Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What Does Network Analysis Teach Us About International Environmental Cooperation?, Stefano Carattini, Sam Fankhauser, Jianjian Gao, Caterina Gennaioli, Pietro Panzarasa

ECON Publications

This paper uses network analysis to study the structural properties of international environmental cooperation. We investigate four pertinent hypotheses. First, we quantify how the growing popularity of environmental treaties since the early 1970s has led to the emergence of an environmental collaboration network and document how collaboration is accelerating. Second, we show how over time the network has become denser and more cohesive, and distances between countries have become shorter, facilitating more effective policy coordination and knowledge diffusion. Third, we find that the network, while global, has a noticeable European imprint: initially, the United Kingdom and more recently France and …

Implementing Federalism: The Case Of Nepal, Roy W. Bahl, Andrey Timofeev, Serdar Yilmaz

ECON Publications

The new Constitution of Nepal established a federal system of governance in 2015. Implementation began in 2018 following the 2017 subnational elections. The new system is comprised of seven provinces and 753 local governments. The Constitution assigns important functional responsibilities to provincial and local governments and mandates that they have significant autonomy in deciding how services will be delivered. Subnational governments accounted for over one-third of total government expenditures planned for FY2021, financed primarily by intergovernmental transfers. This paper describes the new federal system, discusses the early implementation successes and challenges, and draws some lessons from Nepal's experience.

The Effect Of E-Cigarette Indoor Vaping Restrictions On Infant Mortality, Michael Cooper, Michael F. Pesko

ECON Publications

We estimate the effect of county-level e-cigarette indoor vaping restrictions (IVRs) on infant mortality using United States birth certificates from 2010 to 2015. We estimate difference-indifferences models and find that e-cigarette indoor vaping restrictions increased infant mortality by 0.39 infants per 1,000 live births (12.9%). These effects were disproportionately higher for infants born to younger mothers and in locations with higher baseline levels of prenatal smoking. Infant mortality increased by 34.1% between 100 days to 1 year after IVRs. Infant mortality due to infections and neoplasms were particularly elevated.

How Data Security Concerns Can Hinder Natural Experiment Research: Background And Potential Solutions, Michael F. Pesko

ECON Publications

Health economists conducting cancer-related research often use geocoded data to analyze natural experiments generated by policy changes. These natural experiments can provide causal interpretation under certain conditions. Despite public health benefit of this rigorous natural experiment methodology, data providers are often reluctant to provide geocoded data due to confidentiality concerns. In this paper, I provide an example of the value of natural experiments from e-cigarette research and show how this research was hindered by security concerns. While the tension between data access and security will not be resolved overnight, I offer two recommendations: 1) provide public access to aggregated data …

Lessons Learned And Prospects For Reform, Roy W. Bahl, William J. Mccluskey, Riël Franzsen

ECON Publications

Property Tax in Asia: Policy and Practice. Chapter 3 - Lessons Learned and Prospects for Reform

Context And Comparative Analysis, Roy W. Bahl, William J. Mccluskey, Riël Franzsen, Wenjing Li

ECON Publications

Property taxation is not new to Asia. China has some of the oldest examples of property and land taxes, the Philippine version has been emerging since 1901, and the property tax laws in Hong Kong (a special administrative region, or SAR, of China) were in place in 1845. Some Asian jurisdictions have modernized their property taxes to keep in step with their economic growth, but others have allowed their property taxes to fall into disrepair. This analysis aims to show how to make good practices better and how to put weak practices on a path to improvement.

This chapter provides …

Current Policies And Practices, Roy W. Bahl, William J. Mccluskey, Riël Franzsen

ECON Publications

Asian jurisdictions tax real property in many different ways: some tax ownership and some land use; some tax land and some land and buildings; and some have no property tax. These broad differences in what they tax lead to important differences in how they tax real property: how they value property, what they do not tax, and how they go about their collections.

This chapter compares practices in all 13 jurisdictions with good practices in property taxation to suggest the best way forward. It begins with a review and analysis of how these jurisdictions have structured their property tax bases …

Testing The Effects Of Adaptive Learning Courseware On Student Performance: An Experimental Approach, Grace Eau, Derek Hoodin, Tareena Musaddiq

ECON Publications

An increasing number of college and university courses are being offered in an online format. Even for courses offered face-to-face, instructors are increasingly turning toward use of online platforms to help with student learning, especially for courses with high enrollment. This study tests the efficacy of adaptive learning platforms in a sample of undergraduate students in a large urban university, using an experimental design that compares the learning outcomes of students in classrooms that used an adaptive learning tool to those who did not. The results indicate that better performing students, particularly female students, benefit the most from using adaptive …

Designing Effective And Acceptable Road Pricing Schemes: Evidence From The Geneva Congestion Charge, Andrea Baranzini, Stefano Carattini, Linda Tesauro

ECON Publications

While instruments to price congestion exist since the 1970s, less than a dozen cities around the world have a cordon or zone pricing scheme. Geneva, Switzerland, may be soon joining them. This paper builds on a detailed review of the existing schemes to identify a set of plausible design options for the Geneva congestion charge. In turn, it analyzes their acceptability, leveraging a large survey of residents of both Geneva and the surrounding areas of Switzerland and France. Our original approach combines a discrete choice experiment with randomized informational treatments. We consider an extensive set of attributes, such as perimeter, …

