Social value orientation as a moral intuition: Decision-making in the dictator game

We studied the decision making process in the Dictator Game and showed that decisions are the result of a two-step process. In a first step, decision makers generate an automatic, intuitive proposal. Given sufficient motivation and cognitive resources, they adjust this in a second, more deliberated phase. In line with the social intuitionist model, we show that one s Social Value Orientation determines intuitive choice tendencies in the first step, and that this effect is mediated by the dictator s perceived interpersonal closeness with the receiver. Self-interested concerns subsequently leadto a reduction of donation size in step 2. Finally, we show that increasing interpersonal closeness can promote pro-social decision-making.

The social value of health programs: Is age a relevant factor?

In cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) it is usually assumed that a QALY is of equal value to everybody, irrespective of the patient's age. However, it is possible that society assigns different social values to a QALY according to who gets it. In this paper we discuss the possibility of weighting health benefits for age in CEA. We also examinethe possibility that age-related preferences depend on the size of the health gain. An experiment was performedto test these hypotheses. The results assessing suggest that the patient's age is a relevant factor when assessing health gains.

Perceptual mapping of practical ethics along the value chain: A multiple correspondence analysis with industry and cultural indices as supplementary variables

This paper presents findings from a study investigating a firm s ethical practices along the value chain. In so doing we attempt to better understand potential relationships between a firm s ethical stance with its customers and those of its suppliers within a supply chain and identify particular sectoral and cultural influences that might impinge on this. Drawing upon a database comprising of 667 industrial firms from 27 different countries, we found that ethical practices begin with the firm s relationship with its customers, the characteristics of which then influence the ethical stance with the firm s suppliers within the supply chain. Importantly, market structure along with some key cultural characteristics were also found to exert significant influence on the implementation of ethical policies in these firms.

Weak and strong altruism in traitgGroups: Reproductive suicide, personal fitness and expected value

A simple variant of trait group selection, employing predators as themechanism underlying group selection, supports contingent reproductivesuicide as altruism (i.e., behavior lowering personal fitness whileaugmenting that of another) without kin assortment. The contingentsuicidal type may either saturate the population or be polymorphicwith a type avoiding suicide, depending on parameters. In addition tocontingent suicide, this randomly assorting morph may also exhibitcontinuously expressed strong altruism (sensu Wilson 1979) usuallythought restricted to kin selection. The model will not, however,support a sterile worker caste as such, where sterility occurs beforelife history events associated with effective altruism; reproductivesuicide must remain fundamentally contingent (facultative sensu WestEberhard 1987; Myles 1988) under random assortment. The continuouslyexpressed strong altruism supported by the model may be reinterpretedas probability of arbitrarily committing reproductive suicide, withoutbenefit for another; such arbitrary suicide (a "load" on "adaptive"suicide) is viable only under a more restricted parameter spacerelative to the necessarily concomitant adaptive contingent suicide.

Ownership structure, customer satisfaction and brand equity

This paper studies the interaction between ownership structure, taken as a proxy for shareholders commitment, and customer satisfaction - the main driver of consumer loyalty - and their impact on a firm s brand equity. The results show that customer satisfaction has a positive direct effect on brand equity but an indirect negative one because of reductions in ownership concentration. This latter effect emerges when managers are mainly customer-oriented. Such result gives out a warning signal that highlights the perverse effect of implementing policies, focused excessively on satisfying customers at the expense of shareholders, on a firm s brand equity. The empirical analysis uses an incomplete panel data comprising 69 firms from 11 nations, for the period 2002-2005.

Recreating the South Sea bubble: Lessons from an experiment in financial history

Major bubble episodes are rare events. In this paper, we examine what factors might cause some asset price bubbles to become very large. We recreate, in a laboratory setting, some of the specific institutional features investors in the South Sea Company faced in 1720. Several factors have been proposed as potentially contributing to one of the greatest periods of asset overvaluation in history: an intricate debt-for-equity swap, deferred payment for these shares, and the possibility of default on the deferred payments. We consider which aspect might have had the most impact in creating the South Sea bubble. The results of the experiment suggest that the company?s attempt to exchange its shares for government debt was the single biggest contributor to the stock price explosion, because of the manner in which the swap affected fundamental value. Issuing new shares with only partial payments required, in conjunction with the debt-equity swap, also had a significant effect on the size of the bubble. Limited contract enforcement, on the other hand, does not appear to have contributed significantly.

