Asymmetric Information and the Demand for Voluntary Health Insurance in Europe

Several past studies have found health risk to be negatively correlated with the probability of voluntary health insurance. This is contrary to what one would expect from standard textbook models of adverse selection and moral hazard. The two most common explanations to the counter-intuitive result are either (1) that risk-aversion is correlated with health — i.e. that healthier individuals are also more risk-averse — or (2) that insurers are able to discriminate among customers based on observable health-risk characteristics. We revisited these arguments, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Self-assessed health served as an indicator of risk: better health, lower risk. We did, indeed, observe a negative correlation between risk and insurance but found no evidence of heterogeneous risk-preferences as an explanation to our finding.

Complex Politics: A Quantitative Semantic and Topological Analysis of UK House of Commons Debates

This study is a first, exploratory attempt to use quantitative semantics techniques and topological analysis to analyze systemic patterns arising in a complex political system. In particular, we use a rich data set covering all speeches and debates in the UK House of Commons between 1975 and 2014. By the use of dynamic topic modeling (DTM) and topological data analysis (TDA) we show that both members and parties feature specific roles within the system, consistent over time, and extract global patterns indicating levels of political cohesion. Our results provide a wide array of novel hypotheses about the complex dynamics of political systems, with valuable policy applications

Individual Mandates in Insurance Markets with Asymmetrical Information

A Rothschild & Stiglitz (1976) model of a market for insurance is used in order to discuss how asymmetrical information can lead to a decrease in coverage in the market. A simple model of how an individual mandate that requires all individuals in a population to obtain insurance affects the market equilibrium is proposed. I show how such a mandate can give implications for the existence of a equilibrium, through a shift in the average risk in the population. The theoretical effect depends on the combinations of income and risk in the market, and is therefore inconclusive. Finally the Massachusetts health care reform is used as an example of how the models may be applied

AI for Arts

AI for Arts adalah buku untuk siapa pun yang terpesona oleh hubungan manusia-mesin, sebuah evolusi tak terbendung yang menjalin kita dengan teknologi dalam tingkat yang semakin tinggi, dan di mana ada kekhawatiran yang meningkat bahwa teknologilah yang akan keluar di atas. Jadi, disajikan di sini mungkin melalui bentuknya yang paling esoteris, yaitu seni, teka-teki yang terungkap ini dibawa ke puncaknya. Apa yang tersisa dari kita manusia jika kecerdasan buatan juga melampaui kita dalam hal seni? Artikulasi dari manifesto seni kecerdasan buatan sudah lama tertunda, jadi semoga buku ini dapat mengisi celah yang akan berdampak tidak hanya untuk pertimbangan estetika dan filosofis tetapi mungkin lebih untuk pengembangan kecerdasan buatan

Who Needs Cream and Sugar When There Is Eco-Labeling? Taste and Willingness to Pay for “Eco-Friendly” Coffee

Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure) that one of the cups contained “eco-friendly” coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the “eco-friendly” coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1). High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for “eco-friendly” coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2). Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3). Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it.</p

Who Needs Cream and Sugar When There Is Eco-Labeling? Taste and Willingness to Pay for "Eco-Friendly" Coffee

Participants tasted two cups of coffee, decided which they preferred, and then rated each coffee. They were told (in lure) that one of the cups contained "eco-friendly" coffee while the other did not, although the two cups contained identical coffee. In Experiments 1 and 3, but not in Experiment 2, the participants were also told which cup contained which type of coffee before they tasted. The participants preferred the taste of, and were willing to pay more for, the "eco-friendly" coffee, at least those who scored high on a questionnaire on attitudes toward sustainable consumer behavior (Experiment 1). High sustainability consumers were also willing to pay more for "eco-friendly" coffee, even when they were told, after their decision, that they preferred the non-labeled alternative (Experiment 2). Moreover, the eco-label effect does not appear to be a consequence of social desirability, as participants were just as biased when reporting the taste estimates and willingness to pay anonymously (Experiment 3). Eco labels not only promote a willingness to pay more for the product but also lead to a more favorable perceptual experience of it.Funding Agencies|University of Gavle, Sweden||</p