Managing Momentum In Climate Negotiations, Stefano Carattini, Andreas Loeschel

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Property Taxation Within Developing Asia, Roy W. Bahl, William J. Mccluskey, Riël Franzsen

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

Taxing Sugary Drinks, Roy W. Bahl, Richard M. Bird

ECON Publications

Countries everywhere are considering the increasing evidence on the possible health benefits from reducing the consumption of sugary drinks – often called sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). This paper examines the rationale for taxing sugary drinks as a way to reduce sugar consumption and considers the experience to date. That excess consumption of sugar has serious adverse health consequences and that taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) may reduce the consumption of sugar are both largely supported by the evidence. What is less clear is whether SSB taxes can adequately address the problems arising from the excess consumption of sugar. If so, the question …

The Architecture Of Intergovernmental Transfers: Principles And Practice In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Roy W. Bahl

ECON Publications

Countries structure their intergovernmental transfers in many different ways, depending on the objectives they wish to achieve and on how they decide to use expenditure and revenue assignments in their intergovernmental fiscal systems. The basic building blocks of the architecture of intergovernmental transfers are vertical sharing, which addresses the vertical fiscal imbalance in the system, and horizontal distribution, which addresses the reduction in fiscal disparities. The industrial countries reviewed in this volume do a good job with applying best international practices to produce reasonably efficient and equitable systems, but low- and middle-income countries are more burdened by resource constraints and …

Cooperation In The Climate Commons, Stefano Carattini, Simon Levin, Alessandro Tavoni

ECON Publications

Climate change is a global externality that has proven difficult to address through formal institutions alone due to the public good properties of climate change mitigation and the lack of a supranational institution for enforcing global treaties. Given these circumstances, which are arguably the most challenging for international cooperation, commitment problems and free-riding incentives for countries to delay costly mitigation efforts are major obstacles to effective environmental agreements. Starting from this premise, we examine domestic mitigation efforts, with the goal of assessing the extent to which the willingness of individuals to contribute voluntarily to the public good of climate mitigation …

Rebalancing The Economy And Reforming The Fiscal System Of The People’S Republic Of China, Roy W. Bahl

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

Overcoming Public Resistance To Carbon Taxes, Stefano Carattini, Maria Carvalho, Sam Fankhauser

ECON Publications

Carbon taxes represent a cost-effective way to steer the economy toward a greener future. In the real world, their application has however been limited. In this paper, we address one of the main obstacles to carbon taxes: public opposition. We identify drivers of and barriers to public support, and, under the form of stylized facts, provide general lessons on the acceptability of carbon taxes. We derive our lessons from a growing literature, as well as from a combination of policy “failures” and “successes.” Based on our stylized facts, we formulate a set of suggestions concerning the design of carbon taxes. …

Is Taxing Waste A Waste Of Time? Evidence From A Supreme Court Decision, Stefano Carattini, Andrea Baranzini, Rafael Lalive

ECON Publications

Environmental taxes are often underexploited. This paper analyses the effectiveness of a garbage tax, assessing its effects on multiple outcomes as well as its acceptability. We study how a Supreme Court decision, mandating the Swiss Canton of Vaud to implement a tax on garbage, affects garbage production and beliefs about the tax. We adopt a difference-in-differences approach exploiting that parts of Vaud already implemented a garbage tax before the mandate. Pricing garbage by the bag (PGB) is highly effective, reducing unsorted garbage by 40%, increasing recycling of aluminium and organic waste, without causing negative spillovers on adjacent regions. The effects …

Metropolitan City Finances In The Asia And Pacific Region: Issues, Problems And Reform Options, Roy W. Bahl

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

The Potential Of Provincial Taxation, Roy W. Bahl, Musharraf R. Cyan, Sally Wallace

ECON Publications

The four provinces in Pakistan rely on a number of major and minor taxes. Motor Vehicles Taxes (MV) are the most important source of revenue in the category. Other taxes, such as tax on professions, trades and callings and sales tax on services, have remained underutilized and sources of revenue. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010, there is renewed interest in levying sales tax on services. Sindh has already established the Sindh Revenue Authority and Punjab is slated to follow suit. In this chapter, a discussion of these taxes is presented as an analysis of the current tax structures …

Underutilized Land And Property Taxes, Roy W. Bahl, Musharraf Cyan, Sally Wallace

ECON Publications

Land and property taxes with a few exceptions are assigned to the provinces. A central issue of provincial finance in Pakistan is the significant vertical imbalance in the intergovernmental fiscal system.

