Economics Commons^™

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 5, 2011

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Local Technological And Demographic Effects On Electricity Transmission: A Spatially Lagged Local Estimation Of New England Marginal Losses, Jacob P. Hochard

Gettysburg Economic Review

Electricity transmission is subject to distribution losses and congestion costs. Economists have prior theorized that these transmission imperfections could create divided markets with electricity generating spatial oligopolists. This concern has been largely dismissed because of recent technological advances in electricity transmission. The effects of local technological and demographic indicators on electricity transmission costs remains both commonly accepted as negligible and spatially untested. This analysis employs a spatially lagged local estimation of New England’s marginal electricity losses with respect to both technological and demographic indicators. The results of this analysis are consistent with the widely accepted notion that technological advances have …

Friedrich Von Hayek: The Socialist-Calculation Debate, Knowledge Arguments, And Modern Economic Development, Cara A. Elliott

Gettysburg Economic Review

At the close of the nineteenth and the commencement of the twentieth century, socialism began to gain momentum as a large-scale movement in Europe and the United States. This popularity was supported by an increased influence of the working class in society, which put pressure for representation upon European parliaments and began to secure concrete improvements in labor protection laws. Moreover, socialist proponents looked hopefully towards the living example of the Soviet Union, which began its socialist experiment in 1917 following the success of the Bolshevik Revolution. Socialism, which found its economic grounding in the legacies of such men as …

The Economic Value Of A Sustainable Supply Chain, Robert Mefford

Finance

The economic rationale to operate a global supply chain in a sustainable manner is developed. Arguments are made based on marketing, finance, and production theories that by engaging in socially responsible behavior the firm will increase sales, decrease costs, reduce financial risk, and increase profits which ultimately will increase returns to the firm’s shareholders. A model is developed of the mechanism by which modern production methods such as lean production and quality management result in sustainable corporate behavior which, in the long run, translates into higher stock valuations. The production effects cause marketing and financial risk effects that are complementary, …

Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Because disciplines and their cores and boundaries are subject to change, a periodic introspective assessment can be useful in evaluating the relevance of a changing discipline to the equally dynamic and pressing needs of society. Similar examinations of other disciplines, notably economics, have been conducted in part as a means of minimizing the risks of declining credibility, policy relevance, and societal benefit. With the Southern Regional Science Association celebrating recently its 50th meeting, and as regional science itself approaches its 60th year, this paper provides a reexamination of the core of regional science. We consider the theoretical and methodological underpinnings …

Knowns, Unknowns, And Impacts, Randall Jackson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the SRSA, Jackson sums up what we regional scientists do and do not know at this stage in the field’s development.

Mergers And Beliefs, Todd A. Brown, Thomas Zorn, Geoff Freissen

Faculty Publications

We study the combined effects of managerial optimism and market overvaluation on merger premiums and the chosen form of payment. Our empirical results are consistent with market overvaluation and the target manager‘s optimism as having the most influence on mergers. The observed form of payment corresponds to the acquiring manager‘s preferences, suggesting that the acquiring manager dictates the method of payment. Lastly, our model demonstrates why cash mergers are more likely to be hostile, and provides an explanation for why a combination of cash plus stock may be optimal.

Do Major League Baseball Hitters Come Up Big In Their Contract Year?, Heather M. O'Neill, Matthew J. Hummel

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

In sports, especially baseball, there is a lot of talk about contract year performance. Beginning in spring training and continuing throughout the season, sports journalists and fans converse about how players in the last year of their contract will perform. Experts in the media, often ex-baseball players themselves, speculate contract year players will have break-out seasons in order to secure a better contract in upcoming contract negotiations. This leads to the question: do baseball players increase their effort and performance during their contract year to increase the value of their next contract?

Winning The Future: Strategic Plan For The Development Of Tourism, Robertico R. Croes, Manuel A. Rivera, Abraham Pizam, Eric D. Olson, Seung Hyan Lee, Yun Ying Zhong

Dick Pope Sr. Institute Publications

Aruba has developed and positioned its tourism sector as one of the premier destinations in the Caribbean over the past twenty-five years. The push towards tourism development was primarily aimed to create jobs and to enhance the quality of life of its population. The results have been astounding: not only has the island successfully transformed from an industrial-based economy to a tourist- and service-based economy, but the island now boasts one of the highest living standards in the Caribbean. The prosperity on the island is broadly shared among Arubans. Tourism has become an engine of economic growth, totaling U.S.$2.3 billion …

The Value Of A Statistical Life: Evidence From Panel Data, Thomas J. Kniesner, W. Kip Viscusi, Christopher Woock, James P. Ziliak

Economics - All Scholarship

This article 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. Here we address most of the prominent econometric issues using panel data, a new and more accurate fatality risk measure, and systematic application of panel data estimators. Controlling for measurement error, endogeneity, latent individual heterogeneity that may be correlated with the regressors, state dependence, and sample composition yields estimates of the value of a statistical life in the range of about $6 million to …

Instrumental Variable Estimation Of A Spatial Autoregressive Panel Model With Random Effects, Badi Baltagi, Long Liu

Economics - All Scholarship

This paper extends the instrumental variable estimators of Kelejian and Prucha (1998) and Lee (2003) proposed for the cross-sectional spatial autoregressive model to the random effects spatial autoregressive panel data model. It also suggests an extension of the Baltagi (1981) error component 2SLS estimator to this spatial panel model.

