Counterpunishment revisited: an evolutionary approach

Evolutionary game theory has shown that in environments characterised by a social-dilemma situation punishment may be an adaptive behaviour. Experimental evidence closely corresponds to this finding but yields contradictory results on the cooperation-enhancing effect of punishment if players are allowed to retaliate against their punishers. The present study sets out to examine the question of whether cooperation will still be part of an evolutionary stable strategy if we allow for counterpunishment opportunities in a theoretic model and tries to reconcile the seemingly contradictory findings from the laboratory. We find that the apparent contradictions can be explained by a difference in the number of retaliation stages employed (one vs many) and even small differences in the degree of retaliativeness.Public goods; Strong reciprocity; Conformism; Counter-punishment; Evolution of behavior

On the Nature of Reciprocity: Evidence from the Ultimatum Reciprocity Measure

We experimentally show that current models of reciprocity are in- complete in a systematic way using a new variant of the ultimatum game that provides second-movers with a marginal-cost-free punish- ment option. For a substantial proportion of the population, the de- gree of rst-mover unkindness determines the severity of punishment actions even when marginal costs are absent. The proportion of these subjects strongly depends on a treatment variation: higher xed costs of punishment lead to harsher responses. The fractions of purely self- ish and inequity-averse participants are small and stable. Among the variety of reciprocity models, only one accommodates (rather than predicts) parts of our ndings. The treatment e ect is unaccounted for. We discuss ways of incorporating our ndings into the existing models.Distributional fairness, experiments, intention-based fair- ness, reciprocity, ultimatum bargaining

Incentive Effects of Funding Contracts: An Experiment

We examine the incentive effects of funding contracts on entrepreneurial effort decisions and allocative efficiency. We experiment with four types of contracts (standard debt contract, outside equity, non-monotonic contract, full-subsidy contract) that differ in the structure of investor repayment and, therefore, in the incentives for entrepreneurial effort provision. Theoretically the replacement of a standard debt contract by a repayment-equivalent non-monotonic contract reduces effort distortions and increases efficiency. We test this non-monotonic-contracts hypothesis in the laboratory as well. Our results reveal that the incentive effects of funding contracts need to be experienced before they reect in observed behavior. With sufficient experience observed behavior is consistent with the theoretical predictions and supports the non-monotonic-contracts hypothesis: we find that the replacement of a standard debt contract by a repayment-neutral non-monotonic contract increases entrepreneurial income by 170% and total surplus by 30% in our setting.hidden information, funding contracts, incentives, experiment, standard debt contract, non-monotonic contract

Non-monotonic Repayment Contracts are Superior: An Experimental Approach

We experimentally investigate if theoretically superior non-monotonic repayment contracts yield superior results in the laboratory. We find replacing standard debt contracts with repayment-equivalent non-monotonic contracts increases entrepreneurial income by 170% and total surplus by 30%.financial economics and financial management ;

The Identity and Mission of an American Catholic University, in Light of Pope John Paul II\u27s Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae

Catholic colleges and universities in the United States started experiencing major identity crisis in the late 1960s when people started asking serious questions about the meaning of the Catholic identity of Catholic institutions of higher education. At the time, there were no satisfactory answers to the questions asked. As a result of the crisis, many Catholic colleges and universities lost their Catholic identity. To address the problem and set forth directions for a lasting solution, Pope John Paul II issued the Apostolic Constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In the document, the Supreme Pontiff defined Catholic identity, enumerated the essential characteristics of Catholic colleges and universities, and outlined the principles and norms that Catholic institutions of higher education are to adopt and follow, to maintain Catholic identity. In compliance with the directive of the Holy Father that episcopal conferences of countries adopt and apply these principles and norms for the Catholic institutions in their countries, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops promulgated The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States on June 1, 2000, after it was approved by the Vatican on May 3, 2000. In the document, the bishops enumerated the principles and norms that Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States are to follow and abide by, to maintain Catholic identity. The purpose of this study was to ascertain and understand the extent to which American Catholic University is fulfilling and applying the principles and norms in both documents to maintain Catholic identity. To achieve this, the researcher interviewed some members of faculty of the School of Theology of the institution, and consulted some recent documents containing the policies and programs of the institution. The findings from the research revealed that while the institution had undertaken many initiatives, and incorporated many of the principles and norms into its functions, policies and programs, not all the members of the university community are participating in institutional mission-centered programs and activities. Research participants stated that for the active participation of all the members of the university community to be achieved, it would require more effort on the part of the institution to encourage all the members to be actively involved by playing their parts to foster the Catholic identity and mission of the institution. The collaboration of all the members would put the university on the path of maintaining a strong and vibrant Catholic identity

