Most real world situations that are susceptible to herding are also characterized by direct payoff externalities. Yet, the bulk of the theoretical and experimental literature on herding has focused on pure informational externalities. In this paper we experi- mentally investigate the effects of...

Card issuers have mainly relied on rewards programs as their main strategic driver to increase electronic payments. However, there is scarce evidence on the effectiveness of rewards programs. This paper offers novel evidence on two key issues: i) it measures the impact of rewards programs on the...

This Occasional Paper examines how and why the institutional framework governing EMU has evolved since the creation of the euro. Building on theories of institutionalism, the paper in particular investigates to what extent functional spillovers from the single currency into other policy domains,...

Starting from Amartya Sen's works on rational behaviour, in this essay a contextually-embedded choice theory is presented. Using concepts and tools from poset mathematics, we show how to inject in rational choice theory cultural and social effects. Specifically, we define some choice...

Abstract In modernen Arbeitsorganisationen mit hohem Innovationsanspruch werden die Grenzen direkter und indirekter Leistungskontrolle immer offensichtlicher. Hier entwickelt sieh Vertrauen zur neuen Maxime der Unternehmenssteuerung. In der Tradition der Rationalitätstheorie erweist sich...

Summary This paper is a brief history of game theory with its main theme being the nature of the decision makers assumed in the various stages of its historical development. It demonstrates that changes in the “image of man” nourished the developments of what many believe to be progress in...

My philosophical case study concerns textbook presentations of the theory of demand. Does this theory contain anything more than just a collection of tautologies? In order to determine its empirical content, it must be viewed holistically. But then, the theory implies false factual claims. We...

This paper studies the behavior of boundedly rational agents in a two good economy where trading is costly with respect to time.

This study questions the rationality of people investing in HFs. I use a sample of London listed closed-end hedge funds to evaluate two criteria that imply irrational behavior. I find that the rationality of investors can not be rejected for the majority of time. However, the results also imply...