is...

Criminals impose costs on society that go beyond the direct losses suffered by their victims; crime casts a shadow of uncertainty over our daily economic and social activities. Consequently, individuals and society as a whole choose to direct resources to crime prevention. In this study we...

A large portion of our economic interactions involves a very small portion of the population. We seem to prefer familiar venues. But the tendency to focus our attention on a few individuals or activities is an attribute that is typically omitted in our characterization of markets. In markets...

In the 1980s, the practice of converting campaign contributions into personal income on retirement was curtailed by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), but an exemption allowed some representatives to continue this practice. Conse quently, a natural experiment was created in which...