Adam Smith's Essentials: On Trust, Faith, And Free Markets, Jerry M. Evensky

Economics - All Scholarship

When trust is shaken, individuals pull back and the market system contracts. Where trust grows, individual energy and creativity are unleashed and the system grows. In Adam Smith’s vision of humankind’s progress, trust is the central theme. The Great Recession represents a classic case of a crisis of trust. Looking back to the work of Smith offers insight into the role of citizens and the State in creating an fruitful market environment based on trust, and the challenge of this process, given the human frailty of individuals (unfortunately, we are not angels) and the potential for State power to be …

Essays On Foreign Direct Investment, Agglomeration And Productivity, Fariha Kamal

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the role of foreign direct investment and agglomeration economies in the process of industrial development, with a focus on the productivity of manufacturing firms. The first chapter analyzes the importance of the source of foreign direct investment on the performance of domestic Chinese firms. The second chapter studies the interaction between foreign and domestic manufacturing firms operating in the same industry and located within the same Chinese city. The third chapter examines the response of multinational companies to changes in domestic institutions. My findings highlight the importance of the source of foreign direct investment, proximity to economic …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation), New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Water

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Monetary And Fiscal Policies: Ordinary Recessions And Financial Crises, Svetoslav I. Semov

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper uses two different samples to study the effects of monetary and fiscal policies on the profiles of recessions and recoveries. Several results emerge from the econometric analysis presented. First, monetary policy during ordinary recessions and banking crises is a powerful tool with lasting effects that extend to recovery growth rates. However, the effect of monetary policy during financial crises is strongly diminished in the case of forbearance – banks left to function despite being technically insolvent. Second, the effectiveness of fiscal policy is reversed – it is a powerful tool during banking crises, but it does not seem …

"Does It Pay To Be Informed?" Expenditure Efficiency In The Us Mutual Fund Industry, Jan Cerny

Gettysburg Economic Review

The mutual fund industry would like us to believe that fund expenses are justifiable by their extensive management expertise, security analysis and the consequent delivery of returns that exceed the market performance. Management know-how is costly and thus it drives up the expenditure of actively managed mutual funds and potentially lowers their net returns. Nevertheless the fund managers argue that their contributions to the returns fully outweigh their costs and in general their trading strategies add value to the investors. On the other hand many academics hold that such claims are fundamentally misleading and actively managed funds cannot continuously outperform …

History Of Usury: The Transition Of Usury Through Ancient Greece, The Rise Of Christianity And Islam, And The Expansion Of Long-Distance Trade And Capitalism, Cheryl A. Olechnowicz

Gettysburg Economic Review

Society and its ideas, markets, and institutions are in the constant process of change. These transforming factors contribute to the evolution of economics. Usury is one prominent economic issue that demonstrates this evolution. As it has developed, usury, the lending of money at interest or excessive interest, has been debated for almost two millennia.

During the lifetime of Aristotle, 384-322 B.C., the lending of money for profit was believed to be unnatural and dishonorable. Aristotle and his beliefs of usury provided a foundation of ideas for future perspectives on the practice. This negative connotation associated with usury continued in history …

International Comparisons Of Bank Regulation, Liberalization, And Banking Crises, Puspa Amri, Apanard P. Angkinand, Clas Wihlborg

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: The recurrence of banking crises throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and in the more recent 2008-09 global financial crisis, has led to an expanding empirical literature on crisis explanation and prediction. This paper provides an analytical review of proxies for and important determinants of banking crises − credit growth, financial liberalization, bank regulation and supervision.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study surveys the banking crisis literature by comparing proxies for and measures of banking crises and policy-related variables in the literature. Advantages and disadvantages of different proxies are discussed.

