James Halteman and Edd Noell
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199763702
- eISBN:
- 9780199932252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199763702.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
Is economics like car building or car repair? Are we working toward a finished product, or are we attempting to answer pertinent questions that arise and change from time to time? These questions are ...
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Is economics like car building or car repair? Are we working toward a finished product, or are we attempting to answer pertinent questions that arise and change from time to time? These questions are entertained in this chapter in order to explore the nature of the methods economists employ. The subjective nature of data and the relevance of predicting from past trendsis explored. The proof that rational choice analysis predicts better than any alternative process is seen to be less than definitive by typical standards of proof. Welfare economics comes closest to philosophy when it optimizes social welfare with a social welfare function, but the ramifications of that model are rarely explored. Finally, it is suggested that key questions change and economic thinking then adapts to deal with the new challenges. The vignette for this chapter looks at John Maynard Keynes and his rethinking of mainstream macroeconomics.Less
Is economics like car building or car repair? Are we working toward a finished product, or are we attempting to answer pertinent questions that arise and change from time to time? These questions are entertained in this chapter in order to explore the nature of the methods economists employ. The subjective nature of data and the relevance of predicting from past trendsis explored. The proof that rational choice analysis predicts better than any alternative process is seen to be less than definitive by typical standards of proof. Welfare economics comes closest to philosophy when it optimizes social welfare with a social welfare function, but the ramifications of that model are rarely explored. Finally, it is suggested that key questions change and economic thinking then adapts to deal with the new challenges. The vignette for this chapter looks at John Maynard Keynes and his rethinking of mainstream macroeconomics.
Paul Stoneman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199572489
- eISBN:
- 9780191722257
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572489.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation
This chapter considers alternative models of the demand for (diffusion of) soft innovations. From the several models, the list of factors shown to be important in the innovation process includes the ...
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This chapter considers alternative models of the demand for (diffusion of) soft innovations. From the several models, the list of factors shown to be important in the innovation process includes the level and, particularly, changes in costs of generating and developing innovations, fixed costs of production, variable production costs, the number of suppliers, the allocation of buyers' preferences, buyers' knowledge bases, buyers price, and technology expectations and the nature of the product. The theoretical analysis in Chapters 7 and 8 also jointly shows that there is no guarantee that free markets will produce a welfare optimal outcome. The outcome may involve either too much or too little variety and innovation. The market failure thus identified can come from a number of sources. One general source is that there are positive or negative externalities in the market that drive a wedge between private and social incentives. Other factors such as creative destruction effects and the standing on shoulders effects also have a role to play.Less
This chapter considers alternative models of the demand for (diffusion of) soft innovations. From the several models, the list of factors shown to be important in the innovation process includes the level and, particularly, changes in costs of generating and developing innovations, fixed costs of production, variable production costs, the number of suppliers, the allocation of buyers' preferences, buyers' knowledge bases, buyers price, and technology expectations and the nature of the product. The theoretical analysis in Chapters 7 and 8 also jointly shows that there is no guarantee that free markets will produce a welfare optimal outcome. The outcome may involve either too much or too little variety and innovation. The market failure thus identified can come from a number of sources. One general source is that there are positive or negative externalities in the market that drive a wedge between private and social incentives. Other factors such as creative destruction effects and the standing on shoulders effects also have a role to play.
Michio Morishima
- Published in print:
- 1969
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281641
- eISBN:
- 9780191596667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281641.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Chapter 10 was concerned with the Final State Turnpike Theorem on the assumptions that consumption of each good per worker is fixed throughout the planning period and that the authorities try to ...
