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Mixed-integer linearity in nonlinear optimization: a trust region approach
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Bringing together nonlinear optimization with polyhedral and integrality constraints enables versatile modeling, but poses significant computational challenges. We investigate a method to address these problems based on sequential mixed-integer linearization with trust region safeguard, computing feasible iterates via calls to a generic mixed-integer linear solver. Convergence to critical, possibly suboptimal, feasible points is established for arbitrary starting points. Finally, we present numerical applications in nonsmooth optimal control and optimal network design and operation
Two kinds of bias
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I distinguish two meanings of the term bias in the social sciences. In the first, biases are functional: they are necessary, and simultaneously enable and constrain perception and cognition. In the second, biases are viewed as errors and ideally should be reduced to zero. In the functional view, bias is value-neutral, neither good nor bad. This pragmatic perspective accepts that cognition must operate under conditions of uncertainty (rather than the certainty of a “small world”) and intractability (where the optimal solution cannot be calculated). Biases enable cognition to deal with these situations where probability theory offers no guidance, for instance, through intelligent heuristics. In contrast, the error view assigns a negative value to bias. It assumes that cognition deals with problems where the true state of the world is known with certainty – at least to some authority. This distinction has profound implications for research design: the two views lead not only to different answers, but also to different questions. Researchers who adopt the error view take the deviation between judgment and true state as the explanandum, not the judgment itself. As a consequence, the functional question – What does a bias achieve? – is virtually never asked, nor is the possibility considered that certain biases might lead to better judgments. This is one reason why less-is-more effects –conditions under which ignoring information yield more accurate inferences – were discovered only recently. Ultimately, views about the nature of bias can themselves become a bias in research on biases
The Returns to Education in Arkansas: Evidence from the 1987 Compulsory Education Law
No full textThis paper estimates the returns to education in Arkansas-one of the last states to extend compulsory schooling-using ACS 2023 data and the 1987 Compulsory Schooling Law (CSL) reform as an instrument. OLS estimates imply returns of 9.5-10.4 percent per year of schooling. The CSL reform increased schooling among compliers by 0.67-0.73 years and yields IV returns of 10.4-11.7 percent, exceeding OLS estimates. The results indicate that those compelled to remain in school benefited most, consistent with global evidence on higher causal returns for disadvantaged students
Inflation and Public Support for the Euro
No full textThe paper finds that the post-pandemic inflation surge and subsequent decline from 2021 to 2024 had no significant impact on public support for the Euro for the EA-19 and for most individual member states of the EA-19. From 2021 to 2024, net public support for the euro remained remarkably stable and reached historically high values across the EA-19. Perceptions of inflation in the national and personal economic situation had no significant effect on public support for the euro during the post-pandemic inflation surge and subsequent decline from 2021 to 2023. These findings contrast with those for the before-crisis and crisis periods, in which inflation and inflation perceptions had a significant negative impact on public support for the euro. Similar to public support for the euro, trust in the institutions that govern the Euro was also not affected by the post-pandemic inflation surge
Nudging society to consume—the aggregate consequences of consumption nudges
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Government nudging, towards say healthy or sustainable behaviors, is often criticized as harmful to individual autonomy. Yet free markets naturally give rise to pervasive consumption nudging by private actors. Such nudging, for instance in the form of advertising, can affect not only behavior but also the social dynamics that shape preference formation. Despite much controversy, both the normative implications and aggregate consequences of this remain unclear. Here, we develop the suggestion, made by several prominent economists, that private nudging contributes to continuous aggregate consumption growth. We argue that such a positive net-effect of private nudging, on both individual and aggregate consumption, is not only real, but cumulative. We further argue that the use of “observed consumption” (i.e., revealed preference) as a proxy for preference satisfaction elicits the cultural evolution of ever more sophisticated nudging. The upshot is that free markets give rise to an emergent system-level force, as if there were an invisible paternalist who, regardless of the intentions of any market participant, incessantly nudges individual and aggregate consumption to increase. This has profound implications, for individual autonomy and democratic self-governance, particularly in the light of issues such as climate change, obesity, or increasingly sophisticated digital nudging.B52;D63;O3
Neue Wege in die IT: Wie Unternehmen Frauen erfolgreich für den Quereinstieg gewinnen
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Diese Studie untersucht, wie Frauen ohne formale IT-Vorbildung erfolgreich in IT-Karrieren integriert werden können. Im Rahmen einer qualitativen Fallstudie wurden Stellenanzeigen analysiert sowie Interviews mit Mitarbeiterinnen eines mittelständischen deutschen IT-Dienstleistungsunternehmens geführt, das seit über einem Jahrzehnt gezielt weibliche Quereinsteigerinnen rekrutiert und begleitet, von der ersten Wahrnehmung über Rekrutierung und Onboarding bis hin zur langfristigen Karriereentwicklung. Im Fokus steht, wie das Unternehmen seine Werte und Kultur strategisch kommuniziert, um potenzielle Bewerberinnen anzusprechen und Zugangsbarrieren abzubauen. Die Ergebnisse liefern sowohl theoretische Impulse für die Forschung zu IT-Karrieren als auch praxisnahe Empfehlungen für Unternehmen, die Diversität fördern und dem Fachkräftemangel durch erfolgreiche Integration von Quereinsteigerinnen begegnen wollen. @This study explores how women without formal IT training can successfully transition into IT careers. As part of a qualitative case study, job advertisements were analyzed, and interviews were conducted with employees of a medium-sized German IT service company that has been actively recruiting and supporting female career changers for over a decade, covering the entire transition process from initial awareness and recruitment to onboarding and long-term career development. The study focuses on how the company strategically communicates its values and culture to attract potential female applicants and reduce access barriers. The findings offer both theoretical insights for research on IT careers and practical recommendations for organizations seeking to promote diversity and address skill shortages by effectively integrating career changers
