Preferences for Consistency

This paper studies how a preference for consistency can affect economic decision-making. We propose a two-period model where people have a preference for consistency because consistent behavior allows them to signal personal and intellectual strength. We then present three experiments that study main predictions and implications of the model. The first is a simple principal-agent experiment that shows that consistency is valued by others and that this value is anticipated. The second experiment underlines the crucial role of early commitment for consistency preferences. Finally we show how preferences for consistency can be used to manipulate choices.consistency preferences, experiments, early commitment, charitable giving, social influence

Preferences for Consistency

This paper studies how a preference for consistency can affect economic decision-making. We propose a two-period model where people have a preference for consistency because consistent behavior allows them to signal personal and intellectual strength. We then present three experiments that study main predictions and implications of the model. The first is a simple principal-agent experiment that shows that consistency is valued by others and that this value is anticipated. The second experiment underlines the crucial role of early commitment for consistency preferences. Finally we show how preferences for consistency can be used to manipulate choices.consistency preferences, experiments, early commitment, charitable giving, social influence

Optimal Strategy Synthesis for Request-Response Games

We show the existence and effective computability of optimal winning strategies for request-response games in case the quality of a play is measured by the limit superior of the mean accumulated waiting times between requests and their responses.Comment: The present paper is a revised version with simplified proofs of results announced in the conference paper of the same name presented at ATVA 2008, which in turn extended results of the third author's dissertatio

Essays in Behavioral Economics

Chapter 1 focuses on individuals’ attitudes towards the timing of information. We test a theoretical prediction by Kőszegi and Rabin (2009), that people prefer to get information “clumped together” rather than piecewise. We conduct a controlled lab experiment where subjects participate in a lottery and can choose between different resolutions of uncertainty (clumped or piecewise). In two treatments we analyze which kind of resolution is preferred. Two additional treatments allow us to get a quantitative measure of subjects’ preferences over different information structures. Our data does not support the prediction that piecewise information is utility-decreasing. In chapter 2, we ask if reports of private information about skills, abilities or achievements are affected by image concerns. We develop a simple model that illustrates how image utility can lead to misreporting of private information in contexts where truthful reports maximize monetary outcomes. In addition, we test the model’s predictions in a controlled lab experiment. In the experiment, all subjects go through a series of quiz questions and subsequently report a performance measure. We vary if reports are made to an audience or not and find evidence for image effects. In the audience treatment, stated reports are significantly higher than in the private treatment. This suggests that overconfident appearance might be a consequence of social approval seeking. We also find that men state higher self-assessments than women. This gender difference seems to be driven by men responding more strongly to the presence of an audience. Chapter 3 studies the role of consistency as a signaling device. We propose a two- period model that highlights the informativeness of consistency as a signal of skills and allows to analyze consequences for behavior. In a simple principal-agent experiment we test the basic intuition of the model, that consistency is valued by others, inducing people to act consistently. In the second part of the chapter we study the consequence of early commitment for behavior. In the context of an estimation task we demonstrate that commitment leads to a neglect of valuable information. Furthermore, the potential of consistency as a device of social influence is studied in the context of surveys. In Chapter 4, we provide an explanation for so-called anchoring effects. Random anchors have been shown to systematically affect judgments and valuations. This has called into question the rationality of judgments as well as the existence of stable preference relations. Instead this evidence suggests that both judgments and valuations are to a large degree arbitrary. This chapter is an attempt to reconcile evidence from anchoring manipulations with a model where decision-makers are rational and have stable preferences or judgments

Analysis and mitigation of site-dependent effects in static and kinematic GNSS applications

