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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
11

How incentive contracts and task complexity influence and facilitate long-term performance

Berger, Leslie 10 July 2009 (has links)
The purpose of this study is to investigate how different incentive contracts that include forward-looking and contemporaneous goals motivate managers to make decisions consistent with the organization’s long-term objectives, in tasks of varying complexity. Two research questions are addressed. First, in a long-term horizon setting, how do incentive contracts based on various combinations of forward-looking and contemporaneous measures influence decisions? Second, how does task complexity influence the expected effect of various incentive contracts on management decisions? I address my research questions using a multi-period experiment where I compare the effects of three different incentive structure types and two different levels of task complexity. Results show that in a low complexity task, individuals perform better when only contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded in the incentive contract than when both forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment is rewarded. In a high complexity task, individuals perform better when both contemporaneous and forward-looking goal attainment is rewarded, but only when the contemporaneous goal attainment is weighted more heavily in the incentive contract. My research contributes to the existing literature in two ways. First, this is the first study of which I am aware that compares the performance effects of long-term incentive contracts that reward forward-looking and contemporaneous goal attainment. Second, this study is the first of which I am aware to experimentally test incentive contracts, for employees with a long-term horizon, that incorporate various weightings of forward-looking measures in the contract. In addition, this study will be amongst the first to examine the impact of task complexity on incentive contract effectiveness.
12

Essays on monetary policy and asset prices

Son, Jong Chil 14 January 2010 (has links)
The recent financial and economic turmoil driven by housing market has led the economists to refocus on the issue about monetary policy and asset price, especially housing price. In this dissertation I investigate the various relationships between monetary policy and asset prices in U.S. economy through steady state Bayesian VAR (SS BVAR) and revised Taylor-typed interest rate rule (Forward-looking rule) based on Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology. In chapter II, steady state Bayesian VAR (SS BVAR) methodology is introduced and multi step-ahead forecasts are executed. Upon usual squared error loss methodology the forecasting performances of SS BVAR are evaluated in comparison with standard BVAR and conventional VAR. Equal predictive ability tests following Giacomini and White (2006) verify that the SS BVAR is superior in forecasting power especially in long-horizons. In chapter III, identification issue involving housing sector is explored through two different ways: economic theory-based approach and algorithms of inductive causations. Despite the different approaches the housing sector’s specifications are somewhat similar. Impulse response analyses demonstrate that monetary shock to housing price is relatively smaller, less significant, and less lasting when compared to Choleski identification. Also historical decomposition and conditional forecast analyses indicate that the housing price shock itself is crucial in accounting the sharp increase and sudden drop of housing price since 2003. Upon the estimated evidences I conjecture that there are much uncertainty between monetary policy and housing price, recalling the consideration of institutional factors when trying to accounting housing sectors. In chapter IV, following Dupor and Conley (2004), I explore how Fed responds to stock price and inflation movements differently across high and low inflation sub-periods. Replicated linear estimation results of Dupor and Conley (2004)’s indicate that Fed raises its target interest rate responding to stock price gap with statistical significance. Linear estimation results, however, are not robust to small change of chosen breakpoint especially in inflation coefficient. So I construct nonlinear model as an alternative way to relax this problem and carry out test of structural change with the nonlinear framework. Consequently both nonlinearity and structural change matter in explanation of Fed’s behavior in this type of reaction function analysis. Given structural change, inflation coefficients movement shows that Fed has responded to expected inflation pressure nonlinearly across sub-period, while stock price gap coefficient shows explicit break around early ’90 in line with Dupor and Conley (2004)’s finding.
13

