Economics Commons^™

The Development Of Informal Sector Small And Medium Scale Enterprises Through Formation Of Cluster And Networking: A Case Study Based On Sri Lanka And Pakistan, S.W.S.B. Dasanayaka

Business Review

In recent years Pakistan has faced a rapidly growing services sector which has lead some observers to believe that there is a transfer of resources occurring in Pakistan from the tradable to the non-tradable sector, hence causing the Dutch Disease in the economy. However no precise response has been offered on this subject. This paper seeks to provide empirical evidence on the question of the existence of Dutch Disease in Pakistan by using Linda Kamas's model on Dutch Disease. The percentage change in the growth of the tradable and the non-tradable sectors in Pakistan is calculated by using data from …

Land Conservation And Land Use In New England: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, Amanda Loomis, Tom Devine, Andrea Small, Brittany Howard, Brett Richardson, Stephanie Dulac

Land Conservation

Sprawling development patterns accelerated across the New England landscape in the last three decades and consumed the region‘s forests, farms, and open spaces at an unprecedented rate. New England‘ers in all six states formed land trusts, supported statewide conservation organizations, and collaborated with state and federal partners to protect some of their most-prized recreation lands, wildlife habitats, and working lands. The current economic recession has slowed development pressures across the region and offers an opportunity to build on recent successes. The time is right to plan a coordinated New England conservation strategy that protects and links the region‘s natural assets. …

South Dakota Agricultural Land Values And Cash Rental Rates: 2009, Larry Janssen, Burton Pflueger

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Housing Affordability In Lexington, Kentucky, Christopher Jepsen, Kenneth R. Troske, Nola Ogunro

CBER Research Report

Excerpt from the executive summary:

The rapid rise in housing prices that occurred between 1990 and 2006 led many communities, including Lexington, Kentucky, to become concerned about whether individuals who hold “typical” jobs—such as teachers and police officers—could continue to live in the communities where they worked. Unfortunately, given the lack of recent detailed studies examining the affordability of housing in Fayette County (which contains Lexington), it is hard to know whether concerns about affordable housing are justified. In response to this lack of information, the Home Builders Association of Lexington and the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors (LBAR) requested that …

Gender And Environmental Strategies In India, Sirisha C. Naidu

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Setting And Adjusting Performance Goal Targets, Gloria Salas-Kos, Randall W. Eberts

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Opportunities For Comparative Research In Public Health Pbrns : A Baseline Analysis Of Local Practice Settings, Glen P. Mays, Sharla A. Smith, Elaine B. Wootten, Sylvia J. Porchia

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This analysis describes the organizational and operational characteristics of local public health agencies participating in an initial cohort of five (5) public health PBRNs in the U.S. We examine variation in practice settings within and between PBRNs; compare practice settings to state and national norms; and identify opportunities for comparative research that can be conducted through PBRNs.

Market, Capitalism And Hong Kong’S Future : The Relevance Of Karl Polanyi And Fernand Braudel, Po Keung Hui

Conference on “Improving the Human Destiny"

This paper draws on the insights of Karl Polanyi and Fernand Braudel on “capitalism” and “market” to analyze the experience and discourse of the economic development in Hong Kong, the role-model of “free market capitalism”, with a specific focus on the last two decades -- the so-called “neo-liberal” era. The first part of the paper re-reads Polanyi and Braudel in the midst of the current financial crisis and economic depression, aiming at teasing out a theoretical perspective for a better understanding of our past and current economy. The second part argues that, as evidenced in the persistence of anti-competition practices …

The Future Of Democratic Capitalism : A Human Capital Perspective, Isaac Ehrlich

Conference on “Improving the Human Destiny"

