Digital Commons Network^™

Futures Thinking To Achieve Sustainable Development At Local Level In Ireland, Lorcan Sirr, Ruth Kelly, John Ratcliffe

Reports

We are living in times of unprecedented global change and upheaval and over the next ten to 20 years governments, organisations and individuals will face increasing difficulties in an environment of growing complexity, heightened uncertainty and a quickening pace of change. The concept of sustainable development implies the reconciliation of long-term socio-economic development, environmental protection and quality of life; essentially it is concerned with the future. Unfortunately, the potential for linking “futures thinking” to debates about sustainable development at local and regional government levels is relatively undeveloped, particularly in Ireland. Responding to this challenge, The Futures Academy at Technological University …

Part 6: The Role And Influence Of African American Legislators From Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

African Americans comprise more than three of every 10 residents of Hampton Roads. Only recently, however, has this population translated into a large number of elected representatives in the Virginia General Assembly. This year, there are eight elected African American legislators in Richmond who claim Hampton Roads as their home. We explore their power and influence, noting that many do not yet possess the seniority to wield extensive influence. All eight legislators are Democrats and serve in a statehouse dominated by Republicans.

Forecasting The Global Electronics Cycle With Leading Indicators: A Var Approach, Hwee Kwan Chow, Keen Meng Choy

Research Collection School Of Economics

Developments in the global electronics industry are typically monitored by tracking indicators that span a whole spectrum of activities in the sector. However, these indicators invariably give mixed signals at each point in time, thereby hampering attempts at prediction. In this paper, we propose a unified framework for forecasting the global electronics cycle by constructing a VAR model that captures the economic interactions between putative leading indicators representing expectations, orders, inventories and prices. The ability of the indicators to presage world semiconductor sales is first examined by Granger causality tests. Subsequently, an impulse response analysis confirms the leading qualities of …

Selection Correction And Sensitivity Analysis For Ordered Treatment Effect On Count Response, Myoung-Jae Lee

Research Collection School Of Economics

In estimating the effect of an ordered treatment [tau] on a count response y with an observational data where [tau] is self-selected (not randomized), observed variables x and unobserved variables [epsilon] can be unbalanced across the control group ([tau] = 0) and the treatment groups ([tau] = 1, . . . , J). While the imbalance in x causes 'overt bias' which can be removed by controlling for x, the imbalance in [epsilon] causes 'covert (hidden or selection) bias' which cannot be easily removed. This paper makes three contributions. First, a proper counter-factual causal framework for ordered treatment effect on …

Using Information And Communication Technology For Human Development: Comparing Strategies, Jenny Engelbrektsson

Theses : Honours

In the last 20 years, applications of lnformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have impacted on the economics of the industrialised world. In today's "information society", information and knowledge are essential to social and economic development. However, not everyone has access to ICI sand the information they may provide. There is concern that existing inequities of income, knowledge, skills and measures of social development may increase as a result of a growing "digital divide" both between and within countries. There is an ongoing discussion within the international community about whether ICTs may play a significant role in human development. This study …

Policy Watch: Trade Adjustment Assistance, Katherine Baicker, M. Marit Rehavi

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Does Big Government Hurt Economic Growth?, Peter H. Lindert

Clemens Lecture Series

No abstract provided.

Compatibility Of A Western Systemic Approach For Handling Complex, Pluralist And Coercive Problems In Developing Countries: A Case Study Of Micro Satellite Development In Indonesia, Alexander Sudibyo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this era of globalization, there has been much western investment in the eastern world, increasing the number of large projects financed by internal and foreign investments. It was thought a challenging proposition to investigate whether systemic approaches could be used in eastern developing countries that are in transition between Toffler’s first (agricultural focused) and second (industrial centered) waves of economic development.

The Sixth Annual Nm Data Users Conference_2004, University Of New Mexico Bureau Of Business And Economic Research, Economic Development Department Of New Mexico

BBER Publications

The report compiles comprehensive demographic, economic, labor force, income, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and county-level data for New Mexico in 2004. Produced for the Sixth Annual New Mexico Data Users Conference, it serves as a reference guide for researchers, planners, businesses, and policymakers seeking current statewide and local socioeconomic information.

Part 2: How Do We Compare? Hampton Roads Versus Other Regions, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Per capita income in Hampton Roads has been rising and, after we factor in the cost of living, now is about 6 percent above the national average. This is a startling reversal from the late 1990s when the region was well below the national average. Housing prices here continue to be lower than the national average, as is our overall cost of living. Our air is cleaner than the national average and we rate high in terms of cultural amenities, but founder with regard to several measures of educational attainment.

