Economics Commons^™

Quality Of Care In Appalachian Nursing Homes: Doing More With Less?, Mary W. Carter, Shuhui Wang

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Despite comprising nearly 10% of the nation’s nursing home population, little is known about the quality of care provided by nursing homes located in rural Appalachia. However, anecdotal evidences suggests that the economic disadvantages associated with the Appalachian region may lead to higher concentrations of certain structural and organizational attributes previously shown to affect nursing home quality. In response, this study sought to examine empirically whether nursing homes located in Appalachia differ in the number of deficiency citations received in comparison with nursing homes located elsewhere, and to explore the extent to which factors other than quality of care determine …

County-Level Determinants Of Local Public Services In Appalachia: A Multivariate Spatial Autoregressive Model Approach, Gebremeskel H. Gebremariam, Tesfa Gebremedhin, Peter V. Schaeffer

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A multivariate spatial autoregressive model of local public expenditure determination with autoregressive disturbance is developed and estimated in this paper. The empirical model is developed on the principles of utility maximization of a strictly quasi concave community utility function. The existence of spatial interdependence is tested using Moran’s I statistic and Lagrange Multiplier test statistics for both the spatial error and spatial lag models. The full model is estimated by efficient GMM following Kelejian and Prucha’s (1998) approach using county-level data from 418 Appalachian counties. The results indicate the existence of significant spillover effects among local governments with respect to …

A Dynamic Cge Analysis Of Exhaustible Resources: The Case Of An Oil Exporting Developing Country, Hodjat Ghadimi

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

An extensive literature concerned with optimal depletion of an exhaustible resource, with only a few exceptions, ignores the economy-wide and sectoral distribution effects of resource depletion. This paper presents a dynamic computable general equilibrium model to link the underlying natural resource base to economic performance. The model consists of an intra-temporal price endogenous model of a market economy, embedded in an inter-temporal optimal growth and development model. It is an optimization model that determines the optimal development path of the economy, hence, the inter-temporal depletion problem subject to workings of a multi-sector market economy. This general equilibrium approach captures the …

Identifying Spatial Clusters Within U.S. Organic Agriculture, Cheryl Brown, Daniel Eades

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

The market for organically produced products has experienced rapid growth in recent decades; however, this growth has not been distributed evenly across the country instead concentrating in certain regions. Employing measures of spatial concentration and association we identify those counties in which organic production is clustered or represents a proportion of the agricultural economy greater than what would be expected by national trends. Results show that spatial clustering of organic agriculture does exist based on data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture on organic farms, acreage, and value of sales. Counties with the largest location quotients for organic production were …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic And Environmental Factors On Health And Obesity In Rural Appalachia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Hyungna Oh

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used in estimation. Results indicate that an individual’s risk of being obese increases at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Marginal impacts show that as the level of education attainment increases, the probability of being obese decreases by 3%. Physical inactivity …

The Impact Of County Level Factors On Obesity In West Virginia, Anura Amarasinghe, Cheryl Brown, Gerard D'Souza, Tatiana Borisova

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A panel estimation of county prevalence of obesity indicates that while the percentage of the population with a completed college degree and the number of food stores available per thousand population are negatively and significantly correlated to county obesity rates, mean commuting time, average annual wage and the total number of business establishments per thousand population positively and significantly contribute to obesity. Educational attainment that raises both human and social capital, as well as changes in the built environment can play a vital role in controlling obesity in West Virginia (WV).

A Spatial Analysis Of Obesity In West Virginia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Tatiana Borisova

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A spatial panel data analysis at the county level examines how individual food consumption, recreational, and lifestyle choices ― against a backdrop of changing demographic, built environment, and policy factors ― leads to obesity. Results suggest that obesity tends to be spatially autocorrelated; in addition to hereditary factors and lifestyle choices, it is also caused by sprawl and lack of land use planning. Policy measures which stimulate educational attainment, poverty alleviation, and promotion of better land use planning and best consumption practices (BCPs) could both reduce obesity and result in sustainable development of regions where obesity is prevalent and the …

Dynamical Volatilities For Yen-Dollar Exchange Rates, Kyungsik Kim, Seong-Min Yoon, C. Christopher Lee, Myung-Kul Yum

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

We study the continuous time random walk theory from financial tick data of the yen-dollar exchange rate transacted at the Japanese financial market. The dynamical behavior of returns and volatilities in this case is particularly treated at the long-time limit. We find that the volatility for prices shows a power-law with anomalous scaling exponent κ = 0.96 (one minute) and 0.86 (ten minutes), and that our behavior occurs in the subdiffusive process. Our result presented will be compared with that of recent numerical calculations.

