Interdependent preferences and segregating equilibria

This paper shows that models where preferences of individuals depend not only on their allocations, but also on the well-being of other persons, can produce both large and testable effects. We study the allocation of workers with heterogeneous productivities to firms. We show that even small deviations from purely “selfish” preferences leads to widespread workplace skill segregation. This result holds for a broad class and distribution of social preferences. That is, workers of different abilities tend to work in different firms, as long as they care somewhat more about the utilities of workers who are “close”.

Outsourcing and acquisition models comparison related to IT supplier selection decision analysis

This paper presents a comparison of acquisition models related to decision analysis of IT supplier selection. The main standards are: Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), ISO / IEC 12207 Information Technology / Software Life Cycle Processes, IEEE 1062 Recommended Practice for Software Acquisition, the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide. The objective of this paper is to compare the previous models to find the advantages and disadvantages of them for the future development of a decision model for IT supplier selection

Effort and synergies in network formation

The aim of this paper is to understand the interactions between productive effort and the creation of synergies that are the sources of technological collaboration agreements, agglomeration, social stratification, etc. We model this interaction in a way that allows us to characterize how agents devote resources to both activities. This permits a fullfledged equilibrium/welfare analysis of network formation with endogenous investment efforts and to derive unambiguous comparative statics results. In spite of its parsimony that ensures tractability, the model retains enough richness to replicate a (relatively) broad range of empirical regularities displayed by social and economic networks, and is directly estimable to recover is structural parameters.

Liberal democracy as the result of an "aborted" communist revolution

We propose a model of the transition from a ”big man” authoritarian regime to either a liberal democracy or a communist regime. An underground organization votes on whether to summon a mass event. If it is summoned, the organization members decide whether to put effort into the event. Higher effort makes regime change more likely, but it is individually risky. This creates the possibility, in principle, of high and low effort equilibria. But we show, using weak dominance arguments, that only the high effort equilibrium is ”credible.” Thus, internal party democracy is shown to be an efficiency enhancing element for political transitions. We extend the model to show that other internal organization aspects are key for the existence and welfare properties of this equilibrium. Finally we also show when is the process likely to end up in either democracy (and its ”quality”) or a full communist regime.

Social Preferences, Skill Segregation, and Wage Dynamics

Social Preferences, Skill Segregation, Internal Labor Market.

Social interactions and spillovers.

The aim of this paper is to provide a tractable model where both socialization (or network formation) and productive efforts can be analyzed simultaneously. This permits a fullfledged equilibrium/welfare analysis of network formation with endogenous productive efforts and heterogeneous agents. We show that there exist two stable interior equilibria, which we can Pareto rank. The socially efficient outcome lies between these two equilibria. When the intrinsic returns to production and socialization increase, all equilibrium actions decrease at the Pareto-superior equilibrium, while they increase at the Pareto-inferior equilibrium. In both cases, the percentage change in socialization effort is higher (in absolute value) than that of the productive effortPeer effects; Network formation; Welfare;

CO2 als escorxadors

L'atordiment previ dels animals en escorxadors abans del sacrifici no només és una realitat legislativa, és també una voluntat general d'aconseguir rebaixar el patiment o l'estrès de l'animal. En el cas de l'espècie porcina, l'exposició al diòxid de carboni (CO2 ) és un dels mètodes més utilitzats donat que presenta una sèrie de beneficis en comparació amb l'atordiment elèctric, com ara la possibilitat de poder realitzar-ho en grups, no haver de subjectar al porc o l'obtenció d'una carn de millor qualitat. L'efecte d'aquest gas -amb una concentració d'entre el 80% i el 90%- sobre l'organisme consisteix en una depressió de l'activitat nerviosa de l'animal, derivant en una pèrdua de consciència i en una reducció del seu patiment. Per comprovar-ho en laboratori, existeixen tota una sèrie de mètodes que analitzen diferents nivells d'activitat cerebral que ajuden a valorar l'estat de consciència del porc abans, durant i després de l'exposició. L'article següent aprofundeix en els resultats de la investigació.El aturdimiento previo de los animales en mataderos antes del sacrificio no sólo es una realidad legislativa, es también una voluntad general de conseguir rebajar el padecimiento o el estrés del animal. En el caso de la especie porcina, la exposición al dióxido de carbono (CO2 ) es uno de los métodos más utilizados dado que presenta una serie de beneficios en comparación con el aturdimiento eléctrico, como la posibilidad de poder realizarlo en grupos, no tener que sujetar al cerdo o la obtención de una carne de mejor calidad. El efecto de este gas -con una concentración de entre el 80% y el 90%- sobre el organismo consiste en una depresión de la actividad nerviosa del animal, derivando en una pérdida de conciencia y en una reducción de su padecimiento. Para comprobarlo en laboratorio, existen toda serie de métodos que analizan diferentes niveles de actividad cerebral que ayudan a valorar el estado de conciencia del cerdo antes, durante y después de la exposición. El siguiente artículo profundiza en los resultados de la investigación