Money doesn’t seem to make us happy for reasons of social comparison and habituation. But does that necessarily mean that we would be better off doing something else instead? This paper suggests that the phenomena of comparison and habituation are actually found in a variety of economic and social activities, rendering policy conclusions more difficult. JEL Classification Codes: D01, D31, H00, ...

The satisficing approach is generalized and applied to finite n-person games. Based on direct elicitation of aspirations, we formally define the concept of satisficing, which does not exclude (prior-free) optimality but includes it as a border case. We also review some experiments on strategic games illustrating and partly supporting our theoretical approach. JEL classification: C72; C92; D01

This study presents results of the validation of an ultra-short survey measure of patience included in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Survey responses predict intertemporal choice behavior in incentive-compatible decisions in a representative sample of the German adult population. JEL-classification: D01, D03, D91, C91

Theoretically and experimentally, we generalize the analysis of acquiring a company (Samuelson and Bazerman 1985) by allowing for competition of both buyers and sellers. Näıvety of both is related to the idea that higher prices exclude lower qualities. While competition of näıve buyers increases prices, competition of näıve sellers promotes efficiency enhancing trade. Our predictions are tested...

Using data from a unique pricing experiment, we test Vickrey’s conjecture that responsive pricing can be used to smooth demand shocks. Our evidence shows that increasing the responsiveness of price to demand conditions reduces the magnitude of deviations in capacity utilization rates from a pre-determined target level. We discuss implications for the use of demand-side incentives to deal with c...

A decision maker is presented with two preference orders over n objects and chooses the one which is “closer” to his own preference order. We consider several plausible comparison rules that the decision maker might employ. We show that when n is large and the pair of orders to be compared randomly realizes, different comparison rules lead to statistically almost independent choices. Thus, two ...

We reformulate neoclassical consumer choice by focusing on λ, the marginal utility of money. As the opportunity cost of current expenditure, λ is approximated by the slope of the indirect utility function of the continuation. We argue that λ can largely supplant the role of an arbitrary budget constraint in partial equilibrium analysis. The result is a better grounded, more flexible and more in...

Theoretically and experimentally, we generalize the analysis of acquiring a company (Samuelson and Bazerman 1985) by allowing for competition of both, buyers and sellers. Näıvety of both is related to the idea that higher prices exclude worse qualities. While competition of näıve buyers increases prices, competition of näıve sellers promotes efficiency enhancing trade. Our predictions are teste...

Biofilm formation results in medical threats or economic losses and is therefore a major concern in a variety of domains. In two-species biofilms of marine bacteria grown under dynamic conditions, Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain 3J6 formed mixed biofilms with Bacillus sp. strain 4J6 but was largely predominant over Paracoccus sp. strain 4M6 and Vibrio sp. strain D01. The supernatant of Pseudoalter...

The vast majority of clinically approved protein kinase inhibitors target the ATP-binding pocket directly. Consequently, many inhibitors have broad selectivity profiles and most have significant off-target effects. Allosteric inhibitors are generally more selective, but are difficult to identify because allosteric binding sites are often unknown or poorly characterized. Aurora-A is activated th...