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Full-Text Articles in Economics

Review Of Against The Tide: An Intellectual History Of Free Trade, Eric O'N. Fisher May 1998

Review Of Against The Tide: An Intellectual History Of Free Trade, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

No abstract provided.


Extra-Household Norms And Intra-Household Bargaining: Gender In Sudan And Burkina Faso, Michael Kevane Apr 1998

Extra-Household Norms And Intra-Household Bargaining: Gender In Sudan And Burkina Faso, Michael Kevane

Economics

This paper argues that future empirical strategies for approaching the problem of deepening relative poverty for women in sub-Saharan Africa might focus on distinguishing and weighing two complementary determinants of the process. One determinant is the changing distribution of intra-household bargaining power. The other determinant is the changing constellation of social norms that constrain and regulate the economic activities of women. The paper shows how fruitful this dichotomization may be in the context of an analysis of women's economic activities in western Sudan and south-western Burkina Faso. In western Sudan the military regime deliberately brought about changes, at the very …


Pollution And Economic Growth, Eric O'N. Fisher, Charles Van Marrewijk Mar 1998

Pollution And Economic Growth, Eric O'N. Fisher, Charles Van Marrewijk

Economics

We analyse a model of overlapping generations in which clean air, a pure public good, is used as a private input into production. Although production exhibits constant returns to scale. endogenous growth can occur. In a laissez-faire equilibrium, firms generate rents that are the value of the pollution they create. These rents crowd out investment and slow economic growth. Such an equilibrium may not support Pareto optimal allocations, but a Pigouvian tax does. Hence, a pollution tax can yield a double dividend because it reduces pollution and increases growth.


A Measure Of The Current Account Related To The Well-Being Of Japan: Generational Accounts In The Open Economy, Eric O'N. Fisher Jan 1998

A Measure Of The Current Account Related To The Well-Being Of Japan: Generational Accounts In The Open Economy, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

No abstract provided.


Subsidies In Oligopoly Markets: A Welfare Comparison Between Symmetric And Asymmetric Costs, Stephen F. Hamilton, Rickard Sandin Nov 1997

Subsidies In Oligopoly Markets: A Welfare Comparison Between Symmetric And Asymmetric Costs, Stephen F. Hamilton, Rickard Sandin

Economics

Oligopolistic industries generally produce less than is socially desirable. As a result, the use of production subsidies is often suggested as a means of raising production toward the efficient level in imperfectly competitive markets. In cases where firms are equally efficient in producing the good, the common prescription is a policy of uniform subsidization, as suggested by Besley (1989).(1) When firms in an industry differ in cost efficiency, however, uniform subsidization involves subsidizing inefficient firms in the same manner as efficient firms. Consequently, uniform policy may be undesirable from a social perspective, particularly when the price-cost margins of inefficient firms …


Meaningful Measures Of The Current Account, Eric O'N. Fisher, Youngsoo Woo Nov 1997

Meaningful Measures Of The Current Account, Eric O'N. Fisher, Youngsoo Woo

Economics

Since the conventional current account uses cash-flow accounting, it is potentially devoid of economic meaning. Assessing foreign assets at market values and including expected transfers from abroad, this paper reports two measures of the external surplus that are grounded in economic theory. The first measure is the aggregate generational current account, annual differences in the sum of net foreign assets across all current and future generations. The second measure is the generational profile of net foreign assets in a benchmark year. These ideas are implemented with data from Korea.


A Note On The Core Of A Monetary Economy, Eric O'N. Fisher Jun 1997

A Note On The Core Of A Monetary Economy, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

This note shows that there are monetary equilibria in the model of overlapping generations that are in the core. Some equilibria have positive stocks of outside money in every generation. These equilibria are thus self-enforcing, and introducing money into an economy need not be tantamount to contriving a new social institution designed to enforce sequential contracts.


