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Articles 1 - 28 of 28
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Capital Management Techniques In Developing Countries: An Assessment Of Experiences From The 1990'S And Lessons For The Future, Gerald Epstein, Ilene Grabel, Jomo K. S.
Capital Management Techniques In Developing Countries: An Assessment Of Experiences From The 1990'S And Lessons For The Future, Gerald Epstein, Ilene Grabel, Jomo K. S.
PERI Working Papers
This paper uses the term, capital management techniques, to refer to two complementary (and often overlapping) types of financial policies: policies that govern international private capital flows and those that enforce prudential management of domestic financial institutions. The paper shows that regimes of capital management take diverse forms and are multi-faceted. The paper also shows that capital management techniques can be static or dynamic. Static management techniques are those that authorities do not modify in response to changes in circumstances. Capital management techniques can also be dynamic, meaning that they can be activated or adjusted as circumstances warrant. Three types …
Capital Flows, Capital Account Regimes, And Foreign Exchange Rate Regimes In Africa, Léonce Ndikumana
Capital Flows, Capital Account Regimes, And Foreign Exchange Rate Regimes In Africa, Léonce Ndikumana
PERI Working Papers
This study examines capital flows and shifts in capital account and exchange rate regimes in African countries over the past two decades. The evidence shows that official lending to Africa has declined while the volume of private capital flows remains low and significantly below the levels observed in other developing regions. Private capital inflows to Africa are limited due to several factors, including the weakness of the macroeconomic environment, underdeveloped financial systems, high country risk, and exchange rate misalignments. The focus of policy reforms must be on alleviating these constraints in order to attract more foreign capital and overcome the …
Informalization, Economic Growth And The Challenge Of Creating Viable Labor Standards In Developing Countries, James Heintz, Robert Pollin
Informalization, Economic Growth And The Challenge Of Creating Viable Labor Standards In Developing Countries, James Heintz, Robert Pollin
PERI Working Papers
Over recent decades, there has been the substantial rise in the proportion of people engaged in what is termed informal employment, generating a broad trend toward “informalization” of labor market conditions in developing countries, even when economic growth is proceeding. We consider the relationship between the rise of informalization and the corresponding ascendancy of neoliberal policies in developing countries, focusing in particular on how the decline in average per capita GDP growth associated with neoliberalism has fostered informalization. We then explore policy measures for raising the proportion of decent jobs with core social protections in developing countries—which means, as we …
Alternatives To Inflation Targeting Monetary Policy For Stable And Egalitarian Growth: A Brief Research Summary, Gerald Epstein
Alternatives To Inflation Targeting Monetary Policy For Stable And Egalitarian Growth: A Brief Research Summary, Gerald Epstein
PERI Working Papers
Many countries in the developing world have adopted an approach to monetary policy that focuses on maintaining a low level of inflation, to the exclusion of other important objectives such as employment generation, increasing investment or reducing poverty, despite the widespread evidence that moderate levels of inflation have few or no costs. Some have even adopted formal “inflation targeting”, an approach which commits the central bank to hitting a fairly rigid inflation target, often as low as 2%. However, this focus has led to slower economic growth and lower employment growth, without succeeding in lowering inflation at a smaller economic …
Evaluating Living Wage Laws In The United States: Good Intentions And Economic Reality In Conflict?, Robert Pollin
Evaluating Living Wage Laws In The United States: Good Intentions And Economic Reality In Conflict?, Robert Pollin
PERI Working Papers
This paper first examines the question “what is a living wage” and provides a range of specific dollar amounts derived a conceptual assessment of the term. I then provide a series of cost estimates of living wage laws in various cities. Based on these cost estimates, I examine a set of alternative adjustments that covered firms could make to absorb these costs, including raising prices and productivity, redistributing the firm’s income more equally, laying off employees and relocating out of the area covered by the law. I draw upon both prospective and retrospective evidence to reach an overall assessment of …
