A De-biased Direct Question Approach to Measuring Consumers' Willingness to Pay

Knowledge of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) is a prerequisite to profitable price-setting. To gauge consumers' WTP, practitioners often rely on a direct single question approach in which consumers are asked to explicitly state their WTP for a product. Despite its popularity among practitioners, this approach has been found to suffer from hypothetical bias. In this paper, we propose a rigorous method that improves the accuracy of the direct single question approach. Specifically, we systematically assess the hypothetical biases associated with the direct single question approach and explore ways to de-bias it. Our results show that by using the de-biasing procedures we propose, we can generate a de-biased direct single question approach that is accu-rate enough to be useful for managerial decision-making. We validate this approach with two studies in this paper.Comment: Market Research, Pricing, Demand Estimation, Direct Estimation, Single Question Approach, Choice Experiments, Willingness to Pay, Hypothetical Bia

Economic Consequences of Online Tracking Restrictions: Evidence from Cookies

In recent years, European regulators have debated restricting the time an online tracker can track a user to protect consumer privacy better. Despite the significance of these debates, there has been a noticeable absence of any comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. This article fills this gap on the cost side by suggesting an approach to estimate the economic consequences of lifetime restrictions on cookies for publishers. The empirical study on cookies of 54,127 users who received 128 million ad impressions over 2.5 years yields an average cookie lifetime of 279 days, with an average value of EUR 2.52 per cookie. Only 13% of all cookies increase their daily value over time, but their average value is about four times larger than the average value of all cookies. Restricting cookies lifetime to one year (two years) decreases their lifetime value by 25% (19%), which represents a decrease in the value of all cookies of 9% (5%). In light of the EUR 10.60 billion cookie-based display ad revenue in Europe, such restrictions would endanger EUR 904 million (EUR 576 million) annually, equivalent to EUR 2.08 (EUR 1.33) per EU internet user. The article discusses these results' marketing strategy challenges and opportunities for advertisers and publishers

The Impact of Privacy Laws on Online User Behavior

Policymakers worldwide draft privacy laws that require trading-off between safeguarding consumer privacy and preventing economic loss to companies that use consumer data. However, little empirical knowledge exists as to how privacy laws affect companies' performance. Accordingly, this paper empirically quantifies the effects of the enforcement of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on online user behavior over time, analyzing data from 6,286 websites spanning 24 industries during the 10 months before and 18 months after the GDPR's enforcement in 2018. A panel differences estimator, with a synthetic control group approach, isolates the short- and long-term effects of the GDPR on user behavior. The results show that, on average, the GDPR's effects on user quantity and usage intensity are negative; e.g., the numbers of total visits to a website decrease by 4.9% and 10% due to GDPR in respectively the short- and long-term. These effects could translate into average revenue losses of $7 million for e-commerce websites and almost$2.5 million for ad-based websites 18 months after GDPR. The GDPR's effects vary across websites, with some industries even benefiting from it; moreover, more-popular websites suffer less, suggesting that the GDPR increased market concentration

IO vs OI in Higher-Order Recursion Schemes

We propose a study of the modes of derivation of higher-order recursion schemes, proving that value trees obtained from schemes using innermost-outermost derivations (IO) are the same as those obtained using unrestricted derivations. Given that higher-order recursion schemes can be used as a model of functional programs, innermost-outermost derivations policy represents a theoretical view point of call by value evaluation strategy.Comment: In Proceedings FICS 2012, arXiv:1202.317

Planet Four: Terrains - Discovery of Araneiforms Outside of the South Polar Layered Deposits

We present the results of a systematic mapping of seasonally sculpted terrains on the South Polar region of Mars with the Planet Four: Terrains (P4T) online citizen science project. P4T enlists members of the general public to visually identify features in the publicly released Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CTX images. In particular, P4T volunteers are asked to identify: 1) araneiforms (including features with a central pit and radiating channels known as 'spiders'); 2) erosional depressions, troughs, mesas, ridges, and quasi-circular pits characteristic of the South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) which we collectively refer to as 'Swiss cheese terrain', and 3) craters. In this work we present the distributions of our high confidence classic spider araneiforms and Swiss cheese terrain identifications. We find no locations within our high confidence spider sample that also have confident Swiss cheese terrain identifications. Previously spiders were reported as being confined to the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD). Our work has provided the first identification of spiders at locations outside of the SPLD, confirmed with high resolution HiRISE imaging. We find araneiforms on the Amazonian and Hesperian polar units and the Early Noachian highland units, with 75% of the identified araneiform locations in our high confidence sample residing on the SPLD. With our current coverage, we cannot confirm whether these are the only geologic units conducive to araneiform formation on the Martian South Polar region. Our results are consistent with the current CO2 jet formation scenario with the process exploiting weaknesses in the surface below the seasonal CO2 ice sheet to carve araneiform channels into the regolith over many seasons. These new regions serve as additional probes of the conditions required for channel creation in the CO2 jet process. (Abridged)Comment: accepted to Icarus - Supplemental data files are available at https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/mschwamb/planet-four-terrains/about/results - Icarus print version available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001910351730055

Autonomous support for microorganism research in space

A preliminary design for performing on-orbit, autonomous research on microorganisms and cultured cells/tissues is presented. An understanding of gravity and its effects on cells is crucial for space exploration as well as for terrestrial applications. The payload is designed to be compatible with the COMmercial Experiment Transported (COMET) launch vehicle, an orbiter middeck locker interface, and with Space Station Freedom. Uplink/downlink capabilities and sample return through controlled reentry are available for all carriers. Autonomous testing activities are preprogrammed with inflight reprogrammability. Sensors for monitoring temperature, pH, light, gravity levels, vibration, and radiation are provided for environmental regulation and experimental data collection. Additional experiment data acquisition includes optical density measurement, microscopy, video, and file photography. Onboard full data storage capabilities are provided. A fluid transfer mechanism is utilized for inoculation, sampling, and nutrient replenishment of experiment cultures. In addition to payload design, representative experiments were developed to ensure scientific objectives remained compatible with hardware capabilities. The project is defined to provide biological data pertinent to extended duration crewed space flight including crew health issues and development of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). In addition, opportunities are opened for investigations leading to commercial applications of space, such as pharmaceutical development, modeling of terrestrial diseases, and material processing

A rare presentation of atypical demyelination: tumefactive multiple sclerosis causing Gerstmann's syndrome

r. KS has been supported by a Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Clinical Senior Lectureshi

Women\u27s health: Optimal nutrition throughout the lifecycle

Sex differences are an important consideration when researching and establishing policies for nutrition and optimal health. For women\u27s health, there are important physiologic, neurologic, and hormonal distinctions throughout the lifecycle that impact nutritional needs. Distinct from those for men, these nutritional needs must be translated into appropriate nutrition policy that aims to not only avoid overt nutritional deficiency, but also to promote health and minimize risk for chronic disease. Through a series of webinars, scientific experts discussed the advances in the understanding of the unique nutritional needs, challenges and opportunities of the various life stages for women across the life course and identified emerging nutritional interventions that may be beneficial for women. Nevertheless, there is concern that existing nutrition policy intended for women\u27s health is falling short with examples of programs that are focused more on delivering calories than achieving optimal nutrition. To be locally effective, targeted nutrition needs to offer different proposals for different cultural, socio-economic, and geographic communities, and needs to be applicable at all stages of growth and development. There must be adequate access to nutritious foods, and the information to understand and implement proven nutritional opportunities. Experts provided recommendations for improvement of current entitlement programs that will address accessibility and other social and environmental issues to support women properly throughout the lifecycle