Findings: Disagreements about determinants of banking crises are in part …

Gis-Based Estimation Of Housing Amenities: The Case Of High Grounds And Stagnant Streams, Shibashis Mukherjee, Arthur J. Caplan

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

We use GIS and econometric methods to estimate the marginal implicit values of environmental amenities associated with residential land parcels in the mountain town of Logan, Utah. Amenities include proximity to open spaces (such as parks, golf courses and lakes), commercial zones, major roads, streams, and general visibility of surrounding topography in the valley as determined by the elevation of the land parcel. The amenity value estimates are corrected for spatial autocorrelation. We find spatially dependent relationships between (1) a parcel’s value and its elevation, and (2) a parcel’s value and its adjacency to a stagnant stream. To our knowledge, …

The Welfare Cost Of Inflation In Oecd Countries, P. Boel, Gabriele Camera

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The welfare cost of anticipated inflation is quantified in a matching model of money calibrated to twenty-three different OECD countries for several sample periods. In most economies, given the common period 1978-1998, a representative agent would give up only a fraction of 1% of consumption to avoid 10% inflation. The welfare cost of inflation varies across countries, from a fraction of 0.1% in Japan, to more than 2% in Australia, reaching 6% with bargaining. The model fits poorly money demand data of several countries, however. The fit generally improves with longer sample periods. The results are fairly robust to variations …

Matching Grants, Income Redistribution And Decentralized Leadership, Arthur J. Caplan, C. Emilson, D. Silva

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

We examine the decentralized provision of an impure public good by regional governments in a federation similar in certain respects to both the European Union and the United States. The central authority redistributes income and provides matching grants on a per rate basis after it observes the regions’ contributions to the impure public good. Imperfectly mobile workers react to regional and central governments’ policies by establishing residence in their most preferred region. Despite imperfect labor mobility, we show that the allocation of the impure public good and the interregional income redistribution policy are generally efficient in a federation with decentralized …

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index — January 2011, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Indiana State University Financial Report 2011, Indiana State University

Financial Reports

No abstract provided.

Economic Development Analysis & Action Plan: Camden, Maine, Charles S. Colgan

Regional Studies

This report addresses the issues of economic growth in the context of the Town of Camden, one of the 20 communities examined in the Gateway 1 planning process. The intention of this Commercial Development Inventory and Economic Development Analysis is to guide the Economic Development efforts of Camden for the next 5-10 years within the context of the Gateway 1 initiative.

Carbon Sequestration And Permit Trading On The Competitive Fringe, Arthur J. Caplan

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

This paper makes two contributions to the carbon-sequestration literature. The first is the development of a theoretical framework in which sequestration and permit trading are analyzed jointly in the context of a competitive fringe model. The second is a numerical analysis demonstrating the role market structure, or market power, might play in the determination of an equilibrium sequestration allocation and carbon price. We present three comparative-static cases, the first two of which assess the impact of relative changes in the cost structures of the dominant firm and competitive fringe. For these two cases we find that the equilibrium allocation of …

The Wider Context: The Future Of Capital Markets Regulation In Developed Markets, Cally Jordan

Faculty Papers & Publications

At a time of such great turbulence, looking to the future directions of capital markets and their regulation in developed economies is a particularly risky business. We are in the midst of a great sea change. Nevertheless, there are several current, and readily observable, phenomena which are likely to shape capital markets regulation in the near future. First of all, the blurring of the distinctions between developed and developing markets themselves, as well as that between domestic and international markets, has put into question the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks. Also, the transatlantic dialogue, London – New York, has given …

Will Work': The Role Of Intellectual Property In Transitional Economies -- From Coal To Content, Megan M. Carpenter

Law Faculty Scholarship

The development and exploitation of intellectual property, and participation in the global information economy, are not dependent upon geography. It can take place from anywhere, from the inside of an empty factory in Detroit, to a small country road, nestled between the rhododendron and the river. From the R&D lab at a university, to a barren plain in New Mexico. To move from coal to content, we must foster a dynamic and profitable environment for entrepreneurship, through a supportive and robust university community, through state legislation and institutional support and through effective utilization of intellectual property laws. Intellectual property and …

Finanzkapital In The Twenty-First Century, Nikhilesh Dholakia

College of Business Faculty Publications

Purpose – Drawing inspiration from the 1910 book Finanzkapital by Rudolf Hilferding, this paper seeks to explore the nature of financial capital in the early twenty-first century from a political-economic and culture theory perspective. It aims to offer suggestions for transcending the crises-prone contemporary economic systems.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper reconceptualises the notions of Finanzkapital in the contemporary context, drawing selective evidence from current and twentieth century economic and business history.

Findings – The nature of contemporaneous Finanzkapital is elaborated by presenting seven “theses” that probe the nature of Finanzkapital prior to, during, and after the Great Recession of 2007-9. …

A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn

Faculty Working Papers

If laws cease to work as they should or as intended, legislators and scholars propose new laws to replace or amend them. This paper posits an alternative—offering regulated parties the opportunity to contractually bind themselves to behave ethically. The perfect test-case for this proposal is labor law, because (1) labor law has not been amended for decades, (2) proposals to amend it have failed for political reasons, and are focused on union election win rates, and less on the election process itself, (3) it is an area of law already statutorily regulating parties' reciprocal contractual obligations, and (4) moral means …