Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Politics Of Competition In International Financial Regulation, Stavros Gadinis

Stavros Gadinis

Policy coordination between diverse regulatory regimes in financial services ranks highly on the international political agenda because regulatory differences create impediments to growing financial activity. Efficiency-oriented theories fail to explain why coordination was achieved in some domains but not in others, while arguments linking coordination to similarities or differences in states' substantive policy goals cannot account for coordination progress in spite of vast differences in prior domestic regimes. This Article posits that coordination success or failure depends on the interaction of two variables: whether strong competitors to U.S. firms and markets challenge U.S. dominance and whether activity is centralized at …

Gop Denying Women Basic Economic Rights, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

Tax Incentives And Housing Investment In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

This paper examines how tax incentives to promote housing investment affect communities by exploiting the lottery structure of Missouri’s Neighborhood Preservation Act (NPA). The NPA offers tax credits to homeowners and developers that improve or expand the owner-occupied housing stock in low-income areas. Taking advantage of the random assignment of NPA tax credits and detailed property-level data, I find that the program increases construction activity modestly. There are positive but highly localized spillovers on neighbors’ investment behavior. Spillovers on property values are larger in geographic scope, implying important roles for both neighbor interactions and amenity effects in local housing markets.

Long Live Democracy: The Determinants Of Political Instability In Latin America, Luisa Blanco, Robin Grier

Luisa Blanco

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of political instability in Latin America. In a panel of 18 Latin American countries from 1971 to 2000, we find that democratic countries experience less average instability in the region, indicating that the move to increased democracy in the last couple decades may alleviate the persistent problem of instability in the area. We also find that income inequality and ethnic fractionalization are important determinants of instability. Countries with low levels of inequality also suffer less instability on average, while ethnic diversity has a non-linear effect on instability. Many macroeconomic variables commonly thought to …

Tax Havens And Fdi Spillovers: Implications For Ldcs, Luisa Blanco, Cynthia Rogers

Luisa Blanco

Tax competition and spillover models offer ambiguous predictions concerning the economic impact of tax havens on non-tax havens. The implications of tax havens for less developed countries (LDCs), in particular, are not well understood and are little studied. This paper investigates the impact of tax havens on non-tax haven countries in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). We investigate the importance of agglomeration effects by accounting for the level of FDI inflows as well as the role of geography by measuring proximity to the nearest tax haven. Our analysis yields several interesting findings. First, using panel data for 142 countries, …

Competition Between Tax Havens: Does Proximity Matter?, Luisa Blanco, Cynthia Rogers

Luisa Blanco

We study whether proximity to the nearest tax haven affects FDI and the number of American affiliates in a tax haven. Our results show that distance to the nearest tax haven is positively related to FDI inflows and the number of American affiliates in tax havens. These findings suggest that there is a harmful competition between tax havens. We also find evidence of positive spillovers: the number of American affiliates in a tax haven is positively related to the number of in its closest neighboring tax haven. This suggests the presence of agglomeration benefits given there is an affiliate in …

The Finance–Growth Link Revisited And The Role Of Institutions As A Source Of Finance In Latin America, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

In a panel framework that includes 18 countries, this paper studies the short and long run effect of financial development on economic growth and the determinants of financial development in Latin America. Financial development shows a positive effect on economic growth in the long run, but a negative effect in the short run for the full sample. When the sample is divided by income levels, this result holds only for the high income group. For the low income group, financial development has no significant effect on economic growth in the short run or in the long run. In the analysis …

Life Is Unfair In Latin America, But Does It Matter For Growth?, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

I analyze the effect of inequality on economic growth in Latin America, where inequality is measured as the area of family farms as a percentage of the total area of agricultural holdings. Using data from 18 Latin American countries between 1960 and 2004, I find that inequality has a nonlinear effect on economic growth. Overall, for the countries included in this analysis, the share of family farms has a positive significant effect on economic growth. These findings are robust to controlling for several factors, using a different indicator of inequality (land Gini), and addressing for endogeneity.

