Economics Commons^™

Bubbly Booms And Welfare, Feng Dong, Yang Jiao, Haoning Sun

Research Collection School Of Economics

We show the competing effects of a housing bubble on the real economy by developing a multi-sector dynamic model with housing production. On the one hand, firms can sell or collateralize their housing, so a housing bubble helps firms obtain credit to finance their investment and expand production. On the other hand, a boom in the housing sector crowds out labor in the non-housing sector. We show that housing booms can reduce social welfare both in the steady state and in the transitional dynamics only when the production externalities in the non-housing sector are sufficiently large. We quantitatively evaluate our …

Cross-Exchange Crypto Risk: A High-Frequency Dynamic Network Perspective, Yifu Wang, Wanbo Lu, Min-Bin Liu, Rui Ren, Wolfgang Karl Hardle

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

Cross-exchange crypto trading presents inherent risks, particularly for centralized exchanges. Investors observe exacerbating crypto volatility and counterparty risk and would like to quantify these elements of crypto trades. The multiple exchanges require a multivariate view on the structures of risk spillover across exchanges. Here, a Multivariate Heterogeneous AutoRegression (MHAR) model is designed and analyzed, accommodating the stylized facts of crypto markets, including 24/7 trading and the long-memory effect on return variations. The proposed MHAR approach clearly reveals the intensity of interconnectedness among exchanges during extreme events, e.g., the Bitcoin market. Additionally, one observes extremely volatile eigenvector centralities of Futures Exchange …

The Effect Of Crime On Mental Health In South Africa, Magda Tsaneva, Lauren-Kate Laplante

Economics

This paper examines the impact of district-level crime rates in South Africa on individual depression symptoms. We use panel data from the National Income Dynamics Survey collected between 2008 and 2014 and estimate an individual fixed effects regression model, thus controlling for characteristics of the individual's environment that could affect crime and mental health. We find that an increase of one standard deviation in property (violent) crime is associated with a 7.2 (8.7) percentage point increase in the probability of depression symptoms. Analysis of potential mechanisms suggests that indirect exposure to crime likely affects mental health by increasing stress rather …

Allocating Vehicle Registration Permits, Massimiliano Landi, Domenico Menicucci

Research Collection School Of Economics

We compare social welfare, consumer surplus and profits in two different institutional settings in which an item whose quantity is fixed and controlled (vehicle registration permit) is allocated to the buyers of a complementary good (car). In the first setting, which resembles the way in which vehicle registration permits are allocated in Singapore, the central planner runs a uniform price auction for permits in which the consumers who bid the highest receive the permits and pay the highest losing bid. Then each winning consumer purchases a car from a seller. In the alternative setting, the central planner first allocates the …

Unveiling The Power Of Tourism Research: Navigating Insights From Montana For 2024 And Beyond, Melissa Weddell, Kara Grau, Matthew Pettigrew

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

ITRR presentation from the 2024 Governor's Conference on Tourism

Making College Worth It: Inequalities In Higher Education And How To Solve Them, Katharine Meyer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Most students who graduate from college go on to earn higher wages, have more employment stability, and enjoy better health. While posted tuitions are high, a “high price, high aid” approach to college pricing means that the average cost of college has actually declined in recent years. Yet, public confidence in higher education is at an all-time low. What explains this tension? Who gains from going to college and who does not? What can colleges do to change perceptions about the value of a college education? This lecture by Brookings Institution scholar Katharine Meyer highlights trends in college enrollment and …

Apprenticeships In The Mountain West, Fy2023, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines data on apprenticeships for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original dataset from the U.S. Department of Labor includes data on all 50 states as well as U.S. territories. This fact sheet examines the number of apprenticeships, the average and median hourly wages, the education level of those in apprenticeships, the union status, and the industries that support apprenticeships in each Mountain West state.

Who Helps Tsimane Children And Adults?, Eric Schniter, Daniel K. Cummings, Paul L. Hooper, Maguin Gutierrez Cayuba, Jonathan Stieglitz, Benjamin C. Trumble, Hillard S. Kaplan, Michael D. Gurven

ESI Working Papers

We consider several forms of helping behavior among Tsimane Amerindians of Bolivia, including provision of shelter, childcare, food, sickcare, loans, advice, and cultural influence. While kin selection theory is traditionally invoked to explain nepotistic nurturing of youngsters by closely related kin, much less attention has been given to understanding the help provided to children and adults by individuals without close genetic relatedness. To explain who provides the various forms of help that we consider, we evaluate support for several predictions derived from kin selection theory: that helpers are most often closely related and from an older generation, provide more help …

How Covid-19 Changed Us: Compassion, Leadership, And Policy, The Lincy Institute

Lincy Institute Events

Nevada was one of the hardest hit states during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past three years, researchers at The Lincy Institute and other institutions collected interviews from 80 Nevada leaders across sectors including elected officials, leaders in education, community organizations, government agencies, and the business community. Four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our communities continue to build a resilient and healthy Nevada. This forum discusses how the crisis prompted us to rethink how we lead and how we can prepare for future challenges. Following a presentation of the project and its deliverables, leaders across sectors discuss …

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …

Montana Residents' Attitudes Towards Tourism - 2023, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz, Matthew Pettigrew

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

A summary of Montana residents' attitudes towards tourism from the 2023 season. Overall, results from this study show that Montana residents hold a generally positive attitude towards tourism in the state. Residents are aware of the economic benefit that tourism provides to their communities, and agree that the overall benefits outweigh the negative impacts. Perceptions of crowding at the statewide and community level appear to be easing from previous years.