The Economics Of Civil War: The Case Of The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Léonce Ndikumana, Kisangani Emizet
The Economics Of Civil War: The Case Of The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Léonce Ndikumana, Kisangani Emizet
PERI Working Papers
This study analyzes the causes of civil wars in the Congo since independence and investigates how the Congo case fits the model of civil war proposed by Collier and Hoeffler. Five conclusions arise from this case study. First, the level and growth rate of national income increased the risk of war by reducing the cost of organizing rebellions and the government’s ability to counteract the rebellions. Second, while regional ethnic dominance served as a basis for mobilization of rebellions, ethnic antagonism was also an obstacle to the expansion of civil wars beyond the province of origin. Third, while natural resource …
Inward Foreign Direct Investment And Inter-Industry Wage Differentials In U.S. Manufacturing Industries, Minsik Choi
Inward Foreign Direct Investment And Inter-Industry Wage Differentials In U.S. Manufacturing Industries, Minsik Choi
PERI Working Papers
This study investigates the effects of inward foreign direct investment on local workers’ wages by focusing on U.S. manufacturing industries for the period from 1987 to 1992. I use two different approaches to control individual characteristics and to implement estimation in this study: (1) One-step estimation with industry-state level of inward foreign direct investments, and (2) Two-step industry characteristic regression approach. I find that the higher presence of foreign firms is associated with higher local wages after workers’ observable characteristics are controlled for in cross-section analysis. However, I did not find a positive association between inward FDI activities and industry …
Social Conflict And Macroeconomics: What Determines The Effectiveness Of Aggregate Demand Policies?, Euclid Tsakalotos
Social Conflict And Macroeconomics: What Determines The Effectiveness Of Aggregate Demand Policies?, Euclid Tsakalotos
PERI Working Papers
This paper examines the role of social conflict in explaining macroeconomic phenomena and, especially, the effectiveness of aggregate demand policies as a means of raising real output. The social conflict approach to macroeconomic phenomena is compared with a Keynesian view along with Ball, Mankiw and Romer’s (1988) and Lucas’ (1973) models of the determinants of the effectiveness of aggregate demand policies (or the slope of the Phillips curve). Empirical analysis over the period from the 1950s to the 1990s for 15 OECD countries provides significant evidence that the social conflict view of inflation has much to offer in explaining differences …
An Econometric Analysis Of International Variations In Child Welfare, Nasrin Dalirazar
An Econometric Analysis Of International Variations In Child Welfare, Nasrin Dalirazar
PERI Working Papers
This paper attempts to further analytical understanding of the ways in which child welfare can be improved. I examine the determinants of international variations in child health, nutrition, and education, analyzing the impacts both of government expenditures and of structural variables, such as income distribution, that are less policy-sensitive in the short run. To control for cross-country variations in child welfare outcomes related to per capita income, I use ‘national performance gap’ measures of five dimensions of child welfare, and an aggregate index derived from them, as dependent variables.
Economic Integration, Cultural Standardization, And The Politics Of Social Insurance, Samuel Bowles, Ugo Pagano
Economic Integration, Cultural Standardization, And The Politics Of Social Insurance, Samuel Bowles, Ugo Pagano
PERI Working Papers
Does the freer movement of goods, people, ideas and money across national boundaries mean that, as Charles Kindleberger (1969):207 put it, "the nation state is just about through as an economic unit" when it comes to the provision of social insurance and programs of egalitarian redistribution? Surely globalization will not eliminate the conditions economic insecurity and distributions of income widely thought to be unfair that initially gave rise to the welfare state. What form will responses to these conditions take in a globally integrated economy?