A Refugee Health Paradox? Self‐Reported Health Trajectories of Refugees and Immigrants in Germany
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Immigrants typically have better health than natives upon arrival owing to health selection, but this advantage declines over time. This “Immigrant Health Paradox” (IHP) is generalized to all immigrant groups, without recognizing key differences between them. Research on the health of asylum seekers and refugees (AS&Rs) is mostly cross‐sectional, often lacks other immigrants or natives as control groups, and mainly focuses on psychopathological disorders. I bridge the literature on immigrant and AS&R health by investigating the health trajectories of AS&Rs vis‐à‐vis other immigrants and natives. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel (2015–2022), I examine general health, health concerns, and SF‐12 physical and mental health for AS&Rs and other immigrants arriving in the first half of the 2010s. I confirm the IHP for non‐AS&R immigrants, while the health trajectories of AS&Rs are more complex. AS&Rs have a mental health disadvantage upon arrival that is gradually closed, while they have a health advantage for other outcomes that is stable or increasing before declining. AS&R women have worse health than men, especially upon arrival. Results are consistent across specifications, including fixed effects models. My findings question the generalizability of the IHP and the assumption that AS&Rs are a negatively selected group
The Rise of Health Economics: Transforming the Landscape of Economic Research
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This paper explores the evolving role of health economics within economic research and publishing over the past 30 years. Historically, largely a niche field, health economics has become increasingly prominent, with the share of health economics papers in top journals growing significantly. We aim to identify the factors behind this rise. Using a combination of bibliometric methods and natural language processing (NLP), we classify abstracts to define health economics. Adapting NLP methods to evaluate the novelty, impact, and quality of academic papers, we demonstrate that the mainstreaming of health economics is driven by innovative, high‐quality research, with two notable waves in quality ratings that highlight the emergence and impact of distinct subfields within the discipline. We find a strong positive correlation between citations and quality ratings, with health economics papers receiving fewer citations for their quality compared to other economics fields. Pandemic‐related research received a high number of citations during 2020 and 2021; however, our findings indicate that this work was not systematically more novel or impactful than prior studies within the same subfield
Social Innovation in Small‐Scale Blue Food Systems: A Case Study of Oyster Harvesters in The Gambia, West Africa
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The emerging “Blue Economy” and “Blue Growth” paradigms, focusing on economic growth, innovations, and environmental sustainability, have increasingly dominated discussions on marine and coastal development. However, in this discourse, the future of small‐scale blue food systems often remains underemphasized and increasingly uncertain. This paper explores the potential of social innovation approaches as tools to support a collective and inclusive transformation within blue food systems in the blue economy. We draw on a case study of a female‐led social enterprise in The Gambia—the TRY Oyster Women's Association (TRY)—to highlight the social innovation pathways for small‐scale blue food systems transformation. The study shows that social innovation through institutional changes, participatory governance, emerging institutional entrepreneurs, and financial resource mobilization and support facilitates effective natural resources management, environmental stewardship, and social and economic inclusion within small‐scale blue food systems. Importantly, the granting of TRY's exclusive user rights through a national Fishery Act has facilitated community engagement in sustainable management of the oyster shellfish and mangroves in The Gambia. Also, TRY promotes community empowerment and social cohesion through social learning and capacity‐building initiatives with financial and technical support from external partners enabling the association to thrive as a social enterprise. The paper underscores the significance of social innovation in steering successful transformation within small‐scale blue food systems, fostering environmental and inclusive resource management in the blue economy with applicability in similar geographical contexts
Press Publishers Versus AI – Not a Matter of Property but of Fairness
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AI-powered answer engines are leading to the media revolution of our time. Within seconds, they provide their users with AI-generated answers thereby creating a new information structure online. To generate their content, they also use press publications. This results in a new conflict: press publishers versus AI. To address it, EU media regulation should not aim at securing the income stream of press publishers, but at a well-functioning information market that benefits the public sphere. In this opinion, I propose to frame the conflict not as one of property but as a matter of fairness between competitors on today’s information market. Due to the principle of freedom of imitation, answer engines may resemble press publications if their imitations do not exceed a certain threshold of unfairness