This essay assesses the relationship between farm size and productivity. Both parametric and nonparametric methods are used to derive efficiency measures. Smaller farms are found to have higher net farm income per hectare, and to be more technically efficient, than larger farms. JEL Classifications: Q12, O12

We estimate the political economy determinants of budget deficit forecast errors. Since the adoption of the Stability Pact, Eurozone governments have manipulated forecasts before elections. The political orientation and the institutional design of governments also affects the quality of forecasts. JEL classifications: H62, H87, C23, C53, E62

We study the speed of social learning, when two players learn from private signals as well as the actions of the other. Our main finding is that increased interaction between the agents can lower the rate of learning: learning is significantly slower when both players observe each other, than when one only observes the other. JEL classifications: C73, D82, D83

The Great Recession seems to be creating a New Interventionist Economics characterized by bubbles, radical uncertainty, animal spirits, complexity dynamics, and extra-market control. When placed in that order, these characteristic create the acronym BRACE. I review some evidence and literature pointing to BRACE economics and briefly suggest some avenues to challenge the new interventionists. JE...

We compare the behavior of car mechanics and college students as sellers in experimental credence goods markets. Finding largely similar behavior, we note much more overtreatment by car mechanics, probably due to decision heuristics they learned in their professional training. JEL classifications: C91, D82, C72

In Böcker and Klüppelberg (2005) we presented a simple approximation of OpVaR of a single operational risk cell. The present paper derives approximations of similar quality and simplicity for the multivariate problem. Our approach is based on modelling of the dependence structure of different cells via the new concept of a Lévy copula. JEL Classifications: G18,G39.

This essay assesses the relationship between farm size and productivity. Both parametric and nonparametric methods are used to derive efficiency measures. Smaller farms are found to have higher net farm income per hectare, and to be more technically efficient, than larger farms. JEL Classifications: Q12, O12

We compare the behavior of car mechanics and college students as sellers in experimental credence goods markets. Finding largely similar behavior, we note much more overtreatment by car mechanics, probably due to decision heuristics they learned in their professional training. JEL classifications: C91, D82, C72

This paper evaluates the hypothesis that during the 2008-2009 collapse in international trade, imports of higher quality goods experienced larger reductions compared to low-quality imports, using data on U.S. imports disaggregated by HS-10 product category and source country. We find little, if any, robust econometric evidence in support of this hypothesis. JEL Classifications: F41, F42

Fraud is an ancient crime and one that annually causes hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. We examine the behavioral patterns over time of different types of frauds, which illustrate cyclical frequencies. We develop an evolutionary theory that suggests cyclic behavior in frauds should be common. JEL classifications: D92, L15, P17