Digital Commons Network^™

An Economic Impact Analysis Of Rx Kids In Flint, Michigan, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams

Reports

No abstract provided.

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

Worker Rights In Collective Bargaining, Benjamin W. Arold, Elliott Ash, W. Bentley Macleod, Suresh Naidu

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) specify the contractual rights of unionized workers, but their full legal content has not yet been analyzed by economists. This paper develops novel natural language methods to analyze the empirical determinants and economic value of these rights using a new collection of 30,000 CBAs from Canada in the period 1986-2015. We parse legally binding rights (e.g., “workers shall receive. . . ”) and obligations (e.g., “the employer shall provide. . . ”) from contract text, and validate our measures through evaluation of clause pairs and comparison to firm surveys on HR practices. Using timevarying province-level variation …

Economic Growth In Mountain West Cities, 2019-2023, Anirudh Polagani, Isabelle G. Graham, Olivia K. Cheche, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents 2019-2023 data on economic growth indicators in 32 Mountain West cities across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The CoworkingCafe report, “Rising Powerhouses: The Cities Making America’s Economic Future,” includes economic growth data for 269 cities across the United States. This fact sheet highlights data from select cities in each Mountain West state, categorized by population size: five large cities, eight mid-sized cities, and 19 small cities.

Understanding Film Tax Credits In Nevada And Nationally, Michael J. Brown, David F. Damore, William E. Brown Jr.

Policy Briefs and Reports

This policy primer provides an overview of Nevada’s transferable tax credit program for film and other productions and reviews articles, reports, audits, and studies of film tax credits as a tool for economic development in the United States. This review considers a significant body of work analyzing the use of film tax credits in support of economic development. Studies and state audits often show that because film tax credits do not create the number and quality of full-time jobs necessary to merit their costs and do little to stimulate other related industries, they are a poor financial choice for state …

Migration And U.S. Labor Market Effects Of The Mexican Drug War, Mark Borgschulte, Yuci Chen, Eduardo Medina-Cortina

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the effect of the Mexican drug war on Mexico-to-U.S. migration and the resulting effects on population, employment, and wages in U.S. labor markets. Our empirical strategy compares U.S. counties differentially connected to Mexican municipalities through historical migration networks, using drug violence triggered by close municipal elections in 2007–2008 as a source of exogenous variation. Over the following decade, migrants fleeing the violence—the vast majority of whom are undocumented—cause native-born U.S. workers’ employment rates to increase and unemployment rates to fall, while wages do not change. Employment gains are largest for natives without a college degree. Employment effects fade …

Exploring The Impact Of Guangdong Province's Talent Policies On The Retention Of Fresh Master's Graduates For Employment In Guangdong, Kai Hong Sun

Lingnan Theses (Doctoral degree)

University graduates' choice of local employment serves as a core driver for promoting regional economic innovation, by effectively meeting corporate talent demands and injecting high-quality talent resources into regional development. This dynamic holds strategic significance for sustaining regional economic growth and fostering social stability. Talent policies attract graduates to local employment by offering preferential conditions and development opportunities while advancing their career growth and achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes for both talent and regions. Investigating the influence of talent policies on graduates' employment location decisions holds practical relevance in the current context.

This research examines the mechanisms through which …

Understanding Rice Production Stagnation In The Philippines: Regional Evidence And Development Implications, Henry Bartelet, Alenn Jhulia D. Prodigalidad, Janelle S. Dy, Jan Gabriel N. Manzano

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Despite decades of investment in agricultural research and rice development, the Philippines continues to face stagnation in domestic rice production. This persistent trend, occurring despite a sizable arable land base and large rural workforce, has contributed to the country’s growing reliance on rice imports to meet national food needs. In response, the government has implemented a tariff-based import system designed to fund domestic productivity improvements. While previous studies have explored the technical and environmental constraints affecting rice production, such as irrigation shortfalls, land degradation, and climate variability, few have examined recent national trends using regionally disaggregated data alongside qualitative insights. …

Just Cause Protection Under Manager Discrimination, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

