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We study a microfounded search model of exchange in the laboratory. Using a within-subjects design, we consider exchange behavior with and without an intrinsically worthless token object. While these tokens have no redemption value, like fiat money they may foster greater exchange and welfare via the coordinating role of having prices of goods in terms of tokens. We find that welfare is indeed improved by the presence of tokens provided that the economy starts out with a supply of such tokens. In economies that operate for some time without tokens, the later surprise introduction of tokens does not serve to improve welfare. We also explore the impact of announced changes in the economy-wide stock of tokens (fiat money) on prices. Consistent with the quantity theory of money, we find that increases in the stock of money (tokens) have no real effects and mainly result in proportionate changes to prices. However, the same finding does not hold for decreases in the stock of money.

A growing maturity Facilities subscribers continue to be drawn from the senior ranks of the profession — from those who have been around long enough to separate the new from the novel. And although it was not entirely composed of our subscribers, that maturity of outlook was everywhere apparent in the Café Royal audience on 30 October, when a selection of thoroughly professional delegates resisted a series of interpretations of facilities management — as a branch of sociology, architecture, building economics, business systematising and even design — and insisted on its right to a unique, independent existence of its own. The information provided by the speakers — the expertise laid before the delegates by architects Frank Duffy and John Worthington, building economist Bernard Williams, journalist Martin Pawley, computer systematiser Tina Rich Walden and design consultant Peter Gorb — was eagerly snapped up: the comprehensive documentation gathered up and taken away for reference. But this was as predicted: the quality of information should have been no surprise to anyone. What was heartening — and needed a forum such as this to find expression — was the quality and assurance of the prominent facilities managers present, and in particular the members of the panel and the facilities manager speaker. To a large extent the sensitive and enquiring chairmanship of John Nicholas was responsible for an atmosphere of generosity and exchange. Each member of the panel accepted with both hands the distilled wisdom of those other professions — but held firm for the autonomy of their own. And it was our strong impression that their demeanour proved their point: a body of people that can produce such stars — articulate, informed, visible and accountable — and from such a wide variety of backgrounds, from local authorities to multinationals, can no longer sensibly be regarded as an offshoot of some other body.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a hypothesis about the core elements of an effective transition process in a system of self-directed support and to suggest that the approach to integration in public services may need to radically change.

This a reflective piece, drawing on decades of practical work by the authors, combined with an understanding of the literature and the social policy context.

Typical solutions to the problem of transition focus on system change instead of ensuring that power and control shifts to families and young people. A change in starting point opens up more empowering and practical solutions for the real world.

This paper goes deeper than others on the same subject by moving beyond the outcomes and issues, to suggest some lessons for social policy makers, professionals and citizens.

In this article, we survey experiments that are directly related to monetary policy and central banking. We argue that experiments can also be used as a tool for central bankers for bench testing policy measures or rules. We distinguish experiments that analyze the reasons for non-neutrality of monetary policy, experiments in which subjects play the role of central bankers, experiments that analyze the role of central bank communication and its implications, experiments on the optimal implementation of monetary policy, and experiments relevant for monetary policy responses to financial crises. Finally, we mention open issues and raise new avenues for future research.

This article discusses the methodology of using laboratory methods to address macroeconomic questions. It also provides summaries of the articles in this volume.

All societies in the modern world are troubled by crime, and the general public is equally fascinated by criminals and fearful of criminal behaviour. In the United Kingdom, events such as the murders of Jack the Ripper, the Yorkshire Ripper and Harold Shipman, and the Soham tragedy, coupled with film and television programmes including Silence of the Lambs, Cracker and Crime Scene Investigation, have fuelled the public's consciousness of the criminal mind.In the fight against crime, the development of offender profiling by the FBI in the USA has further captured people's imagination. The technique was introduced to help law enforcement agencies solve serious crimes such as serial rape or murder, and to a lesser extent arson and property crime. At the heart of profiling lies the belief that by combining psychological principles with crime scene analysis, it is possible to identify the likely characteristics of a perpetrator.Although advances in crime detection are welcomed, the profiling field appears riddled with contradiction and disagreement. Social scientists argue that the discipline is unscientific due to methodologically weak research, while police officers appear sceptical about its benefits for solving crime. In Britain, profiling has witnessed both notable successes, for example Canter's profile of the serial rapist and murderer John Duffy, and dramatic failures, such as the Colin Stagg profile in the Rachel Nickell inquiry. This article reviews the offender profiling literature, examines its applicability in the legal system and identifies areas for future research.

Expectations play a crucial role in finance, macroeconomics, monetary economics, and fiscal policy. In the last decade a rapidly increasing number of laboratory experiments have been performed to study individual expectation formation, the interactions of individual forecasting rules, and the aggregate macro behavior they co-create. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive literature survey on laboratory experiments on expectations in macroeconomics and finance. In particular, we discuss the extent to which expectations are rational or may be described by simple forecasting heuristics, at the individual as well as the aggregate level.