USING FORWARD-LOOKING INFRARED RADIOGRAPHY TO ESTIMATE ELK DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

Dahl, Lauren M. 01 January 2008 (has links)
Elk (Cervus elaphus) in eastern Kentucky appear to have increased in number since reintroduction in 1997, but rugged landscapes and cryptic elk behavior have precluded use of typical population survey methods to accurately estimate population size. In December 2006, I used forward-looking infrared radiography (FLIR) to survey the elk population in eastern Kentucky. Elk locations identified by FLIR were used to create a landscape based model to estimate the density distribution of elk within a 7,088 km2 core area of the elk restoration zone. FLIR detected 76% of elk groups of < 10 individuals and 100% of elk groups of ≥ 10 individuals. The density of elk was positively associated with the amount of herbaceous area, herbaceous edge, herbaceous area weighted mean patch fractal dimensions, proximity to release sites, the number of elk released at each site and urban core area index, and negatively associated with road density. My model estimated the elk population at 7,001 (SE = 772, 95% CI = 5,488- 8,514) individuals within the core area, 53% of which were < 10 km from release sites. The predicted elk distribution pattern and abundance estimate derived from this model will be important for wildlife managers in successfully managing the Kentucky elk population.
14

Inflação e desemprego : ensaios sobre a curva de phillips para a economia brasileira