Satellitensignale unterliegen auf ihrem Weg von der Satelliten- zur Empfangsantenne einer Vielzahl an Einflüssen die zu Abweichungen führen. Heutzutage stellen in vielen Anwendungsbereichen insbesondere die stationsspezifischen Anteile, welche sich in Mehrwegeeffekte aus dem Fernfeld, NLOS-Empfang und Signalbeugung, den Einfluss der Satellitengeometrie und Antennennahfeldeffekte untergliedern lassen, einen der genauigkeitsbegrenzenden Faktoren in der satellitengestützten Positionsbestimmung dar. Dies ist dadurch begründet, dass durch die Abhängigkeit von der individuell vorliegenden Antennenumgebung eine Minimierung der Einflüsse erheblich erschwert wird und etablierte Strategien, wie beispielsweise die Differenzbildung in relativen Positionierungsansätzen, in der Regel nicht anwendbar sind. Obwohl diese Effekte bereits seit den frühesten Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet der satellitengestützten Positionsbestimmung untersucht wurden, ist eine vollumfängliche Lösungsstrategie auch in der heutigen Zeit noch nicht verfügbar. Daher hat diese Thematik nicht an Relevanz verloren und es besteht noch immer der Bedarf an weiteren Untersuchungen zur Vertiefung des Verständnisses und zur Erweiterung des Portfolios an verfügbaren Minimierungsansätzen. In dieser Arbeit werden die vier unterschiedlichen Effekte vor dem Hintergrund der hochpräzisen Positionsbestimmung in statischen und kinematischen GNSS-Anwendungen adressiert. Der wesentliche Fokus der Untersuchungen liegt hierbei auf der Detektion und Elimination betroffener Satellitensignale durch die Einbindung detaillierter Umgebungsmodelle aus terrestrischen Messverfahren. Auf Basis dieser methodischen und empirischen Analysen lassen sich für die einzelnen Effekte vier Hauptaspekte herausstellen: (1) Da Antennennahfeldeffekte primär den Messsensor selbst beeinflussen und folglich die angestrebte Detektion und Elimination zur Minimierung nicht geeignet ist, wird alternativ die Minimierung des Einflusses durch spezielle Antennenaufbauten empirisch analysiert. Daraus resultierend werden mit exakt identischen Antennenaufbauten erreichbare Genauigkeiten im Submillimeterbereich nachgewiesen. (2) Der Einfluss auf die Positionsgenauigkeit der potentiell durch eine Signalelimination hervorgerufenen Verschlechterung der Satellitengeometrie kann durch Simulationen generischer Abschattungsszenarien als unkritisch identifiziert werden. Darüber hinaus wird eine Methode zur Integration der Qualität der Satellitengeometrie in die Wegpunktplanung von UAVs entwickelt, welche sowohl in der Planungsphase, als auch während des UAV-Fluges eine Anpassung und Optimierung der Flugroute ermöglicht. (3) Auf Basis mittels terrestrischer Laserscanner erzeugter Punktwolken wird eine Methode zur Erzeugung von Elevationsmasken entwickelt, welche adaptiv gegenüber der vorliegenden Antennenumgebung sind und eine effektive Detektion und Elimination von Satellitensignalen erlauben, die NLOS-Empfang oder Signalbeugung unterliegen. Diese Minimierungsstrategie ist sowohl in statischen, als auch kinematischen Anwendungen einsetzbar und ermöglicht bei zusätzlicher Einbindung von Fresnel Zonen auch die Berücksichtigung der Ausbreitungseigenschaften elektromagnetischer Wellen. (4) Als vorbereitender Schritt für die Entwicklung von Methoden zur Detektion und Eliminierung von Fernfeld-Mehrwegeeffekten werden die Voraussetzungen für die Entstehung der Effekte untersucht. Durch Vergleich simulierter und beobachteter SNR-Zeitreihen und der Berücksichtigung von Fresnel Zonen kann eine Überlappung von 50% zwischen Fresnel-Zone und Reflektorfläche als bereits ausreichend für eine potentielle Mehrwegebelastung identifiziert werden. In der Gesamtbetrachtung liefern die in dieser Arbeit gewonnenen Erkenntnisse und entwickelten Methoden einen relevanten Beitrag zu dem übergeordneten Ziel einer ganzheitlichen Minimierung stationsspezifischer Abweichungen und ermöglichen so eine signifikante Verbesserung der Positionsgenauigkeit unter schwierigen GNSS-Bedingungen. Darüber hinaus nimmt diese Arbeit den in den letzten Jahren forcierten Trend von einer punktweisen zu einer flächenhaften Objekterfassung an, indem das Potenzial einer detaillierten und effizienten Erfassung der Antennenumgebung mittels terrestrischer Laserscanner zur Minimierung und Analyse stationsspezifischer Abweichungen bei der satellitengestützten Positionsbestimmung aufzeigt und genutzt wird.Satellite signals are subject to various error sources on their way from the satellite to the receiving antenna. Nowadays, in many fields of application, the site-dependent parts, which can be separated into far-field multipath, NLOS reception and signal diffraction, the influence of the satellite geometry and antenna near-field effects, are one of the accuracy limiting factors in satellite-based positioning. This is due to the fact that the dependence on the individual antenna environment considerably impedes a minimization of the influences and established strategies, such as double-differencing in relative positioning approaches, are generally not applicable. Although these effects have been subject to scientific research since the earliest developments in the field of satellite-based positioning, an all-embracing solution is still lacking. Therefore, this topic has not lost its relevance and there is still a need for further investigations to deepen the understanding and expanding the portfolio of available mitigation techniques. In this dissertation, the four different effects are addressed against the background of high-precision static and kinematic GNSS applications. In this context, the main focus of the investigations is on the detection and exclusion of affected satellite signals, by integrating detailed environment models derived from terrestrial measurements. Based on these methodological and empirical analyses, four main aspects can be highlighted for the different effects: (1) Since antenna near-field effects primarily affect the measuring sensor itself, and thus, the striven detection and exclusion for mitigation is not applicable in this case, alternatively the mitigation of the influence by special antenna setups is empirically analyzed. As a result, achievable accuracies in the sub-millimeter range can be demonstrated using exactly identical antenna setups. (2) By simulating generic obstruction scenarios, the influence on the positional accuracy of the deterioration of the satellite geometry, potentially caused by an elimination of satellite signals, can be identified as uncritical. Furthermore, a method for integrating measures for the quality of the satellite geometry in the waypoint planning of UAVs is developed, which enables the adaption and optimization of the flight route in the planning phase, as well as during the UAV flight. (3) Based on point clouds of terrestrial laser scanners, a method for the determination of elevation masks that are adaptive to the present antenna environment is developed, which enables an effective detection and exclusion of signals that are subject to NLOS reception or signal diffraction. This mitigation strategy can be applied to static and kinematic GNSS applications and by additionally integrating Fresnel zones, also the propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves are considered. (4) As a preparatory step for the development of methods for detecting and excluding far-field multipath, the prerequisites for the occurrence of the effect are investigated. By comparison of simulated and observed SNR time series and by considering Fresnel zones, an overlap of 50% between Fresnel zone and reflecting surface can be identified as already being sufficient for potential far-field multipath influences. In the overall view, the findings and methods developed in this dissertation represent a relevant contribution to the superordinate goal of a holistic mitigation of site-dependent effects, and thus, enable a significant improvement of the positional accuracy under difficult GNSS conditions. In addition, this thesis adopts the currently forced trend from a pointwise to an area-based object acquisition by revealing and exploiting the potential of a detailed and efficient acquisition of the antenna environment by terrestrial laser scanners for mitigating and analyzing site-dependent effects in satellite based positioning applications

