Directing the students’ mind games : A game theoretical view of the learning process

Experimental data consistently shows that the students’ beliefs about their own academic ability have a significant effect on their performance and their level of engagement. The aim of this paper is to offer an original game-theoretical model that supports and explains such empirical data: the student is modelled as being engaged in a game, in which his/her decisions on how much to study are affected by his/her self-efficacy beliefs or self-confidence. It is argued that if game theory is used to analyse such games, it is possible to gain insights that might otherwise be missed. One of the implications for practice is that the tutor is in a position to intervene in the interaction involving the student and the student’s own beliefs. Attempting to enhance the student’s self-confidence levels through feedback is likely to result in greater engagement and better performance, even in cases where the student’s current performance does not inspire very encouraging feed-backPeer reviewedFinal Published versio

A New Era for the Music Industry: How New Technologies and the Internet Affect the Way Music is Valued and have an Impact on Output Quality

Since its early days, the Internet has been used by the music industry as a powerful marketing tool to promote artists and their products. Nevertheless, technology developments of the past ten years, and especially the ever-growing phenomenon of file sharing, have created the general impression that the Internet is responsible for a crisis within the industry, on the grounds that music piracy has become more serious than it has ever been. The purpose of this paper is to present the impact of new technologies and the Internet on the three main actors of the music industry: consumers, artists and record companies. It is claimed that the Internet has changed the way music is valued, and also, that it may have a direct effect on the quality of the music produced, as perceived by both artists and consumers alike.Digital economy, Internet, copyright, Game theory, Imperfect information

Pricing Decisions and Market Power in the UK Electricity Market: A VECM Approach

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Chrysovalantis Amountzias, Hulya Dagdeviren, and Tassos Patokos, 'Pricing Decisions and Market Power in the UK Electricity Market: A VECM Approach', Energy Policy, Vol. 108, pp. 467-473, September 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 27 June 2019. The Version of Record is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.016 © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This paper examines the influence of market power in the formation of retail and wholesale electricity prices in the UK over 1998–2012 on the basis of Vector Error Correction model (VECM). Market power is measured as the influence of the market share of the Big Six in a dynamic demand and supply VECM. The findings indicate that market power of the Big Six in the wholesale industry has a significant and large positive influence on the wholesale mark-up in the short-run. The long-run estimates support the arguments about ‘revenue rebalancing’ resulting from vertical integration. That is, low market power (and hence low revenues) in the wholesale industry leads to higher prices (hence higher revenues) in the retail industry. These findings are in contrast to the CMA's finding that no market power is exercised in the wholesale industry. Retail electricity prices are affected directly by both the wholesale and retail market concentration ratios in the long-run rather than indirectly through the wholesale mark-up. Overall, the findings in this paper provide support for the view that the UK electricity market exhibits significant anti-competitive conduct in both the retail and wholesale segments.Peer reviewe

Waste Britain - An evaluation of the economic & social impact of FareShare’s contribution to fighting hunger and tackling food waste

© 2023 FareShare.FareShare is the single largest food redistribution charity in the UK with 53,894 tonnes of food redirected to a network of 9462 charities and communities in 2021/22. The food that is saved translates into 128.3 million meals to over 1 million beneficiaries. Since 2021, the UK economy has been in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis which has acutely brought into context the work of food charities. Consequently, this study attempts to measure the wider impact of FareShare’s contribution by employing a Social Return on Investment (SROI) approach to estimate the social and economic value for the primary stakeholders: the beneficiaries. The study also identifies the cost savings to the State as well as to the beneficiaries. The analysis starts by building on the extensive data collected from the annual impact survey run by FareShare to eventually monetise the impact of each of the key outcomes for both organisations and end-beneficiaries that are actively supported by FareShare. These outcomes range from food-centric ones such as nutrition, food affordability and food waste reduction to enabling wider wellbeing services such as improved mental and physical health and promoting a sense of belonging within the community. The findings reveal that FareShare’s work creates an outstanding net economic and social impact of £225,230,009 annually. Out of the total impact value, £107,661,372 (48%) is attributed to savings for beneficiaries and £117,568,637 (52%) is savings directly to the state. The cost savings attributed to the State are a result of beneficiaries getting access to better nutritional food, and access to wider services such as mental health support, amongst others. The bulk of the savings attributed to beneficiaries are derived from a reduction in their food affordability burden, which may in turn lead to further indirect savings to the state. This finding underlines the current financial pressures faced by people turning to food services. The study also shows that the largest proportion of the social and economic value is delivered through the Community Services Group (38%) followed by Foodbanks (35%) in helping mostly families (74% of total beneficiaries). The average net value generated stands at £209 per beneficiary. Overall, for every £1 spent on redistributing surplus food, FareShare has enabled £5.72 of socio-economic value. This is split into £2.97 as savings to the State and £2.75 as savings to beneficiaries

A waste of energy? A critical assessment of the investigation of the UK Energy Market by the Competition and Markets Authority

