Economics Commons^™

An Argument For The Nationalization Of Railroad Rights-Of-Way, John T. Flint

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Transportation is a crucial element in any economy. With such a large portion of the United States' economy centered around transportation, an efficient system of moving goods would be in the nation's best interest.

Competitive markets are the most effective mechanism for allocating resources efficiently. An efficient transportation system, therefore, would be one where competition among carriers is the norm. 1

Enormous infrastructure costs prohibit new railroads from entering the market, and prevent existing railroads from competing with trucks for freight transportation revenues. This paper focuses on the lack of competition in the railroad industry and attempts to demonstrate why …

Family Structure And Institutionalization: Results From Merged Data, James Mcnally, Douglas Wolf

Center for Policy Research

Research on the patterns and behavioral consequences of kin networks among the older population is limited due to the shortcomings of most available survey data. Often, household surveys obtain little information on the number and characteristics of nonresident kin. Moreover, surveys are often confined to the noninstitutionalized population. One possible solution is to merge information from multiple sources, in order to achieve the requisite coverage of populations and data content. This paper reports on the development of a hybrid data base containing observations from the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) and the 1989 National Long-Term Care Survey …

Further Aspects Of Optimal Unemployment Insurance, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury

Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

How Retirement Saving Programs Increase Saving, James M. Poterba, Steven F. Venti, David A. Wise

Dartmouth Scholarship

This paper summarizes the authors work on the effect of IRA and 401(k) contributions on net personal saving. They consider many different nonparametric approaches to controlling for heterogeneity in individual saving behavior and conclude that the weight of the available evidence suggests that contributions to both IRAs and 401(k)s largely represent new saving. The authors devote particular attention to reconciling their results with the findings in other studies that reach different conclusions, sometimes using the same databases that the authors analyze. Methodological limitations that undermine the reliability of results in other studies explain many of these disparities.

Closing The Growth And Equity Policy Divide: Rethinking The Role Of The Federal Government When Promoting Economic Development In Distressed Urban Communities, Edwin Melendez

Gastón Institute Publications

The objectives of this policy briefing memorandum are two-fold: first, to review the historical record concerning economic growth policies, particularly those overseen by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), and the experience with block grants for urban economic development; and, second, to discuss new roles the federal government might play in promoting the convergence of these two broad policy areas.

Slavery, Adam Smith’S Economic Vision And The Invisible Hand, Spencer J. Pack

Economics Faculty Publications

Smith was against slavery on moral and economic grounds. The "invisible hand" in societies which allow slavery, operates in such a way that increases in the wealth of the rich, leads to increased misery for the poor free citizens as well as for the slaves themselves. It seems that the beneficial workings of the "invisible hand" are dependent upon commercial societies which arc not based upon the institution of slavery.

Defining Federal And State Roles In Unemployment Insurance: A Report To The President And Congress, U.S. Advisory Council On Unemployment Compensation

External Papers and Reports

No abstract provided.

Review Of Monetary Economics By N. Gregory Mankiw, Abdur Chowdhury

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Uelectric (Foss Cap Utiliz Index), Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (1987, March). Velectric (Foss cap utiliz index) [Folder cover with handwritten notes]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (1987, February 23). U1mh, ue2: Further research [Handwritten notes]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (1987, February). Uelec2, frbcu, new McGH cu: Alternate measures of cap utiliz (File: invest1.wk1; file: invest1.wk1; graph for invest1.wk1) [Graph]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (1987, February). Ratios u1mh/ue2 and u1mh/ufrb: Alternate measures of cap utiliz (File: invest1.wk1; ratiosu) [Graph]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (1987, March 1). U1mh vs. MH operating rate: Alternate measures of cap utiliz (File: invest1.wk1; mhurates) [Graph]. Unpublished …

Corporate Governance And Economic Efficiency: When Do Institutions Matter?, Ronald J. Gilson

Faculty Scholarship

Until the 1980s, corporate governance was largely the province of lawyers. It was a world of specific rules – more or less precise statutory requirements governing shareholder meetings, the election of directors, notice requirements and the like – that were essentially unrelated to what corporations actually do. From this perspective, the corporation's productive activity was simply a black box onto which standard governance structures were superimposed with little effect on what took place within. Corporate law was "trivial" or, as Bayless Manning so evocatively portrayed it, simply "great empty corporation statutes – towering skyscrapers of rusted girders internally welded together …

Economic Interdependence Along A Colonial Frontier: Capitalism And The New River Valley, 1745-1789, B. Scott Crawford

History Theses & Dissertations

Historians have generally placed the beginning of capitalism in the United States in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. This assumes that the industrialization of the New England states fostered in a modern economic environment for the country as a whole. However, evidence of modern economic principles existed on the Virginia frontier as early as the mid-eighteenth century. As frontier settlers aspired to emulate eastern society, they not only sought to recreate a lifestyle similar to the one they left behind, but also set up similar governing practices, which in turn created social stratification similar to that which existed in the …

A Framework For Assessing The Economic Benefits And Costs Of Workplace Literacy Training, Kevin Hollenbeck

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Many individuals are grappling with the issue of whether to provide workers with training that upgrades the workers' basic academic skills. The corollary questions that flow from this issue are how to provide the training, how much training should be provided, and who should pay for the training. Workers are interested in this issue because they want to sustain productive, well-paying careers that will support adequate standards of living. Not receiving training may jeopardize their careers and earning power. Employers are interested in this issue because their economic role is to maximize corporate profits for stockholders. In most companies, worker …

Tourism Growth In Singapore: An Optimal Target, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.

Temporary Equililibrium Dynamics With Learning: The Stability Of Random Walk Beliefs, Shurojit Chatterji

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper examines the stability of deterministic steady-states with a one dimensional state-variable and a smooth, recursive updating rule. It is shown that the only possibly stable steady states are those associated with random walk beliefs, provided there is motion on a center manifold, which is the case when a key parameter is non-zero; In the extant literature, there is no motion on the center manifold (the parameter is zero), a consequence of the specific assumption that the expected value of the state variable next period determines its current value. The stability properties are seen to be robust with respect …