We consider two-stage tandem queuing systems with dedicated servers in each station and flexible servers that can serve in both stations. We assume exponential service times, linear holding costs, and operating costs incurred by the servers at rates proportional to their speeds. Under conditions that ensure the optimality of nonidling policies, we show that the optimal allocation of flexible se...

With the growth of Internet and the fast development of semantic web technologies, the access and usage of information will become much more easier. However, the security of information gathering for both information suppliers and demanders is a critical issue. Policies determine the ideal behaviors for web concepts. The concepts of policy, policy languages and policy ontologies must be determi...

We study interactions between monetary policy, which sets nominal interest rates, and …scal policy, which levies distortionary income taxes to …nance public goods, in a standard, stickyprice economy with monopolistic competition. Policymakers’inability to commit in advance to future policies gives rise to excessive in‡ation and excessive public spending, resulting in welfare losses equivalent t...

We present a new method of determining an operating policy for a multi-reservoir system in which the operating policy for a reservoir is determined by solving a stochastic dynamic programming model consisting of that reservoir and a 2-dimensional representation of the rest of the system. The method is practical for systems with many reservoirs because the time required to determine an operating...

Since 2007, many monetary authorities have drastically changed its monetary policy. They began an aggressive struggle with the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Despite the substantial decline in Central banks interest rates in US and EMU and despite the sharp easining of monetary policy in many other countries, the cost of credit to both households and businesses has generall...

This paper explores to what extent secondary policy issues are influenced by electoral incentives. We develop a two dimensional political agency model in which a politician decides on both a frontline policy issue and a secondary policy issue. The model predicts when the incumbent should manipulate the secondary policy to attract voters. We test our model by using panel data on environmental po...

We reconsider the role of an inflation conservative central banker in a setting with distortionary taxation. To do so, we assume monetary and fiscal policy are decided by independent authorities that do not abide to past commitments. If the two authorities make policy decisions simultaneously, inflation conservatism causes fiscal overspending. But if fiscal policy is determined before monetary ...

This paper explores to what extent secondary policy issues are influenced by electoral incentives. We develop a two dimensional political agency model in which a politician decides on both a frontline policy issue and a secondary policy issue. The model predicts when the incumbent should manipulate the secondary policy to attract voters. We test our model by using panel data on environmental po...