In this paper we report magnetic field models and basic physical parameters for the slowly rotating Ap/Bp stars HD 12288 and HD 14437. Using new and previously published mean longitudinal magnetic field, mean magnetic field modulus, and hipparcos photometric measurements, we have inferred the rotational periods of both stars (HD 12288: Prot = 34. d9 ± 0. d2; HD 14437: Prot = 26. d87 ± 0. d02). ...

It is the charge of economic history not only to explain the economic past, but to use it to enrich and develop economic theory (North, 1994). In paleoeconomics, theory plays the additional role of adding veracity of accounts based on sparse evidence through the demonstration of internal consistency. We synthesize pre-historical and historical evidence available from the settlement and moderniz...

We run a regression discontinuity design analysis to document the causal effect of increasing buyers’ discretion on procurement outcomes in a large database for public works in Italy. Works with a value above a given threshold have to be awarded through an open auction. Works below this threshold can be more easily awarded through a restricted auction, where the buyer has some discretion in ter...

We build a model where introspection matters – i.e., people rationally form expectations about others using the lens of their own attitudes. Since trustworthy individuals are more “optimistic” about people than opportunists, they are less afraid to engage in market-based exchanges, where they may be vulnerable to opportunistic behavior. Within this context, we use an indirect evolutionary appro...

We study a model of institutions that evolve through con ict. We nd that one of three con gurations can emerge: an extractive hegemony, a balance of power between extractive societies or a balance of power between inclusive societies. As extractive societies are assumed to have an advantage in head to head confrontations we refer to the latter possibility as the survival of the weakest. Our con...

Originally, behavioral law and economics was an exercise in exploring the implications of key findings from behavioral economics (and psychology) for the analysis and reform of legal institutions. Yet as the new discipline matures, it increasingly replaces foreign evidence by fresh evidence, directly targeted to the legal research question. This chapter surveys the key methods: field evidence, ...

Do the contests with the largest prizes attract the most able contestants? To what extent do contestants avoid competition? In this paper, we show, theoretically and empirically, that the distribution of abilities plays a crucial role in determining contest choice. Sorting exists only when the proportion of high-ability contestants is sufficiently small. As this proportion increases, contestant...

This paper examines repeated implementation of a social choice function (SCF) with infinitely-lived agents whose preferences are determined randomly in each period. An SCF is repeated-implementable in Nash equilibrium if there exists a sequence of (possibly history-dependent) mechanisms such that (i) its Nash equilibrium set is non-empty and (ii) every Nash equilibrium outcome corresponds to th...

In games with multiple, Pareto-rankable equilibria and repeated play, does a history of playing an inefficient equilibrium make it harder for the players to reach the efficient equilibrium? In other words, can people ‘get stuck’ in bad equilibria? Using variants of the stag hunt, previous studies have found support for this, but they have relied on naturally occurring variation in precedent. I ...

One of the most robust phenomena in the experimental literature on multilateral bargaining is the failure of proposers to extract equilibrium rents. However, all previous experiments have overlooked the fact that outside the lab committee members are allowed to and do engage in sometimes intense communication processes prior to voting on a proposal. We conduct an experimental test of the Baron-...