Digital Commons Network^™

Progressive Policy, Howard J. Sherman

HOWARD J SHERMAN

Inequality, Boom, And Bust: From Billionaire Capitalism To Equality And Full Employment, Howard J. Sherman, Paul Sherman

HOWARD J SHERMAN

Inequality, Boom, And Bust: From Billionaire Capitalism To Equality And Full Employment, Howard J. Sherman, Paul Sherman

HOWARD J SHERMAN

Compensation Of Farm Employees, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Iowa farm operators were surveyed to learn what type and level of compensation they paid to full-time employees in 1997. The average total compensation paid was $26, 914, of which 79 percent consisted of cash wages.Benefits accounted for 18 percent of the compensation, and bonuses and wages in kind amounted to 3 percent.Housing and insurance plans were the most significant benefits provided

Compensation Of Farm Employees, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Iowa farm operators were surveyed to learn what type and level of compensation they paid to full-time employees in 1997. The average total compensation paid was $26, 914, of which 79 percent consisted of cash wages.Benefits accounted for 18 percent of the compensation, and bonuses and wages in kind amounted to 3 percent.Housing and insurance plans were the most significant benefits provided

Compensation Of Farm Employees, William M. Edwards

William Edwards

Iowa farm operators were surveyed to learn what type and level of compensation they paid to full-time employees in 1997. The average total compensation paid was $26, 914, of which 79 percent consisted of cash wages.Benefits accounted for 18 percent of the compensation, and bonuses and wages in kind amounted to 3 percent.Housing and insurance plans were the most significant benefits provided

Nuclear Chain Reaction: Why Economic Sanctions Are Not Worth The Public Costs, Nicholas C.W. Wolfe

Nicholas A Wolfe

International economic sanctions frequently violate human rights in targeted states and rarely achieve their objectives. However, many hail economic sanctions as an important nonviolent tool for coercing and persuading change. In November 2013, the Islamic Republic of Iran negotiated a temporary agreement with major world powers regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The United States’ media and politicians have repeatedly and incorrectly attributed Iran’s willingness to negotiate to the effectiveness of economic sanctions.

Politicians primarily focus on immediate domestic effects and enact sanctions without a thorough understanding of the long-term effects on the United States economy and the public within a targeted …

Notes On The Policy Seminar On Inequality And Development, Held On The 26th Of September 2014 At The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Of Finland, J. G. A. Saviranta

Akseli Saviranta

The following document presents summarised key notes from the United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) policy seminar titled “Inequality and Development – Trends and Policies”. This policy seminar represented a follow-up to a prior two-day conference organised earlier in the same month by the same institute, in which the author has participated as well.

Testing Conflicting Political Economy Theories: Full-Fledged Versus Partial-Scope Regional Trade Agreements, Xuepeng Liu

Xuepeng Liu

We apply a duration analysis to test the conflicting predictions of the median voter model and the lobbying model using panel data on regional trade agreement (RTA) formation. Our results show that the pro-labor prediction of the median voter model is supported by the full-fledged free trade areas and customs unions (FTAs/CUs), while the pro-capital prediction of the lobbying model is supported by the partial-scope preferential trade arrangements among developing countries. This finding holds better for the country pairs with more different capital-labor ratios as a result of the stronger distributional effects of RTAs. The support for the median voter …

The Impact Of Government Policies On Access To Broadband, James Prieger

James E. Prieger

With a new focus for federal universal service programs on broadband and the NTIA BTOP funding for broadband adoption projects, recent years have been “exciting times” for those interested in broadband policy aimed at stimulating adoption. While most of the recent programs are still too new to be evaluated rigorously, lessons from older academic study can inform our expectations and lend guidance toward evaluating program success. In this brief work, I review what we know from the last decade and a half of literature on the impact of regulation on broadband adoption, discuss the (mostly woeful) attempts at evaluating adoption …

New Minimum Wage Research: Symposium Introduction, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The passage of the 1989 FLSA amendments stimulated a new wave of research on the effects of minimum wage legislation, and five of the resulting papers are gathered together in this symposium. Four of these are revisions of papers that were presented at the ILR-Cornell Institute for Labor Market Policies/Princeton University Industrial Relations Section Conference, "New Minimum Wage Research," which was held at Cornell University on November 15, 1991. These papers, as well as the fifth paper, which was contributed by one of the conference participants after the conference was concluded, have all been subject to a refereeing process. …

