Economics Commons^™

Women’S Access To Credit In Sub-Saharan Africa: Sudan, Michael Kevane, Endre Stiansen

Economics

Women in Sudan have been largely excluded from formal financial institutions of the Anglo-Egyptian and independent Sudan, even as they have demonstrated the ability and desire to profit from financial transactions. The exclusion is not based on legal criteria, but rather on informal practices that control institutions of the formal sector. However, women –particularly in urban areas of northern Sudan – have access to informal financial institutions, and in recent years there have been some attempts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to offer financial services, especially loans at discounts, to women

South Dakota Agricultural Land Values And Cash Rental Rates: 2006, Burton Pflueger, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

The Regulation Of Intercountry Adoption, Mary E. Hansen, Daniel Pollack

ExpressO

As of January 2006, the United States was the only major receiver of children through intercountry adoption that had not implemented the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The U.S. signed the Hague Convention in 1994, but did not pass implementing legislation until 2000. Regulations pursuant to the legislation were proposed in 2003, but final regulations did not go into effect until March 2006. The slow pace was partly the result of Congressional wrangling over designation of a regulator and partly the result of a prolonged conversation between the designated regulator and the adoption community over specific regulations.

Finalization of …

The Chameleon Effect: Beyond The Bonding Hypothesis For Cross-Listed Securities, Cally Jordan

ExpressO

This paper is based on a presentation made at the New York Stock Exchange Conference on the Future of Global Equity Trading, March 12, 2004, Sarasota, FL.

Looking back, was it a momentary enthusiasm? The dramatic increase in cross-listed securities, particularly in the United States, was one of the remarkable phenomena of the 1990s capital markets. The bonding, or corporate governance, hypothesis was one of the more intriguing theories to surface to explain the phenomenon. Cross-listing, the hypothesis suggested, might be a bonding mechanism by which firms, incorporated in a jurisdiction with “weak protection” of minority shareholder rights or poor …

Desulfovibrio Desulfuricans G20 Tetraheme Cytochrome Structure At 1.5 A˚ And Cytochrome Interaction With Metal Complexes, Mrunalini Pattarkine, J J. Tanner, C A. Bottoms, Y H. Lee, Judy D. Wall

Faculty Works

The structure of the type I tetraheme cytochrome c3 from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans G20 was determined to 1.5 A˚ by X-ray crystallography. In addition to the oxidized form, the structure of the molybdate-bound form of the protein was determined from oxidized crystals soaked in sodium molybdate. Only small structural shifts were obtained with metal binding, consistent with the remarkable structural stability of this protein. In vitro experiments with pure cytochrome showed that molybdate could oxidize the reduced cytochrome, although not as rapidly as U(VI) present as uranyl acetate. Alterations in the overall conformation and thermostability of the metal-oxidized protein were investigated …

The Economics Of Education: A Case Study Of Wachusett Regional High School, Carly E. Holbrook

Economics Honors Papers

[Introduction]Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle said, “the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.” (Peter 1977: 173). This study will attempt to determine some of the important factors about the economics of high school education in the United States. Schools exist to serve children, their parents, and society at large, and these three groups do not always have identical interests. Therefore, education has many goals besides the obvious one of increased cognitive ability, and the best methods for achieving the desired effects have not been agreed upon. Economists label the process by which education creates these outcomes …

On Fairness And Efficiency, Riz Mokal

ExpressO

What is the relationship between fairness, efficiency, accountability, and expertise? What role, if any at all, do these values play in answering the question whether a part of the law is legitimate? This paper provides an answer by introducing a distinction between the substantive and the procedural goals of any part of the legal system. Substantive goals are the ultimate ends of some part of the law, some values or objectives whose pursuit by that part of the law shows why it is desirable to have that law in the first place. Procedural goals are concerned with the methods the …

Economic Analysis Of Law And Economics, Oren Gazal-Ayal

ExpressO

The academic world is wonderful. Like few other professionals, we can choose what we want to do and what questions we think are important, which in our line of work means choosing what topics we want to research. But what influences our choices? This paper examines what drives scholars to select Law and Economics (L&E) as a topic for research. It does so by implementing the methodology of many L&E papers – by assuming that regulation and incentives matter.

Legal scholars face very different academic incentives in different parts of the world. In some countries, the academic standards for appointment, …

Berrien County 2005 To 2015 Economic Forecast: Final Report, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

Zoning And Eminent Domain Under The New Minimum Scrutiny, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

Recently the Supreme Court has made it clearer that minimum scrutiny is a factual analysis. Whether in any government action there is a rational relation to a legitimate interest is a matter of determining whether there is a policy maintaining important facts. This has come about in the Court’s emerging emphasis on developing fact-based criteria for determining government purpose. Thus, those who want to affect zoning and eminent domain outcomes should look to what the Court sees as important facts, and whether government action is maintaining those facts with its proposed land use or eminent domain action.

