The impact of the termination rule on cooperation in a prisoner’s dilemma experiment

Cooperation in prisoner's dilemma games can usually be sustained only if the game has an infinite horizon. We analyze to what extent the theoretically crucial distinction of finite vs. infinite-horizon games is reflected in the outcomes of a prisoner's dilemma experiment. We compare three different experimental termination rules in four treatments: a known finite end, an unknown end, and two variants with a random termination rule (with a high and with a low continuation probability, where cooperation can occur in a subgame-perfect equilibrium only with the high probability). We find that the termination rules do not significantly affect average cooperation rates. Specifically, employing a random termination rule does not cause significantly more cooperation compared to a known finite horizon, and the continuation probability does not significantly affect average cooperation rates either. However, the termination rules may influence cooperation over time and end-game behavior. Further, the (expected) length of the game significantly increases cooperation rates. The results suggest that subjects may need at least some learning opportunities (like repetitions of the supergame) before significant backward induction arguments in finitely repeated game have force

Implementations- und Wirkungsanalyse der Personal-Service-Agentur

Personal-Service-Agenturen (PSA) sind vermittlungsorientiert arbeitende Zeitarbeitsunternehmen. Sie wurden im Zuge der Hartz-Reformen in das Instrumentenspektrum des SGB III eingeführt. In diesem Beitrag werden erste Ergebnisse der Evaluation der PSA vorgestellt. Zunächst werden die rechtlichen Grundlagen des Instruments, die Umsetzung durch die Bundesagentur für Arbeit, die institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen sowie die Nutzung des Instruments erörtert. Anschließend werden wirkungsanalytische Ergebnisse präsentiert. Die Ergebnisse der ersten Analysen sind ernüchternd: Zwar zeichneten sich in der Startphase 2003 positive Integrationswirkungen ab, im Jahre 2004 hatten PSA-Beschäftigte nach bisherigen Erkenntnissen jedoch eine deutlich geringere Wahrscheinlichkeit, innerhalb des untersuchten Zeitraums wieder in eine reguläre Beschäftigung eingegliedert zu werden. Abstract Personnel Service Agencies (PSA) are placement-oriented temporary work agencies, an innovative program for the reintegration of the unemployed introduced by the so-called “Hartz reforms.” This paper reports interim findings of an implementation and microeconomic impact analysis. After an initially positive reintegration effect during the start-up phase of the program in 2003, PSA participants had a markedly lower probability of entering regular employment in 2004 than did a control group

Nanosecond time-resolved thermal radiation measurements of Si upon ns-laser annealing

COLA 99, Göttingen, Germany, July 19-23, 1999N