Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Much Risk Is Acceptable?, Anthony Webb, Alicia Munnell, Alex Golub-Sass

Anthony Webb

The brief’s key findings are: The financial crisis suggests the need for a new universal tier of retirement saving to supplement Social Security and 401(k)s. If the tier were a defined contribution system, asset levels would vary with market returns and payouts with interest rates. Replacement rates would fluctuate as much as 25 percentage points – even if everyone invested in an identical target-date fund. An alternative is to guarantee a fixed return, but this return will almost always be lower than that under a target-date fund, and guarantees are not costless.

Job Hopping, Earnings Dynamics, And Industrial Agglomeration In The Software Publishing Industry, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

Innovation And The Welfare Effects Of Public Drug Insurance, Darius Lakdawalla, Neeraj Sood

Darius N. Lakdawalla

Rewarding inventors with inefficient monopoly power has long been regarded as the price of encouraging innovation. Prescription drug insurance escapes that trade-off and achieves an elusive goal: lowering static deadweight loss, without reducing incentives for innovation. As a result of this feature, the public provision of drug insurance can be welfare-improving, even for risk-neutral and purely self-interested consumers. The design of insurers’ cost-sharing schedules can either reinforce or mitigate this result. Schedules that impose higher consumer cost-sharing requirements on more expensive drugs help ensure that insurance subsidies translate into higher utilization, rather than pure increases in manufacturer profits. Moreover, some …

The Adequacy Of Economic Resources In Retirement, Michael Hurd, Susann Rohwedder

Susann Rohwedder

The most common metric for assessing the adequacy of economic preparation for retirement is the income replacement rate, the ratio of income after retirement to income before retirement. However both economic theory and common sense say that someone is adequately prepared if she is able to maintain her level of economic well-being, which is not the same as maintaining her level of income or some fixed proportion of income. Economic well-being is typically measured by consumption, which is the measure we use. We define and estimate measures of economic preparation for retirement based on a complete inventory of economic resources, …

Individuals’ Responses To Social Security Reform, Adeline Delavande, Susann Rohwedder

Susann Rohwedder

The Social Security trust fund is predicted to be depleted by 2041. While there are several viable reform proposals to restore long-term solvency of the Social Security system, one important element that is critical to the success of any reform remains unknown: how will individuals respond to, for example, a cut of their Social Security benefits. Will they work longer or save more or both, and to what extent will their response make up for the cut in benefits? In this paper we use data from the HRS Internet Survey where we asked respondents directly what they would do if …

Ilr Impact Brief - Industry Clusters Affect Job Mobility And Earnings Growth, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

Industry clusters are associated with greater job hopping and faster growth in workers’ earning power relative to the experience of workers at less spatially concentrated companies. Workers in these clusters tend to accept lower starting salaries than peers at more isolated firms in anticipation of rapid gains that accompany movement from job to job within the cluster and the accumulation of industry-specific knowledge. Higher earnings observed among workers in clustered firms may also reflect choices made by workers with certain characteristics to seek employment in an area with a high concentration of similar firms and by companies with certain characteristics …

Saga Of African Underdevelopment: A Viable Approach For Africa's Sustainable Development In The 21st Century, Tetteh A. Kofi, Asayehgn Desta

Asayehgn Desta

Honey Bees: A History, Tammy Horn

Tammy Horn

Long known as the angels of agriculture, honey bees have received global attention due to losses attributed to a combination of factors: Colony Collapse Disorder, mites, deforestation and industrial agriculture. Honey bees provide pollination for crops, orchards and flowers; honey and wax for cosmetics, food and medicinal-religious objects; and inspiration to artists, architects and scientists.

Does Real Exchange Rate Volatility Affect Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence From Four Developed Countries, Abdur Chowdhury, Mark Wheeler

Abdur R. Chowdhury

This study examines the impact of shocks to exchange rate uncertainty (volatility) on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The analysis is conducted using vector autoregressive models that contain the price level, real output, the real exchange rate, the volatility of the real exchange rate, the interest rate, and FDI. The results from variance decompositions yield public policy implications. In Canada, Japan, and the United States, innovations to exchange rate uncertainty explain significant portions of the forecast error variance in FDI at longer time horizons. The impulse response functions indicate that, to …

The Retirement-Consumption Puzzle: Actual Spending Change In Panel Data, Michael Hurd, Susann Rohwedder