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Chapter 10 was concerned with the Final State Turnpike Theorem on the assumptions that consumption of each good per worker is fixed throughout the planning period and that the authorities try to maximize the stocks of goods that they can bestow, at the horizon, upon the future citizens; this chapter looks at a Second Turnpike Theorem. The partial optimization for the sake of the future should more properly be superseded by a general mutual optimization, so that the benefits from the properties initially available are shared between the people living in the planning period and those after that; this would inevitably cause confrontation with one of the hardest problems of economics—the interpersonal and intertemporal comparisons of utilities. In this chapter, attempts to solve the crux of the problem are abandoned and the other extreme is addressed: the conditions are derived for Ramsey optimality as distinct from DOSSO efficiency, i.e. optimization is in favour of the people in the planning period, and the satisfaction of the future residents is pegged at a certain level, of which the present residents approve. Among all feasible programmes that leave, at the end of the planning period, necessary amounts of goods for the future residents, the question is whether the people living choose a single one that is most preferable from their own point of view, i.e. there is a switch over of ideology from abstinence for the future to satisfaction in the transient life. The different sections of the chapter include discussion of: two norms of optimum growth—the Golden Balanced Growth path and the Consumption Turnpike; the existence of the Consumption Turnpike; the Silvery Rule of Accumulation’ the singular case where there is no discrimination between the living and the coming people; the Consumption Turnpike Theorem—the cases of the subjective time‐preference factor not being greater than the growth factor of the population, and of the former being greater than the latter; and an example of a cyclic Ramsey‐optimum growth.Less
Chapter 10 was concerned with the Final State Turnpike Theorem on the assumptions that consumption of each good per worker is fixed throughout the planning period and that the authorities try to maximize the stocks of goods that they can bestow, at the horizon, upon the future citizens; this chapter looks at a Second Turnpike Theorem. The partial optimization for the sake of the future should more properly be superseded by a general mutual optimization, so that the benefits from the properties initially available are shared between the people living in the planning period and those after that; this would inevitably cause confrontation with one of the hardest problems of economics—the interpersonal and intertemporal comparisons of utilities. In this chapter, attempts to solve the crux of the problem are abandoned and the other extreme is addressed: the conditions are derived for Ramsey optimality as distinct from DOSSO efficiency, i.e. optimization is in favour of the people in the planning period, and the satisfaction of the future residents is pegged at a certain level, of which the present residents approve. Among all feasible programmes that leave, at the end of the planning period, necessary amounts of goods for the future residents, the question is whether the people living choose a single one that is most preferable from their own point of view, i.e. there is a switch over of ideology from abstinence for the future to satisfaction in the transient life. The different sections of the chapter include discussion of: two norms of optimum growth—the Golden Balanced Growth path and the Consumption Turnpike; the existence of the Consumption Turnpike; the Silvery Rule of Accumulation’ the singular case where there is no discrimination between the living and the coming people; the Consumption Turnpike Theorem—the cases of the subjective time‐preference factor not being greater than the growth factor of the population, and of the former being greater than the latter; and an example of a cyclic Ramsey‐optimum growth.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been ...
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Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been the testing ground for theoretical developments in phonology over the past twenty years, from autosegmental theory to optimality theory, this is the first book devoted to understanding the definition and operation of canonical forms — fixed shaped prosody — which are the defining characteristic of prosodic morphology. This book discusses past research in the field and provides a critical evaluation of the current leading theory, the Generalized Template Hypothesis, showing that it is empirically inadequate. The leading theory proposes that canonical shape of morphemes in processes like reduplication, templatic morphology, hypocoristics, and word minimality follows from the canonical shape of stress feet. The central problem with this proposal is that many of the world’s languages do not have word stress. Even in those that do, there is often a mismatch between the canonical stress foot and canonical morpheme shape. The book sets out an alternative approach, namely, that the basic prosody-morphology correlation is between the syllable and the morpheme. This new approach is tested in a cross-linguistic analysis of phonological and morphological forms over a wide range of languages, including several not previously studied from this perspective.Less
Prosodic morphology concerns the interaction of morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form and the degree to which one determines the other. Although prosodic morphology has been the testing ground for theoretical developments in phonology over the past twenty years, from autosegmental theory to optimality theory, this is the first book devoted to understanding the definition and operation of canonical forms — fixed shaped prosody — which are the defining characteristic of prosodic morphology. This book discusses past research in the field and provides a critical evaluation of the current leading theory, the Generalized Template Hypothesis, showing that it is empirically inadequate. The leading theory proposes that canonical shape of morphemes in processes like reduplication, templatic morphology, hypocoristics, and word minimality follows from the canonical shape of stress feet. The central problem with this proposal is that many of the world’s languages do not have word stress. Even in those that do, there is often a mismatch between the canonical stress foot and canonical morpheme shape. The book sets out an alternative approach, namely, that the basic prosody-morphology correlation is between the syllable and the morpheme. This new approach is tested in a cross-linguistic analysis of phonological and morphological forms over a wide range of languages, including several not previously studied from this perspective.
