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The Structure of Economics: A Mathematical Analysis
01 Jan 1978-
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of comparative statistics and the Paradigm of economics and compare it with the traditional methodology of the classical methodology, including the Envelope Theorem and duality.
Abstract: 1. Comparative Statics and the Paradigm of Economics 2. Review of Calculus (One Variable) 3. Functions of Several Variables 4. Profit Maximization 5. Matrices and Determinants 6. Comparative Statics: The Traditional Methodology 7. The Envelope Theorem and Duality 8. The Derivation of Cost functions 9. Cost and Production Functions: Special Topics 10. The Derivation of Consumer Demand Functions 11. Special topics in Consumer Theory 12. Intertemporal Choice 13. Behavior under Uncertainty 14. Maximization with Inequality and Nonnegativity Constraints 15. Contracts and Incentives* 16. Markets with Imperfect Information* 17. General Equilibrium I: Linear Models 18. General Equilibrium II: Nonlinear Models 19. Welfare Economics 20. Resource Allocation over Time: Optimal Control theory *New Chapter
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TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of multi-agent system models of land-use/cover change (MAS/LUCC) is presented, which combine a cellular landscape model with agent-based representations of decisionmaking, integrating the two components through specification of interdependencies and feedbacks between agents and their environment.
Abstract: This paper presents an overview of multi-agent system models of land-use/cover change (MAS/LUCC models). This special class of LUCC models combines a cellular landscape model with agent-based representations of decisionmaking, integrating the two components through specification of interdependencies and feedbacks between agents and their environment. The authors review alternative LUCC modeling techniques and discuss the ways in which MAS/LUCC models may overcome some important limitations of existing techniques. We briefly review ongoing MAS/LUCC modeling efforts in four research areas. We discuss the potential strengths of MAS/LUCC models and suggest that these strengths guide researchers in assessing the appropriate choice of model for their particular research question. We find that MAS/LUCC models are particularly well suited for representing complex spatial interactions under heterogeneous conditions and for modeling decentralized, autonomous decision making. We discuss a range of possible roles for MAS/LUCC models, from abstract models designed to derive stylized hypotheses to empirically detailed simulation models appropriate for scenario and policy analysis. We also discuss the challenge of validation and verification for MAS/LUCC models. Finally, we outline important challenges and open research questions in this new field. We conclude that, while significant challenges exist, these models offer a promising new tool for researchers whose goal is to create fine-scale models of LUCC phenomena that focus on human-environment interactions.
1,779 citations
TL;DR: The authors proposed an alternative Rational Actor (RA) model from which are derived three propositions: (1) an increase in a government's repression of nonviolence will reduce the nonviolent activities of an opposition group but increase its violent activities; (2) Consistent government accommodative and repressive policies reduce dissent; inconsistent policies increase dissent.
Abstract: Aggregate data studies of domestic political conflict have used an Action-Reaction (AR) model that has produced contradictory findings about the repression/dissent nexus: Repression by regimes may either increase or decrease dissent by opposition groups. To clarify these findings I propose an alternative Rational Actor (RA) model from which are derived three propositions. (1) An increase in a government's repression of nonviolence will reduce the nonviolent activities of an opposition group but increase its violent activities. (2) The balance of effects, that is, whether an increase in the regime's repression increases or decreases the opposition group's total dissident activities, depends upon the government's accommodative policy to the group. (3) Consistent government accommodative and repressive policies reduce dissent; inconsistent policies increase dissent. The RA model thus accounts for the contradictory findings produced by the AR-based aggregate data studies of repression and dissent.
689 citations
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: This paper reviews this increasingly important literature on nutritional labeling and addresses some specific issues regarding the determinants of label use, the debate on mandatory labeling, the label formats preferred by consumers, and the effect of nutrition label use on purchase and dietary behavior.
