Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Elections And Economic Turbulence In Brazil: Candidates, Voters, And Investors, Tony Petros Spanakos, Lucio R. Renno

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The relation between elections and the economy in Latin America might be understood by considering the agency of candidates and the issue of policy preference congruence between investors and voters. The preference congruence model proposed in this article highlights political risk in emerging markets. Certain risk features increase the role of candidate campaign rhetoric and investor preferences in elections. When politicians propose policies that can appease voters and investors, elections may have a limited effect on economic indicators, such as inflation. But when voter and investor priorities differ significantly, deterioration of economic indicators is more likely. Moreover, voter and investor …

Energy Efficiency In An Educational Setting, Soma Ghosh

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Aristotle's Difficult Relationship With Modern Economic Theory, Spencer J. Pack

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper reviews Aristotle's problematic relationship with modern economic theory. It argues that in terms of value and income distribution theory, Aristotle should probably be seen as a precursor to neither classical nor neoclassical economic thought. Indeed, there are strong arguments to be made that Aristotle's views are completely at odds with all modern economic theory, since, among other things, he was not necessarily concerned with flexible market prices, opposed the use of money to acquire more money, and did not think that the unintended consequences of human activity were generally beneficial. The paper argues however, that this interpretation goes …

Alleviating Global Poverty Through Profitable Partnerships: Moral Imagination & Economic Well-Being, Laura Hartman, P. Werhane, D. Moberg, S. Kelley

Laura Hartman

While at least one out of six in the global human population cannot meet the basic demands of survival and they have little ability to buy goods and services, this situation also presents potential new markets for multinational enterprises seeking long-term sustainability. If economic growth is a continuing and positive goal for the planet and for global companies, then, as markets in developed economies become saturated, these new markets provide fresh opportunities to satisfy this objective.

Water Borne Diseases And Rural Development In Sudan Study Of Malaria In Gezira Irrigated Agricultural Scheme, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Gezira irrigated scheme is globally one of the biggest agricultural productive units administratively managed. It has seen deteriorating productivity for the past two decades. There cries that it should be privatized. That was seriously taken by the government in an economic liquidation of its assets. However, in this study we discuss analyze other aspects than the previously mentioned aspects of production parameters. We focus of health economics and how gradual negligence led to the prevalence of waterborne diseases. That degenerated farmers' abilities to produce. The present study was carried out in the Gezira scheme to measure the impact of water …

Paul Krugman: La Conciencia De Un Liberal, Alfredo Bateman

Alfredo Bateman

No abstract provided.

La Caída De Las Pirámides Y Los Mercados, Alfredo Bateman

Alfredo Bateman

No abstract provided.

Understanding Nominal Anchor: A Case Study Of Central Bank Of Nigeria, A. Bamidele

Bullion

As a country's monetary authority, a central bank is responsible for the conduct of monetary policy. This onerous process begins with developing a plan of action of employing interest rates or controlling the money stock to influence the economy. The focus of monetary policy is to safeguard the value of the domestic currency in terms of what it can purchase as a basis of providing a framework for the achievement of wider government economic objectives of non-inflationary economic growth, employment, stable exchange rate, favourable balance of payments and more generally a stable financial environment for the economy. In view of …

Network Neutrality, Consumers, And Innovation, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, Professor Christopher Yoo directly engages claims that mandating network neutrality is essential to protect consumers and to promote innovation on the Internet. It begins by analyzing the forces that are placing pressure on the basic network architecture to evolve, such as the emergence of Internet video and peer-to-peer architectures and the increasing heterogeneity in business relationships and transmission technologies. It then draws on the insights of demand-side price discrimination (such as Ramsey pricing) and the two-sided markets, as well as the economics of product differentiation and congestion, to show how deviating from network neutrality can benefit consumers, …

Optimal Choice Of Voluntary Traceability As A Food Risk Management Tool, Dm Souza Monteiro,, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

Traceability systems are information tools implemented within and between firms in food chains to improve logistics and transparency or to reduce total food safety damage costs. Information about location and condition of products is critical when food safety incidents arise. This paper uses a principal-agent model to investigate the optimal choice of voluntary traceability in terms of precision of information on a given attribute at each link of a food chain. The results suggest that four scenarios may emerge for the supply chain depending on the costs of a system and whether or not the industry can internalize total food …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Fairtax As An Alternative To The Federal Personal Income, Corporate Income, Estate And Gift, And Payroll Taxes, Yingxu Kuang

Doctoral Dissertations

Dissatisfaction with the current federal tax system is fostering serious interest in a national retail sales tax. Specifically, the FairTax Plan intends to replace most of the federal taxes with a national retail sales tax and is gaining momentum in Congress because of its purported progressive features. The FairTax is promoted as being progressive but there is considerable opposition to this claim.

