Saturday, January 5, 2019

Market design at the ASSA on Saturday

I'll attend as many of these as I can today.
A choice of three at 8am:

Advances in Dynamic Mechanism Design


Paper Session

 Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019   8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International 2
Hosted By: AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
  • Chair: Vasiliki SkretaUniversity of Texas-Austin, University College London, and CEPR

Social Insurance, Information Revelation, and Lack of Commitment

Mikhail Golosov
,
University of Chicago
Luigi Iovino
,
Bocconi University and IGIER
Discussant(s)
Juan Ortner
,
Boston University
Rahul Deb
,
University of Toronto
Christopher Sleet
,
Carnegie Mellon University
Xianwen Shi
,
University of Toronto
*********

Practical Considerations in Deploying Matching Mechanisms


Paper Session

 Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019   8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International 9
Hosted By: AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
  • Chair: Alex Rees-JonesUniversity of Pennsylvania

Reducing Congestion in Matching Markets Using Informative Signals

Itai Ashlagi
,
Stanford University
Mark Braverman
,
Princeton University
Yash Kanoria
,
Columbia University
Peng Shi
,
University of Southern California

Obvious Mistakes in a Strategically Simple College Admissions Environment: Causes and Consequences

Ran Shorrer
Pennsylvania State University
Sandor Sovago
,
Vrije University Amsterdam

****************

Auctions & Mechanism Design

Paper Session

 Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019   8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, L503
Hosted By: ECONOMETRIC SOCIETY
  • Chair: Scott Duke KominersHarvard University

Auctions with Entry Versus Entry in Auctions

Jiafeng Chen
Harvard University
Scott Duke Kominers
Harvard University
Discussant(s)
Xianwen Shi
University of Toronto
Rahul Deb
University of Toronto
Luciano de Castro
University of Iowa
Benjamin Brooks
University of Chicago
***************
Here's one that combines market design with repugnance:

Sex, Drugs, Kidneys and Migrants: Economic Analyses of Contested Transactions

Paper Session

 Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019   10:15 AM - 12:15 PM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International 5
Hosted By: AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
  • Chair: Nicola LaceteraUniversity of Toronto

Paying for Kidneys? A Randomized Survey and Choice Experiment

Mario Macis
Johns Hopkins University
Julio Elias
University of CEMA
Nicola Lacetera
University of Toronto

Federalism, Partial Prohibition, and Cross Border Sales: Evidence from Recreational Marijuana

Benjamin Hansen
University of Oregon
Keaton Miller
University of Oregon
Caroline Weber
University of Oregon

Crimes against Morality: Unintended Consequences of Criminalizing Sex Work

Manisha Shah
University of California-Los Angeles
Lisa Cameron
University of Melbourne
Jennifer Muz
George Washington University

Craigslist’s Effect on Violence Against Women

Scott Cunningham
Baylor University
Gregory DeAngelo
West Virginia University
John Tripp
Baylor University
Discussant(s)
Matthew Weinzierl
Harvard University
Stefanie Stantcheva
Harvard University
Jennifer Doleac
Texas A&M University
Nicola Lacetera
University of Toronto
***********

New Advances in Matching with Contracts

Paper Session

 Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019   2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International 10
Hosted By: AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
  • Chair: Larry SamuelsonYale University

Chain Stability in Trading Networks

John William Hatfield
University of Texas-Austin
Scott Duke Kominers
Harvard Business School
Alexandru Nichifor
University of Melbourne
Michael Ostrovsky
Stanford University
Alexander Westkamp
University of Cologne

Trading Networks with Frictions

Tamás Fleiner
,
Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Eötvös Loránd University
Ravi Jagadeesan
Harvard University
Zsuzsanna Jankó
Corvinus University
Alexander Teytelboym
University of Oxford

Carpooling and the Economics of Self-Driving Cars

Michael Ostrovsky
Stanford University
Michael Schwarz
Microsoft
Discussant(s)
Scott Duke Kominers
Harvard Business School
Ravi Jagadeesan
Harvard University
Larry Samuelson
Yale University
Edward L. Glaeser
Harvard University
********

 

Friday, January 4, 2019

The history of economic engineering, and other sessions at the ASSA today that I'll attend or wish I could

At the ASSA meetings this morning, I'll be discussing a session called

Economics and Engineering: Institutions, Practices and Cultures

Paper Session

 Friday, Jan. 4, 2019   8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

 Hilton Atlanta, 405
Hosted By: HISTORY OF ECONOMICS SOCIETY
·       Chair: Pedro Garcia DuarteUniversity of São Paulo

 

Engineering, Management Science, and American Economics, 1900 – 1940



Engineering and Economics at Stanford, 1950-1990

Beatrice Cherrier
,
University of Cergy-Pontoise and CNRS
Aurélien Saïdi
,
Paris Nanterre University and ESCP Europe

German Fears in Economic Engineering: An Affective Criticism

Till Duppe
,
University of Québec-Montréal





Discussant(s)
Alvin Roth
*****************
I can't yet be sure what I'll say, but in my discussion of engineering and economics at Stanford I'll surely show a photo or two of Bob Wilson, maybe this old one:
Bob Wilson and Al Roth, Stanford IMSSS, 197x
*************

Later in the day (after some job-market interviewing) I plan to attend the

AEA/AFA Joint Luncheon



 Friday, Jan. 4, 2019   12:30 PM - 2:15 PM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Imperial Ballroom
Hosted By: American Economic Association & American Finance Association
  • Chair: Ben Bernanke, Brookings Institution

  • Speaker: Susan Athey, Stanford University: The Impact of Machine Learning on Econometrics and Economics
  • ************
Since I haven't figured out how to be in two places at once, I'll miss

Putting the "Ec" in Tech: Economics at Tech Firms


Paper Session

 Friday, Jan. 4, 2019   12:30 PM - 2:15 PM

 Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Marquis Ballroom A
Hosted By: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BUSINESS ECONOMICS
  • Chair: Carolyn EvansIntel Corp.

