Online communities of payments and consumer behaviour

This paper asserts that the online communities of electronic money (e-money) users affect the traditional mechanisms of price determination by introducing anonymity in money payments. By studying the Second Life case it is possible to show the main characteristics of such a communities and raise new questions linked to the online behaviours of the consumers. In the aim of shedding light on the online consumer behaviour we turn to Thorstein Veblen works and to network externalities concepts.CONSUMER BEHAVIOURS;SECOND LIFE;NETWORKS EXTERNALITIES;Virtual Money;Thorstein Veblen

E-money and communities of payments

This article examines which are the potential ways to settle transactions by going off the official public e-money. By focussing in particular on the PayPal's and Linden Dollars services, it stresses firstly on the impact of new forms of electronic payments on the banking system. Studying such an impact allows us to spotlight the money creation function held by banks. Secondly, this paper shows that new nearly e-monies promote the emergence on new communities of payment with all the consequences traditionally observed in any community namely network externalities and transaction costs.INTERNET;MONEY; ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS;BANKING;ELECTRONIC MONEY

ON THE ROLE OF WAGES IN THE UKRAINIAN TRANSITION PROCESS : AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

There are two intriguing questions about the transition process undertaken by the Ukraine since its declaration of sovereignty in December 1991. (i) Why had one of the more prosperous republics of the former USSR in terms of economic development and population welfare been suffering of both a persistent and high inflation during the four first years of its young existence ? (ii) How - in the early months of 1996 - could the Ukrainian efficiently put an end to the skyrocketing of prices ? The aim of this paper is to understand how such an outstanding reversal of situation could occur. Firstly, in support of a cointegration test, we assert that between January 1992 and November 1995, the Ukraine was faced with a complex monetary regime in which wage was the economic variable through which most of the inflationary pressures passed, directly or indirectly. Secondly, we explain that since the beginning of 1996, the existent monetary regime has been replaced by a new one in which inflation is contained but wages and pensions arrears increase quickly. Such a situation is not sustainable in the short and we outline possible remedies.Cointegration, monetary regime, inflation, Ukraine, wages

Benchmark Calculations for the Triton Binding Energy for Modern NN Forces and the pi-pi Exchange Three-Nucleon Force

We present high precision benchmark calculations for the triton binding energy using the most recent, phase equivalent realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials and the Tuscon-Melbourne pi-pi three-nucleon force (3NF). That 3NF is included with partial waves up to a total two-body angular momentum of j_max=6. It is shown that the inclusion of the 3NF slows down the convergence in the partial waves and j_max=5 is needed in order to achieve converged results within a few keV. We adjust the cut-off parameter Lambda in the form factors of the Tuscon-Melbourne 3NF separately for the different NN potentials to the triton binding energy. This provides a set of phenomenological three-nucleon Hamiltonians which can be tested in three-nucleon scattering and systems with A>3. A connection between the probability to find two nucleons at short distances in the triton and the effect of that 3NF on the triton binding energy is pointed out.Comment: 18 pages REVTeX, 3 figure

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE GAME AND GOLF\u27S BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT The history of golf\u27s built environment in the U.S. has reflected the changing face of the game in terms of the number and type of golf courses built, as well as the demographic profile of those playing the game. This study offers insight as to how various socio-cultural and economic forces have impacted the game and golf course development. Since 2000, the golf industry has experienced significant declines in the key barometers of its economic wellbeing as defined by: the decline in the number of golfers and rounds played and the decrease in the number of golf courses. The literature review and situation analysis led to the hypothesis that \u27...the nature and type of courses built or renovated during the 1990s development boom were more costly, longer, more difficult and took longer to play compared to the golf courses built during the previous golf course development boom periods in the 1920s and 1960s.\u27 And, this paradigm change in golf\u27s built environment may have been a contributing factor in the decline of golf participation and the economic viability of the golf course business. In order to determine if there has been a paradigm change in golf\u27s built environment during the 1990s, an analysis of the National Golf Foundation (NGF) Golf Facility Database was undertaken. The key variables of interest that characterized the nature and type of golf courses built were identified in order to provide measurements for testing the hypothesis and to explain how and why golf\u27s built environment had changed. The quantitative analyses included both a univariate analysis and an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The qualitative analysis was based upon both a literature review and 12 in-depth expert interviews with prominent golf community real estate developers and golf course architects. The univariate analysis profiled and described how the golf courses built in the 1990s were more costly, longer, more difficult and took longer to play; and, the ANOVA found that the differences in the key variables of interest for the golf courses built in the 1990s golf courses, compared to the golf courses built in the 1920s and 1960s, were statistically significant, which supports the research hypothesis. Since 40% of the golf courses built during the 1990s were tied to real estate development, in-depth expert interviews were undertaken with some of the most prominent real estate developers such as John Reed and Bob Whitley and golf course architects such as Greg Norman and Tom Fazio. The consensus among the developers was that master planned communities that had a high profile golf course as a featured community amenity were able to command premium real estate lot prices and to increase sales turnover. In addition, the architects were motivated to design difficult golf courses that would enhance their reputation and, therefore, increase their professional fees. This financial incentive led to the development of golf courses that were more costly, more difficult and took longer for the average golfer to play

Innovation in virtual social networks: the widespread of new electronic currencies and the emergence of a new category of entrepreneurs

International audienceThe internet network hosts an increasing number of large synthetic worlds. These virtual worlds exhibit most of the characters we associate with the real world like interpersonal relationships, economic transactions, production of goods and services, political institutions... Inside these synthetic worlds, new economic behaviours can be studied and new entrepreneurs emerge. By focusing on the widespread of new private electronic currencies, this paper shows first the main benefits for e-money users of entering in a community of payments. Second, the economic behaviour of electronic money (e-money) users and the network externalities effects are studied. Thirdly, the phenomenon of the emergence of a new category of entrepreneurs specialised in e-money creation and the regulation of a new monetary regime are exposed

La crise financière mondiale et les communautés monétaires : Le cas de Second Life

Les nouvelles formes de monnaies électroniques, tels que les Linden Dollars véhiculées sur le réseau Second Life revêtent un caractère privé au sens où tout ou partie de leur émission et circulation échappe au contrôle des banques centrales. Selon les théories monétaires les plus standards, le caractère privé du système bancaire et financier organisé sur Second Life devrait être à l'abri de la crise bancaire et financière subie par la plupart des économies dans le « monde réel ». Il est surprenant de constater que nombre de problèmes observable à l'occasion de l'actuelle crise se retrouvent, et parfois même de manière exacerbée, sur le réseau des utilisateurs de Second Life. L'objectif de cette étude est d'examiner les canaux de transmission entre le monde réel et celui « virtuel » de Second Life à l'oeuvre et visibles à l'occasion de l'actuel dérèglement bancaire et financier. Dans un premier temps, l'attention sera portée sur l'évolution du taux de change de la monnaie électronique ayant cours légal sur Second Life. Dans un deuxième temps, les conséquences de la crise bancaire et financière sur Second Life seront examinées.Monnaie électronique; Linden dollar;Communauté monétaire;e-banque;e-business