Michio Morishima
- Published in print:
- 1969
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281641
- eISBN:
- 9780191596667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281641.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Devoted to establishing the optimality of competitive equilibrium paths of various orders. So far three kinds of equilibrium growth paths have been discussed in the book: the Cassel–von Neumann path ...
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Devoted to establishing the optimality of competitive equilibrium paths of various orders. So far three kinds of equilibrium growth paths have been discussed in the book: the Cassel–von Neumann path of balanced growth, the Lindahl–Hicks sequence of temporary equilibria, and the Hicks–Malinvaud perfect equilibrium over time. These are now examined for efficiency and optimality. Each of them is compared with any other in succession. The different sections of the chapter discuss definitions of efficiency and Pareto optimality, short‐run efficiency of temporary equilibrium and long‐run efficiency of full equilibrium, Pareto optimality of the Lindahl–Hicks and the Hicks–Malinvaud path, Farkas’ theorem of linear inequalities, the fact that shadow prices associated with a Pareto optimum obey the rules of competitive pricing, the conditions that should be satisfied in order for a given point of Pareto optimum to be a competitive equilibrium, and the Golden Rule of Accumulation.Less
Devoted to establishing the optimality of competitive equilibrium paths of various orders. So far three kinds of equilibrium growth paths have been discussed in the book: the Cassel–von Neumann path of balanced growth, the Lindahl–Hicks sequence of temporary equilibria, and the Hicks–Malinvaud perfect equilibrium over time. These are now examined for efficiency and optimality. Each of them is compared with any other in succession. The different sections of the chapter discuss definitions of efficiency and Pareto optimality, short‐run efficiency of temporary equilibrium and long‐run efficiency of full equilibrium, Pareto optimality of the Lindahl–Hicks and the Hicks–Malinvaud path, Farkas’ theorem of linear inequalities, the fact that shadow prices associated with a Pareto optimum obey the rules of competitive pricing, the conditions that should be satisfied in order for a given point of Pareto optimum to be a competitive equilibrium, and the Golden Rule of Accumulation.
Frederick J. Newmeyer
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199274338
- eISBN:
- 9780191706479
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274338.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It ...
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This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It contrasts two positions on the question: one of which maintains that the link between grammatical constructs and functional motivations is very close, the other that maintains that the relationship between the two is extremely indirect. The latter position is shown to be the correct one.Less
This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It contrasts two positions on the question: one of which maintains that the link between grammatical constructs and functional motivations is very close, the other that maintains that the relationship between the two is extremely indirect. The latter position is shown to be the correct one.
Christopher G. Small and Jinfang Wang
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198506881
- eISBN:
- 9780191709258
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198506881.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Probability / Statistics
This chapter gives a survey of the basic concepts of estimating functions, which are used in subsequent chapters. The concept of unbiasedness for estimating functions is introduced as a ...
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This chapter gives a survey of the basic concepts of estimating functions, which are used in subsequent chapters. The concept of unbiasedness for estimating functions is introduced as a generalization of the concept of an unbiased estimator. Godambe efficiency, also known as the Godambe optimality criterion, is introduced by generalizing the concept of minimum variance unbiased estimation. Within the class of estimating functions which are unbiased and information unbiased, the score function is characterized as the estimating function with maximal Godambe efficiency. Extensions to the multiparameter case are given, and the connection to the Riesz representation theorem is described briefly. This chapter also discusses a number of examples from semiparametric models, martingale estimating functions for stochastic processes, empirical characteristic function methods and quadrat sampling; the estimating equations in some of these examples have possibly more than one solution.Less
This chapter gives a survey of the basic concepts of estimating functions, which are used in subsequent chapters. The concept of unbiasedness for estimating functions is introduced as a generalization of the concept of an unbiased estimator. Godambe efficiency, also known as the Godambe optimality criterion, is introduced by generalizing the concept of minimum variance unbiased estimation. Within the class of estimating functions which are unbiased and information unbiased, the score function is characterized as the estimating function with maximal Godambe efficiency. Extensions to the multiparameter case are given, and the connection to the Riesz representation theorem is described briefly. This chapter also discusses a number of examples from semiparametric models, martingale estimating functions for stochastic processes, empirical characteristic function methods and quadrat sampling; the estimating equations in some of these examples have possibly more than one solution.
