Search results for "jel:D63"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
The measurement of rank mobility
2009
Abstract In this paper we investigate the problem of measuring social mobility when the social status of individuals is given by their rank. In order to sensibly represent the rank mobility of subgroups within a given society, we address the problem in terms of partial permutation matrices which include standard (“global”) matrices as a special case. We first provide a characterization of a partial ordering on partial matrices which, in the standard case of global matrices, coincides with the well-known “concordance” ordering. We then provide a characterization of an index of rank mobility based on partial matrices and show that, in the standard case of comparing global matrices, it is equi…
Strategic sharing of a costly network
2012
We study minimum cost spanning tree problems for a set of users connected to a source. Prim’s algorithm provides a way of finding the minimum cost tree mm. This has led to several definitions in the literature, regarding how to distribute the cost. These rules propose different cost allocations, which can be understood as compensations and/or payments between players, with respect to the status quo point: each user pays for the connection she uses to be linked to the source. In this paper we analyze the rationale behind a distribution of the minimum cost by defining an a priori transfer structure. Our first result states the existence of a transfer structure such that no user is willing to …
The Consistency of Fairness Rules: An Experimental Study
2010
In the last two decades, experimental papers on distributive justice have abounded. Two main results have been replicated. Firstly, there is a multiplicity of fairness rules. Secondly, fairness decisions differ depending on the context. This paper studies individual consistency in the use of fairness rules, as well as the structural factors that lead people to be inconsistent. We use a within-subject design, which allows us to compare individual behavior when the context changes. In line with the literature, we find a multiplicity of fairness rules. However, when we control for consistency, the set of fairness rules is considerably smaller. Only selfishness and strict egalitarianism seem to…
The relevance of the French rural policy by the yardstick of the theories of justice
2010
The relevance of the French rural policy by the yardstick of the theories of justice How to evaluate the relevance of the French rural policy ? When the question is to what extent the objectives of the policy are reached owing to public interventions, the method is relatively well known. However, when the question is to what extent these objectives are relevant, an important problem is faced : the referential of this evaluation is indefinite. In this article, we propose to define this referential on the basis of moral and political philosophy : The objectives are relevant if they are derived from a conception of justice that is itself relevant. From this viewpoint, the relevance of the curr…
Conflict, Evolution, Hegemony, and the Power of the State
2013
In a model of evolution driven by conflict between societies more powerful states have an advantage. When the influence of outsiders is small we show that this results in a tendency to hegemony. In a simple example in which institutions differ in their “exclusiveness” we find that these hegemonies will be inefficiently “extractive” in the sense of having inefficiently high taxes, high compensation for state officials, and low welfare.
Expected Behavior and Strategic Sophistication in the Dictator Game
2012
This paper provides novel results for the extensive literature on dictator games: recipients do not expect dictators to behave selfishly, but instead expect the equal split division. The predictions made by dictators are notably different: 45% predicted the zero contribution and 40% the equal split. These results suggest that dictators and recipients are heterogenous with regard to their degree of strategic sophistication and identify the dictator's decision power in a very different manner.
Smart Cities and a Stochastic Frontier Analysis: A Comparison among European Cities
2013
The level of interest in smart cities is growing, and the recent literature on this topic (Holland, 2008; Caragliu et al., 2009, Nijkamp et al., 2011 and Lombardi et al., 2012) identifies a number of factors that characterise a city as smart, such as economic development, environment, human capital, culture and leisure, and e-governance. Thus, the smartness concept is strictly linked to urban efficiency in a multifaceted way. A seminal research for European policy conducted by Giffinger et al. (2007) defines a smart city on the basis of several intangible indicators, such as a smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, smart people, smart living, and smart governance. These authors’ …
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES - A PREVIEW IN FUTURE OF CAPITALISM
2012
The economic crisis comes in the context the deepest political crisis faced by the EU today. Economic catastrophe led to the strongest economic crisis since the '30s. Downturns were commonly explained using technical arguments, economic or financial reasons. Because they were discussed by experts in language often inaccessible, so often we face today and dangerous misunderstanding of the population crisis. When talking about economic crises tend to forget that they come in a political context, social and cultural. At the same time, how society reacts to the crisis is decisively influenced by the values it embraces.