The Separation Of Spending From Taxation: Implications For Collective Choices, Michael L. Marlow, William P. Orzechowski Jun 1997

The Separation Of Spending From Taxation: Implications For Collective Choices, Michael L. Marlow, William P. Orzechowski

Economics

Our fiscal process divorces payment from use. While this divorce has led many analysts of government to separate discussion of public expenditures from their funding, or use from payment, we argue that this approach does not provide a useful framework for understanding our public choices. We argue that it is the divorce of payment from use that underlies our fiscal process and, rather than simply 'dismiss out of hand ' study of our fiscal process, it should be an integral part of our study of government. Our framework for describing fiscal institutions indicates how our fiscal process invites rent-seeking because …


Alternative Forms Of The Score Test For Heterogeneity In A Censored Exponential Model, Sanjiv Jaggia May 1997

Alternative Forms Of The Score Test For Heterogeneity In A Censored Exponential Model, Sanjiv Jaggia

Economics

Different versions of the score test for neglected heterogeneity for a right censored exponential model are analyzed. These tests depend on how the information matrix is estimated. A test based on the theoretical information matrix is derived that is shown to outperform all the other tests. Further, the noncentrality parameter of the test is examined to show how the power of the test is reduced when data are censored.


Public Education Supply And Student Performance, Michael L. Marlow May 1997

Public Education Supply And Student Performance, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

This paper develops a model of public exchange whereby voters and education policy makers exchange with one another within school districts. Because school district consolidation lowers alternatives to voters-parents, consolidation is hypothesized to raise public education spending because weakened intergovernmental competition allows policy makers to promote their own utility, rather than that of constituents. Models of public education spending and academic performance are estimated over 1988-1990. While evidence indicates little support for the traditional treatment of the Leviathan hypothesis that greater competition lowers public spending, this paper argues that education spending by itself does not fully provide a valid test …


The Effect Of Farm Supply Shifts On Concentration And Market Power In The Food Processing Sector, Stephen F. Hamilton, David L. Sunding May 1997

The Effect Of Farm Supply Shifts On Concentration And Market Power In The Food Processing Sector, Stephen F. Hamilton, David L. Sunding

Economics

In this paper we examine the marginal impact of changing farm supply on the market structure of the downstream food processing sector. We develop a theoretical model that allows for cost differences among processors and endogenizes downstream entry and exit. Comparative statics results are consistent with several well-established trends in the food processing sector. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that increasing concentration in the food processing sector is consistent with decreasing market power. Indeed, we find that when the farm supply curve shifts outward, an increase in concentration can only occur when there is a decrease in market power.


A Developmental State Without Growth? Explaining The Paradox Of Burkina Faso In A Comparative Perspective, Michael Kevane, Pierre Englebert Jan 1997

A Developmental State Without Growth? Explaining The Paradox Of Burkina Faso In A Comparative Perspective, Michael Kevane, Pierre Englebert

Economics

For scholars of Africa's political economy, an important problem has been explaining and understanding how a country escapes rule by criminals and warlords and instead comes to be directed by a set of lower-key kleptocrats who operate within a set of institutions which on the whole promote incentives and preferences for good "governance". In this paper, we look at how a state has emerged in Burkina Faso which has overall been benevolent and developmental, at least by Sahelian standards. We argue that a host of factors have spared the modern state a substantial social challenge and have allowed for relatively …


Public Sector Unions And Public Spending, Michael L. Marlow, William Orzechowski Oct 1996

Public Sector Unions And Public Spending, Michael L. Marlow, William Orzechowski

Economics

This study examines the influence of public sector unions on the expansion of the public sector. Based on public goods theory, our paper models how unions influence the supply of and demand for public sector activities. On the demand side, public sector unions are special interests which advocate public sector expansion to policy makers; on the supply side, they exert pressure to maintain and expand monopoly powers. Empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between public sector unionism and public spending.


Qualitative Impact Study Of Credit With Education In Burkina Faso, Michael Kevane Jul 1996

Qualitative Impact Study Of Credit With Education In Burkina Faso, Michael Kevane

Economics

The objective of this qualitative study is to investigate and document program ef­fects for participants and program communi­ties after two years of activities. Three com­munities were visited for approximately one week each, and an attempt was made to in­terview all current members of the Credit Association in each village as well as com­munity leaders and other nonparticipants.


On Exchange Rates And Efficiency, Eric O'N. Fisher Jun 1996

On Exchange Rates And Efficiency, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

This paper analyzes an exchange economy in which several assets serve as stores of value and where agents have completely heterogeneous preferences and endowments. It describes the set of perfect foresight equilibria in which all assets have positive prices. There are international policies with determinate exchange rates if the world economy satisfies a strong efficiency criterion. Also, the corresponding equilibrium allocations are in the core of the world economy for certain international policies. Hence, a system of fixed exchange rates can support efficient allocations to the extent that countries agree on a division of seigniorage in the creation of international …


Review Of Speculative Bubbles, Speculative Attacks, And Policy Switching, Eric O'N. Fisher Sep 1995

Review Of Speculative Bubbles, Speculative Attacks, And Policy Switching, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

No abstract provided.


