Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Towards A Metatheory Of Budgeting, Dan Williams, Thad D. Calabrese

Publications and Research

In this paper. we suggest that many budget theories actually are about appropriating and not about budgeting. We trace this development back to the classic budgeting question posed by V.O. Keys in 1940. To clarify the issue, we examine early normative theories of budgeting, and apply many contemporary theories about budgeting to the budgeting process advocated for in this early work. By analyzing current theories, we show that budget theories are, in many cases, simply focused on parts of the budget process or on the role of techniques in decision making. Our analyses suggest that rather than theories competing with …

Who Enters The Foreclosure Process?, Eric Doviak, Sean P. Macdonald

Publications and Research

Since February 2010, detailed information on every home mortgage default and foreclosure in New York State must be filed with the New York State Banking Department (NYSBD). The data enables us to identify the financial characteristics that make a defaulted borrower more (or less) likely to enter the foreclosure process. Our analysis of the NYSBD data suggests that borrowers in default who took larger loans are more likely to progress to foreclosure. It also suggests that reducing principal balances may reduce the foreclosure rate, but might have an adverse effect on the mortgage industry. Given the frequent criticism of the …

Fathers' Time Investments In Children: Do Sons Get More?, Kristin Mammen

Publications and Research

Evidence suggests that, from birth, fathers treat sons differently than daughters in the U.S., as well as in developing countries. Fathers' time investments in children are one channel through which differential treatment by gender may affect children's outcomes. This paper uses data from the 2003 American Time Use Survey to explore three questions about paternal time in married two-parent families: Does the gender composition of his children affect the amount of time a father spends with them? If so, does the gender of the individual child have an additional effect? And is a girl advantaged or disadvantaged by the presence …

Weight-Related Behavior Among Adolescents: The Role Of Peer Effects, Mir M. Ali, Aliaksandr Amialchuk, Frank W. Heiland

Publications and Research

Purpose To investigate whether social interactions in friendship networks influence the following weight-related behaviors of adolescents: exercising regularly, playing an active sport, hours of TV/Video viewing, sleeping six or fewer hours, eating breakfast on weekdays, frequency of eating at fast food restaurants, eating five servings of fruits/vegetables daily, and consuming calorie-dense snacks.

Method Data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents are used to examine the association between peer and individual weight-related behaviors. Evidence from multivariate regression analysis controlling for an extensive list of individual- and family-level factors as well as school-level unobserved heterogeneity is obtained. Results We find a …

Six Titans Of The Cambridge School: A Review Article, Harvey Gram

Publications and Research

Six volumes in the Great Thinker in Economics Series were chosen by the Editors for this review, which focuses on The Cambridge School of Economics, so very different from the mainstream theory of general economic equilibrium which gives formal expression to Lionel Robbins’ famous definition of the subject as the allocation of scarce means among alternative uses. In recognition of a distinct Cambridge School, the authors of these volumes present a variety of arguments within which three overlapping themes can be discerned: the relationship between ethics and economics; the role of stocks and flows in economic analysis; and the epistemic …

Nafta, Cafta And The Environment: The Role Of Institutions, Sherrie Baver

Publications and Research

This essay examines the institutionalization of environmental concerns, primarily focusing on NAFTA, and argues that the 1994 agreement should be seen as a positive first attempt to raise the profile of environmental concerns within discussions of expanding global trade. More specifically, NAFTA and subsequent U.S. FTAs have contributed to the growth of procedural environmental rights that have the potential to deepen democracy in the wider political system. Given that free trade agreements represent the U.S. approach to world trade at present, this paper takes the practical position that building on NAFTA’s foundation, opportunities exist to continue promoting environmental sustainability within …