Economics Commons^™

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

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

The Forward Premium In A Model With Heterogeneous Prior Beliefs, Eric O'N. Fisher

Economics

This paper explores a model of bond prices where agents have diverse prior beliefs about domestic and foreign inflation. In the long run, the foreign exchange forward premium reflects expected differences in inflation, but in the short run, it depends upon the diversity of prior beliefs. If some people have diffuse priors about a country's inflation process, then its currency commands a forward premium that is eventually dissipated. Using data on the dollar–mark premium from the 1980s, it shows that this kind of diversity really matters. Thus models with a single representative agent give an inadequate description of the data.

Can New Orleans Play Its Way Past Katrina? The Role Of Professional Sports In The Redevelopment Of New Orleans, Victor Matheson, Robert Baade

Economics Department Working Papers

Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans in late August 2005, and debates are now underway across the country concerning strategies for reconstructing the City. A key to redevelopment involves encouraging former citizens and businesses to return. Both of New Orleans’s professional sports teams, the National Football League Saints and the National Basketball Association Hornets, have taken up residence in other cities, and the question of what the city should provide in the way of financial accommodation to encourage them to return should be considered in devising a reconstruction plan. Infrastructure to facilitate professional sports and mega-events constitutes a …

Measuring The Degree Of Central Bank Independence In Egypt, Noha Aboubakr Farrag

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The past few years have witnessed a trend of increased delegation of authority to central banks. Increasing central bank independence is a recommended strategy for governments to establish a credible commitment to price stability as the final objective of the monetary authority, even at the cost of other objectives that may be more appealing to the political authorities. Existing literature on measuring central bank independence focuses on developed countries where quantifying the independence of central banks is easier, since quantifying the legal charter is sufficient to reflect the degree of central bank independence. However, in developing countries this task is …

Nuclear Weapons And National Prestige, Robert J. Shiller

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Leaders and historians see prestige as important, but international relations theorists have neglected the concept, in part for lack of a clear definition. It is proposed that a party “holds prestige” when group members generally believe that the party has a certain desirable quality, and this situation gives the party perceived power in the group. The definition gains support from a survey of international affairs writings on the sources of prestige. Prestige is strategically important when a party wants support from others who would rather join the side that more of the others are joining. Some general ways of acquiring …

Lexicographic Composition Of Simple Games, Bezalel Peleg

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A two-house legislature can often be modelled as a proper simple game whose outcome depends on whether a coalition wins, blocks or loses in two smaller proper simple games. It is shown that there are exactly five ways to combine the smaller games into a larger one. This paper focuses on one of the rules, lexicographic composition , where a coalition wins in G 1 => G 2 when it either wins in G 1 , or blocks in G 1 and wins in G 2 . It is the most decisive of the five. A lexicographically decomposable game is …

School Tax Credits, 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.

The Urban Unbanked In Mexico And The United States, John P. Caskey, C. Ruíz Durán, T. M. Solo

Economics Faculty Works

This paper examines the ways in which lower-income households obtain basic financial services in urban communities in Mexico and the United States. And it discusses the efforts that private sector and government organizations are making to lower the cost or improve the quality of those services. The paper summarizes available information on these issues and assesses the rationale and challenges facing the strategies that both countries are using to improve the financial services available to lower-income households, giving particular attention to "unbanked" households, meaning households that do not have deposit accounts with any regulated deposit-taking institution, and also to lower-income …

Political Economy Of Foreign Policy Change: Understanding The Change In The Mozambican Foreign Policy During The 80s, Sergio Mateus Gomes

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to understand the process of foreign policy change that occurred m Mozambique during the mid 80s. Most of the few studies of foreign policy devoted to developing countries have based their explanation of developing countries foreign policy on static analysis and the primacy of the psychological approach. However, the case of Mozambique suggests us that decision for foreign policy change was conditioned by a combination of domestic and external factors. In fact, although the leader was insulated vis-a-vis the society, the external and domestic environments made him to take decisions that were contrary to his basic views …

An Exploration Of Structural, Cultural And Institutional Factors Behind The Japanese Recession, 1990-2000, Yasmin Ahmed Mowafy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyses the causes behind the Japanese economic downturn which started in the 1990s and investigates the failure of both fiscal and monetary policy to remedy the recession. The author asserts that the Japanese economy was due for recession when two factors occurred to precipitate it, the asset price bubble and the banking crisis. However, a recession would have occurred even if these events had not transpired, because of a number of structural factors. The recession was then prolonged by the existence of the "liquidity trap". The inevitability of the recession stems from the fact that the Japanese economy …

Economics Of Technological Innovation With Application To The Egyptian Food Processing Industry, Safwan M Noaman

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to study and analyze the economics of technological innovation in relation to market and industry analysis as applied to the Egyptian food processing industry. The research is motivated by the importance and impact of technological innovation on economic and industry processes, particularly pertaining to feasibility of technological adoption and subsequent diffusion of innovative technologies. The Egyptian Food Processing Industry is analyzed fully using descriptive microeconomic methodology and by utilizing an industry wise supply chain analysis. The main analytical elements include Stein's competitive advantage, Stoneman's rate of technology diffusion, and sensitivity analysis. The industry requires …

Regional Economic Indicators: Human Capital And Workforce, Iryna Lendel

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The report is prepared by the Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs as a part of the regional indicators project under the Presidential Initiative Program. The study examines human capital and labor force in 36 regions across the country: 32 metropolitan areas of comparable size to the Cleveland metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and three smaller MSAs in Northeast Ohio — Akron,1 Canton, and Youngstown.