Tap And Reposition Youth (Try): Providing Social Support, Savings, And Microcredit Opportunities For Young Women In Areas With High Hiv Prevalence, Annabel Erulkar, Judith Bruce, Aleke Dondo, Jennefer Sebstad, James K. Matheka, Arjmand Banu Khan, Anne Gathuku

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY) was a multiphase initiative undertaken by the Population Council and K-Rep Development Agency (KDA), the oldest and largest microfinance institution in Kenya. The overall aim of the project was to reduce adolescents’ vulnerabilities to adverse social and reproductive health outcomes, including HIV infection, by improving their livelihoods options. The project was launched in low-income and slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya, where rates of HIV infection are alarming and where young women are disproportionately affected.

Benefits For All: The Economic Impact Of The New Jersey Child Care Industry • Infant/Toddler, Preschool And Out-Of-School Time Programs, Brentt Brown, Saskia Traill Ph.D., Caroline Purnell Tompkins, The New Jersey Child Care Economic Impact Council, The John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy Of Thomas Edison State College

Center for the Positive Development of Urban Children

The child care industry includes infant/toddler care and education, preschool and out-of-school time care and education programs in for-profit, nonprofit and public settings that educate and nurture children’s development and enable their parents to work and update their skills. This report examines the economic impact of New Jersey’s child care industry and presents a complete picture of its gross receipts, number of employees and how the industry provides benefits for all. The child care industry is integral to family and economic life of New Jersey residents:

1. Child care and education programs with quality learning environments support New Jersey’s future …

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Building Core Competencies In A Turbulent Environment: An Exploratory Study Of Firm Resources And Capabilities In Chinese Transitional Economy, Justin Tan, Shaomin Li, Weian Li

Management Faculty Publications

The impact of firm resources and capabilities on performance among Chinese enterprises has been subject of anecdotal speculation due to its significant implications for organizational researchers as well as practitioners. Yet empirical evidence has been very limited. In this research, set in the People's Republic of China, we examine firm resources and capabilities and their impact on firm performance among Chinese enterprises. Using large sample of 12,047 Chinese firms from 1991 to 1992, we found that most of the firm specific resources and capabilities examined in this study have a positive impact on performance. We discussed the implications for organizational …

How Promotions Effect Consumer Purchases, Justin D. White

Theses and Dissertations

Rational choice theory provides a blueprint for predicting individual behavior under the assumption that objectives and decisions are rationally identified and executed. Under certain conditions, actions reveal preferences and the ability to observe these preferences allows for the possibility to study the effects of subtle changes in individual constraints such as price and wealth affect preferences. For instance, recent work by Eckel and Grossman (2003), Davis, Millner and Reilly (2003), and Davis and Millner (2004) observe a preference for matching promotions over coupon rebates even when the two promotions types are strictly equivalent. An important question remaining is whether this …

Stop Star Ii!, 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.

Pinning Down The Value Of Statistical Life, Thomas J. Kniesner, W. Kip Viscusi, Christopher Woock, James P. Ziliak

Center for Policy Research

Our research addresses fundamental long-standing concerns in the compensating wage differentials literature and its public policy implications: the econometric properties of estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) and the wide range of such estimates from about $0.5 million to about $21 million. We address most of the prominent econometric issues by applying panel data, a new and more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic selection of panel estimator in our research. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, individual heterogeneity, and state dependence yields both a reasonable average level and narrow range for the estimated value of a statistical life …

Estimating Heterogeneous Production In Fisheries, Kurt E. Schnier, Christopher M. Anderson, William Clinton Horrace

