Mathematical Economics

Do we agree? Measuring the cohesiveness of preferences

by Marc Vorsatz

joint with Jorge Alcalde Unzu, Unpublished Working Paper, 2010.

In this paper, we suggest new ways of how to measure the similarity of preferences in a group of individuals. For... more In this paper, we suggest new ways of how to measure the similarity of preferences in a group of individuals. For simplicity, we refer to this as the cohesiveness (of preferences). We propose axioms a cohesiveness measure should satisfy and show that these properties fully characterize a family of measures. According to it, the similarities between each pair of objects in a preference profile -calculated as the proportion margin by which one objects wins against the other in a pairwise comparison- are aggregated by a weighted mean. The weight of each pair of objects depends on their importance at the social level

The Measurement of Consensus: An Axiomatic Study

by Marc Vorsatz

joint with Jorge Alcalde Unzu, Unpublished Working Paper, 2008.

The cohesion of a society depends to large extend on the degree to which its members coincide in their preferences... more The cohesion of a society depends to large extend on the degree to which its members coincide in their preferences (the consensus). This paper proposes axioms a consensus measure should satisfy from a normative point of view and characterizes first a class of linear and additive measures which fulfills an ordinal property similar to the concepts of first order stochastic dominance in the literature on individual decision making under risk and Lorenz curve domination in the literature on income inequality measurement. With the help of some additional properties, it is then possible to isolate from this broad class of measures a subfamily that only depends on a single parameter. Finally, we show that the consensus measures associated with the focal parameters of this subfamily have an intuitive explanation and we characterize them separately.

The Identification of Price Jumps

by Jan Novotny

Exposing the true risks of capitation financed healthcare

by Thomas Cox

http://www.afn.org/~mathstat

Abstract

Many healthcare finance mechanisms involve transferring uncertain costs to healthcare providers in... more Abstract

Many healthcare finance mechanisms involve transferring uncertain costs to healthcare providers in lieu of fixed payments or global capitation. Global capitation violates basic principles of risk management through insurance. Risk-theoretic analysis of capitation shows that risk disaggregation forces efficient providers to become inefficient insurers. Risk-assuming providers face lower profitability and increased exposure to operating losses, and must reduce patient benefits. Global capitation causes inefficiency, increases healthcare costs, and threatens patient-provider relationships.