Economic Policy Commons^™

Gop Denying Women Basic Economic Rights, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

Matthew Freedman

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.

Tight Representation Of Logical Constraints As Cardinality Rules, John Hooker, Hong Yan

John Hooker

We address the problem of finding a "tight" representation of complex logical constraints in a mixed integer programming model by describing a convex hull representation of cardinality rules.

Approximate Compilation Of Constraints Into Multivalued Decision Diagrams, Tarik Hadzic, John Hooker, Barry O'Sullivan, Peter Tiedemann

John Hooker

We present an incremental refinement algorithm for approximate compilation of constraint satisfaction models into multivalued decision diagrams (MDDs). The algorithm uses a vertex splitting operation that relies on detection of equivalent paths in the MDD. Although the algorithm is quite general, it can be adapted to exploit constraint structure by specializing the path equivalence test to particular constraints.We show how to modify the algorithm in a principled way to obtain an approximate MDD when the exact MDD is too large for practical purposes. This is done by replacing the equivalence test with a constraint-specific measure of distance. We demonstrate the …

Testing Heuristics: We Have It All Wrong, John Hooker

John Hooker

The competitive nature of most algorithmic experimentation is a source of problems that are all too familiar to the research community. It is hard to make fair comparisons between algorithms and to assemble realistic test problems. Competitive testing tells us which algorithm is faster but not why. Because it requires polished code, it consumes time and energy that could be better spent doing more experiments. This article argues that a more scientific approach of controlled experimentation, similar to that used in other empirical sciences, avoids or alleviates these problems. We have confused research and development; competitive testing is suited only …

Optimal Design Of Truss Structures By Logic-Based Branch And Cut, S. Bollapragada, Omar Ghattas, John Hooker

John Hooker

The truss design problem is to find the optimal placement and size of structural bars that can support a given load. The problem is nonlinear and, in the version addressed here, the bars must take certain discrete sizes. It is shown that a logic-based method that dispenses with integer variables and branches directly on logical disjunctions can solve substantially larger problems than mixed integer programming, even though the nonlinearities disappear in the mixed integer model. A primary purpose of the paper is to investigate whether advantages of logic-based branching that have been demonstrated elsewhere for linear problems extend to nonlinear …

Optimal Movement Of Factory Cranes, Ionuţ Aron, Latife Genç-Kaya, Iiro Harjunkoski, Samid Hoda, John Hooker

John Hooker

We study the problem of finding optimal space-time trajectories for two factory cranes or hoists that move along a single overhead track. Each crane is a assigned a sequence of pickups and deliveries at specified locations that must be performed within given time windows. The cranes must be operated so as not to interfere with each other, although one crane may need to yield to another. The objective is generally to follow a production schedule as closely as possible. We show that only certain types of trajectories need be considered to obtain an optimal solution. This simplifies the operation of …

Mixed Logical-Linear Programming, John Hooker, M. Osorio

John Hooker

Mixed logical/linear programming (MLLP) is an extension of mixed integer/linear programming (MILP). It can represent the discrete elements of a problem with logical propositions and provides a more natural modeling framework than MILP. It can also have computational advantages, partly because it eliminates integer variables when they serve no purpose, provides alternatives to the traditional continuous relaxation, and applies logic processing algorithms. This paper surveys previous work and attempts to organize ideas associated with MLLP, some old and some new, into a coherent framework. It articulates potential advantages of MLLP's wider choice of modeling and solution options and illustrates some …

Good And Bad Futures For Constraint Programming (And Operations Research), John Hooker

John Hooker

Two futures are sketched for constraint programming and operations research. In one, they continue their present emphasis on computational methods. In the other, they are empirical sciences dedicated to prescriptive modeling of human activities, with computation playing an ancillary role. The second future is defended as one in which the two fields, which are at root one field, maintain their vitality and make a more effective contribution to solving the problems of an increasingly complex world.

A Linear Programming Framework For Logics Of Uncertainty, K. Andersen, John Hooker

John Hooker

Several logics for reasoning under uncertainty distribute “probability mass” over sets in some sense. These include probabilistic logic, Dempster-Shafer theory, other logics based on belief functions, and second-order probabilistic logic. We show that these logics are instances of a certain type of linear programming model, typically with exponentially many variables. We also show how a single linear programming package can implement these logics computationally if one “plugs in” a different column generation subroutine for each logic, although the practicality of this approach has been demonstrated so far only for probabilistic logic.

Simpl: A System For Integrating Optimization Techniques, Ionuţ Aron, John Hooker, Tallys Yunes

John Hooker

In recent years, the Constraint Programming (CP) and Operations Research (OR) communities have explored the advantages of combining CP and OR techniques to formulate and solve combinatorial optimization problems. These advantages include a more versatile modeling framework and the ability to combine complementary strengths of the two solution technologies. This research has reached a stage at which further development would benefit from a general-purpose modeling and solution system. We introduce here a system for integrated modeling and solution called SIMPL. Our approach is to view CP and OR techniques as special cases of a single method rather than as separate …

A Framework For Integrating Solution Methods, John Hooker

John Hooker

We describe a modeling framework that integrates mathematical programming (MP), constraint programming (CP) and heuristic methods.

