Economics Commons^™

Does Targeting Healthy Food Labels To Populations At High Risk Of Diet-Related Diseases Increase Label Effectiveness?, Christopher Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

The decades-long increase in obesity in the U.S. has inspired multiple policies aiming to improve individuals’ food choices, which play an important role in diet-related diseases. Early policies—which have continued to be implemented and refined—took the view that providing consumers with information would give them the tools needed to choose a healthy diet. Both nutrition facts panels, which are provided on the side or back of nearly all packaged food products in the U.S, and calorie labeling in restaurant chains with 20 or more locations seek to address a lack of information among consumers.

While nutrition information is a necessary …

Wheeling Area Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Wheeling Area has experienced significant economic volatility over the past several years, with the region’s economy swinging back to strong growth in 2018 thanks to surging natural gas production and massive levels of pipeline construction activity. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the Wheeling Area economy along with our forecast for regional economic conditions for the next five years.

The New River Gorge Area Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The New River Gorge Area enjoyed its second calendar year of growth in 2018 but despite recent growth in coal production and construction activity, the region’s economy continues to struggle in some ways with the lingering effects of a deep economic downturn that occurred between 2012 and 2016. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the New River Gorge Area’s recent economic performance along with our forecast for the likely path of economic activity over the next five years.

The Eastern Panhandle Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Eastern Panhandle (EPH) has been West Virginia’s strongest economic region for much of the past decade. Numerous economic indicators point to broad strength in the area’s economy and the region’s performance tends to stack up well against national-level economic measures. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the current state of the EPH economy along with our forecast for the likely path of economic activity over the next five years.

West Virginia Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins, Eric Bowen, Christiadi, Dallas Mullett, Aidan Farnum, Shaun Gilyard, Danielle Kaminski, William Wagstaff

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

West Virginia registered its strongest year of economic growth in more than a decade during 2018, marking the state’s second year of recovery after a protracted economic downturn that lasted for much of the period between 2012 and 2016. The energy sector has driven most of West Virginia’s economic rebound, particularly the abundance of natural gas pipeline construction activity occurring throughout the state. Most of the state’s economic regions have seen conditions improve over the past couple of years but gains in jobs and output remain concentrated from a geographic perspective as a several counties account for have accounted for …

North Central West Virginia Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

North Central West Virginia has remained one of the state’s healthiest economic regions and continued to post solid job growth over the past couple of years. Even with some recent job losses by at one of the area’s largest employers and protracted stoppages to natural gas pipeline projects, the area has recorded solid gains in income and employment and all four of the region’s counties have shown varying degrees of improvement across a range of labor market indicators. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of North Central West Virginia’s economy along with our forecast for regional conditions for …

The Effect Of The 1918 Influenza Pandemic On U.S. Life Insurance Holdings, Dr. Joanna Short

Economics: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This paper examines the effect of a sharp rise in mortality, the 1918 influenza epidemic, on life insurance holdings in the U.S. The BLS Cost of Living Surveys of 1918-1919 provide a unique opportunity to examine the effect of the pandemic—some households were surveyed before, and others during or shortly after the worst of the influenza outbreak. In addition, I use state-level insurance sales data to compare the increase in spending on insurance in states particularly hard hit by the epidemic, relative to those that were not. I find some evidence that, in the immediate aftermath of the epidemic, those …

The Role Of Social Trust In Times Of Crisis, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Research shows social trust improves the resilience of firms to banking crises

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- October 2019, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Trouble In The Tails? What We Know About Earnings Nonresponse 30 Years After Lillard, Smith, And Welch, Christopher R. Bollinger, Barry T. Hirsch, Charles M. Hokayem, James P. Ziliak

Economics Faculty Publications

Earnings nonresponse in household surveys is widespread, yet there is limited knowledge of how nonresponse biases earnings measures. We examine the consequences of nonresponse on earnings gaps and inequality using Current Population Survey individual records linked to administrative earnings data. The common assumption that earnings are missing at random is rejected. Nonresponse across the earnings distribution is U-shaped, highest in the left and right tails. Inequality measures differ between household and administrative data due in part to nonresponse. Nonresponse biases earnings differentials by race, gender, and education, particularly in the tails. Flexible copula-based models can account for nonrandom nonresponse.

