Seminars

Anna Carbone
Professor
Università della Tuscia

The Supply Chain for a Product with Geographical Indication: the role for Coordination and Collective Action

Marcelo Caffera
Professor
Universidad de Montevideo

On the possibility of a cost-effective choice of noncompliance by environmental regulators: experimental evidence

Juan Camilo Cárdenas
Professor
Universidad de los Andes

Cooperation, Adaptation and the Emerging of Social Norms in Common-Pool Resources: Theory, Simulations and Field Experiments

Juan Camilo Cardenas and Cesar Mantilla
(Universidad de los Andes)

Common-pool resources around the world continue to show their relevance in the livelihoods of rural households. The continued survival of many of these local ecosystems, but the depletion of several others, challenge the work of scholars who continue the task of explaining how rational individuals in groups sometimes fall into the tragedy of the commons, and in some other cases they are capable of building the necessary collective action to succeed. In this paper we explore field-lab experiments data collected from 865 villagers from several contexts and types of ecosystems in 8 different villages. As in the field, we observe that many groups achieve sustainable levels of cooperative use of the common-pool resources while others fall in the tragedy. A model of a homo-economicus can explain only a small fraction of the data. Reciprocity and disutility from behaving out of the norm seem to provide a better explanation if introduced in the model of rationality. We take these models one step further and into an evolutionary framework to explain how humans adapt their strategy to the actions of others in the group as well as to the state of the ecosystem. We propose a model that introduces “being out of norm” aversion and hence, the existence of a socially accepted level of extraction. We simulate the dynamics of the model to confirm the existence of an interior equilibrium. Finally, we calibrate our model with field experimental data.

Jeremy Clark
Associate Professor
University of Canterbury

Socio-economic Diversity, Social Capital, and Tax Filing Compliance in the United States* James Alm, Jeremy Clark, Kara Leibel

Abstract: In this paper we present a rare empirical study of the determinants of tax filing compliance in the United States. We use county level data for the tax year 2000 and a panel of county and state level data for the tax years 2000 to 2006. We include explanatory variables identified in the rational compliance framework, including an enforcement index against identified non-filers, the audit rate of filers, and the average penalty rate for both filers and non-filers. We also examine the role of social capital on tax compliance. In particular, we test whether heterogeneity in household income, language, race, or religion can explain variation in filing rates. We find that non-filing rates tend to fall in the enforcement index in 2000 cross section analysis, but instead rise in the audit rate of filers in panel analysis. Non-filing rates also fall in the share of a county’s population that is married or residentially stable, and rise in the share of county income from self-employment or public assistance and in the share of owner-occupied housing. Regarding social capital, non-filing looks to be increasing in heterogeneity by race, though not income or language. Non-filing may also be decreasing in heterogeneity by religious membership, though we have only cross-section evidence.

Jens Schubert
Ph. D Candidate
University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Less is More with Forward Trading: Experimental Evidence >>pdf

Sven Anders
Associate Professor
University of Alberta, Edmonton

Price Rigidity in Vertically Differentiated Food Product Categories with Private Labels

Despite the continuous vertical differentiation of retail private labels its impact on price rigidity has received limited attention to date. Moreover, scarcely available data on wholesale prices paid by retailers has left economist guessing to what extent the pass-through of input price variations contributes to price rigidity and whether private labels differ from manufacturer brands. This paper contributes to filling this gap in the literature. Two case studies of are used to analyze price rigidity and its contributing factors using a rich set of proprietary weekly scanner data including wholesale prices at the UPC level for a major chain present in the US and Canada. Our results reveal more rigid retail prices for private label products, and especially for premium private labels. Fluctuations in wholesale prices only play a minor role in explaining sticky prices. The results further indicate the presence of distinct forms of retailer-manufacturer contractual arrangements, which could be attributed to increasing retailer bargaining power given growing category shares for differentiated private label products.

Sara Elisa Kettner
Alfred-Weber-Institiut for Economics
Heidelberg University, Germany

Climate Change Mitigation in Aging Societies: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment >>pdf

Tim Cason
Distinguished Professor and Robert and Susan Gadomski Chair in Economics at  Purdue University. He is also Director of the Vernon Smith Experimental Economics Laboratory and Past President of the Economic Science Association (the international association of experimental economists).

Empowering Neighbors versus Imposing Regulations: An Experimental Analysis of Pollution Reduction Schemes >>pdf

Rui Huang
Assistant Professor
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University of Connecticut

Product Reformulation and Advertising Abeyance: An Assessment of Voluntary Marketing Initiatives Aimed at Reducing Childhood Obesity >>pdf

(This is a joint seminar with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering)

Kenneth Gillingham
Assistant Professor of Environmental & Energy Economics
Yale University, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies

How Do Consumers Respond to Gasoline Price Shocks? Heterogeneity in Vehicle Choice and Driving Behavior >>pdf

Yoshi Saijo
Osaka University, Japan

Toward Solving Social Dilemma: The Approval Mechanism Approach >>pdf