Digital Commons Network^™

The Dual Face Of Empowerment: A Model For Cooperative Resource Building, Eric C. Albers, Nancy Paolini

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Homelessness among families with children has become a nationwide problem. Although homelessness is difficult to document, it is estimated that approximately 250,000 to 3,000,000 people in the United States are homeless. Families, which comprise approximately one third of the homeless population, is its fastest growing segment (Mihaly, 1991; National Coalition for the Homeless, 1989; Van Vliet, 1989). This may be a conservative figure. Some of these families often go uncounted because they are part of the "invisible" homeless. They avoid agency contact for fear of losing their children or live in motels, cars, or campgrounds and thereby are not counted …

How Government Reduces Employment, Murray L. Weidenbaum

Murray Weidenbaum Publications

Murray Weidenbaum shows how the federal government conducts many activities that affect the ability of the private sector to create jobs.

Quasi-Flag Of Convenience Shipping: The Wave Of The Future, Rex S. Toh, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Many articles and books have been written to extol the advantages and virtues of flags of convenience (FOC) shipping, argue its necessi ty, and defend the practice. However, from the earliest days there has been opposition to FOC shipping, and lately the disenchantment over this questionable form of open registry has led to the potentially rapid growth of what can be termed as quasi-FOC arrangements. This article will first briefly trace the trend from FOCs to quasi-FOCs, outline the legal framework for regulating international shipping, then discuss the problems, opposition, and legal challenges to open registries. Finally, it will trace …

How Government Reduces Employment, Murray L. Weidenbaum

Murray Weidenbaum Publications

Government mandates contribute to reducing the ability of the private sector to create jobs. But ways need to be developed that can offset this.

Does Exchange Rate Variability Depress Trade Flows ? Evidence From Error Correction Models, Abdur Chowdhury

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines the impact of exchange rate volatility on the trade flows of the G-7 countries in the context of a multivariate error-correction model. The error-correction models do not show any sign of parameter instability. The results indicate that the exchange rate volatility has a significant negative impact on the volume of exports in each of the G-7 countries. Assuming market participants are risk averse, these results imply that exchange rate uncertainty causes them to reduce their activities, change prices, or shift sources of demand and supply in order to minimize their exposure to the effects of exchange rate …

Dairy Outlook; Hog Comments, Donald Peterson, Gene Murra

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, And The Carter Presidency, Ann Mari May

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The Carter years have often been characterized as a period of profound economic malaise brought on by weak and misguided leadership. Indeed, not since Herbert Hoover left office in 1933 has a president faced such pervasive allegations of economic mismanagement. However, examination of broad indicators of economic conditions demonstrates that the economy performed quite well during the Carter years. Moreover, fiscal policy during the Carter Administration was relatively stable and less volatile than fiscal policy during other postwar presidential periods and appropriate in its countercyclical thrust. In contrast, monetary policy was highly erratic compared to monetary policy during other presidential …

The Value Line Enigma Extended - An Examination Of The Performance Of Option Recommendations, Jack B. Broughton, Don M. Chance

Business Faculty Articles and Research

We extend the research on the Value Line Enigma by examining the performance of call recommendations in Value Line Options. Galai's hedge decomposition procedure identifies the components of the calls' returns. Abnormal call returns were most pronounced immediately following the purchase, which is consistent with studies of Value Line's stock rankings. The largest and most significant abnormal performance was by calls assigned the highest rank written on stocks judged by Value Line to be correctly priced. Abnormal call return performance by joint call and stock ranks was consistent with the hypothesis that Value Line identifies underpriced call options.

Could Distance Be A Proxy For Severity-Of-Illness? A Comparison Of Hospital Costs In Distant And Local Patients., H G. Welch, E B. Larson, W P. Welch

Dartmouth Scholarship

We test the hypothesis that hospital costs, after adjusting for DRG mix, are higher in distant patients than in local patients. Data were obtained from the Washington State Commission Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS) and included all patients discharged from 15 metropolitan hospitals in the state of Washington during fiscal year 1987 (N = 181,072).

Auctions For Transferable Objects: Theory And Evidence From The Vehicle Quota System In Singapore, David K. C. Lee, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper studies the hypothesis that auctions with resale markets result in higher prices. The vehicle quota system introduced in Singapore in May 1990 provides the setting. The Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) necessary to purchase new cars were initially transferable for all quota categories. After October 1991, COEs for four major categories became non-transferable. Our results indicate that while the conversion to non-transferability eliminated speculation, it has also intensified competition among car distributors. Auctions for non-transferable COEs in fact led to higher COE prices in three of the four categories.