Managing Risk On A $25 Million Bet: Venture Capital, Agency Costs, And The False Dichotomy Of The Corporation, Robert P. Bartlett Iii

ExpressO

An implicit dichotomy of the corporation exists in legal scholarship. On one side of the dichotomy rests the publicly-held corporation suffering from a significant conflict of interest between its managers and dispersed shareholders; on the other side, the closely-held corporation plagued by inter-shareholder conflict.

This Article argues that understanding the agency problems that can exist within a firm demands a rejection of this traditional dichotomy and the theories of the firm built upon it. Using venture capital finance, this Article demonstrates for the first time how this dichotomy obscures how all firms - public and private - often face the …

The Economic Development Benefits Of Universal Preschool Education Compared To Traditional Economic Development Programs, Timothy J. Bartik

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Offer Arbitration In The New Era Of Major League Baseball, Spencer B. Gordon

ExpressO

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic, athletic, and social impact of final offer salary arbitration in Major League Baseball (“MLB”). The article delves into the motivations, fluctuations, and evolution of the player-owner relationship and free agency. The commentary then focuses on the distinguishing features and intricacies of final offer arbitration. Although salary arbitration in the context of Major League Baseball is a topic oft discussed in the law review setting, the analysis rarely reaches the level exhibited in this article. Moreover, most articles on the subject were written between 1996 and 2000 when the 1994 players’ strike …

Spring Cattle Market Review, Matthew Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Finding New Constitutional Rights Through The Supreme Court’S Evolving “Government Purpose” Test Under Minimum Scrutiny, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

By now we all are familiar with the litany of cases which refused to find elevated scrutiny for so-called “affirmative” or “social” rights such as education, welfare or housing: Lindsey v. Normet, San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez, Dandridge v. Williams, DeShaney v. Winnebago County. There didn’t seem to be anything in minimum scrutiny which could protect such facts as education or housing, from government action. However, unobtrusively and over the years, the Supreme Court has clarified and articulated one aspect of minimum scrutiny which holds promise for vindicating facts. You will recall that under minimum scrutiny government’s action is …

Using Capture Theory And Chronology In Eminent Domain Proceedings, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

Capture theory--in which private purpose is substituted for government purpose--sheds light on a technique which is coming into greater use post-Kelo v. New London. That case affirmed that eminent domain use need only be rationally related to a legitimate government purpose. Capture theory focuses litigators' attention on "government purpose." That is a question of fact for the trier of fact. This article shows how to use civil discovery in order to show the Court that private purpose has been substituted for government purpose. If it has, the eminent domain use fails, because the use does not meet minimum scrutiny. This …

A Common Tragedy: Condemnation And The Anticommons, Robert L. Scharff

ExpressO

Abstract: Economic development of land may be suboptimal where multiple parties have the legal right to exclude use of the property in question. Michael Heller labeled this phenomenon the ‘anticommons.’ It has been argued that condemnation of private property for economic development is a potentially efficiency-enhancing solution to the anticommons problem. Until recently, this argument was largely academic. However, with the recent Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London, condemnation for economic development is now a valid policy choice. In this paper, I argue that the economic models used to justify condemnation are fundamentally flawed and that …

Projecting The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville Shale Play For 2005-2008, Jeffery T. Collins, Katherine A. Deck

Publications and Presentations

This study projects the general economic impact from exploration and development activities related to the Fayetteville Shale. The Fayetteville Shale is an unconventional gas reservoir located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin, ranging in thickness from 50 to 325 feet and ranging in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. The Fayetteville Shale is aerially extensive and may be present across numerous counties in central and eastern Arkansas, including the counties of Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Independence, Johnson, St. Francis, Prairie, Van Buren, White, and Woodruff.