Delivering And Financing Public Services In Metropolitan Areas, Roy W. Bahl, Johannes F. Linn

ECON Publications

The inadequate level of public services in the metropolitan areas of developing countries, and the prospects of continued high level of growth of city populations over the next three decades will almost certainly cause national leaders to revisit their urban strategy. The goal in this chapter is to support such efforts by reviewing the state of metropolitan governance and finance in developing countries, suggesting the lessons that might be learned from theory and from the international experience, and considering the policy reform choices that are open. There is a rich body of research literature on the subject of urban governance …

Toward Innovative, Cost-Effective, And Systemic Solutions To Improve Outcomes And Well-Being Of Military Families Affected By Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ami Klin, Amy M. Wetherby, Juliann Woods, Celine Saulnier, Jennifer L. Stapel-Wax, Cheryl Klaiman, Warren Jones, Emily Rubin, Lawrence Scahill, Nathan Call, Karen Bearss, Chris Gunter, Charles Courtemanche, Anthony F. Lemieux, James C. Cox, David Mandell, James P. Van Decar, Ronald A. Miller, Cherri L. Shireman

ECON Publications

The burdens faced by military families who have a child with autism are unique. The usual challenges of securing diagnostic, treatment, and educational services are compounded by life circumstances that include the anxieties of war, frequent relocation and separation, and a demand structure that emphasizes mission readiness and service. Recently established military autism-specific health care benefits set the stage for community-viable and cost-effective solutions that can achieve better outcomes for children and greater well-being for families. Here we argue for implementation of evidence-based solutions focused on reducing age of diagnosis and improving access to early intervention, as well as establishment …

Priorities In The Short And Medium Term, Roy W. Bahl

ECON Publications

Subnational government debt policy in China has been ad hoc and reactive to infrastructure needs and economic development incentives. Until 2014, provincial and local governments had little or no formal borrowing powers, but used a variety of “backdoor” approaches to finance infrastructure. However with the issuance of the new budget law in 2014, the government has taken the first steps toward rationalizing the use of debt finance by subnational governments. So far, however, the effort has been more focused on making provision for addressing the management of obligations incurred in the last decade than on putting in place the right …

Consumer Learning And Hybrid Vehicle Adoption, Garth Heutel

ECON Publications

We study the effect of differences in product quality on new technology diffusion. We propose a model in which heterogeneity in perceived product quality affects consumer adoption. If consumers experientially infer the quality of a technology, an increase in initial exposure to a low-quality product may inhibit subsequent diffusion. Incentives intended to speed up adoption may in fact have the opposite effect, if they propagate low-quality signals. We examine the predictions of the model using sales data for 11 hybrid-vehicle models between 2000 and 2006. Consistent with press reports that the first-generation Insight was perceived to be of lower quality …

The Impact Of Air Temperature On Mortality, Morbidity, And Healthcare Cost In The Medicare Population, Garth Heutel, Nolan H. Miller, David Molitor

ECON Publications

Abstract: This paper merges weekly average temperature data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center (NDCC) with Medicare claims data in order to analyze the impact of high and low temperatures on mortality, onset of new chronic conditions, and hospital spending. We find a U-shaped pattern to mortality, with high and low temperature weeks exhibiting higher mortality than a 70 degree reference week. The marginal deaths in extreme weeks are healthier than the typical person who dies in the reference week, but less healthy than the population as a whole. We find some evidence of short-term mortality …

Time Preferences And Consumer Behavior, Garth Heutel, David Bradford, Charles Courtemanche, Patrick Mcalvanah, Christopher Ruhm

ECON Publications

We investigate the predictive power of survey-elicited time preferences using a representative sample of US residents. In regressions controlling for demographics and risk preferences, we show that the discount factor elicited from choice experiments using multiple price lists and real payments predicts various health, energy, and financial outcomes, including overall self-reported health, smoking, drinking, car fuel efficiency, and credit card balance. We allow for time-inconsistent preferences and find that the long-run and present bias discount factors (δ and β) are each significantly associated in the expected direction with several of these outcomes. Finally, we explore alternate measures of time preference. …

A Tale Of Two Cities? The Heterogeneous Impact Of Medicaid Managed Care, James Marton, Aaron Yelowitz, Jeffery C. Talbert

ECON Publications

Evaluating Accountable Care Organizations is difficult because there is a great deal of heterogeneity in terms of their reimbursement incentives and other programmatic features. We examine how variation in reimbursement incentives and administration among two Medicaid managed care plans impacts uti- lization and spending. We use a quasi-experimental approach exploiting the timing and county-specific implementation of Medicaid managed care mandates in two contiguous regions of Kentucky. We find large differences in the relative success of each plan in reducing utilization and spending that are likely driven by important differences in plan design. The plan that capitated primary care physicians and …

Subsidies, Garth Heutel

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

A Retrospective On Taxation In Developing Countries: Will The Weakest Link Be Strengthened?, Roy W. Bahl

ECON Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Tax And Expenditure Policies On Income Disttribution: Evidence From A Large Panel Of Countries, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Violeta Vulovic, Blanca Moreno Dodson

ECON Publications

This paper focuses is on the potential role that taxation and public expenditure policies play in general in affecting income distribution. We find that progressive personal income taxes and corporate in-come taxes reduce income inequality. However, the effect of corporate income taxes seems to be eroded away in open or globalized economies. We also find that general consumption taxes, excise taxes and customs duties have a negative impact on income distribution. On the expenditure side, we find that higher shares of GDP on social welfare, education, health and housing public expenditures have a positive impact on income distribution.