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Economics

Selected Works

2011

Articles 1 - 30 of 445

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Weak-Form Market Efficiency And Calendar Anomalies For Eastern Europe Equity Markets, Francesco Guidi, Rakesh Gupta, Suneel Maheshwari Aug 2012

Weak-Form Market Efficiency And Calendar Anomalies For Eastern Europe Equity Markets, Francesco Guidi, Rakesh Gupta, Suneel Maheshwari

Suneel K. Maheshwari

No abstract provided.

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Economic Freedom And Fiscal Performance: A Regression Analysis Of Indices Of Economic Freedom On Per Capita Gdp, Jason Ockey Dec 2011

Economic Freedom And Fiscal Performance: A Regression Analysis Of Indices Of Economic Freedom On Per Capita Gdp, Jason Ockey

Jason R Ockey

This paper explores whether different forms of economic freedom drive fiscal performance. We also seek to determine which specific measurements of economic freedom have the most statistically significant impacts. Though the results of our analysis show that economic freedom does impact levels of per capita GDP, the interpretation of these results is more complicated. Because some indices of economic freedom have negative effects on per capita GDP or are statistically insignificant, it is important to note that simply generally increasing a country’s overall level of economic freedom will not necessarily spur economic growth or increase fiscal performance. This paper does …

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Asia Vs América Latina, Guillermo Arosemena Dec 2011

Asia Vs América Latina, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.

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Using Forest Plots To Present Meta-Analysis Results, Luca De Benedictis Dec 2011

Using Forest Plots To Present Meta-Analysis Results, Luca De Benedictis

Luca De Benedictis

This is figure 1 of the paper with Massimiliano Bratti and Gianluca Santoni, On the Pro-Trade effect of Immigrants. It uses a Forest Plot to present point elasticities and standard errors of different papers dealing with the effect of immigrants on trade flows. R code will follow.

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The Evolution Of Unemployment Relief In Great Britain, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Evolution Of Unemployment Relief In Great Britain, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

[Excerpt] Relatively little has been written about unemployment relief during the period between the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 and the adoption of national unemployment insurance in 1911. This study is an attempt to help fill the gap in the literature. It examines the changing roles played by poor relief, private charity, trade unions, and public employment in the lives of the urban unemployed during cyclical downturns from 1834 to 1911. The story that emerges offers no support for a "Whig theory of welfare." Public assistance for the unemployed was more generous, and more certain, from …

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The Development Of The Neoclassical Tradition In Labor Economics, George R. Boyer, Robert S. Smith Dec 2011

The Development Of The Neoclassical Tradition In Labor Economics, George R. Boyer, Robert S. Smith

George R. Boyer

This essay on labor economics examines neoclassical theory's rise to ascendancy following the second World War, with a secondary focus on the relative decline but continued influence of institutionalist economic theory. The authors describe the evolution of institutional and neoclassical theory from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, examine some early intellectual debates between the two camps, briefly describe the work of neoclassical labor economics pioneers, and look at major developments over the past 30 years. They argue that neoclassical economists' increasing intellectual breadth and influence in public policy have led them to pay closer attention to issues that have …

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The Historical Background Of The Communist Manifesto, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Historical Background Of The Communist Manifesto, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

[Excerpt] The Manifesto of the Communist Party, published 150 years ago in London in February 1848, is one of the most influential and widely-read documents of the past two centuries. The historian A. J. P. Taylor (1967, p. 7) has called it a "holy book," and contends that because of it, "everyone thinks differently about politics and society." And yet, despite its enormous influence in the 20th century, the Manifesto is very much a period piece, a document of what was called the "hungry" 1840s. It is hard to imagine it being written in any other decade of the 19th …

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Malthus Was Right After All: Poor Relief And Birth Rates In Southeastern England, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Malthus Was Right After All: Poor Relief And Birth Rates In Southeastern England, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The payment of child allowances to laborers with large families was widespread in early nineteenth-century England. This paper tests Thomas Malthus's hypothesis that child allowances caused the birth rate to increase. A cross-sectional regression model is estimated to explain variations in birth rates across parishes in 1826-30. Birth rates are found to be related to child allowances, income, and the availability of housing, as Malthus contended. The paper concludes by examining the role played by the adoption of child allowances after 1795 in the fertility increase of the early nineteenth century.

