5,525 research outputs found
EXISTENCE, UNIQUENESS AND SOME COMPARATIVE STATICS FOR RATIO- AND LINDAHL EQUILIBRIA: NEW WINE IN OLD BOTTLES
We present a rigorous, yet elementary, demonstration of the existence of a unique Lindahl equilibrium under the assumptions that characterize the standard n-player public good model. Indeed, our approach, which exploits the aggregative structure of the public good model, lends itself to a transparent geometric representation. Moreover, it can handle the more general concept of the cost-share or ratio equilibrium. Finally, we indicate how it may be ex-ploited to facilitate comparative static analysis of Lindahl and cost share equilibria.Public goods, Lindahl equilibrium, ratio equilibrium.
Existence, Uniqueness and Some Comparative Statics for Ratio- and Lindahl Equilibria: New Wine in Old Bottles
We present a rigorous, yet elementary, demonstration of the existence of a unique Lindahl equilibrium under the assumptions that characterize the standard n-player public good model. Indeed, our approach, which exploits the aggregative structure of the public good model, lends itself to a transparent geometric representation. Moreover, it can handle the more general concept of the cost-share or ratio equilibrium. Finally, we indicate how it may be ex-ploited to facilitate comparative static analysis of Lindahl and cost share equilibria.public goods, Lindahl equilibrium, ratio equilibrium
Chaotic Quantum Double Delta Swarm Algorithm using Chebyshev Maps: Theoretical Foundations, Performance Analyses and Convergence Issues
Quantum Double Delta Swarm (QDDS) Algorithm is a new metaheuristic algorithm
inspired by the convergence mechanism to the center of potential generated
within a single well of a spatially co-located double-delta well setup. It
mimics the wave nature of candidate positions in solution spaces and draws upon
quantum mechanical interpretations much like other quantum-inspired
computational intelligence paradigms. In this work, we introduce a Chebyshev
map driven chaotic perturbation in the optimization phase of the algorithm to
diversify weights placed on contemporary and historical, socially-optimal
agents' solutions. We follow this up with a characterization of solution
quality on a suite of 23 single-objective functions and carry out a comparative
analysis with eight other related nature-inspired approaches. By comparing
solution quality and successful runs over dynamic solution ranges, insights
about the nature of convergence are obtained. A two-tailed t-test establishes
the statistical significance of the solution data whereas Cohen's d and Hedge's
g values provide a measure of effect sizes. We trace the trajectory of the
fittest pseudo-agent over all function evaluations to comment on the dynamics
of the system and prove that the proposed algorithm is theoretically globally
convergent under the assumptions adopted for proofs of other closely-related
random search algorithms.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 19 table
Invariant Models for Causal Transfer Learning
Methods of transfer learning try to combine knowledge from several related
tasks (or domains) to improve performance on a test task. Inspired by causal
methodology, we relax the usual covariate shift assumption and assume that it
holds true for a subset of predictor variables: the conditional distribution of
the target variable given this subset of predictors is invariant over all
tasks. We show how this assumption can be motivated from ideas in the field of
causality. We focus on the problem of Domain Generalization, in which no
examples from the test task are observed. We prove that in an adversarial
setting using this subset for prediction is optimal in Domain Generalization;
we further provide examples, in which the tasks are sufficiently diverse and
the estimator therefore outperforms pooling the data, even on average. If
examples from the test task are available, we also provide a method to transfer
knowledge from the training tasks and exploit all available features for
prediction. However, we provide no guarantees for this method. We introduce a
practical method which allows for automatic inference of the above subset and
provide corresponding code. We present results on synthetic data sets and a
gene deletion data set
Estimating Quantile Families of Loss Distributions for Non-Life Insurance Modelling via L-moments
This paper discusses different classes of loss models in non-life insurance
settings. It then overviews the class Tukey transform loss models that have not
yet been widely considered in non-life insurance modelling, but offer
opportunities to produce flexible skewness and kurtosis features often required
in loss modelling. In addition, these loss models admit explicit quantile
specifications which make them directly relevant for quantile based risk
measure calculations. We detail various parameterizations and sub-families of
the Tukey transform based models, such as the g-and-h, g-and-k and g-and-j
models, including their properties of relevance to loss modelling.
One of the challenges with such models is to perform robust estimation for
the loss model parameters that will be amenable to practitioners when fitting
such models. In this paper we develop a novel, efficient and robust estimation
procedure for estimation of model parameters in this family Tukey transform
models, based on L-moments. It is shown to be more robust and efficient than
current state of the art methods of estimation for such families of loss models
and is simple to implement for practical purposes.Comment: 42 page
Cultural Priming and Psychosocial Factors in the Achievement of Hispanic and White Students
The rationale for this study is that the achievement gap between Whites and Hispanics can be influenced by reconceptualizing the learner process as one that integrates culture, motivation, and psychosocial variables, with academic performance. The study investigated the role of three psychosocial variables in achievement: familism, academic self concept, and ethnocentrism. It also reconceptualized one’s culture as a toolkit for instrumental use on tasks in another culture, adopted the dynamic constructivist approach to culture’s influence, and applied the original definition of acculturation, of mutual influence of groups in contact, to achievement. A pretest/posttest comparison group design was used. White and Hispanic 8th grade students (N=72) met for two sessions. Students took pretests of the psychosocial variables, background variables related to ethnicity, and math. One month later, students were randomly assigned to the Hispanic, American, or Neutral priming conditions, given the priming task, an indirect test on psychosocial variables, the posttests of the psychosocial variables, and math. Results supported hypotheses that psychosocial variables moderate the impact of culture on achievement. Cultural priming significantly influenced psychosocial variables (effect sizes from 9-22%). Psychosocial variables significantly influenced math achievement (effect sizes from 8-17%; they significantly predicted math achievement (adjusted R square 13-22%); and they moderated culture’s impact on achievement (adjusted R square 17.8%). Findings support a two-step learner process of culture affecting psychosocial variables, which, in turn, affect academic achievement. Academic self-concept had a positive effect, ethnocentrism, a negative one, but its interaction effects with priming were positive. Familism was not a significant factor. Results did not support hypotheses based on group differences in, or correlations between, psychosocial variables based on group stereotypes, suggesting culture’s impact on achievement is more related to learner processes. Combinations of levels of academic self-concept and ethnocentrism were associated with group differences in achievement. Hispanic primes affected Whites, and American primes, Hispanics, providing support for the interdependence of achievement. The study is significant in showing culture’s influence on achievement comes through affect and motivation. Implications include a new understanding of culture’s impact on achievement, the relevance of minority culture to learning, and potential individualization of instruction within ethnic groups
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