Do individuals recognize cascade behavior of others? An Experimental Study

In an information cascade experiment participants are confronted with artificial predecessors predicting in line with the BHW model (Bikchandani et al., 1992). Using the BDM (Becker et al., 1964) mechanism we study participants' probability perceptions based on maximum prices for participating in the prediction game. We find increasing maximum prices the more coinciding predictions of predecessors are observed, regardless of whether additional information is revealed by these predictions. Individual price patterns of more than two thirds of the participants indicate that cascade behavior of predecessors is not recognized

How eBay Sellers set “Buy-it-now” prices - Bringing The Field Into the Lab

In this paper we introduce a new type of experiment that combines the advantages of lab and field experiments. The experiment is conducted in the lab but using an unchanged market environment from the real world. Moreover, a subset of the standard subject pool is used, containing those subjects who have experience in conducting transactions in that market environment. This guarantees the test of the theoretical predictions in a highly controlled environment and at the same time enables not to miss the specific features of economic behavior exhibited in the field. We apply the proposed type of experiment to study seller behavior in online auctions with a Buy-It-Now feature, where early potential bidders have the opportunity to accept a posted price offer from the seller before the start of the auction. Bringing the field into the lab, we invited eBay buyers and sellers into the lab to participate in a series of auctions on the eBay platform. We investigate how traders' experience in a real market environment influences their behavior in the lab and whether abstract lab experiments bias subjects' behavior

Buy-It-Now prices in eBay Auctions - The Field in the Lab

Electronic commerce has grown extraordinarily over the years, with online auctions being extremely successful forms of trade. Those auctions come in a variety of different formats, such as the Buy-It-Now auction format on eBay, that allows sellers to post prices at which buyers can purchase a good prior to the auction. Even though, buyer behavior is well studied in Buy-It-Now auctions, as to this point little is known about how sellers set Buy-It-Now prices. We investigate into this question by analyzing seller behavior in Buy-It-Now auctions. More precisely, we combine the use of a real online auction market (the eBay platform and eBay traders) with the techniques of lab experiments. We find a striking link between the information about agents provided by the eBay market institution and their behavior. Information about buyers is correlated with their deviation from true value bidding. Sellers respond strategically to this information when deciding on their Buy-It-Now prices. Thus, our results highlight potential economic consequences of information publicly available in (online) market institutions

How to Allocate R&D (and Other) Subsidies: An Experimentally Tested Policy Recommendation

This paper evaluates how R&D subsidies to the business sector are typically awarded. We identify two sources of ine_ciency: the selection based on a ranking of individual projects, rather than complete allocations, and the failure to induce competition among applicants in order to extract and use information about the necessary funding. In order to correct these ine_- ciencies we propose mechanisms that include some form of an auction in which applicants bid for subsidies. Our proposals are tested in a simulation and in controlled lab experiments. The results suggest that adopting our proposals may considerably improve the allocation

Do individuals recognize cascade behavior of others? An Experimental Study

In an information cascade experiment participants are confronted with artificial predecessors predicting in line with the BHW model (Bikchandani et al., 1992). Using the BDM (Becker et al., 1964) mechanism we study participants' probability perceptions based on maximum prices for participating in the prediction game. We find increasing maximum prices the more coinciding predictions of predecessors are observed, regardless of whether additional information is revealed by these predictions. Individual price patterns of more than two thirds of the participants indicate that cascade behavior of predecessors is not recognized.information cascades; Bayes' Rule; decision under risk and uncertainty; experimental economics

Do Individuals Recognize Cascade Behavior of Others? - An Experimental Study -

In an information cascade experiment participants are confronted with artificial predecessors predicting in line with the BHW model (Bikchandani et al., 1992). Using the BDM (Becker et al., 1964) mechanism we study participants' probability perceptions based on maximum prices for participating in the prediction game. We find increasing maximum prices the more coinciding predictions of predecessors are observed, regardless of whether additional information is revealed by these predictions. Individual price patterns of more than two thirds of the participants indicate that cascade behavior of predecessors is not recognized.Information Cascades, Bayes' Rule, Decision Under Risk and Uncertainty, Experimental Economics.

Buy-It-Now prices in eBay Auctions - The Field in the Lab

Electronic commerce has grown extraordinarily over the years, with online auctions being extremely successful forms of trade. Those auctions come in a variety of different formats, such as the Buy-It-Now auction format on eBay, that allows sellers to post prices at which buyers can purchase a good prior to the auction. Even though, buyer behavior is well studied in Buy-It-Now auctions, as to this point little is known about how sellers set Buy-It-Now prices. We investigate into this question by analyzing seller behavior in Buy-It-Now auctions. More precisely, we combine the use of a real online auction market (the eBay platform and eBay traders) with the techniques of lab experiments. We find a striking link between the information about agents provided by the eBay market institution and their behavior. Information about buyers is correlated with their deviation from true value bidding. Sellers respond strategically to this information when deciding on their Buy-It-Now prices. Thus, our results highlight potential economic consequences of information publicly available in (online) market institutions.electronic markets; experience; online auctions; BIN price; buyout