“Just cause” policies aim to discourage the arbitrary firing of employees. Recent efforts at passing such laws in the U.S. have been motivated by deterring discrimination. This paper presents a framework to study the effects of just cause when managers engage in taste-based discrimination. The framework generates predictions on whether just cause will ease achievement and retention of stable employment by exploiting the timing of separations around a probationary period. Since probationary periods are a typical feature of protections, the approach is generalizable. We test predictions using New York City’s 2021 just cause law for fast-food employees. Using a synthetic …

Nyc’S “Just Cause” Law Aims To Make It Harder To Fire Fast Food Workers. Does It?, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Ten Lessons In Public–Private Partnerships To Create Good Jobs, Kathleen Bolter, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein, Michelle Miller-Adams, Alfonso Hernandez, Kyle Huisman, Bridget Timmeney

Reports

No abstract provided.

How Fair Workweek Laws Affect Labor Markets: A New York City Case Study, Joseph Pickens, Aaron Sojourner

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Consumption Under Structural Constraint: Insights From Indigenous Communities On The Great Plains, Glen Marshall, Rand Wergin

Mountain Plains Business Conference

Resource-constrained communities, particularly Indigenous and remote communities, remain critically understudied in the business literature despite persistent socioeconomic challenges. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to explore barriers to sustainable consumption in these resource-limited contexts. It examines consumer attitudes toward sustainability and identifies key barriers to sustainable consumption. Understanding these barriers is crucial for entrepreneurs seeking profitable and socially beneficial ventures, as well as for policymakers designing social or economic initiatives. This research provides actionable insights for tribal governments, business professionals, policymakers, and others seeking to promote sustainable economic growth, community health, and positive externalities in underserved communities.

Credit Union Member Benefits: Does Local Religiosity Matter?, Travis Davidson, Thanh Ngo, Hongxia Wang

Finance and Economics

We examine the impact of religiosity on credit union member benefits and document a positive association between local religiosity and member benefits. Members of credit unions in more religious counties enjoy lower interest rates on loans, higher interest rates on deposits, and consequently lower interest spreads. The effect varies by credit union types, and results suggest a stronger association between religiosity and member benefits for credit unions with a narrower field of membership. Further analysis indicates local religiosity is associated with improved operating performance, lower non-interest expenses, and higher quality earning assets, but increased liquidity risk. The results are robust …

If We Tear It Down, We Might Build You A New One: The Troublesome Use Of Eminent Domain And Urban Neighborhood Swimming Pools, Steven N. Waller Ph.D., James H. Bemiller

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Public swimming pools are a vital part of America’s recreation and sport culture since the early 1900’s. Municipal swimming pools were initially built to provide recreation and hygiene to urban communities, regardless of race or class. However, a complex history of segregation, civil unrest, suburbanization, and funding challenges has resulted in a significant decline in public pools, depriving many communities of vital recreational spaces. In many communities, options for sustaining the operation of swimming pools have resulted in pool closures. Unfortunately, once swimming pools close, especially those in aging neighborhoods in central city areas, they are seldom resurrected. They quickly …

U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs And Recent Policy Developments, Joseph Kane

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled, "U.S. Water Infrastructure: Diving Into Needs and Recent Policy Developments" by Brookings fellow in Brookings Metro, Joseph Kane. Whether providing drinking water, treating wastewater, or managing stormwater, water infrastructure in the United States spans a wide range of human-made and natural systems. In turn, the enormous scale and variety of these systems is leading to an array of challenges: aging and vulnerable infrastructure; fragmented governance and siloed planning across different geographies; a lack of financial, technical, and managerial capacity; difficulties adapting to new industrial and …

China’S Turn To Domestic-Led Growth: Replacing Consumption Taxes With Land Taxes?, Yilin Hou, Michael Kumhof, Lei Shao

Center for Policy Research

As part of its turn towards domestic-led growth China plans to stimulate consumption, including through a reduction in consumption taxes. We compare two model-based scenarios in which the revenue losses from lower consumption taxes are replaced by higher income taxes or higher land taxes. The model is carefully calibrated to recent Chinese data, including detailed fiscal data. We find that higher income taxes lead to significant losses in output and incomes, while higher land taxes lead to significant gains. These gains are increasing in the share of land in net wealth, a statistic for which better data would be invaluable.