Center for Policy Research

Stochastic production frontier models are used extensively in the agricultural and resource economics literature to estimate production functions and technical efficiency, as well as to guide policy. Traditionally these models assume that each agent's production can be specified as a representative, homogeneous function. This paper proposes the synthesis of a latent class regression and an agricultural production frontier model to estimate technical efficiency while allowing for the possibility of production heterogeneity. We use this model to estimate a latent class production function and efficiency measures for vessels in the Northeast Atlantic herring fishery. Our results suggest that traditional measures of …

Identifying Technically Efficient Fishing Vessels: A Non-Empty, Minimal Subset Approach, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, William Clinton Horrace, Kurt E. Schnier

Center for Policy Research

There is a growing resource economics literature, concerning the estimation of the technical efficiency of fishing vessels utilizing the stochastic frontier model. In these models, vessel output is regressed on a linear function of vessel inputs and a random composed error. Using parametric assumptions on the regression residual, estimates of vessel technical efficiency are calculated as the mean of a truncated normal distribution and are often reported in a rank statistic as a measure of a captain's skill and used to estimate excess capacity within fisheries. We demonstrate analytically that these measures are potentially flawed, and extend the results of …

[Introduction To] Poverty And Progress In The U.S. South Since 1920, Suzanne W. Jones, Mark Newman

Bookshelf

Poverty, disease, and illiteracy had long bedeviled the U.S. South, even before the agricultural depression of the 1920s became subsumed within the Great Depression of the 1930s. The essays collected in this volume examine a variety of responses to economic depression and poverty. They recount specific battles for civil, educational, and labor rights, and explore the challenges and alternatives to the corporate South in the post World War II agribusiness era. Scholars from both the U.S. and Europe assess how far the South has come in the last century, what forces (from the Sears Roebuck Catalog to the Civil Rights …

[Introduction To] Meat Matters: Butchers, Politics, And Market Culture In Eighteenth-Century Paris, Sydney Watts

Bookshelf

In eighteenth century Paris, municipal authorities, guild officers, merchant butchers, stall workers, and tripe dealers pledged to provide a steady supply of healthful meat to urban elites and the working poor. Meat Matters considers the formation of the butcher guild and family firms, debates over royal policy and regulation, and the burgeoning role of consumerism and public health. The production and consumption of meat becomes a window on important aspects of eighteenth-century culture, society, and politics, on class relations, and on economic change. Watts's examination of eighteenth-century market culture reveals why meat mattered to Parisians, as onetime subjects became citizens. …

An Agent-Based Model Of Trade With Distance-Based Transaction Cost, Kumar Venkat, Wayne W. Wakeland

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes an application of agent-based modeling to investigate the effect of a distance-based transaction cost on trade. Long-distance trade is rapidly increasing, but may ultimately be constrained by our ability to move material goods between sellers and buyers. Unlike information exchange, trade in material goods is dependent on the price of oil and vulnerable to future scarcities of oil. In addition, there are growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions from long-distance transportation. Our purpose in this study is to take the first step in understanding the impact of a distance constraint on free global trade using a simple …

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor, 1st Quarter, 2006, Armstrong Atlantic State University Center For Regional Analysis

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor

The Coastal Empire Economic Indicators are designed to provide continuously updating quarterly snapshots of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index provides a short term forecast of the region’s economic activity in six to nine months.

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor, 2nd Quarter, 2006, Armstrong Atlantic State University Center For Regional Analysis

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor

The Coastal Empire Economic Indicators are designed to provide continuously updating quarterly snapshots of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index provides a short term forecast of the region’s economic activity in six to nine months.

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor, 3rd Quarter, 2006, Armstrong Atlantic State University Center For Regional Analysis

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor

The Coastal Empire Economic Indicators are designed to provide continuously updating quarterly snapshots of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index provides a short term forecast of the region’s economic activity in six to nine months.