Enhancing The Attractiveness Of Research To Female Faculty, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] CSWEP has long been concerned about the underrepresentation of women in faculty positions at major research universities. I have been charged by the committee with enumerating a set of policies that might enhance the attractiveness of research universities to female faculty. After presenting some data that suggest the magnitude of the underrepresentation problem, I do so below. In each case, I sketch the pros and cons of the policy. Although the focus is on increasing the attractiveness of research universities to female faculty, many of the policies would increase the attractiveness of academic careers per se to new female …

Symposium Report: Findings From The Research Roundtable On The Economic And Community Impact Of Broadband, Edward Feser, John Horrigan, William Lehr

Edward J Feser

In December 2012, a group of experts spanning disciplines and practice in the field of broadband policy met to discuss how the research community can better serve state and local policymakers and other stakeholders. This group of subject matter experts was convened to examine how best to measure the economic impact of state and national broadband deployment and capacity/adoption building efforts. The impetus for the symposium stemmed from the widespread view that there is a deficit of research, standards, and measurements to adequately inform the widely acknowledged view that broadband Internet is a driver of sustainable economic and community development. …

The Evolution Of Revolution: Is Splintering Inevitable?, Atin Basu Choudhary, Laura Razzolini

Atin Basu Choudhary

We use an evolutionary model to study splintering in rebels’ groups. We assume that rebels possess cultural traits that encourage cooperation, defection (splintering) or some sort of trigger behavior like Tit-For-Tat. We characterize the dynamic process through which the rebels’ discount rate determines whether splintering will occur in the population, even when cooperation is efficient. Contrary to the usual Folk Theorem prediction, we show that, even when rebels are extremely patient, cooperation may not evolve if the initial distribution of cultures in the population is not favorable. Thus, political actions by the states or governments that make rebels impatient may …

Faculty Retirement Policies After The End Of Mandatory Retirement, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Michael J. Rizzo

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The findings we report above have implications for both institutions and their faculty members. In some states, rapidly growing college age cohorts will require academic institutions to hire large numbers of new faculty in the years ahead to fill positions created to meet the expanding demand for enrollments. Nationally, institutions will have to replace a large number of retiring faculty members in the years ahead. This suggests that most institutions’ concern in upcoming years will not be how to encourage their faculty members to retire. Rather, their concern will be how to continue to draw on the skills of …

Do Historically Black Institutions Of Higher Education Confer Unique Advantages On Black Students? An Initial Analysis, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Donna S. Rothstein

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Despite the declining relative importance of HBIs in the production of black bachelor's degrees, in recent years they have become the subject of intense public policy debate for two reasons. First, court cases have been filed in a number of southern states that assert that black students continue to be underrepresented at traditionally white public institutions, that discriminatory admissions criteria are used by these institutions to exclude black students (e.g., basing admissions only on test scores and not also on grades), and that per student funding levels, program availability, and library facilities are substantially poorer at public HBIs than …

Reit White Paper, Frederic Juillet

Frederic Juillet

Subject: Resulting from the recent financial crisis, this white paper discusses how to better defend shareholders’ investments in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for the long-term and how to reduce volatility in the REITs market.

Course Outline, Contemporary Issues In Human Development And Policy, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is the course outline for 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy: A New Millennium Perspective' January-May 2012, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.

Maestros To Multipliers: Exploring The Evolution Of Public Sector Innovation Intermediation And Governance (A Case Study Of Greater Manchester, 2003-2011), Martin Wain

Martin Wain

There has been a trend within the last decade, observable to economic development practitioners, for innovation becoming increasingly integrated into and central to mainstream economic development. To date it can be seen across all areas of economic development, including factors of competitiveness and competitive advantage, to the attraction and retention of talent. Arguably, this extends the policy recommendations and implications of innovation from competitiveness and growth to the perceived dynamicity and attractiveness of a locale to potential inward investors and upwardly mobile entrepreneurs.

This dissertation explores the evolution of innovation policy, through design and implementation, over a nine-year period. The …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Manufacturing, Jennifer Clark, Pierre Clavel

Jennifer Clark

El Paso Economic Development System Review & Recommendations, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

This report, commissioned by the City of El Paso, recommends that El Paso city government undertake a substantial reform of its economic development effort and that public and private sector stakeholders in the broader El Paso region mobilize to create an organizational vehicle for the kind of public‐private collaboration that is driving innovative economic development in many other major city‐regions in the United States. The analysis also calls for a stronger integration of physical, land use, and economic development planning activities in the city and region, consistent with a trend in international best practice in local and regional economic development.