Christopher G. Small and Jinfang Wang
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198506881
- eISBN:
- 9780191709258
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198506881.003.0008
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Probability / Statistics
This chapter demonstrates that the numerical methods of earlier chapters are not constrained by statistical philosophy. The theory of Bayesian estimating functions is developed. It is shown that this ...
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This chapter demonstrates that the numerical methods of earlier chapters are not constrained by statistical philosophy. The theory of Bayesian estimating functions is developed. It is shown that this theory has Bayesian analogues for many of the concepts introduced in earlier chapters. While point estimation is often considered of secondary importance to Bayesians, the Bayesian estimating function methodology does have important applications in areas such as actuarial science.Less
This chapter demonstrates that the numerical methods of earlier chapters are not constrained by statistical philosophy. The theory of Bayesian estimating functions is developed. It is shown that this theory has Bayesian analogues for many of the concepts introduced in earlier chapters. While point estimation is often considered of secondary importance to Bayesians, the Bayesian estimating function methodology does have important applications in areas such as actuarial science.
Michio Morishima
- Published in print:
- 1969
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281641
- eISBN:
- 9780191596667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281641.003.0015
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The argument developed in the previous chapter was based on the tacit assumption that the production of goods by means of goods and labour is independent of the feeding of labour, and was described ...
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The argument developed in the previous chapter was based on the tacit assumption that the production of goods by means of goods and labour is independent of the feeding of labour, and was described in terms of the matrices of input and output coefficients and the vector of labour‐input coefficients, all of which were considered as technologically given constants. However, it is difficult to obtain precise figures of these coefficients, especially for the labour‐input coefficients, without knowing how and at what level people are fed; the productivity of labour depends not only on technology in the narrowest sense but also on the workers’ state of health, their living and working conditions, etc. Further, in a slave economy, with the wages fixed at a subsistence level, the productivity of labour was low, and it is this that led to its replacement by a more productive system—the capitalist economy. It is not surprising that outputs of goods might increase, even though the allocation of available goods among industries and families became unfavourable for the former; in fact, the positive indirect effect on outputs of a transfer of goods from industries to families causing an improvement in the welfare of the workers might be so strong as to overcome the negative direct effect on outputs of the decrease in industrial inputs. Thus, the production of goods and the feeding of men should be treated as an inseparable process, and this is the approach taken in this chapter, which discusses: the production of goods and ‘men’ by means of goods and ‘men’; the properties of aggregate production processes; conditions for the Silvery Equilibrium; modification of the rule of competitive pricing such that Keynesian involuntary unemployment is allowed for; the existence of ‘quasi‐equilibrium’ processes and prices; the upper semicontinuity of quasi‐equilibrium prices; the equilibration of quasi‐equilibrium; efficiency and optimality in an economy with a flexible labour force; instantaneous efficiency and Pareto optimality of the Silvery Equilibrium; the possibility of optimum cyclical growth of production of goods and men; and the intertemporal efficiency and Pareto optimality of the Golden Equilibrium.Less
The argument developed in the previous chapter was based on the tacit assumption that the production of goods by means of goods and labour is independent of the feeding of labour, and was described in terms of the matrices of input and output coefficients and the vector of labour‐input coefficients, all of which were considered as technologically given constants. However, it is difficult to obtain precise figures of these coefficients, especially for the labour‐input coefficients, without knowing how and at what level people are fed; the productivity of labour depends not only on technology in the narrowest sense but also on the workers’ state of health, their living and working conditions, etc. Further, in a slave economy, with the wages fixed at a subsistence level, the productivity of labour was low, and it is this that led to its replacement by a more productive system—the capitalist economy. It is not surprising that outputs of goods might increase, even though the allocation of available goods among industries and families became unfavourable for the former; in fact, the positive indirect effect on outputs of a transfer of goods from industries to families causing an improvement in the welfare of the workers might be so strong as to overcome the negative direct effect on outputs of the decrease in industrial inputs. Thus, the production of goods and the feeding of men should be treated as an inseparable process, and this is the approach taken in this chapter, which discusses: the production of goods and ‘men’ by means of goods and ‘men’; the properties of aggregate production processes; conditions for the Silvery Equilibrium; modification of the rule of competitive pricing such that Keynesian involuntary unemployment is allowed for; the existence of ‘quasi‐equilibrium’ processes and prices; the upper semicontinuity of quasi‐equilibrium prices; the equilibration of quasi‐equilibrium; efficiency and optimality in an economy with a flexible labour force; instantaneous efficiency and Pareto optimality of the Silvery Equilibrium; the possibility of optimum cyclical growth of production of goods and men; and the intertemporal efficiency and Pareto optimality of the Golden Equilibrium.