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The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The loss to the English economy caused by decreased migration resulting from relief payments to agricultural laborers is estimated. I conclude that, at worst, the Poor Law had a small negative impact on national product. If poor relief and wages were substitutes, the Poor Law may have had a positive impact on capital formation and economic growth.

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What Did Unions Do In Nineteenth-Century Britain?, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

What Did Unions Do In Nineteenth-Century Britain?, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The article examines the development of the insurance function of trade unions. It analyzes how such policies worked, and why union benefit packages differed across occupations. It also addresses the impact of insurance policies on union organization. Insurance benefits increased the ability of unions to attract and retain members. They did not, however, significantly increase the power of union leaders relative to employers or union rank and file.

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Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

During the ‘golden age’ of the 1950s and 1960s unemployment in Britain averaged 2 per cent. This was far lower than ever before or since and a number of hypotheses have been put forward to account for this unique period in labour market history. But there has been little attempt to isolate precisely how the determinants of wage setting and unemployment differed before, during and after the golden age. We estimate a two-equation model over the whole period from 1872 to 1999 using a newly constructed set of long-run labour market data. We find that the structure of real wage …

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Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

This paper examines the determinants of migration from 19 southern counties to six major destinations in England and Wales from 1861-70 to 1891-1900. I find that, while the size of origin-destination wage gaps and the distance between origin and destination areas were important determinants of migration flows, as expected, migration was also strongly influenced by the number of previous migrants from an origin county living in a destination. The assistance provided by previous migrants to friends and relatives contemplating migration led to a perpetuation of earlier migration patterns, and helps to explain the continued dominance of London as a destination …

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New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton Dec 2011

New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton

George R. Boyer

We present new estimates of the British industrial unemployment rate for 1870- 1913, which improve on the Board of Trade's prior estimates. We use similar sources, but our series includes additional industrial sectors, allows for short-time working, and aggregates the various sectors using appropriate labor-force weights from the census. The resulting index suggests a rate of industrial unemployment that was generally higher, but less volatile, than the board's index. We then adjust our series to an economywide basis, and construct a consistent time series of overall unemployment for 1870-1999.

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Economic Approaches To Global Regulation: Expanding The International Law And Economics Paradigm, Dan Danielsen Dec 2011

Economic Approaches To Global Regulation: Expanding The International Law And Economics Paradigm, Dan Danielsen

Dan Danielsen

The recent economic crisis has demonstrated with startling clarity the importance of developing a more robust framework for assessing the effects of national rules on global welfare. For more than fifty years, law and economics scholars have examined the effects of domestic legal rules on economic activity and general welfare in the United States. More recently, international law scholars have begun to use economic methods to analyze the international legal order. In this article I survey this evolving body of “international law and economics scholarship” with a view to articulating its principle methodological innovations as well as assessing its contributions …

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Local Rules And A Global Economy: An Economic Policy Perspective, Dan Danielsen Dec 2011

Local Rules And A Global Economy: An Economic Policy Perspective, Dan Danielsen

Dan Danielsen

This article explores the growing significance and theoretical implications of ‘local rules’—such as Chinese labour standards, US financial regulation and Swiss bank secrecy rules—in the global economy. In particular, the argument developed is that Ronald Coase’s framework for analysing the effects of legal rules on economic welfare can help to reveal important weaknesses in current international legal approaches to analysing the transnational impact of local rules as well as contribute to a ‘global economic policy perspective’ better attuned to problems of power in the global regulatory order. Such a perspective will help us to see the effects of power differences …

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The Greater Boston Region: Industry Mix Affects Growth, David Terkla Dec 2011

The Greater Boston Region: Industry Mix Affects Growth, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

Overall prosperity in the Greater Boston region masks the extreme diversity among its cities and towns. Some areas have experienced robust growth in relatively high paying industries. Others have faced growth only in low-paying jobs, accompanied in many cases by a substantial decline in high-paying sectors. By examining the area’s five subregions in terms of industry types, wage levels, and employment growth, we begin to see reasons for these differences.

