A Brief Review and Analysis of Spectrum Auctions in Canada
by Martínez-Cid, Wenfei Jiao, and Zeren Zhang Abstract We begin by explaining the importance of efficient spectrum allocation and reviewing Canada’s recent spectrum allocation history. We then use a dataset covering more than 1,200 licenses auctioned from 2001 to 2015 that seeks to account for each auction’s particular rules. Our results confirm that measures of […]
What Gets Paid? Analyzing the Major League Baseball Contract Market
By Brian Pollack This paper aims to assess the efficiency of the Major League Baseball contract market in the past decade, given that teams are employing more analytical approaches to player evaluation. First, analysis of team-level data reveals the most important determinants of run scoring and run prevention, respectively. Models of player contract value, controlling […]
Structural Estimation of FCC Bidder Valuation
By Renhao Tan, Zachary Lim, and Jackie Xiao We modify a method introduced in Fox and Bajari (2013) which structurally estimates the deterministic component of bidder valuations in FCC spectrum auctions based on a pairwise stability condition: two bidders cannot exchange two licenses in a way that increases the sum of their valuations, and we […]
The Decision to Marry of Cohabit and Economic Crises
By Jennifer Garand This paper aims to investigate the relationship between peoples’ decisions to marry or cohabit and their economic circumstances – both personal, as measured by their employment status, and peripheral, as measured by the unemployment rate in their local county. This paper will look at the role economic factors, as well as demographic and personal factors, play in the decision of whether or not to marry, cohabit, […]
BIDDING FOR PARKING: The Impact of University Affiliation on Predicting Bid Values in Dutch Auctions of On-Campus Parking Permits
By Grant Kelly Parking is often underpriced and expanding its capacity is expensive; universities need a better way of reducing congestion outside of building costly parking garages. Demand based pricing mechanisms, such as auctions, offer a possible solution to the problem by promising to reduce parking at peak times. However, faculty, students, and staff at […]
The Market for Apples: A Theory of Identity and Consumption
By Clement Lee This paper presents an economic model of the effects of identity and social norms on consumption patterns. By incorporating qualitative studies in psychology and sociology, I propose a utility function that features two components – economic (functional) and identity elements. This setup is extended to analyze a market comprising a continuum of consumers, whose identity distribution along a spectrum of binary identities is described by a Beta distribution. I also introduce the notion of salience in […]
The Pen or the Sword: Determining the Effects of Different Types of Coups D’état on Income Inequality
By Jie Wei Chia Existing literature on the relationship between income inequality and coup d’états focus on how the former cause the latter. No research has yet been done on how coup d’états affect income inequality after their occurrence. This study uses cross–country panel data and fixed effects with instrumental variables models to examine the […]
How Consumers Make Impulse Purchases and the Influence of Peers and a Market-Based Setting
By Arjan Saraon Many organizations are designed to protect, educate and helping consumer with their financial decision–making. This paper examines the valuation of various non–essential goods in both a marketplace setting and slider–based setting, and in both a neutral influence and social influence condition. In a marketplace valuation setting, it is found that prices and price–searching behavior are the most significant predictors of a decision to checkout a good. In […]
Program Characteristics and Economic Conditions That Affect WIC Participation
By Amy Tingle WIC is one of the most expansive food assistance programs in the United States. Despite extensive research demonstrating the health benefits of participation, there is a sizable gap between those that are eligible and those that enroll. This paper studies how economic conditions and program characteristics affect both eligibility and coverage rates using post recession data […]
Deterring Ineffcient Gambling in Risk-Taking Agents
By Ryan Westphal This paper proposes a model describing the incentive issues faced by principals and agents when the agent has limited liability and is capable of undertaking unidentifiable, inefficient risky behavior. We propose a contract structure by which the principal deters risk by deferring payment to the agent until she reaches an absorbing steady-state […]
