Showing papers by "Stockholm School of Economics published in 2017"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the future of retail by highlighting five key areas that are moving the field forward: (1) technology and tools to facilitate decision making, (2) visual display and merchandise offer decisions, (3) consumption and engagement, big data collection and usage, and (4) analytics and profitability.
632 citations
VU University Amsterdam1, Erasmus University Rotterdam2, Medical Research Council3, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust4, King's College London5, VU University Medical Center6, Erasmus University Medical Center7, New York University8, Union College9, University of Minnesota10, Stockholm School of Economics11, Harvard University12, Karolinska Institutet13, University of Manchester14, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre15, Leiden University16
TL;DR: A meta-analysis for intelligence of 78,308 individuals identifies 336 associated SNPs in 18 genomic loci, implicating 22 genes and indicates the involvement of genes regulating cell development in brain tissue and pathway analysis provides new insight into the genetic architecture of intelligence.
Abstract: Intelligence is associated with important economic and health-related life outcomes Despite intelligence having substantial heritability (054) and a confirmed polygenic nature, initial genetic studies were mostly underpowered Here we report a meta-analysis for intelligence of 78,308 individuals We identify 336 associated SNPs (METAL P < 5 × 10-8) in 18 genomic loci, of which 15 are new Around half of the SNPs are located inside a gene, implicating 22 genes, of which 11 are new findings Gene-based analyses identified an additional 30 genes (MAGMA P < 273 × 10-6), of which all but one had not been implicated previously We show that the identified genes are predominantly expressed in brain tissue, and pathway analysis indicates the involvement of genes regulating cell development (MAGMA competitive P = 35 × 10-6) Despite the well-known difference in twin-based heritability for intelligence in childhood (045) and adulthood (080), we show substantial genetic correlation (rg = 089, LD score regression P = 54 × 10-29) These findings provide new insight into the genetic architecture of intelligence
411 citations
TL;DR: This paper studies a class of continuous-time stochastic control problems which are time-inconsistent in the sense that they do not admit a Bellman optimality principle, and derives an extension of the standard Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation in the form of a system of nonlinear equations for the determination of the equilibrium strategy as well as the equilibrium value function.
Abstract: In this paper, which is a continuation of the discrete-time paper (Bjork and Murgoci in Finance Stoch. 18:545–592, 2004), we study a class of continuous-time stochastic control problems which, in various ways, are time-inconsistent in the sense that they do not admit a Bellman optimality principle. We study these problems within a game-theoretic framework, and we look for Nash subgame perfect equilibrium points. For a general controlled continuous-time Markov process and a fairly general objective functional, we derive an extension of the standard Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation, in the form of a system of nonlinear equations, for the determination of the equilibrium strategy as well as the equilibrium value function. The main theoretical result is a verification theorem. As an application of the general theory, we study a time-inconsistent linear-quadratic regulator. We also present a study of time-inconsistency within the framework of a general equilibrium production economy of Cox–Ingersoll–Ross type (Cox et al. in Econometrica 53:363–384, 1985).
252 citations
TL;DR: This study demonstrates how public and private data sources that are commonly available for LMICs can be used to provide novel insight into the spatial distribution of poverty, indicating the possibility to estimate and continually monitor poverty rates at high spatial resolution in countries with limited capacity to support traditional methods of data collection.
Abstract: Poverty is one of the most important determinants of adverse health outcomes globally, a major cause of societal instability and one of the largest causes of lost human potential. Traditional approaches to measuring and targeting poverty rely heavily on census data, which in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unavailable or out-of-date. Alternate measures are needed to complement and update estimates between censuses. This study demonstrates how public and private data sources that are commonly available for LMICs can be used to provide novel insight into the spatial distribution of poverty. We evaluate the relative value of modelling three traditional poverty measures using aggregate data from mobile operators and widely available geospatial data. Taken together, models combining these data sources provide the best predictive power (highest r2 = 0.78) and lowest error, but generally models employing mobile data only yield comparable results, offering the potential to measure poverty more frequently and at finer granularity. Stratifying models into urban and rural areas highlights the advantage of using mobile data in urban areas and different data in different contexts. The findings indicate the possibility to estimate and continually monitor poverty rates at high spatial resolution in countries with limited capacity to support traditional methods of data collection.
234 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test, quantify and model the inconsistency of SDGs and conclude that the SDG agenda will fail as a whole if we continue with business as usual.
