The fragmented Lok Sabha: a case for electoral engineering

Where there are numerous small political parties, as in India, the electoral system neither reflects the true views and opinions on important social and economic issues nor does it incorporate “social inclusiveness” . The fragmentation in our legislature can be corrected through appropriate electoral engineering. This study is an attempt to do so. It describes how the composition of the Lok Sabha has changed since 1967, paying particular attention to the trends in indices of fragmentation. It also discusses issues relating to the “ideal” composition of a legislature and of a government

Enhancement of Br(B_d -> mu^+mu^-)/Br(B_s -> mu^+mu^-) in Supersymmetric Unified Models

We explain the 2.3 sigma deviation in the recent measurements of the neutral B mesons decay into muon pairs from the standard model prediction in the framework of supersymmetric grand unified models using anti-symmetric coupling as a new source of flavor violation. We show a correlation between the B_d -> mu^+mu^- decay and the CP phase in the B_d -> J/psi K decay and that their deviations from the standard model predictions can be explained after satisfying constraints arising from various hadronic and leptonic rare decay processes, B-bar{B}, K-bar{K} oscillations data and electric dipole moments of electron and neutron. The allowed parameter space is typically represented by pseudoscalar Higgs mass m_A < 1 TeV and tan beta_H (= {v_u}/{v_d}) < 20 for squark and gluino masses around 2 TeV.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Correlated equilibria, incomplete information and coalitional deviations

This paper proposes new concepts of strong and coalition-proof correlated equilibria where agents form coalitions at the interim stage and share information about their recommendations in a credible way. When players deviate at the interim stage, coalition-proof correlated equilibria may fail to exist for two-player games. However, coalition-proof correlated equilibria always exist in dominance-solvable games and in games with positive externalities and binary actions

Cost monotonicity, consistency and minimum cost spanning tree games

We propose a new cost allocation rule for minimum cost spanning tree games. The new rule is a core selection and also satisfies cost monotonicity. We also give characterization theorems for the new rule as well as the much-studied Bird allocation. We show that the principal difference between these two rules is in terms of their consistency properties

Communication Networks with Endogenous Link Strength

This paper analyzes the formation of communication networks when players choose endogenously their investment on communication links. We consider two alternative de?nitions of network reliability ; product reliability, where the decay of information depends on the product of the strength of communication links, and min reliability where the speed of connection is a¤ected by the weakest communication link. When investments are separable, the architecture of the efficient network depends crucially on the shape of the transformation function linking investments to the quality of communication links. With increasing marginal returns to investment, the efficient network is a star ; with decreasing marginal returns, the con?ict between maximization of direct and indirect bene?ts prevents a complete characterization of efficient networks. However, with min reliability, the efficient network must be a tree. Furthermore, in the particular case of linear transformation functions, in an e¢ cient network, all links must have equal strength. When investments are perfect complements, the results change drastically : under product reliability, the efficient network must contain a cycle, and is in fact a circle for small societies. With min reliability, the e¢ cient network is either a circle or a line. As in classical models of network formation, e fficient networks may not be supported by private invesment decisions. We provide examples to show that the star may not be stable when the transformation functions is strictly convex. We also note that with perfect substitutes and perfect complements (when the e¢ cient network displays a very symmetric structure), the e¢ cient network can indeed be supported by private investments when the society is large.communication networks ; network reliability

Local network externalities and market segmentation

This paper models interaction between groups of agents by means of a graph where each node represents a group of agents and an arc represents bilateral interaction. It departs from the standard Katz-Shapiro framework by assuming that network benefits are restricted only amongst groups of linked agents. It shows that even if rival firms engage in Bertrand competition, this form of network externalities permits strong market segmentation in which firms divide up the market and earn positive profits. The analysis also shows that some graphs or network structures do not permit such segmentation, while for others, there are easy to interpret conditions under which market segmentation obtains in equilibrium.network structure, network externalities, price competition, market segmentation

Nash Implementation with Partially Honest Individuals

We investigate the problem of Nash implementation in the presence of "partially honest" individuals. A partially honest player is one who has a strict preference for revealing the true state over lying when truthtelling does not lead to a worse outcome (according to preferences in the true state) than that which obtains when lying. We show that when there are at least three individuals, the presence of even a single partially honest individual (whose identity is not known to the planner) can lead to a dramatic increase in the class of Nash implementable social choice correspondences. In particular, all social choice correspondences satisfying No Veto Power can be implemented. We also provide necessary and sufficient conditions for implementation in the two-person case when there is exactly one partially honest individual and when both individuals are partially honest. We describe some implications of the characterization conditions for the two-person case. Finally, we extend our three or more individual result to the case where there is an individual with an arbitrary small but strictly positive probability of being partially honest.