Learning, Information and Sorting in Market Entry Games: Theory and Evidence

Previous data from experiments on market entry games, N-player games where each player faces a choice between entering a market and staying out, appear inconsistent with either mixed or pure Nash equilibria. Here we show that, in this class of game, learning theory predicts sorting, that is, in the long run, agents play a pure strategy equilibrium with some agents permanently in the market, and some permanently out. We conduct experiments with a larger number of repetitions than in previous work in order to test this prediction. We find that when subjects are given minimal information, only after close to 100 periods do subjects begin to approach equilibrium. In contrast, with full information, subjects learn to play a pure strategy equilibrium relatively quickly. However, the information which permits rapid convergence, revelation of the individual play of all opponents, is not predicted to have any effect by existing models of learning.

A RE-EXAMINATION OF EVENT STUDIES APPLIED TO CHALLENGED HORIZONTAL MERGERS

A growing body of empirical studies have been interpreted as support for a laissez-faire policy towards mergers. These "event studies" examine the reaction of stock market prices of firms that announce an agreement to merge. The type ~f reaction reveals whether a merger is motivated by a desire for market power or purely to improve market efficiency. In this paper, a version of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is applied to determine if abnormal returns are earned by rivals of 22 pairs of firms whose attempted horizontal mergers were challenged by the federal antitrust agencies. At most eight, and possibly only five, of the cases were found to be motivated by efficiency in seeking merger, and at most six, and possibly only one, were motivated by market power; the rest were inconclusive. The event-study technique is highly flawed for the study of business-regulation effects. Numerous unrealistic assumptions, inappropriate data constraints, and questionable interpretations hamper .the application of this technique to policy analysis.Industrial Organization,

The Future of Sub-National Governments in a Supra-National World - Lessons from the European Union

The development of the EU over the last 50 years is not the only revolution to have taken place in Europe.  There has also been the emergence of sub-national entities and autonomous regional governments to represent them.  These are accommodated in various constitutional arrangements throughout the EU.  This paper argues that the development of supra-national governance must be recognised as a structure requiring a different approach from those of the executive dominated structures of international law.  This paper examines in particular sub-national governments and their role in the EU and considers the capacity of supra-national structures to incorporate sub-national institutions and interests

The Bass-less Trio

Miles Davis asserts in his autobiography, that "a great artist needs to be able to stretch" [Davis, Troup, 1990]. While I may not a great artist, I aspire to make art with my music, and in my own musical journey I have been interested in trying out new ideas. Jazz musicians, because of their various skills (and in particular, in the art of improvisation) find themselves straddling musical boundaries and genres, just to pay the rent. In my own projects however, this musical adroitness was born just as much out of artistic curiosity as it was necessity, leading me to compose and perform in a variety of contexts and styles for a broad range of instrumentation. These contexts and styles include: duos for saxophone and piano accordion; Bach sonatas with string ensembles; improvising live dance music with DJs; organ trios; in electronica contexts; art and poetry collaborations. The need for creativity has expressed itself in all of my work, to varying degrees. On reflection, it's the need to create something new and fresh out of work and ideas that are already explored to some extent. This desire is consistent with the jazz legacy I have inherited. In much the way Louis Armstrong began transforming popular songs into jazz vehicles, Charles Mingus took ideas from older African American musical traditions and transformed them to offer a fresh perspective on those traditions, and Miles Davis borrowed ideas from rock and soul music to pioneer new directions in jazz during the 1960s and 1970s, I too am looking for new avenues of expression for jazz musicians

Beneficial effects of exercise: shifting the focus from body weight to other markers of health

Background: Exercise is widely promoted as a method of weight management, while the other health benefits are often ignored. The purpose of this study was to examine whether exercise-induced improvements in health are influenced by changes in body weight. Methods: Fifty-eight sedentary overweight/obese men and women (BMI 31.8 (SD 4.5) kg/m2) participated in a 12-week supervised aerobic exercise intervention (70% heart rate max, five times a week, 500 kcal per session). Body composition, anthropometric parameters, aerobic capacity, blood pressure and acute psychological response to exercise were measured at weeks 0 and 12. Results: The mean reduction in body weight was −3.3 (3.63) kg (p<0.01). However, 26 of the 58 participants failed to attain the predicted weight loss estimated from individuals’ exercise-induced energy expenditure. Their mean weight loss was only −0.9 (1.8) kg (p<0.01). Despite attaining a lower-than-predicted weight reduction, these individuals experienced significant increases in aerobic capacity (6.3 (6.0) ml/kg/min; p<0.01), and a decreased systolic (−6.00 (11.5) mm Hg; p<0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (−3.9 (5.8) mm Hg; p<0.01), waist circumference (−3.7 (2.7) cm; p<0.01) and resting heart rate (−4.8 (8.9) bpm, p<0.001). In addition, these individuals experienced an acute exercise-induced increase in positive mood. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that significant and meaningful health benefits can be achieved even in the presence of lower-than-expected exercise-induced weight loss. A less successful reduction in body weight does not undermine the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise. From a public health perspective, exercise should be encouraged and the emphasis on weight loss reduced