Abstract: In 2015, the UN adopted a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eradicate poverty, establish socioeconomic inclusion and protect the environment. Critical voices such as the International Council for Science (ICSU), however, have expressed concerns about the potential incompatibility of the SDGs, specifically the incompatibility of socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. In this paper, we test, quantify and model the alleged inconsistency of SDGs. Our analyses show which SDGs are consistent and which are conflicting. We measure the extent of inconsistency and conclude that the SDG agenda will fail as a whole if we continue with business as usual. We further explore the nature of the inconsistencies using dynamical systems models, which reveal that the focus on economic growth and consumption as a means for development underlies the inconsistency. Our models also show that there are factors which can contribute to development (health programmes, government investme...
204 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed contributions on globalisation and its influence on accounting in developing countries and identified important research gaps, and examined the role of accounting in changing development policies, from state capitalism through neo-liberal market-based to goodgovernance policies.
183 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop and test a model of an individual's intention to reenter entrepreneurship following business exit, using prospect theory and self-efficacy as two long-standing theories.
Abstract: This paper develops and tests a model of an individual's intention to reenter entrepreneurship following business exit. Two long–standing theories, prospect theory and self–efficacy, seem to develo...
179 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of femvertising (female empowerment advertising) on ad reactance among a female target audience, and found that femvertising can reduce ad reaction to stereotypical portrayals of women in advertising.
Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of femvertising (female empowerment advertising). More specifically, it hypothesizes that femvertising (vs. traditional portrayals of females in advertising) will reduce ad reactance among a female target audience, and that this in turn will enhance ad and brand attitudes. The results of three experimental studies indicate that this is indeed the case, and that the results hold across print and digital media, for five different product categories, and for femvertising focusing on challenging female stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics as well as the roles and occupations used to portray women in advertising. Although previous studies of the effects of female portrayals tend to focus on social comparison and self-identity, the current paper considers the role of psychological reactance to (more or less) stereotypical portrayals in explaining these effects. The results suggest that marketers have much to gain from adapting a more proactive and mindful approach to the female portrayals they use in their ads.
164 citations
TL;DR: This paper studied the effect of wealth on labor supply using the randomized assignment of monetary prizes in a large sample of Swedish lottery players and found that winning a lottery prize modestly reduces earnings, with the reduction being immediate, persistent, and quite similar by age, education, and sex.
Abstract: We study the effect of wealth on labor supply using the randomized assignment of monetary prizes in a large sample of Swedish lottery players. Winning a lottery prize modestly reduces earnings, with the reduction being immediate, persistent, and quite similar by age, education, and sex. A calibrated dynamic model implies lifetime marginal propensities to earn out of unearned income from −0.17 at age 20 to −0.04 at age 60, and labor supply elasticities in the lower range of previously reported estimates. The earnings response is stronger for winners than their spouses, which is inconsistent with unitary household labor supply models. (JEL D14, J22, J31)
162 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: This article showed that increased domestic government bond holdings generated a crowding out of corporate lending, which negatively impacts private capital formation. But they found that loan supply was depressed by these domestic sovereign bonds only during the crisis period (2010-11).
Abstract: At the end of 2013, the share of government debt held by the domestic banking sectors of Eurozone countries was more than twice the amount held in 2007. We show that increased domestic government bond holdings generated a crowding out of corporate lending. We find that loan supply was depressed by these domestic sovereign bonds only during the crisis period (2010-11). The pattern also holds across firms with different relationship banks within a given countries. These findings suggest that sovereign bond holdings negatively impact private capital formation. We show that direct government ownership, as well as government influence through banks' boards of directors, are among the channels used to influence banks.
150 citations
TL;DR: Estimating heritability for body mass index (BMI) in 172,000 sibling pairs and 150,832 unrelated individuals and exploring the contribution of genotype–covariate interaction effects at common SNP loci suggest that the genetic architecture of BMI is highly polygenic.
Abstract: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic, with major health and economic costs. Here we estimate heritability for body mass index (BMI) in 172,000 sibling pairs and 150,832 unrelated individuals and explore the contribution of genotype-covariate interaction effects at common SNP loci. We find evidence for genotype-age interaction (likelihood ratio test (LRT) = 73.58, degrees of freedom (df) = 1, P = 4.83 × 10-18), which contributed 8.1% (1.4% s.e.) to BMI variation. Across eight self-reported lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, we find genotype-environment interaction only for smoking behavior (LRT = 19.70, P = 5.03 × 10-5 and LRT = 30.80, P = 1.42 × 10-8), which contributed 4.0% (0.8% s.e.) to BMI variation. Bayesian association analysis suggests that BMI is highly polygenic, with 75% of the SNP heritability attributable to loci that each explain <0.01% of the phenotypic variance. Our findings imply that substantially larger sample sizes across ages and lifestyles are required to understand the full genetic architecture of BMI.
