Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gender Differences In Graduate Student Views On The Professional Climate In Economics, Ann Mari May, Mary G. Mcgarvey, Muazzam Toshmatova

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This research examines graduate student's views on the professional climate in economics using a comprehensive survey of students enrolled in economics Ph.D. programs in the United States. Topics discussed include stress and work/life balance, disciplinary climate in the profession, departmental climate, and the prevalence of sexual harassment. We find significant gender differences in views on all four topics—particularly in views on departmental climate and disciplinary climate in the profession. We analyze the results based on gender, rank of the institution, public versus private institutional status, and representation of women faculty in departments.

How Gender And Primary Language Influence The Acquisition Of Economic Knowledge Of Secondary School Students In The United States And Germany, Roland Happ, Susanne Schmidt, Olga Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, William Walstad

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Economics has become an essential component of secondary school curricula in many countries as a result of the growing awareness that young adults need fundamental economic knowledge to manage their personal finances. Accordingly, an increasing number of comparative studies are being conducted of commonalities and differences in students’ economic knowledge and its most decisive influencing factors within and across countries. In this study, we compare the performance of secondary school students in the United States (N = 3517) and Germany (N = 983) on the fourth version of the Test of Economic Literacy. We investigate two personal characteristics that have …

The Impact Of Covid-19 And Associated Policy Responses On Global Food Security, Edward J. Balistreri, Felix Baquedano, John C. Beghin

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

We analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated policy responses on the global economy and food security in 80 low- and middle-income countries. We use a global economy-wide model with detailed disaggregation of agricultural and food sectors and develop a business-as-usual baseline for 2020 and 2021 called “But-for-COVID” (BfC). We then shock the model with aggregate income shocks derived from the IMF World Economic Outlook for 2020 and 2021. We impose total-factor productivity losses in key sectors as well as consumption decreases induced by social distancing. The resulting shocks in prices and incomes from the CGE model simulations …

Dry Spells And Global Crop Production: A Multi-Stressor And Multi-Timescale Analysis, Uchechukwu Jarrett, Steve Miller, Hamid Mohtadi

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

More frequent and punctuated severe events such as dry spells are among the more salient manifestations of climate change. Because dry spells often co-occur with drought and heat waves, understanding the effects of dry spells and heat waves requires a multi-timescale and multi-stressor perspective. Using a global panel of daily precipitation and temperature from 1979 to 2016, we provide evidence that 4-5 week dry spells that occur during the hottest part of the year depress growth in crop production. The effects of these extreme events are modified by existing drought, aridity, and by heat waves. After accounting for productivity and …

Markets With Within-Type Adverse Selection, Anh Nguyen, Teck Yong Tan

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

We study bilateral trade with a seller owning multiple units of a good, where each unit is of binary quality. The seller privately knows her “type”—defined by the number of lemons that she owns — and which units in her endowments are the lemons (“withintype adverse selection”). We characterize the set of informationally constrained Pareto optimal allocations and show that every such allocation must involve a trade characterized by a threshold λ^∗, with types having less (more) than λ^∗ units of lemons selling only their lemons (selling their entire endowment). We provide conditions for a …

A General Equilibrium Assessment Of Covid-19’S Labor Productivity Impacts On China’S Regional Economies, Xi He, Edward J. Balistreri, Gyu Hyun Kim, Wendong Zhang

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This study introduces a database for analyzing COVID-19’s impacts on China’s regional economies. This database contains various sectoral and regional economic outcomes at the weekly and monthly level. In the context of a general equilibrium trade model, we first formulate a mathematical representation of the Chinese regional economy and calibrate the model with China’s multi-regional input-output table. We then utilize the monthly provincial and sectoral value-added and national trade series to estimate COVID-19’s province-by-month labor-productivity impacts from February 2020 to September 2020. As a year-on-year comparison, relative to February 2019 levels, we find an average 39.5% decrease in labor productivity …

When Sarah Meets Lawrence: The Effects Of Coeducation On Women's College Major Choices, Avery Calkins, Ariel J. Binder, Dana Shaat, Brenden Timpe

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

We leverage variation in the adoption of coeducation by U.S. women's colleges to study how exposure to a mixed-gender collegiate environment affects women's human capital investments. Our event-study analyses of newly collected historical data find a 3.0-3.5 percentage-point (30-33%) decline in the share of women majoring in STEM. While coeducation caused a large influx of male peers and modest increase in male faculty, we find no evidence that it altered the composition of the female student body or other gender-neutral inputs. Extrapolation of our main estimate suggests that coeducational environments explain 36% of the current gender gap in STEM.