The Past As Future? The Contribution Of Financial Globalization To The Current Crisis Of Neo-Liberalism As A Development Strategy, David Felix
PERI Working Papers
During the initial quarter-century of the post-World War II era, the development strategies urged on less-developed countries by the economic think tanks and foreign aid agencies of the capitalist world were shaped by Keynesian macroeconomics and by two “lessons” from history that further enlarged the economic role assigned the state in the development process. During the second post-war quarter century, the mainstream perspective shifted to neo-liberalism, which reoriented macroeconomic policy to accord with monetarism, structural policies with competitive general equilibrium theorizing, and reinforced the reorientation with “lessons” from history that diminished the role of the state in the development process. …
Information Policy And Genetically Modified Food: Weighing The Benefits And Costs, Mario F. Teisl, Julie A. Caswell
Information Policy And Genetically Modified Food: Weighing The Benefits And Costs, Mario F. Teisl, Julie A. Caswell
PERI Working Papers
The labeling of genetically modified foods (GMFs) is the topic of a debate that could dramatically alter the structure of the U.S. and international food industry. The current lack of harmonization of policy across countries makes GMF labeling an international trade issue. The U.S. and Canada do not require GMFs to be labeled unless the GMF is significantly different than the conventional food or the GMF presents a health concern. However, many other countries are requiring GMFs to be labeled. This paper discusses empirical work on the sources and magnitude of benefits and costs from labeling programs, with particular emphasis …
Is Cheap Talk Effective At Eliminating Hypothetical Bias In A Provision Point Mechanism?, James J. Murphy, Thomas Stevens, Darryl Weatherhead
Is Cheap Talk Effective At Eliminating Hypothetical Bias In A Provision Point Mechanism?, James J. Murphy, Thomas Stevens, Darryl Weatherhead
PERI Working Papers
Significant difference between response to real and hypothetical valuation questions is often referred to as hypothetical bias. Some economists have had success with using “cheap talk” (which entails reading a script that explicitly highlights the hypothetical bias problem before participants make any decisions) as a means of generating unbiased responses in a referendum format. In this article, we test the robustness of cheap talk using a voluntary contribution mechanism with a provision point over a wide range of possible payment amounts. Our results confirm the existence of hypothetical bias, and suggest that cheap talk may eliminate hypothetical bias, but only …
A Tale Of Two Clams: Policy Anticipation And Industry Productivity, Sylvia Brandt
A Tale Of Two Clams: Policy Anticipation And Industry Productivity, Sylvia Brandt
PERI Working Papers
Sound environmental regulation must achieve environmental objectives while maximizing economic efficiency. This paper evaluates the impact of regulation on efficiency by measuring annual productivity across regulatory regimes in two similar fisheries with differing policy expectations. Anticipation of regulatory change produced strategic behavior in one fishery, leading to depressed productivity; in the other, regulatory change was not expected, and productivity did not suffer. These results imply that fisheries regulation should take into account both firms’ policy expectations and the potentially perverse incentives that may be created by policy change.
The Impact Of Reforming Wheat Importing State-Trading Enterprises On The Quality Of Wheat Imported, Nathalie Lavoie
The Impact Of Reforming Wheat Importing State-Trading Enterprises On The Quality Of Wheat Imported, Nathalie Lavoie
PERI Working Papers
Recent surveys of wheat importers indicate that countries that import wheat via a state-trading enterprise (STE) are less sensitive to quality issues in import decision-making than countries that import wheat through private traders. This study examines conceptually and empirically the impact of the deregulation of wheat imports on the quality and source of wheat imports.
A Comparison Of Cheap Talk And Alternative Certainty Calibration Techniques In Contingent Valuation, Mihail Samnaliev, Thomas Stevens, Thomas More
A Comparison Of Cheap Talk And Alternative Certainty Calibration Techniques In Contingent Valuation, Mihail Samnaliev, Thomas Stevens, Thomas More
PERI Working Papers
A field test of cheap talk and two types of certainty calibration in contingent valuation of public lands indicated that cheap talk does not reduce WTP estimates. Use of a ten point certainty calibration scale reduces WTP estimates by about half. However, adjusting for uncertainty using a ‘Not Sure’ option does not reduce WTP estimates but increases the variance in responses. There may be a conceptual difference between these two ways of accounting for respondents’ uncertainty, which may suggest why they provide different WTP value estimates and variances.
The New Face Of Unequal Exchange: Low-Wage Manufacturing, Commodity Chains, And Global Inequality, James Heintz
The New Face Of Unequal Exchange: Low-Wage Manufacturing, Commodity Chains, And Global Inequality, James Heintz
PERI Working Papers
The institutional structure of global commodity chains and cross-border production networks has a profound impact on how the benefits of globalized production are distributed. This paper engages with this issue by developing a model that combines the insights of earlier unequal exchange theorists and new work on global commodity chains to clarify the distributive dynamics of the expansion of low-wage manufacturing in the developing world. In this framework, the ability of productivity-led development to raise employment incomes in low-wage manufacturing is constrained and depends on how the benefits of productivity improvements are captured – as lower prices for consumers or …
Individual Country Technical Notes For: Trends In The Rentier Income Share In Oecd Countries, 1960-2000, Dorothy Power, Gerald Epstein, Matthew Abrena
Individual Country Technical Notes For: Trends In The Rentier Income Share In Oecd Countries, 1960-2000, Dorothy Power, Gerald Epstein, Matthew Abrena
PERI Working Papers
This paper presents individual country notes for the paper "Trends in Rentier Shares in OECD Countries, 1966-2000 (Power, Epstein and Abrena, 2003). Meant for the specialist, these notes explain data sources and methods for each country in our sample.
