the first spoken dialogue system developed for the persian language is introduced. this is a ticket reservation system with persian asr and nlu modules. the focus of the paper is on learning the dialogue management module. in this work, real on-line training data are used during the learning process. for on-line learning, the effect of the variations of discount factor (g) on the learning speed...

In this paper, I examine how time-varying discount factors can contribute to labor market volatility in a Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides matching model. I find that the procyclical discount factor of either entrepreneurs or workers can magnify labor market volatility. Quantitatively, the entrepreneur’s discount factor has a larger effect than the worker’s discount factor. To account for the obser...

This paper develops and studies a tough love model of intergenerational altruism. We model tough love by modifying the Barro-Becker standard altruism model in two ways. First, the child’s discount factor is endogenously determined, so that low consumption at young age leads to a higher discount factor later in her life. Second, the parent evaluates the child’s lifetime utility with a constant h...

In contrast to the existing literature on repeated games that assumes a Þxed discount factor, I study an environment in which it is more realistic to assume a ßuctuating discount factor. In a repeated oligopoly, as the interest rate changes, so too does the degree to which Þrms discount the future. I characterize the optimal tacit collusion equilibrium when the discount factor changes over time...

The objective of this paper is to adopt a general equilibrium model and determine the socially e¢ cient discount factor, risk free rate and discount rate when there are heterogeneous anticipations about the growth of the economy as well as heterogeneous time preference rates. Among others we tackle the following questions. Is the socially e¢ cient discount factor an arithmetic average of the in...

This paper discusses the tough love model of intergenerational altruism we developed and some of on-going empirical research on tough love behavior in survey data collected in Japan and United States. The tough love model modifies the Barro-Becker standard altruism model in two ways. First, the child’s discount factor is endogenously determined, so that low consumption at young age leads to a h...

Most algorithms for solving Markov decision processes rely on a discount factor, which ensures their convergence. It is generally assumed that using an artificially low discount factor will improve the convergence rate, while sacrificing the solution quality. We however demonstrate that using an artificially low discount factor may significantly improve the solution quality, when used in approx...