Using the most recent 2005 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) data and estimating lifetime income from a Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) panel tracked over 1968-2005, the distribution impacts of the FairTax Plan are examined, as well as …

The Exchange Rate And Fiscal Consolidation Episodes In Emerging Market Economies, John Thornton, Amine Mati

John Thornton

An analysis of fiscal consolidations in emerging market economies during 1970–2004 suggests that exchange rate depreciation raises the probability of a fiscal consolidation being successful, including when controlling for debt, growth, the composition of the consolidation, and degree of democracy.

The Multiple Dimensions Of Male Social Status In An Amazonian Society, Christopher Von Rueden, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

"In all human societies, individuals differ in social status depending upon their age and personal ability (Sahlins, 1958; Service, 1971). In laboratory-based small group studies, status hierarchies emerge spontaneously (Bass, 1954; Campbell et al., 2002; Kalma, 1991). Even among “egalitarian” foragers, who are characterized by widespread resource sharing (Kaplan & Gurven, 2005; Winterhalder, 1986) and some degree of status-leveling (Cashdan, 1980), certain individuals consume more resources, get the best pick of mates, and take a more central role in group decision-making (Boehm, 1999; Trigger, 1985; Wiessner, 1996). Whether implicit or overt, classification by social status is a human universal. While …

El Efecto Teflón Y La Exuberancia Irracional, Alfredo Bateman

Alfredo Bateman

No abstract provided.

Rehab Or Relocation? Estimating The Demand For Cocaine Through An American Port City Analysis, Gustave A. Bartuska

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Over the past five decades American drug policy can succinctly be classified by two words: expensive and punitive. American drug policy makers have conducted the “war on drugs” largely through supply side intervention. As the theory goes, by attacking drug producers, drug prices will rise due to the increased risk faced by suppliers, this risk will in turn be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. In order to critically asses the merits of such an expensive antidrug policy it is essential to estimate the price elasticity of demand for drugs.

The main finding of this paper …

International Capital Mobility: Evidence From Panel Cointegration Tests, John Thornton, Olumuyiwa S. Adedeji

John Thornton

Panel cointegration techniques applied to pooled data for 50 developed and developing economies for the period 1970–2000 indicate that savings and investment are non-stationary and cointegrated, that there are marked differences in saving–retention ratios between different country groups, and that retention ratios have fallen.

Money Is Time: The Monetary Expression Of Value In Marx's Theory Of Value, David Kristjanson-Gural

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, I derive the monetary expression of value based upon commodity money and use it to translate values and exchange values from units of labor into units of money. While this analysis has been done at the initial stage of Marx’s analysis where he assumes that commodities exchange in proportion to their values, I derive the monetary expression of value at the more developed stage of Marx’s 10 analysis where commodities exchange according to prices of production. I then develop a macroeconomic measure of the monetary expression of value and link the micro- and macroeconomic determination of the …

The Consequences Of Information Revealed In Auctions, Brett E. Katzman, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Faculty and Research Publications

This paper considers the ramifications of post-auction competition on bidding behavior under different bid announcement policies. In equilibrium, the auctioneer’s announcement policy has two distinct effects. First, announcement entices players to signal information to their post-auction competitors through their bids. Second, announcement can lead to greater bidder participation in certain instances while limiting participation in others. Specifically, the participation effect works against the signalling effect, thus reducing the impact of signalling found in other papers. Revenue, efficiency, and surplus implications of various announcement policies are examined.

Fiscal Institutions And The Relation Between Central And Sub-National Government Fiscal Balances, John Thornton

John Thornton

Skeptics of fiscal decentralization argue that it can complicate fiscal stabilization policies at the level of the central government because of uncoordinated fiscal actions by the national and sub-national tiers of government. However, panel data estimates for OECD economies suggest that this danger has been overstated in that changes in the fiscal balances of central and sub-national governments are highly positively correlated. This result partly reflects the success of institutional arrangements that govern intergovernmental fiscal relations and appears unrelated to the extent of fiscal decentralization.

Inflation And Inflation Uncertainty In Argentina, 1810–2005, John Thornton

John Thornton

Unit root tests results suggest that inflation in Argentina for the period 1810–2005 is a stationary series when account is taken of structural breaks that coincide with bouts of hyperinflation. A GARCH (1,1) model of annual inflation suggests a positive short-run relation between the mean and variance of inflation, supporting Friedman's hypothesis that high inflation is associated with more variable inflation.