Bert Vaux
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226511
- eISBN:
- 9780191710193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226511.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Phonetics / Phonology
This chapter identifies an inventory of core phonological processes that are robustly attested in all or nearly all human languages. These are compared to the classes of phenomena predicted to be ...
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This chapter identifies an inventory of core phonological processes that are robustly attested in all or nearly all human languages. These are compared to the classes of phenomena predicted to be possible and impossible by Rule-Based Phonology (Kenstowicz 1994; Vaux 1998) and Classic Optimality Theory (Kager 1999). The comparison is argued to demonstrate that a phonological theory that employs extrinsically ordered rules, cyclicity, inviolable constraints, and the other machinery of Rule-Based Phonology provides a superior empirical match to and formal model of the facts.Less
This chapter identifies an inventory of core phonological processes that are robustly attested in all or nearly all human languages. These are compared to the classes of phenomena predicted to be possible and impossible by Rule-Based Phonology (Kenstowicz 1994; Vaux 1998) and Classic Optimality Theory (Kager 1999). The comparison is argued to demonstrate that a phonological theory that employs extrinsically ordered rules, cyclicity, inviolable constraints, and the other machinery of Rule-Based Phonology provides a superior empirical match to and formal model of the facts.
Stephen R. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279906
- eISBN:
- 9780191707131
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279906.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
To say that one sense of the term ‘clitic’ is to be identified with the phonology of the relevant elements does not, of course, actually provide in itself a theory of that dimension. In fact, the ...
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To say that one sense of the term ‘clitic’ is to be identified with the phonology of the relevant elements does not, of course, actually provide in itself a theory of that dimension. In fact, the phonology of cliticization is closely bound up with the nature and status of the much broader theory of prosodic structure in language, and we can only understand phonological clitics by placing their behaviour within this larger context. This chapter outlines a view of prosodic categories and their relations within the framework of Optimality Theory, and uses it to arrive at a characterization of the phonology of clitics, especially (but not exclusively) in English. It is argued that the properties of English reduced auxiliaries do indeed fall within a phonological account, and thus that there is no obstacle to calling them ‘simple’ clitics in the technical sense, despite the complexities of their behaviour.Less
To say that one sense of the term ‘clitic’ is to be identified with the phonology of the relevant elements does not, of course, actually provide in itself a theory of that dimension. In fact, the phonology of cliticization is closely bound up with the nature and status of the much broader theory of prosodic structure in language, and we can only understand phonological clitics by placing their behaviour within this larger context. This chapter outlines a view of prosodic categories and their relations within the framework of Optimality Theory, and uses it to arrive at a characterization of the phonology of clitics, especially (but not exclusively) in English. It is argued that the properties of English reduced auxiliaries do indeed fall within a phonological account, and thus that there is no obstacle to calling them ‘simple’ clitics in the technical sense, despite the complexities of their behaviour.
Stephen R. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279906
- eISBN:
- 9780191707131
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279906.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter elaborates a more precise account of the phrasal morphology that is responsible for the appearance of special clitics, within an Optimality Theoretic framework. A limited set of ...
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This chapter elaborates a more precise account of the phrasal morphology that is responsible for the appearance of special clitics, within an Optimality Theoretic framework. A limited set of constraint types suffice to describe these concisely and insightfully. The OT-based account of ‘Clitics as Phrasal Affixes’ is compared with a variety of other theories: those postulating a purely syntactic account of cliticization, and those locating the unusual properties of special clitics in their phonology or in other properties of the interface between syntax and other parts of grammar. The system of second-position clitics in Tagalog provides a complex and nuanced example displaying a number of the properties discussed to this point.Less
This chapter elaborates a more precise account of the phrasal morphology that is responsible for the appearance of special clitics, within an Optimality Theoretic framework. A limited set of constraint types suffice to describe these concisely and insightfully. The OT-based account of ‘Clitics as Phrasal Affixes’ is compared with a variety of other theories: those postulating a purely syntactic account of cliticization, and those locating the unusual properties of special clitics in their phonology or in other properties of the interface between syntax and other parts of grammar. The system of second-position clitics in Tagalog provides a complex and nuanced example displaying a number of the properties discussed to this point.