Schumpeter’s diagnosis of capitalism seems to be fully validated by the financial crisis and severe recession, except that he was wrong on his main prediction – that capitalism’s flaws would cause it to lose its vitality. The reality is that Democratic Capitalism has flourished despite episodes of depression, war, prohibition, and intrusive interventionist policies. It is therefore a mistake to engage in a critical assessment of capitalism while world economies are still close to the ebb of the business cycle. Free markets cannot abolish the business cycle in the same way that free trade and free capital flows cannot abolish …

Job Satisfaction And The Labor Market Institutions In Urban China, John S. Heywood, W. Stanley Siebert, Xiangdong Wei

Conference on “Improving the Human Destiny"

The determinants of worker job satisfaction are estimated using a representative survey of three major cities in China. Legally segregated migrants, floaters, earn significantly less than otherwise equivalent non-migrants but routinely report greater job satisfaction, a finding not previously reported. We confirm a positive role for membership in the communist party but find that it exists only for non-migrants suggesting a club good aspect to membership. In contrast to earlier studies, many controls mirror those found in western democracies including the "paradox of the contented female worker.

Happiness And Development : The Effect Of Mental Well-Being On Economic Growth, Ben Li, Yi Lu

Conference on “Improving the Human Destiny"

This paper examines the impact of overall happiness of citizens on economic growth across countries. We first document a robust positive correlation between overall happiness level and economic growth across countries, and then exploit the variation in sex imbalance, a factor that impedes normal mating and thus causes unhappiness, to instrument happiness and identify its causal impact on economic growth. Our results show that happiness has a positive causal effect on economic growth. Other things being equal, a one-standard-deviation increase in happiness raises growth rate by approximately two percentage points. In addition, we find that life expectancy and investment ratio …

Externalities In The Classroom: How Children Exposed To Domestic Violence Affect Everyone’S Kids, Scott E. Carrell, Mark L. Hoekstra

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

There is widespread perception that externalities from troubled children are significant, though measuring them is difficult due to data and methodological limitations. We estimate the negative spillovers caused by children from troubled families by exploiting a unique data set in which children’s school records are matched to domestic violence cases. We find that children from troubled families significantly decrease their peers’ reading and math test scores and increase misbehavior in the classroom. The achievement spillovers are robust to within-family differences and when controlling for school-by-year effects, providing strong evidence that neither selection nor common shocks are driving the results.

Does Sorting Make A Difference In The Sat’S Prediction Of Course Grades And Cumulative Gpa At Macalester College?, Yuen Ting Liu

Economics Honors Projects

This paper estimates the predictive power of the SAT for college success. Most studies use GPA as a proxy for college success, but GPA is subject to differing grading standards across instructors and departments. Using individual course grades of Macalester College students from 1996 to 2005, this paper uses fixed effects to control for students sorting themselves into particular departments and courses. After controlling for sorting by major, a general trend emerges: the Math SAT is more predictive for science and math-related social science majors while the Verbal SAT is more predictive for language majors. After controlling for sorting by …

Warren County, Kentucky - New Deal Programs, 1934-1935 (Mss 253), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 253. Documents related to New Deal relief programs in Warren County, Kentucky and surrounding counties; correspondence of Ida Leighton Hodges, Bowling Green, Area Administrator of the Kentucky Emergency Relief Administration.

Why Economic Performance Has Differed Between Brazil And China? A Comparative Analysis Of Brazilian And Chinese Macroeconomic Policy, Fernando Ferrari-Filho, Anthony Petros Spanakos

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This paper addresses a specific question: why has China grown so rapidly and Brazil not? To answer this question, it (i) establishes the basis for comparison between China and Brazil by contextualizing these countries within the BRICs concept, and (ii) presents a comparative analysis of Brazilian and Chinese reforms focusing only on the issue of macroeconomic policy, especially the monetary and exchange rate regimes, and its effect on growth.

