Economics Commons^™

The Effect Of Economic Downturns On Mortality Rates, Bethany Koch

Celebration of Learning

My research attempts to show the effect that economic downturns have on overall mortality rates in the United States. I compare mortality rates for several states from 2000 to 2010, attempting to find a pattern in the individual states of lower mortality rates subsequent to the 2008 recession. I do so by running a regression equation to find any sign of correlations.

Nebraska Property Taxes And The 2019 Flood, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Much of eastern and central Nebraska suffered devastating flooding in March 2019. Much agricultural land, as well as agricultural, residential, industrial and commercial property has been damaged or destroyed. A 2019 bill just enacted— Legislative Bill 512—allows property owners suffering significant flood damage to have the 2019 property taxes on flood damaged property lowered.

Under prior Nebraska law, land and buildings were valued for property tax purposes on January 1 of each year. There were no statutory provisions for changing that property valuation after January 1 due to property damage, although some county assessors have done so in the past. …

Efficient Empiricism: Streamlining Teaching, Research, And Learning In Empirical Courses, Tomas Dvorak, Simon Halliday, Michael O'Hara, Aaron Swoboda

Economics: Faculty Publications

The increasing importance of empirical analysis in economics highlights the need for efficient ways to bring these skills to the classroom. R Markdown is a new technology that provides a solution by integrating writing, statistical work and computation into a single document. R Markdown benefits students and instructors by streamlining teaching, research, and collaboration. We report on our use of R Markdown in undergraduate teaching, including core courses, electives, and senior theses. We discuss the costs and benefits of adoption, and explain the advantages of R Markdown in teaching reproducibility of empirical work, avoiding time-consuming and error-prone ‘cut and paste,’ …

Building Indonesia, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Business families of Southeast Asia’s largest economy look ahead to building for future success and generations

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

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Global Value Chains And The Cptpp, Pao-Li Chang, Tran Bao Phuong Nguyen

SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series

The CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is an example of a “mega-regional” free trade agreement, whose provisions on the rules of origin and trade facilitation can have potentially large impacts on the CPTPP-wide supply chains. In this paper, we investigate whether the CPTPP members are key upstream and downstream trade partners to each other in the global value chains. We develop formulas of bilateral upstreamness and downstreamness, based on the gross-export decomposition framework of Koopman, Wang and Wei (2014) and Borin and Mancini (2017). We demonstrate how the decomposition of gross exports can be used …

Maximum Entropy Approach To Portfolio Optimization: Economic Justification Of An Intuitive Diversity Idea, Laxman Bokati, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

The traditional Markowitz approach to portfolio optimization assumes that we know the means, variances, and covariances of the return rates of all the financial instruments. In some practical situations, however, we do not have enough information to determine the variances and covariances, we only know the means. To provide a reasonable portfolio allocation for such cases, researchers proposed a heuristic maximum entropy approach. In this paper, we provide an economic justification for this heuristic idea.

Synergies And Tradeoffs Among Sdgs And Policies (Syntrap) - June 2019, John A. Oldekop

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on the following research questions:

1) Under what conditions do policies and programs aimed at achieving SDG 15—in particular by conserving or restoring forests—promote or inhibit achieving other SDGs?

2) Under what conditions do policies and programs aimed at achieving SDGs other than SDG 15 promote or inhibit achieving SDG 15?

3) Under what conditions do various policies and programs aimed at conserving or restoring forests (SDG 15) have synergies or tradeoffs with each other?

4) What policy lessons can be learnt from cases where synergies and tradeoffs have occurred, and how can these lessons be used to …

Forests And Health In Mexico: Preliminary And Pre-Preliminary Work - June 2019, Alejandro López-Feldman

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on subjective wellbeing and natural protected areas in Mexico

The Effects Of Traditional Cigarette And E-Cigarette Taxes On Adult Tobacco Product Use, Michael F. Pesko, Charles J. Courtemanche, Joanna Catherine Maclean

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

We study the effects of traditional cigarette tax rate changes and e-cigarette tax adoption on use of these products among US adults. Data are drawn from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey data over the period 2011to 2017. Using a difference-in-differences model, we find that higher traditional cigarette taxes reduce adult traditional cigarette use and increase adult e-cigarette use, suggesting that the products are economic substitutes. E-cigarette tax adoption reduces e-cigarette use, with some heterogeneity across groups, and dilutes the own-tax responsiveness of traditional cigarettes.

