Stockholm School of Economics

About: Stockholm School of Economics is a education organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cost effectiveness. The organization has 1186 authors who have published 4891 publications receiving 285543 citations. The organization is also known as: Stockholm Business School & Handelshögskolan i Stockholm.

Markets with Asymmetric Information: The Contributions of George Akerlof, Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz

Abstract: For more than two decades, research on incentives and market equilibrium in situations with asymmetric information has been a prolific part of economic theory. In 1996, the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel recognized James Mirrlees and William Vickrey's fundamental contributions to the theory of incentives under asymmetric information, in particular their applications to the design of optimal income taxation and resource allocation through different types of auctions. The modem theory of markets with asymmetric information rests firmly on the work of this year's prizewinners: George Akerlof (University of California, Berkeley), Michael Spence (Stanford University) and Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University). This work has indeed transformed the way economists think about the functioning of markets. Analytical methods suggested by Akerlof,

Relationship between quality of life instruments, health state utilities, and willingness to pay in patients with asthma

Abstract: Background In asthma, a substantial impact of disease is on quality of life rather than survival. To date, the quality of life effects of asthma have not been quantitated. Objective The purpose of this study was to quantitate the quality of life effects of asthma via measurement of the health utility of asthmatic patients, and the willingness to pay for an asthma cure. A second goal was to analyze how these measures are related to the different dimensions of quality of life as measured by general and disease specific quality of life instruments. Methods Health utilities were measured on a scale between 0 and 1 using the rating scale, time trade off, and standard gamble methods. Willingness to pay was elicited using both the dichotomous choice and the bidding game approach. Quality of life was assessed using both a generic instrument (the SF-36) and a disease-specific instrument (the Asthma TyPE). Results Sixty-nine patients with asthma were surveyed. The mean health utility was 0.68 with the rating scale method, 0.89 with the time trade off, and 0.91 with the standard gamble. On average, patients were willing to pay between $200 to $350 dollars more per month for an asthma cure. Nearly all correlations between dimensions of quality of life, health state utilities, and willingness to pay were in the expected direction. Conclusion The two quality of life instruments performed about equally well in terms of being correlated with and being able to explain the responses to the health state utility questions and the willingness to pay questions. Correlations between the dimensions of the Asthma TyPE and the SF-36 were also fairly high. Further work should focus on validating and refining the different methods of quantitating quality of life for asthma patients.

The configuration of actors in market practice

Abstract: This paper addresses three conceptual challenges concerning actors and agency that arise when taking interest in market practice: i) how agency is awarded in practical situations, ii) how actors are preconfigured, and iii) how actors are represented. These issues are explored in three empirical scenes taken from a case study of the introduction of an e-procurement system at an international transport and logistics company. First, we suggest that practical interaction can be fruitfully regarded as a process of interdefinition involving prescriptions and subscriptions between acting entities, or actants . Second, we employ the term inscription to address efforts to affect in advance the configuration of such actants. Third, we suggest that actors are entities to which actions are ascribed, ex post. Through this secondary process a number of actants may be subsumed under a common actor label, thus offering a way of accounting for agency as part of a practice perspective. We conclude by discussing implication...

Chapter 24 CGE Modeling of Environmental Policy and Resource Management

Abstract: Computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling is an attempt to use general equilibrium theory as a tool for analysis of resource allocation and income distribution issues in market economies. Since the beginning of the 1990s, CGE modeling has been widely used for analysis of environmental policy and natural resource management issues. The purpose of this chapter is to review this branch of CGE modeling. Most existing CGE models are static, but as faster computers and more efficient software have become available, an increasing number of environmental CGE models are dynamic. In addition to the static–dynamic dimension, it is useful to distinguish between single-country, multi-country and global models. Some environmental CGE models are primarily focused on the external effects of production and consumption, while others are designed to elucidate various issues related to the management of natural resources. However, most existing CGE models are focused on externalities, primarily emissions of greenhouse gases. Global “externality” CGE models have been used to estimate the social cost of complying with the Kyoto Protocol, while single-country models, among many other things, have been used for evaluation of the efficiency of emission taxes and other environmental policy instruments. CGE modeling currently is both a field for specialists and an almost standard part of the toolbox of economists concerned with policy-oriented research. A major reason for the widespread use of CGE modeling probably is that a CGE model is an ideal bridge between economic theory and applied policy research. The “bridge” perspective, however, suggests that CGE modeling is a way of using rather than testing economic theory. Yet carefully designed and estimated CGE models have a lot to say about real world economies.