The electoral costs of policy commitments

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timm Betz
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
The Other ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
The One ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Incomplete Picture

AbstractExisting arguments across political science posit that parties in government use domestic and international institutions to lock in their own policy preferences by tying the hands of successors. I demonstrate that these arguments contrast with the assumption of office-seeking parties and therefore portray an incomplete picture of the incentives of governments. The paper emphasizes the trade-off between implementing policy preferences, on the one hand, and exploiting partisan differences for electoral success, on the other hand: locking in a policy takes an issue off the table, but it also undermines a party’s ability to leverage differences to the opposition in elections. Because office-seeking parties need to take into account these electoral consequences, they have a disincentive to tie their successors’ hands. I advance this argument in the context of the establishment of independent central banks, provide empirical evidence, and suggest implications for the literature on international institutions.

scholarly journals Tacit Collusion with Consumer Preference Costs

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillem Roig
Keyword(s):  
Switching Costs ◽  
Consumer Preference ◽  
Hand Preference ◽  
Dominant Strategy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tacit Collusion ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Lock In

Abstract When consumers have preference costs, two opposing effects need to be assessed to analyse the incentives of firms to set collusive prices. On the one hand, preference costs make a deviation from collusion less attractive, as the deviating firm must offer a large enough discount to cover the preference costs. On the other hand, preference costs lock in consumers and make punishment from rivals less effective. When preference costs are low, the latter of the two effects dominates and collusion is more challenging to sustain than in a situation with no preference costs. With high enough preference costs, collusion is a (weakly) dominant strategy. These results do not eventuate in a model with switching costs.

scholarly journals Plasmodium infection decreases fecundity and increases survival of mosquitoes

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1744) ◽  
pp. 4033-4041 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vézilier ◽  
A. Nicot ◽  
S. Gandon ◽  
A. Rivero
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Insecticide Resistance ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Genetic Variations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Plasmodium Infection ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
The One

Long-lived mosquitoes maximize the chances of Plasmodium transmission. Yet, in spite of decades of research, the effect of Plasmodium parasites on mosquito longevity remains highly controversial. On the one hand, many studies report shorter lifespans in infected mosquitoes. On the other hand, parallel (but separate) studies show that Plasmodium reduces fecundity and imply that this is an adaptive strategy of the parasite aimed at redirecting resources towards longevity. No study till date has, however, investigated fecundity and longevity in the same individuals to see whether this prediction holds. In this study, we follow for both fecundity and longevity in Plasmodium- infected and uninfected mosquitoes using a novel, albeit natural, experimental system. We also explore whether the genetic variations that arise through the evolution of insecticide resistance modulate the effect of Plasmodium on these two life-history traits. We show that (i) a reduction in fecundity in Plasmodium- infected mosquitoes is accompanied by an increase in longevity; (ii) this increase in longevity arises through a trade-off between reproduction and survival; and (iii) in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, the slope of this trade-off is steeper when the mosquito is infected by Plasmodium (cost of insecticide resistance).

The Economic and Social Value of Financial Literacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 416-436
Author(s):  
José Manuel Sánchez Santos
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Social Value ◽  
The Other ◽  
Financial Instability ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
The One

The main objective of this chapter is to provide new insights into the economic and social value that financial literacy has for individuals and societies. Financial literacy has implications that are relevant both at a micro (especially for households) and macro-level (for the financial system and for the national economy as a whole). On the one hand, a lack of financial literacy put households a risk from making sub-optimal financial decisions and prevent them to maximize their wellbeing. On the other hand, financial literacy favors a better allocation of resources, reduces the risks associated with episodes of financial instability, and therefore, contributes to the increase of social welfare. The analysis and the empirical evidence showing the benefits (costs) of financial literacy (illiteracy) allows to conclude that policymakers have a key role to play implementing initiatives aiming to improve financial literacy of the population at all stages of life.

scholarly journals The Milky Way: summary and outlook

1985 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 635-639
Author(s):  
Jeremiah P. Ostriker
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Oblate Spheroid ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Conspicuous Feature ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Absorption Of Light ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
The One

First let me review the historical discussions presented during our symposium: the papers by Paul, Gingerich, Hoskin and Smith. I was greatly impressed by the power of abstract human thought in its confrontation with resistant reality. On the one hand we see again and again extraordinary prescience, where abstract beliefs based on little or no empirical evidence–like the island-universe hypothesis–turn out to be, in their essentials, true. Clearly, we often know more than we know that we know. On the other hand, there are repeated instances of resistance to the most obvious truth due to ingrained beliefs. These may be termed conspiracies of silence. Van Rhijn and Shapley agreed about few things. But one of them was that there was no significant absorption of light in the Galaxy. Yet the most conspicuous feature of the night sky is the Milky Way, and the second most conspicuous feature is the dark rift through its middle. What looks to the most untutored eye like a “sandwich” was modeled as an oblate spheroid. These eminent scientists must have known about the rift, but somehow wished it away in their analyses. I find that very curious. Other examples from earlier times abound. We all know that the Crab supernova was seen from many parts of the globe but, though it was bright enough to be detected by the unaided eye in daylight, its existence was never–so far as we know–recorded in Europe. It did not fit in with the scheme of things, so it was not seen.

scholarly journals Disproportional Ownership Devices: Reviewing the Last 25 Years of Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Saggese ◽  
Fabrizia Sarto
Keyword(s):  
Financial Markets ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
The Other ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The One ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
Over Time