Simpler Is Better: Predicting Consumer Vehicle Purchases In The Short Run, Jacqueline M. Doremus, Gloria Helfand, Changzheng Liu, Marie Donahue, Ari Kahan, Michael Shelby

Economics

When agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish future greenhouse gas emissions standards for new vehicles, forecasting future vehicle purchases due to changes in fuel economy and prices provides insight into regulatory impacts. We compare predictions from a nested logit model independently developed for US EPA to a simple model where past market share predicts future market share using data from model years 2008, 2010, and 2016. The simple model outperforms the nested logit model for all goodness-of-prediction measures for both prediction years. Including changes in vehicle price and fuel economy increases bias in forecasted market shares. …

Prevention And Mitigation Of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: Economic Costs And Benefits In Diverse Settings, Branko Bobić, Isabelle Villena, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

Congenital toxoplasmosis (CT), the result of a primary infection of pregnant women with Toxoplasma gondii which was transmitted to the fetus, may result in mild to deep injuries occurring in the newborn or later in its development or in adolescence. The visual and cognitive impairment that can result imposes substantial economic costs on the individual and society. Numerous observational studies favor the conclusion that, with preventive measures currently available, it is possible to reduce the incidence of infections in pregnant women, the incidence of fetal infection by preventing transplacental transmission, and the gravity of injury in infected newborns. Treatment of …

Why Top Experts Are Paid So Much: Economics-Based Explanation, Julio C. Urenda, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

At first glance, it seems that people should be paid in proportion to their contribution, so if one person produces a little more than the other one, he/she should be paid a little more. In reality, however, top performers are paid dis-proportionally more than those whose performance is slightly worse. How can we explain this from an economic viewpoint? We show that actually there is no paradox here: a simple economic analysis shows that in many area, it makes perfect economic sense to pay much more to top performers.

Examining Graduate Lending: Access Vs. Private Lending, Accesslex Institute

AccessLex Institute Research

This report, the second of our two-part series on graduate lending, uses federal data to show, as one example, that black borrowers and Historically Black Colleges and Universities would likely be severely harmed by a move to significantly limit or outright eliminate federal lending to graduate and professional students.

Walled Cities And Urban Density In China, Rui Du, Junfu Zhang

Economics

We analyse a sample of nearly 300 prefectural-level cities in China, among which about half historically had city walls. We document that cities that had walls in late imperial China have higher population and employment density today, despite that their walls have long gone. Using data from various sources, we test whether a historically walled city's higher density can be explained by a historical urban core, a different industry composition, a different local geography, a compact urban shape, or more valuable rural land in surrounding areas. We find that historically walled cities still have higher density after taking into account …

Dual-Self Representations Of Ambiguity Preferences, Madhav Chandrasekher, Mira Frick, Ryota Iijima, Yves Le Yaouanq

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We propose a class of multiple-prior representations of preferences under ambiguity, where the belief the decision-maker (DM) uses to evaluate an uncertain prospect is the outcome of a game played by two conflicting forces, Pessimism and Optimism. The model does not restrict the sign of the DM’s ambiguity attitude, and we show that it provides a unified framework through which to characterize different degrees of ambiguity aversion, and to represent the co-existence of negative and positive ambiguity attitudes within individuals as documented in experiments. We prove that our baseline representation, dual-self expected utility (DSEU), yields a novel representation of the …

Greedy Or Grateful? Asking For More When Thanking Donors, K. Sudhir, Hortense Fong, Subroto Roy

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Charities routinely send “thank you letters” and small gifts to express gratitude to donors but seek to defray these costs by making additional asks for donations and/or engagement. But the “ask for more” can backfire if potential donors perceive persuasive intent in the expression of gratitude, inducing reactance. We hypothesize that such reactance and its impact on giving will vary by donor loyalty. Loyal donors are more likely to experience reactance to additional asks, muting the feeling of reciprocity aroused by the expression of gratitude to suppress giving. In contrast, non-loyal donors are less likely to experience reactance, and therefore …

Effects Of Water Funds Projects On Forest Loss And Water Quality In Ecuador And Brazil, Allen Blackman, Laura Villalobos

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on Water Funds Projects

The Sensitivity Of Sector Stock Returns To Exchange Rate Risks In Nigeria, M. A. Adebiyi, M. O. Abeng

Economic and Financial Review

Exchange rate exposure has been identified in the literature as one of the standard metrics for measuring the performance of stock returns in both advanced and developing economies. This study adopts the capital market approach in investigating the effects of exchange rate exposure on stock returns in Nigeria, using monthly data spanning 2009 to 2018. The findings show that three sector stock returns, namely the NSE30, pension and banking indices, were significantly vulnerable to nominal effective exchange rate and bilateral exchange rates shocks. The non-significance of energy sector, proxied by the oil and gas, to exchange rate risk, is puzzling, …