Transportation choices and the value of statistical life

This paper exploits an unusual transportation setting to estimate the value of a statistical life(VSL). We estimate the trade-offs individuals are willing to make between mortality risk andcost as they travel to and from the international airport in Sierra Leone (which is separated fromthe capital Freetown by a body of water). Travelers choose from among multiple transportoptions ? namely, ferry, helicopter, hovercraft, and water taxi. The setting and original datasetallow us to address some typical omitted variable concerns in order to generate some of the firstrevealed preference VSL estimates from Africa. The data also allows us to compare VSLestimates for travelers from 56 countries, including 20 African and 36 non-African countries, allfacing the same choice situation. The average VSL estimate for African travelers in the sample isUS$577,000 compared to US$924,000 for non-Africans. Individual characteristics, particularlyjob earnings, can largely account for the difference between Africans and non-Africans; Africansin the sample typically earn somewhat less. There is little evidence that individual VSL estimatesare driven by a lack of information, predicted life expectancy, or cultural norms around risktakingor fatalism. The data implies an income elasticity of the VSL of 1.77. These revealedpreference VSL estimates from a developing country fill an important gap in the existingliterature, and can be used for a variety of public policy purposes, including in current debateswithin Sierra Leone regarding the desirability of constructing new transportation infrastructure.

Value of clinical factors in selecting postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis for bone densitometry.

Criteria to decide which patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should be examined by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) are currently not available. The rheumatologists from Amsterdam have proposed preliminary criteria based on clinical risk factors (age, disease activity, and functional status). These criteria are preliminary and not widely accepted but might be helpful in practice. The value of the proposal in a group of Spanish postmenopausal women with RA is analysed. METHODS DXA (lumbar spine and femoral neck) was performed in 128 patients recruited from a clinical setting, and the proposed criteria were applied. T and Z scores were established for a Spanish reference population. RESULTS The mean (SD) age of the patients was 61.3 (10.7) and mean duration of the postmenopausal period 14.5 (10.1) years. Mean duration of RA was 13.7 (7.7) years. Mean C reactive protein was 22 (21) mg/l; mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate 26 (18) mm/1st h; and mean Health Assessment Questionnaire score 1.25 (0.79). Ninety (70%) patients fulfilled the proposed criteria. Their sensitivity for the diagnosis of osteoporosis (T score ¿¿2.5 SD) was 86% and their specificity, 43%. Positive predictive value was 54% and negative predictive value, 79%. CONCLUSIONS The proposed criteria seem a good screening method for the selection of those patients with RA whose bone mineral density should be assessed as the sensitivity and negative predictive value are acceptable.

A characterization of a new value and an existing value for cooperative games with levels structure of cooperation

En aquest treball presentem dues caracteritzacions de dos valors diferents en el marc dels jocs coalicionals amb cooperació restringida. Les restriccions són introduïdes com una seqüència finita de particions del conjunt del jugadors, de manera que cada una d'elles eés més grollera que l'anterior, formant així una estructura amb diferents nivells d'unions a priori.

Testing the bivariate distribution of daily equity returns using copulas: an application to the Spanish stock market

In this paper we deal with the identification of dependencies between time series of equity returns. Marginal distribution functions are assumed to be known, and a bivariate chi-square test of fit is applied in a fully parametric copula approach. Several families of copulas are fitted and compared with Spanish stock market data. The results show that the t-copula generally outperforms other dependence structures, and highlight the difficulty in adjusting a significant number of bivariate data series

Testing the bivariate distribution of daily equity returns using copulas: an application to the Spanish stock market

In this paper we deal with the identification of dependencies between time series of equity returns. Marginal distribution functions are assumed to be known, and a bivariate chi-square test of fit is applied in a fully parametric copula approach. Several families of copulas are fitted and compared with Spanish stock market data. The results show that the t-copula generally outperforms other dependence structures, and highlight the difficulty in adjusting a significant number of bivariate data series

A characterization of a new value and an existing value for cooperative games with levels structure of cooperation

En aquest treball presentem dues caracteritzacions de dos valors diferents en el marc dels jocs coalicionals amb cooperació restringida. Les restriccions són introduïdes com una seqüència finita de particions del conjunt del jugadors, de manera que cada una d'elles eés més grollera que l'anterior, formant així una estructura amb diferents nivells d'unions a priori.

