BACKGROUND The study design with the smallest bias for causal inference is a perfect randomized clinical trial. Since this design is often not feasible in epidemiologic studies, an important challenge is to model bias properly and take random and systematic variation properly into account. A value for a target parameter might be said to be "incompatible" with the data (under the model used) if ...

Reinforcement learning tasks are often used to assess participants' tendency to learn more from the positive or more from the negative consequences of one's action. However, this assessment often requires comparison in learning performance across different task conditions, which may differ in the relative salience or discriminability of the stimuli associated with more and less rewarding outcom...

We find clear demographic and ability effects on bidding in common value auctions: inexperienced women are much more susceptible to the winner's curse than men, controlling for SAT/ACT scores and college major, but they catch up quickly; economics and business majors substantially overbid relative to other majors; and those with superior SAT/ACT scores are much less susceptible to the winner's ...

Non-random assignment of students to teachers can bias value added estimates of teachers’ causal effects. Rothstein (2008a, b) shows that typical value added models indicate large counter-factual effects of 5th grade teachers on students’ 4th grade learning, indicating that classroom assignments are far from random. This paper quantifies the resulting biases in estimates of 5th grade teachers’ ...

A number of recent papers in environmental economics have focused on the process of researching preferences – agents are uncertain about preferences but at a cost may narrow their uncertainty. This issue has arisen in formulating bids in contingent valuation as well as the debate over the divergence between WTP and WTA. In the context of contingent valuation, it has been hypothesized that the h...

The bias in the determination of Hubble parameter and constant modern Universe is discussed. It could appear due to statistical processing data on redshifts galaxies estimated distances based some relations with limited accuracy. This causes a number effects leading either underestimation or overestimation when using any methods processing, primarily least squares method (LSM). value underestim...

the water framework directive (wfd) is a far-reaching piece of european communitylegislation. estimates of the benefits of wfd programs are needed at the present time for two reasons. first,the wfd itself allows for derogations from the general requirement of member states to reach good ecological status in all water bodies by 2015 in cases where the costs of doing so can be shown to be disprop...

the water framework directive (wfd) is a far-reaching piece of european communitylegislation. estimates of the benefits of wfd programs are needed at the present time for two reasons. first,the wfd itself allows for derogations from the general requirement of member states to reach good ecological status in all water bodies by 2015 in cases where the costs of doing so can be shown to be disprop...

We demonstrated that a self–other attributional bias impedes interracial friendship development. Whites were given the opportunity to become friends with a White or Black participant. Whites indicated how interested they were in becoming friends and how concerned they were about being rejected as a friend. They also indicated how interested they thought the other person was in becoming friends ...