Aggregate Capital Stock Measures, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Shaikh, A. (n.d.). Aggregate capital stock measures [Folder cover with handwritten notes]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Wasshausen, D., & Shaikh, A. (2007, January 3). Response and numerical example [Email correspondence]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (2006, November 26). The measurement of capital [Draft manuscript with handwritten edits]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (2006, December 23–24). Kstock accum rules numerical example [Excel spreadsheet printouts]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (2006, December 23). Aggregate rules in my general numerical example [Handwritten notes]. Unpublished manuscript.

• Shaikh, A. (2006, October 18). Numerical example of PIM bias [Handwritten notes]. Unpublished manuscript. …

Reply To Elizabeth Warren, F. Stephen Knippenberg

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fourth Annual Henry Lecture: Families Alone: The Changing Economics Of Rearing Children, Elizabeth Warren

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Ethical Foundations Of Economics: The Principles Course, Jonathan B. Wight

Economics Faculty Publications

When we analyze the source of humor, one ingredient is surely incongruity, the juxtaposition of opposites. So when Tom Lehrer, the consummate Harvard mathematician, openly calls for plagiarism, this is funny because it is exactly the opposite of what we expect - it is absurd. And yet, from the viewpoint of modern economics, is plagiarism really so absurd? We teach our students to maximize short-term profits (in a moral vacuum). We drill them that producers minimize private costs of production (without reference to ethical codes of conduct). We expect economic agents to operate with atomistic selfishness, assuring them that this …

Capital Stock Typed Text And Notes, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Capital Stock: Typed Texts and Notes, by A. Shaikh (n.d.). Unpublished manuscript.
• Price Index Examples, by A. Shaikh (2006, August 4). Unpublished manuscript.
• Traditional and Quality-Adjusted Price Indexes for Consumer Goods, by A. Shaikh (2006, August 5). Unpublished manuscript.
• Quality Adjustment for Capital Goods, Using Relative Profits, by A. Shaikh (2006, August 4). Unpublished manuscript.
• Aggregation and Adding Up, by A. Shaikh (2006, October 25). Unpublished manuscript.
• Nominal and Real Chain Aggregates, by A. Shaikh (2006, September 28). Unpublished manuscript.
• Chain Index Notes, by A. Shaikh (2000). Unpublished manuscript.
• Formulas …

Further Studies In Rio Grande Valley History, Milo Kearney, Anthony K. Knopp, Antonio Zavaleta

Studies in Rio Grande Valley Regional History Series

Salt: basis of wealth in South Texas / David J. Mycue -- The Zavaleta Family : a legacy of public service / Antonio N. Zavaleta and James E. Zavaleta with Theresa Zavaleta -- Carnaval y fiestas Mexicanas de Matamoros / Rosaura Alicia Davila -- A history of the development of Brazos Santiago Pass / Carl Chilton -- El Retraso español y su interés final por la colonización del Bajo Bravo / Arturo Zarate Ruiz - Fugitive slaves and free Blacks in South Texas / Alberto Rodriguez -- reporting from the Rio Grande : how the press saw the Brownsville area …

Effectiveness Of Fiscal Policy In The U.K. During The 1960-1990 Time Period, Peter J. Saunders

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This study investigates the impact of fiscal policy on the U.K. economy during the 1960 - 1990 time period. The empirical analysis is conducted within the Granger causality testing methodology. Initially the causal flows between fiscal expenditures, deficits and nominal GDP are examined. A hi-directional causal flow between expenditures and nominal GDP is established while deficits and nominal GDP are found to be statistically independent. However, the main contribution of this research lies in its emphasis on analyzing the impact of fiscal expenditures on real output and prices. The results of the trivariate analysis indicate the absence of causal flows …

An Optimum Currency Area In South Asia: Is It Plausible?, Nilanjan Banik, Basudeb Biswas, Peter J. Saunders

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This article is an empirical investigation of the potential feasibility of an optimum currency area (OCA) in South Asia. Under an OCA, member countries share a common currency (like the Euro), and forego autonomy with respect to monetary policy instruments. Countries are good candidates for forming an OCA if there is a long-run relationship in the trend (permanent) component of output. Our results indicate existence of such a long-run relationship in the trend component of gross domestic product (GDP) among the member countries in South Asia. Hence, the South Asia region has the potential to form an OCA.