An auction type mechanism elicits the valuations for getting a good (service) from the agents, allocates some goods (service) to some agents and charge money only to the served agents. We characterize the mechanisms that are immune to three alternative types of collusion of the agents. Under full collusion, agents can coordinate misreports and transfer money between them. We show that only the ...

This paper estimates the value of international emissions trading, focusing on a here-to-fore neglected component; its value as a hedge against uncertainty. Much analysis has been done of the Kyoto Protocol and other potential international greenhouse gas mitigation policies comparing the costs of achieving emission targets with and without trading. These studies often show large cost reduction...

We consider collaborative systems where users make contributions across multiple available projects and are rewarded for their contributions in individual projects according to a local sharing of the value produced. This serves as a model of online social computing systems such as online Q&A forums and of credit sharing in scientific co-authorship settings. We show that the maximum feasible pro...

INTRODUCTION Under the Massachusetts health reform, low income residents (those with incomes below 150 % of the Federal Poverty Level [FPL]) were eligible for Medicaid and health insurance exchange-based plans with minimal cost-sharing and no premiums. Those with slightly higher incomes (150 %-300 % FPL) were eligible for exchange-based plans that required cost-sharing and premium payments. M...

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that cost sharing (i.e.,copayments and deductibles) decreases health expenditures but also reduces essential care. Value-based insurance design (VBID) has been proposed to encourage essential care while controlling health expenditures. Our objective was to estimate the impact of broader diffusion of VBID on US health care benefits and costs. METHODS AND FINDINGS W...

The optimization and innovation of design play a crucial part in increasing the whole merit of the value chain of green building. As major proprietors passing on the value of green building, architecture developers should motivate design enterprises to enhance their level of working effort through contract planning. The Stakelberg game model is applied in this paper, and the approach to determi...

BACKGROUND Prescription drugs are used in people with hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease to manage their illness. Patient cost sharing strategies such as copayments and deductibles are often employed to lower expenditures for prescription drug insurance plans, but the impact on health outcomes in these patients is unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between drug in...