Dynamic correlation models demonstrate that the relationship between interest rates and housing prices is non-constant. Estimates reveal statistically significant time fluctuations in correlations between housing price indexes and Treasury bonds, the S&P 500 Index, and stock prices of...

This paper addresses the question of whether the findings of behavioral economics imply that techniques used in cost-benefit analysis should be modified. The findings of behavioral economics considered include the status-quo effect, loss-aversion, overconfidence and hyperbolic discounting. These...

Given free information and unlimited processing power, should decision algorithms use as much information as possible? A formal model of the decision making environment is developed to address this question and provide conditions under which informationally frugal algorithms, without any...

Non-response bias refers to the mistake one expects to make in estimating a population characteristic based on a sample of survey data in which, due to non-response, certain types of survey respondents are under-represented. Social scientists often attempt to make inferences about a population...

This paper argues that political-economic trends referred to under the single heading of globalisation have distinct causes and manifestations in different countries. Institutional variables chosen by governments and their constituents play a dominant role in determining the character of those...

This paper presents a simple model in which research universities stock their libraries with academic journals by picking a threshold level of quality below which no subscriptions are ordered. This framework is used to analyze two sets of initiatives aimed at dealing with journal-price...

Bank customers are not financial experts, and yet they make high-stakes decisions that can substantively affect personal wealth. Sooner or later, every individual has to take relevant investment decisions. Using data collected from financial advisors, bank customers and university students in...

In canonical decision problems with standard assumptions, we demonstrate that inversely related payoffs and probabilities can produce expected-payoff-maximizing decisions that are independent of payoff-relevant information. This phenomenon of rational ignoring, where expected-payoff maximizers...

This paper presents a simple model in which research universities stock their libraries with academic journals by picking a threshold level of quality below which no subscriptions are ordered. This framework is used to analyze two sets of initiatives aimed at dealing with journal-price...