The Super League in prisoner’s dilemma
June 24, 2021
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June 24, 2021

Whether you are a football fan or not, you will no doubt have heard about the farce of the Super League in spring – where twelve well-known football clubs from England, Spain and Italy established a new football association, but it collapsed within 48 hours.

written by Tianchi Li
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Committing fraud and getting rewarded – part 1
March 26, 2021
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March 26, 2021

French transport company, Keolis, won a public tender in 2019 for the bus transportation rights in the Eastern provinces of the Netherlands. The contract, valued at 900 million Euros, was revoked in the summer of 2020 as reports showed that Keolis had signed fraudulent agreements with their subcontractors. With the contract already due in December, the government had to award Keolis a two-year emergency concession to limit welfare losses. This article will demonstrate, through a game-theoretical analysis, how this tender rewarded fraudulent behaviour at the expense of society, potentially setting a bad precedent. We will also explain how the government should redesign future tender processes, to incentivise ethical behaviour and discourage fraud.

written by Bart Vreugdenhil & Dieter van de Scheur
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