The Effects Of Portfolio Size On International Equity Home Bias Puzzle, Jinlan Ni

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper investigates a new explanation for the international equity home bias puzzle based on an endogenous asymmetric information model. Using a cross-sectional mutual fund data set, it is found that the degrees of home bias across fund managers are negatively correlated to the asset sizes under their management. This result is consistent with the theoretical prediction in the endogenous asymmetric information model—the portfolio managers with the larger assets tend to acquire more information regarding foreign equity and, hence, hold more foreign equity holdings.

Displacement-Related Earnings Losses: Evaluating Trade Adjustment Assistance And Wage Insurance, Roger White

Economics

The author examines the effectiveness of stylized versions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative TAA (or wage insurance) programs in reducing displacement-related earnings losses. Wage insurance subsidies and returns to TAAfunded training are applied to estimates of proportional earnings losses, reported by White, that were generated using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data spanning the period from 1979 to 2000. Wage insurance reduces the typical worker’s losses by 14.4 percent, while TAA-funded training is estimated to reduce losses by 23.7 percent. However, variation in the time paths and magnitudes of losses produces considerable variation in the effects …

South Burlington, Vt: Mixed-Use Comes To O’Dell Parkway, Ryan Neale, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

The proposed redevelopment of an underutilized property along major travel routes in South Burlington presents possibilities for infill development. The City of South Burlington, the developer, neighbors, and a variety of public and nonprofit financial partners work together to create a mixed-use residential/commercial development to meet a variety of housing and community needs. The case study describes the obstacles overcome to make redevelopment possible through zoning and regulatory changes, negotiation with local residents over traffic and other concerns, support from state and local housing advocates, and political leadership; as well as the development’s application of smart growth principles.

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index — June 2009, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Crop Bioengineering: Enormous Potential For Catalyzing International Development, Peter Gregory, Stanley P. Kowalski

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] Bioengineering provides unique and dramatic opportunities for crop improvement. It can be used to develop crop varieties that would otherwise be unavailable and can facilitate much faster and more precise ways of developing improved varieties. It can help to increase yields and reliability and thus reduce food costs for the consumer while helping to control input costs for farmers through reduced applications of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer.

The extent to which this will be achieved depends on how effectively the global scientific community – including both the public and private sectors – can cooperate in harnessing the power of …

Professional And Trade Associations In A Nascent And Formative Sector Of A Developing Economy: A Case Study Of The Nasscom Effect On The Indian Offshoring Industry, Nir Kshetri, Nikhilesh Dholakia

College of Business Faculty Publications

As important sources that shape institutional structures in an economy, professional and trade associations play significant roles in bringing and legitimating institutional changes. This paper examines the roles of professional and trade associations' impacts on institutions associated with a nascent and formative sector of a developing economy. In empirical terms, the paper offers an in-depth case study of India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on institutional changes related to the offshoring industry. The NASSCOM case shows that under appropriate conditions, professional and trade associations represent an alternative to the state in shaping the industry landscape.

South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer

Planning

The 220 acre master plan for South Village, the largest project in the City of South Burlington’s history, encompasses multiple housing types and innovative provisions for affordable housing. It integrates housing with open space and natural resource conservation, including a major Community Supported Agriculture project developed by a nonprofit partner, the Intervale Foundation. While not a mixed-use project (that is, commercial as well as residential development), South Village nonetheless represents a qualitative change in approach for South Burlington by incorporating large-scale open space preservation as part of development and multiple housing-types in one project. The case study recounts events leading …

Commentary, Dean D. Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

It is a pleasure to discuss Richard Anderson and Charles Gascon’s (2009) article on their attempt to develop a state-space model to measure potential output growth in the face of data revisions. They use the methodology of Cunningham et al. (2007) applied to real output, to see if they can develop a better measure of potential output than other researchers. Such an approach seems promising, and they develop a unique method to study the data.

