Economics Commons^™

Household Reaction To Changes In Housing Wealth, Robert J. Shiller

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

It is widely claimed that housing wealth, as well as stock prices, have an impact on consumption and hence on aggregate economic activity. This paper presents a broad overview of the issues that arise in evaluating this claim in the context of recent research in behavioral economics. Particular attention is paid to a model of the response of consumption to wealth components produced by Christopher Carroll [2004].

Radical Financial Innovation, Robert J. Shiller

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Radical financial innovation is the development of new institutions and methods that permit risk management to be extended far beyond its former realm, covering important new classes of risks. This paper compares past such innovation with potential future innovation, looking at the process that produced past success and the possibilities for future financial innovation.

Democracy, Political Stability, And Developing Country Growth: Theory And Evidence, Ranmali Abeyasinghe '04

Honors Projects

This research project examines the hypothesis that democracy and political stability have significant effects on economic growth in developing countries. Previous empirical studies find rather ambiguous results when testing for the relationship between democracy and growth. This paper extends these past studies by focusing on the effects of democracy and political stability in developing countries. It also attempts to differentiate the effects of political stability and democracy on economic growth. The results suggest that democracy has a negative effect on economic growth. However the results also suggest that political stability regardless of the level of democracy has the greatest effect …

Racial Discrimination In Major League Baseball: Can It Exist When Productivity Is Crystal Clear?, Will Irwin '04

Honors Projects

Minority workers in many industries have dealt with wage and hiring discrimination. In Major League Baseball, it is typically assumed that fair hiring practices are used and that fair wages are offered due to the intense negotiation process involved with each player contract. However, past research shows that both wage and hiring discrimination has been present during some recent time periods. With most industries, racial discrimination is difficult to measure due to the implicit bias in the productivity variables. However, in baseball, productivity can be easily measured with offensive and defensive performance statistics, which are determined completely independent of race. …

The Resource Curse Revisited, Alexis Manning '04

Honors Projects

This research project examines the phenomenon of the resource curse-the inverse relationship between natural resource abundance and economic growth seen in developing countries since 1965. A large body of empirical research detects a negative statistical relationship between natural resource abundance and slow economic growth in developing countries during the latter part of the twentieth century. The resource curse argues that natural resources interact with various social, political, and economic factors, and the modification of these factors results in slower economic growth. This paper aims to investigate the validity of the resource curse. In contrast with many previous studies, the results …

April 2004, Syracuse Department Of Economics

Economics - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

On Power And Equity: Toward A Working-Class Rhetoric, Omar Schwartz

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

The working-class in the United States has been, and continues to be, systematically excluded from normative political representation and is allowed little opportunity to contribute to the terms and conditions of its social existence (Henwood, 1987; Moberg, 1992). While few workers today resist such marginalization, this has not been always the case. During the formative period of U.S. labor consciousness (from the end of the Civil War until the First World War), the political alienation of labor was routinely challenged by workers who relied extensively (and illegally) on collective self-help in their pursuit of economic justice. With this …

Wright State University Regional Economic Report, Spring 2004, Thomas L. Traynor

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lingnan Commentary - April 2004 (No. 9), Hong Kong Institute Of Business Studies, Lingnan University

The Lingnan Commentary 嶺南評論 : A Quarterly Review of Economic, Business and Social Issues by Lingnan University

No abstract provided.

Abortion Policy And Fertility Outcomes: The Eastern European Experience, Phillip B. Levine, Douglas Staiger

Dartmouth Scholarship

Theory suggests that abortion restrictions will influence fertility outcomes such as pregnancy, abortion, and birth. This paper exploits the variations in abortion policy generated in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s to examine their impact on fertility outcomes. We distinguish among countries with severe, moderate, and few restrictions on abortion access and examine the impact of changes across all three categories. As we hypothesize, the results indicate that countries that changed from very restrictive to liberal abortion laws experienced a large reduction in births. Changes from modest restrictions to abortion available on request, however, led to no …

Globalization, Adjustment, And Compensation, Carl Davidson, Steven J. Matusz

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Sample Selection In Models Of Academic Performance, Matthew Cushing, Mary Mcgarvey

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

This article shows how admission and enrollment processes affect the interpretation of simple validation studies of academic performance. In a competitive market for students, optimal behavior of admissions committees and applicants drives the simple correlation between test scores and performance toward zero, regardless of the relationship in the population of prospective students. Data from our university’s MBA program support the prediction that applicants exhibit a higher correlation between test scores and undergraduate GPAs than do current students. This suggests that standard validation studies will understate the importance of GMAT scores in predicting performance of potential MBA students.