Assessing The Economic Impact Of The Fayetteville, Arkansas Smoking Ban, Jeffery T. Collins

Publications and Presentations

This report is the third in a series of studies examining the impact of the implementation of the smoke-free ordinance in Fayetteville, Arkansas in March of 2004. The ban on smoking in public places in Fayetteville provides an opportunity to scientifically investigate the economic impact of this change in public policy. By comparing pre-ban historical economic growth rates to post-ban growth rates both within the city of Fayetteville and in comparable communities, some measure of the impact can be developed. Variables of interest include hotel, motel, and restaurant (HMR) taxes, employment, and sales taxes. The changes in these variables need …

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- May 2006, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Be The Change You Wish To See: National Attiudes And Climate Change Policy, Emilia Tjernstrom

Senior Scholar Papers

A multitude of views characterize what should or should not be done about climate change, and in the past decades, nations have acted very differently in the face of climate change. This study explores factors that affect individuals' attitudes and concerns towards the environment and how those attitudes ultimately affect climate change policy. One model investigates the link between individual attitudes and countries' actions on climate change, and the results show that attitudes indeed matter in the implementation of policy. Different measures of democracy such as freedom of the press also prove to be important as channels for these attitudes. …

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (Ceds) For The Rio Grande Council Of Governments (Rgcog), Dennis L. Soden, America Tirado, Janet S. Conary, Miguel Chavez

IPED Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Just Around The Corner: The Paradox Of The Jobless Recovery. Stanley Aronowitz.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Stanley Aronowitz, Just Around the Corner: The Paradox of the Jobless Recovery. Philadelphia. PA: Temple University Press, 2005. $49.50 hardcover, $16.95 papercover.

Final Project Report: Plan For A Model Pims, Christopher J. O'Leary, Lillian Vesic-Petrovic

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

Development of the performance information and management systems (PIMS) to monitor labor market outcomes of program participants, and guide program management of active labor market programs (ALMPs).

Robust Implementation In Direct Mechanisms, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A social choice function is robustly implementable if there is a mechanism under which the process of iteratively eliminating strictly dominated messages leads to outcomes that agree with the social choice function for all beliefs at every type profile. In an interdependent value environment with single crossing preferences, we identify a contraction property on the preferences which together with strict ex post incentive compatibility is sufficient to guarantee robust implementation in the direct mechanism. Strict ex post incentive compatibility and the contraction property are also necessary for robust implementation in any mechanism, including indirect ones. The contraction property requires that …

Optimal Electoral Timing: Exercise Wisely And You May Live Longer, Jussi Keppo, Lones Smith, Dmitry Davydov

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

In many democratic countries, the timing of elections is flexible. We explore this potentially valuable option using insights from option pricing in finance. The paper offers three main contributions on this problem. First, we derive a rationally-based mean-reverting political support process for the parties, assuming that politically heterogeneous voters continuously learn over time about evolving party fortunes. We solve for the long-run density for this process and derive the polling process from it by adding polling noise. Second, we explore optimal timing using the political support process. The incumbent sees its poll support, and must call an election within five …

Robust Implementation: The Case Of Direct Mechanisms, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A social choice function is robustly implementable if there is a mechanism under which the process of iteratively eliminating strictly dominated messages leads to outcomes that agree with the social choice at every type profile. In an interdependent value environment with single crossing preferences, we identify a strict contraction property on the preferences which together with strict ex post incentive compatibility is sufficient to guarantee robust implementation in the direct mechanism. Strict EPIC and the contraction property are also necessary for robust implementation in any mechanism. The contraction property essentially requires that the interdependence is not too large. In a …

Do Children's Hospitals Have Lower Mortality Rates? Evidence From The 2003 Kids' Inpatient Database, Christiane Labonte

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Objective: To compare mortality rates at children’s hospitals and non-children’s hospitals.

Data Source: I used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2003. Thirty-six states participated in the HCUP in 2003, which included 3,438 hospitals, and 2,984,129 pediatric discharges.

Study Design: I hypothesized that mortality rates at children’s hospitals would be lower than mortality rates at non-children’s hospital because children’s hospitals have more specialized inputs, from the clinical training of sub-specialists and nurses to advanced machines and diagnostic tools, and may use these inputs more productively. To …

Education Finance Reform And Property Tax Relief, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

It’s Elementary is a series of essays on topics in education and education policy. The main focus is on education finance in New York State, but general research findings in education and education policy issues in several other states are also discussed. John Yinger, Professor of Economics and Public Administration at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is the author of most of these essays, although a few are written by or co-authored with other scholars.

County Characteristics And Poverty Spell Length, Andrew Grodner, John A. Bishop, Thomas J. Kniesner

Center for Policy Research

*In this paper we ask, how do individual and community factors influence the average length of poverty spells? We measure local economic conditions by the county unemployment rate and neighborhood spillover effects by the racial makeup and poverty rate of the county. We find that moving an individual from one standard deviation below the mean poverty rate to one standard deviation above the mean poverty rate (from the inner city to the suburbs) lowers the average poverty spell by 20 to 25 percent. This effect is equal in magnitude to the effect of changing the household head from female to …