Sealed Bid Auctions vs. Ascending Bid Auctions: An Experimental Study

This paper considers the sealed bid and ascending auction, which both identifies the minimum Walrasian equilibrium prices and where truthful preference revelation constitutes an equilibrium. Even though these auction formats share many theortical properties, there are behavioral aspects that are not easily captured. To explore this issue in more detail, this paper experimentally investigates what role the design of the auction format has for its outcome. The results suggest that the sealed bid mechanism performs weakly better in all of investigated measures (consistent reporting, efficiency etc.). In addition, we find that the performance of the ascending auction is increasing over time, whereas the sealed bid auction shows no such tendency.Auctions; Non-manipulability; Efficiency; Experiments

The Lund Model at Nonzero Impact Parameter

We extend the formulation of the longitudinal 1+1 dimensional Lund model to nonzero impact parameter using the minimal area assumption. Complete formulae for the string breaking probability and the momenta of the produced mesons are derived using the string worldsheet Minkowskian helicoid geometry. For strings stretched into the transverse dimension, we find probability distribution with slope linear in m_T similar to the statistical models but without any thermalization assumptions.Comment: 12 pages, 2 .eps figures, footnotes added, results unchanged, version to be published in Phys.Lett.

Child and Family Welfare in Sweden

Sweden has no special Children’s Act because regulations on children are included in the Social Services Act from 1980, supplemented by an act regulating compulsory care. Child and Family welfare has a family support orientation rather than a child protection orientation. No time limit provided by the law put an end to family support or out-of-home care, but interventions are reviewed every six months. The paper presents some facts about Sweden, gives and overview of the legal framework, family maintenance services and out-of-home care. Further details are given about contact person/family as one of the most frequently used statutory support services for children and families. As an example of the decentralised social services in Sweden, the organisation of child and family welfare in the district of Rosengaard in the city of Malmoe is described. The paper ends with reflections and debated issues in child and family welfare in Sweden