Intercommection Incentives of a Large Network Facing Multiple Rivals

This paper extends Cremer, Rey and Tirole’s analysis of whether a firm with the most installed-base customers, in a market exhibiting network externalities, gains by degrading interconnection with rivals that compete with it for new customers. We allow any number of rivals and consider both tipping equilibria and interior equlibria. Degrading interconnection can yield tipping away from the largest network even if its installed-base share exceeds one half. For all parameter values (including those that admit interior equilibria), a share above one half is necessary but not sufficient to ensure degradation is profitable. Greater scope for market expansion—a lower marginal cost or smaller installed-base relative to potential additional demand—makes profitable degradation less likely.Interconnection, Network Externalities, Exclusion

Increasing Fundraising Success by Decreasing Donor Choice

Suggested contributions, membership categories, and discrete, incremental thank-you gifts are devices often used by benevolent associations that provide public goods. Such devices focus donations into discrete levels, thereby effectively limiting the donors' freedom to give. We study the effects on overall donations of the tradeoff between rigid schemes that severely restrict the choices of contribution on the one hand, and flexible membership contracts on the other, taking into account the strategic response of contributors whose values for the public good are private information. We show flexibility dominates when i) the dispersion of donors' taste for the public good increases, ii) the number of potential donors increases, and iii) there is greater funding by an external authority. Using the number of default membership categories that National Public Radio stations offer as proxy for flexibility, we document the existence of empirical correlations consistent with our predictions: stations offer a larger number of suggested contribution levels as i) the incomes of the population served become more diverse, ii) the population of the coverage area increases, and iii) there is greater external support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.private provision, categories, restricting donations, heterogeneity, crowding out

Regeneration of Senecio x hybridus Hly. (florists\u27cineraria) by somatic embryogenesis

The somatic embryogenic potential of Senecio x hybridus Hyl (Florists\u27 Cineraria) was explored. Somatic embryos were initiated on semi-solid MS basal media amended with 3 mg/l 2,4-D and 1 mg/l BA (induction medium). An inverse relationship existed between sucrose concentration in the induction medium and globular embryo formation when sucrose exceeded 3%. The first and second leaves, from 13-18 and 20 days post-sown seedlings, respectively, were more responsive explants than cotyledons from the same source and sampling times. Somatic embryo development beyond the globular stage was greatly delayed or prevented by remaining on auxin-rich induction medium; therefore several two or three media transfer systems using either 0.5% or 1.0% AC were attempted. The two media system using (1) induction medium and a transfer to (2) MS basal medium with 1.0% AC, but without hormones, caused explant death or decline by 28 days post-inoculation to induction medium. The three media transfer system using (1) induction medium, (2) MS basal medium without hormones, supplemented with 0.5% AC for three days followed by a transfer to (3) MS basal medium without hormones and AC produced mature somatic embryos by 28 days post-inoculation to induction medium; however, embryos germinated precociously. Occasionally, explants that were not transferred from the initial induction medium (controls) developed mature embryos that did not germinate precociously after two-four months. Somatic embryos converted to plants and were grown to maturity: however, most plants were multi-stemmed. Histological examination of mature somatic embryos produced verification of embryo anatomy

Response to “Truth in the Falsification of AI”

12:00-12:50: “The Truth in the Falsifcaton of Artfcial Intelligence” By Mariah Jacobs (Pacifc University) Comments by August Malueg Chair: Thalia Barr-Male

Gender Responsive Reentry: Supporting Mothers and Their Children

The unique needs and experiences of women with children are not reflected in Minnesota’s state reentry approach or federal reentry approach. The number of women in the correctional system has been steadily rising, which means more women, many of them mothers, are returning to their families and communities without the programming and supports needed to successfully resume their roles as parent and provider. Minnesota must invest in a gender-responsive reentry approach tailored specifically to the needs of women with children

Factors influencing a students choice of an optometry school

A questionnaire was developed to sample first year students at 13 optometry schools across the United States in order to ascertain the relative importance of factors influencing their choice of an optometry school. Of the 530 respondents, the most influential factors overall were reputation and emphasis of programs offered, along with the reputation of the faculty. With this information, optometry schools can adapt their recruiting strategies to better position themselves to attract the most qualified applicants

Sectoral and regional expansion of emissions trading

We consider an international emissions trading scheme with partial sectoral and regional coverage. Sectoral and regional expansion of the trading scheme is beneficial in aggregate, but not necessarily for individual countries. We simulate international CO2 emission quota markets using marginal abatement cost functions and the Copenhagen 2020 climate policy targets for selected countries that strategically allocate emissions in a bid to manipulate the quota price. Quota exporters and importers generally have conflicting interests about admitting more countries to the trading coalition, and our results indicate that some countries may lose substantially when the coalition expands in terms of new countries. For a given coalition, expanding sectoral coverage makes most countries better off, but some countries (notably the USA and Russia) may lose out due to loss of strategic advantages. In general, exporters tend to have stronger strategic power than importers

Universal access, parallel trade and incentives to innovate

Governments often subsidize poorer groups in society to ensure their access to new drugs. We analyze the optimal income-based price subsidies in a strategic environment. We show that universal access is less likely to arise when price arbitrage prevents international price discrimination. When this is not the case, under some income ranges, bilateral universal coverage can be supported by equilibrium subsidies together with bilateral partial provision. In such a case, international health policy coordination becomes relevant. We also show that asymmetric universal access to medicines across countries can arise, even when countries are ex-ante symmetric, when international price discrimination is possible and governments cannot design subsidies proportional to either income or quality