The Identity and Mission of an American Catholic University, in Light of Pope John Paul II\u27s Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae

Catholic colleges and universities in the United States started experiencing major identity crisis in the late 1960s when people started asking serious questions about the meaning of the Catholic identity of Catholic institutions of higher education. At the time, there were no satisfactory answers to the questions asked. As a result of the crisis, many Catholic colleges and universities lost their Catholic identity. To address the problem and set forth directions for a lasting solution, Pope John Paul II issued the Apostolic Constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In the document, the Supreme Pontiff defined Catholic identity, enumerated the essential characteristics of Catholic colleges and universities, and outlined the principles and norms that Catholic institutions of higher education are to adopt and follow, to maintain Catholic identity. In compliance with the directive of the Holy Father that episcopal conferences of countries adopt and apply these principles and norms for the Catholic institutions in their countries, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops promulgated The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States on June 1, 2000, after it was approved by the Vatican on May 3, 2000. In the document, the bishops enumerated the principles and norms that Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States are to follow and abide by, to maintain Catholic identity. The purpose of this study was to ascertain and understand the extent to which American Catholic University is fulfilling and applying the principles and norms in both documents to maintain Catholic identity. To achieve this, the researcher interviewed some members of faculty of the School of Theology of the institution, and consulted some recent documents containing the policies and programs of the institution. The findings from the research revealed that while the institution had undertaken many initiatives, and incorporated many of the principles and norms into its functions, policies and programs, not all the members of the university community are participating in institutional mission-centered programs and activities. Research participants stated that for the active participation of all the members of the university community to be achieved, it would require more effort on the part of the institution to encourage all the members to be actively involved by playing their parts to foster the Catholic identity and mission of the institution. The collaboration of all the members would put the university on the path of maintaining a strong and vibrant Catholic identity

Beliefs about others: A striking example of information neglect

In many games of imperfect information, players can make Bayesian inferences about other players’ types based on the information that is contained in their own type. Several behavioral theories of belief-updating even start from the assumption that players project their own type onto others also when it is not rational. We investigate such inferences in a simple environment that is a vital ingredient of numerous game-theoretic models and experiments, in which types are drawn from one out of two states of the world and participants have to guess the type of another participant. We find little evidence for irrational over-projection. Instead, between 50% and 70% of the participants in our experiment completely neglect the information contained in their own type and base their beliefs and choices only on the prior probabilities. Using several experimental interventions, we show that this striking neglect of information is very robust

Reading the Bible to Meet Jesus: Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Reading the Bible to Meet Jesus, part of the Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics series, is a refreshed English version and study guide for the ancient work Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, written by early church leader Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus captures a sense of the epic scope of God’s plans being worked out in history, culminating in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Irenaeus interacts deeply with Scripture to show how this grand story of God’s activity and presence is demonstrated throughout the Bible. The study guide materials include introductions and discussion questions for each chapter. The questions promote exploration of ancient and modern church experience, engagement with core Christian beliefs and ideas, attention to values and spiritual growth, suggested responses of worship and obedience, and the formation of new habits to integrate into readers’ lives. Readers will find Irenaeus’s enthusiasm for Scripture and the God of Scripture contagious.https://pillars.taylor.edu/spiritualclassics/1010/thumbnail.jp

Counterpunishment revisited: an evolutionary approach

Evolutionary game theory has shown that in environments characterised by a social-dilemma situation punishment may be an adaptive behaviour. Experimental evidence closely corresponds to this finding but yields contradictory results on the cooperation-enhancing effect of punishment if players are allowed to retaliate against their punishers. The present study sets out to examine the question of whether cooperation will still be part of an evolutionary stable strategy if we allow for counterpunishment opportunities in a theoretic model and tries to reconcile the seemingly contradictory findings from the laboratory. We find that the apparent contradictions can be explained by a difference in the number of retaliation stages employed (one vs many) and even small differences in the degree of retaliativeness