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Sailing Into A Strong Future: The Massachusetts Marine Science And Technology Industry, Clyde Barrow, Rebecca Loveland, David Terkla Dec 2011

Sailing Into A Strong Future: The Massachusetts Marine Science And Technology Industry, Clyde Barrow, Rebecca Loveland, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

With its focus on high-technology, value-added markets, the Bay State’s marine science and technology cluster and its diverse range of companies keeps expanding into high-end markets.

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Growing Disparities Among Greater Boston Communities During The 1990s, David Terkla Dec 2011

Growing Disparities Among Greater Boston Communities During The 1990s, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

During the 1990s, rich communities in the Greater Boston area got richer, and the richest made gains that were proportionally greater than the gains made by those communities only slightly less rich. At the same time, the poorest communities stayed poor, and in fact became more poor in comparison with communities slightly less poor. This dynamic is even more striking when the ten poorest communities are compared and contrasted with the ten wealthiest communities. Census figures show a rapidly expanding differential between the communities of the Greater Boston area. As a commonwealth, we should be considering policies designed to ameliorate …

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The Massachusetts Environmental Industry: Facing The Challenges Of Maturity, Betty J. Diener, David Terkla, Erick Cooke Dec 2011

The Massachusetts Environmental Industry: Facing The Challenges Of Maturity, Betty J. Diener, David Terkla, Erick Cooke

David G. Terkla

For most of the past 20 years, the environmental industry has been a very significant one, both in Massachusetts and across the country. Some have placed it alongside the electronics, computer hardware, software, biotechnology, fiber optics, and composite materials industries as part of the high-technology sector that has diversified and strengthened the state’s economy. Nationally, environmental industry employment exceeded that of several major manufacturing industries, including chemicals, paper, and aerospace. In the late 1990s, however, the momentum of the environmental movement began to wane. A decline in both employment and sales suggests that many of the most pressing environmental concerns …

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Film And Television Production In Massachusetts: The Beginning Of Hollywood East?, Pacey C. Foster, David Terkla Dec 2011

Film And Television Production In Massachusetts: The Beginning Of Hollywood East?, Pacey C. Foster, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

After declining in the 1990s (laubacher, 2006), the Massachusetts film and television industry reached a nadir with the closing of the Massachusetts film office in 2002. To revitalize this once-thriving local creative industry, in 2005 the state legislature passed a tax incentive plan that provided a bankable tax credit for qualifying motion picture and television productions in Massachusetts. As updated in 2007, the Massachusetts film tax credit (FTC) provides a refundable/transferrable tax credit for 25% of qualifying wage and non-wage production expenses and a sales tax exemption for qualifying in-state spending. Massachusetts joined, at the maximum, 43 other states in …

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Clean Energy In Massachusetts: Already Strong, This Emerging Sector Is Poised For Greater Growth, David Levy, David Terkla Dec 2011

Clean Energy In Massachusetts: Already Strong, This Emerging Sector Is Poised For Greater Growth, David Levy, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

This article reviews Massachusetts’ clean energy sector in the context of the industry nationally and worldwide. We also suggest policy options to enhance the sector’s potential for the Massachusetts economy.

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Don't Tax The Rich, Tax Inequality, Aaron S. Edlin Dec 2011

Don't Tax The Rich, Tax Inequality, Aaron S. Edlin

Aaron Edlin

A Brandeis tax can stop inequality in its tracks.

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Understanding The Legitimacy Of Both Dissension And Acceptance Of Accommodative Monetary Policy, Maximilian Bevan Dec 2011

Understanding The Legitimacy Of Both Dissension And Acceptance Of Accommodative Monetary Policy, Maximilian Bevan

Maximilian Bevan

No abstract provided.

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Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Cluster, David Levy, David Terkla Dec 2011

Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Cluster, David Levy, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

The renewable energy industry in Massachusetts is identified through a “top-down” and “bottom-up” processes to determine the total employment and boundaries of this sector. Related sectors are also identified that are linked to the core renewable energy sector in the state and policies for enhancing this cluster are suggested.