Michael S. Landy, Martin S. Banks, and David C. Knill
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195387247
- eISBN:
- 9780199918379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387247.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter provides a general introduction to the field of cue combination from the perspective of optimal cue integration. It works through a number of qualitatively different problems and ...
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This chapter provides a general introduction to the field of cue combination from the perspective of optimal cue integration. It works through a number of qualitatively different problems and illustrate how building ideal observers helps formulate the scientific questions that need to be answered in order to understand how the brain solves these problems. It begins with a simple example of integration leading to a linear model of cue integration. This is followed by a summary of a general approach to optimality: Bayesian estimation and decision theory. It then reviews situations in which realistic generative models of sensory data lead to nonlinear ideal-observer models. Subsequent sections review empirical studies of cue combination and issues they raise, as well as open questions in the field.Less
This chapter provides a general introduction to the field of cue combination from the perspective of optimal cue integration. It works through a number of qualitatively different problems and illustrate how building ideal observers helps formulate the scientific questions that need to be answered in order to understand how the brain solves these problems. It begins with a simple example of integration leading to a linear model of cue integration. This is followed by a summary of a general approach to optimality: Bayesian estimation and decision theory. It then reviews situations in which realistic generative models of sensory data lead to nonlinear ideal-observer models. Subsequent sections review empirical studies of cue combination and issues they raise, as well as open questions in the field.
Pedro Rosas and Felix A. Wichmann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195387247
- eISBN:
- 9780199918379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387247.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on ...
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This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on cue combination is an area in the cognitive neurosciences where quantitative models and predictions are the norm rather than the exception—and this is certainly a development that this book welcomes wholeheartedly. What they view critically, however, is the strong emphasis on so-called optimal cue combination. Optimal in the context of human cue combination typically refers to the minimum-variance unbiased estimator for multiple sources of information, corresponding to maximum-likelihood estimation when the probability distribution of the estimates based on each cue are Gaussian, independent, and the prior of the observer is uniform (noninformative). The central aim of this chapter is to spell out worries regarding both the term optimality as well as against the use of the minimum-variance unbiased estimator as the statistical tool to go from the reliability of a cue to its weight in robust weak fusion.Less
This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on cue combination is an area in the cognitive neurosciences where quantitative models and predictions are the norm rather than the exception—and this is certainly a development that this book welcomes wholeheartedly. What they view critically, however, is the strong emphasis on so-called optimal cue combination. Optimal in the context of human cue combination typically refers to the minimum-variance unbiased estimator for multiple sources of information, corresponding to maximum-likelihood estimation when the probability distribution of the estimates based on each cue are Gaussian, independent, and the prior of the observer is uniform (noninformative). The central aim of this chapter is to spell out worries regarding both the term optimality as well as against the use of the minimum-variance unbiased estimator as the statistical tool to go from the reliability of a cue to its weight in robust weak fusion.
Laura J. Downing
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286393
- eISBN:
- 9780191713293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286393.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of ...
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This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of prosodic morphemes to be discussed (reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, hypocoristics). The next two sections discuss how prosodic morphology has been of interest to recent theories of phonology and morphology. In phonology, prosodic morphology illustrates theories of segmental and prosodic shape markedness. In morphology, prosodic morphology challenges the Item-and-Arrangement approach that is most easily modeled in constituency trees. The final sections present a critical overview of recent work on prosodic morphology within Optimality Theory and outline the new theory developed in the book.Less
This introductory chapter provides essential background for the analyses developed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The first section defines the scope of the book, introducing the types of prosodic morphemes to be discussed (reduplication, word minimality, templatic morphology, hypocoristics). The next two sections discuss how prosodic morphology has been of interest to recent theories of phonology and morphology. In phonology, prosodic morphology illustrates theories of segmental and prosodic shape markedness. In morphology, prosodic morphology challenges the Item-and-Arrangement approach that is most easily modeled in constituency trees. The final sections present a critical overview of recent work on prosodic morphology within Optimality Theory and outline the new theory developed in the book.
John M. McNamara and Tim W. Fawcett
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262018098
- eISBN:
- 9780262306003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262018098.003.0019
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Psychology and Interaction
All animals, including humans, search for a variety of different things in their natural environment, from food to mates to a suitable place to live. Most types of search can be represented as ...
