Economics Commons^™

Openness, Centralized Wage Bargaining, And Inflation, Joseph P. Daniels, Farrokh Nourzad, David D. Vanhoose

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper develops a model of an open economy containing both sectors in which wages are market-determined and sectors with wage-setting arrangements. A portion of the latter group of sectors coordinate their wages, taking into account that their collective actions influence the equilibrium inflation outcome in an environment in which the central bank engages in discretionary monetary policymaking. Key predictions forthcoming from this model are (1) increased centralization of wage setting initially causes inflation to increase at low degrees of wage centralization but then, as wage centralization increases, results in an inflation drop-off; (2) a greater degree of centralized wage …

Openness, Income-Tax Progressivity, And Inflation, Joseph P. Daniels, David D. Vanhoose

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper considers a model of an open economy in which the degree of income-tax progressivity influences the interaction among openness, central bank independence, and the inflation rate. Our model suggests that an increase in the progressivity of the tax system induces a smaller response in real output to a change in the price level. This implies that increased income-tax progressivity reduces the equilibrium inflation rate and that the effect of increased income-tax progressivity on inflation is smaller when the central bank places a higher weight on inflation or when there is greater openness. Examination of cross-country inflation data provides …

Social Identity Strategies In Recent Economics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper reviews three distinct strategies in recent economics for using the concept of social identity in the explanation of individual behavior: Akerlof and Kranton's neoclassical approach, Sen's commitment approach and Kirman et al.'s complexity approach. The primary focus is the multiple selves problem and the difficulties associated with failing to explain social identity and personal identity together. The argument of the paper is that too narrow a scope for reflexivity in individual decision‐making renders the problem intractable, but that enlarging this scope makes it possible to explain personal and social identity together in connection with an individual behavior …

Review Of The Expansion Of Economics Edited By S. Grossbard-Schechtman And C. Clague, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Turn In Economics: Neoclassical Dominance To Mainstream Pluralism?, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates whether since the 1980s neoclassical economics has been in the process of being supplanted as the dominant research programme in economics by a collection of competing research approaches which share relatively little in common with each other or with neoclassical economics. A shortlist of the new approaches in recent economics includes game theory, experimental economics, behavioral economics, evolutionary economics, neuroeconomics, and non-linear complexity theory. Two hypotheses are advanced – one regarding the relation between economics instruction and economics research and one regarding the nature of the economics research frontier – to describe social-institutional practices that contribute to …

Evaluating The Long-Run Impacts Of The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks On Us Domestic Airline Travel, Scott S. Blunk, David E. Clark, James Mcgibany

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Although the US airline industry began 2001 with 24 consecutive profitable quarters, including net profits in 2000 totaling $7.9 billion, the impact of the 9/11 event on the industry was substantial. Whereas the recession that began in early 2001 signaled the end of profitability, the 9/11 terrorist attacks pushed the industry into financial crisis after air travel dropped 20% over the September–December 2001 period compared to the same period in 2000. Given the decline in domestic air travel, an important question is whether the detrimental impact of the attacks was temporary or permanent. That is, did airline travel return to …

Imprecise Precision: Rejoinder To Basbøll, John B. Davis, Matthias Klaes

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Substitution Between Money And Near Monies In Switzerland, Subhash C. Sharma, Magda Kandil, Abdur Chowdhury, Tammy Parker

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates the substitutability between money and near-money assets during the period 1976 to 1996 in Switzerland. Financial developments have made a variety of instruments available to store wealth and conduct economic transactions. These developments have generated a "near money" component in households' and businesses' portfolio balances. It is important to evaluate the effect of "near-money" on money demand and the effectiveness of monetary policy. Towards this goal, five monetary assets: currency and demand deposits at commercial banks, demand deposits with the postal system, deposits on transaction accounts with banks, savings deposits and time deposits are considered. We evaluate …

Keynes, John Maynard, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Where Economics And Philosophy Meet, Peter J. Boettke, Christopher J. Coyne, John B. Davis, Francesco Guala, Alain Marciano, Jochen Runde, Margaret Schabas

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Normative Significance Of The Individual In Economics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Preface To Ethics And The Market: Insights From Social Economics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Value, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Socioeconomics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Recent Developments In Economic Methodology, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Financial Openness On Economic Integration: Evidence From Europe And The Cis, Fabrizio Carmignani, Abdur Chowdhury

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

We study whether financial openness facilitates the economic integration of formerly centrally planned economies with the EU-15. Two dimensions of economic integration are considered: cross-country convergence of per-capita incomes and bilateral trade in goods and services. We find that more financially open economies effectively catch-up faster and trade more with the EU-15. These integration-enhancing effects occur over and above any effect stemming from domestic financial deepening and other factors determining growth and trade.

Incomplete Compensation And Migration Behavior: Has Anything Changed Between 1990 And 2000?, David E. Clark, William E. Herrin, Thomas A. Knapp, Nancy E. White

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Spatial equilibrium models rely on migration to arbitrage away differences in utility across locations net of moving costs, where remaining differences in wages and rents reflect the compensating differentials related to site-specific amenities. Recent refinements to the spatial equilibrium model focus upon the prospect of disequilibrium in amenity markets. Amenity market disequilibrium implies over- or under-compensation (incomplete compensation) across some locations, which suggests a role for these factors in subsequent migration. This paper follows the theoretical and empirical approach of Clark, Herrin, Knapp, and White (2003). An intercity wage regression is estimated where fixed effects capture the impact of site …

Utilization Of Income Tax Credits By Low-Income Individuals, Stacy Dickert-Conlin, Katie Fitzpatrick, Andrew R. Hanson