Review Of Business Cycles: Theory, History, Indicators, And Forecasting By Victor Zarnowitz, Abdur Chowdhury

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Books Received And Book Notices, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Book Listing for the Vol 16, No 3 Edition of the Pacific Studies Journal

Economic Cost Of Electricity Outages: Evidence From A Sample Study Of Industrial And Commercial Firms In The Lagos Area Of Nigeria., O. A. Uchendu

Economic and Financial Review

The purpose of this study is to estimate some of the measurable costs of electricity outages from a sample of industrial and commercial firms in the Lagos area. To achieve this objective, over 100 firms were surveyed. Analysis of the survey returns showed that firms in the area sustained substantial economic costs, consisting of adaptive costs (investments and operating costs on own generations), operating losses (raw and processed materials), equipment losses and unproduced output. Most of the firms indicated that NEPA's tariff was expensive. They also recommended among other things, private sector participation in the electricity industry and privatization of …

Vol. 16 No. 3 (1993): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

Culture, Human Capital, And The Earnings Of West Indian Blacks, Stephen A. Woodbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper offers an empirical analysis of West Indians' performance in the U.S. labor market, drawing adjusted comparisons between the earnings of native-born black American men of West Indian ancestry and the earnings of other native-born men, both black and white. The data required for these comparisons come from the 1980 Census of Population, in which native-born respondents reported their ancestry. The results offer a mixed picture of the success of West Indians, suggesting that native-born blacks of West Indian ancestry do have somewhat higher earnings than other native-born blacks, other things equal. Nevertheless, there is still a large earnings …

The Effects Of Local Labor Demand On Individual Labor Market Outcomes For Different Demographic Groups And The Poor, Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The contribution of this paper is to use panel data on individuals (specifically, data from the Panel Survey on Income Dynamics) to examine how local demand conditions affect the economic well-being of disadvantaged groups and the poor. Previous research on local labor demand conditions uses data from a single cross-section of local economies, or a time-series of cross-sections of regions. With such data, estimated effects of local labor demand conditions on average labor market outcomes might be attributable to changes in local population composition, as we would expect local demand conditions to change in- and out-migration patterns. Because panel data …

Vol. 16 No. 3 (1993): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

The Economic Payoffs To Workplace Literacy, Kevin Hollenbeck

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper focuses on one of the potential benefits to improving the Nation's literacy the economic payoffs. A more literate workforce provides economic benefits to the members of the workforce themselves, to employers, and to society. Workers who improve their basic skills through participation in workplace literacy programs should be more productive and hence earn higher wages and have greater job security. Employers with more productive workers will be more competitive in their industries and will be more profitable. Society gains by having a more productive and stable economy, by having more individuals employed with higher earnings and thus paying …

Reemployment Incentives For Unemployment Insurance Beneficiaries: Results From The Washington Reemployment Bonus Experiment, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert G. Spiegelman, Kenneth J. Kline

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Unemployment insurance is intended to reduce hardship by providing labor force members with partial wage replacement during periods of involuntary unemployment. However, in performing this income maintenance function, unemployment insurance may prolong spells of unemployment. Evidence from a field experiment conducted in Illinois in 1984 suggested that offering unemployment insurance claimants a modest cash bonus for rapid reemployment would increase the speed of return to work and reduce program costs. In 1988 a similar experiment, examining several different bonus offers, was conducted in Washington State. Evidence from the Washington experiment indicates that bonus offers do change job seeking behavior, but …

The Effect Of Uncertainty On A Joint Product Model Of Smuggling, Scott Fausti

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

Extending the seminal work of Bhagwati and Hansen (1973) on smuggling, Pitt (1981) developed a joint export smuggling model to investigate the welfare effect of illegal transactions. This paper develops an extension of Pitt's original model which allows many of the interesting features of the Bhagwati and Hansen model to be reexamined within a joint product model of smuggling framework. The extension is made through the following modifications to Pitt's assumptions: 1) firms that export are free to engage in joint product smuggling or strictly legal trade; and 2) uncertainty is introduced into the model via active government enforcement. The …

Are Tax Rates Too Volatile?, Gregory Hess

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

The way in which a government chooses to raise tax revenue over time has attracted considerable attention both in the tax literature, and the political business cycle literature. The tax literature ahs emphasized planning problems where the government chooses taxes and a path for government debt to minimize the excess burden of taxes over time. Alternatively, the political business cycle models focus on the fiscal policies pursued by incumbent governments to either improve their reelection prospects or to constrain the policies that future governments in power will pursue.