[Review Of The Book Labor Regulation In The Global Economy], Gary Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This is a practical and useful volume on labor standards in today’s highly globalized world. An introduction is followed by ten chapters, some of them general, talking about the ILO or the WTO, and some more specific, focusing on the United States and Europe. The general chapters cover the ILO, corporate codes of conduct, efforts to introduce labor standards into the multilateral trade regime, arguments for and against labor standards in trade, and policy implications. The specific chapters cover U.S. initiatives on child labor, labor standards in the bilateral trade agreements entered into by the United States and the …

[Review Of The Book Successes In Anti-Poverty], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Michael Lipton has devoted a long career to studying and fighting poverty in the developing world. In this volume he talks about how to make anti-poverty programs work.

[Review Of The Book Private Pension Policies In Industrialized Countries: A Comparative Analysis], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] John Turner and Noriyasu Watanabe have written numerous articles and books on pensions and employee benefits. In this collaborative effort, they synthesize a great deal of institutional and analytical material on a wide range of countries, including those typically regarded as industrialized (most of the OECD countries are the subjects of case studies and illustrations) and those that would probably be happy to learn that they now fall into that category (in particular, Chile and Argentina). The book is both accessible (there are no equations in sight) and analytical.

Strengthening Greater Manchester's Economic Base Through Science, Innovation And Research And Development: Report Of Panel, Manchester Developmental Panel

Martin Wain

This report offers the findings and conclusions of the Developmental Panel, which visited Greater Manchester at the invitation of the Commission for the New Economy and the Northern Way. The Panel’s goal was to inform thinking about how Greater Manchester can strengthen its economic base through science, innovation, and research and development in a context of economic and structural change. The Panel visited Manchester on February 23rd and 24th, 2011, meeting with representatives of public, private, university, community and other organisations engaged in innovation, business, and economic development in Greater Manchester. The Panel is grateful for the time and co-operation …

Economic Writing On The Pressing Problems Of The Day: The Roles Of Moral Intuition And Methodological Confusion, Julie A. Nelson

Julie A. Nelson

Economists are often called on to help address pressing problems of the day, yet many economists are uncomfortable about disclosing the values that they bring to this work. This essay explores how an inadequate understanding of the role of methodology, as related to ethics and human emotions of concern, underlies this reluctance and compromises the quality of economic advice. The tension between caring about the problems, on the one hand, and writing within the existing culture of the discipline, on the other, are illustrated with examples from U.S. policymaking, behavioral economics, and the economics of climate change and global poverty. …

Risk And Prices: The Role Of User Sanctions In Marijuana Markets, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Beau Kilmer, Michael Grossman, Frank Chaloupka

Rosalie Liccardo Pacula

User sanctions influence the legal risk for consumers who engage in illegal drug markets. If a reduction in user sanctions leads to an increase in consumption, drug prices will rise unless supply is perfectly elastic. In equilibrium, a change in consumption associated with decreasing user sanctions could be relatively small if supply is upward sloping. Using a novel dataset with rich transaction-level information, this paper evaluates the impact of recent changes in user sanctions for marijuana on marijuana prices. The results suggest that lower legal risks for users are associated with higher marijuana prices in the short-run, which ceteris paribus, …

Systemic Analysis Of Social Scientists Policy Research And Economic Reforms In Nigeria, Sikir Abdulsalam

Sikiru Abidemi Abdulsalam

Despite numerous policy research institutes, organizations and social research in Nigeria, social outputs seem to have contributed little to policy articulation and formulation process. This feeble interface between knowledge base and policy formulation reduces the latter to a subject of intuitive judgment. This paper uses a schematic analysis approach to examine the relationship between policy space, social scientist and economy performance in Nigeria. The paper found that the input of policy research which should necessarily underscore economic reforms is inadequate and not effective. These adverse weaknesses are assumed to have substantiated the economic downtrodden in Nigeria. We recommend that the …

Critical Examination Of Ghana’S Agriculture Policy Under Vision 2020 Document - Ppt, Hector Addison

Hector Addison

Ghana, like many developing economies has a huge agricultural based with cocoa being the major export commodity. Since independence in 1957, Ghana had struggled to put together and implement and model of development that guarantees better life for her citizenry. This paper looks at one such document and analyzes it from agriculture perspective in the context of present realities. It is clear that Ghana stands to gain from a transformed agricultural sector which might lead the way to discover the eluded glory as a resource endowed nation

Globalization, Regional Economic Policy And Research, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

This paper considers two questions. First, are there unique implications of growing global economic integration for development planning and policy making at the city and regional level? Key issues include whether globalization is appreciably different today than it used to be and whether it means anything more, from the perspective of a given city or region, than heightened competition for resident industries and related challenges of more rapid macro-regional structural change and adjustment. Second, what kinds of spatial empirical research and model building would be most valuable to regional policy makers faced with designing programs and making specific allocative investment …