For Both Companies and Individuals, Social Media Power Leads to Profit
http://themarketmogul.com/the-power-of-social-media/ The Market Mogul published an article last month about how social media websites are generating large amounts of revenue by allowing companies to pay for advertising space. These ads are a high source of revenue for the companies that use them. Last year, for example, Twitter made $1.4 billion at the end of 2014 despite sluggish growth […]
Is health insurance competition good for consumers?
Relative strength and outside options are key decision makers when it comes to negotiation. In a study posted on the London School of Economics Business Review, two researchers examined the effect of competition in health insurance on hospital prices and premiums. In the study it was found that “when an insurance plan is removed (which […]
Matching Markets Helps to Pair Residents and Hospitals and Students With Schools
SOURCE: http://www.forbes.com/sites/prernasinha/2015/03/24/quantifying-harmony-the-matchmaking-algorithm-that-pairs-residents-with-hospitals-students-with-schools/ In economics, there is such a phenomenon known as the matching theory which essentially describes relationships between two types of things that when matched together are mutually beneficial. An example of this is normal person to person relationships in which one person is matched to another as a spouse, partner, etc. We face […]
Winner’s Curse and Bidding Optimization
https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/the-winners-curse-and-optimal-auction-bidding-strategies/ This article discusses bidding environments and how to develop good strategies in said environments. Examples of items offered at auctions include real estate, mineral rights, construction contracts, and agricultural products. Different types of auctions are then explained, such as the English and Dutch auctions that we analyzed closely in class. One type of auction […]
Auctions for Oscars
When producers strive to make Oscar-worthy films, they essentially join an auction. This is not a first-price or second-price auction, but one in an entirely different category: the all-pay auction. All-pay auctions are common in many scenarios such as running for political office, applying to college, or fighting a war. Before an election, all candidates […]
“Law Running” in RuneScape, circa 2007
Many in our generation will fondly remember a Java-based massive multiplayer online role-playing game named RuneScape, which reached its peak around 2006 when we were in elementary or middle school, and has been recently reaching a second peak, fueled by a reset of its gameplay and graphics to the 2007 version of the game, and […]