Re: Decision Markets
> be informative for decisions. Anyone want to give odds that I'll be > able to keep the term meaning what I want it to mean? :-) According to Stigler (the statistician, not the economist) almost every "named" scientific term is in error. So I'd say the odds are huge that your name will be incorrectly attached to something, and somebody else will get the credit for what you invented. Fabio
Re: Decision Markets
Dr. Alexander Tabarrok wrote: > Another armchair economist made the news! Robin (Hanson) was >mentioned in yesterday's (Sunday Feb. 10, 2002) New York Times in an >interesting article about using experimental markets to generate >marketing information. ... >http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/business/yourmoney/10TRAD.html >Creating markets in order to generate public policy information is the >subject of Robin's contribution to Entrepreneurial Economics: Bright >Ideas from the Dismal Science ... www.EntrepreneurialEconomics.org It's nice to get press, but always disturbing to see how wrong reporters can get things. I'm introduced as giving the name "decision markets" to the Iowa Electronic Markets and to the marketing markets described. But I introduced the term to be specific to markets that estimate the consequences of decisions, rather than just markets that might somehow be informative for decisions. Anyone want to give odds that I'll be able to keep the term meaning what I want it to mean? :-) Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030- 703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
Decision Markets
Another armchair economist made the news! Robin (Hanson) was mentioned in yesterday's (Sunday Feb. 10, 2002) New York Times in an interesting article about using experimental markets to generate marketing information. In an experiment conducted at MIT, for example, traders traded aspects of ski resorts such as crowdedness and distance to the slopes. The prices established in these markets were then used to estimate the demand for various attributes and to thus help firms optimize accordingly - in essence an experimental approach to deriving hedonic prices. The article is available here http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/business/yourmoney/10TRAD.html Following Hayek's Use of Knowledge in Society paper, economists have become accustomed to extracting information from markets but the creation of markets in order to generate information is more recent. Creating markets in order to generate public policy information is the subject of Robin's contribution to Entrepreneurial Economics: Bright Ideas from the Dismal Science (see also my introduction to the book for further applications). More info on EntrepreneurialEconomics can be found here: www.EntrepreneurialEconomics.org Alex -- Dr. Alexander Tabarrok Vice President and Director of Research The Independent Institute 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA, 94621-1428 Tel. 510-632-1366, FAX: 510-568-6040 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