State or Market : Investments in New Nuclear Power Plants in France and Their Domestic and Cross-border Effects

France wants to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Renewable energies and nuclear power are expected to make the main contribution to this goal. However, the average age of nuclear power plants is approaching 37 years of operation in 2022, which is likely to lead to increased outages and expensive maintenance. In addition, newer nuclear power plants are flexible to operate and thus compatible with high volatile feed-in from renewables. Nevertheless, it is controversially discussed whether nuclear power plants can still be operated competitively and whether new investments will be made in this technology. Using an agent-based simulation model of the European electricity market, the market impacts of possible nuclear investments are investigated based on two scenarios: a scenario with state-based investments and a scenario with market-based investments. The results of this investigation show that under our assumptions, even with state-based investments, carbon neutrality would not be achieved with the estimated nuclear power plant capacity. Under purely market-based assumptions, large amounts of gas-fired power plants would be installed, which would lead to an increase in France\u27s carbon emissions. State-based investments in nuclear power plants, however, would have a dampening effect on neighboring spot market prices of up to 4.5 % on average

p-Adic Lifting Problems and Derived Equivalences

For two derived equivalent $k$-algebras $\bar\Lambda$ and $\bar\Gamma$, we introduce a correspondence between \OO-orders reducing to $\bar\Lambda$ and \OO-orders reducing to $\bar\Gamma$. We outline how this may be used to transfer properties like uniqueness (or non-existence) of a lift between $\bar\Lambda$ and $\bar\Gamma$. As an application, we look at tame algebras of dihedral type with two simple modules, where, most notably, we are able to show that among those algebras only the algebras $\mathcal D^{\kappa,0}(2A)$ and $\mathcal D^{\kappa,0}(2B)$ can actually occur as basic algebras of blocks of group rings of finite groups

The long-term impact of increased fossil fuel prices and market design on the market values of renewable generation

Following Russia\u27s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries took significant steps to reduce their reliance on energy imports from Russia, particularly in the gas and coal sectors. At the same time, to import less primary energy in the future, some countries have adopted new renewable energy targets. The question is to what extent the increase in gas and coal prices can contribute to refinancing renewable energy on the electricity wholesale market. To investigate this, an agent-based approach is used to examine the market values of renewable energies in several European countries until 2040. It is shown that increased expansion targets have a more substantial negative impact on the market values of renewable energies than increased gas and coal prices have a positive effect. In addition, it is observed that the introduction of capacity markets does not significantly influence market values and wholesale electricity prices in the medium term. However, by 2040, lower electric