Irrationality rings! - Experimental evidence on mobile tariff choices

This paper investigates why consumers choose calling plans that are not always cost-minimizing. Our approach is twofold: we account for general difficulties facing a tariff choice, as well as for biased preferences. We provide evidence from an experiment among German university students and staff, finding that participants are often not aware of their actual consumption. In line with the findings on at-rate biases, respondents systematically overestimate their consumption. On the other hand, they are generally able and willing to detect optimal tariffs. Furthermore, with increasing usage level, consumers' performance improves. However, some participants hold strong preferences for certain tariff forms, seducing them to choose cost-dominated offers. In our setup, we find that respondents prefer tariffs involving subsidies or hire-purchase options for handsets over contracts with buy now options. --Behavioral Economics,Mobile phone tariffs,Handset subsidy,Hire-purchase of device

The effects of rebate contracts on the health care system

Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) increasingly gain in importance with respect to the supply of pharmaceutical products and frequently use multiple or exclusive rebate contracts to exercise market power. Based on a Hotelling model of horizontal and vertical product differentiation, we examine the controversy whether there exists a superior rebate scheme as far as consumer surplus, firms profits and total welfare are concerned. Accounting for horizontal and vertical differentiation, we find that firms clearly prefer multiple over exclusive rebate contracts. Contrary, there exists no rebate form that per se lowers total costs for the members of the GPOs or maximizes total welfare

Irrationality rings!: Experimental evidence on mobile tariff choices

This paper investigates why consumers choose calling plans that are not always cost-minimizing. Our approach is twofold: we account for general difficultiesfacing a tariff choice, as well as for biased preferences. We provide evidence froman experiment among German university students and staff, finding that participants are often not aware of their actual consumption. In line with the findings on at-rate biases, respondents systematically overestimate their consumption. On the other hand, they are generally able and willing to detect optimal tariffs. Furthermore, with increasing usage level, consumers' performance improves. However, some participants hold preferences for certain tariff forms, seducing them to choose cost-dominated offers. In our setup, we find that respondents prefer tariffs involving subsidies or hire-purchase options for handsets over contracts with buy now options

Irrationality rings! - Experimental evidence on mobile tariff choices

This paper investigates why consumers choose calling plans that are not always cost-minimizing. Our approach is twofold: we account for general difficulties facing a tariff choice, as well as for biased preferences. We provide evidence from an experiment among German university students and staff, finding that participants are often not aware of their actual consumption. In line with the findings on at-rate biases, respondents systematically overestimate their consumption. On the other hand, they are generally able and willing to detect optimal tariffs. Furthermore, with increasing usage level, consumers' performance improves. However, some participants hold strong preferences for certain tariff forms, seducing them to choose cost-dominated offers. In our setup, we find that respondents prefer tariffs involving subsidies or hire-purchase options for handsets over contracts with buy now options

Is zero the best price? Optimal pricing of mobile applications

[Introduction ...] This leads us to our major research question: How to optimally set prices of mobile applications depending on their utility-classification? Each of the following chapters sequentially contributes to the answer of this question. Chapter 2 focuses on the managerial relevance of pricing and the specific characteristics of mobile applications. In chapter 3, we develop a model for mobile application pricing and derive advises for profit-maximizing mobile application pricing. The article closes with a discussion and conclusion in chapter 4

Origin of the butterfly magnetoresistance in a Dirac nodal-line system

We report a study on the magnetotransport properties and on the Fermi surfaces (FS) of the ZrSi(Se,Te) semimetals. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, in absence of spin orbit coupling (SOC), reveal that both the Se and the Te compounds display Dirac nodal lines (DNL) close to the Fermi level $\varepsilon_F$ at symmorphic and non-symmorphic positions, respectively. We find that the geometry of their FSs agrees well with DFT predictions. ZrSiSe displays low residual resistivities, pronounced magnetoresistivity, high carrier mobilities, and a butterfly-like angle-dependent magnetoresistivity (AMR), although its DNL is not protected against gap opening. As in Cd$_3$As$_2$, its transport lifetime is found to be 10$^2$ to 10$^3$ times larger than its quantum one. ZrSiTe, which possesses a protected DNL, displays conventional transport properties. Our evaluation indicates that both compounds most likely are topologically trivial. Nearly angle-independent effective masses with strong angle dependent quantum lifetimes lead to the butterfly AMR in ZrSiSe