Three Essays On Real Estate Investment Trusts, Yan Lin

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation includes three essays that study on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The first essay examines the shape of market demand curve by employing REIT equity fund flows as a proxy for REIT aggregate demand. An empirical framework is introduced to disentangle the price-pressure effect and the information effect. We do not find evidence for the price-pressure effect, which states that REIT equity fund flows directly affect REIT market prices. Instead, we find that the performance of REIT market prices does influence REIT equity fund flows. The results indicate that investors adjust their demand for REITs by investigating and …

Un Tren Que Pasa: La Lucha De La Faa Por Alcanzar La Representación En El Mercosur, Heather John

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In response to the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) process of regional economic integration which began in 1991, in 1994 national organizations of family farmers from the member countries formed a transnational coalition entitled La Coordinadora de Organizaciones Agricultores Familiares del MERCOSUR (COPROFAM) to represent themselves at the regional level. This study examines the reasons why the Federación Agraria Argentina (FAA), the largest member from Argentina and a longstanding Argentine institution, chose to represent itself as part of a transnational coalition at this regional level. Furthermore, it attempts to answer what the obstacles and successes of COPROFAM have been …

Thinking About The Future Of Small Metropolitan Areas, George A. Erickcek, Hannah J. Mckinney

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Team Payroll And Team Performance In The National Hockey League, Brandi Glasnapp

Major Themes in Economics

The National Hockey League (NHL) is in serious financial trouble. More than half of the 30 teams lost money during the 2002-03 season. Player salaries have increased dramatically over the last decade and payroll costs account for the majority of total operating costs. This paper analyzes how team payroll affects team performance. Linear Regression analysis is used to determine the effect of payroll on performance. A Granger Causality test is performed using payroll and performance data from the 1998-99 to 2003-04 seasons. No conclusive evidence is found that supports the common belief that payroll can be used to predict a …

Ending An Internet Auction: Is Ebay's Approach Optimal?, Andrew Behrens

Major Themes in Economics

Internet auctions can be ended in different ways. EBay auctions, for example, end at a predetermined time while Amazon auctions do not. The auctions at Amazon are extended by ten minutes if a bid is submitted within the last ten minutes of an auction. EBay’s hard closing rule induces bidding strategies that can produce inefficient results. Nevertheless, a hard close ending rule is more efficient than the automatic extension rule used by Amazon. EBay’s hard closing rule can be modified to resemble a Vickrey second-price auction. The modifications would make auctions on eBay more efficient.

A Look At The Inefficiencies Of The U.S. Tort System And Reforms To Correct Them, Ryan Koopmans

Major Themes in Economics

The two goals of tort law are to compensate victims and to deter unsafe behavior. This paper judges whether changes are needed in the current system by looking at how well it meets these goals. The current system is inefficient and ineffective. Three reforms are analyzed and suggested: contingency-fee reform, the elimination of punitive damages for corporations and large business, and the creation of a no-fault system of compensation for the worst areas of tort law. By enacting these reforms billions of dollars could be saved, while leaving the goals of tort law intact.

Protecting The Steel Industry For All The Wrong Reasons, Justin Berry

Major Themes in Economics

In the summer of 2002 President Bush made good on his campaign promise to steel workers. He enacted tariffs of up to 30% on 10 types of steel imports, claiming the U.S. steel industry was suffering from unfair trade practices by foreign firms. Were the integrated steel firms really harmed by foreign competition, or were there other reasons for the decline in the steel industry? Did President Bush have other motives when he placed tariffs on steel imports?

R & D Exchange In A Duopoly With Strong Patent Protection, Nicholas Sly

Major Themes in Economics

One reason firms engage in research and development is to lower production costs. Strong patent protection provides an additional incentive because firms may earn royalties from licensing their discoveries. This paper models the decision to engage in process research and development in a duopoly. A three stage game is posited and the equilibrium quantity and price of knowledge is calculated under various assumptions.

What Has Luck Got To Do With Economic Development? An Interpretation Of Resurgent Asia's Growth Experience, Hing-Man Leung, Swee Liang Tan, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper critically reexamines the belief, currently gathering strength in the literature, that economic development depends on good luck rather than on good policy, and that Prometheus is unchained by chance. While it is impossible to disprove the role of luck in growth, we argue that luck is endogenous, and good luck is a function of good policy. Luck favours those who strive. Again contrary to common belief, we show that resurgent Asian economies have endured more, not less, than their fair share of economic volatility. They learned their lessons by success and failures, and luck is endogenous through learning-by-investing.

