The “Make or Take” Decision in an Electronic Market: Evidence on the Evolution of Liquidity

This paper uses experimental asset markets to investigate the evolution of liquidity in an electronic limit order market. Our market setting includes salient features of electronic markets, as well as informed traders and liquidity traders. We focus on the strategies of the traders, and how these are affected by trader type, characteristics of the market, and characteristics of the asset. We find that informed traders use more limit orders than do liquidity traders. We also find that liquidity provision shifts over time, with informed traders increasingly providing liquidity in markets. This evolution is consistent with the risk advantage informed traders have in placing limit orders. Thus, a market making role emerges endogenously in our electronic markets

The Limits of Noise Trading: An Experimental Analysis

In this research we investigate the behavior of noise traders and their impact on the market. We do this in an experimental market setting that allows us to determine not only how noise traders fare in a competitive asset market with other traders, but also how the equilibrium changes if a securities transactions tax (“Tobin tax”) is imposed. We find that noise traders lose money on average: they do not engage in extensive liquidity provision, and their attempt to make money by trend chasing is unsuccessful as they lose most in securities whose prices experience large moves. Noise traders adversely affect the informational efficiency of the market: they drive prices away from fundamental values, and the further away the market gets from the true value, the stronger this effect becomes. With a securities transaction tax, noise traders submit fewer orders and lose less money in those securities that exhibit large price movements. The tax is associated with a decrease in market trading volume, but informational efficiency remains essentially unchanged and liquidity (as measured by the price impact of trades) actually improves. We find no significant effect, however, on market volatility, suggesting that at least this rationale for a securities transaction tax is not supported by our data

Lack of validity of self-reported mammography data

This qualitative literature review aimed to describe the totality of peer-reviewed scientific evidence from 1990 to 2017 concerning validity of self-reported mammography. This review included articles about mammography containing the words accuracy, validity, specificity, sensitivity, reliability or reproducibility; titles containing self-report, recall or patient reports, and breast or ‘mammo’; and references of identified citations focusing on evaluation of 2-year self-reports. Of 45 publications meeting the eligibility criteria, 2 conducted in 1993 and 1995 at health maintenance organisations in Western USA which primarily served highly educated whites provided support for self-reports of mammography over 2 years. Methodological concerns about validity of self-reports included (1) telescoping, (2) biased overestimates particularly among black women, (3) failure to distinguish screening and diagnostic mammography, and (4) failure to address episodic versus consistent mammography use. The current totality of evidence supports the need for research to reconsider the validity of self-reported mammography data as well as the feasibility of alternative surveillance data sources to achieve the goals of the Healthy People Initiative

¿No habrá llegado la hora de de-construir el constructivismo en psicología clínica?

I revisit the debates over absolutism versus relativism, freedom versus determination, objectivism versus subjectivism, representationalism versus nominalism, determinacy versus indeterminacy, and other manifestations of the realism versus constructivism debate in psychology. I consider the advantages and drawbacks of both extremes and suggest that although as a critique of mainstream scientific psychology the postmodern discourse has been fruitful for clinical theory and practice, as its extreme it undermines its own claims as a basis for healing because it denies the legitimacy of any authority. Referring to recent thinking in cross-cultural psychology and neuro-science. I suggest that there may be certain universal givens that form limiting constraints on how far psychologist can take indeterminacy. I suggest that psychologists hold a double vision, using each end of the realist-constructivist spectrum of positions of a limiting frame for the other.En este artículo me he propuesto llevar a cabo una revisión de los debates abiertos en la actualidad entre el absolutismo frente al relativismo, la libertad frente a la determinación, el objetivismo frente al subjetivismo, el representacionalismo frente al nominalismo, el determinismo frente al indeterminismo, y otras manifestaciones de la polémica que enfrenta al realismo con el constructivismo en psicología. Para ello, tomo en cuenta las ventajas en inconvenientes de ambos extremos y sugiero que, aunque el discurso postmodernista haya dado muchos frutos tanto en la teoría como en la práctica clínica, erigiéndose en voz crítica de la corriente principal de la psicología científica, cuando se lleva al extremo atenta contra sus propias aspiraciones de convertirse en fuente de curación, ya que niega la legitimidad de cualquier autoridad.&nbsp

Rising to the occasion: New persons for new times

Abstract Global problems are accelerating to the point where they are challenging civilization. The author reflects on how early mentors in Biological and Psychological science modeled a new paradigm for their inquiry that included subject-subject participation, qualitative methods, a wider range of accepted evidence and the ability to indwell in a state of “not knowing” and letting coherence emerge. Such an approach not only leads to new knowledge but also develops capacities and competencies in the researcher that are more adequate for understanding complex and seemingly intractable crises of global the 21st century. The author identifies three levels of crisis occurring simultaneously: conceptual, cultural and existential which undermine coherence at personal and societal levels. When societies destabilize doubt and uncertainty rise producing the possible responses of defensiveness, anarchy and transformation. To optimize the possibility of transformation a new kind of psychology is needed that is better adapted to current conditions. Persons of Tomorrow, a term coined by humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers during the upheavals of the 1960s, have the consciousness and capacities to address these crises in creative and transformative ways. The non-profit International Futures Forum has developed theory, pedagogy and social practices to facilitate transformative innovation. Case examples of its and others’ transformative projects are described and linked to the urgent need to develop and to practice as Persons of Tomorrow

Competition in investment banking

We construct a comprehensive measure of overall investment banking competitiveness for follow-on offerings that aggregates the various dimensions of competition such as fees, pricing accuracy, analyst recommendations, distributional abilities, market making prowess, debt offering capabilities, and overall reputation. The measure allows us to incorporate trade-offs that investment banks may use in competing for new or established clients. We find that firms who switch to similar-quality underwriters enjoy more intense competition among investment banks which manifests in lower fees and more optimistic recommendations. Investment banks do compete vigorously for some clients, with the level of competition related to the likelihood of gaining or losing clients. Finally, investment banks not performing up to market norms are more likely to be dropped in the follow-on offering. In contrast, firms who seek a higher reputation underwriter face relatively non-competitive markets