A Critique Of Neoclassical Theory Of Health Care Consumption, Xiao Jiang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to display an internal critique of the neoclassical theory of health care consumption with the intention of understanding its true merits and limitations. To avoid arbitrariness, instead of criticizing it directly, this thesis first explores the existing scholarly critiques, as well as the developments of this theory in response to these criticisms. What is interestingly observed is that the neoclassical responses tend to systematically fall into two problematic categories – the trade-off between reality and theoretical determinacy, and free-market behavior resolution. Such observation suggests that there is something fundamentally problematic with this theory, which …

Infinite Density At The Median And The Typical Shape Of Stock Return Distributions, Chirok Han, Jin Seo Cho, Peter C.B. Phillips

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Statistics are developed to test for the presence of an asymptotic discontinuity (or infinite density or peakedness) in a probability density at the median. The approach makes use of work by Knight (1998) on L 1 estimation asymptotics in conjunction with non-parametric kernel density estimation methods. The size and power of the tests are assessed, and conditions under which the tests have good performance are explored in simulations. The new methods are applied to stock returns of leading companies across major U.S. industry groups. The results confirm the presence of infinite density at the median as a new significant empirical …

Lad Asymptotics Under Conditional Heteroskedasticity With Possibly Infinite Error Densities, Jin Seo Cho, Chirok Han, Peter C.B. Phillips

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Least absolute deviations (LAD) estimation of linear time-series models is considered under conditional heteroskedasticity and serial correlation. The limit theory of the LAD estimator is obtained without assuming the finite density condition for the errors that is required in standard LAD asymptotics. The results are particularly useful in application of LAD estimation to financial time series data.

Measurement Of Income With Time Use With Applications To Hedonic Indicators Of Happiness And Misery, William D. Nordhaus

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

The present paper examines several issues involved in expanding national economic accounts and quantitative social indicators to include the “consumption” of time. The first part examines this question in the context of the standard national economic accounts. It derives equilibrium conditions for consumer behavior with market and non-market consumption along with intrinsic values of time in different activities. Using a standard index-number approach, it shows that the growth of real income can be approximated by a weighted average of productivity growth rates in market and non-market productivity and that the valuation of hours drops out of the formula. The second …

Analyzing Macroeconomic Forecastability, Ray C. Fair

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper estimates, using stochastic simulation and a multicountry macroeconometric model, the fraction of the forecast-error variance of output changes and the fraction of the forecast-error variance of inflation that are due to unpredictable asset-price changes. The results suggest that between about 25 and 37 percent of the forecast-error variance of output growth over 8 quarters is due to asset-price changes and between about 33 and 60 percent of the forecast-error variance of inflation over 8 quarters is due to asset-price changes. These estimates provide limits to the accuracy that can be expected from macroeconomic forecasting.

Monitoring With Collective Memory: Forgiveness For Optimally Empty Promises, David A. Miller, Kareen Rozen

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study optimal contracting in a team setting with moral hazard, where teammates promise to complete socially efficient but costly tasks. Teammates must monitor each other to provide incentives, but each team member has limited capacity to allocate between monitoring and productive tasks. Players incur contractual punishments for unfulfilled promises that are discovered. We show that optimal contracts are generally “forgiving” and players optimally make “empty promises” that they don’t necessarily intend to fulfill. As uncertainty in task completion increases, players optimally make more empty promises but fewer total promises. A principal who hires a team of agents optimally implements …

Explosive Behavior In The 1990s Nasdaq: When Did Exuberance Escalate Asset Values?, Peter C.B. Phillips, Yangru Wu, Jun Yu

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A recursive test procedure is suggested that provides a mechanism for testing explosive behavior, date-stamping the origination and collapse of economic exuberance, and providing valid confidence intervals for explosive growth rates. The method involves the recursive implementation of a right-side unit root test and a sup test, both of which are easy to use in practical applications, and some new limit theory for mildly explosive processes. The test procedure is shown to have discriminatory power in detecting periodically collapsing bubbles, thereby overcoming a weakness in earlier applications of unit root tests for economic bubbles. An empirical application to Nasdaq stock …