Photosynthetic characteristics of Pinaceae: From evolution to environmental acclimation

Boreal evergreen conifers are important for Northern countries and have functioned for centuries as main drivers of the economy. Nowadays, the attention has shifted to the sustainability of the boreal forests, their protection against ever increasing biodiversity loss and highlighting their irreplaceable role as carbon sinks in climate change mitigation. Climate change drastically changes the growth environment of boreal forests, which exerts a serious threat for the acclimation capacity to new environmental condition. As photosynthesis is the key process to sustain plant growth and biomass production, but also the most vulnerable process upon environmental changes, I decided to focus my PhD thesis on boreal evergreen conifer species, in particular the members of the Pinaceae family including pine and spruce. In current genome and molecular level photosynthesis research, the members of Pinaceae are drastically underrepresented, as the research has almost exclusively been based on few and only distantly related model species. Therefore, I aimed to further characterize the photosynthetic machinery of members of Pinaceae and investigate their seasonal regulation mechanisms necessary for successful overwintering and subsequent spring restoration of photosynthesis. Thereby also paving the way for a better understanding of photosynthesis across different scales, which become more and more accessible with new advances in remote-sensing technologies. The key findings of my thesis work include the elucidation of the unique subunit composition of the photosynthetic apparatus of Pinaceae across the land plants with the help of a custom build mass spectrometry database. Furthermore, the identification of specific and highly dynamic thylakoid protein phosphorylations, particularly the triple phosphorylation of the LHCB1 and multiple phosphorylations PSBS proteins as prerequisites for the sustained thermal energy dissipation, allowed building a new model conferring photoprotection for spruce during winter and spring. And at last, the derivation of new in vivo parameters to disentangle the seasonal dynamics of PSI and PSII, suggesting a re-evaluation of the role of cyclic electron flow in conifer photoprotection--- Boreaaliset ikivihreät havupuumetsät ovat elintärkeitä pohjoiselle luonnolle ja ne ovat myös toimineet vuosisatojen ajan talouden vetureina pohjoismaissa. Nykyään huomio on siirtynyt yhä enemmän metsien kestävyyteen eli biologisen monimuotoisuuden sälyttämiseen ja metsien korvaamattomaan roolin ilmastonmuutoksen hillinnässä hiilinieluina. Ilmastonmuutos vaikuttaa voimakkaasti boreaalisten metsien kasvuympäristöön, mikä uhkaa vakavasti niiden sopeutumiskykyä. Fotosynteesi on keskeisin prosessi kasvien kasvun ja biomassan tuotannon ylläpitämisessä. Fotosynteesi on kuitenkin myös hyvin haavoittuva prosessi ympäristöolosuhteiden muuttuessa epäsuotuisimmiksi. Tästä syystä päätin keskittyä väitöskirjassani boreaalisten ikivihreiden havupuulajien, erityisesti Pinaceae-suvun männyn ja kuusen fotosynteesikoneiston kykyyn sopeutua ympäristöolosuhteiden muutoksiin. Nykyisessä genomi- ja molekyylitason fotosynteesitutkimuksessa Pinaceae-suvun jäsenet ovat aliedustettuina. Tästä syystä olen selvittänyt tarkemmin kuusen ja männyn fotosynteesikoneiston rakennetta ja fotosynteesin toiminnan vuodenaikaisia säätelymekanismeja, jotka ovat välttämättömiä onnistuneelle talvehtimiselle ja sitä seuraavalle fotosynteesin palautumiselle keväällä. Säätelymekanismien molekyylitason ymmärtämistä tarvitaan myös nopeasti kehittyvien kaukokartoitusteknologioiden tulosten fysiologisen merkityksen tulkinnassa. Väitöskirjatyöni tärkeimpiin tuloksiin kuuluu Pinaceae-heimon fotosynteesikoneiston ainutlaatuisen alayksikkökoostumuksen selvittäminen näille lajeille räätälöimäni massaspektrometriatietokannan avulla. Lisäksi ympäristöolosuhteiden muutokseen dynaamisesti reagoivien tylakoidiproteiinien fosforylaatioin, erityisesti LHCB1:n kolmoisfosforylaation sekä PSBS-proteiinin monipaikkaisen fosforylaation tunnistaminen sekä vuosirytmi olivat tärkeitä uusia havaintoja. Biofysikaalisiin mittaustuloksiini pohjautuen kehitin myös uusia in vivo -parametreja, joiden avulla PSI:n ja PSII:n kausittainen dynamiikka ja dynamiikan takana toimivat molekyylimekanismit voidaan erottaa toisistaan. Tutkimustyöni avulla on mahdollista kehittää malli siitä, miten havupuiden fotosynteesikoneiston sopeutumiskykyä ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamiin haasteisiin voitaisiin parantaa