Indiana At A Glance: County Trends, 2025 Edition, Roberto Gallardo

Purdue University Press Books

Indiana at a Glance: County Trends, 2025 Edition provides an overview of macro socioeconomic and demographic trends based on county-level data in ten-year periods in Indiana, the upper Midwest region, and the nation. Analyzing data primarily from 2013 through 2023, this book presents information that contextualizes the design and implementation of specific policies enacted by elected officials and community leaders, and reveals the impact these initiatives have on the public.

Inspired, in part, by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural America at a Glance reports, as well as the author’s more than twenty years of work in the field, …

Diaper Insecurity In Nevada And The Mountain West, 2024, Mia Tschan, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr.

Health

This fact sheet presents data on diaper insecurity in the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. It also presents data on the diaper gaps faced by fifteen Nevada counties: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, and White Pine. Esmeralda County and Eureka County are not included due to a lack of data. The 2025 Urban Institute report, “Mapping Diaper Insecurity in the US,” highlights 2024 data on diaper insecurity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Coordination In Time, Lars Boerner, Erik O. Kimbrough, Mouli Modak

ESI Working Papers

We study how well people are able to solve pure coordination problems in continuous time. Subjects decide whether and when to pay a cost to go to market with their goods and earn money only if another person shows up at the same time. We show that coordination failure is common in a baseline, and we introduce treatments that feature public coordination devices (meant to mimic clocks) and assess the extent to which coordination improves when such devices are provided via different institutions. A publicly provided device outperforms a variety of privately provided alternatives. Our evidence suggests this is because …

Climate Shocks And State Formation: The 1970 Bhola Cyclone And The Birth Of Bangladesh, Sultan Mehmood, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

Discussion Papers

State formation through secession often requires two critical steps: building mass support for independence, and engaging in violent conflict against a state resisting territorial loss. Combining satellite data with archival sources, we statistically document how exposure to the 1970 Bhola cyclone in East Pakistan which killed 350,000 people led to a rise in separatist sentiments expressed in voting booths, and later induced citizens to take up arms against the government and engage in guerrilla warfare. We identify the cyclone as a focal point that helped galvanize dispersed separatist sentiments into an organized political movement and war, in part by revealing …

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

China has emerged as an economic power house of the 21st Century and is the largest exporting nation of the World and the second biggest economy. The remarkable achievement of GDP per head growing 17 times between 1980-2014 and lifting more than 800 million out of poverty is a feat unprecedented in human history. It would be pertinent to recall that not very far in time i.e. 1980, per capita income of China was lower than that of both India and Pakistan and since then now it has become an economic powerhouse. Realizing its importance as a leading economic power, …

Pakistan’S Experience With The Imf, 2000–2004, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

Pakistan’s relationship with the IMF during the 2000 – 2004 period was quite unique and distinctive. Unlike the earlier eight agreements that were concluded with the IMF during 1988-99 and were never implemented beyond the first tranche release it was only in this period that two successive agreements – a nine month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the year 2000 followed by a three year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) were successfully completed. All the sixteen reviews by IMF staff were completed and eleven successive tranches were drawn on time without any extension or interruption. The last two tranches were …

Positioning Domestic Capital Markets For Emerging Companies, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

The current macroeconomic context is not very conducive to the growth of capital markets. Stagnant per capita incomes, high inflation, declining investment, large fiscal deficit, severe energy shortages, current account imbalances and drying up of foreign investment do not provide an appetizing menu of options for the savers, investors and issuers. Strong borrowing needs of the government have increased banks’ exposure to government paper. As banks account for 95 percent of the total financial assets private sector credit has there shrunk. The share of net advances has dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent between Dec 2008 and June 2011. …

Does Idiosyncratic Volatility Follow A Random-Walk? Evidence From U.S. Stocks, Zihan Cao, Ossama Elhadary

