Dezon Finch and Donald J. Berndt
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of research in prediction markets by using trading data as a means of characterizing trader behavior in these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of research in prediction markets by using trading data as a means of characterizing trader behavior in these markets. Traders are placed in homogenous groups based on common Trading habits using clustering algorithms. Several behavioral themes are used to guide the analyses.
Design/methodology/approach
Several market experiments were run to collect trading data, which was then exported into a data warehouse. A secondary data analysis is performed on variables derived from the original trade data. In particular, k‐means clustering is used to form groups of traders that share common characteristics.
Findings
Participants can be classified into homogenous groups based on their trading behavior. Groups tend to differ based on the overall level of participation, how much of their trading activity is spent buying or selling, and how early they enter the market.
Research limitations/implications
More research should be done using a variety of variables to further determine the impact of various types of trader behavior on prediction markets.
Practical implications
Using insights gained from work like this, the design of prediction markets can be fine tuned to encourage behavior that contributes to trader participation and the overall accuracy of the market predictions.
Originality/value
Little research has been done to evaluate the impact of trader behavior on the accuracy of prediction markets. The authors used a new prediction market implementation to collect detailed trading data. This data was then used to derive higher level trading attributes that can he used to characterize traders. The k‐means clustering algorithm was shown to be an effective means of defining groups of traders who share common market behaviors.
Details
Keywords
Cross‐cultural studies show that most, but not all, human societies engage in warfare. Some non‐warring societies cluster as peace systems. The existence of peace systems, and…
Abstract
Cross‐cultural studies show that most, but not all, human societies engage in warfare. Some non‐warring societies cluster as peace systems. The existence of peace systems, and non‐warring societies more generally, shows that warfare is not an inevitable feature of human social life. This article considers three peace systems in some detail: Brazil's Upper Xingu River basin tribes, Aboriginal Australians, and the European Union. A primary goal is to explore features that contribute to peace in each of the three non‐warring systems. What do these peace systems suggest about how to prevent war? Provisionally, key elements would seem to be the promotion of interdependence among the units of the peace system, creation of cross‐cutting links among them, the existence of conflict resolution procedures, and belief systems (including attitudes and values) that are anti‐war and pro‐peace.
Details
Keywords
Rosemary J. Avery, Donald Kenkel, Dean R. Lillard, Alan Mathios and Hua Wang
Health information drives crucial consumer health decisions and plays a central role in healthcare markets. Consumers who are better-informed about smoking, diet, and physical…
Abstract
Health information drives crucial consumer health decisions and plays a central role in healthcare markets. Consumers who are better-informed about smoking, diet, and physical activity make healthier choices outside the healthcare sector (Kenkel, 1991; Ippolito & Mathios, 1990, 1995; Meara, 2001). Better-informed consumers also interact differently with physicians and other healthcare providers (e.g., Cutler, Landrum, & Stewart, 2006). In addition to the immediate consequences for individual consumers, health economists have long recognized that information also has broader implications for principal–agent relationships and the functioning of healthcare markets.1 More recent lines of research in health economics and medical sociology emphasize the potential role of consumer information in explaining health disparities associated with socioeconomic status (Deaton, 2002; Goldman & Lakdawalla, 2001; Glied & Lleras-Muney, 2003; Link & Phelan, 1995). Both health economists and medical sociologists stress that because of disparities in consumer information, rapid medical progress tends to be accompanied by increased disparities in medical treatment and health outcomes.
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The Asian crisis, which exploded in Thailand in July 1997 initially, spilled to the other ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines) and later it spreads to Korea and…
Abstract
The Asian crisis, which exploded in Thailand in July 1997 initially, spilled to the other ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines) and later it spreads to Korea and even crossing the continent to Russia and Brazil. The chronological pattern seems to indicate the contagious behaviour of the crisis. However, the sequential economic down‐turns that occurred in the Asia Pacific do look like a contagion effect. The idea that currency speculators contributed to the depth of the crisis is agreeable but to conclude that they are the roots of the problem would be misleading. This paper argued that the roots of the problems lie in current account deficit and loss of competitiveness, and moral hazard and over‐investment This paper also argued that the currency crisis is a symptom and not the cause of the Asian crisis.
Thomas A. Wright and Russell Cropanzano
For decades, since at least the famous Hawthorne studies, the happy/productive worker thesis has forcefully captured the imagination of management scholars and human resource…
Abstract
For decades, since at least the famous Hawthorne studies, the happy/productive worker thesis has forcefully captured the imagination of management scholars and human resource professionals alike. According to this “Holy Grail” of management research, workers who are happy on the job will have higher job performance, and possibly higher job retention, than those who are less happy. But what is happiness? Most typically, happiness has been measured in the management sciences as jobsatisfaction. This viewpoint is unnecessarily limiting. Building upon alittle remembered body of research from the 1920s, we suggest a twofold, expanded view of this thesis. First, we suggest the consideration of worker happiness as psychological well-being (PWB). Second, incorporating Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build model ofpositive emotions as the theoretical base, we suggest that the job satisfaction to job performance and job satisfaction to employee retentionrelationships may be better explained by controlling for the moderating effect of PWB. Future research directions for human resource professionals are introduced.
Thomas Kopp and Bernhard Brümmer
While traders of agricultural products are known to often exercise market power, this power has rarely been quantified for developing countries. The paper aims to discuss this…
Abstract
Purpose
While traders of agricultural products are known to often exercise market power, this power has rarely been quantified for developing countries. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to derive a measure, the authors estimate the traders’ revenue functions and calculate the marginal value products directly from them. The authors subsequently find the determinants affecting their individual market power.
Findings
Results show that market power at the traders’ level exists and is substantial. This market power is amplified in situations of extreme remoteness, and weakens with increasing market size.
Originality/value
An exceptional data set with detailed information on the business practices of rubber traders in Jambi, Indonesia is employed with an innovative methodology to directly estimate revenue functions.