Using Recreational Cannabis To Treat Insomnia: Evidence From Over-The-Counter Sleep Aid Sales In Colorado, Jacqueline M. Doremus, Sarah S. Stith, Jacob M. Vigil

Economics

This study seeks to understand whether people substitute between recreational cannabis and conventional over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medications. UPC-level grocery store scanner data in a multivariable panel regression design were used to compare the change in the monthly market share of sleep aids with varying dispensary-based recreational cannabis access (existence, sales, and count) in Colorado counties between 12/2013 and 12/2014. We measured annually-differenced market shares for sleep aids as a portion of the overall OTC medication market, thus accounting for store-level demand shifts in OTC medication markets and seasonality, and used the monthly changes in stores’ sleep aid market share to …

Chinese Household Saving And Dependent Children: Theory And Evidence, Steven Lugauer, Jinlan Ni, Zhichao Yin

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of family size on household saving. We first study a theoretical life-cycle model that includes finite lifetimes and saving for retirement and in which parents care about the consumption by their dependent children. The model implies a negative relationship between the number of dependent children in the family and the household saving rate. Then, we test the model's implications using new survey data on household finances in China. We use the differential enforcement of the one-child policy across counties to address the possible endogeneity between household saving and fertility decisions in a two-stage least squares …

Strategic Implications For The United States Of The Belt And Road Initiative In Africa, Alec Monnie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The belt and road initiative is one of the most significant developments of the twenty-first century, which the United States will need to learn to adapt to. Much of the academic literature regarding the belt and road initiative mentions that Africa is a significant participant in this policy development, but fail to elaborate as to why that is, or what the implications for this are for the United States. This article expands upon the strategic significance of the African continent, and explains the implications thereof for the United States and China. This article argues that the belt and road initiative …

Mining’S Impact On Environmental And Human Health: A Case Study Of Ramba County’S Gold Mine, Vivika Fernes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project aims to gain a greater understanding of the health implications that Ramba County’s goldmine has on miners, their families, and the environment. While this study observes the community-at-large, inclusive of visiting miners and extended family members of workers, it will focus on women who engage in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Millions of people in the developing word depend on ASGM for their livelihood, evident in this case study in Ramba County. However, while gold is associated with wealth, there is great irony in the fact that those working within the mining industry are being exploited …

Foreign Direct Investment In Kigali’S Special Economic Zone And Its Impact On Rwanda’S Economic Reconstruction, Sabrina Roberts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vision 2020 is a development strategy implemented by the Rwandan government. It aims to make Rwanda a middle-income country with a per capita income of $1240 USD. One pillar of this strategy is increasing regional and international integration. The Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) was created in direct response to this pillar.

The paper begins with an introduction to Rwanda’s post-conflict economic situation and goes on to describe and explain the role that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the KSEZ has played in reconstructing the Rwandan economy. The study focuses on the impacts of the KSEZ and the significance of …

Bitcoin: An Impossibility Theorem For Proof-Of-Work Based Protocols, Jacob Leshno, Philipp Strack

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Bitcoin’s main innovation lies in allowing a decentralized system that relies on anonymous, profit driven miners who can freely join the system. We formalize these properties in three axioms: anonymity of miners, no incentives for miners to consolidate, and no incentive to assuming multiple fake identities. This novel axiomatic formalization allows us to characterize which other protocols are feasible: Every protocol with these properties must have the same reward scheme as Bitcoin. This implies an impossibility result for risk-averse miners: no protocol satisfies the aforementioned constraints simultaneously without giving miners a strict incentive to merge. Furthermore, any protocol either gives …

Bitcoin: An Impossibility Theorem For Proof-Of-Work Based Protocols, Jacob Leshno, Philipp Strack

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A key part of decentralized consensus protocols is a procedure for random selection, which is the source of the majority of miners cost and wasteful energy consumption in Bitcoin. We provide a simple economic model for random selection mechanism and show that any PoW protocol with natural desirable properties is outcome equivalent to the random selection mechanism used in Bitcoin.

Bilingualism: Visualizing The Outcomes For Latinx Students In The United States, Paul Polanco

Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I analyzed the outcomes of bilingualism for the growing Latinx community living in the United States. Outcomes were quantitatively analyzed from four different perspectives: educational outcomes, job market participation, income, and social capital engagement. Chapters 1 and 2 cover previous studies about bilingualism, the importance of including outcomes that are not purely related to income, and general characteristics of the Latinx community. To perform the analyses, I used the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002/2012 (ELS:2002) dataset, a nationally representative dataset administered by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department …

Practice Questions For Openstax Economics 2nd Edition, Levent Bulut, Ellis Heath

Business Administration, Management, and Economics Ancillary Materials

This set of practice questions for OpenStax Economics Second Edition was created under a Round Twelve Mini-Grant for Ancillary Materials Creation and Revision.

The PDF contains questions for:

• Chapter 3 Part 1: Demand and Supply Model;
• Chapter 3 Part 2: Price Floors and Efficiency;
• Chapter 4: Labor and Financial Markets;
• Chapter 12: Environmental Protection and Negative Externalities;
• Chapter 13: Positive Externalities and Public Goods;
• Chapter 17: Financial Markets;
• Chapter 19: The Macroeconomic Perspective: GDP;
• Chapter 20: Economic Growth;
• Chapter 21: Unemployment;
• Chapter 22: Inflation;
• Chapter 27: Money and Banking;
• Chapter 28: Monetary Policy and Banks Regulation.