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All animals, including humans, search for a variety of different things in their natural environment, from food to mates to a suitable place to live. Most types of search can be represented as stopping problems of varying complexity, in which the animal has to decide when to stop searching and accept the current option. All forms of search take time, and in solving a stopping problem the animal has to trade off this time cost against the expected benefits of continuing to search. This chapter discusses two main approaches to predicting search behavior: the optimality approach and the heuristics approach. The optimality approach identifies the best possible solution to a search problem and thereby sets an upper bound to what natural selection can achieve. The heuristics approach considers simple decision algorithms, or “rules of thumb,” which animals may use to implement efficient search behavior. Although few studies have tried to integrate these functional and mechanistic perspectives, they are likely to provide complementary insights. Often, the form of an optimal strategy suggests which kinds of heuristics might be expected to evolve. Stopping problems may be simple, repeated, or embedded in other stopping problems. For example, if searchers assess the value of each encountered option by examining a series of cues, the assessment process can be considered as another stopping problem. When the searcher is uncertain about the environment it is in, its previous experiences during search can strongly influence the optimal behavior. Where a limited number of items can be accepted, as in mate search, a key constraint is whether the searcher can return to previously encountered items. Some search problems are complicated by the fact that the encountered items are themselves searching. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some open questions for future research.Less
All animals, including humans, search for a variety of different things in their natural environment, from food to mates to a suitable place to live. Most types of search can be represented as stopping problems of varying complexity, in which the animal has to decide when to stop searching and accept the current option. All forms of search take time, and in solving a stopping problem the animal has to trade off this time cost against the expected benefits of continuing to search. This chapter discusses two main approaches to predicting search behavior: the optimality approach and the heuristics approach. The optimality approach identifies the best possible solution to a search problem and thereby sets an upper bound to what natural selection can achieve. The heuristics approach considers simple decision algorithms, or “rules of thumb,” which animals may use to implement efficient search behavior. Although few studies have tried to integrate these functional and mechanistic perspectives, they are likely to provide complementary insights. Often, the form of an optimal strategy suggests which kinds of heuristics might be expected to evolve. Stopping problems may be simple, repeated, or embedded in other stopping problems. For example, if searchers assess the value of each encountered option by examining a series of cues, the assessment process can be considered as another stopping problem. When the searcher is uncertain about the environment it is in, its previous experiences during search can strongly influence the optimal behavior. Where a limited number of items can be accepted, as in mate search, a key constraint is whether the searcher can return to previously encountered items. Some search problems are complicated by the fact that the encountered items are themselves searching. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some open questions for future research.
Amartya Sen
- Published in print:
- 1973
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281931
- eISBN:
- 9780191715815
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281935.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
The usefulness of the main schools of welfare economics (old and new) in measuring inequality is analysed. It is noted that the literature on Pareto optimality avoids distributional judgements ...
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The usefulness of the main schools of welfare economics (old and new) in measuring inequality is analysed. It is noted that the literature on Pareto optimality avoids distributional judgements altogether, and that the standard social welfare functions approach also fails to provide a framework for distributional discussions because of its concentration on individual orderings only. Utilitarianism (the dominant faith of ‘old’ welfare economics), is too concerned with the welfare sum to be concerned with the problem of distribution and can produce strongly anti‐egalitarian results. Hence, the use of welfare economics for measuring inequality is rejected.Less
The usefulness of the main schools of welfare economics (old and new) in measuring inequality is analysed. It is noted that the literature on Pareto optimality avoids distributional judgements altogether, and that the standard social welfare functions approach also fails to provide a framework for distributional discussions because of its concentration on individual orderings only. Utilitarianism (the dominant faith of ‘old’ welfare economics), is too concerned with the welfare sum to be concerned with the problem of distribution and can produce strongly anti‐egalitarian results. Hence, the use of welfare economics for measuring inequality is rejected.
Todd Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157406
- eISBN:
- 9780199832965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157400.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Develops two typologies of global public goods, and explains how issues of publicness relate to issues of production level and efficiency. It begins by examining the main classes of public goods from ...