Social Trust And Economic Governance, Fali Huang

Research Collection School Of Economics

The paper investigates the dynamic relationship between social trust and economic governance using a principal-agent model with stochastic returns. To mitigate the inherent moral hazard problem both intrinsic and extrinsic incentives are useful. The cooperative tendency of an agent measures his intrinsic discipline against shirking, the distribution of which characterizes social trust in society. The economic governance methods include direct monitoring and efficiency wage. The main results are the following. An agent with a higher cooperative tendency needs less monitoring and a lower wage to make effort, which brings higher profit for the principal. But competition among principals for more …

On Leverage In A Stochastic Volatility Model, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper is concerned with specification for modelling financial leverage effect in the context of stochastic volatility (SV) models. Two alternative specifications co-exist in the literature. One is the Euler approximation to the well known continuous time SV model with leverage effect and the other is the discrete time SV model of Jacquier, Polson and Rossi (2004, Journal of Econometrics, forthcoming). Using a Gaussian nonlinear state space form with uncorrelated measurement and transition errors, I show that it is easy to interpret the leverage effect in the conventional model whereas it is not clear how to obtain the leverage effect …

A Semi-Parametric Two-Component Compound Mixture Model And Its Application To Estimating Malaria Attributable Fractions, Jing Qin, Denis H. Y. Leung

Research Collection School Of Economics

Malaria remains a major epidemiologic problem in many developing countries. Malaria is defined as the presence of parasites and symptoms (usually fever) due to the parasites. In endemic areas, an individual may have symptoms attributable either to malaria or to other causes. From a clinical viewpoint, it is important to correctly diagnose an individual who has developed symptoms so that the appropriate treatments can be given. From an epidemiologic and economic viewpoint, it is important to determine the proportion of malaria-affected cases in individuals who have symptoms so that policies on intervention program can be developed. Once symptoms have developed …

New Mexico Labor Market Review 03-31-2004, New Mexico Department Of Labor

Historic Publications

The New Mexico Labor Market Review is a monthly publication presenting statistical data and analysis on labor market conditions throughout New Mexico. Issues examine statewide and regional trends in employment, unemployment, labor force estimates, industry activity, wages, occupational demand, and related economic conditions, often accompanied by feature articles on topics affecting the state’s economy. This issue covers February 2004.

The Poor State Of Health Care Quality In The U.S.: Is Malpractice Liability Part Of The Problem Or Part Of The Solution?, Charles Silver

ExpressO

The belief that malpractice lawsuits impede efforts to improve health care quality by encouraging providers to hide mistakes is the conventional wisdom among patient safety advocates and scholars. It also provides the normative basis for efforts currently proceeding at the state and federal levels to curtail medical malpractice exposure. Groups pressing for tort reform, including the American Medical Association, contend that when doctors and other providers are insulated from liability, patients will be better protected from harm.

This article canvasses the evidence bearing on the connection between malpractice exposure and health care quality. Some of this evidence, such as the …

Predatory Systems Rivalry And Predatory Aftermarket Conduct, Richard S. Markovits

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

How Do The Social Benefits And Costs Of The Patent System Stack Up In Pharmaceuticals?, Daniel J. Gifford

ExpressO

This paper explores the workings of the patent system in the context of the generation of new pharmaceutical products. First it identifies the relevant characteristics of the patent system and its relation to the market. The paper concedes that, in general, the patent system is probably the best way of generating new technology, in substantial part because that system uses the market to provide both incentives and rewards. The paper also identifies downsides of this patent/market system: deadweight loss and the unresponsiveness of that patent/market system to the needs of the poor. The paper then explores the social costs and …

The Importance Of Corporate Models, Benedict C. Sheehy

ExpressO

This article argues that the debate concerning the nature of the corporation is not finished and nor a mere intellectual exercise for interested legal academics. The current model of the corporation as an economic entity—the firm—has a number of imbedded value assumptions. Given the common territory between corporate law and economics, some scholars have come to identify the two as equal partners striving for the same ends. This is a serious error which has had and continues to have significant negative consequences for both the economic situation of the majority and justice in society. These value assumptions are being seriously …

Insights From Economics, Jennifer Gerarda Brown

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.