Empirical study about the effects of the application of IAS 32 in Cooperatives

Objecte: L'aplicació de la NIC 32 en les cooperatives ha generat una important controvèrsia en els últims anys. Fins al moment, s'han realitzat diversos treballs que intenten preveure els possibles efectes de la seva aplicació. Aquest treball pretén analitzar l'impacte de la primera aplicació de la NIC 32 en el sector cooperatiu. Disseny/metodologia/enfocament: S'ha seleccionat una mostra de 98 cooperatives, i s'ha realitzat una anàlisi comparativa de la seva informació financera presentada abans i després de l'aplicació de la NIC 32, per a determinar les diferències existents. S’ha utilitzat la prova de la suma de rangs de Wilcoxon per comprovar si aquestes diferències són significatives. També s’ha utilitzat la prova de la U de Mann Whitney per comprovar si existeixen diferències significatives en l’impacte relatiu de l’aplicació de la NIC 32 entre diversos grups de cooperatives. Finalment, s'ha realitzat una anàlisi dels efectes de l'aplicació de la NIC 32 en la situació patrimonial i econòmica de les cooperatives, i en l'evolució dels seus actius intangibles, mitjançant l’ús de tècniques d’anàlisi econòmico-financera. Aportacions i resultats: Els resultats obtinguts confirmen que l'aplicació de la NIC 32 provoca diferències significatives en algunes partides del balanç de situació i el compte de pèrdues i guanys, així com en les ràtios analitzades. Les principals diferències es concreten en una reducció del nivell de capitalització i un augment de l'endeutament de les cooperatives, així com un empitjorament general dels ràtios de solvència i autonomia financera. Limitacions: Cal tenir en compte que el treball s'ha realitzat amb una mostra de cooperatives que estan obligades a auditar els seus comptes anuals. Per tant, els resultats obtinguts han d'interpretar-se en un context de cooperatives de tamany elevat. També cal tenir en compte que hem realitzat una anàlisi comparativa dels comptes anuals de 2011 i 2010. Això ens ha permès conèixer les diferències en la informació financera de les cooperatives abans i després d'aplicar la NIC 32. Encara que algunes d’aquestes diferències també podrien estar causades per altres factors com la situació econòmica, els canvis en l'aplicació de les normes comptables, etc. Originalitat/valor afegit: Creiem que és el moment idoni per a realitzar aquest treball d'investigació, ja que des de 2011 totes les cooperatives espanyoles han d'aplicar les normes comptables adaptades a la NIC 32. A més, fins on coneixem, no existeixen altres treballs similars realitzats amb comptes anuals de cooperatives que ja han aplicat les normes comptables adaptades a la NIC 32 . Creiem que els resultats d'aquest treball d'investigació poden ser útils per a diferents grups d'interès. En primer lloc, perquè els organismes emissors de normes comptables puguin conèixer l'abast de la NIC 32 en les cooperatives i, puguin plantejar millores en el contingut de la norma. En segon lloc, perquè les pròpies cooperatives, federacions, confederacions i altres organismes cooperatius disposin d'informació sobre l'impacte econòmic de la primera aplicació de la NIC 32, i puguin realitzar les valoracions que creguin convenients. I en tercer lloc, perquè les entitats financeres, auditors i assessors de cooperatives i altres grups d'interès disposin d'informació sobre els canvis en els comptes anuals de les cooperatives, i puguin tenir-los en compte a l'hora de prendre decisions. Paraules clau: Cooperatives, patrimoni net, capital social, NIC 32, solvència, efectes de la normativa comptable, informació financera, ràtios.

Testing extreme value copulas to estimate the quantile

Testing weather or not data belongs could been generated by a family of extreme value copulas is difficult. We generalize a test and we prove that it can be applied whatever the alternative hypothesis. We also study the effect of using different extreme value copulas in the context of risk estimation. To measure the risk we use a quantile. Our results have motivated by a bivariate sample of losses from a real database of auto insurance claims. Methods are implemented in R.