Nonstandard Forms And Measures Of Employment And Unemployment In Transition: A Comparative Study Of Estonia, Romania, And Russia, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Vladimir Gimpelson, Rostislav Kapeliushnikov, Hartmut Lehmann, Álmos Telegdy, Irina Vantu, Ruxandra Visan, Alexandru Voicu

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper looks behind the standard, publicly available labor force statistics relied upon in most studies of transition economy labor markets. We analyze microdata on detailed labor force survey responses in Russia, Romania, and Estonia to measure nonstandard, boundary forms and alternative definitions of employment and unemployment. Our calculations show that measured rates are quite sensitive to definition, particularly in the treatment of household production (subsistence agriculture), unpaid family helpers, and discouraged workers, while the categories of part-time work and other forms of marginal attachment are still relatively unimportant. We find that tweaking the official definitions in apparently minor ways …

Wages, Layoffs, And Privatization: Evidence From Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Volodymyr Vakhitov

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper estimates the effects of privatization on worker separations and wages using retrospective data from a national probability sample of Ukrainian households. Detailed worker characteristics are used to control for compositional differences and to assess types of observable "winners" and "losers" from privatization. Preprivatization worker-firm matches are used to control for unobservables in worker and firm selection. The results imply that privatization reduces wages by 5 percent and cuts the layoff probability in half. Outside investor ownership reduces separations but leaves wages unaffected. Winners from privatization tend to be higher-skilled employees of larger firms, but there is no discernible …

The Micro-Foundations Of Intertemporal Price Discrimination, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper investigates the optimality of intertemporal price discrimination for a durable-good monopoly in a model where infinitely-lived households face an intertemporal budget constraint, and consume both durable goods and non-durable goods. We prove that the optimal price of the durable good is not constant, and may decrease or increase over time. Some households may choose to purchase the durable good at a later date, and pay lower or higher prices, since the gain in discounted utility of consuming more of the non-durable good more than compensates for the loss in utility from delaying the consumption of the durable good. …

The Dark Side Of Multilateralism: An Assessment Of The Position Of The Developing World In The International Trading System, Marwa H. El-Saghir

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Technological Improvement In The Ict Producing Sector On Business Activity, Hian Teck Hoon, Edmund S. Phelps

Research Collection School Of Economics

It seems to be taken for granted by many commentators that the sharp decline in prices of computers, telecommunications equipment and software resulting from the technological improvements in the information and communications technology (ICT)-producing sector is good for jobs and is a major driving force behind the non-inflationary employment miracle and booming stock market in the latter half of the nineties in the U.S. and their recurrence since 2004. We show that, in our model, a technical improvement in the ICT-producing sector by itself cannot explain a simultaneous increase in employment and a rise in firms’ valuation (or Tobin’s Q …

How Well Can We Target Resources With Quick-And-Dirty Data?: Empirical Results From Cambodia, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

Proverty reduction is a top priority for international organizations, governments and non-gorvernmental organizations. The aid resources available for poverty reduction are, however, severely constrained in many countries. Minimizing the leakage of aid resources to the non-poor is a key to maximize poverty reduction with the limited amount of resources available. One Way to minimize such leakage to to target resources geographically. That is, policmakers can move resources to the poorest parts of the country. Geographic taregting can quite effective when poverty is unevenly distributed across the country, and this proves to be the case in many countries.

Central Asia: Mapping Future Prospects, Malcolm Dowling, Ganeshan Wignaraja

Research Collection School Of Economics

Central Asia has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing regions since the late 1990s and has shown notable development potential. This is significant for a region comprising largely of small landlocked economies with no access to the sea for trade. Among the advantages, of the region are its high- priced commodities (oil, gas, cotton and gold), reasonable infrastructure and human capital as legacies of Soviet rule; and a strategic location between Asia and Europe. Furthermore, many Central Asian Republics (CARs) have embarked on market-oriented economic reforms to boost economic performance and private sector competitiveness. Central Asia: Mapping Future …

Competition Policy In Indonesia, Malcolm Dowling

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Indonesian economy was dominated by the government in the decades of the 1970s and 1980s through its control of major mining, manufacturing and agricultural activities. Hill (2000) estimates that as much as 40% of non-agricultural GDP was accounted for by government entities in the late 1980s There were still a lot of government corporations up until the late 1980s and early 1990s and governmental control over the banking system was still substantial.