Health And Healthcare: Designing For The Social Determinants Of Health And Blue Zones In North Nashville, Rebecca Tonguis, Honor Thomas, Olivia Hobbs

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Owned by North Nashville’s First Community Church, a now empty site in the Osage-North Fisk neighborhood of North Nashville has been identified as a potential site for a new location of The Store, in addition to a community-centric architectural development based on the social determinants of health and informed by the principles behind Blue Zones, the locations with the highest lifespans in the world. Opened by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, The Store is a free grocery store that “allow[s] people to shop for their basic needs in a way that protects dignity and fosters hope”, for which North Nashville …

2023 Estimates - Nonresident Visitation, Expenditures, And Economic Contribution, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report is a collection of estimates of 2023 nonresident visitation to Montana, expenditures by nonresident travelers in the state, and the contribution to Montana's economy of that traveler spending. Included are estimates by full year, quarter, trip purposed, and other visitor segments.

Factsheet: Examining The Equity Of Vocational Rehabilitation Services For Rural Americans, Catherine Ispen, Will Hoard, Rtc: Rural

Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to assist individuals with disabilities to obtain, advance, or retain employment. Employment is a valuable outcome because it can increase economic independence and community participation. To achieve employment, VR programs offer a range of services such as assessment, counseling, training, and job placement. We conducted two studies using RSA-911 case-services data to better understand
how VR agencies are serving diverse populations. RSA-911 data includes information about each consumer who enters the VR program, including sociodemographic characteristics and VR services received. In our first study, we used RSA-911 data …

Green Transition And Financial Stability: The Role Of Green Monetary And Macroprudential Policies And Vouchers, Ying Tung Chan, Maria Teresa Punzi, Hong Zhao

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

This paper analyzes a mix of alternative policies in supporting the green transition and the phase-out of fossil fuels, without compromising financial stability. An environmental dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (E-DSGE) model with two sectors (green and brown) and endogenous default is developed to assess potential climate-induced financial stability threats that can be mainly generated through physical and transition risks mechanism. Those risks are evaluated through a compound capital depreciation shock and a carbon tax shock. The paper offers several findings. First of all, a too stringent carbon tax would increase the medium-term default rate in both sectors, harming financial stability …

Wild Bootstrap Inference For Instrumental Variables Regressions With Weak And Few Clusters, Wenjie Wang, Yichong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study the wild bootstrap inference for instrumental variable regressions under an alternative asymptotic framework that the number of independent clusters is fixed, the size of each cluster diverges to infinity, and the within cluster dependence is sufficiently weak. We first show that the wild bootstrap Wald test controls size asymptotically up to a small error as long as the parameters of endogenous variables are strongly identified in at least one of the clusters. Second, we establish the conditions for the bootstrap tests to have power against local alternatives. We further develop a wild bootstrap Anderson–Rubin test for the full-vector …

Housing Markets Since Shapley And Scarf, Mustafa Oguz Afacan, Gaoji Hu, Jiangtao Li

Research Collection School Of Economics

Shapley and Scarf (1974) appeared in the first issue of the Journal of Mathematical Economics, and is one of the journal’s most impactful publications. As we approach the remarkable milestone of the journal’s 50th anniversary (1974–2024), this article serves as a commemorative exploration of Shapley and Scarf (1974) and the extensive body of literature that follows it.

The Montana Travel Industry - 2023 Summary, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

2023 summary infographic of the Montana travel and recreation industry.

How Major Tech Firms Used Illegal “No-Poach” Agreements To Control Workers’ Salaries, Matthew Gibson

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

The National-Level Economic Impact Of The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Mep): Estimates For Fiscal Year 2023, Brian Pittelko, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams, Gunnar Ingle, Sasha Kolomensky, Kyle Crane

Reports

No abstract provided.

The Safety Net Should Work For Working Age Adults, Lauren Bauer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture focuses attention on a population that is ill-served by the safety net but rarely acknowledged: low-income, working-age adults without dependents or government-determined disabilities. In this lecture, Brookings Scholar Lauren Bauer, a former Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Education, argues that a safety net that is inaccessible to ABAWDs (able-bodied adults without dependents) fails to recognize the precarious state of the low-wage labor market or how safety-net programs allow these workers to remain in the workforce. By modernizing the parameters of who qualifies for access to safety-net programs, assistance can be …

Payments As A Tool For Policy, Aaron Klein

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

What are the implications of using payment systems to enforce foreign policy (against Russia, Iran, Cuba, etc...) and domestic policy (on-line poker, cannabis, etc..)? What are the long-term ramifications for the United States, with its dominant status as a global financial system and home to the world reserve currency, using payment systems to achieve its political objectives? In this lecture, Brookings Institution scholar and former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Department of Treasury, Aaron Klein discusses the pros, cons, and intended and unintended consequences of our current system. He proposes a path forward to maximize economic growth …

Searching Govinfo.Gov/, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) database provides access to information legal, legislative, and regulatory information produced on multiple subjects by the U.S. Government. Content includes congressional bills, congressional committee hearings and prints (studies), reports on legislation, the text of laws, regulations, and executive orders and multiple U.S. Government information resources covering subjects from accounting to zoology.