Publications and Research

In asset pricing literature, idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) measures the firm-specific risk that is not explained by broader market movements. In this study, I investigate whether the idiosyncratic volatility (IVOL) of individual stocks follows a random-walk. Using monthly residuals from the Fama-French three-factor model (Fama & French, 1993), I estimate IVOL for more than 11,000 U.S. stocks, and apply the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (Said & Dickey, 1984) to determine whether IVOL behaves like a random-walk. While most stocks display random-walk behavior, the proportion varies across industries, with some sectors showing deviations from random-walk behavior. Stocks with different levels of average return …

Simulasi Kenaikan Tarif Cukai Rokok Terhadap Kinerja Ekonomi Rokok Di Indonesia, Diska Agustinningtyas, Neli Agustina

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

Production and consumption of cigarettes in Indonesia tend to increase. Increasing production has a positive impact on state revenue. However, the increasing consumption of cigarettes harms public health. The government implemented a policy of cigarette excise tax to control cigarette consumption. This study aims to analyze the impact of increasing the cigarette tax on the economic performance of the cigarette industry. Using Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) estimation methods shows that cigarette production is influenced by its consumption. Cigarette consumption is influenced by its price, per capita income in the previous year, and its consumption in the previous year. Cigarette’s price …

Latino Or Hispanic-Owned Businesses In The Mountain West, 2017-2022, Anthony Arroyo, Cason Noll, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet examines the growth of Latino or Hispanic-owned businesses in the largest metropolitan areas in the Mountain West between 2017 and 2022. The data are derived from the Brookings Institution’s “Charting the surge in Latino or Hispanic-owned businesses in the US” report, which highlights data on Latino or Hispanic-owned businesses in metropolitan and micropolitan areas across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. This fact sheet focuses on data for the following metropolitan areas in the Mountain West: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO; Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV; Albuquerque, NM; and Salt Lake City-Murray, UT.

The Reciprocity Of Misfortune: The Little Tradition Of Disasters In The Philippines, Greg Bankoff, Bianca Angelien Aban Claveria, David Lozada Iii, Camille L. Silva

History Department Faculty Publications

Just as there is a great and little tradition in religion and civilization, there is a great and little tradition in disaster. This article explores the origins of community resilience in rural areas of the Philippines based on local reciprocity and cooperation and how ­ these customary practices form the basis of national disaster risk-­reduction policies. The endless strug­gle to feed and shelter a family and contend with repeated hazards, whether natu­ral or human-­induced, promotes collective action. There is a need to cooperate with neighbors, a web of dyadic and community relationships born out of necessity that constitutes a “reciprocity …

Testing Fractional Inflation Persistence In The West African Monetary Zone, Afees A. Salisu, Nuruddeen Usman, Godday Uwawunkonye Ebuh

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

Understanding inflation persistence is of utmost significance for monetary policymakers in an era of heightened global economic interdependence and increased susceptibility to external shocks. Thus, this study examines the dynamics of inflation within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), employing both conventional and innovative econometric methods, notably Fractional integration and Fractionally Cointegrated Vector AutoRegressive (FCVAR) models. Our analysis reveals a compelling paradox in the persistence of inflation. Conventional methodologies suggest a robust inertia with high persistence levels nearing unity. Conversely, Fractional Integration paints a more intricate portrait, indicating a dynamic, less persistent behavior with persistence values notably below 0.5. Crucially, …

Independence Of Central Banks In Nondemocratic Regimes: Implications For Price Stability, Abeeb O. Olaniran, Umar B. Ndako

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study examines the impact of central bank independence on inflation in nondemocratic regimes, with a specific focus on the differences between Islamic and nonIslamic groups. It utilizes nonstationary heterogeneous panels to estimate both the longrun and short-run responses of inflation to central bank independence. Additionally, it employs a panel smooth transition regression model to identify any potential threshold effects in this relationship. Our findings reveal an inverse relationship between central bank independence and inflation rates for both groups in the long run. Our result suggests that non-Islamic authoritarian countries may struggle more than Islamic ones to maintain price stability …