Oliveira, Luma de January 2017 (has links)
A presente tese, a partir de três ensaios, faz uso de diferentes especificações da curva de Phillips, para discutir distintos objetivos embasados em assuntos relevantes como o processo de determinação de preços e seus custos sociais para a economia brasileira. Neste sentido, o primeiro ensaio utiliza de uma equação de transferência para a especificação da curva de Phillips, a partir do método das variáveis instrumentais, para alcançar a taxa de desemprego não aceleradora da inflação (NAIRU). Este método, para dados trimestrais de 2000 a 2013, possibilitou identificar uma mudança no coeficiente de correlação entre a taxa de desemprego e a taxa de inflação, que passou de um trade-off (negativo) para uma relação positiva, além da permanência da taxa NAIRU acima da taxa de desemprego no período em questão. Preocupando-se com este resultado expressivo, o segundo ensaio se comprometeu em analisar se esse adveio de possíveis não linearidades presentes na curva, preocupação que já havia sido retratada pelo trabalho seminal de Phillips (1958), indicando que a relação da taxa de variação dos salários nominais e a taxa de desemprego seria altamente não linear. Nesse contexto, utilizando o modelo de vetores autorregressivos que considera a não-linearidade dos parâmetros (quebras estruturais), variáveis exógenas de controle (para contornar o problema de omissão de variáveis) para o período de 1995 a 2014, estimou-se a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana Hibrida (CPNKH) para identificar possíveis quebras estruturais para dados da economia brasileira. O modelo estimado foi caracterizado por um MSIH(2)VAR(1) e foi possível confirmar a não linearidade a partir do teste da razão de verossimilhança, com a identificação de dois períodos bem distintos ao longo da amostra. Além disso, foi verificada uma representatividade maior para o termo inercial (Backward Looking) indicando que as expectativas de inflação contribuem menos para a explicação do processo inflacionário recente da economia brasileira. Uma vez que um dos principais objetivos do Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI) é ancorar a formação de preços a partir das expectativas futuras dos agentes econômicos, além disso, dada a não linearidade encontrada para dados da economia brasileira no segundo ensaio, e dada as diferentes significâncias, importâncias e patamares para os componentes da curva que representam as expectativas (futuras e passadas), o terceiro ensaio se comprometeu em, ao invés de confiar exclusivamente em uma única medida de tendência central, analisar os quantis de toda a distribuição condicional da variável resposta (taxa de inflação). Utilizando do método da regressão quantílica inversa, que utiliza os blocos em movimento bootstrap de Fitzenberger (1997), descrito por Chernozhukov e Hansen (2005), para o período de maio de 2001 a agosto de 2016, foi possível identificar a importância adquirida pelas expectativas futuras ao longo dos períodos analisados. Quando se faz estimações considerando somente a média condicional, o termo inercial é maior e significativo para praticamente todas as especificações e modelos apresentados. Utilizando do modelo da regressão quantílica inversa, por outro lado, é possível verificar que o termo Forward Looking ganha força e domina o Backward Looking nos três períodos analisados, em diferentes níveis de inflação, demonstrando, assim, o comportamento assimétrico (não linear) do processo inflacionário. Desta forma, foi possível mostrar o amadurecimento do objetivo do RMI e averiguar que os componentes expectacionais da CPNKH, para dados da economia brasileira, foram capazes de manter sua importância e significância em toda distribuição condicional no processo de determinação de preços recente. / The present dissertation, based on three essays, makes use of different specifications for the Phillips curve, to discuss different objectives based on relevant issues such as the process of price determination and its social costs for the Brazilian economy. In this sense, the first assay uses a transfer equation for the specification of the Phillips curve, using the instrumental variables method, to reach the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). This method, for quarterly data from 2000 to 2013, enable the identification of a change in the coefficient of correlation between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate, which transitioned from a trade-off to a positive relation, in addition to the permanence of the NAIRU above the unemployment rate in the period in question. Concerning with this expressive result, the second essay undertook to analyze whether this resulted from possible non-linearities present in the curve, a concern that had already been portrayed by the seminal work of Phillips (1958), indicating that the relation of the rate of change of wages and the unemployment rate would be highly non-linear. In this context, using the autoregressive vector model that considers the non-linearity of the parameters (structural breaks), exogenous variables of control (to circumvent the problem of omission of variables) for the period from 1995 to 2014, it was estimated the Phillips New-Keynesian Hybrid (CPNKH) to identify possible structural breaks for Brazilian economy data. The estimated model was characterized by a MSIH (2) VAR (1) and it was possible to confirm the nonlinearity from the likelihood ratio test, with the identification of two distinct periods throughout the sample. In addition, it was verified a greater representativeness for the inertial term (Backward Looking), indicating that the expectations of inflation contributed less to the explanation of the recent inflationary process of the Brazilian economy. Since one of the main objectives of the Inflation Targeting Regime (ITR) is to anchor the formation of prices based on the future expectations of the economic agents, in addition, given the non-linearity found for the data of the Brazilian economy in the second essay, and considering the different significance, importance and thresholds for the components of the curve that represent (future and past) expectations, the third assay committed to, instead of relying solely on a single measure of central tendency, analyze the quantiles of the entire conditional distribution of the response variable (inflation rate). Using the reverse quantum regression method, which uses the Fitzenberger (1997) bootstrap blocks, described by Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), for the period from May 2001 to August 2016, it was possible to identify the importance acquired by the expectations over the periods analyzed. When estimating only the conditional average, the inertial term is larger and significant for practically all the specifications and models presented. On the other hand, it is possible to verify the Forward Looking term gaining importance and dominating the Backward Looking in the three analyzed periods, at different levels of inflation, thus, demonstrating the asymmetric (non-linear) behavior of the inflationary process. In this way, it was possible to show the maturity of the objective of the ITR as to verify that the expected components of the CPNKH for the Brazilian economy data were able to maintain its importance and significance in all conditional distribution in the recent pricing process.
15

Inflação e desemprego : ensaios sobre a curva de phillips para a economia brasileira

