Inefficiency in a Bilateral Trading Problem with Cooperative Investment

A bilateral trading model with investment is considered. In the "cooperative" investment version of the model, the seller's investment stochastically determines the buyer's valuation of the good. The value and cost of the good are realized only after the investment is made, and the investment level and the realization of the good's value and cost are private information. I show that under these assumptions, no contract made prior to the investment can simultaneously induce efficient investment and efficient ex-post trade when the buyer's type is continuously distributed. This inefficiency result contrasts sharply with the efficiency result under the standard "selfish" investment model, where the seller's investment stochastically determines the seller's cost.Bilateral Trading, Cooperative Investment, Contracts

The Bright Side of Private Benefits

In many cases, the cost of an agent acquiring information is lower than that for the principal. However, because of a private benefit difference between the principal's and agent's preferences, the principal often cannot fully utilize the agent's advantage. This paper considers the cost of motivating the agent to acquire information and inducing him/her to report it truthfully. As usual, the larger the private benefit, the larger the cost of eliciting true information. At the same time, the private benefit may reduce the cost of motivating information acquisition. Thus, there are cases in which an agent with a different preference is desirable.

A Race beyond the Bottom: The Nature of Bidding for a Firm

We examine how the bidding environment may affect the outcome of tax competition between two countries (or two regions) in attracting a firm’s foreign direct investment (FDI).We compare the equilibrium location choice and payoffs from an English auction, with both complete and incomplete information, relative to those in the traditional setting of a sealed-bid first-price auction. We find that an English auction leads to more aggressive bidding in “race beyond the bottom,” where the nations may bid beyond their own valuations of the FDI. We also discuss the roles of auction protocol and information asymmetry on the auction outcome.tax competition, foreign direct investment, international ownership, English auction, information asymmetry

Scattered Results in 2D String Theory

The nonperturbative $1\to N$ tachyon scattering amplitude in 2D type 0A string theory is computed. The probability that $N$ particles are produced is a monotonically decreasing function of $N$ whenever $N$ is large enough that statistical methods apply. The results are compared with expectations from black hole thermodynamics.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, harvmac. v2: minor comments added, typos correcte

q-Deformed Oscillators and D-branes on Conifold

We study the q-deformed oscillator algebra acting on the wavefunctions of non-compact D-branes in the topological string on conifold. We find that the mirror B-model curve of conifold appears from the commutation relation of the q-deformed oscillators.Comment: 13 pages, v3: typos correcte

AUTS2 Governs Cerebellar Development, Purkinje Cell Maturation, Motor Function and Social Communication

Autism susceptibility candidate 2 (AUTS2), a risk gene for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), is implicated in telencephalon development. Because AUTS2 is also expressed in the cerebellum where defects have been linked to ASDs, we investigated AUTS2 functions in the cerebellum. AUTS2 is specifically localized in Purkinje cells (PCs) and Golgi cells during postnatal development. Auts2 conditional knockout (cKO) mice exhibited smaller and deformed cerebella containing immature-shaped PCs with reduced expression of Cacna1a. Auts2 cKO and knock-down experiments implicated AUTS2 participation in elimination and translocation of climbing fiber synapses and restriction of parallel fiber synapse numbers. Auts2 cKO mice exhibited behavioral impairments in motor learning and vocal communications. Because Cacna1a is known to regulate synapse development in PCs, it suggests that AUTS2 is required for PC maturation to elicit normal development of PC synapses and thus the impairment of AUTS2 may cause cerebellar dysfunction related to psychiatric illnesses such as ASDs