Intransitivity in Theory and in the Real World

This work considers reasons for and implications of discarding the assumption of transitivity, which (transitivity) is the fundamental postulate in the utility theory of Von Neumann and Morgenstern, the adiabatic accessibility principle of Caratheodory and most other theories related to preferences or competition. The examples of intransitivity are drawn from different fields, such as law, biology, game theory, economics and competitive evolutionary dynamic. This work is intended as a common platform that allows us to discuss intransitivity in the context of different disciplines. The basic concepts and terms that are needed for consistent treatment of intransitivity in various applications are presented and analysed in a unified manner. The analysis points out conditions that necessitate appearance of intransitivity, such as multiplicity of preference criteria and imperfect (i.e. approximate) discrimination of different cases. The present work observes that with increasing presence and strength of intransitivity, thermodynamics gradually fades away leaving space for more general kinetic considerations. Intransitivity in competitive systems is linked to complex phenomena that would be difficult or impossible to explain on the basis of transitive assumptions. Human preferences that seem irrational from the perspective of the conventional utility theory, become perfectly logical in the intransitive and relativistic framework suggested here. The example of competitive simulations for the risk/benefit dilemma demonstrates the significance of intransitivity in cyclic behaviour and abrupt changes in the system. The evolutionary intransitivity parameter, which is introduced in the Appendix, is a general measure of intransitivity, which is particularly useful in evolving competitive systems. Quantum preferences are also considered in the Appendix.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, 47 references, 6 appendice

From one to many islands : the emergence of search and matching models

The notion of frictional unemployment first arose in the writings of Beveridge, Pigou and Hicks. Why did it fail at the time to grow into a fully fledged theory ? Our answer is simple. This failure was due to the fact these economists were unwilling and/or unable to go beyond the then-prevailing Marshallian approach, in particular to depart from its trade organization assumptions. They did not realize that these assumptions excluded any rationing outcome in general, and any unemployment result in particular. We make our claim in three steps. First, we make explicit the trade-organization assumptions underpinning Marshall’s equilibrium theory. Our second step is a study of the attempts at introducing unemployment in a Marshallian framework. We start with an examination of Beveridge’s, Pigou’s and Hicks’s early works on wages and unemployment. We also briefly discuss how and why Keynes was able to shift attention from frictional to involuntary unemployment. Newt, for a reason that will become clear as the paper evolves, we ponder Friedman’s celebrated Presidential Address inaugurating the notion of a natural rate of unemployment. In our third and last step we look at the papers by McCall, Lucas and Prescott, Mortensen and Pissarides that paved the way for the present thriving research literature. We show that their success in providing an equilibrium unemployment result stems from the fact that they have indeed departed from the Marshallian trade-organization assumptionsSupply and Demand; Marshall; Search; Matching

Designing Playful Systems

Play is a common, yet elusive phenomenon. Many definitions of play and explanations for its existence have been brought forward in various disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, ethology and in the humanities. As an activity apparently serving no other purpose than itself, play can be simply considered a pleasant pastime. Yet its equation with fun has been challenged by artists and scholars alike. Being in a playful state does not warrant extrinsic motivation or being conscious of an external purpose. However, play creates meaning, and scientists are pursuing functional explanations for it. These conflicting observations are contributing to the ambiguity of play and they raise questions about the limits of complexity that present discourses are able to reflect. This thesis presents a comprehensive, transdisciplinary approach to describe and understand play, based on systems-theory, constructivism, cybernetics and practical exploration. Observing play in this way involves theoretical analysis, reflection and critique as well as the practice of design, development and artistic exposition. By constructing, re-contextualising and discussing eight of my own projects, I explore the distinction between theory and practice through which playful systems emerge. Central to my methodology is the concept of distinctions as a fundamental method of observation. It is introduced itself as a distinction and then applied throughout, in order to describe and discuss phenomena of play from a wide range of different perspectives. This includes paradoxical, first-person and conflicting accounts and it enables discourses that cross disciplinary boundaries. In summary, the three interrelated contributions to knowledge in my research project are: I contribute to the emerging field of game studies through a comprehensive systems-theoretical description on play. I also provide a methodology in which theory and practice inform each other through mutual observation, construction, reflection and critical evaluation. Finally, I present eight projects, including a playful system developed in a speculative approach that I call anthroponeutral design. These results represent a novel transdisciplinary perspective on play that offers new opportunities for further research

Gradualism and Uncertainty in International Union Formation

This paper introduces a new theoretical framework of international unions qua coalitions of countries adopting a common policy and common supranational institutions. We introduce a general class of non-cooperative spatial bargaining games of coalition formation among three countries in order to examine the endogenous strategic considerations in the creation and enlargement of international unions. Why would we observe a gradualist approach in the formation of the grand coalition even if the latter is assumed to be weakly efficient? We propose uncertainty about the benefits of integration as a mechanism that can generate gradual union formation in equilibrium. As it turns out, it may well be in the ‘core’ countries’ interest to delay the accession of a third, peripheral country in order to i) stack the institutional make-up of the initial union in their favor and ii) signal their high resolve to wait out the expansion of their bilateral subunion. A related case from the European Union provides an interesting illustration.

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationWe propose a collective approach for harnessing the idle resources (cpu, storage, and bandwidth) of nodes (e.g., home desktops) distributed across the Internet. Instead of a purely peer-to-peer (P2P) approach, we organize participating nodes to act collectively using collective managers (CMs). Participating nodes provide idle resources to CMs, which unify these resources to run meaningful distributed services for external clients. We do not assume altruistic users or employ a barter-based incentive model; instead, participating nodes provide resources to CMs for long durations and are compensated in proportion to their contribution. In this dissertation we discuss the challenges faced by collective systems, present a design that addresses these challenges, and study the effect of selfish nodes. We believe that the collective service model is a useful alternative to the dominant pure P2P and centralized work queue models. It provides more effective utilization of idle resources, has a more meaningful economic model, and is better suited for building legal and commercial distributed services. We demonstrate the value of our work by building two distributed services using the collective approach. These services are a collective content distribution service and a collective data backup service

LIMBUSTRACK: STABLE EYE-TRACKING IN IMPERFECT LIGHT CONDITIONS

We are aware of only one serious effort at development of a cheap, accurate, wearable eye tracker: the open source openEyes project. However, its method of ocular feature detection is such that it is prone to failure in variable lighting conditions. To address this deficiency, we have developed a cheap wearable eye tracker. At the heart of our development are novel techniques that allow operation under variable illumination

Financial dollarization and central bank credibility

Why do firms and banks hold foreign currency denominated liabilities? The authors argue that foreign currency debt, by altering the effect of a devaluation on output, has a disciplining effect when the Central Bank's objectives differ from the social optimum. However, under imperfect information, bad priors about the Central Bank induce excess dollarization of liabilities, which in turn limits the ability of the Central Bank to conduct an optimal monetary policy. In addition the economy may become stuck in a"dollarization trap"in which dollarized liabilities limit the ability of agents to learn the true type of the monetary authority. The model has clear-cut policy implications regarding the taxation of foreign currency liabilities as a way to encourage perfect information and avoid dollarization traps. Moreover, it reinforces the existing argument for Central Bank independence. Finally, the authors believe this model to be consistent with a growing empirical literature on the determinants of foreign currency liabilities and their relationships to Central Bank credibility.Financial Intermediation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Economic Theory&Research,Economic Stabilization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Macroeconomic Management,Financial Intermediation