1,898 research outputs found
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume
LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum
Spectrum auctions: designing markets to benefit the public, industry and the economy
Access to the radio spectrum is vital for modern digital communication. It is an essential component for smartphone capabilities, the Cloud, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, and multiple other new technologies. Governments use spectrum auctions to decide which companies should use what parts of the radio spectrum. Successful auctions can fuel rapid innovation in products and services, unlock substantial economic benefits, build comparative advantage across all regions, and create billions of dollars of government revenues. Poor auction strategies can leave bandwidth unsold and delay innovation, sell national assets to firms too cheaply, or create uncompetitive markets with high mobile prices and patchy coverage that stifles economic growth. Corporate bidders regularly complain that auctions raise their costs, while government critics argue that insufficient revenues are raised. The cross-national record shows many examples of both highly successful auctions and miserable failures. Drawing on experience from the UK and other countries, senior regulator Geoffrey Myers explains how to optimise the regulatory design of auctions, from initial planning to final implementation. Spectrum Auctions offers unrivalled expertise for regulators and economists engaged in practical auction design or company executives planning bidding strategies. For applied economists, teachers, and advanced students this book provides unrivalled insights in market design and public management. Providing clear analytical frameworks, case studies of auctions, and stage-by-stage advice, it is essential reading for anyone interested in designing public-interested and successful spectrum auctions
Essays on behavioural economics: Uncovering drivers of altruistic behaviour
This Ph.D. thesis aims to study the economic foundations of prosocial behaviour in multiple significant ways. First, it emphases that altruistic behaviour can be the result of individual differences in people when using survey experiments, but also in nations when analysing information at an aggregate level. Second, it also states that altruism appears more prominently when more options are given for decision-makers to choose among alternatives to donate. For that purpose, I present a broad literature review and four empirical essays that provide new evidence on these particular topics. The first essay makes an overall analysis on altruism at a global scale using a database from The World Bank and The World Happiness report for the period 2020. The empirical analysis is conducted using cross-sectional country data from a sample of 128 worldwide countries in the 6 continents. The results suggest that nations which exhibit higher generosity levels are also quite distinct from the others, such as in the level of economic development, in some socio-demographic variables and cultural dimensions. The other three essays are based on the collection of experimental survey data aiming at identifying new factors that may explain generous behaviour in individuals. Specifically, the second tries to stablish a relationship between free will beliefs and giving, the third relates cognitive skills with strategic thinking abilities and the last one studies how the number of options available affects giving. The results suggest that higher free will beliefs have a statistically significant effect on generous concerns. Personal cognitive skills and strategic thinking abilities also have a relationship with giving. However, the former has a negative influence while the latter is positive. Finally, in the last essay, I observe that generosity increases when more recipient options are available and this effect is statistically significant, as well. This thesis contributes to our understanding of prosocial behaviour in terms of individual and country characteristics that are correlated with altruistic behaviour.Esta tese de doutoramento visa estudar as bases econĂłmicas do comportamento pro-social de vĂĄrias formas distintas: Em primeiro lugar, enfatiza que o comportamento altruĂsta pode ser o resultado de diferenças individuais em seres humanos, quando se recolhem dados atravĂ©s de inquĂ©ritos, mas tambĂ©m em paĂses, quando se analisa informação a um nĂvel agregado. Em segundo lugar, demonstra que o comportamento altruĂsta emerge de uma forma mais notĂłria quando sĂŁo dadas mais opçÔes Ă s pessoas para escolherem entre alternativas para doar. Para o efeito, apresento uma revisĂŁo da literatura generalizada e quatro ensaios empĂricos que sugerem novas evidĂȘncias sobre estes tĂłpicos, em particular. O primeiro ensaio faz uma anĂĄlise sobre o altruĂsmo Ă escala global utilizando dados do Banco Mundial e do relatĂłrio The World Happiness Report referente ao perĂodo de 2020. A anĂĄlise empĂrica Ă© conduzida utilizando dados de uma amostra de 128 paĂses em 6 continentes. Os resultados sugerem que as naçÔes que apresentam nĂveis de generosidade mais elevados sĂŁo tambĂ©m bastante distintas em relação Ă s restantes, nomeadamente ao nĂvel do desenvolvimento econĂłmico, na vertente sociodemogrĂĄfica e ainda culturalmente. Os outros trĂȘs ensaios baseiam-se na recolha de dados atravĂ©s de inquĂ©ritos com o objetivo de identificar novos fatores que possam explicar o comportamento pro-social em indivĂduos. Especificamente, o segundo tenta estabelecer uma relação entre crenças no livre-arbĂtrio e generosidade, o terceiro com capacidades cognitivas/estratĂ©gicas e o Ășltimo com o nĂșmero de opçÔes disponĂveis para doação. Os resultados sugerem que as pessoas que possuem crenças mais robustas no livre-arbĂtrio revelam tambĂ©m ter maiores tendĂȘncias generosas. Os resultados sugerem ainda que as competĂȘncias cognitivas e as capacidades de pensamento estratĂ©gico tĂȘm tambĂ©m uma relação com o altruĂsmo. No entanto, o primeiro fator tem uma influĂȘncia negativa enquanto o segundo positiva. Finalmente, no Ășltimo ensaio, foi observado que a
