This paper provides a step-by-step guide to estimating discrete choice dynamic programming (DDP) models using the Bayesian Dynamic Programming algorithm developed by Imai Jain and Ching (2008) (IJC). The IJC method combines the DDP solution algorithm with the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo...

If consumers wholly or partially control a firm with market power they will charge less than the profit maximising price. Starting at the usual monopoly price, a small price reduction will have a second order e¤ect on profits but a first order effect on consumer surplus. Despite this desirable...

What explains the widespread fear of deflation? This paper reviews the history of thought, economic history, and empirical evidence on deflation, with a view to answering this question. It also outlines informally the main effects of deflation in applied monetary models. The main finding is that...

This paper examines the second-best tax policy to minimize envy in the sense of Chaudhuri (1986) and Diamantaras and Thomson (1990). An allocation is $\lambda$-equitable if no agent prefers a proportion $\lambda$ of any other agent's bundle. We study the allocations that maximize $\lambda$ among...

When individual statistics are aggregated through a strictly monotone function to an aggregate statistic, common knowledge of the value of the aggregate statistic does not imply, in general, constancy of the individual statistics. This paper discusses two circumstances where it does occur. The...

A phantom bidding model is analyzed for a sale auction. The following questions are addressed: the effects of phantom bidding on overall social welfare and buyers' profits. It is shown that social welfare may increase or decrease as the auctioneer switches from the fixed reserve price policy to...

In each period, we have an R&D race among N competitive R&D firms, each with probability π of discovering a successful new technique for producing an intermediate good used in producing the economy's final consumption good. The winner of a race earns a monopoly profit over a generally uncertain...

A consumer must decide not only to allocate his income among alternative items but also where to reside.The two decisions are ofcourse linked. On the income side, prices of goods often depend on shipping or transport costs and also one's net disposable income depends on one's out-of-pocket...

Over the twentieth century, Canada's energy, forestry, and mining industries played a substantial and increasing role in the growth and development of the aggregate economy. Despite the improving fundamentals that were underlying their increased contributions to the size, capital intensity, and...

The factors which motivate a student to choose a particular career are many; the process of career choice is a complex one. Psychologists and sociologists stress the importance of factors such as need for achievement, peer group attitudes, family background, and cultural norms in their...