Trends In The Rentier Income Share In Oecd Countries, 1960-2000, Dorothy Power, Gerald Epstein, Matthew Abrena
Trends In The Rentier Income Share In Oecd Countries, 1960-2000, Dorothy Power, Gerald Epstein, Matthew Abrena
PERI Working Papers
This paper presents the first set of estimates of the rentier share of income for twenty-nine OECD countries. We define rentier share to mean the income accruing to financial institutions and the holders of financial assets. The years of coverage vary by country, but span the period 1960-2000. The paper presents the estimates, describes in detail the methods used to construct the series, and presents comprehensive information on our data sources. In addition, we compare the trends in rentier shares with the share of income going to non-financial corporations. Overall we find that the rentier share of income rose in …
Rentier Incomes And Financial Crises: An Empirical Examination Of Trends And Cycles In Some Oecd Countries, Gerald Epstein, Dorothy Power
Rentier Incomes And Financial Crises: An Empirical Examination Of Trends And Cycles In Some Oecd Countries, Gerald Epstein, Dorothy Power
PERI Working Papers
We present new estimates of the rentier share of national income for OECD countries for the years between 1960 and 2000. For most countries, the rentier share of income significantly increased during the last several decades, starting in the early 1980's and coinciding with the shift to neo-liberal monetary and financial policies initiated by Margaret Thatcher and Paul Volcker. There is no evidence of a negative correlation between rentier shares and non-financial corporate shares of income. However, rentier shares do decline in those semi-industrialized countries that experienced financial crises. These findings are consistent with the view that financial liberalization has …
A More Or Less Unequal World? World Income Distribution In The 20th Century, Bob Sutcliffe
A More Or Less Unequal World? World Income Distribution In The 20th Century, Bob Sutcliffe
PERI Working Papers
Statistical studies are hardly needed to prove the existence of immense material inequality between human beings. It is evident to anyone who walks down the street in most major cities or watches a television newscast which jumps from images of famine in Angola to the business or the football transfer news. This article takes the existence of great inequality as given but discusses the various ways in which that inequality can be and is measured and surveys evidence about how inequality on a world scale has evolved during the last century and especially since 1980.
International Price-Fixing Cartels And Developing Countries: A Discussion Of Effects And Policy Remedies, Margaret Levenstein, Valerie Suslow, Lynda Oswald
International Price-Fixing Cartels And Developing Countries: A Discussion Of Effects And Policy Remedies, Margaret Levenstein, Valerie Suslow, Lynda Oswald
PERI Working Papers
The U.S. and E.U. have recently increased prosecution of international cartels; few developing countries have similar enforcement. If these cartels have significant effects on developing economies, the lack of antitrust enforcement is a problem. Geographically limited prosecutions may not provide sufficient disincentives to deter collusion that generates global rents. Prosecutions of international cartels by industrialized countries opens markets to developing country producers, but integration may be undermined if cartels create durable barriers to entry. Western governments are also susceptible to manipulation by cartel members asking for antidumping duties. Thus, developing countries may need their own antitrust enforcement. A recent ruling …
Inequality And Environmental Protection, James K. Boyce
Inequality And Environmental Protection, James K. Boyce
PERI Working Papers
Social and economic inequalities can influence both the distribution of the costs and benefits from environmental degradation and the extent of environmental protection. When those who benefit from environmentally degrading economic activities are powerful relative to those who bear the costs, environmental protection is generally weaker than when the reverse is true. This can lead to environmental inequalities along lines of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and age. At the same time, inequalities may affect the overall extent of environmental quality. There are good theoretical reasons to expect inequalities to reduce environmental protection and exacerbate environmental degradation. The available empirical evidence …
Survey Instrument For Case Studies Of Food Safety Innovation, Elisabete Salay, Julie A. Caswell, Tanya Roberts