Aging And Inflammation In Two Epidemiological Worlds, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Jeffrey Winking, Caleb Finch, Eileen M. Crimmins

ESI Publications

Humans evolved in a world with high levels of infection resulting in high mortality across the life span and few survivors to advanced ages. Under such conditions, a strong acute-phase inflammatory response was required for survival; however, inflammatory responses can also promote chronic diseases of aging. We hypothesize that global historical increases in life span at older ages are partly explained by reduced lifetime exposure to infection and subsequent inflammation. To begin a test of this hypothesis, we compare C-reactive protein (CRP); levels in two populations with different epidemiological environments: the Tsimane of Bolivia and persons in the United States. …

De Evoluerende Marktpositie Van Beschutte Werkplaatsen In Vlaanderen: Uitdagingen En Knelpunten, Wim Van Opstal, Jozef Pacolet

Wim Van Opstal

Beschutte werkplaatsen hebben als grootste speler in de sociale inschakelingseconomie goed weten door te dringen in onze economie. Dit brengt echter ook de confrontatie met alle uitdagingen van een competitieve economische omgeving met zich mee. Het HIVA voerde een onderzoek uit naar de uitdagingen waarmee de beschutte werkplaatsen in Vlaanderen geconfronteerd worden vanuit hun evoluerende marktpositie. Daarnaast belicht deze studie de knelpunten vanuit de interne organisatie van beschutte werkplaatsen om het hoofd te kunnen bieden aan deze uitdagingen. De vitaliteit van de beschutte werkplaatsen aan de ene kant en de kwetsbaarheid ervan aan de andere kant, is het genuanceerde beeld …

Coöperaties In De Social Profit? Een Verkenning., Wim Van Opstal

Wim Van Opstal

Het is ondertussen meer dan 150 jaar geleden dat de eerste coöperaties werden opgericht om de levensstandaard van arbeiders en boeren te verbeteren. De jongste jaren begint men de coöperatie echter opnieuw te ontdekken als instrument om economische activiteiten te combineren met sociale doelstellingen. In deze bijdrage belichten we de rol die coöperaties spelen binnen het activiteitenspectrum van de social profit in een internationaal kader en staan we stil bij de vraag of dit ook voor Vlaanderen een interessant alternatief kan bieden.

Municipal Waste Generation And Socio Economic Drivers, Massimiliano Mazzanti

Massimiliano Mazzanti

No abstract provided.

Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

A pressing need in the area of food safety is a tool for making overall, macro judgments about which risks should be given priority for management. Governments often seek to base this prioritization on public health impacts only to find that other considerations also influence the prioritization process. A multi-factorial approach formally recognizes that public health, market-level impacts, consumer risk preferences and acceptance, and the social sensitivity of particular risks all play a role in prioritization. It also provides decision makers with a variety of information outputs that allow risk prioritization to be considered along different dimensions. Macro-level prioritization of …

Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

A pressing need in the area of food safety is a tool for making overall, macro judgments about which risks should be given priority for management. Governments often seek to base this prioritization on public health impacts only to find that other considerations also influence the prioritization process. A multi-factorial approach formally recognizes that public health, market-level impacts, consumer risk preferences and acceptance, and the social sensitivity of particular risks all play a role in prioritization. It also provides decision makers with a variety of information outputs that allow risk prioritization to be considered along different dimensions. Macro-level prioritization of …

Understanding Persistent Food Insecurity: A Paradox Of Place And Circumstance, Sheila Mammen, Jean W. Bauer, Leslie Richards

Sheila Mammen

Survey data from a USDA-funded multi-state longitudinal project revealed a paradox where rural low-income families from states considered prosperous were persistently more food insecure than similar families from less prosperous states. An examination of quantitative and qualitative data found that families in the food insecure states were more likely to experience greater material hardship and incur greater housing costs than families in the food secure states. Families in the food insecure states, however, did not have lower per capita median incomes or lower life satisfaction than those in the food secure states. A wide range of strategies to cope with …

The Benefits And Costs Of Proliferation Of Geographical Labeling For Developing Countries, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

Food product attributes related to geographical origins are a topical issue in global food trade. The provision of geographical labelling may occur through geographical indications under the mandated trade rules of the TRIPS Agreement, trademarks, or country-of-origin labelling. The overall effect of the expansion of geographical labelling on developing countries depends on a complex mix of market opportunities that may yield substantial benefits as well as implementation costs. Increasingly, the analysis of this overall effect will need to evaluate the joint impacts of different forms of geographical labelling on the market position of developing countries.

Consumer Demand For Quality: Major Determinant For Agricultural And Food Trade In The Future?, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

The impact of consumer demand for quality on the agricultural and food system is an increased emphasis on quality differentiation but not all in the direction of upgrading quality. The more elite market segments are thriving and reaching growing numbers of consumers but the basic price/quality markets remain strong. Most recent economic studies find that consumers are willing to pay for food safety and other quality attributes, and for information about them. The magnitude of the valuations varies by food product, attribute, country, and study design. This literature and a case study of genetically modified foods suggest that consumer demand …

An Analysis Of The Female Labor Force Participation Rate In The U.S. 1980-2004, Larry Martins

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This research uses census data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the female labor force participation from 1980 to 2004. These statistics are used to find the determinants of women’s decisions to enter the job market. The purpose of studying the female involvement in the labor force is to illustrate if females are still having trouble in the market. This article also reviews historical labor force statistics to determine how the labor force has changed and which factors have affected its changes between 1980 and 2004. The model, estimated with U.S. data, has provided empirical support for the …