Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Wright State University Regional Economic Report, Fall 2010, Thomas L. Traynor

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ties That Binds: Colonies , Culture And Education Among Immigrants, David Ortmeyer, Aaron Jackson, Michael A. Quinn

Economics Faculty Publications

There is concern among many policy makers of a dual problem: too many immigrants overall but not enough highly-skilled immigrants. Using recently available data we examine the factors which influence both the quantity and average educational level of immigrants in OECD countries in 1990 and 2000. We find that geographic proximity and former colonial relationships positively influence the overall number of immigrants but are negatively related to immigrants’ average educational level. By contrast, variables such as greater economic freedom, more generous asylum policies, and a common language and religion increase both the quantity and educational level of immigrants. More highly …

Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Do Not Explain The Hiv Epidemics In Africa: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence, Larry Sawers, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

The notion that concurrent sexual partnerships are especially common in sub-Saharan Africa and explain the region’s high HIV prevalence is accepted by many as conventional wisdom. In this paper, we evaluate the quantitative and qualitative evidence offered by the principal proponents of the concurrency hypothesis and analyze the mathematical model they use to establish the plausibility of the hypothesis.

We find that research seeking to establish a statistical correlation between concurrency and HIV prevalence either finds no correlation or has important limitations. Furthermore, in order to simulate rapid spread of HIV, mathematical models require unrealistic assumptions about frequency of sexual …

Review Of Brooks, Stephen, Ed., Montgomery And The Battle Of Normandy: A Selection From The Diaries, Correspondence And Other Papers Of Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery Of Alamein, January To August 1944, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) The stated goal of Montgomery and the Battle of Normandy is to "bring together the most important Bernard Montgomery documents for the period 1 January to 20 August 1944, reproduce each of the chosen documents in full and arrange them in a straightforward chronological order" (p. x). It is fair to say this volume achieves this goal, even though a batch of Montgomery documents already reproduced in full in other volumes was not included here.

Sustainable Budgeting, Brian K. Strow, Claudia W. Strow

Economics Faculty Publications

At the forefront of current discussion and social conscience is the importance of ecological sustainability. An also important but often overlooked issue is the importance of sustainable budgeting practices for our various levels of government. Governments often provide social services such as food, clothing, shelter, education, public safety, or health care. If the money to pay for the social services comes from additional government debt, social services to future citizens become imperiled. In this paper, the authors set forth a theoretical framework for sustainable government decision making with special emphasis on sustainable governmental budgeting. The authors outline the intricacies of …

Philadelphia Fed Forecasting Surveys: Their Value For Research, Dean D. Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has conducted both the Survey of Professional Forecasters and the Livingston Survey for 20 years. Both surveys of private-sector forecasters provide researchers, central bankers, news media, and the public with detailed forecasts of major macroeconomic variables. The surveys have proved helpful for people who are planning for the future, and they have also provided useful input into the decisions of policymakers at the Federal Reserve and elsewhere. In this article, Dean Croushore provides an overview of the surveys and discusses the ways in which researchers have used the surveys.

Human Capital, Education, And Entrepreneurs: Evidence From The Yangtze River Delta, Zhining Hu, Jianghuai Zheng, Jialing Wang

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between education demand and entrepreneurs in the process of enhancing the growth of human capital in China. We develop a theoretical model that incorporates the important roles played by human capital, education and entrepreneurs. Then, we derive an immigration condition under which the demand for education depends on the existence of entrepreneurs. Finally, we test whether this condition holds true in China, using a panel data set from the Yangtze River Delta which is considered a key barometer of Chinese economy. The empirical results reveal a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurs and education …

Wright State University Regional Economic Report, Spring 2010, Thomas L. Traynor

Economics Faculty Publications

Includes the article "Industry Employment Forecasts for the Dayton MSA."

Monopoly, Regulation, And Innovation, Matt Bogard

Economics Faculty Publications

Recently the Justice department has started investigations into alleged anti-trust violations by Monsanto. This has helped fuel a lot of already hyped discontent with one of the world’s leaders in innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture. This article discusses how the regulatory environment could possibly have contributed to more concentration and power in the biotech industry. Increasing regulation would likely have the opposite effect of creating a level playing field in the agriculture industry. From AgWeb, March 27,2010 http://www.agweb.com/blog/Economic_Sense_190/Monopoly_Regulation__and_Innovation_10771/

The Prebisch-Singer Hypothesis: Four Centuries Of Evidence, David I. Harvey, Neil M. Kellard, Jakob B. Madsen, Mark E. Wohar

Economics Faculty Publications

We employ a unique dataset and new time series techniques to re-examine the existence of trends in relative primary commodity prices. The dataset comprises 25 commodities and provides a new historical perspective, spanning the 17th to the 21st centuries. New tests for the trend function, robust to the order of integration of the series, are applied to the data. Results show that eleven price series present a significant and downward trend over all or some fraction of the sample period. In the very long run a secular, deteriorating trend is a relevant phenomena for a significant proportion of primary commodities.

Private Giving Crowding Government Funding In Public Higher Education, G. Thomas Sav

Economics Faculty Publications

Problem Statement:

Private giving and government funding are critical revenue sources for public colleges and universities. If increased private giving reduces government funding, then that type and extent of crowding out carries important managerial and public policy implications.

Approach:

The study used a government funding reaction function and an instrumental variable approach to empirically estimate the potential for crowding out.

Results:

The study examined the extent to which private giving reduces or crowds out state government funding of public colleges and universities. Government free riding was at question and investigated to determine how active it is in terms of private …

Moral Markets: The Critical Role Of Values In The Economy By Paul J. Zak (Book Review), Jonathan B. Wight

Economics Faculty Publications

This volume contains the fruits of a two-year seminar on ethics and economics funded by the John Templeton Foundation and administered through the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research. Participants came from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, and included Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith and other figures such as Frans de Waal, Herbert Gintis, Robert Frank, and Robert Solomon (for whom the book is dedicated in memoriam). The book’s editor, Paul Zak, is a pioneer in the emerging field of neuroeconomics, which uses medical technology to discover the physiological manifestations of cooperative and altruistic behavior. A theme of …

Costs Of Defending Against Rising Sea Levels And Flooding In Mid-Atlantic Metropolitan Coastal Areas: The Basic Issues, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

Rising ocean levels have resulted in increasingly severe flooding in numerous metropolitan coastal areas. What would it cost to minimize or eliminate such damage? Relatively little economic work has been done to provide an answer, at least partially because some authorities believe attempts to deal with flooding ultimately are futile. Further, discussions of funding always involve massive welfare transfers from the non-flooded to the flooded. The cost of erecting a single mile of new sea wall exceeds $35 million in 2009 dollars and annual maintenance costs range between 5 and 10 percent.

Review Of Willmott, H.P., The Great Crusade: A New Complete History Of The Second World War, James V. Koch

Economics Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) The first edition of The Great Crusade (1989) was a fine, comprehensive, single-volume history of World War II. The revised edition is even better, though readers should be aware that this is a military history of the war that usually focuses on decision-making and activities at the operational level and above. The author sometimes speaks of individual fighting divisions, but almost never about individual soldiers. This work is thus not the place for the reader to discover the tales and yarns of individual soldiers. Those who hope to grasp what it was like to be a Marine storming …