Oliveira, Luma de January 2017 (has links)
A presente tese, a partir de três ensaios, faz uso de diferentes especificações da curva de Phillips, para discutir distintos objetivos embasados em assuntos relevantes como o processo de determinação de preços e seus custos sociais para a economia brasileira. Neste sentido, o primeiro ensaio utiliza de uma equação de transferência para a especificação da curva de Phillips, a partir do método das variáveis instrumentais, para alcançar a taxa de desemprego não aceleradora da inflação (NAIRU). Este método, para dados trimestrais de 2000 a 2013, possibilitou identificar uma mudança no coeficiente de correlação entre a taxa de desemprego e a taxa de inflação, que passou de um trade-off (negativo) para uma relação positiva, além da permanência da taxa NAIRU acima da taxa de desemprego no período em questão. Preocupando-se com este resultado expressivo, o segundo ensaio se comprometeu em analisar se esse adveio de possíveis não linearidades presentes na curva, preocupação que já havia sido retratada pelo trabalho seminal de Phillips (1958), indicando que a relação da taxa de variação dos salários nominais e a taxa de desemprego seria altamente não linear. Nesse contexto, utilizando o modelo de vetores autorregressivos que considera a não-linearidade dos parâmetros (quebras estruturais), variáveis exógenas de controle (para contornar o problema de omissão de variáveis) para o período de 1995 a 2014, estimou-se a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana Hibrida (CPNKH) para identificar possíveis quebras estruturais para dados da economia brasileira. O modelo estimado foi caracterizado por um MSIH(2)VAR(1) e foi possível confirmar a não linearidade a partir do teste da razão de verossimilhança, com a identificação de dois períodos bem distintos ao longo da amostra. Além disso, foi verificada uma representatividade maior para o termo inercial (Backward Looking) indicando que as expectativas de inflação contribuem menos para a explicação do processo inflacionário recente da economia brasileira. Uma vez que um dos principais objetivos do Regime de Metas de Inflação (RMI) é ancorar a formação de preços a partir das expectativas futuras dos agentes econômicos, além disso, dada a não linearidade encontrada para dados da economia brasileira no segundo ensaio, e dada as diferentes significâncias, importâncias e patamares para os componentes da curva que representam as expectativas (futuras e passadas), o terceiro ensaio se comprometeu em, ao invés de confiar exclusivamente em uma única medida de tendência central, analisar os quantis de toda a distribuição condicional da variável resposta (taxa de inflação). Utilizando do método da regressão quantílica inversa, que utiliza os blocos em movimento bootstrap de Fitzenberger (1997), descrito por Chernozhukov e Hansen (2005), para o período de maio de 2001 a agosto de 2016, foi possível identificar a importância adquirida pelas expectativas futuras ao longo dos períodos analisados. Quando se faz estimações considerando somente a média condicional, o termo inercial é maior e significativo para praticamente todas as especificações e modelos apresentados. Utilizando do modelo da regressão quantílica inversa, por outro lado, é possível verificar que o termo Forward Looking ganha força e domina o Backward Looking nos três períodos analisados, em diferentes níveis de inflação, demonstrando, assim, o comportamento assimétrico (não linear) do processo inflacionário. Desta forma, foi possível mostrar o amadurecimento do objetivo do RMI e averiguar que os componentes expectacionais da CPNKH, para dados da economia brasileira, foram capazes de manter sua importância e significância em toda distribuição condicional no processo de determinação de preços recente. / The present dissertation, based on three essays, makes use of different specifications for the Phillips curve, to discuss different objectives based on relevant issues such as the process of price determination and its social costs for the Brazilian economy. In this sense, the first assay uses a transfer equation for the specification of the Phillips curve, using the instrumental variables method, to reach the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). This method, for quarterly data from 2000 to 2013, enable the identification of a change in the coefficient of correlation between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate, which transitioned from a trade-off to a positive relation, in addition to the permanence of the NAIRU above the unemployment rate in the period in question. Concerning with this expressive result, the second essay undertook to analyze whether this resulted from possible non-linearities present in the curve, a concern that had already been portrayed by the seminal work of Phillips (1958), indicating that the relation of the rate of change of wages and the unemployment rate would be highly non-linear. In this context, using the autoregressive vector model that considers the non-linearity of the parameters (structural breaks), exogenous variables of control (to circumvent the problem of omission of variables) for the period from 1995 to 2014, it was estimated the Phillips New-Keynesian Hybrid (CPNKH) to identify possible structural breaks for Brazilian economy data. The estimated model was characterized by a MSIH (2) VAR (1) and it was possible to confirm the nonlinearity from the likelihood ratio test, with the identification of two distinct periods throughout the sample. In addition, it was verified a greater representativeness for the inertial term (Backward Looking), indicating that the expectations of inflation contributed less to the explanation of the recent inflationary process of the Brazilian economy. Since one of the main objectives of the Inflation Targeting Regime (ITR) is to anchor the formation of prices based on the future expectations of the economic agents, in addition, given the non-linearity found for the data of the Brazilian economy in the second essay, and considering the different significance, importance and thresholds for the components of the curve that represent (future and past) expectations, the third assay committed to, instead of relying solely on a single measure of central tendency, analyze the quantiles of the entire conditional distribution of the response variable (inflation rate). Using the reverse quantum regression method, which uses the Fitzenberger (1997) bootstrap blocks, described by Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), for the period from May 2001 to August 2016, it was possible to identify the importance acquired by the expectations over the periods analyzed. When estimating only the conditional average, the inertial term is larger and significant for practically all the specifications and models presented. On the other hand, it is possible to verify the Forward Looking term gaining importance and dominating the Backward Looking in the three analyzed periods, at different levels of inflation, thus, demonstrating the asymmetric (non-linear) behavior of the inflationary process. In this way, it was possible to show the maturity of the objective of the ITR as to verify that the expected components of the CPNKH for the Brazilian economy data were able to maintain its importance and significance in all conditional distribution in the recent pricing process.
16