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Develops two typologies of global public goods, and explains how issues of publicness relate to issues of production level and efficiency. It begins by examining the main classes of public goods from the viewpoint of how the nature of their benefits could affect the prognosis for their provision. It shows that judging provision efficiency becomes more complex when technologies of supply aggregation are taken into account. It then discusses two additional, special classes of public goods—club goods and joint products. On the basis of this analysis, the chapter suggests a few measures that could be employed in judging optimal provision, a discussion that leads to the two typologies, and is useful for supply prognoses. Finally, it searches for the Holy Grail: an empirical measure of optimality.Less
Develops two typologies of global public goods, and explains how issues of publicness relate to issues of production level and efficiency. It begins by examining the main classes of public goods from the viewpoint of how the nature of their benefits could affect the prognosis for their provision. It shows that judging provision efficiency becomes more complex when technologies of supply aggregation are taken into account. It then discusses two additional, special classes of public goods—club goods and joint products. On the basis of this analysis, the chapter suggests a few measures that could be employed in judging optimal provision, a discussion that leads to the two typologies, and is useful for supply prognoses. Finally, it searches for the Holy Grail: an empirical measure of optimality.
S. N. Afriat
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198284611
- eISBN:
- 9780191595844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198284616.003.0025
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This is the second of five chapters on optimal programming (the typical mathematics of economics) and related issues as related to choice making. It introduces convexity conditions, and shows where ...
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This is the second of five chapters on optimal programming (the typical mathematics of economics) and related issues as related to choice making. It introduces convexity conditions, and shows where they have effect, together with Slater's condition, in assuring the existence of a support to the limit function, so providing Lagrange multipliers, or shadow prices, of resources that have part in the optimality conditions. Then for the case of differentiable functions the Kuhn–Tucker conditions are obtained. The six sections of the chapter are: convexity; programming convexity theorem; Slater's condition; optimality theorem; non‐negative maxima; the Kuhn–Tucker conditions.Less
This is the second of five chapters on optimal programming (the typical mathematics of economics) and related issues as related to choice making. It introduces convexity conditions, and shows where they have effect, together with Slater's condition, in assuring the existence of a support to the limit function, so providing Lagrange multipliers, or shadow prices, of resources that have part in the optimality conditions. Then for the case of differentiable functions the Kuhn–Tucker conditions are obtained. The six sections of the chapter are: convexity; programming convexity theorem; Slater's condition; optimality theorem; non‐negative maxima; the Kuhn–Tucker conditions.
Allison E. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847422712
- eISBN:
- 9781447301448
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847422712.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
Many western nations have experienced a rise in the number of marginalised and deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. Despite a plethora of research focused on these areas, there remain few studies that ...
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Many western nations have experienced a rise in the number of marginalised and deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. Despite a plethora of research focused on these areas, there remain few studies that have sought to capture the ‘optimality’ of ageing in place in such places. In particular, little is known about why some older people desire to age in place despite multiple risks in their neighbourhood and why others reject ageing in place. Given the growth in both the ageing of the population and policy interest in the cohesion and sustainability of neighbourhoods there is an urgent need to better understand the experience of ageing in marginalised locations. This book aims to address the shortfall in knowledge regarding older people's attachment to deprived neighbourhoods and in so doing progress what critics have referred to as the languishing state of environmental gerontology. The author examines new cross-national research with older people in deprived urban neighbourhoods and suggests a rethinking and refocusing of the older person's relationship with place. Impact on policy and future research are also discussed. This book will be relevant to academics, students, architects, city planners and policy makers with an interest in environmental gerontology, social exclusion, urban sustainability and design of the built environment.Less
Many western nations have experienced a rise in the number of marginalised and deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. Despite a plethora of research focused on these areas, there remain few studies that have sought to capture the ‘optimality’ of ageing in place in such places. In particular, little is known about why some older people desire to age in place despite multiple risks in their neighbourhood and why others reject ageing in place. Given the growth in both the ageing of the population and policy interest in the cohesion and sustainability of neighbourhoods there is an urgent need to better understand the experience of ageing in marginalised locations. This book aims to address the shortfall in knowledge regarding older people's attachment to deprived neighbourhoods and in so doing progress what critics have referred to as the languishing state of environmental gerontology. The author examines new cross-national research with older people in deprived urban neighbourhoods and suggests a rethinking and refocusing of the older person's relationship with place. Impact on policy and future research are also discussed. This book will be relevant to academics, students, architects, city planners and policy makers with an interest in environmental gerontology, social exclusion, urban sustainability and design of the built environment.
