BILATERAL TRADING AND THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE: AN EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS STUDY

This research investigates the impact of reporting different kinds of trade information to buyers and sellers in laboratory markets, for which exchange is made through bilateral bargaining. Results suggest that public information may improve the bargaining position of buyers relative to sellers when there is spot delivery. In some cases sellers earn less than in a no information baseline. There is evidence of a curse of knowledge for sellers in our information experiments when quantity traded for the entire market is known. The mandatory price reporting of all trades does not improve the income of sellers.International Relations/Trade,

AN EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS APPROACH TO ANALYZING PRICE DISCOVERY IN FORWARD AND SPOT MARKETS

Laboratory experiments are used to generate data that facilitate investigation of pricing behavior in forward and spot markets. Results suggest a tendency for prices in a spot market to converge to levels higher than those in a forward market. The difference in these market environments is the supply schedule. Buyers in a spot market are aware that supply is inelastic and become relatively aggressive bidders. Forward markets have a relatively elastic supply schedule and buyers fare better. This may motivate firms to promote forward markets and/or vertically integrate in the procurement of inputs.Experimental economics, Forward market, Price discovery, Spot market, Marketing,

SUPPLY AND DEMAND RISKS IN LABORATORY FORWARD AND SPOT MARKETS: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE

Laboratory experimental methods are used to investigate the impacts of supply and/or demand risks on prices, quantities traded, and earnings within forward and spot market institutions. Random demand and/or supply shifts can be as much as 25 percent of the expected equilibrium outcome. Nevertheless, results suggest that the spot or forward trading institution itself has a greater influence on market outcomes than the presence of risk within the trading institutions. Sellers tend to have relatively higher earnings in a spot market than buyers, regardless of the risk. Total surplus, however, generally is greater in a forward market.laboratory markets, forward market, spot market, supply and/or demand risks, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,

SUPPLY AND DEMAND RISKS IN FORWARD AND SPOT MARKETS: IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE

Laboratory methods are used to investigate the impacts of supply and/or demand risks on prices, quantities traded, and earnings within forward and spot market institutions. Results suggest that the spot or forward trading institution itself has a greater influence on market outcomes than supply/demand risks within the institution.Marketing,

Risky Investment Decisions: How Are Individuals Influenced by Their Groups?

We investigate the effect of group versus individual decision-making in the context of risky investment decisions in which all subjects are fully informed of the probabilities and payoffs. Although there is full information, the lottery choices pose cognitive challenges so that people may not be sure of their expected utility-maximizing choice. Making such decisions in a group context provides real-time information in which group members can observe others’ choices and revise their own decisions. Our experimental results show that simply observing what others in the group do has a significant impact on behavior. Coupling real-time information with group decisions based on the median value, i.e., majority rule, makes the median investment choice focal, leading people with low values to increase investments and those with high values decrease investments. Group decisions based on the minimum investment amount produce more asymmetric effects

Imminent entry and the transition to multimarket rivalry in a laboratory setting

In this paper we study the behavior of rivals when there is a known probability of imminent entry. Experimental markets are used to collect data on pre- and postentry production when there is an announced time of possible entry; some markets experience entry and other do not. In all preentry markets competition is more intense. Postentry behavior in all markets is more competitive compared to a baseline that had no threat. There is evidence that postentry multimarket contact raises outputs in those markets that did not experience entry, behavior we generally refer to as a conduit effect

Acute COVID-19, the Lived Experience, and Lessons to Learn for Future Pandemics

Objectives: The study aimed to increase the understanding of the lived experience of patients during the acute phase of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Method: A Web-based survey was distributed through established patient and public engagement and involvement groups and networks, social media, and by means of word of mouth. The survey covered questions relating to patient demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, symptom profile, and patient experience during acute COVID-19. Results: The findings demonstrate the varying symptom profiles experienced by people in the acute stage of COVID-19 infection, with participants sharing how they managed care at home, and/or accessed medical advice. Findings also highlight themes that people were concerned with being unable to receive care and believed they needed to rely heavily on family, with extreme thoughts of death. Conclusions: Although the urgent threat to public health has been negated by efficacious vaccines and enhanced treatment strategies, there are key lessons from the lived experience of COVID-19 that should be used to prepare for future pandemics and public health emergencies

Rubisco function, evolution, and engineering

Carbon fixation is the process by which CO2 is converted from a gas into biomass. The Calvin Benson Bassham (CBB) cycle is the dominant carbon fixation pathway on earth, driving >99.5% of the ~120 billion tons of carbon that are "fixed" as sugar, by plants, algae and cyanobacteria. The carboxylase enzyme in the CBB, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco), fixes one CO2 molecule per turn of the cycle. Despite being critical to the assimilation of carbon, rubisco's kinetic rate is not very fast and it is a bottleneck in flux through the pathway. This presents a paradox - why hasn't rubisco evolved to be a better catalyst? Many hypothesize that the catalytic mechanism of rubisco is subject to one or more trade-offs, and that rubisco variants have been optimized for their native physiological environment. Here we review the evolution and biochemistry of rubisco through the lens of structure and mechanism in order to understand what trade-offs limit its improvement. We also review the many attempts to improve rubisco itself and, thereby, promote plant growth

A Bayesian Examination of Information and Uncertainty in Contingent Valuation

A theoretical framework is presented to explain how agents respond to information under uncertainty in contingent valuation surveys. Agents are provided with information signals and referendum prices as part of the elicitation process. Agents use Bayesian updating to revise prior distributions. An information prompt is presented to reduce hypothetical bias. However, we show the interaction between anchoring and the information prompt creates a systematic bias in willingness to pay. We test our hypotheses in an experimental setting where agents are asked to make a hypothetical, voluntary contribution to a public good. Experimental results are consistent with the model