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Older Workers: An Essential Resource For Massachusetts, Peter B. Doeringer, Andrew Sum, David Terkla Dec 2011

Older Workers: An Essential Resource For Massachusetts, Peter B. Doeringer, Andrew Sum, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

The Massachusetts Jobs Council, the Governor’s principal advisory board on workforce development, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Older Workers in 1997 to analyze the labor market for older workers in the Commonwealth and to recommend policies to improve the economic status of the older labor force. The Commission held numerous hearings, town meetings, and focus groups to solicit the views of older workers, employers, labor organizations, and training professionals, and it reviewed the findings of extensive research on older workers in Massachusetts.

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The Boston Mpo Planning Process And Low-Income Suburban-To-Suburban Transportation Needs, Phillip Granberry, Michael Landon, David Terkla Dec 2011

The Boston Mpo Planning Process And Low-Income Suburban-To-Suburban Transportation Needs, Phillip Granberry, Michael Landon, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

The rapid evolution in the Boston MPO transportation planning process is discussed as well as its particular application to the suburban-suburban transportation needs of low income individuals. The results of two experiments designed to improve access to transportation for low income suburban individuals are discussed and policy suggestions are made for improving such access.

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Can Progressive Taxation Contribute To Economic Development?, Christian E. Weller, Manita Rao Dec 2011

Can Progressive Taxation Contribute To Economic Development?, Christian E. Weller, Manita Rao

Christian Weller

Financial instability has increased for many economies in the face of greater capital mobility. Eliminating capital flows, especially portfolio investment flows, may reduce volatility, but it could also result in domestic capital constraints. To overcome this dilemma, policymakers may consider alternatives, such as progressive income taxation, that could raise domestic funds. In this paper, we combine several macro economic data sources to test the link between progressive taxation and economic stability, economic growth, inequality and fiscal policy. Based on data from 1981 to 2002, we find that progressive taxation provides policymakers with the ability to conduct countercyclical fiscal policies, which …

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The Interplay Between Labor And Financial Markets: What Are The Implications For Defined Contribution Accounts?, Christian E. Weller, Jeffrey B. Wenger Dec 2011

The Interplay Between Labor And Financial Markets: What Are The Implications For Defined Contribution Accounts?, Christian E. Weller, Jeffrey B. Wenger

Christian Weller

The relationship between earnings, savings and retirement is well-known, however the linkage between labor market outcomes and financial market performance is generally unacknowledged. We examine the implications of the link between labor markets and financial markets for workers who save money in individual retirement accounts. Specifically, differences in labor market outcomes across groups may imply differences in the timing of investments, which may reduce savings over time for these groups compared to their counterparts. Using monthly data from the Current Population Survey (1979-2002) we generate hypothetical investment portfolios using stock and bond indices. We exploit differences across demographic groups in …

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Credit Access, The Costs Of Credit And Credit Market Discrimination, Christian E. Weller Dec 2011

Credit Access, The Costs Of Credit And Credit Market Discrimination, Christian E. Weller

Christian Weller

Since the early 1990s, credit expanded relative to income, especially after 2001. It is hypothesized that traditionally uneven credit access and gaps in the costs of credit by demographic characteristics shrank during this period. Relying on data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finance, this study looks at financial constraints, the costs of credit and a number of contributions to the costs of credit, including sources and types of loans. The results indicate that taste-based discrimination and structural discrimination may have persisted and possibly increased over time. Gaps in credit access and costs of credit have widened by race, …

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Have Differences In Credit Access Diminished In An Era Of Financial Market Deregulation?, Christian E. Weller Dec 2011

Have Differences In Credit Access Diminished In An Era Of Financial Market Deregulation?, Christian E. Weller

Christian Weller

Over the past few decades, financial markets became increasingly deregulated and household debt expanded, sometimes rapidly. It is thus possible that greater deregulation led to improved credit access for typically underserved groups, such as minorities and low-income families, relative to their counterparts. Credit access is measured here by loan denials, discouraged applications, and costs of credit. Based on data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey Consumer Finances and using multivariate tests, there is no clear trend, though, towards equalization of credit access from 1989 to 2004. Specifically, gaps in loan denials and discouraged applications only improved for Hispanics relative to Whites. …

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