On a continuous time game with incomplete information

For zero-sum two-player continuous-time games with integral payoff and incomplete information on one side, one shows that the optimal strategy of the informed player can be computed through an auxiliary optimization problem over some martingale measures. One also characterizes the optimal martingale measures and compute it explicitely in several examples

H\"older regularity for viscosity solutions of fully nonlinear, local or nonlocal, Hamilton-Jacobi equations with super-quadratic growth in the gradient

Viscosity solutions of fully nonlinear, local or non local, Hamilton-Jacobi equations with a super-quadratic growth in the gradient variable are proved to be H\"older continuous, with a modulus depending only on the growth of the Hamiltonian. The proof involves some representation formula for nonlocal Hamilton-Jacobi equations in terms of controlled jump processes and a weak reverse inequality

Games with incomplete information in continuous time and for continuous types

We consider a two-player zero-sum game with integral payoff and with incomplete information on one side, where the payoff is chosen among a continuous set of possible payoffs. We prove that the value function of this game is solution of an auxiliary optimization problem over a set of measure-valued processes. Then we use this equivalent formulation to characterize the value function as the viscosity solution of a special type of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation. This paper generalizes the results of a previous work of the authors, where only a finite number of possible payoffs is considered

Capacity Investment under Demand Uncertainty. An Empirical Study of the US Cement Industry, 1994‐2006

Uncertainty about the level of demand is thought to influence irreversible capacity decisions. This paper examines some implications of the theory literature on this topic in an empirical study of the US cement industry between 1994 and 2006. Firms in this sector have the ability to deliver cement either from domestic plants or from imports. Since cement is costly to transport via land, the difference in marginal cost between local production and imports varies across local markets. The marginal cost of imports is lower in areas with access to a sea port, decreasing the relative value of investing in local capacity sufficient to supply positive local demand shocks. In the presence of uncertain demand, firms may choose to serve these markets via both domestic production and imports. Consistent with the theory, we find a negative relationship between the average level of excess capacity and demand volatility only for coastal areas. An increase in demand volatility is associated with an increase in excess capacity only in landlocked areas. More generally, the paper shows that the cost of imports relative to the cost of domestic production affects the relationship between uncertainty and domestic capacity decisions. The results suggest that a unilateral climate policy in the US may induce a partial international relocation of capacity in carbon intensive industries, such as cement, by increasing the relative cost of domestic production.Capacity Investment, Demand Uncertainty, Imports, Cement

Capacity Investment under Demand Uncertainty. An Empirical Study of the US Cement Industry, 1994-2006

Uncertainty about the level of demand is thought to influence irreversible capacity decisions. This paper examines some implications of the theory literature on this topic in an empirical study of the US cement industry between 1994 and 2006. Firms in this sector have the ability to deliver cement either from domestic plants or from imports. Since cement is costly to transport via land, the difference in marginal cost between local production and imports varies across local markets. The marginal cost of imports is lower in areas with access to a sea port, decreasing the relative value of investing in local capacity sufficient to supply positive local demand shocks. In the presence of uncertain demand, firms may choose to serve these markets via both domestic production and imports. Consistent with the theory, we find a negative relationship between the average level of excess capacity and demand volatility only for coastal areas. An increase in demand volatility is associated with an increase in excess capacity only in landlocked areas. More generally, the paper shows that the cost of imports relative to the cost of domestic production affects the relationship between uncertainty and domestic capacity decisions. The results suggest that a unilateral climate policy in the US may induce a partial international relocation of capacity in carbon intensive industries, such as cement, by increasing the relative cost of domestic production.capacity investment, demand uncertainty, imports, cement

Transformations of agricultural extension services in the EU: Towards a lack of adequate knowledge for small-scale farms

This paper examines the consequences of the transformations of extension services for small scale farms. It presents the results of investigations embedded in regulation theory, which combine a comparative institutional analysis, statistical data processing (national agricultural census) and direct surveys. We describe the transformations in the EU and show that they make it more difficult for small farms to access extension services and to benefit from “front office” support (i.e. direct advice from extensionists). Finally, we emphasize that due to the modification of the knowledge production regime, these small farms may also suffer new specific adverse effects resulting from the re-organization of the "back-office" R&D activities of these extension services (i.e. knowledge base updating, database building, scientific experiments, etc.).Agricultural extension services, Small-scale farms, Institutional Analysis, Europe, Knowledge, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q16, Q12, B52, P51, D83,

The Distributional Impacts of a Universal School Reform on Mathematical Achievements: a Natural Experiment from Canada (revised)

We investigate the impact of an ambitious provincial school reform in Canada on students’ mathematical achievements. It is the first paper to exploit a universal school reform of this magnitude to identify the causal effect of a widely supported teaching approach on students’ math scores. Our data set allows us to differentiate impacts according to the number of years of treatment and the timing of treatment. Using the changes-in-changes model, we find that the reform had negative effects on students’ scores at al points on the skills distribution and that the effects were larger the longer the exposure to the reform.School reform, Math achievements, DID and CIC estimators