Survey Instrument For Case Studies Of Food Safety Innovation, Elisabete Salay, Julie A. Caswell, Tanya Roberts
PERI Working Papers
Firms innovate to prevent the presence of microbial pathogens in foods and to address other safety problems. To date, studies on the economics of food safety innovation are relatively rare. We designed a series of case studies of such innovation in the meat industry. Our objectives were to identify and analyze different types of innovation, the drivers of innovation, the mode of innovation development, and the impact of innovation on food safety and firm performance. Here we present the survey instrument developed to conduct the case studies. This instrument can be applied, with minor modifications to reflect research objectives, to …
Evaluating Tradable Property Rights For Natural Resources: The Role Of Strategic Entry And Exit, Sylvia Brandt
Evaluating Tradable Property Rights For Natural Resources: The Role Of Strategic Entry And Exit, Sylvia Brandt
PERI Working Papers
This paper presents an econometric approach to the evaluation of environmental regulation using tradable property rights. Existing empirical research on this issue, which compares overall industry efficiency before and after the introduction of new regulations, conflates two distinct phenomena: efficiency changes due to exit of excess capital, and changes in the efficiency of individual firms. Because the regulatory process induces firms of different types to enter and exit the industry at different rates, the true efficiency and equity effects of tradable property rights cannot be assessed without correcting for these changes in sample composition. This paper examines the impact of …
A Meta-Analysis Of Hypothetical Bias In Stated Preference Valuation, James J. Murphy, Geoffrey Allen, Thomas H. Stevens, Darryl Weatherhead
A Meta-Analysis Of Hypothetical Bias In Stated Preference Valuation, James J. Murphy, Geoffrey Allen, Thomas H. Stevens, Darryl Weatherhead
PERI Working Papers
Individuals are widely believed to overstate their economic valuation of a good by a factor of two or three. This paper reports the results of a meta-analysis of hypothetical bias in 28 stated preference valuation studies that report monetary willingness-to-pay and that used the same mechanism for eliciting both hypothetical and actual values. The papers generated 83 observations with a median value of the ratio of hypothetical to actual value of 1.35, and the distribution has severe positive skewness. Since a comprehensive theory of hypothetical bias has not been developed, we use a set of explanatory variables based on issues …
Mechanisms For Addressing Third Party Impacts Resulting From Voluntary Water Transfers, James J. Murphy, Ariel Dinar, Richard E. Howitt, Erin Mastrangelo, Stephen J. Rassenti, Vernon L. Smith
Mechanisms For Addressing Third Party Impacts Resulting From Voluntary Water Transfers, James J. Murphy, Ariel Dinar, Richard E. Howitt, Erin Mastrangelo, Stephen J. Rassenti, Vernon L. Smith
PERI Working Papers
This paper uses laboratory experiments to test alternative water market institutions designed to protect third party interests. The institutions tested include taxing mechanisms that raise revenue to compensate affected third parties and a market in which third parties actively participate. The results indicate that there are some important trade-offs in selecting a policy option. Active third party participation in the market is likely to result in free riding that may erode some or all of the efficiency gains, and may introduce volatility into the market. Taxing transfers and compensating third parties offers a promising balance of efficiency, equity and market …
Production Of Chlorofluorocarbons In Anticipation Of The Montreal Protocol, Maximilian Auffhammer, Bernard J. Morzuch, John K. Stranlund
Production Of Chlorofluorocarbons In Anticipation Of The Montreal Protocol, Maximilian Auffhammer, Bernard J. Morzuch, John K. Stranlund
PERI Working Papers
Anticipation of an International Environmental Agreement provides an incentive for countries to change their production behavior prior to negotiations in order to gain a favorable bargaining position. Increased historical production figures at the time of negotiations may influence the magnitude of the baseline from which cutbacks will be specified. In this paper we empirically measure the magnitude of such strategic production behavior in the case of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of 1987. Due to data limitations we specify a two player Nash-Cournot game between the United States and the rest of the world. We …