TL;DR: The size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions are assessed by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article and the results are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect ofTime pressure on cooperation.
Abstract: In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e., cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the social heuristics hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g., Rand et al., 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g., Tinghog et al., 2013; Verkoeijen & Bouwmeester, 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article (Rand et al., 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the time-pressure condition and 7.5% in the forced-delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and we observed a difference in contributions of −0.37 percentage points compared with an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original article did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared with a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors empirically investigated the portfolios of wealthy households and their implications for the dynamics of inequality, using an administrative panel of all Swedish residents, and found that returns on financial wealth are on average 4% higher per year for households in the top 1% compared to the median household.
Abstract: This paper empirically investigates the portfolios of wealthy households and their implications for the dynamics of inequality. Using an administrative panel of all Swedish residents, we document that returns on financial wealth are on average 4% higher per year for households in the top 1% compared to the median household. These high average returns are primarily compensations for high levels of systematic risk. Abnormal risk-adjusted returns, linked for instance to informational advantages or exceptional investment skill, contribute only marginally to the high returns of the wealthy. Implications for inequality dynamics and public policy are discussed.
TL;DR: This article measured financial literacy among LinkedIn members, complementing standard questions with additional questions that allow them to gauge self-perceptions of financial literacy, and found that low-literacy is associated with mistaken beliefs about financial products and less willingness to accept financial advice.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the panel smooth transition regression model for characterizing heterogeneous panels, allowing the regression coefficients to vary both across individuals and across groups. But, the model is not suitable for multi-modal panels.
Abstract: We introduce the panel smooth transition regression model. This newmodel is intended for characterizing heterogeneous panels, allowing the regressioncoecients to vary both across individuals and ov ...
Karolinska Institutet1, Stockholm School of Economics2, Örebro University3, University of Amsterdam4, National Institutes of Health5, University Hospital of North Norway6, University of Michigan7, University of Turku8, University of New South Wales9, Tallinn University of Technology10, Cornell University11
TL;DR: Comparing policies and systems could allow countries to learn from each other to address global and nation-specific challenges, and countries may be able to develop improved policies by examining how other nations have solved common problems.
Abstract: Objectives Patient-accessible electronic health records (PAEHRs) are being implemented at international scale. Comparing policies and systems could allow countries to learn from each other to address global and nation-specific challenges. We compare national PAEHR policy (hard and soft regulation) and services in 10 countries. Methods PAEHR policy and system documentation was gathered from Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States. A basic analytic model for policy analysis was used to delimit our focus to policy content, followed by an inductive thematic analysis across countries, in which we clustered initial themes into a set of categories of PAEHR service “approaches” related to three specific content areas. Results Although all 10 countries ensured some patient rights to access medical records, policies and systems were highly variable, as were the technological processes arising from these. In particular, three policy areas showed great variability. Depending upon country of origin, a patient would encounter differences in: login procedures (security), access to own and other patients’ data during adolescence (user rights), and types of medical data made available to the patient (data sets). Conclusions Individuals encounter very different access rights to their medical data depending on where they live. Countries may be able to develop improved policies by examining how other nations have solved common problems. Harmonizing policies is also an initial step likely to be needed before cross-national PAEHRs could be possible.
TL;DR: In this paper, a retailer or service provider with foundations in consciousness has a higher purpose and values that get espoused and fulfilled throughout the organization, working in a way to optimize benefits to its multiple stakeholders (investors, employees, customers, suppliers, the environment, the community).
TL;DR: There are few significant differences between industries with limited and high private equity activity, and it is hard to find support for claims that economic activity in industries with private equity backing is more exposed to aggregate shocks.
Abstract: The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its impact on the economy. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. We find that industries where private equity funds invest grow more quickly in terms of total production and employment and appear less exposed to aggregate shocks. Our robustness tests provide some evidence that is consistent with our effects being driven by our preferred channel. This paper was accepted by Amit Seru, finance.
TL;DR: This paper reconfigured matching models in various ways: by elevating the utility of leisure, by making wages stick, and by making jobs pay people more than they earn, to generate big responses of unemployment to productivity changes.
Abstract: To generate big responses of unemployment to productivity changes, researchers have reconfigured matching models in various ways: by elevating the utility of leisure, by making wages stick...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that for representative estimates, costs exceed benefits by substantial margins, and that policy-rate effects on the probability and magnitude of crises more than 5-40 standard errors larger than representative estimates are required.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effects of utilizing consumers' digital shopping traces when designing in-store promotions on purchase behavior and brand image, and found that retailers benefit from using digital shopping trace as it increases purchases and enhances brand imagery.