Mathematics Of Generalized Versions Of The Melitz, Krugman, And Armington Models With Detailed Derivations, Edward J. Balistreri, David G. Tarr

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

We provide detailed textbook style mathematical derivations of an extended version of the heterogenous firms model of Melitz (2003), as well as the Armington (1969) and Krugman (1980) models. Our model of heterogeneous firms extends the model of Melitz (2003) by allowing multiple sectors, intermediates, heterogeneous regions based on data, labor-leisure choice, initial heterogeneous tariffs, multiple factors of production, the possibility of sector-specific inputs and trade imbalances based on data, and we incorporate global and unilateral tariff policy shocks. Although the models in this paper are extensions in numerous directions of the Melitz trade model of heterogeneous firms, the pedagogical …

The Evolution Of Work In The United States, Enghin Atalay, Phai Phongthiengtham, Sebastian Sotelo, Daniel Tannenbaum

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Using the text from job ads, we introduce a new dataset to describe the evolution of work from 1950 to 2000. We show that the transformation of the US labor market away from routine cognitive and manual tasks and toward nonroutine interactive and analytic tasks has been larger than prior research has found, with a substantial fraction of total changes occurring within narrowly defined job titles. We provide narrative and systematic evidence on changes in task content within job titles and on the emergence and disappearance of individual job titles. (JEL E24, J21, J24, J31, N32)

Integration Of And Deliveries Among The World Zionist Organization, Israel, And Diaspora Countries: System Articulation With The Social Fabric Matrix, F. Gregory Hayden

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The religious economics (not economics of religion) concern here is the relationship between the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and Israel, which is known as a geopolitical power in its region and which is also known as an economic success story. Joseph Schumpeter and Karl Polanyi explained how the political economy of medieval Europe was influenced and guided by Christian morality. This paper extends the analysis of religious economics by using the social fabric matrix of original institutional economics to define and structure the integration of the WZO, Israel, and the Diaspora countries. This allows us to observe how to conduct …

Supplementary Materials For "Integration Of And Deliveries Among The World Zionist Organization, Israel, And Diaspora Countries: System Articulation With The Social Fabric Matrix", F. Gregory Hayden

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Age Discrimination And Academic Labor Markets, Sam Allgood

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

In a sample of Canadian Ph.D.’s, Warman and Worswick (2010) report that forty-two percent obtained their degree at thirty-four years of age or older. One implication is that those starting their academic career vary in age. As a result, academic labor markets provide a somewhat unique way to investigate the outcomes of workers of different age with similar work experience. This study uses a national sample of over 9,000 faculty to look at the relationship between age at the time a person earns their degree and income. Older individuals are less likely to attend graduate programs in Carnegie Research I …

Women In The Early Years Of The American Economic Association: A Membership Beyond The Professoriate Per Se, Ann Mari May, Robert W. Dimand

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The records in the archives of the American Economic Association (AEA) located in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University, offer us a unique window into the role of gender in the struggle of economists to gain status and authority and allow us to better understand the role of gender in the professionalization of economics. While not replete with information about female economists in the early years of the AEA, the records offer important clues as to the challenges facing women academics, shed light on the formation of the profession, and reveal the influence of the …

Relations Between Young Adults’ Knowledge And Understanding, Experiences, And Information Behavior In Personal Finance Matters, Manuel Förster, Roland Happ, William Walstad

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Background: In Germany, general secondary education offers few opportunities for young adults to acquire knowledge and understanding of personal finance. Hence, apart from parents’ influence as role models, important influences on young adults’ financial knowledge and understanding likely include their personal experience with financial products and their behavior of informally seeking information about specific financial products.

Methods: In this paper, we investigate the relationships between these latter variables based on a sample of 1108 young adults from Germany, aged 17–25, beginning their studies in higher education. Knowledge and understanding of personal finance was assessed using the German adaptation of the …

The Economics Of The Right To Be Forgotten, Byung-Cheol Kim, Jin Yeub Kim

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Scholars and practitioners debate whether to expand the scope of the right to be forgotten—the right to have certain links removed from search results—to encompass global search results. The debate centers on the assumption that the expansion will increase the incidence of link removal, which reinforces privacy while hampering free speech. We develop a game-theoretic model to show that the expansion of the right to be forgotten can reduce the incidence of link removal. We also show that the expansion does not necessarily enhance the welfare of individuals who request removal and that it can either improve or reduce societal …