Susann Rohwedder

The simple one-good model of life-cycle consumption requires that consumption be continuous over retirement; yet prior research based on partial measures of consumption or on synthetic panels indicates that spending drops at retirement, a result that has been called the retirement-consumption puzzle. Using panel data on total spending, nondurable spending and food spending, we find that spending declines at small rates over retirement, at rates that could be explained by mechanisms such as the cessation of work-related expenses, unexpected retirement due to a health shock or by the substitution of time for spending. In the low-wealth population where spending did …

Economies Of Scale, Ideology And Trade Policy, Daron Djerdjian

Daron Djerdjian

This paper analyses trade policy within a modified version of the well-known political economy models of Hillman (1989) and Long & Vousden (1991). The modified model incorporates economies of scale in production and cast doubts on viewing trade policy as solely determined by political ideology and re-election motives. Cross-country analyses confirm our predictions and establish that strategic economic as well as political concerns are dominant in trade policy.

The Stability Of The Interwar Gold Exchange Standard: Did Politics Matter?, Kirsten Wandschneider

Kirsten Wandschneider

Economic historians have devoted enormous attention to the collapse of the interwar gold standard. This article proposes a discrete time duration model (using a panel data set of 24 countries for 1928–1936) to analyze how economic and political indicators affected a country's term on the gold standard. High per capita income, international creditor status, and prior hyperinflation increased the probability of continuation. In contrast, democratic regimes left early. Unemployment, sterling group membership, higher inflation, and the experience of banking crises reduced the time a country remained on the gold standard. This study also predicts sample countries' survival probabilities.

Income Mobility In China: Main Questions, Existing Evidence, And Proposed Studies, Gary Fields, Shuang Zhang

Gary S Fields

The international literature presents studies of macro mobility (how much income mobility is there in the economy?) and micro mobility (which individuals experience movements of what magnitudes and what are the correlates of these movements?). In China too, both macro mobility and micro mobility studies have been conducted. This paper reviews the existing Chinese studies and proposes additional new work that can be carried out using Chinese panel data sets.

The Economic Development Effects Of Early Childhood Programs, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Measuring The Benefits Of Amenity Improvements In Hedonic Price Models, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Malnutrition In Senegal: Individual, Household, Community Variables, And Their Interaction, Sebastian Linnemayr, Harold Alderman, Abdoulaye Ka

Sebastian Linnemayr

The relationship between poverty and nutrition is a two-sided one: on the one hand, economic growth (which is generally associated with an eradication of poverty) leads to reduced malnutrition. On the other hand, nutrition is one of the key ingredients for human capital formation, which in turn represents one of the fundamental factors of growth. There are numerous studies that show the correlates of malnutrition using both household- and community-level variables. However, few of these studies allow for the potential endogeneity of community infrastructure or indicate their interplay with characteristics of the mother. The current study considers the socio-economic determinants …

Effectiveness Of A Community-Based Intervention To Improve Nutrition In Young Children In Senegal: A Difference In Difference Analysis, Harold Alderman, Biram Ndiaye, Sebastian Linnemayr, Abdoulaye Ka, Claudia Rokx, Khadidiatou Dieng, Menno Mulder-Sibanda

Sebastian Linnemayr

There are few studies of community growth promotion as a means of addressing malnutrition that are based on longitudinal analysis of large-scale programmes with adequate controls to construct a counterfactual. The current study uses a difference in difference comparison of cohorts to assess the impact on the proportion of underweight children who lived in villages receiving services provided by the Senegal Nutrition Enhancement Project between 2004 and 2006. The project, designed to extend nutrition and growth promotion intervention into rural areas through non-governmental organisation service providers, significantly lowered the risk of a child having a weight more than 2 sd …

Food Prices And Weight Gain During Elementary School: 5-Year Update., Roland Sturm, Ashlesha Datar

Roland Sturm

No abstract provided.

Goodness-Of-Fit Test Focuses On Conditional Value At Risk: An Empirical Analysis Of Exchange Rates, José Fajardo, Aquiles Farias, José Renato Ornelas

José Fajardo

No abstract provided.