A Machine Learned, Real Time Measure of the Rate of Inflation

Patrick Bajari
,
University of Washington
Victor Chernozhukov
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ramon Huerta
,
University of California-San Diego
Ashish Mishra
,
Amazon
Bernhard Schoelkopf
,
Max Planck Institute
****************
  • Later, if the creeks don't rise, I hope to attend
  • Market Design for Online Platforms


     Friday, Jan. 4, 2019   2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

     Hilton Atlanta, 223
    Hosted By: ECONOMIC SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
    ·       Chair: Yan ChenUniversity of Michigan

    Toward an Understanding of the Economics of Apologies: Evidence from a Large-scale Natural Field Experiment

    Basil Halperin
    Uber Technologies Inc
    Benjamin Ho
    Vassar College
    John A. List
    ,
    University of Chicago, NBER, Uber Technologies Inc.
    Ian Muir
    Uber Technologies Inc
    ·        View Abstract

    The Design of Feedback Revision Rules - An Experimental Study

    Gary Bolton
    University of Texas-Dallas
    Kevin Breuer
    University of Cologne
    Ben Greiner
    Vienna University of Economics and Business
    Axel Ockenfels
    University of Cologne
    ·        View Abstract

    Team Competition and Driver Productivity in Ride-sharing: A Natural Field Experiment at Didi

    Wei Ai
    University of Michigan
    Yan Chen
    University of Michigan
    Qiaozhu Mei
    University of Michigan
    Jieping Ye
    University of Michigan and Didi Chuxing Inc.
    Lingyo Zhang
    Didi Chuxing Inc.
    ·        View Abstract
    Discussant(s)
    Laura Gee
    Tufts University
    Chiara Farronato
    Harvard University
    Stephanie Wang
    University of Pittsburgh
    Chenyu Yang
    University of Rochester
    ***********
  • and at 4:45
  • Richard T. Ely Lecture Presiding: Ben Bernanke Speaker: David Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Topic: Work of the Past, Work of the Future



Thursday, January 3, 2019

Public views of gene editing


Most Americans support gene-editing embryos to prevent diseases, poll shows

"Most Americans say it would be OK to use gene-editing technology to create babies protected against a variety of diseases — but a new poll shows they’d draw the line at changing DNA so children are born smarter, faster or taller.
A month after startling claims of the births of the world’s first gene-edited babies in China, the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds people are torn between the medical promise of a technology powerful enough to alter human heredity and concerns over whether it will be used ethically.
...
"The AP-NORC poll shows about 7 in 10 Americans favor one day using gene-editing technology to prevent an incurable or fatal disease a child otherwise would inherit, such as cystic fibrosis or Huntington’s disease."

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Fertility tourism to the U.S.

The Washington Post suggests that the U.S.A. might be a good place to come if your neighbors at home disapprove of what you hope to do...

From sex selection to surrogates, American IVF clinics provide services outlawed elsewhere

"While many countries have moved in recent years to impose boundaries on assisted reproduction, the U.S. fertility industry remains largely unregulated and routinely offers services outlawed elsewhere. As a result, the United States has emerged as a popular destination for IVF patients from around the world seeking controversial services — not just sex selection, but commercial surrogacy, anonymous sperm donation and screening for physical characteristics such as eye color.
...
"Numerous other countries also are tightening their regulation of the fertility industry. Last year, India banned commercial surrogacy. Next year, Ireland is set to join the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, New Zealand and others in prohibiting anonymous sperm donation. And a large number of countries — including China, Canada and Australia — ban gender selection except in rare cases of medical need.
...
"A survey published in March in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that nearly 73 percent of U.S. fertility clinics offer gender selection. Of those, nearly 84 percent offer it to couples who do not have fertility problems but are considering IVF solely to control the pregnancy’s outcome."

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Economists as heroes (in new German book...)

Iconomix has a review of
Ökonomen sind Superhelden (Economists are superheroes)

"In his book, business journalist Malte Buhse shows how economists and economists hunt down criminals and save lives.
...
"Economists are modern superheroes and do outstanding things:
  • Harvard economist Melissa Dell, for example, has used network research to simulate Mexican smuggling drug trafficking routes, giving investigators the most cost-effective transportation routes for drug trafficking. On the routes recommended by the model, the investigators were indeed successful.
  • A similar problem was tackled by economists Eliana La Ferrara and Stefano Della Vigna with a completely different approach: to track down illegal arms transports, researchers tracked share price movements of smaller arms manufacturers and combined these data with the course of civil wars in countries such as Angola or Liberia. If the courses turned up after certain events, this aroused the suspicion of arms smuggling. Customs officials used this data to help enforce the arms embargo.
  • An economist-superhero who won the Nobel Prize for his work is Alvin Roth. He has designed a market system that can help people with incurable kidney disease get a life-saving transplant. Often there is the problem that the patients find a donor-willing person in the immediate environment, but these are not considered as a donor due to the blood type. The market solution now is that such donor pairs are brought together and the relatives donate the kidney for the stranger - so to speak, crosswise. Thus, life can be saved with simple economic considerations."