Growth, Trade, And International Transfers, Eric O'N. Fisher Aug 1995

Growth, Trade, And International Transfers, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

This paper analyzes the simplest neoclassical economy in which agents have finite lives and there is sustained per capita growth. The growth rate of the world economy depends upon countries’ savings propensities and common technology. Trade can reverse an economy’s autarkic growth trajectory, and a country with a high savings rate runs a current account surplus. If a surplus country expands aggregate demand while a deficit country contracts analogously, world growth increases. An appropriate international policy can change the path of the world economy from stagnation to growth.


A New Way Of Thinking About The Current Account, Eric O'N. Fisher Aug 1995

A New Way Of Thinking About The Current Account, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

Extending the theory of generational accounts, I show that the conventional current account is not related to the real effects of a country's fiscal policy. For any international array of fiscal policies, a country can implement its own policy so that the conventional government and current account deficits are zero in every period. I argue that economists should develop a new measure of the current account. This measure is forward looking and keeps track of expected transfers between countries.


The Influence Of Special District Government On Public Spending And Debt, Michael L. Marlow Jul 1995

The Influence Of Special District Government On Public Spending And Debt, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

Growth in special district governments is examined as a reason behind public sector expansion in the United States. A theoretical model is developed of the optimal mix of government suppliers which predicts how special district governments affect the overall provision of government policies. The hypothesis that expansion of special district governments leads to expansion of the public sector is expirically examined over two time periods.


Local Politics In The Time Of Turabi's Revolution: Gender, Class And Ethnicity In Western Sudan, Michael Kevane, Leslie C. Gray Apr 1995

Local Politics In The Time Of Turabi's Revolution: Gender, Class And Ethnicity In Western Sudan, Michael Kevane, Leslie C. Gray

Economics

In one small village in western Sudan local political struggles over power and resources are enmeshed in discursive struggles over representations of gender, ethnicity, class and community. Analysis of two specific conflicts illustrates this point. In one conflict over control of a village grain co-operative some villagers sought to exclude women, West African immigrants and the poor from participating in political decision-making. In a second conflict over a roadside market these same villagers, empowered by the divisive rhetoric and policies of the National Islamic Front regime, again mobilised dominant representations of class, gender and ethnicity in an attempt to prevent …


Price Competition Between Two International Firms Facing Tariffs, Eric O'N. Fisher, Charles A. Wilson Mar 1995

Price Competition Between Two International Firms Facing Tariffs, Eric O'N. Fisher, Charles A. Wilson

Economics

This paper examines the effects of tariffs on price setting duopolists selling a homogeneous product. The producers cannot segment geographically distinct markets. It provides a complete characterization of the equilibrium (mixed) strategies and analyzes the pattern of competition for different tariffs. If a country raises its tariff, the profits of both producers increase, although the protected firm typically benefits more than its foreign counterpart. Growth in one market may reduce the profits of the firm located in the other market.


Contested Tender Offers: An Estimate Of The Hazard Function, Sanjiv Jaggia, Satish Thosar Jan 1995

Contested Tender Offers: An Estimate Of The Hazard Function, Sanjiv Jaggia, Satish Thosar

Economics

In this article we estimate the hazard function (takeover probabilities) for firms that are targets in unsolicited tender offers. The data support a Weibull-gamma specification and imply a hazard rate that increases sharply in the initial period following the bid announcement, after which it declines steadily. In explaining the hazard, we find that the initial bid premium has no explanatory power, but the onset of an auction and the proportion of institutional ownership In the target firm significantly enhance the hazard. Legal and financial restructuring actions by target management are effective in reducing the hazard, thereby prolonging the contest.