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

The Internal Revenue Service-a sub-agency that exists to collect revenue-has the task of administering and enforcing a wide array of social policy: from subsidies for college and child care expenses, to creating jobs in depressed areas, and assisting welfare recipients with employment. While these new or expanded credits represent a new paradigm in the delivery of social policy, little is known about who uses these programs and, equally important, who does not use these programs. Understanding utilization is a key to understanding how effective this means of transferring income is and whether we are reaching the targeted populations. This paper …

Empirical Studies Of Foreign Direct Investment, Joseph P. Daniels

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

International Technology Diffusion: Effects Of Trade And Fdi, Alejandro Ciruelos, Miao Wang

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

There has been little analysis of the effect of inward FDI on international R&D diffusion, especially in LDCs, although FDI has become the core of international production and LDCs have been receiving an increasing share of world FDI over the past few decades. Using data from 57 countries from 1988 to 2001, we find that both FDI and trade serve as important channels of international technology diffusion. However, there exist heterogeneous effects of FDI in DCs and LDCs. For inward FDI to promote technology diffusion in LDCs, a certain threshold of human capital has to be reached.

Changes In Student Attitudes Toward The Market System And The Introductory Microeconomics Course, Charles Breeden, Noreen Lephardt

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

God And The Global Economy: Religion And Attitudes Towards Trade And Immigration In The United States, Joseph P. Daniels, Marc Von Der Ruhr

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Using the results of a national identity survey, we test the impact of religious affiliation on trade and immigration-policy preferences of US residents while controlling for individual level of skill, political ideology and other important demographic characteristics. Our results show that religion is an important determinant of international-policy preferences as individuals who are pre-Vatican II Catholic or members of a fundamentalist Protestant denomination are more likely to prefer policies that restrict imports and immigration. Religiosity, in contrast, has a separate effect of moderating attitudes towards immigration. In addition, we find evidence of denominational effects among African Americans in that members …

Social Economic Strategies In Recent Economics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper reviews three distinct strategies in recent economics for using the concept of social identity in the explanation of individual behavior: Akerlof and Kranton’s neoclassical approach, Sen’s commitment approach, and Kirman et al.’s complexity approach. The primary focus is the multiple selves problem and the difficulties associated with failing to explain social identity and personal identity together. The argument of the paper is that too narrow a scope for reflexivity in individual decisionmaking renders the problem intractable, but that enlarging this scope makes it possible to explain personal and social identity together in connection with an individual behavior …

Perspectives On Michael A. Bernstein's A Perilous Progress: Economists And Public Purpose In Twentieth-Century America, Esther-Mirjam Sent, Roger E. Backhouse, A.W. Bob Coats, John B. Davis, Harald Hagemann

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Gender On Salary-At-Hire In The Academic Labor Market, Peter Toumanoff

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper uses data compiled from faculty files at a private, doctoral-granting research university to investigate whether or not there are gender-related differences in salary offers at the time of initial appointment. The investigation uses single- and multiple-equation regression models that control for gender, date of hire, experience and degree attained, rank, characteristics of the position being filled, inflation, and academic department. The study finds an unexplained and statistically significant differential in salary-at-hire between men and women of from 2.9% to 8.4%, and it finds that the unexplained male–female differential in salary-at-hire has increased since 1990.

Learning Dynamics In Monetary Policy: The Robustness Of An Aggressive Price Stabilizing Policy, Miao Wang, M. C. Sunny Wong

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates the effect of an aggressive inflation stabilizing monetary policy on the ability of agents to reach a rational expectations equilibrium for inflation and output. Using an adaptive learning framework, we develop a model that combines a real wage contracting rigidity with an interest rate rule. We show that an AR(1) equilibrium requires more aggressive monetary policy to achieve both determinacy and learnability. This model and policy findings contrast with Bullard and Mitra’s [Determinacy, learnability and monetary policy inertia (2001); Journal of Monetary Economics 49 (2002) 1105] model (no inflation persistence) and policy findings (less aggressive policy). These …

The Market Attitudes Inventory: The Development And Testing Of Reliability And Validity, Noreen Lephardt, Charles Breeden

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

In this article we report the development of a 22-statement survey that measures attitudes towards the market system. We report on the testing of the Market Attitude Inventory (MAI) for reliability and validity. Mean scores on the instrument are reported for a random sample of Midwest high school social studies teachers. We conclude that the MAI is a valid and reliable instrument. The MAI has applications in research, educational outcome assessment, and teaching pedagogy for the measurement and evaluation of attitudes and values towards the workings of the market system in the US.

Information Diffusion In A Cobweb World, Miao Grace Wang, M. C. Sunny Wong

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Based on an assumption of one-way learning, Granato and Wong (2004) consider a framework with two groups of agents, Group L and Group H, where Group L is less "attentive" and uses the expectations of the more or highly "attentive" Group H to update their forecasts. The paper shows the "boomerang effect," which is defined as a situation where the inaccurate forecasts of a less attentive group confound a more attentive group's forecasts. This extended paper relaxes the one-way learning assumption and investigates the case that both groups are learning from each other, i.e., dual learning. Simulations suggest that a …

Neoclassicism, Artificial Intelligence, And The Marginalization Of Ethics, John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The paper examines the dependence of the positivist and welfarist preference satisfaction paradigm of neoclassical economics upon an implicit functionalist philosophy of mind. Functionalism is the doctrine that mental states are strictly materialistic and understandable in cause-effect terms. An important aspect of functionalism is the multiple realizability thesis, namely, that mental states can be realized in any type of hardware, whether human brain or computer.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach used involves investigating the fact-value distinction after Robbins in terms of the positivist meta-ethical view known as emotivism, and then explaining emotivism as inherently functionalist. Functionalist thinking itself is …

Value [Encyclopedia Entry], John B. Davis

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.