The Value of Preference Information in Agency Relationships

Standard models of agency theory assume that the principal has considerable information about the preferences of the agent. Once this assumption is relaxed, the question arises whether the principal should try to obtain additional information about the agent's preferences. In this paper we introduce the concept of a Value of Preference Information (VPI), which describes the benefits to the principal from obtaining additional information about the agent's preferences. We show analytically that the VPI is non-negative and that the VPI will not decrease when the principal's information structure is refined. Computational methods are used to study factors influencing the VPI. The results of these experiments show a strong relationship between the entropy of the principal's information structure and the VPI. It is thus possible to evaluate an information structure independently of the decision problem delegated to the agent

Implementation of a Model of Service Location

This Working Paper describes the implementation of a model developed by R. Domanski and A. Wierzbicki. The first part contains a brief description of the model. The second part is directed to the user of the simulation system and contains all information required to produce simulation runs. The remaining parts are a technical documentation for those who want to modify the system or adapt it for different computers. The internal structure of the system is explained, hardware and software requirements for its installation are specified and possible modifications and extensions are indicated. An appendix contains the source listings of all programs

The Effects of Culture in Anonymous Negotiations: A Four Countries Experiment

Experimental research on cross-cultural negotiations typically involves subjects negotiating in a classroom or laboratory setting. Such negotiations are brief, with a strictly imposed deadline and face-to-face. Further, the negotiations typically involve dyads from the same country. The comparisons are done on the basis of experiments replicated in several countries. Internet technologies allow for communication across the cultural frontiers. While the communication is not as rich as in the case of face-to-face discussions, it allows subjects to negotiate in an asynchronous mode and at their own pace. It is also possible to conduct anonymous negotiations for several weeks. This paper explores the implications of culture on anonymous negotiations conducted via the Web with use of INSPIRE, a Web-based negotiation support system. The negotiations involved 166 subjects from Austria, Ecuador, Finland, and Switzerland. A model to study cross-cultural negotiations is proposed and assessed based on the statistical analysis of negotiations

The Impacts of Education: An Empirical Dynamic Analysis

This paper is one of the results of exploratory research on the impacts of education performed in the System and Decision Sciences Area during 1981 and 1982. A major reason for this study was the notion that the present period of demographic and economic transition is also a period of educational transition, and that it might be interesting to examine the interactions and possible causal relationships between these various forms of transition. In this paper, Rudolf Vetschera examines the effects of education on population growth, and attempts to identify possible dynamic relationships between education and fertility by empirical methods

Prospect Theory and Insurance Behavior

This paper provides analysts with an alternative way of thinking about insurance purchase behavior that may be more natural than the traditional approach which assumes that people purchase specific contingent claims. In our formulation individuals are assumed to insure themselves against specific amounts of coverage which will protect them from a series of different states of nature where losses fall within a specific range. Insurance firms tend to market coverage in this manner: they offer $x worth of protection or$y deductible against a class of different events and set their premiums accordingly. Here we investigate the implications on consumer choice of a convex utility or value function. The same conceptual framework can be utilized to characterize behavior if the utility or value function is concave in the loss domain

Health promoting potential of herbal teas and tinctures from Artemisia campestris subsp maritima: from traditional remedies to prospective products

This work explored the biotechnological potential of the medicinal halophyte Artemisia campestris subsp. maritima (dune wormwood) as a source of health promoting commodities. For that purpose, infusions, decoctions and tinctures were prepared from roots and aerial-organs and evaluated for in vitro antioxidant, anti-diabetic and tyrosinase-inhibitory potential, and also for polyphenolic and mineral contents and toxicity. The dune wormwood extracts had high polyphenolic content and several phenolics were identified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-mass-spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-MS). The main compounds were quinic, chlorogenic and caffeic acids, coumarin sulfates and dicaffeoylquinic acids; several of the identified phytoconstituents are here firstly reported in this A. campestris subspecies. Results obtained with this plant's extracts point to nutritional applications as mineral supplementary source, safe for human consumption, as suggested by the moderate to low toxicity of the extracts towards mammalian cell lines. The dune wormwood extracts had in general high antioxidant activity and also the capacity to inhibit a-glucosidase and tyrosinase. In summary, dune wormwood extracts are a significant source of polyphenolic and mineral constituents, antioxidants and a-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitors, and thus, relevant for different commercial segments like the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and/or food industries.FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology [CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013]; Portuguese National Budget; FCT [IF/00049/2012, SFRH/BD/94407/2013]; Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) [12M8315N]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The rank reversal problem in multi-criteria decision making : a literature review

Despite the importance of multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques for constructing effective decision models, there are many criticisms due to the occurrence of a problem called rank reversal. Nevertheless, there is a lack of a systematic literature review on this important subject which involves different methods. This study reviews the pertinent literature on rank reversal, based on 130 related articles published from 1980 to 2015 in international journals, which were gathered and analyzed according to the following perspectives: multicriteria technique, year and journal in which the papers were published, co-authorship network, rank reversal types, and research goal. Thus our survey provides recommendations for future research, besides useful information and knowledge regarding rank reversal in the MCDM field

The Value of Preference Information in Agency Relationships.

Standard models of agency theory assume that the principal has considerable information about the preferences of the agent. Once this assumption is relaxed, the question arises whether the principal should try to obtain additional information about the agent's preferences. In this paper we introduce the concept of a Value of Preference Information (VPI), which describes the benefits to the principal from obtaining additional information about the agent's preferences. We show analytically that the VPI is non-negative and that the VPI will not decrease when the principal's information structure is refined. Computational methods are used to study factors influencing the VPI. The results of these experiments show a strong relationship between the entropy of the principal's information structure and the VPI. It is thus possible to evaluate an information structure independently of the decision problem delegated to the agent.