<p>The paper aims to systematize the literature on disproportional ownership devices by reviewing and classifying 148 articles published in international academic journals over the last 25 years. The findings show that the scholarly attention on disproportional ownership devices has grown over time. Most papers adopt the agency framework and examine the mechanisms for leveraging voting power and to lock-in control, especially in civil law countries. Corporate governance journals prevail as leading outlets, despite the lack of publications specialized on the topic. Finally, the literature systematization highlights a research taxonomy based on outcomes and drivers of disproportional ownership devices. The article has both theoretical and practical implications. First, it develops a literature framework that systematically outlines the main research streams on the topic and identifies under-explored issues so as to guide future scholarly efforts. Second, it highlights the implications of disproportional ownership devices for company outcomes and reporting. Thereby, on the one hand, it supports managers in selecting the appropriate combination of these mechanisms so as to attract and retain investors. On the other hand, it emphasizes the importance of proper policy making interventions to improve transparency, openness and competitiveness of financial markets.</p>

From a Five to a Six-Party System? Prospects of the Right-wing Extremist NPD

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Decker ◽  
Lazaros Miliopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Party System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Nazi Ideology ◽  
Nazi Past ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Right-wing extremist and populist parties operate in a rather difficult social and political environment in Germany, rendering notable electoral success fairly improbable, especially when compared to other European countries. The main reason for this is the continuing legacy of the Nazi past. Nevertheless the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) managed to gain substantial votes in recent Land elections and became the leading force in the right-wing extremist political camp. Its success is attributable to rightwing extremist attitudes in some parts of the electorate in connection with a widespread feeling of political discontent. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether the NPD will be able to transform these attitudes into a viable ideological basis for two main reasons. On the one hand, maintaining a neo-Nazi ideology makes the NPD unattractive to many potential voters. On the other hand, given its internal power struggles and severe financial problems, the party may be unable to meet its challenges in organizational terms.

The czech experience with inflation targeting in transition

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kateřina Šmídková ◽  
Miroslav Hrnčíř
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Inflation Targeting ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Countries In Transition ◽  
The One

This paper argues that inflation targeting is a strategy that can be under certain conditions adopted by central banks in countries in transition even though their typical goal is to disinflate instead of stabilising low inflation. On the one hand, according to the Czech experience, inflation targeting offers several benefits, such as increasing control over expectations and short-term flexibility of monetary strategy, that are attractive for economy in transition. On the other hand, constraints imposed by period of transition as well as by openness of economy are present no matter which monetary strategy is chosen by the central bank. Implied costs should not be attributed to a particular monetary strategy. Inflation targeting has made various factors constraining monetary policy more visible and, as a result, requirements on the quality of decisions as well as on communication strategy have increased.

Optimal Contracting Model in a Social Environment and Trust-Related Psychological Costs

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suren Basov ◽  
M. Ishaq Bhatti
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Optimal Contracting ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
Contracting Model

AbstractMost research in contract theory concentrated on the role of incentives in shaping individual behavior. Recent research suggests that social norms also play an important role. From a point of view of a mechanism designer (a principal, a government, and a bank), responsiveness of an agent to the social norms is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it provides the designer with extra instruments, while on the other it puts restrictions on how these new and the more conventional instruments can be used. The main objective of this paper is to investigate this trade-off and study how it shapes different contracts observed in the real world. We consider a model in which agent’s cost of cheating is triggered by the principal’s show of trust. We call such behavior a norm of honesty and trust and show that it drives incentives to be either low powerful or high powerful, eliminating contracts with medium powerful incentives.

A Dynamic Model Balancing User Control and Workload in Automatic and Adaptive Systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-190
Author(s):  
Shelley Roberts ◽  
Avi Parush
Keyword(s):  
User Interfaces ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Controlled Systems ◽  
Adaptive User Interfaces ◽  
Interface Adaptation ◽  
The One

Current interactive systems are criticized for having complex interfaces that overload users with information. Two possible solutions to manage overload are automatic interfaces that augment user capabilities, and user-controlled systems that provide support. These two types of interfaces introduce a trade-off: On the one hand, automatic interfaces alleviate workload but create performance problems associated with the absence of control. On the other hand, user-controlled interfaces afford users more control, which may come with additional workload. Based on the analysis of adaptive user interfaces and automation, a model is proposed where automatic and user interface adaptation are in a multidimensional and continuum-based space, allowing for modelling dynamic changes to the roles the human and machine play at various stages of interaction.

scholarly journals THE LACK OF SUBJECT INVERSION IN PUERTO RICAN INFINITIVE CLAUSES.

Dialectologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel GONZÁLEZ RODRÍGUEZ
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Puerto Rican Spanish ◽  
Syntactic Variation ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

This paper explores the syntactic variation in Spanish focusing on a difference between European and Puerto Rican Spanish: the lack of subject-verb inversion in Puerto Rican infinitive clauses. Whereas infinitive subjects must follow the verb in European Spanish, they can also appear in preverbal position in Puerto Rican Spanish. On the one hand, this paper provides a detailed description of the phenomenon; for example, it determines what type of subjects can occupy the preverbal position in Puerto Rican Spanish. On the other hand, it offers empirical evidence for the following claim: this asymmetry between European and Puerto Rican Spanish is derived from infinitive subjects occupying different positions in these varieties, but not from the verb moving from T(ense) to C(omplementizer) in European Spanish.

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