This document is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: Chrysovalantis Amountzias, Hulya Dagdeviren and Tassos Patokos, ‘A waste of energy? A critical assessment of the investigation of the UK energy market by the Competition and Markets Authority’, Competition & Change, Vol. 21 (1): 45-60, February 2017. The final version of this paper is available at doi: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1024529416678070. Published by SAGE Publishing.In this paper, we assess the findings of the UK energy market investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority, conducted during June 2014–June 2016.We argue that the results of the investigation have been advantageous for the large energy companies and they risk failing to bring any significant and positive change to the energy industry.We highlight three major aspects of the Competition and Markets Authorities assessment. First, the panel examined retail and wholesale segments of the energy industry in isolation, which can be misleading in the assessment of vertical integration. It also considered new entries to the sector as a sign of competitive strength when many were due to favourable government policies in the form of exemptions from various obligations. Second, its conclusion that a position of unilateral market power by the large energy companies arises from weak customer engagement (i.e. low switching rates) shifts the focus and responsibility for the problems of the energy markets away from the conduct of the companies onto customers. Finally, the investigation placed an overemphasis on competition without due reference to its consequences for consumers’ welfare.Peer reviewe

Introducing disappointment dynamics and comparing behaviors in evolutionary games : Some simulation results

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe paper presents an evolutionary model, based on the assumption that agents may revise their current strategies if they previously failed to attain the maximum level of potential payoffs. We offer three versions of this reflexive mechanism, each one of which describes a distinct type: spontaneous agents, rigid players, and 'satisficers'. We use simulations to examine the performance of these types. Agents who change their strategies relatively easily tend to perform better in coordination games, but antagonistic games generally lead to more favorable outcomes if the individuals only change their strategies when disappointment from previous rounds surpasses some predefined threshold.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The recording industry as an heterogeneous population and the new behaviours emerging in the digital era

Artists and record labels within the music industry generally value artistic expression and profit making with varying degrees, and hence, they may be modelled as an heterogeneous population of producers. It is argued that the internet not only encourages the appearance of artists who prioritise artistic expression over profits, but also raises the level of the listeners’ awareness about this distinction; this, in turn, is possible to prompt record companies adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. Assuming that consumers have an incentive to support artistic motivation, it is shown that the greater the dimension of the heterogeneity, the more accurately the consumer can reward artists with no solely profit making intentions, contingent on the consumer's beliefs and behavioural profile. This leads to the conclusion that consumers may experience an increase in the utility derived from purchasing music, an assertion that might seem counter-intuitive in today’s digital economy.Peer reviewe

Lives in the hands of economists : a critical review of the main methodologies used to derive the value of a statistical life

This paper aims at describing the notion of the value of a statistical life and its use for conducting cost-benefit analyses relevant to policies that affect health and safety. The distinction between statistical and identified lives is discussed, and the common methodologies for valuing a statistical life are critically presented. It is argued that, moral issues aside, there is also a series of technical and conceptual problems that relate to the valuation of a statistical life. The implication of this assertion is that, although cost-benefit analyses may generate insightful results, their policy suggestions should by no means be conclusive – especially when safety is at stake, and that various exogenous considerations should also be taken into account.Peer reviewe

A new era for the music industry : how new technologies and the internet affect the way music is valued and have an impact on output quality

Original article can be found at: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/journal.aspx?issn=1452-595XSince its early days, the Internet has been used by the music industry as a powerful marketing tool to promote artists and their products. Nevertheless, technology developments of he past ten years, and especially the ever-growing phenomenon of file-sharing, have created the general impression that the Internet is responsible for a crisis within the industry, on the grounds that music piracy has become more serious than it has ever been. The purpose of this paper is to present the impact of new technologies and the Internet on the three main actors of the music industry: consumers, artists and record companies. It is claimed that the Internet has changed the way music is valued, and also, that it may have a direct effect on the quality of the music produced, as perceived by both artists and consumers alike.Peer reviewe

The Concept of Subgame Perfection: Some Discontents

In mainstream game theory, the prominent solution concept for dynamic games is the “subgame perfect Nash equilibrium”. This concept combines the mathematical method of backward induction with the assumption of common knowledge of rationality. Whereas backward induction on its own is an indisputable mathematical method, there might be problems when it is paired with the common knowledge of rationality assumption. After presenting the concept of subgame perfection, this chapter explains why several acclaimed game theorists believe that using the concept of subgame perfection might be philosophically incoherent and likely to lead to paradoxical results. On a different level, it may be argued that subgame perfection is not necessarily the unique way to approach a dynamic game, as other concepts (such as a combination of forward induction with common knowledge of rationality) might be equally, if not more, plausible. This chapter illustrates this view with a comprehensive example. Finally, as another discontent against subgame perfection, it is shown that rational players might prefer to deviate from what subgame perfection instructs them to do, as long as one of the players holds (even very small) doubts about another player’s rationality.Non peer reviewe