The Central Bank Balance Sheet As A Tool For Monetary Policy: Evidence From Nigeria, E. U. Kure, O. O. Mbutor, U. A. Rotimi, Y. Adamu

Economic and Financial Review

The study examined the impact of the Central bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) balance sheet on the growth of private sector credit, economic growth and price stability during the period 2006-2017. Balance sheet indicators used were total assets of the CBN and proxy for asset distribution. Employing a vector autoregressive (VAR) model, the study found balance sheet policies to be effective in reducing cost of credit, increase in bank lending, economic activities and a decline in inflation. However, the effects favour asset dispersion (credit easing) against growth in assets (quantitative easing), implying that the Bank can, in the short- to medium-term, …

Estimation Of Fiscal Multipliers And Its Macroeconomic Impact: The Case Of Nigeria, D. J. Penzin, E. T. Adamgbe

Economic and Financial Review

Fiscal multipliers are important tools for macroeconomic projections and policy design. However, very little is known about the size in developing countries, given the complexity of their estimation. The unavailability of reliable high frequency data and structural characteristics of these countries also make the estimation of fiscal multipliers difficult, in such countries. This paper estimated fiscal multipliers associated with government spending and tax-related revenue for Nigeria using quarterly data, spanning 1985: Q1 to 2015 Q4. The structural vector autoregression (SVAR) methodology suggested by Blanchard and Perotti (2002) was utilised in the model. The SVAR framework applied followed the approach by …

Current Account Balance And Economic Growth In Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation, G. K. Sanni, A. U. Musa, Z. Sani

Economic and Financial Review

This study examined the relationship between current account balance and economic growth in Nigeria. Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Testing methodology was employed to investigate the relationship, using annual data spanning from 1970 – 2016. The study found a long-run relationship between the current account balance, the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and bilateral real exchange rate in Nigeria. The positive relationship between real GDP growth and the current account balance implies that increase in real GDP growth would lead to an improvement in the current account balance. However, the study found a negative relationship between real exchange …

Devolution And Collective Action In Forest Management: The Case Of China - June 2019, Yuanyuan Yi, Jintao Xu, Gunnar Köhlin

Forest Collaborative Research

This paper examines: Can further devolution trigger collective action in forest management and benefit member households?

Empirically-Informed Agent Based Modeling Of Incentivized Forest Conservation - June 2019, Amare Teklay Hailu

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on payment for ecosystem services (PES) and framed field experiment (FFE).

Key Emerging Issues For Forests And Livelihoods In The 21st Century - June 2019, John A. Oldekop, Laura Vang Rasmussen, Arun Agrawal, Anthony Bebbington, David N. Bengston, Allen Blackman, S. Brooks, Iain Davidson-Hunt, Penny Davies, S. C. Dinsi, L. B. Fontana, T. Gumucio, C. Kumar, K. Kumar, P. Meyfroidt, D. Moran, T. H. Mwampamba, Robert Nasi, Margareta Nilsson, Miguel A. Pinedo-Vasquez, Jeanine M. Rhemtulla, William J. Sutherland, C. Watkins, Sarah Jane Wilson

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation about the FLARE network. The mission of the FLARE network is to establish a Community of Practice that advances the state of knowledge of the intersection of forests and livelihoods. In bringing together stakeholders – researchers, practitioners, donors, and decision makers – FLARE will leverage efforts that enrich the understanding of forest livelihood interactions.

The researchers focus on the most pressing conceptual, political, and practical issues concerning forests and livelihoods.

The Nepal Community Forestry Program And Member Mental Health - June 2019, Randall Bluffstone

Forest Collaborative Research

This presentation asks - Do Community Forestry's (CFs) and better forest quality yield mental health benefits?

Connecting Forests And Human Health Using The Demographic And Health Surveys (Dhs), Ranaivo Rasolofoson

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on the relationships between ecosystem alteration and human health.

Indonesia, Forest Fires, Haze, Height: Case For Planetary Health Economics - June 2019, Subhrendu K. Pattanayak

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focuses on environmental health economics in low and middle income countries.

Impact Of Climate Change On Wildfire Across China, Based On Plot-Level Data From National Forest Inventory - June 2019, Shilei Liu, Jintao Xu

Forest Collaborative Research

Presentation focus on the impact of climate change on wildfires across China.

Review Of Creditworthy: A History Of Consumer Surveillance And Financial Identity In America, Lynne Doti

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

A book review of Josh Lauer's Creditworthy: A History of Consumer Surveillance and Financial Identity in America.