New Mexico Labor Market Review 12-31-2003, New Mexico Department Of Labor

Historic Publications

This issue of the New Mexico Labor Market Review presents November 2003 employment, unemployment, wage, and economic activity data for New Mexico, its counties, and metropolitan areas.

Legislative-Executive Relations And The Budgetary Process In Nigeria: An Evaluation Of The 1999 Constitution., S.C. Rapu

CBN Occasional Papers

Since the transition to civilian rule in May 29, 1999, the country has witnessed conflicts between the legislature and the executive over budget matters. These conflicts are not only restricted to the federal level but also a common phenomenon at the state government level. This paper discussed the poor relationship over the budget matters and made suggestions on how to improve the process. The paper surveyed the literature on the legal framework of the budgetary process in several countries. Thereafter, the paper examined the legal framework for the budgetary process in Nigeria as well as the issues involved. The paper …

Banking Sector: Developments, Challenges, And Opportunities, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

Pakistan’s banking sector like many other developing countries had been faced with several problems and difficulties such as: (1) Most of the financial assets and deposits were owned by nationalized commercial banks (NCBs) which suffered from a highly bureaucratic approach, overstaffing, unprofitable branches and poor customer service. (2) NCBs along with specialized banks such as ADBP, IDBP and Development financial institutions such as NDFC had a high ratio of non-performing loans. (3) Banking industry faced a high tax rate, which affected its profitability and attractiveness for new entrants. (4) There was a proliferation of banks and some of them were …

Love At What Price? Estimating The Value Of Marriage, Michael Conlin, Stacy A. Dickert-Conlin, Elyse Whitney

Economics - All Scholarship

Using a law within Social Security that provides clear financial incentives to delay marriage, we estimate the financial value of a month of marriage. Specifically, the law provides that widows who are eligible for Social Security benefits on their deceased spouse's earnings records are eligible for benefits at age 60, unless they remarry before that age. If they remarry before that age, they cannot claim widow benefits and must wait until at least age 62 to claim spousal benefits on their new husband's record, which are typically less generous than widow benefits. To generate an estimate of what this behavior …

The Economic Incidence Of Smoking Laws, John Dunham, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

Although laws restricting smoking in restaurants are becoming commonplace, most research has focused on either the health benefits that laws may provide customers and workers or whether laws harm owners. But while smoking laws may directly alter profits, owners may alter prices, output, and other business attributes in ways that affect the welfare of customers and workers. This study examines whether restaurant and bar owners alter prices, entertainment, hours of operation and other business attributes in response to local smoking laws. Substantial support is found for these attribute changes in the Wisconsin hospitality industry. One implication is that an overall …

Measures Of Restrictions On Inward Foreign Direct Investment For Oecd Countries, Stephen S. Golub

Economics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Wright State University Regional Economic Report, December 2003, Thomas L. Traynor

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Community Norms And Organizational Practices: The Legitimization Of Wage Arrears In Russia, 1992-1999, John S. Earle, Andrew Spicer, Klara Sabirianova Peter

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

What role do community norms play in the diffusion and persistence of new organizational practices? We explore this question through an examination of the widespread practice of wage arrears, the late and non-payment of wages, in Russia during the 1990s. Existing research on wage arrears most often examines this practice as a means of flexible wage adjustment under difficult economic conditions. We develop an alternative theory that explains wage arrears through their acceptance as a legitimate form of organizational behavior within local communities. Our empirical analysis finds some support for the neoclassical position that wage arrears reflect adjustment to negative …

Which Is The Fairest One Of All? A Positive Analysis Of Justice Theories, James Konow

Economics Faculty Works

This paper evaluates numerous positive and normative theories of justice in positive terms, i.e., in terms of how accurately they describe the impartial fairness preferences of real people. In addition, the paper proposes and defends an integrated justice theory based on preferences over four distinct and sometimes conflicting forces. These forces frame the analysis of the individual theories and inspire four corresponding theoretical classes: equality and need, utilitarianism and welfare economics, equity and desert, and context. This synthesis enables one to treat justice rigorously and to reconcile results that often appear contradictory or at odds with alternative theories.