TL;DR: It is found that time pressure increases risk aversion for gains and risk taking for losses compared to time delay, implying thatTime pressure increases the reflection effect of Prospect Theory.
Abstract: We experimentally compare fast and slow decisions in a series of experiments on financial risk taking in three countries involving over 1700 subjects. To manipulate fast and slow decisions, subjects were randomly allocated to responding within 7 seconds (time pressure) or waiting for at least 7 or 20 seconds (time delay) before responding. To control for different effects of time pressure and time delay on measurement noise, we estimate separate parameters for noise and risk preferences within a random utility framework. We find that time pressure increases risk aversion for gains and risk taking for losses compared to time delay, implying that time pressure increases the reflection effect of Prospect Theory. The results for gains are weaker and less robust than the results for losses. We find no significant difference between time pressure and time delay for loss aversion (tested in only one of the experiments). Time delay also leads to less measurement noise than time pressure and unconstrained decisions, and appears to be an effective way of decreasing noise in experiments.
VU University Amsterdam1, Erasmus University Rotterdam2, University of Edinburgh3, National University of Ireland, Galway4, University of Bristol5, Murdoch University6, University of Helsinki7, National Institutes of Health8, University Medical Center Groningen9, University of Turin10, Max Planck Society11, University of Tartu12, University of Queensland13, Erasmus University Medical Center14, University of Tampere15, Karolinska Institutet16, French Institute of Health and Medical Research17, Emory University18, Cancer Council Victoria19, University of Melbourne20, University of California, Los Angeles21, Stockholm School of Economics22, University of New South Wales23, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute24, Université Paris-Saclay25, Broad Institute26, University of Turku27, Turku University Hospital28, VU University Medical Center29, Imperial College London30, University of Southern California31
TL;DR: In this paper, the associations between epigenetic modifications and educational attainment (EA), a biologically distal environmental factor that is arguably among the most important life-shaping experiences for individuals, were investigated.
Abstract: The epigenome is associated with biological factors, such as disease status, and environmental factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index. Although there is a widespread perception that environmental influences on the epigenome are pervasive and profound, there has been little evidence to date in humans with respect to environmental factors that are biologically distal. Here we provide evidence on the associations between epigenetic modifications-in our case, CpG methylation-and educational attainment (EA), a biologically distal environmental factor that is arguably among the most important life-shaping experiences for individuals. Specifically, we report the results of an epigenome-wide association study meta-analysis of EA based on data from 27 cohort studies with a total of 10 767 individuals. We find nine CpG probes significantly associated with EA. However, robustness analyses show that all nine probes have previously been found to be associated with smoking. Only two associations remain when we perform a sensitivity analysis in the subset of never-smokers, and these two probes are known to be strongly associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, and thus their association with EA could be due to correlation between EA and maternal smoking. Moreover, the effect sizes of the associations with EA are far smaller than the known associations with the biologically proximal environmental factors alcohol consumption, body mass index, smoking and maternal smoking during pregnancy. Follow-up analyses that combine the effects of many probes also point to small methylation associations with EA that are highly correlated with the combined effects of smoking. If our findings regarding EA can be generalized to other biologically distal environmental factors, then they cast doubt on the hypothesis that such factors have large effects on the epigenome.
TL;DR: This paper uses genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood to estimate the SNP heritability and cross-study genetic correlation of height, BMI, years of education, and self-rated health in three large samples and describes the online Meta-GWAS Accuracy and Power (MetaGAP) calculator which quantifies this attenuation based on a novel multi-study framework.
Abstract: Large-scale genome-wide association results are typically obtained from a fixed-effects meta-analysis of GWAS summary statistics from multiple studies spanning different regions and/or time periods. This approach averages the estimated effects of genetic variants across studies. In case genetic effects are heterogeneous across studies, the statistical power of a GWAS and the predictive accuracy of polygenic scores are attenuated, contributing to the so-called 'missing heritability'. Here, we describe the online Meta-GWAS Accuracy and Power (MetaGAP) calculator (available at www.devlaming.eu) which quantifies this attenuation based on a novel multi-study framework. By means of simulation studies, we show that under a wide range of genetic architectures, the statistical power and predictive accuracy provided by this calculator are accurate. We compare the predictions from the MetaGAP calculator with actual results obtained in the GWAS literature. Specifically, we use genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood to estimate the SNP heritability and cross-study genetic correlation of height, BMI, years of education, and self-rated health in three large samples. These estimates are used as input parameters for the MetaGAP calculator. Results from the calculator suggest that cross-study heterogeneity has led to attenuation of statistical power and predictive accuracy in recent large-scale GWAS efforts on these traits (e.g., for years of education, we estimate a relative loss of 51-62% in the number of genome-wide significant loci and a relative loss in polygenic score R2 of 36-38%). Hence, cross-study heterogeneity contributes to the missing heritability.