The Impact Of Research And Development On Economic Growth And Productivity In The Us States, Luisa Blanco, James Prieger, Ji Gu

Luisa Blanco

We estimate the impact of R&D on TFP and output in the private sector at the state level in the US from 1963 to 2007. R&D has a large effect on both output and TFP at the state level in the long run. The R&D elasticity in a state averages 0.056 to 0.143, implying returns to state GDP from R&D spending of 83% to 213%. There are also positive R&D spillovers, with 77% of the total returns accruing to other states. The R&D elasticities are either stable or increase slightly after 1993. The effects of R&D are dependent on the …

The (Non) Effect Of Natural Resource Dependence On Capital Accumulation In Latin America, Luisa Blanco, Robin Grier

Luisa Blanco

In a simultaneous model of human and physical capital accumulation for 17 Latin American countries from 1975 to 2004, we show that overall resource dependence is not significantly related to physical and human capital. Disaggregating the natural resource variable into subcategories, we find that petroleum export dependence is associated with higher physical capital and lower human capital, while agricultural export dependence is often associated with lower levels of physical capital. All of these effects are quantitatively small, however, casting doubt on the idea that natural resource dependence has stifled the accumulation of capital in the region.

The Finance–Growth Link In Latin America, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

This paper analyzes the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Latin America with a Granger causality test and impulse response functions in a panel vector autoregression model. Using annual observations from a sample of 18 countries from 1962 to 2005, it is shown that while economic growth causes financial development, financial development does not cause economic growth. This finding is robust to different model specifications and different financial indicators. Interestingly, when the sample is divided according to different income levels and institutional quality, there is two way causality between financial development and economic growth only for the middle …

The Impact Of Spatial Interdependence On Fdi In Latin America, Luisa Blanco

Luisa Blanco

This analysis considers whether spatial interdependence is an important determinant of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America. Two types of spatial interdependence are explored: 1) surrounding market potential and 2) spatial autocorrelation of FDI. Using a sample of 17 Latin American countries, with observations from 1986 to 2006, we find that spatial interdependence matters for world net FDI in the region. Surrounding market potential has a positive effect on FDI of significant magnitude, but there is no evidence that FDI is spatially autocorrelated. Other contributors to FDI in this analysis include governance, specifically control of corruption, and exports of …

Regional Integration And Transnational Politics: Popular Sector Strategies In The Nafta Era, Maria Lorena Cook

Maria Lorena Cook

[Excerpt] This chapter argues that although economic integration between the United States and Mexico had been taking place for some time, it was the formal recognition of this process as represented by the discussions surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement that facilitated transnational political action by non-state actors. Whereas the globalization of the economy and the prevalence of neoliberal economic policies may be considered by some to undermine popular sector organization and actions, formal recognition of regional economic integration in North America has produced a ‘transnational political’ arena that has expanded the resources available to non-governmental groups, increased their …

Persistent Low Wages In New Orleans’ Economic Resurgence: Policies For Improving Earnings For The Working Poor, Marla Nelson, Laura Wolf-Powers, Jessica Fisch

Marla Nelson

Despite New Orleans’ economic resurgence post-Katrina, many workers remain stuck in low-wage jobs. Nearly 60 percent of jobs in the region fail to pay high enough wages to cover the post-Katrina cost of living. In 40 census tracts in Orleans Parish, 80 percent or more of working residents are employed in low-wage jobs. Among the region’s low-earners, almost half commuted long distances to jobs outside of their home parish for work. This essay lays out specific policies to alleviate working poverty and lift the working poor into the middle class. Clearly, the task of improving outcomes for low-earning workers is …

Nature, Extent, Causes And Issues In Agricultural Distress, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This paper explains the nature and extent of distress in Indian agriculture by analytically separating the issues therein into two interrelated domains—the agricultural and the agrarian—the former being about production and the latter about distribution; the former about the farm and the latter about the farmer; the former about the inadequacies and inappropriateness of the agricultural developmental programmes, and the latter about the livelihood of the people involved in or dependent upon agrarian activities. In this broader thinking farmers’ suicides and indebtedness become symptoms of a larger malaise. Drawing on our understanding of farmers’ suicides, we show some interrelated demand-side …

Place-Based Programs And The Geographic Dispersion Of Employment, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

Public Actors In Private Markets: Toward A Developmental Finance State, Robert Hockett, Saule Omarova

Saule T. Omarova

The recent financial crisis brought into sharp relief fundamental questions about the social function and purpose of the financial system, including its relation to the “real” economy. This Article argues that, to answer these questions, we must recapture a distinctively American view of the proper relations among state, financial market, and development. This programmatic vision – captured in what we call a “developmental finance state” – is based on three key propositions: (1) that economic and social development is not an “end-state” but a continuing national policy priority; (2) that the modalities of finance are the most potent means of …

The New Panama Canal In A Global Context, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Without the "container revolution" (1970-present) and its redesign of seaport and maritime-trade infrastructures, globalization as we know it would not exist. With the recent enlargements of the Panama and Suez Canals, many new implications for U.S. economic trade are unfolding. This presentation at the Commonwealth Club of California, outlines recent changes in world trade and infrastructure development, and poses five factors that will likely determine winners and losers in the unfolding developments of this highly competitive world trade-route system.