How to Rectify Structural Injustice: Power, Raised Consciousness, Norm Disruption

Delva, Rose January 2022 (has links)
Thesis advisor: Micah Lott / How do we rectify structural injustice? Iris Marion Young presents a Social Connection Model that states those who participate in social processes that produce injustice have a forward-looking responsibility to redress the resulting injustice. Within some philosophical discourse, however, there is a general consensus that SCM is not action-guiding and is overly demanding. To supplement Young’s ideas, I explore Robin Zheng’s Role-Ideal Model; Zheng fills some necessary gaps left by Young. My aim in this paper is to use Young's SCM and Zheng's RIM in tandem to create a more action-guiding and ameliorative project for structural injustice. I offer a structurally sensitive account of responsibility for disempowerment that avoids passively repeating domination. I establish a prefatory set of tasks that can be applied to all roles. These tasks are an expansion of the terms mentioned in Zheng Role-Ideal:“raised consciousness” and “boundary pushing.” / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Philosophy.
17

Collision Avoidance Using a Low-Cost Forward-Looking Sonar for Small AUVs

Morency, Christopher Charles 22 March 2024 (has links)
In this dissertation, we seek to improve collision avoidance for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). More specifically, we consider the case of a small AUV using a forward-looking sonar system with a limited number of beams. We describe a high-fidelity sonar model and simulation environment that was developed to aid in the design of the sonar system. The simulator achieves real-time visualization through ray tracing and approximation, and can be used to assess sonar design choices, such as beam pattern and beam location, and to evaluate obstacle detection algorithms. We analyze the benefit of using a few beams instead of a single beam for a low-cost obstacle avoidance sonar for small AUVs. Single-beam systems are small and low-cost, while multi-beam sonar systems are more expensive and complex, often incorporating hundreds of beams. We want to quantify the improvement in obstacle avoidance performance of adding a few beams to a single-beam system. Furthermore, we developed a collision avoidance strategy specifically designed for the novel sonar system. The collision avoidance strategy is based on posterior expected loss, and explicitly couples obstacle detection, collision avoidance, and planning. We demonstrate the strategy with field trials using the 690 AUV, built by the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech, with a prototype forward-looking sonar comprising of nine beams. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation focuses on improving collision avoidance capabilities for small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Specifically, we are looking at the scenario of an AUV equipped with a forward-looking sonar system using only a few beams to detect obstacles in our environment. We develop a sophisticated sonar model and simulation environment to facilitate the design of the sonar system. Our simulator enables real-time visualization, offering insights into sonar design aspects. It also serves as a tool for evaluating obstacle detection algorithms. The research investigates the advantages of utilizing multiple beams compared to a single-beam system for a cost-effective obstacle avoidance solution for small AUVs. Single-beam sonar systems are small and affordable, while multi-beam sonar systems are more complex and expensive. The aim is to quantify the improvement in obstacle avoidance performance when adding additional sonar beams. Additionally, a collision avoidance strategy tailored to the novel sonar system is developed. This strategy, developed using a statistical model, integrates obstacle detection, collision avoidance, and planning. The effectiveness of the strategy is demonstrated through field trials using the 690 AUV, constructed by the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics at Virginia Tech, equipped with a prototype forward-looking sonar using nine beams.
18

