The Experts below are selected from a list of 180 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Ivan Moscati - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Paul Ormerod - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Text as Data: Real-time Measurement of Economic Welfare
    arXiv: General Economics, 2020
    Co-Authors: Rickard Nyman, Paul Ormerod
    Abstract:

    Economists are showing increasing interest in the use of text as an input to economic research. Here, we analyse online text to construct a real time metric of welfare. For purposes of description, we call it the Feel Good Factor (FGF). The particular example used to illustrate the concept is confined to data from the London area, but the methodology is readily generalisable to other geographical areas. The FGF illustrates the use of online data to create a measure of welfare which is not based, as GDP is, on value added in a market-oriented economy. There is already a large literature which measures wellbeing/happiness. But this relies on conventional survey approaches, and hence on the stated preferences of respondents. In unstructured online media text, users reveal their emotions in ways analogous to the principle of revealed preference in Consumer Demand Theory. The analysis of online media offers further advantages over conventional survey-based measures of sentiment or well-being. It can be carried out in real time rather than with the lags which are involved in survey approaches. In addition, it is very much cheaper.

  • Winter Simulation Conference - Do the attributes of products matter for success in social network markets
    Proceedings Title: Proceedings of the 2012 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), 2012
    Co-Authors: Paul Ormerod, Bassel Tarbush, R. Alexander Bentley
    Abstract:

    In social network markets, the act of Consumer choice is governed not just by the set of incentives described by conventional Consumer Demand Theory, but by the choices of others in which an individuals payoff is an explicit function of the actions of others. We observe two key empirical features of outcomes in such markets. First, a highly right-skewed, non-Gaussian distribution of the number of times competing alternatives are selected at a point in time. Second, there is turnover in the rankings of popularity over time. We show that such outcomes can arise either when there is no alternative which exhibits inherent superiority in its attributes, or when agents find it very difficult to discern any differences in quality amongst the alternatives which are available so that it is as if no superiority exists. These features appear to obtain, as a reasonable approximation, in many social network markets.

  • Social network markets: the influence of network structure when Consumers face decisions over many similar choices
    arXiv: Social and Information Networks, 2012
    Co-Authors: Paul Ormerod, Bassel Tarbush, R. Alexander Bentley
    Abstract:

    In social network markets, the act of Consumer choice in these industries is governed not just by the set of incentives described by conventional Consumer Demand Theory, but by the choices of others in which an individual's payoff is an explicit function of the actions of others. We observe two key empirical features of outcomes in social networked markets. First, a highly right-skewed, non-Gaussian distribution of the number of times competing alternatives are selected at a point in time. Second, there is turnover in the rankings of popularity over time. We show here that such outcomes can arise either when there is no alternative which exhibits inherent superiority in its attributes, or when agents find it very difficult to discern any differences in quality amongst the alternatives which are available so that it is as if no superiority exists. These features appear to obtain, as a reasonable approximation, in many social network markets. We examine the impact of network structure on both the rank-size distribution of choices at a point in time, and on the life spans of the most popular choices. We show that a key influence on outcomes is the extent to which the network follows a hierarchical structure. It is the social network properties of the markets, the meso-level structure, which determine outcomes rather than the objective attributes of the products.

  • Do the attributes of products matter for success in social network markets?
    Proceedings of the 2012 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), 2012
    Co-Authors: Paul Ormerod, Bassel Tarbush, Alexander R. Bentley
    Abstract:

    In social network markets, the act of Consumer choice is governed not just by the set of incentives described by conventional Consumer Demand Theory, but by the choices of others in which an individuals payoff is an explicit function of the actions of others. We observe two key empirical features of outcomes in such markets. First, a highly right-skewed, non-Gaussian distribution of the number of times competing alternatives are selected at a point in time. Second, there is turnover in the rankings of popularity over time. We show that such outcomes can arise either when there is no alternative which exhibits inherent superiority in its attributes, or when agents find it very difficult to discern any differences in quality amongst the alternatives which are available so that it is as if no superiority exists. These features appear to obtain, as a reasonable approximation, in many social network markets.

Stephen T. Higgins - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Applying Behavioral Economics to the Challenge of Reducing Cocaine Abuse
    National Bureau of Economic Research, 1998
    Co-Authors: Stephen T. Higgins
    Abstract:

    This paper focuses on potential contributions of behavioral economics to reducing cocaine abuse. More specifically, this paper underscores the fundamental role of reinforcement in the genesis and maintenance of cocaine use and explores how reinforcement and Consumer-Demand Theory might be translated into effective strategies for reducing cocaine use. A broad range of relevant research findings are discussed, including preclinical studies conducted with laboratory animals, laboratory and treatment-outcome studies conducted with cocaine abusers, and large epidemiological studies conducted with national samples of the U.S. population.