TL;DR: There is suggestive evidence that informed beneficiaries are more likely to identify and challenge (mis)behavior by providers and, as a result, turn their focus to issues that they can manage locally.
Abstract: We evaluate the longer run impact of a local accountability intervention in primary health care provision in Uganda. Short-run improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes remained in t ...
TL;DR: This work explores how corporate transparency reduces information asymmetries between firms and capital markets but increases the costs associated with information leakage to competitors.
Abstract: Corporate transparency reduces information asymmetries between firms and capital markets, but increases the costs associated with information leakage to competitors. We evaluate the net effects of a country’s overall information environment by focusing on innovation, an economically important activity characterized by both high information asymmetries and potentially severe proprietary costs. Focusing on cross-country differences in the availability of firm-specific information to corporate outsiders, we find significantly higher rates of R&D investment in richer information environments. The information environment disproportionally affects R&D activity in sectors more reliant on external finance, indicating that transparency facilitates innovation by reducing information costs. We draw similar inferences by studying quasi-experimental shocks to the information environment arising from the first prosecution of insider trading and introduction of transparency-specific securities regulations in the European Union. Our work directly connects an economy’s transparency environment with the innovative activities that drive growth, and highlights unexplored economic consequences of transparency-related security market reforms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored organizational ideology as an important dimension of management control systems (MCS) through a case study of a health centre operating as an NGO. But they did not explore the role of ideology in the implementation of formal MCS.
Abstract: In this study we explore organisational ideology as an important dimension of management control systems (MCS). Through a case study of a health centre operating as an NGO we found that the ability of ‘ideological talk’ to emphasise the organisation's uniqueness and importance gave the manager a powerful instrument of control. Ideological control was also key to explaining the limited resistance to the implementation of financially oriented formal MCS. We contribute by detailing an important, yet still insufficiently explored, part of this implementation process, namely that the formal MCS, through the interplay with the predominant ideological control in place, became vested with symbolic significance. Thus, our findings show that the production of ‘concurrent visibility’ can be sought both through the design of formal MCS (as suggested by Chenhall, Hall, & Smith, 2013) and through the use of ideological control (as in our case). Our results also suggest the need to distinguish between professional and organisational identity when analysing MCS in health care organisations and NGOs.
TL;DR: This paper studied the transformation of petroleum rents, almost universally under direct government control, into hidden wealth using unique data on bank deposits in offshore financial centers that specialize in secrecy and asset protection and found that plausibly exogenous shocks to petroleum income are associated with significant increases in hidden wealth, but only when institutional checks and balances are weak.
Abstract: Do political institutions limit rent seeking by politicians? We study the transformation of petroleum rents, almost universally under direct government control, into hidden wealth using unique data on bank deposits in offshore financial centers that specialize in secrecy and asset protection. Our main finding is that plausibly exogenous shocks to petroleum income are associated with significant increases in hidden wealth, but only when institutional checks and balances are weak. The results suggest that around 15% of the windfall gains accruing to petroleum-producing countries with autocratic rulers is diverted to secret accounts. We find very limited evidence that shocks to other types of income not directly controlled by governments affect hidden wealth.
TL;DR: This study demonstrates a statistically significant reduction in general well-being by a first-choice OC in comparison with placebo in healthy women and found no statistically significant effects on depressive symptoms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the determinants of value and growth investing in a large administrative panel of Swedish residents over the 1999-2007 period were investigated, and strong relationships between a household's portfolio tilt and the household's financial and demographic characteristics were found.
Abstract: This paper investigates the determinants of value and growth investing in a large administrative panel of Swedish residents over the 1999-2007 period. We document strong relationships between a household’s portfolio tilt and the household’s financial and demographic characteristics. Value investors have higher financial and real estate wealth, lower leverage, lower income risk, lower human capital, and are more likely to be female than the average growth investor. Households actively migrate to value stocks over the life-cycle and, at higher frequencies, dynamically offset the passive variations in the value tilt induced by market movements. We verify that these results are not driven by cohort effects, financial sophistication, biases toward popular or professionally close stocks, or unobserved heterogeneity in preferences. We relate these household-level results to some of the leading explanations of the value premium.