Inattentive Consumers in Markets for Services

In an experiment on markets for services, we find that consumers are likely to stick to default tariffs and achieve suboptimal outcomes. We find that inattention to the task of choosing a better tariff is likely to be a substantial problem in addition to any task and tariff complexity effect. The institutional setup on which we primarily model our experiment is the UK electricity and gas markets, and our conclusion is that the new measures by the UK regulator Ofgem to improve consumer outcomes are likely to be of limited impact

State and Agriculture in Africa: A Case of Means and Ends

SUMMARY This article examines the argument that the problems of implementing the development programmes of African governments arise from the political necessity to maintain power. In response to this, it is argued that the success and failure of policies, the distortive effects of sectional interests and the necessity to use particular methods to maintain power are determined by a wider context, that of the state as a whole, and its social role in creating and sustaining the institutions — political and economic — which regulate relations between the citizens of African states. SOMMAIRE Cet article examine l'argument selon lequel les problèmes de mìse en oeuvre et de développement des programmes des gouvernements africains, proviennent de la nécessité politique de maintenir le pouvoir. En réponse à cela, il est argumenté que le succès et l'échec des politiques, les effets de distorsíon des intérêts sectoriels et la nécessité d'utiliser des méthodes particulières pour maintenir le pouvoir, sont déterminés par un contexte plus large celui de l'état, et son rôle social de créer et de soutenir les institutions — politiques et économiques — qui régissent les relations entre les citoyens des états africains. RESUMEN Este articulo examina el argumento de que los problema de los gobiernos africanos para implementar programas de desarrollo, surge de la necesidad política de mantener el poder. En respuesta a esto, se arguye que los exitos y fracasos de la políticas, los efectos distorsionadores de intereses contrapuestos y la necesidad de usar métodos especiales para mantener el poder, están determinados por un contexto mas amplio que consiste en el estado como un todo y en su rol social en la creación y mantención de las instituciones — políticas y económicas — que regulan las relaciones entre los ciudadanos de los estados africanos

Biology and law

The terms "biology" and "biological" are widely used in ways that confuse and denigrate possible contributions of biologists to human self-understanding. As with social scientists, biologists deal with learning, developmental plasticity, and strategizing in virtually all species they study. It is from theories about how human strategizing is molded by selection that biologists can contribute to understanding topics like law.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26363/1/0000450.pd

New Economy, Old Central Banks?

Proponents of the so-called New Economy claim that it entails a structural change of the economy. Such a change, in turn, would require the central bank to rethink its monetary policy to the extent that traditional relationships between inf1ation and economic growth are no longer valid. But such a rethinking presupposes that prospective advances in information technology and other factors associated with the new economy do not threaten the capacity of central banks to stabilise the general level of prices. It is the aim of this paper to shed some light on the latter, by analysing the monetary transmission mechanism in a 'new economy' environment. We argue that, although the form of central bank instruments and current methods for implementing monetary policy may change, the goals that the policy makers try to achieve by employing these instruments remain valid, and achievable

The Availability Heuristic, Intuitive Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Climate Change

Because risks are on all sides of social situations, it is not possible to be “precautionary” in general. The availability heuristic ensures that some risks stand out as particularly salient, whatever their actual magnitude. Taken together with intuitive cost-benefit balancing, the availability heuristic helps to explain differences across groups, cultures, and even nations in the assessment of precautions to reduce the risks associated with climate change. There are complex links among availability, social processes for the spreading of information, and predispositions. If the United States is to take a stronger stand against climate change, it is likely to be a result of available incidents that seem to show that climate change produces serious and tangible harm