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Economics Department Working Papers

2015

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Exploring International Differences In Inflation Dynamics, Yamin Ahmad, Olena Mykhaylova Sep 2015

Exploring International Differences In Inflation Dynamics, Yamin Ahmad, Olena Mykhaylova

Economics Department Working Papers

Standard closed-economy DSGE models have difficulty replicating the persistence of inflation. We use a multicountry dataset to establish some empirical regularities on persistence and volatility of aggregate consumer prices for 161 countries. We find persistence to be high (low) on average for developed (developing) countries, while volatility is low (high) on average for the same country groupings. We then employ a two-country DSGE framework to investigate the extent to which structural open economy features, such as incomplete exchange rate pass-through, the existence of nontraded goods, and international financial market incompleteness, can help in replicating the persistence and volatility of consumer …

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Genocide: Perspectives From The Social Sciences, Charles Anderton Sep 2015

Genocide: Perspectives From The Social Sciences, Charles Anderton

Economics Department Working Papers

This article surveys risk factors for genocide and genocide prevention from the perspectives of four social science disciplines: sociology, social psychology, political science, and economics. Each discipline brings a valuable set of concepts and tools to bear in genocide research. Moreover, fruitful multi- and inter-disciplinary collaboration across the four disciplines (and other fields) is shedding new insights into why genocide has have been such a recurring tragedy in human affairs and how such atrocities can be prevented.

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Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Loss Calculations, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson Sep 2015

Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Loss Calculations, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

This paper examines how the Affordable Care Act might affect the analysis of future care costs in medical malpractice, product or accident liability, or workplace injury cases. Prior to the ACA, it was reasonable to presume that a great deal of a victim’s future health care costs would be paid for out-of-pocket as there was little guarantee that the plaintiff would have access to affordable insurance. Since January 2014, however, a plaintiff can obtain insurance that will cover a significant portion of any future medical costs. This paper examines the basic structure of the ACA, how it has affected health …

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An Analysis Of Drivers Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Robert Baade, Victor Matheson Sep 2015

An Analysis Of Drivers Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Robert Baade, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

Developing countries that host mega-events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup invest enormous sums in stadiums and collateral infrastructure projects. The paper examines the motivations of countries to host these events and the typical economic outcome for those host sites lucky(?) enough be awarded the games. For both efficiency and equity reasons, these events are risk propositions at best, and they generally represent an even worse investment for developing countries than for industrialized nations.

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Many Happy Returns? The Pro-Bowl, Mega-Events, And Tourism In Hawaii, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson Sep 2015

Many Happy Returns? The Pro-Bowl, Mega-Events, And Tourism In Hawaii, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

We use daily airplane arrival data from 2004 to 2015 from Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to determine the net change in arrivals around a variety of sporting events. We find only one event generates a positive and significant net impact on arrivals: the Honolulu Marathon, which generates roughly 3,900 additional arrivals. No other sporting events result in a measurable increase in tourist arrivals including, notably, the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which receives a large subsidy from the state’s tourism authority.

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Unemployment And Public Budget Impacts Of The Auto Bailout, Robert Baumann, Andrea Thompson Aug 2015

Unemployment And Public Budget Impacts Of The Auto Bailout, Robert Baumann, Andrea Thompson

Economics Department Working Papers

We estimate the impact of the 2009 financial rescue of two large American automobile companies (General Motors and Chrysler) on unemployment in Michigan. We conservatively estimate that the auto bailout saved about 7,700 workers from unemployment each month over a period of four-and-a-half years. This translates to a public savings of between $1.3 and $1.6 billion via lower transfer payments and higher tax revenues.

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The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Housing Prices: An Examination Of The Fourmile Canyon Fire, Katherine A. Kiel, Victor Matheson Aug 2015

The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Housing Prices: An Examination Of The Fourmile Canyon Fire, Katherine A. Kiel, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

In September 2010, the Fourmile-Lefthand Canyon forest fire burned 6,181 acres, destroyed 169 homes, and caused $217 million in property damages making it by far the most expensive fire in Colorado history at the time. This paper examines how the fire affected housing prices in vulnerable neighboring areas that were not directly impacted by the fire, controlling for the property’s level of risk. This damaging fire may have increased home owners’ perceptions about the risk of living in forested areas subject to wildfires to a significant degree adding to the total direct economic losses from the fire. Utilizing a unique …

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