Corruption From A Cross-Cultural Perspective, John Hooker

John Hooker

This paper views corruption as activity that tends to undermine a cultural system. Because cultures operate in very different ways, different activities are corrupting in different parts of the world. The paper analyzes real-life situations in Japan, Taiwan, India, China, North America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Korea to distinguish actions that structurally undermine a cultural system from those that are merely inefficient or are actually supportive. Activities such as nepotism or cronyism that are corrupting in the rule-based cultures of the West may be functional in relationship-based cultures. Behavior that is normal in the West, such as bringing …

Solving The Incremental Satisfiability Problem, John Hooker

John Hooker

Given a set of clauses in propositional logic that have been found satisfiable, we wish to check whether satisfiability is preserved when the clause set is incremented with a new clause. We describe an efficient implementation of the Davis-Putnam-Loveland algorithm for checking the satisfiability of the original set. We then show how to modify the algorithm for efficient solution of the incremental problem, which is NP-complete. We also report computational results.

Resolution And The Integrality Of Satisfiability Problems, John Hooker

John Hooker

No abstract provided.

Logic-Based Benders Decomposition, John Hooker, G. Ottosson

John Hooker

Benders decomposition uses a strategy of “learning from one’s mistakes.” The aim of this paper is to extend this strategy to a much larger class of problems. The key is to generalize the linear programming dual used in the classical method to an “inference dual.” Solution of the inference dual takes the form of a logical deduction that yields Benders cuts. The dual is therefore very different from other generalized duals that have been proposed. The approach is illustrated by working out the details for propositional satisfiability and 0-1 programming problems. Computational tests are carried out for the latter, but …

Some Business-Related Ethical Issues In Engineering, John Hooker

John Hooker

Engineering has always been related to business, but now more than ever. Engineers are increasingly involved in startup companies in which they make business decisions as well as engineering decisions. Even in large firms, highly integrated product development cycles bring engineers into closer contact with marketing and other business people than in years past. Engineers must now think about ethical issues that were once the province of business managers. In addition, the rapid growth of biotechnology and e-commerce has created a new ethical landscape in which engineers must operate.

The aim here is to examine a few of the issues …

Mixed Global Constraints And Inference In Hybrid Clp-Ip Solvers, Greger Ottosson, Erlendur Thorsteinsson, John Hooker

John Hooker

The complementing strengths of Constraint (Logic) Programming (CLP) and Mixed Integer Programming (IP) have recently received significant attention. Although various optimization and constraint programming packages at a first glance seem to support mixed models, the modeling and solution techniques encapsulated are still rudimentary. Apart from exchanging bounds for variables and objective, little is known of what constitutes a good hybrid model and how a hybrid solver can utilize the complementary strengths of inference and relaxations. This paper adds to the field by identifying constraints as the essential link between CLP and IP and introduces an algorithm for bidirectional inference through …

Community Improvement Districts In Georgia: Administrators' Views On Their Effectiveness, Performance, And Accountability, Andrew Ewoh, Kristin Rome

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Since the early 1990s, Georgia has been a leading participant in public-private partnerships, as exemplified by its many community improvement districts (CIDs). The goals and uses of CIDs vary, but commonly include fundraising, maintaining aesthetically pleasing business environments, controlling traffic flow, and infrastructural improvements. A survey research method was used to examine the effectiveness, performance, and accountability of CIDs in Georgia as perceived by their leaders. Lack of citizen participation was found to be a major problem of CID governance; this has serious public policy implications that can only be remedied by demands for inclusion by residents.

Reaching For The Brass Ring: The U.S. News & World Report Rankings And Competition, Ronald Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The behavior of academic institutions, including the extent to which they collaborate on academic and nonacademic matters, is shaped by many factors. This paper focuses on one of these factors, the U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) annual ranking of the nation’s colleges and universities as undergraduate institutions, exploring how this ranking exacerbates the competitiveness among American higher education institutions. After presenting some evidence on the importance of the USNWR rankings to both public and private institutions at all levels along the selectivity spectrum, I describe how the rankings actually are calculated, then discuss how academic institutions alter their …

The 1995 Nrc Ratings Of Doctoral Programs: A Hedonic Model, Ronald Ehrenberg, Peter Hurst

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

We describe how one can use multivariate regression models and data collected by the National Research Council as part of its recent ranking of doctoral programs (Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Continuity and Change) to analyze how measures of program size, faculty seniority, faculty research productivity, and faculty productivity in producing doctoral degrees influence subjective ratings of doctoral programs in 35 academic fields. Using data for one of the fields, economics, we illustrate how university administrators can use the models to compute the impact of changing the number of faculty positions they allocate to the field on …

Advance Notice Provisions In Plant Closing Legislation: Do They Matter?, Ronald Ehrenberg, George Jakubson

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

This paper evaluates the cases for and against plant closing legislation. In spite of the growth of legislative efforts in the area, there has been surprisingly little effort devoted to analyzing what the effects are of existing plant closing legislation, of provisions in privately negotiated collective bargaining agreements that provide for advance notice in case of plant shutdowns and/or layoffs, and of voluntary employer provision of advance notice. The paper summarizes the results of previous research, and our own empirical analyses that used the January 1984 Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Displaced Workers, on the effects of advance notice …