We consider a Cournot oligopoly setting in which consumers have an intrinsic preference for variety, while unit production costs of firms increase with the number of goods they produce. This environment exhibits a general under-provision of variety with respect to social welfare. JEL Classification Numbers: C70, L13, L20

We examine individuals’ distributional orderings in a number of contexts. This is done by using a questionnaire-experiment that is presented to respondents in any one of seven “flavours” or interpretations of the basic distributional problem. The flavours include inequality, risk, social welfare and justice. The issue of personal involvement in the distributional comparison is explicitly addres...

The emergence of behavioral economics is one of the most significant conceptual developments in the social sciences in the past 40 years. The central figure in the field in its early years was Richard Thaler. In this article, I review and discuss his scientific contributions. JEL classification: B2, D9, G1

This paper investigates ethical aggregation of infinite utility streams by representable social welfare relations. We prove that the Hammond Equity postulate and other variations of it like the Pigou-Dalton transfer principle are incompatible with positive responsiveness to welfare improvements by every generation. The case of Hammond Equity for the Future is investigated too. JEL classificatio...

This manual describes a z-Tree (Fischbacher, 2007) implementation of the paper-based Social Vaule Orientation (SVO) Slider Measure by Murphy et al. (2011). Using the paperbased version instead of the slider-based version (as implemented on the SVO-Website) avoids server-traffic related delays we experienced in the latter implementation. JEL-Classification: C91, D03, D64

 Trade liberalization is often the core attention of foreign economic strategies in developing countries. Findings in the literature confirm a significant effect of free trade on developing economies through which the economic sectors benefit from technology transfer and spillovers and increasing production capacities and input productivity leading to international competitiveness. On the other...

This manual describes a z-Tree (Fischbacher, 2007) implementation of the paper-based Social Vaule Orientation (SVO) Slider Measure by Murphy et al. (2011). Using the paperbased version instead of the slider-based version (as implemented on the SVO-Website) avoids server-traffic related delays we experienced in the latter implementation. JEL-Classification: C91, D03, D64

This manual describes a z-Tree (Fischbacher, 2007) implementation of the paper-based Social Vaule Orientation (SVO) Slider Measure by Murphy et al. (2011). Using the paperbased version instead of the slider-based version (as implemented on the SVO-Website) avoids server-traffic related delays we experienced in the latter implementation. JEL-Classification: C91, D03, D64

The paper provides an economic rationale for punishing repeat offenders with increasing sanctions. We analyse the optimal intertemporal punishment scheme within an infinite game framework. The legal authority is assumed to minimize the social cost of punishment under the constraint of keeping delinquency at a maximal tolerable level. This level is exogenously determined. JEL classification: K14

A definition of a utilitarian social welfare relation (SWR) for infinite utility streams is proposed. Such a relation is characterized in terms of the Pareto, Anonymity and Partial Unit Comparability Axioms. The merits of the utilitarian SWR, relative to the more restrictive SWR induced by the overtaking criterion, are examined. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: D60;...