generosidade aumenta quando estĂŁo disponĂveis mais opçÔes para doar. Globalmente, esta tese contribui para aumentar a nossa compreensĂŁo do comportamento pro-social em termos das caracterĂsticas individuais que lhe estĂŁo correlacionadas
Collective agency:From philosophical and logical perspectives
People inhabit a vast and intricate social network nowadays. In addition to our own decisions and actions, we confront those of various groups every day. Collective decisions and actions are more complex and bewildering compared to those made by individuals. As members of a collective, we contribute to its decisions, but our contributions may not always align with the outcome. We may also find ourselves excluded from certain groups and passively subjected to their influences without being aware of the source. We are used to being in overlapping groups and may switch identities, supporting or opposing the claims of particular groups. But rarely do we pause to think: What do we talk about when we talk about groups and their decisions?At the heart of this dissertation is the question of collective agency, i.e., in what sense can we treat a group as a rational agent capable of its action. There are two perspectives we take: a philosophical and logical one. The philosophical perspective mainly discusses the ontological and epistemological issues related to collective agency, sorts out the relevant philosophical history, and argues that the combination of a relational view of collective agency and a dispositional view of collective intentionality provides a rational and realistic account. The logical perspective is associated with formal theories of groups, it disregards the psychological content involved in the philosophical perspective, establishes a logical system that is sufficiently formal and objective, and axiomatizes the nature of a collective
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Policy options for food system transformation in Africa and the role of science, technology and innovation
As recognized by the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa â 2024 (STISA-2024), science, technology and innovation (STI) offer many opportunities for addressing the main constraints to embracing transformation in Africa, while important lessons can be learned from successful interventions, including policy and institutional innovations, from those African countries that have already made significant progress towards food system transformation. This chapter identifies opportunities for African countries and the region to take proactive steps to harness the potential of the food and agriculture sector so as to ensure future food and nutrition security by applying STI solutions and by drawing on transformational policy and institutional innovations across the continent. Potential game-changing solutions and innovations for food system transformation serving people and ecology apply to (a) raising production efficiency and restoring and sustainably managing degraded resources; (b) finding innovation in the storage, processing and packaging of foods; (c) improving human nutrition and health; (d) addressing equity and vulnerability at the community and ecosystem levels; and (e) establishing preparedness and accountability systems. To be effective in these areas will require institutional coordination; clear, food safety and health-conscious regulatory environments; greater and timely access to information; and transparent monitoring and accountability systems
Cognitive Hierarchies in Multi-Stage Games of Incomplete Information: Theory and Experiment
Sequential equilibrium is the conventional approach for analyzing multi-stage
games of incomplete information. It relies on mutual consistency of beliefs. To
relax mutual consistency, I theoretically and experimentally explore the
dynamic cognitive hierarchy (DCH) solution. One property of DCH is that the
solution can vary between two different games sharing the same reduced normal
form, i.e., violation of invariance under strategic equivalence. I test this
prediction in a laboratory experiment using two strategically equivalent
versions of the dirty-faces game. The game parameters are calibrated to
maximize the expected difference in behavior between the two versions, as
predicted by DCH. The experimental results indicate significant differences in
behavior between the two versions, and more importantly, the observed
differences align with DCH. This suggests that implementing a dynamic game
experiment in reduced normal form (using the "strategy method") could lead to
distortions in behavior.Comment: 48 pages for the main text, 52 pages for the appendi
Current issues of the management of socio-economic systems in terms of globalization challenges
The authors of the scientific monograph have come to the conclusion that the management of socio-economic systems in the terms of global challenges requires the use of mechanisms to ensure security, optimise the use of resource potential, increase competitiveness, and provide state support to economic entities. Basic research focuses on assessment of economic entities in the terms of global challenges, analysis of the financial system, migration flows, logistics and product exports, territorial development. The research results have been implemented in the different decision-making models in the context of global challenges, strategic planning, financial and food security, education management, information technology and innovation. The results of the study can be used in the developing of directions, programmes and strategies for sustainable development of economic entities and regions, increasing the competitiveness of products and services, decision-making at the level of ministries and agencies that regulate the processes of managing socio-economic systems. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in the educational process and conducting scientific research on the management of socio-economic systems in the terms of global challenges
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