Abstract: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Diet-related health problems have increased dramatically over the last few years. Consequently, nutritional labeling has emerged as an important aspect of consumers' food purchase decisions. Nutritional content in food products is considered to be a credence attribute. However, if trustworthy nutritional labels are available, nutritional labels could function as a search characteristic. The regulatory environment in some countries (e.g. USA, Australia etc.) has long recognized the potential of standardized on-pack nutrition information and has mandated the presence of nutritional labels on all processed food products. Others, like the EU, are contemplating similar mandatory nutritional labeling regulations. The nutritional labeling literature has grown significantly in recent years. Our paper reviews this increasingly important literature and addresses some specific issues regarding the determinants of label use, the debate on mandatory labeling, the label formats preferred by consumers, and the effect of nutrition label use on purchase and dietary behavior. Determinants of nutritional label use There has been no consistency in the results of studies conducted regarding the determinants of label use. For example, there has been no consensus on the effect of age, income, or working status on nutritional label use. However, education and gender (i.e., being female) have been found to positively affect label use. In addition, people with more available time for grocery shopping have been found to be more likely to be classified as label users. It also appears that consumers who are more concerned about nutrition and health are more likely to use nutritional labels. Consequently, consumers on a special diet, organic buyers, and those aware of the diet-disease relation are more likely to search for on-pack nutrition information than others. Type of household also has an effect on label use. Specifically, smaller households and households with young children are more likely to engage in nutrition information search behaviors. In addition, households in non-city or rural areas are more likely to use nutritional labels. Grocery shoppers but not meal planners are also more likely to engage in nutrition information search. Our review of the literature also suggests that consumers who attach importance to price usually are less likely to use labels but those who attach importance to nutrition are, as expected, more likely to search for nutritional information. Finally many studies have found that nutrition knowledge has a significant impact on nutritional label use. Mandatory vs. voluntary labeling From a firm's point of view, provision of nutritional information on food packages is desirable if it can generate more revenues. In the context of effective private quality signalling, government regulation would be unnecessary if higher quality products had nutritional information on their packages and those with lower quality did not. However, if sellers cannot signal quality effectively, the market may disappear completely or only the lowest quality products may be sold. Mandatory labeling is called to fill the void of information provision mainly by correcting asymmetric information or by correcting externality problems. However, prescriptions such as "more information is always better" may not be an optimal policy for nutrition labeling. One cannot therefore unambiguously state that the benefits of new nutrition labeling rules will be greater than the costs, although there is some reason to believe that benefits may be greater than the costs. The U.S.' Nutritional Labeling and Educational Act (NLEA) that went into effect in 1994 can serve as a good reference point for mandatory labeling. Some authors have found no significant change in the average nutritional quality of food products offered for sale by manufacturers and retailers after the implementation of the NLEA, thus suggesting that the benefits from information provision might be more limited than previously thought. …
414 citations
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this article, a stochastic efficiency decomposition method was used to derive technical, allocative and economic efficiency measures separately for cotton and cassava in Eastern Paraguay, with an average economic efficiency of 40.1% for cotton, and 52.3% for cassava.
Abstract: This paper contributes to the productivity literature in developing country agriculture by quantifying the level of efficiency for a sample of peasant farmers from Eastern Paraguay. A stochastic efficiency decomposition methodol ogy is used to derive technical, allocative and economic efficiency measures separately for cotton and cassava. An average economic efficiency of 40.1% for cotton and of 52.3% for cassava is found, which suggests considerable room for productivity gains for the farms in the sample through better use of available resources given the state of technology. Gains in output through productivity growth have become increasingly important to Paraguay as the opportunities to bring additional virgin lands into cultivation have significantly diminished in recent years. No clear strategy to improve farm productivity could be gleaned from an examination of the relationship between efficiency and various socioeconomic variables. One possible explanation for this finding is the existence of a stage of development threshold below which there is no consistent relationship between socioeconomic variables and productivity. If this is the case, then our results suggest that this sample of Paraguayan peasants are yet to reach such a threshold. Hence, improvements in educational and extension services, for example, would be needed to go beyond this threshold. Once this is accomplished, additional productivity gains would be obtained by further investments in human capital and related factors.
317 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines how preferences evolve and change over time and the implications of this for developing policies that meet the three rank ordered goals of ecological sustainability, fair distribution, and allocative efficiency in democratic societies.
307 citations