Economic Implications Of Racism In The United States, Pranav Kayastha

Student Publications

Racism in the United States has evolved with time, and has now taken a subtle and discreet, yet equally dangerous, form. Hiding under seemingly innocuous political agendas, media outlets, and criminal justice system, the current form of racism is not as easy to call out as it once used to be. Nonetheless, we as a society are targeting, discriminating, and denying equal opportunities to the African American community in a variety of ways. This is hurting not just those directly affected, but the U.S. economy as a whole. To identify and fight against the subtle forms of discrimination, therefore, is …

Is A Driverless Future Also Jobless?, Erica L. Groshen, John Paul Macduffie, Susan Helper, Charles Carson

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Revisions To Pce Inflation Measures: Implications For Monetary Policy, Dean Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the characteristics of the revisions to the inflation rate as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index both including and excluding food and energy prices. These data series play a major role in the Federal Reserve's analysis of inflation. We examine the magnitude and patterns of revisions to both PCE inflation rates. We can forecast data revisions in real time from the initial release to the annual revision released in the following year. Policymakers should account for this predictability in setting monetary policy.

The Formation Of Physician Patient Sharing Networks In Medicare: Exploring The Effect Of Hospital Affiliation, Sebastian Linde

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

This study explores the forces that drive the formation of physician patient sharing networks. In particular, I examine the degree to which hospital affiliation drives physicians' sharing of Medicare patients. Using a revealed preference framework where observed network links are taken to be pairwise stable, I estimate the physicians' pair‐specific values using a tetrad maximum score estimator that is robust to the presence of unobserved physician specific characteristics. I also control for a number of potentially confounding patient sharing channels, such as (a) common physician group or hospital system affiliation, (b) physician homophily, (c) knowledge complementarity, (d) patient side considerations …

Southern Border International Shopping And Employment: 1990-2016, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Border Region Modeling Project

Price differentials, among other factors, persuade many residents of northern Mexico to shop in the southwestern United States border region. Employment patterns in the latter region are studied using a set of control variables and two indicators that are likely to influence cross-border shopping patterns. The first is a real exchange rate index, which captures changes in relative prices in the United States and Mexico. The second is real per capita gross state product in Mexican states adjacent to the international boundary. Both of these variables are found to impact retail and restaurant employment in the United States border zone, …

The Law And Economics Of Redistribution, Matthew Dimick

Journal Articles

Should legal rules be used to redistribute income? Or should income taxation be the exclusive means for reducing income inequality? This article reviews the legal scholarship on this question. First, it traces how the most widely cited argument in favor of using taxes exclusively--Kaplow & Shavell's (1994) double-distortion argument--evolved from previous debates about whether legal rules could even be redistributive and whether law and economics should be concerned exclusively with efficiency or with distribution as well. Next, it surveys the responses to the double-distortion argument. These responses appear to have had only limited success in challenging the sturdy reputation of …

Using A Role-Driven Race Equity Reform Approach To Mitigate The Effects Of America's History Of Racism On Food Insecurity, Kenya N. Washington, Darryl E. Williams Jr.

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

Food insecurity, or the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of nutritious food, affects African Americans and other minorities disproportionately. This paper examines how America’s history of racism created and sustains the Nation’s racially disparate food system. Food insecurity contributes to hunger. This paper contemplates disparities in other American systems, including education and criminal justice, as exemplars of the broader ramifications of hunger. Finally, the paper examines the potential of individual action to address problems in any system. It champions the adoption of a role-driven race equity reform strategy as a tool to confront the current food insecurity. …

Improving End Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Payment Total Performance Scores, Shelly Guyer, Gina Gregg, Bradley Warady

Posters

The End Stage Rena Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) promotes high quality, transparent, cost-efficient care in outpatient dialysis facilities by establishing performance standards that are linked to payment.

The development of a subject matter expert and the sharing of ESRD QIP knowledge resulted in buy-in from dialysis staff and physicians leading to a higher total performance score and the avoidance of payment reduction.

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 3, Number 10, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Ana Gutierrez Zubiate, Ignacio Santana

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 22, Number 4, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Ana Gutierrez Zubiate

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Immigrants And The U.S. Wage Distribution, Vasil I. Yasenov

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

A large body of literature estimates the relative wage impacts of immigration on low- and high-skill natives, but it is unclear how these effects map onto changes of the wage distribution. I document the movement of foreign-born workers in the U.S. wage distribution, showing that, since 1980, they have become increasingly overrepresented in the bottom. Downgrading of education and experience obtained abroad partially drives this pattern. I then undertake two empirical approaches to deepen our understanding of the way foreign-born workers shape the wage structure. First, I estimate a standard theoretical model featuring constant elasticity of substitution technology and skill …