Discretion in overpayment recovery

VCG Overpayment in Random Graphs

Motivated by the increasing need to price networks, we study the prices resulting from of a variant of the VCG mechanism, specifically defined for networks [11]. This VCG mechanism is the unique efficient and strategyproof mechanism, however it is not budget-balanced and in fact it is known to result in arbitrarily bad overpayments for some graphs [1, 8]. In contrast, we study more common types...

Accounting Discretion

This study investigates the factors affecting acquirers’ allocation of purchase price between goodwill and identifiable intangible assets with finite lives. SFAS 142 replaces goodwill amortization with periodic impairment tests that are based on fair value estimates, while most identifiable intangible assets are still amortized over finite useful lives. As a result of the differential accountin...

The Illusion of Discretion

Discretion is the thesis that if one has sufficient evidence for p, it is epistemically permissible for one either to believe p or be agnostic on whether p. This paper argues that Discretion is not as obvious as many assume—indeed, that it is false. §1 observes that Discretion is not supported by the fact that we lack positive epistemic duties to take doxastic stances on propositions. §2 consid...

Controlling Prosecutorial Discretion in Germany

Evaluating Discretion in Government Procurement

Government procurement contracts generally garner a small number of bids, and it is not uncommon for only one bid to be considered. This paper quantifies multiple factors determining the extent of competition observed in the United States federal procurement data for commercially unavailable IT and telecommunications service contracts. We develop, identify, and estimate a principal-agent model ...