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Cass Sunstein details intrinsic flaws in group discussion, even in ideal deliberation, and draws attention to prediction markets and information-aggregation devices on the internet as supplements to discussion. I respond that the supposed flaws do not affect ideal deliberation, and that the evaluation of group discussion is too pessimistic: there are alternative hypotheses to account for his findings, and there are doubts about their external validity. Also, I contend that his evaluation of prediction markets and internet devices is too optimistic. The markets have failed miserably, and the internet is vulnerable to astroturfing by the powerful and wealthy. Keywords: discussion; deliberation; prediction markets; information aggregation; power., Introduction The deliberative approach reigns in democratic theory. Yet, the institutional recommendations of deliberative democracy do not go far beyond the injunction to increase group discussion, in its sites, in [...]

Charles Smith in the Market It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to write a short comment based on Charles Smith's article, 'Markets as Definitional Practices' (2007). [...]

Markets are an efficient way of producing and distributing a very large number of mundane items. Market incentives are a dependable way of getting our bread baked. Markets allow us [...]

Building on the observation that competitive dynamics and market evolution are inextricably linked and underresearched, we propose a road map to guide and stimulate future research in the area. A [...]

We compare first-price auctions to an exchange process that we term 'multilateral negotiations.' In multilateral negotiations, a buyer solicits price offers for a homogeneous product from sellers with privately known [...]

This paper establishes a concept for Product, Process, and Methodology (PPM) systematization to handle both structural complexity (often referred as hard complexity) and computational complexity (also referred as soft complexity) in product realization. A systematization methodology is proposed to handle both these complexities through a four-stage process: Planning, Systematization, Solution and Unification. Planning is the first stage where system specification is defined. Systematization is a systematic decomposition of the problem into a set of discrete sub-problems. There are three kinds of systematization that can be employed in product realization: Methodology systematization, Product systematization and Process systematization. During the Solution stage, a number of computational alternatives, solution strategies or topological options for handling soft complexity are obtained for each sub-problem, and the best solution is selected. Unification is an aggregation or a reconstruction of an overall product solution from various alternative solutions to the sub-problems. A branching and bounding methodology has been employed here first to branch the complex product and process into `sub-domains' and `loops' and later bound these loops back into sub-domains and then further bound those sub-domains back into an integrated product development system. The branching and bounding methodology provides the product development teams the ability to refine successively the `goodness or fitness' of a baseline product concept as teams proceed from one nested loop to another. PPM systematization is a convenient way of organizing the process necessary for a new product realization or for developing future product upgrades. Keywords product systematization; product and process realization; structural complexity; computational complexity; concurrent engineering; planning; optimization; solution, INTRODUCTION The product environment in modern manufacturing is very complex. It consists of many components of products, processes, and services (Fleischer and Liker, 1997), including information technology (IT) services (hardware [...]

The term 'globalization' has become the focal point of intense political and economic controversy. On the one hand, globalization in all its forms is presented as a fount of opportunity. [...]

Entrepreneurial action, information intensity and market transformation Introduction 'Organizations of the world unite!' proclaim the theorists of the long-awaited, yet much anticipated information revolution and its comrade-in-arms, the global business [...]

This essay assesses communitarian and democratic critiques of capitalist economies. Distinguishing them are sharply contrasting evaluations of markets and private property. Communitarian critics of capitalism trace its moral failure to [...]

I. INTRODUCTION Allocative efficiency is the ratio of the actual to the potential gains from trade, which are equal to the sum of Marshallian consumer and producer surplus.(1) Allocative efficiency [...]

Jean-Baptiste Say was well-known among his contemporary economists and even nowadays several of his ideas continue to wield influence. The reason for this tenacity is that every time one constituent [...]

The front cover story of The American Conservative (Barber, 2007), 'I shop therefore I am' was provocative yet insightful, playing on Descartes' proof 'I think, therefore I am,' a common [...]

The Role of Ideology in National Defense The practical superiority of markets over governments has become readily apparent. Only the most dogmatic of state apologists continue to deny this obvious [...]

Abstract Some economists find markets everywhere and assume that they emerge spontaneously once a set of necessary conditions such as well-defined property rights is fulfilled. Others emphasise the role of [...]

Charles R. Plott [*] The academic literature, Wall Street commentary, and even daily news reporting reflect a belief that markets can anticipate events. The current movements in the stock market [...]

IT IS NOW COMMONPLACE to speak of the power of 'the markets' relative to the prerogatives both of individual firms providing goods and services and of governments themselves. The markets [...]

JEL D00.D21.R10 The spatial invariance theorem states that if the production function is homothetic, then the optimal plant location and the optimal input ratio are independent of the output level, [...]