Analyse des risques sur un portefeuille de dettes / Risk analysis on a debt portfolio

Kheliouen, Mohamed Reda 12 September 2018 (has links)
Cette thèse de doctorat part du constat qu'un portefeuille de crédit est soumis à plusieurs risques qui proviennent principalement de la qualité de crédit de l'emprunteur et de son comportement de tirage et de pré-paiement sur ses lignes de crédit. Il s'avère que les risques observés sont dynamiques et dépendent de facteurs divers, autant micro que macro-économiques.Nous avons eu la volonté de comprendre l'articulation de ces risques pour avoir une gestion efficace de ceux-ci dans le présent, mais aussi une vision prospective si les conditions économiques changent, cela pour une gestion pro-active. Pour traiter cette problématique, nous avons articulé nos recherches autour de trois axes qui ont abouti à trois chapitres sous forme d'articles.(i) Analyse des changements des notations de crédit en fonction des facteurs de risque.L'utilisation des modèles de migration multi-factoriels nous a permis de reproduire des faits stylisés cités dans la littérature et d'en identifier d'autres. Nous reconstituons aussi le cycle économique entre 2006 et 2014 qui réussit à capter les crises de 2008 et 2012.(ii) Conception d'un modèle de cash-flow qui tient compte de l'évolution des comportements des emprunteurs sous l'influence de leurs environnements micro et macro-économiques.Nous prouvons l'influence de la notation de crédit, du cycle économique, du taux de recouvrement estimé et du taux d'intérêt court terme sur les taux d'utilisation. Ce modèle permet aussi d'obtenir des mesures de risque comme le Cash Flow-at-Risk et le Stressed Cash Flow-at-Risk sur des portefeuilles de crédit grâce à des simulations de Monte Carlo.(iii) Réflexion sur la Disposition-à-Payer (DAP) d'un décideur neutre à l'ambiguïté pour réduire le risque en présence d'incertitude sur les probabilités. Nous montrons que la présence de plusieurs sources d'ambiguïté (possiblement corrélées) change le bien-être d'un décideur averse au risque bien que celui-ci soit neutre à l'ambigüité / This thesis starts from the observation that a credit portfolio is subject to several risks, mainly due to the credit quality of the borrower and his behavior toward his credit lines (drawdown or prepayment). It turns out that the observed risks are dynamic and depend on various factors, both micro and macroeconomic. Our goal in one hand is to understand the articulation of these risks in order to efficiently manage them in the current time, in the other hand, we want to have a forward looking vision of these risks with respect to the changes in the economic conditions in order to have a pro-active management. To address our objectives, we have articulated our research on three axes that have resulted in three chapters in the form of articles.(i) Analysis of changes in the credit ratings with respect to risk factors. The use of factor migration models allowed us to reproduce some stylized facts mentioned in academic literature and to identify some others. We have also estimated the business cycle between2006 and 2014, which manages to capture the crises of 2008 and 2012.(ii) Design of a cash-_ow model that considers the changes in borrowers' behavior under the influence of their micro and macroeconomic environments. We prove the influence of the credit ratings, business cycle, estimated recovery rates and short-term interest rates on the utilization rates of a credit line. This model also provides risk measures such as Cash Flow-at-Risk and Stressed Cash Flow-at-Risk on credit portfolio using Monte Carlo simulations.(iii) Discussion on the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) of an ambiguity neutral decision maker (DM) in order to reduce the risk in presence of ambiguity over probabilities. We show that the introduction of ambiguity through several ambiguity sources modifies the welfare level of all ambiguity-neutral and risk-averse DM when ambiguity and risk interact
19