Right-Sizing Spectrum Auction Licenses: The Case For Smaller Geographic License Areas In The Tv Broadcast Incentive Auction, William H. Lehr Phd, J. Armand Musey Cfa

J. Armand Musey, CFA

The wireless sector is a key contributor to economic activity and growth. Over the next several years, wireless service providers are expected to invest $25 to $53 billion upgrading and expanding their networks to deploy 4G mobile broadband across the nation. All told, wireless broadband investment and the services and innovation supported by such investment are expected to add between $259 and $355 billion to US GDP each year through 2017. The Federal Communications Commission ("Commission" or "FCC") is currently designing the largest ever auction of terrestrial wireless spectrum, currently planned for late 2014 (the "Incentive Auction"). The purpose is …

Central Georgia Regional Analysis: Demographics, Economy, Entrepreneurship And Innovation, Merissa Piazza, Joe Andre, Elorm M. Tsegah, Eunkyu Lee, Ziona Austrian

Ziona Austrian

No abstract provided.

The Economic Impact Of Metrohealth System, Matthew Hrubey, Ziona Austrian, Candi Clouse, Merissa Piazza

Ziona Austrian

No abstract provided.

Home Prices And Inequality: Singapore Versus Other 'Global Superstar Cities', S Y Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

No abstract provided.

Superstar Cities, Inequality And Housing Policy, S Y Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

Income and wealth inequality have been constantly debated, especially in recent years. Most studies, such as the recent work by Thomas Piketty, compare inequality across countries and over time. National inequality measures, however, mask considerable variations across cities within the same country. A country’s biggest and most economically dynamic cities also tend to have the largest inequality gaps. These cities – what Joseph Gyourko calls “Superstar Cities” – are also distinguished by their high housing prices. Migration in and out of cities limits the extent to which Superstar Cities can use local redistributive policies (including housing policies) to reduce inequality. …

Asean Public Private Partnership Guidelines, Fauziah Zen, Michael Regan

Michael Regan

The ASEAN PPP Guidelines are designed for ASEAN nations and provide a common set of policy principles for member countries. The Guidelines offer a broad framework based on best practice standards that will help government departments to manage the processes and procedures that need to be taken when implementing PPP projects. In this respect, common policy principles provide consistency, confidence and certainty to foreign private investors and help facilitate cross-border PPP projects and enhance greater connectivity through harmonisation of member’s regulatory requirements. ASEAN nations will already have in place PPP laws and policies, and many international agencies provide financial assistance …

Postindustrial Societies, Brian Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

The term postindustrial society presupposes categorizing society based on an economic means of classification. Its use rests on assessing the relative status of manufacturing industry as an economic sector. Significant adjustment in sectoral location and nature of employment precipitated by late-twentieth-century deindustrialization in the developed world led many social theorists and critics to predict broad changes throughout domains of everyday life. Some began to speak not only of sectoral transformation but also of an emergent ‘ postindustrial society. ’ Following earlier agrarian and industrial ‘ revolutions, ’ postindustrialism suggested yet another revolution that would again transform how societies were organized.

Book Review: Fighting For Reliable Evidence, By Judith Gueron And Howard Rolston., Rebecca A. Maynard

REBECCA A MAYNARD

Fighting for Reliable Evidence is an incredibly powerful book, full of information that graduate schools don’t teach and that would take a lifetime to learn on the job. Readers shadow the narrators—Judith Gueron, one of the founding employees and now President Emeritus of MDRC, and Howard Rolston, a long-time senior civil servant in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—as they share their intersecting professional journeys in service of improving the welfare of our nation and its people. Over a 40 year period that began in 1974, a small band of warriors from the philanthropic, policy, and research communities, …

Lo Stato Innovatore: Come Funziona E Perché Ci Serve. Recensione A “Lo Stato Innovatore” Di Mariana Mazzucato, Matteo Lucchese, Mario Pianta

Mario Pianta

No abstract provided.

Creating Healthy Community In The Postindustrial City, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.