Stake Level Research Articles

Multidimensionnalité des enjeux du paysage : de l'évaluation à la décision

Le paysage présente plusieurs sources de valorisation (écologique, économique, ...) qu’il convient d’intégrer dans l’évaluation et la prise de décision. La notion de Valeur Économique Totale, distinguant valeurs d’usage et de non-usage, permet de rendre compte de la diversité de ces sources de valorisation. Toutefois, la définition purement monétaire de ces valeurs ne permet pas de restituer la multidimensionnalité des enjeux soulevés par la gestion du paysage, sous-jacents à ces valeurs. Nous proposons de ré-interpréter la valeur du paysage au sein d’un cadre d’analyse multidimensionnelle basé sur la distinction de trois niveaux d’enjeux - identitaire, stratégique, de rentabilité -, liés à la gestion de l’espace. Nous montrons que la règle d’agrégation de type Comparer Agréger et l’utilisation des méthodes d’aide multicritère à la décision permettent de rendre cette approche opérationnelle et d’éclairer la décision.

Online Poker Gambling in University Students: Further Findings from an Online Survey

Online poker is one of the fastest growing forms of online gambling yet there has been relatively little research to date. This study comprised 422 online poker players (362 males and 60 females) and investigated some of the predicting factors of online poker success and problem gambling using an online questionnaire. Results showed that length of time as a player was positively correlated with the number of days playing per year, length of poker sessions, and financial success. However, length of time playing did not correlate with either score on DSM-IV problem gambling criteria or perceived skill. Using a stepwise multiple regression, predictors of winning play and financial success among the online players were examined. Those players who were more likely to have financial success were: (1) disciplined and avoided spending over their monthly gambling budget; (2) played at higher stake levels; (3) did not over-estimate the skill involved in poker; and (4) perceived themselves to be more skilful. A further multiple regression examined predictors of problem gambling. Results showed that problem online poker players were (1) more likely to swap genders when playing online; (2) undisciplined and spent over their allocated budget; and (3) played more frequently for longer periods of time. Even though there is some skill involved in poker, skill was not a predictor in problem gambling. These results are discussed along with implications from the findings for key stakeholders (i.e., the players, gaming industry, policy makers and researchers).

Effects of the largest shareholder stakes on the performance of the Malaysian acquiring firms

This paper examines the relationship between the ownership stakes of the largest shareholders and the post-take-over operating performance and firm values of the acquiring firms. It was found that the operating performance as measured by the control-adjusted cash flow returns rose as the largest ownership stakes increased. However, when the dominant owners obtained a very high level of ownership stakes, the operating performance deteriorated. This shows that at lower level of ownership stakes, ownership concentration aligns the interests between controlling owners and shareholders. In contrast, when the dominant owner had absolute control over the firm, there was a potential of expropriation of minority shareholders by the controlling owners. Nevertheless, we did not find significant relation in the market-based assessment.

Effects of the Largest Shareholder Stakes on Malaysian Acquiring Firms' Performance

This paper examines the relationship between the ownership stakes of the largest shareholders and the post-take-over operating performance and firm values of the acquiring firms. It was found that the operating performance as measured by the control-adjusted cash flow returns rose as the largest ownership stakes increased. However, when the dominant owners obtained a very high level of ownership stakes, the operating performance deteriorated. This shows that at lower level of ownership stakes, ownership concentration aligns the interests between controlling owners and shareholders. In contrast, when the dominant owner had absolute control over the firm, there was a potential of expropriation of minority shareholders by the controlling owners. Nevertheless, the market-based assessment failed to substantiate the hypothesis.

Gambling and nonexpected utility: the perils of the power function

The use of the power utility function is problematic in expected utility theory. We show that, this is also the case in cumulative prospect theory, where the power function violates the assumption of loss-aversion at small stake levels, so that an optimal model of gambling is precluded. In the case of rank-dependent expected utility it has the counterfactual implication that agents will gamble all of their wealth at actuarially unfair odds.

Why labour market experiments?

Over the last decades, there has been a steady increase in the use of experimental methods in economics. We discuss the advantages of experiments for labour economics in this paper. Control is the most important asset behind running experiments; no other empirical method allows a similarly tight control as do experiments. Moreover, experiments produce replicable evidence and permit the implementation of truly exogenous ceteris paribus changes. We also discuss frequent objections to experiments, such as a potential subject pool bias, the stake levels used in experiments, the number of observations as well as internal and external validity. We argue that although these objections are important, careful experimentation can circumvent them. While we think that lab and field experiments offer a very valuable tool, they should not be viewed as substitutes but as complements to more traditional methods of empirical economic analysis.

Do High Stakes and Competition Undermine Fairness? Evidence from Russia

This paper reports the results of a series of competitive labour market experiments in which subjects have the possibility to reciprocate favours. In the high stake condition subjects earned between two and three times their monthly income during the experiment. In the normal stake condition the stake level was reduced by a factor of ten. We observe that both in the high and the normal stake condition fairness concerns are strong enough to outweigh competitive forces and give rise to non-competitive wages. There is also no evidence that effort behaviour becomes generally more selfish at higher stake levels. Therefore, our results suggest that, contrary to common beliefs, fairness concerns may play an important role even at relatively high stake levels.

Relationships between Appraisal Factors during Stressful Encounters: A Test of Alternative Models

The cognitive appraisal model presupposes that interaction among appraisal variables is a factor affecting intensity of emotional reaction during stressful encounters. Emotional reaction to ongoing coping difficulties is assumed to increase as a function of the level of stakes in the encounter. However, the few available studies do not support this assumption. In the present work, factors affecting the appraisal of a real-life stressful encounter (i.e. an intelligence test of progressive difficulty) were manipulated independently, using a mixed, within- and between-subjects design. Results indicated that intensity of emotional reaction was affected primarily by test difficulty, with test relevance and improvement options providing marginally significant main- or interaction effects. The results suggest a focal-effect model in which emotional reaction is affected by the most salient appraisal factor rather than an interaction-based model of cognitive appraisal.

Must coping options be severely limited during stressful events: Testing the interaction between primary and secondary appraisals

It is assumed that psychological stress develops in personally relevant events when situational demands tax or exceed coping resources (i.e., when coping options are severely limited). Despite the central role of this proposition in defining stress, it has been little investigated due to conceptual overlap in definitions of primary and secondary appraisals. In the present work, the interaction between primary and secondary appraisals was used in order to test this proposition, employing non-overlapping definitions of appraisal components. Appraisals were manipulated independently, using written scenarios of stressful occupational episodes, each with three levels of personal stakes and three levels of coping options. Results indicated that the appraisal factors exerted main, but not interaction, effects on negative and positive moods. This means that emotional response increases in proportion to the level of personal stakes in the encounter, with coping potential acting as independent predictor, rather than moderator variable. Contrary to expectations, therefore, emotional distress might develop under conditions where situational demands fall short of exerting all the available resources for coping. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

Institutions and social movements: the case of comparable worth

Employing evidence from the history of the comparable worth movement, I argue that (1) the State-citizen shaping process is one in which States shape citizens and movements and citizens and movements shape States; (2) States are not always successful in shaping movements because movemnts require a certain level of both stakes and consciousness on the part of potential members; (3) States are more effective at influencing whether a movement will win than they are at actually producing social movements; and (4) the costs and benefits associated with the various institutional channels impact heavily upon a movement, particularly upon its organization and its alliances. These theoretical propositions provide clues as to why the comparable worth movement has been able to persist at the state and local level despite Federal opposition.