In Memory Of Michael Watts (November 3, 1950–December 5, 2014), William Walstad, Sam Allgood, Tisha Emerson, Gail Hoyt, Kimmarie Mcgoldrick, Georg Schaur, William E. Becker

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Michael Watts, Professor of Economics at Purdue University, died unexpectedly on December 5, 2014, at the age of 64 while on vacation in Antigua. His connection to the Journal of Economic Education is a long one. For 20 years, from 1988 through 2007, Mike served as the associate editor for JEE’s instruction section, which typically accounts for the largest number of articles published in a JEE issue. After 2007, he continued to serve on JEE’s editorial board. Mike was a remarkable academic and scholar who made significant and wide-ranging contributions to economic education beyond his valuable service to JEE.

Mike …

The Economic Costs Of Tax Policy Uncertainty: Implications For Fundamental Tax Reform, Seth H. Giertz, Jacob Feldman

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The U.S. faces tremendous short-term policy uncertainty, including about $5.4 trillion in tax increases over the next decade. These changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2013. It is unlikely that these changes will fully materialize, but what will happen is anyone’s guess. Over the long term, uncertainty also looms large since the U.S. federal tax system is expected to bring in far less revenue than Congress is projected to spend. In this paper, we detail the tax policy uncertainty that the U.S. faces and the economic literature to assess how this uncertainty may be affecting the economy. …

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income With Respect To Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review, Emmanuel Saez, Joel B. Slemrod, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper critically surveys the large and growing literature estimating the elasticity of taxable income with respect to marginal tax rates using tax return data. First, we provide a theoretical framework showing under what assumptions this elasticity can be used as a sufficient statistic for efficiency and optimal tax analysis. We discuss what other parameters should be estimated when the elasticity is not a sufficient statistic. Second, we discuss conceptually the key issues that arise in the empirical estimation of the elasticity of taxable income using the example of the 1993 top individual income tax rate increase in the United …

Conflicts In The Licensing Process For Transcanada's Keystone Xl Pipeline, F. Gregory Hayden

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this report is to investigate and explain conflicts involved in the ongoing licensing process whereby TransCanada is attempting to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of State to build a pipeline (named Keystone XL) from the tar sand oil fields of Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast. The economic concepts important in guiding this investigation are: (1) rules are important, (2) moral hazard, and (3) corporate strategic misinformation.

Economists emphasize the importance of rules for structuring and determining the working of economic institutions and the social institutions that support, regulate, and enforce the economic institutions. The kind …

Using Monte Carlo Simulations To Establish A New House Price Stress Test, James R. Follain, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The focus of this paper is on the house price stress test (termed ALMO) that was designed to assess the fiscal strength of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and, if necessary, to trigger remedial action in order to avert a crisis. We assess whether the ALMO stress test was an adequate representation of an extremely weak housing market, given the best available information leading up to the Great Recession. A Monte Carlo simulation model is developed to estimate the severity of low probability events (i.e., severe house price declines). We illustrate the complexity and subjective nature of the process used …

The Disability Screening Process And The Labor Market Behavior Of Accepted And Rejected Applicants: Evidence From The Health And Retirement Study, Seth H. Giertz, Jeffrey D. Kubik

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper uses Social Security earnings records linked to data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the labor market behavior of rejected and accepted disability applicants prior to their application. We find that rejected applicants have substantially lower earnings and labor force participation rates during the decade prior to application than beneficiaries. Also, we find some evidence of a divergence between these groups, with rejected applicants leaving the labor force at a faster rate than beneficiaries as their application date approaches. One interpretation of these results is that the disability screening process on average separates those who are …

Comment On Richardson: Progressive Federal Taxation Drives Redistribution From Blue To Red States, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Professor Richardson documents redistribution from Democratic states to Republican states and links this to the 1994 "Republican revolution" -- suggesting a deliberative effort by Republicans to redistribute income towards their constituents. Seth Giertz of the University of Nebraska argues that what Professor Richardson's analysis really shows is that "red" states -- but not necessarily Republicans within those states -- are (increasingly) the major beneficiaries of federal redistributive policies -- and that "blue" states are (increasingly) the benefactors.