This paper addresses the question of whether tax rates fluctuate “in excess” …

State Strategy For Developing Base Industries: A Massachusetts Case Study, Chris Tilly

New England Journal of Public Policy

In developing strategies for economic development, state governments must target base industries that bring income into the state and drive the rest of the economy. This article presents a case study of industry analysis and development strategy for Massachusetts, focusing on the state's base industries. Particular attention is paid to the role of industry clusters — groups of industries linked through customer, supplier, or other relationships, and typically concentrated geographically as well. After assessing strengths and weaknesses of the state's economy, the author concludes that despite the current severe recession, the state possesses the basis for renewed growth. Policy implications …

Is The “Sheil” A Shill? Informal Credit In Rural Sudan, Michael Kevane

Economics

My dictionary defines a shill as a person "who poses as an innocent bystander to help a confidence man win over a prospective victim."1 The Sudanese system of informal credit, known as shei/ 2 credit, has been described by many academic writers as an exploitative, usurious form of lending, much as Tayeb Salih implies about the loan transaction between Masood and the grandfather. These writers argue that an important cause of the persistence and deepening of poverty is the monopolistic position of village lenders. But is that really what the sheil is? Or has the sheil been misrepresented in order …

Hawaiian Dryland Agricultural Intensification And The Pacific Economy, Thegn N. Ladefoged

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Hawaiian Dryland Agricultural Intensification And The Pacific Economy, Thegn N. Ladefoged

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Ecosystem Valuation: Combining Economics, Philosophy, And Ecology, F. Gregory Hayden

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Discussions regarding ecological crises often begin by casually identifying anthropocentric traits as responsible for the crises and by briefly explaining the need for holistic or macroscopic modeling. Yet, when modeling begins, policy scientists, philosophers, and social scientists usually are not included, and the models often are not ecological, but are rather narrowly biological or physical. The main purpose of this paper is to emphasize the need for broader and richer modeling and the need to recognize that environmental protection and enhancement is anthropocentric policymaking. The question is not whether it will be anthropocentric, but which anthropocentric values, beliefs, and philosophies …

The Demand For Higher Education: A Cost/Benefit Analysis Of The Human Capitol Theory, Bruce T. Bennett '93

Honors Projects

I will attempt to identify the costs and benefits of the high school graduate using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth as the database. The study will be cross-sectional using those respondents born in 1964 or 1965. Using this data, I will formulate and test a number of hypotheses concerning the personal characteristics such as innate ability, family background, and other socioeconomic variables affecting the decision to go to college. Furthermore, I will explore the possibility of structural differences occurring between four groups - black males, white males, black females, and white females - to see if family background and …

Foreign Direct Investment In Mexico, Yuet Wei Wan '93

Honors Projects

Over the last decade, Mexico's economy has been undergoing a series of exciting changes. In 1983, Mexico was still a highly inward-oriented economy with a government that was outspoken in its criticism of multinational cooperations. Today, Mexico ranks among the most outwardly-oriented developing economies of the world (Nunez 7). The present administration, under the leadership of President Salinas, has implemented significant changes aimed at liberalizing Mexico's policy towards foreign direct investment (FDI). The changes in Mexico's policy have been largely in response to the 1982 debt crisis and deteriorating economic conditions. This study deals with the way in which macro-economic …

The Impact Of Work History On Economic Security At Old Age Among Africans In South Africa, Martha Tshitshi S. Mbatha

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Work histories of most Africans in South Africa determine whether or not they will be poor at old age. To illustrate this point, the author uses the literature and data collected from elderly Africans. Findings show racial discrimination in education and in the labor market as resulting in the concentration of the majority of Africans in low paying jobs. Low wages and the absence of a national pension scheme prevent most Africans from saving for their retirement. African workers constitute the largest percentage of the working poor in South Africa. Their circumstances are unlikely to change even after retirement. At …

The Regional Economic Impact Of The Closure Of Fort Mcclellan, Alabama, Stacey E. Byington

Honors Theses

The complete effects of closing Fort McClellan cannot be easily measured. The sociological and political ramifications - though an important part of the economic costs - will not be discussed in this project as they are not readily quantifiable. This project analyzes the regional economic impact of Fort McClellan, Alabama; and hence, the impact of its closing. Although its purpose is providing national defense, a military base also contributes employment, service, training, and culture to its surrounding communities. As of 1989, Fort McClellan employed nearly eight thousand military personnel and two thousand civilians. The Fort's economic impact includes expenditures of …