Markets, The Environment And Liberty: The Case Of Elephants And Air Quality, Gordon L. Brady, Michael L. Marlow Dec 1994

Markets, The Environment And Liberty: The Case Of Elephants And Air Quality, Gordon L. Brady, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

No Abstract


The Public Demand For Smoking Bans, William J. Boyes, Michael L. Marlow Aug 1994

The Public Demand For Smoking Bans, William J. Boyes, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

Smoking bans are gaining widespread support in the United States and other countries. While supporters argue that bans are necessary to resolve market failures associated with negative externalities, the Coase Theorem predicts that, under various conditions, private markets internalize negative externalities. We examine the smoking issue within the framework of the Coase Theorem and hypothesize that smoking bans misallocate air space resources shared by smokers and nonsmokers. Because smoking bans shift ownership of scarce resources, they are also hypothesized to transfer income from one party (smokers) to another party (nonsmokers). Supporting evidence for these hypotheses is provided by an examination …


French Optical Telegraphy, 1793-1855: Hardware, Software, Administration, Alexander J. Field Apr 1994

French Optical Telegraphy, 1793-1855: Hardware, Software, Administration, Alexander J. Field

Economics

The relatively stable contribution of technological change to aggregate growth masks technological trajectories which are, at the sectoral level, often highly discontinuous. For decades, even centuries, the capabilities used to produce a particular good or service may continue essentially unchanged or with relatively minor evolutionary modifications. Sometimes without much warning a breakthrough innovation will create a new technological paradigm, along with an accompanying "gale of creative destruction," which is then followed by a period of consolidation within a maturing framework.


Joint And Separate Score Tests For State Dependence And Unobserved Heterogeneity, Sanjiv Jaggia, Pravin K. Trivedi Jan 1994

Joint And Separate Score Tests For State Dependence And Unobserved Heterogeneity, Sanjiv Jaggia, Pravin K. Trivedi

Economics

The paper compares separate, conditional, and joint score tests of duration dependence and unobserved heterogeneity when the null is the exponential model and the alternative is the heterogeneous Weibull model. The score tests based on the conditional score function include the Neyman C(x) test as a special case. An examination of the non-null distribution of the joint test explains when all score tests have low power in the presence of multiple misspecifications. Monte Carlo experiments show that the conditional score tests are superior to the standard separate tests which confound unobserved heterogeneity and duration dependence.


The Dynamic Effects Of Agricultural Subsidies In The United States, Harry De Gorter, Eric O'N. Fisher Dec 1993

The Dynamic Effects Of Agricultural Subsidies In The United States, Harry De Gorter, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

This article analyzes the dynamic effects of the farm subsidies in the United States. The subsidies a farmer receives are based upon historical plantings, also called base acreage. It is sometimes optimal for a farmer temporarily not to participate in a program in order to increase future subsidies. The farmer's optimal policy is the solution to a deterministic dynamic program. Farmers with low base acreage opt out of these programs, whereas those with high base acreage participate in them. The article examines aggregate data involving corn, cotton, rice, and wheat during 1987. It shows that these programs increase the output …


Review Of Constitutional Environments And Economic Growth By Gerald W. Scully, Michael L. Marlow Dec 1993

Review Of Constitutional Environments And Economic Growth By Gerald W. Scully, Michael L. Marlow

Economics

No Abstract


Is The “Sheil” A Shill? Informal Credit In Rural Sudan, Michael Kevane Jun 1993

Is The “Sheil” A Shill? Informal Credit In Rural Sudan, Michael Kevane

Economics

My dictionary defines a shill as a person "who poses as an innocent bystander to help a confidence man win over a prospective victim."1 The Sudanese system of informal credit, known as shei/ 2 credit, has been described by many academic writers as an exploitative, usurious form of lending, much as Tayeb Salih implies about the loan transaction between Masood and the grandfather. These writers argue that an important cause of the persistence and deepening of poverty is the monopolistic position of village lenders. But is that really what the sheil is? Or has the sheil been misrepresented in order …


Multiple Bids As A Consequence Of Target Management Resistance: A Count Data Approach, Sanjiv Jaggia, Satish Thosar Jan 1993

Multiple Bids As A Consequence Of Target Management Resistance: A Count Data Approach, Sanjiv Jaggia, Satish Thosar

Economics

In this article, we focus on the question of target management resistance and the incidence of subsequent bids. A Poisson count data model is used where the dependent variable represents the number of bids (count) received and the independent variables comprise target management actions and firm specific characteristics. Of the target management actions considered, legal defense and the entry of a white knight are associated with additional bids. With respect to firm specific characteristics, we find that a high initial bid premium deters subsequent bids. Firm size is also significant and has an interesting relationship with the number of bids …