The Long-Run Impacts Of Public Industrial Investment On Local Development And Economic Mobility: Evidence From World War Ii, Andrew Garin, Jonathan Rothbaum

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper studies the long-run effects of government-led construction of manufacturing plants on the regions where they were built and on individuals from those regions. Specifically, we examine publicly financed plants built in dispersed locations outside of major urban centers for security reasons during the United States’ industrial mobilization for World War II. Wartime plant construction had large and persistent impacts on local development, characterized by an expansion of relatively high-wage manufacturing employment throughout the postwar era. These benefits were shared by incumbent residents; we find men born before WWII in counties where plants were built earned $1,200 (in 2020 …

Work Organization And High-Paying Jobs, Dylan Nelson, Nathan Wilmers, Letian Zhang

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

High-paying factory jobs in the 1940s were an engine of egalitarian economic growth for a generation. Are there alternate forms of work organization that deliver similar benefits for frontline workers? Work organization varies by type of complexity and degree of employer control. Technical and tacit knowledge tasks receive higher pay for signaling or developing human capital. Higher-autonomy tasks elicit efficiency wages. To test these ideas, we match administrative earnings to task descriptions from job postings. We then compare earnings for workers hired into the same occupation and firm, but under different task allocations. When jobs raise task complexity and autonomy, …

Employer Market Power In Silicon Valley, Matthew Gibson

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Adam Smith alleged that employers often secretly combine to reduce labor earnings. This paper examines an important case of such behavior: illegal no-poaching agreements through which information-technology companies agreed not to compete for each other’s workers. Exploiting the plausibly exogenous timing of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, I estimate the effects of these agreements using a difference-in-difference design. Data from Glassdoor permit the inclusion of rich employer- and job-level controls. On average the no-poaching agreements reduced salaries at colluding firms by 5.6 percent, consistent with considerable employer market power. Stock bonuses and job satisfaction were also negatively affected.

Technology And The Global Economy, Jonathan Eaton, Samuel Kortum

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Interpreting individual heterogeneity in terms of probability theory has proved powerful in connecting behaviour at the individual and aggregate levels. Returning to Ricardo's focus on comparative efficiency as a basis for international trade, much recent quantitative equilibrium modeling of the global economy builds on particular probabilistic assumptions about technology. We review these assumptions and how they deliver a unified framework underlying a wide range of static and dynamic equilibrium models.

Southern Nevada Regional Industrial Study, Brookings Mountain West, Center For Business And Economic Research, Transportation Research Center

Policy Briefs and Reports

Recognizing the ongoing need to diversify the Southern Nevada economy, in 2023 GOED commissioned Brookings Mountain West, the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, and the UNLV Transportation Research Center to evaluate how Southern Nevada can leverage its geography and connectivity to neighboring states and metros at the megapolitan level to pursue industrial opportunities in the face of shifting global supply chains, diminishing developable land, the need for efficient management of the regional water supply, and the availability of unprecedented federal resources to support clean energy development, manufacturing, electrification of transportation systems, and supply-chain resiliency.

The study builds on …

Ambiguity And Ambiguity Attitudes Across Auctions, Cary Deck, Paan Jindapon, Tigran Melkonyan, Mark Schneider

ESI Working Papers

Studies of ambiguity perceptions and attitudes are moving beyond the Ellsberg urn to examine people’s responses to ambiguity in naturally occurring events, games, and financial markets. In this study, we measure ambiguity perceptions and attitudes for market prices and allocations in four classical auction formats (first-price and second-price sealed bid auctions, English and Dutch clock auctions). We find ambiguity attitudes, representing individual preferences, are stable across auctions. However, the perceived ambiguity surrounding auction prices is lowest for English clock auctions which are obviously strategyproof (OSP), followed by second-price auctions which are strategyproof (SP), followed by a tie between first-price and …

Optimal Inference For Spot Regressions, Tim Bollerslev, Jia Li, Yuexuan Ren

Research Collection School Of Economics

Betas from return regressions are commonly used to measure systematic financial market risks. "Good" beta measurements are essential for a range of empirical inquiries in finance and macroeconomics. We introduce a novel econometric framework for the nonparametric estimation of time-varying betas with high-frequency data. The "local Gaussian" property of the generic continuous-time benchmark model enables optimal "finite-sample" inference in a well-defined sense. It also affords more reliable inference in empirically realistic settings compared to conventional large-sample approaches. Two applications pertaining to the tracking performance of leveraged ETFs and an intraday event study illustrate the practical usefulness of the new procedures.