Homeostasis And Well Being, Malcolm Dowling, Chin Fang Yap

Research Collection School Of Economics

The paper suggests that maintenance of a homeostatic equilibrium provides a rationale for many actions of economic agents. Homeostatic equilibrium has physical, economic, emotional, psychological and environmental dimensions. The characteristics of this equilibrium include feelings of safety, trust, connectedness with friends, family and community, and a predictable and welcoming social and work environment. Individuals generally make decisions that help them move toward and achieve this state of equilibrium. Departure from homeostasis reduces well being and stimulates agents to take actions that will return them to a state of homeostasis. This hypothesis is tested with probit analysis using sample responses from …

A Semi-Parametric Estimator For Censored Selection Models With Endogeneity, Myoung-Jae Lee, Francis Vella

Research Collection School Of Economics

We propose a semi-parametric least-squares estimator for a censored-selection (type 3 tobit) model under the mean independence of the outcome equation error u from the regressors given the selection indicator and its error term ɛ. This assumption is relatively weak in comparison to alternative estimators for this model and allows certain unknown forms of heteroskedasticity, an asymmetric error distribution, and an arbitrary relationship between the u and ɛ. The estimator requires only one-dimensional smoothing on the estimate of ɛ. We generalize the estimator to allow for an endogenous regressor whose equation contains an error w related to u and discuss …

Strategy Meets Evolution: Games Suppliers And Producers Play, Brishti Guha

Research Collection School Of Economics

Final goods producers, who may be intrinsically honest (a behavioral type) or opportunistic (strategic), play a repeated game of imperfect information with suppliers of an input of variable (and non-verifiable) quality. Returns to cheating are increasing in the proportion of intrinsically honest producers. If producers compete for another scarce input, adverse selection reduces this proportion enough to enforce universal honesty, whether at a high or a low quality equilibrium. This mechanism limits the proportion of behavioral types in the population of producers over a wide range of parameters: despite their inability to compete with opportunists, they are not wholly wiped …

Central Asia's Transition After Fifteen Years: Growth And Policy Choices, Malcolm Dowling, Ganeshan Vignaraja

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper presents a coherent and systematic analysis of the collapse and subsequent revival of the Central Asian Republics (CARs) since 1990. The focus is on the pattern of growth and structural change during the cycle of decline and subsequent revival in the CARs which have been inadequately analyzed in the literature on transition. The paper relates economic performance to initial conditions, country characteristics and policies. Within this framework, it proposes a simple typology of policies (including a new Type III set of policies on regional cooperation and industrial competitiveness) and relates them to the cycle of decline and revival …

Functional Sunspot Equilibria, Shurojit Chatterji, Subir Chattopadhyay

Research Collection School Of Economics

Consider a one step forward looking model where agents believe that the equilibrium values of the state variable are determined by a function whose domain is the current value of the state variable and whose range is the value for the subsequent period. An agent's forecast for the subsequent period uses the belief, where the function that is chosen is allowed to depend on the current realization of an extrinsic random process, and is made with knowledge of the past values of the state variable but not the current value. The paper provides (and characterizes) the conditions for the existence …

More Efficient Estimation In Nonparametric Regression With Nonparametric Autocorrelated Errors, Liangjun Su, Aman Ullah

Research Collection School Of Economics

We define a three-step procedure for more efficient estimation of the nonparametric regression mean with nonparametric autocorrelated errors. The procedure is based upon a nonparametric prewhitening transformation of the dependent variable that has to be estimated from the data by a local polynomial technique. We establish the asymptotic distribution of our estimator under weak dependence conditions and show that it is more efficient than the conventional local polynomial estimator. Furthermore, we consider criterion functions based on the linear exponential family, which include the local polynomial least squares criterion as a special case. Simulation evidence suggests that significant gains can be …

A Simple Test For Multivariate Conditional Symmetry, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper proposes a simple consistent nonparametric test of multivariate conditional symmetry based on the principle of characteristic functions. The test statistic is shown to be asymptotically normal under the null and consistent against any conditional asymmetric distributions.

New Mexico Labor Market Review 01-31-2006, 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 December 2005.

Implementation Of Sarbanes-Oxley: New Rules For Lawyers And What Lawyers Think, Olga Yevglevskaya-Wayne

ExpressO

This paper discusses practical implications of Sarbanes-Oxley for lawyers. Emphasis is on the new federal rules of professional responsibility the Act sets up. The paper includes the views of various renowned practitioners interpreting and using these rules. The paper also contains suggestions for how the Securities and Exchange Commission could potentially improve those areas that are proving problematic for attorneys so as to better effectuate the purpose of this major new law, in light of its legislative history and intent, which are also discussed in the paper.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 81, No. 25 [27], Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles in this issue:

• Brandenburg, Katie. Proposal Suggests $45 Fee
• Green, Tavia. Students Recover from Loss of Home – WKU Swim Team
• Richardson, Kelly. Owensboro May Get Full Western Campus
• Caudle, Leah. Greeks Must Commit to Be in Village
• Coulter, Amber. University of Kentucky May Receive More Funding
• Coulter, Amber. Network Proposal Would Link State Schools – Kentucky Education Network
• Super Signing – David Elson
• McNamara, Andrew. Chain Letters Clog Up Facebook
• Lilly, Malcolm. Intelligent Design is Most Likely
• Paul, Corey. Explorers to Showcase Training – WKU Police
• Bosken, …