Dynamic Demand for New and Used Durable Goods without Physical Depreciation

Ishihara, Masakazu 31 August 2011 (has links)
This thesis studies the interaction between new and used durable goods without physical depreciation. In product categories such as CDs/DVDs and video games, the competition from used goods markets has been viewed as a serious problem by producers. These products physically depreciate negligibly, but owners' consumption values could depreciate quickly due to satiation. Consequently, used goods that are almost identical to new goods may become available immediately after a new product release. However, the existence of used goods markets also provides consumers with a selling opportunity. If consumers are forward-looking and account for the future resale value of a product in their buying decision, used goods markets could increase the sales of new goods. Thus, whether used good markets are harmful or beneficial to new-good producers is an empirical question. To tackle this question, I extend the previous literature in three ways. First, I assemble a new data set from the Japanese video game market. This unique data set includes not only the sales and prices of new and used goods, but also the resale value of used copies, the quantity of used copies retailers purchased from consumers, and the inventory level of used copies at retailers. Second, I develop a structural model of forward-looking consumers that incorporates (i) new and used goods buying decisions, (ii) used goods selling decisions, (iii) consumer expectations about future prices of new and used goods as well as resale values of used goods, and (iv) the depreciation of both owners' and potential buyers' consumption values. Third, I develop a new Bayesian estimation method to estimate my model. In particular, my method can alleviate the computational burden of estimating non-stationary discrete choice dynamic programming models with continuous state variables that evolve stochastically over time. The estimation results suggest that consumers are forward-looking in the Japanese video game market and the substitutability between new and used video games is quite low. Using the estimates, I quantify the impact of eliminating the used video game market on new-game revenues. I find that the elimination of used video game market could reduce the revenue for a new game.
20

Dynamic Demand for New and Used Durable Goods without Physical Depreciation

Ishihara, Masakazu 31 August 2011 (has links)
This thesis studies the interaction between new and used durable goods without physical depreciation. In product categories such as CDs/DVDs and video games, the competition from used goods markets has been viewed as a serious problem by producers. These products physically depreciate negligibly, but owners' consumption values could depreciate quickly due to satiation. Consequently, used goods that are almost identical to new goods may become available immediately after a new product release. However, the existence of used goods markets also provides consumers with a selling opportunity. If consumers are forward-looking and account for the future resale value of a product in their buying decision, used goods markets could increase the sales of new goods. Thus, whether used good markets are harmful or beneficial to new-good producers is an empirical question. To tackle this question, I extend the previous literature in three ways. First, I assemble a new data set from the Japanese video game market. This unique data set includes not only the sales and prices of new and used goods, but also the resale value of used copies, the quantity of used copies retailers purchased from consumers, and the inventory level of used copies at retailers. Second, I develop a structural model of forward-looking consumers that incorporates (i) new and used goods buying decisions, (ii) used goods selling decisions, (iii) consumer expectations about future prices of new and used goods as well as resale values of used goods, and (iv) the depreciation of both owners' and potential buyers' consumption values. Third, I develop a new Bayesian estimation method to estimate my model. In particular, my method can alleviate the computational burden of estimating non-stationary discrete choice dynamic programming models with continuous state variables that evolve stochastically over time. The estimation results suggest that consumers are forward-looking in the Japanese video game market and the substitutability between new and used video games is quite low. Using the estimates, I quantify the impact of eliminating the used video game market on new-game revenues. I find that the elimination of used video game market could reduce the revenue for a new game.

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