Being Consumed: Economics And Christian Desire, William Cavanaugh

William T. Cavanaugh

Are Christians for or against the free market? Should we not think of ourselves as consumers? Are we for or against globalization? How to we live in a world of scare resources? William Cavanaugh brings us a theological view and practice of everyday economic life with the use of Christian resources. He argues that we should not take the free market, consumer culture, globalization, and scarcity as givens, but change the terms of debate in each case. His consideration of the free market is not a question of for or against, but when exactly a market is truly free. He …

Is There A Role For Public Support Of Incumbent Worker On-The-Job Training?, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

States have begun to use training subsidies as a policy tool for employment retention and business competitiveness. This paper summarizes a survey of states concerning their investments in incumbent worker training. Altogether, states are investing about $550 to $800 million, which is perhaps one percent or less of total private sector training costs. The paper further discusses a study conducted for one state in which we found significant fiscal returns implying that underinvestment of public funds for incumbent worker training may be occurring. In this state, primary sector jobs were created or retained at a public cost of less than …

Estimating The Economic Benefit Of Scuba Diving In The Similan Islands, Thailand, Sorada Tapsuwan, John Asafu-Adjaye

Sorada Tapsuwan

This article reports the results of the travel cost model using the standard and the truncated count data models to estimate the economic value of the Similan Islands, Thailand, from SCUBA diving. The estimated consumer surplus per visit to the Similan Islands using the truncated negative binomial model was US$3,233 and the economic value of the Similan Islands from SCUBA diving was estimated to be up to US$54.96 m. This study shows that, even without non-use values, coral reefs of the Similan Islands, if properly managed and maintained, will continue to have significant value to both Thai and overseas SCUBA …

Coal Country Beeworks: An Experiment In Apiforestation, Tammy Horn

Tammy Horn

The Coal Country Beeworks promotes a fundamental principle: diverse economies depend on diverse landscapes. In order for the colonial status of Appalachia to change, the unique mesophytic forests that existed prior to mining need to be reestablished so local people can be beekeepers, honey producers, queen rearers,scientists, etc. In this way,the two-tier economy that has defined Appalachia for the past hundred years can be diversified.

Auto Liability In Nevada Compared To Other States: Testimony For Nevada Auto Theft And Insurance Fraud Task Force, Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton

This briefing extends previous RAND Institute of Civil Justice research and findings by focusing on the liability situation in Nevada. The briefing was prepared as testimony for the Nevada Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force and is intended to inform the Task Force about Nevada's liability situation relative to other states.

A Future Of Good Jobs?: America's Challenge In The Global Economy, Timothy Bartik, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

Can the U.S. economy generate healthy growth of “good” jobs—jobs that will ensure a steady improvement in the standard of living for the middle class and that will offer a way out of poverty for low-income Americans? In this book, leading policy analysts examine the challenges facing current U.S. labor market policy and propose concrete steps to make American workers and employers more competitive in a global economy.

A Synthesis Of Literature On The Effectiveness Of Community Orders, Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton

The U.K. National Audit Office (NAO) commissioned RAND Europe to conduct this review to identify and synthesize international research about the effectiveness of community orders in reducing re-offending. In this report, we review research on ten of the common requirements contained in community orders. Through examining reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analyses we draw conclusions about the state of research in the areas of unpaid work, mental health treatment, education/skills training, drug treatment, anger management, alcohol treatment, programmes for perpetrators of domestic abuse, regular probation, intensive probation and cognitive/behavioural programming. We also assess the strength of the evidence on whether each …

Stemming The Global Obesity Epidemic: What Can We Learn From Data About Social And Economic Trends?, Roland Sturm

Roland Sturm

No abstract provided.

A Future Of Good Jobs?: America's Challenge In The Global Economy, Timothy Bartik, Susan Houseman

Timothy J. Bartik

Can the U.S. economy generate healthy growth of “good” jobs—jobs that will ensure a steady improvement in the standard of living for the middle class and that will offer a way out of poverty for low-income Americans? In this book, leading policy analysts examine the challenges facing current U.S. labor market policy and propose concrete steps to make American workers and employers more competitive in a global economy.

Conventional Versus Environmentally-Sensitive Wines: The Status Of Wine Production Strategies In California North Coast Counties, Asayehgn Desta

Asayehgn Desta

“Selling Licenses For A Process Innovation: The Impact Of The Product Market On The Selling Mechanism, Aniruddha Bagchi

Aniruddha Bagchi