  • Some potential contributions of reinforcement and Consumer-Demand Theory to reducing cocaine use
    Addictive Behaviors, 1996
    Co-Authors: Stephen T. Higgins
    Abstract:

    Cocaine abuse remains a daunting United States public health problem. Recreational cocaine use is decreasing, but regular use indicative of dependence is stable or increasing. Treatment interventions are often characterized by high rates of early attrition and continued drug use and involve only a small proportion of cocaine users. Hence, more effective and expanded strategies for motivating individuals to forgo or reduce cocaine use are needed. This commentary has a two-part purpose: (a) to underscore the fundamental role of reinforcement in the genesis and maintenance of cocaine use and (b) to illustrate how that knowledge in combination with Consumer-Demand Theory might be translated into effective strategies for reducing cocaine use.

Lisa L. Wood - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Willingness to Pay as a Measure of Health Benefits
    PharmacoEconomics, 1999
    Co-Authors: Mohan V. Bala, Josephine A. Mauskopf, Lisa L. Wood
    Abstract:

    In this paper, we discuss the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for evaluating new healthcare interventions, present the theoretical basis for the use of willingness to pay as a method for valuing benefits in a CBA and describe how to obtain willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures of health benefits and how to use these values in a CBA. We review selected economic studies on Consumer Demand and Consumer surplus and studies presenting WTP estimates for healthcare interventions. The theoretical foundations of willingness to pay as a measure of commodity value are rooted in Consumer Demand Theory. The area under the fixed income Consumer Demand curve represents the Consumer’s maximum willingness to pay for the commodity. We identify 3 types of potential benefits from a new healthcare intervention, namely patient benefits, option value and altruistic value, and suggest WTP questions for valuing different combinations of these benefits. We demonstrate how responses to these questions can be adjusted for income effects and incorporated into economic evaluations. We suggest that the lack of popularity of CBAs in the health area is related to the perceived difficulty in valuing health benefits as well as concern over how CBA incorporates the distribution of income. We show that health benefits can be valued using simple survey techniques and that these values can be adjusted to any desired income distribution.

R. Alexander Bentley - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Winter Simulation Conference - Do the attributes of products matter for success in social network markets
    Proceedings Title: Proceedings of the 2012 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), 2012
    Co-Authors: Paul Ormerod, Bassel Tarbush, R. Alexander Bentley
    Abstract:

    In social network markets, the act of Consumer choice is governed not just by the set of incentives described by conventional Consumer Demand Theory, but by the choices of others in which an individuals payoff is an explicit function of the actions of others. We observe two key empirical features of outcomes in such markets. First, a highly right-skewed, non-Gaussian distribution of the number of times competing alternatives are selected at a point in time. Second, there is turnover in the rankings of popularity over time. We show that such outcomes can arise either when there is no alternative which exhibits inherent superiority in its attributes, or when agents find it very difficult to discern any differences in quality amongst the alternatives which are available so that it is as if no superiority exists. These features appear to obtain, as a reasonable approximation, in many social network markets.

  • Social network markets: the influence of network structure when Consumers face decisions over many similar choices
    arXiv: Social and Information Networks, 2012
    Co-Authors: Paul Ormerod, Bassel Tarbush, R. Alexander Bentley
    Abstract:

    In social network markets, the act of Consumer choice in these industries is governed not just by the set of incentives described by conventional Consumer Demand Theory, but by the choices of others in which an individual's payoff is an explicit function of the actions of others. We observe two key empirical features of outcomes in social networked markets. First, a highly right-skewed, non-Gaussian distribution of the number of times competing alternatives are selected at a point in time. Second, there is turnover in the rankings of popularity over time. We show here that such outcomes can arise either when there is no alternative which exhibits inherent superiority in its attributes, or when agents find it very difficult to discern any differences in quality amongst the alternatives which are available so that it is as if no superiority exists. These features appear to obtain, as a reasonable approximation, in many social network markets. We examine the impact of network structure on both the rank-size distribution of choices at a point in time, and on the life spans of the most popular choices. We show that a key influence on outcomes is the extent to which the network follows a hierarchical structure. It is the social network properties of the markets, the meso-level structure, which determine outcomes rather than the objective attributes of the products.