Movilidad laboral en la Unión Europea: Factores determinante

Màster Oficial d'Internacionalització, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2014-2015, Tutora: Montserrat MilletLos mercados de trabajo europeos presentan grandes desequilibrios y deficiencias estructurales que, en los últimos años, se han hecho visibles en las tasas de desempleo. En algunos países europeos, especialmente en Europa del Sur y del Este, las tasas de desempleo son muy altas, incluso por encima del 20 % en el caso de España y Grecia. Al mismo tiempo, recientemente ha surgido una escasez de mano de obra cualificada en algunos países de Europa Central, que tienen tasas de desempleo históricamente bajas. Todo ello apunta a unos importantes desequilibrios entre la oferta y la demanda de mano de obra dentro de la Unión Europea. La movilidad de los trabajadores podría ser un buen mecanismo de ajuste. Sin embargo, a pesar de la instauración del mercado único y el derecho a la libre circulación de trabajadores, la movilidad entre los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea permanece baja. Es por ello por lo que me planteé la siguiente pregunta: ¿Se dan todas las condiciones para que haya movilidad laboral en la Unión Europea? En segundo lugar, a raíz de la crisis económica en la actualidad se debate mucho sobre la inmigración y sus consecuencias para los países emisores y receptores de mano de obra. En el contexto de las Elecciones al Parlamento Europeo de 2014 se debatió sobre el ‘turismo social’ y la ‘inmigración de la pobreza’, que aparentemente han surgido tras el levantamiento de las restricciones transitorias a la movilidad de los trabajadores de los países de Europa del Este. Por ello, el presente trabajo intenta dar una respuesta a una segunda pregunta: ¿En qué medida la crisis económica y/o las ampliaciones de la Unión Europea de 2004 y 2007 han afectado la movilidad laboral

Teilhabe von Aufstocker/innen. Die Gleichzeitigkeit von Erwerbstätigkeit und SGB II

Die Arbeit rückt die Frage ins Zentrum wie sich die Teilhabemöglichkeiten von Aufstocker/innen, d.h. Erwerbstätigen die ´Hartz IV´ beziehen, darstellen. Normativer Fokus ist, dass eine Demokratie gleichberechtigte Teilhabe aller Gesellschaftsmitglieder gewährleisten sollte. Der verwendete Begriff von Teilhabe leitet sich dabei aus der Demokratietheorie Nancy Frasers ab und nimmt deshalb insbesondere Fragen von Verteilung, von Anerkennung und von Repräsentation in den Blick. Anhand von Interviews mit Aufstocker/innen und der Auswertung des Panels Arbeitsmarkt und Soziale Sicherung werden die Teilhabemöglichkeiten von Aufstocker/innen beleuchtet. Dabei zeigt sich, dass diese 1,3 Millionen Personen (Januar 2013) in Bezug auf Teilhabemöglichkeiten sowohl einige Gemeinsamkeiten aufweisen, als sich die Lage Einzelner auch unter anderem nach Geschlecht, Haushaltszusammensetzung und Erwerbstätigkeitstyp unterscheidet. In manchen Bereichen des Arbeitsmarktes (wie dem Reinigungswesen oder bei Minijobs), ist beispielsweise bis zu einem Fünftel aller Beschäftigten in dieser Situation. So zeigen sich in Bezug auf die Aufstocker/inen viele allgemeine Entwicklungen des Arbeitsmarktes wie Möglichkeiten zum Drücken von Löhnen nach unten, Niedriglöhne, Dominanz von Minijobs, Problematiken feminisierter Beschäftigungsformen oder auch die Armutsproblematik von Familien mit Kindern