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income During The 1990s: New Estimates And Sensitivity Analyses, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, the elasticity of taxable income has emerged as the central parameter for assessing efficiency and revenue implications from changes to tax policy. This article estimates short- and longer-run responses of taxable (and gross) income to changes in tax rates using panels of U.S. tax returns for the 1990s. With the richest set of income controls, income-weighted elasticity estimates range from 0.19 to 0.33, depending on whether responses are measured over one- or three-year intervals. An alternative approach designed to capture delayed and anticipatory responses yields much larger estimates -- ranging from 0.43 over the short …

The Role Of Conservation Research And Education Centers In Growing Nature-Based Tourism, Richard C. Edwards, Eric Thompson

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

There are increasing numbers of private (nonprofit and for-profit) centers that carry out conservation research and education in locations of environmental concern. Such centers generate revenue streams that directly support conservation programs and also sustain surrounding human communities. This paper assesses the size of the centers' economic impacts. We conducted separate studies of the economic impacts of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia) and (jointly) the Rowe Bird Sanctuary and Whooping Crane Trust (central Nebraska, USA). We collected data on direct expenditures and surveyed visitors and volunteers on their spending. For the Cheetah Conservation Fund, we estimate total economic impact using …

Is Economics Coursework, Or Majoring In Economics, Associated With Different Civic Behaviors?, Sam Allgood, William Bosshardt, Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, Michael Watts

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Studies regularly link levels of educational attainment to civic behavior and attitudes, but only a few investigate the role played by specific coursework. Using data collected from students who attended one of four public universities in our study, we investigate the relationship between economics coursework and civic behavior after graduation. Drawing from large samples of students in economics, business, or general majors, we compare responses across the three groups and by the number of undergraduate economics courses completed. We find that undergraduate coursework in economics is strongly associated with political party affiliation and with donations to candidates or parties, but …

Hispanic Immigration To The United States, Örn B. Bodvarsson, Hendrik F. Van Den Berg

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This chapter presents some of the exceptional characteristics of recent Hispanic immigration to the United States. In 2005, there were nearly 40 million Hispanic immigrants and descendants of Hispanic immigrants living in the U.S. The assimilation experience of this large cultural group does not seem to be following the path past immigrants to the U.S. followed. Most third generation Hispanics in the U.S. still find themselves with income and education levels below the U.S. averages. Most forecasts predict that about 60 million Hispanics and Hispanic-Americans will be living in the U.S. by 2030.

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income With Respect To Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review, Emmanuel Saez, Joel B. Slemrod, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper critically surveys the large and growing literature estimating the elasticity of taxable income with respect to marginal tax rates (ETI) using tax return data. First, we provide a theoretical framework showing under what assumptions this elasticity can be used as a sufficient statistic for efficiency and optimal tax analysis. We discuss what other parameters should be estimated when the elasticity is not a sufficient statistic. Second, we discuss conceptually the key issues that arise in the empirical estimation of the elasticity of taxable income using the example of the 1993 top individual income tax rate increase in the …

Unauthorized Immigration, Örn B. Bodvarsson, Hendrik F. Van Den Berg

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

One of the results of the clash between immigration policies and economic incentives is unauthorized immigration. There is no accurate data on unauthorized immigration, but estimates permit some empirical work. The motives for immigrants to enter the destination country without formal authorization are the same as those that lead immigrants to seek legal entry, and the static labor market model of immigration can be used to explain the flows of unauthorized immigrants. There are additional factors to consider, however. Unauthorized immigrants do not normally enjoy the same civil rights as legal immigrants, so the potential rewards from immigrating are …

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income: Influences On Economic Efficiency And Tax Revenues, And Implications For Tax Policy, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

While research into the elasticity of taxable income (ETr), which measures the responsiveness of reported taxable income to changes in tax rates, dates back to at least Lindsey (1987), recognition of its importance as a central parameter for tax policy design did not begin to take hold until the second half of the 1990s. In fact, a 1998 survey to determine public and labor economists' views on key policy parameters (Fuchs, Krueger, and Poterba 1998) included no questions on the ETI. I suspect that a 2008 survey would include such questions, just as I suspect that a 1998 conference entitled …

A Response To Seth H. Giertz, Daniel Feenberg

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

There are two aspects of Seth Giertz's excellent chapter that I want to talk about. One is slightly technical; I want to try to provide some explanation for why estimating elasticity of taxable income (ETI) is so difficult. I think this difficulty is unappreciated by nonspecialists, who are quick to latch onto a favorite estimate without understanding the weaknesses in the estimation. The other aspect is a bit more philosophical and addresses the different functions of the partial equilibrium analysis done here and the general equilibrium work done a few years back in the macro group at the Congressional Budget …