The Impacts Of Hong Kong's Currency Board Reforms On Its Interbank Market, Yiu Kuen Tse, Paul S. L. Yip

Research Collection School Of Economics

Among the economies with a Currency Board System (CBS), Hong Kong (HK) is probably the one with the largest and most developed financial sector, as well as the highest capital mobility. Hence, studying HK’s CBS is not only crucial to HK, but also important for the understanding of the modern CBS. This paper outlines the major monetary reforms in HK since the late 1980s. The impacts of these reforms and the 1997–1998 Asian Financial Crisis are then examined empirically. We focus on the differentials between the US and HK interbank interest rates. We assume the conditional-mean equation follows an autoregressive …

New Mexico Labor Market Review 11-30-2003, New Mexico Department Of Labor

Historic Publications

This issue of the New Mexico Labor Market Review presents October 2003 employment, unemployment, wage, and economic activity data for New Mexico, its counties, and metropolitan areas.

The Virgin And The Grasshoppers: Persistence And Piety In German-Catholic America, Stephen Gross

Faculty Working Papers

This paper examines two inter-related historical problems -- the impact of the market revolution in nineteenth-century American and the disruptive impact of immigration on community life -- by chronicling the construction of a votive chapel in the heavily German-Catholic Stearns County, Minnesota. The chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was ostensibly built to secure divine relief from a plague of Rocky Mountain locusts that was devastating the area. At the same time, the chapel and the rituals surrounding its construction spoke to other community needs and functioned in diverse ways to address other community problems. For one, the shrine spoke …

Option Value And Dynamic Programming Model Estimates Of Social Security Disability Insurance Application Timing, Rickard V. Burkhauser, J. S. Butler, Gulcin Gumus

Economics - All Scholarship

This paper develops dynamic structural models - an option value model and a dynamic programming model - of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application timing decision. We estimate the time to application from the point at which a health condition first begins to affect the kind or amount of work that a currently employed person can do. We use Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and restricted access Social Security earnings data for estimation. Based on tests of both in-sample and out-of-sample predictive accuracy, our option value model performs better than both our dynamic programming model and our reduced form …

Dynamic Modeling Of The Ssdi Application Timing Decision: The Importance Of Policy Variables, Rickard V. Burkhauser, J S. Butler, Gulcin Gumus

Economics - All Scholarship

This paper analyzes the importance of policy variables in the context of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application timing decision. Previously, we explicitly modeled the optimal timing of SSDI application using dynamic structural models. We estimated these models using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). This paper uses option value model estimates to simulate application timing under alternative SSDI policy formulations. We consider changes in three policy variables: benefit levels, acceptance rates, and employer accommodation. Our simulations suggest all these changes would have substantial effects on expected spell lengths until application and on lifetime application rates, and hence …

The Lingnan Commentary - November 2003 (No. 8), Hong Kong Institute Of Business Studies, Lingnan University

The Lingnan Commentary 嶺南評論 : A Quarterly Review of Economic, Business and Social Issues by Lingnan University

No abstract provided.

Benchmarking Study Of The Small Business Environment In Saginaw County, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

New Mexico Labor Market Review 10-31-2003, New Mexico Department Of Labor

Historic Publications

The New Mexico Labor Market Review is a monthly publication presenting statistical data and analysis on labor market conditions throughout New Mexico. Issues examine statewide and regional trends in employment, unemployment, labor force estimates, industry activity, wages, occupational demand, and related economic conditions, often accompanied by feature articles on topics affecting the state’s economy. This issue covers September 2003.

Filling The Poverty Gap, Then And Now, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The extent to which means-tested transfers, social insurance, and tax credits fill the gap between a family’s private resources and the poverty threshold is a periodic barometer of the social safety net. Using data on families from the Current Population Survey I examine how the level and composition of before- and after-tax and after-transfer poverty gaps changed in response to changes in the policy and economic landscapes over the past two decades. The estimates presented here indicate not only dramatic changes in the level and sources of income maintenance programs filling the poverty gap, but also dramatic changes in which …

The Regional Impact Of Adding Additional Dairy Cows And Facilities To The I-29 Corridor Of South Dakota, Gary Taylor

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Hud Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity (Echo) Program, C Theodore Koebel, Julia Beamish, Karen A. Danielsen, Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

ECHO housing was introduced in the United States in the 1980s based on a program started in Australia in 1975. An ECHO unit is a small house in which an elderly person resides and which is placed near the home of a host (either relatives or close friends of the elderly person). The purpose of this arrangement is to make it convenient and efficient for the occupants of the host family dwelling to provide assistance to the elderly person residing in the smaller ECHO house.

Although ECHO housing provides a means for keeping an elderly resident close to family and …