Economics Commons^™

2022-2 Robust Contracts In Common Agency, Keler Marku, Sergio Ocampo, Jean-Baptiste Tondji

Department of Economics Research Reports

Business activities often involve a common agent managing a variety of projects on behalf of investors with potentially conflicting interests. The extent of the agent’s actions is also often unknown to investors, who have to design contracts that provide incentives to the manager despite this lack of crucial knowledge. We consider a game between several principals and a common agent, where principals know only a subset of the actions available to the agent. Principals demand robustness and evaluate contracts on a worst-case basis. This robust approach allows for a crisp characterization of the equilibrium contracts and payoffs and provides a …

2022-7 Market Power, Taxation And Product Variety In The Brazilian Automobile Industry, Daniel Chaves

Department of Economics Research Reports

This paper empirically assesses the impact of a discontinuous tax schedule on prices, markups and product assortment in the Brazilian automobile industry. To this end, I estimate a structural, equilibrium model of demand and supply for over a hundred different models and engine sizes of automobiles. With the model estimates of price elasticities and marginal costs I quantify how market power impacts the progressivity of the discontinuous tax schedule. I also examine how firms would reposition their products to avoid the tax and quantify the impact of this repositioning on equilibrium outcomes.

2022-6 Prices, Profits, Proxies, And Production, Victor H. Aguiar, Nail Kashaev, Roy Allen

Department of Economics Research Reports

This paper studies nonparametric identification and counterfactual bounds for heterogeneous firms that can be ranked in terms of productivity. Our approach works when quantities and prices are latent, rendering standard approaches inapplicable. Instead, we require observation of profits or other optimizing-values such as costs or revenues, and either prices or price proxies of flexibly chosen variables. We extend classical duality results for price-taking firms to a setup with discrete heterogeneity, endogeneity, and limited variation in possibly latent prices. Finally, we show that convergence results for nonparametric estimators may be directly converted to convergence results for production sets.

2022-5 Estimation Of Parametric Binary Outcome Models With Degenerate Pure Choice-Based Data With Application To Covid-19-Positive Tests From British Columbia, Nail Kashaev

Department of Economics Research Reports

I propose a generalized method of moments type procedure to estimate parametric binary choice models when the researcher only observes degenerate pure choices-based or presence-only data and has some information about the distribution of the covariates. This auxiliary information comes in the form of moments. I present an application based on the data on all COVID-19-positive tests from British Columbia. Publicly available demographic information on the population in British Columbia allows me to estimate the conditional probability of a person being COVID-19-positively tested conditional on demographics

2022-4 Identification And Estimation Of Multinomial Choice Models With Latent Special Covariates, Nail Kashaev

Department of Economics Research Reports

Identification of multinomial choice models is often established by using special covariates that have full support. This paper shows how these identification results can be extended to a large class of multinomial choice models when all covariates are bounded. I also provide a new √n-consistent asymptotically normal estimator of the finite-dimensional parameters of the model.

2022-3 A Random Attention And Utility Model, Nail Kashaev, Victor H. Aguiar

Department of Economics Research Reports

We generalize the stochastic revealed preference methodology of McFadden and Richter (1990) for finite choice sets to settings with limited consideration. Our approach is nonparametric and requires partial choice set variation. We impose a monotonicity condition on attention first proposed by Cattaneo et al. (2020) and a stability condition on the marginal distribution of preferences. Our framework is amenable to statistical testing. These new restrictions extend widely known parametric models of consideration with heterogeneous preferences.

2022-8 Slutsky Matrix Symmetry: A New Behavioral Condition, Victor H. Aguiar, Roberto Serrano

Department of Economics Research Reports

The Slutsky matrix function encodes all the information about local variations in demand with respect to small (Slutsky) compensated price changes. When the demand function is the result of utility maximization the Slutsky matrix is symmetric. However, symmetry does not imply rationality. Here, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for Slutsky symmetry. The new condition requires symmetric attention to compensated price-paths.

2022-9 A Rationalization Of The Weak Axiom Of Revealed Preference, Victor H. Aguiar, Per Hjertstrand, Roberto Serrano

Department of Economics Research Reports

Samuelson’s (1938) weak (generalized) axiom of revealed preference– WGARP–is a minimal and appealing consistency condition of choice. We offer a rationalization of WGARP in general settings. Our main result is an exact analog of the celebrated Afriat’s theorem, but for WGARP. Its ordinal rationalization is in terms of an asymmetric and locally nonsatiated preference function. Its cardinal rationalization uses a coalitional multi-utility (CMU) maxmin representation with a coherency restriction on the coalition structure. Effectively, the CMU representation aggregates piecemeal preferences within the decision maker (multiple rationales without preference reversals that allow for transitivity violations). Basic consumer theory and welfare analysis …

2022-10 Computing Longitudinal Moments For Heterogeneous Agent Models, Sergio Ocampo, Baxter Robinson

Department of Economics Research Reports

Computing population moments for heterogeneous agent models is a necessary step for their estimation and evaluation. Computation based on Monte Carlo methods is usually time- and resource-consuming because it involves simulating a large sample of agents and potentially tracking them over time. We argue in favor of an alternative method for computing both cross-sectional and longitudinal moments that exploits the endogenous Markov transition function that defines the stationary distribution of agents in the model. The method relies on following the distribution of populations of interest by iterating forward the Markov transition function rather than focusing on a simulated sample of …

2022-11 Peter Howitt – A Keynesian Still In Recovery, David Laidler

Department of Economics Research Reports

Peter Howitt is best known for his contributions to growth theory, but his work in short-run economics, which began with his Ph.D thesis and still continues, is important and deserves attention. It lies firmly in the Keynesian macro-disequilibrium tradition of Clower and Leijonhufvud, and for a long time has been overshadowed by New-classical and New-Keynesian orthodoxy. However, the development of agent based modelling and behavioural economics will perhaps give disequilibrium macroeconomics a new lease on life.

2022-12 The Big Expansion Of Rural Secondary Schooling During The Cultural Revolution And The Returns To Education In Rural China, Mengbing Zhu, Terry Sicular

Department of Economics Research Reports

During the Cultural Revolution China embarked on a dramatic, albeit temporary, expansion of secondary education in rural areas that affected tens of millions of children who reached secondary school age in the late 1960s and 1970s. The conventional wisdom is that this expansion was politicized and low quality. Using instrumental variables estimation, we exploit variation in the expansion across localities and birth cohorts to estimate the impact of Cultural Revolution education on individual outcomes. Creative use of historical county-level information matched with rich household survey data from the mid-1990s allows analysis of multiple outcomes. We find a significant, positive effect …

2022-13 Savings After Retirement, Eric French, John Bailey Jones, Rory Mcgee

Department of Economics Research Reports

Abstract: Retired households, especially those with high lifetime income, decumulate their wealth very slowly, and many die leaving large estates. The three leading explanations for the ‘retirement savings puzzle” are the desire to insure against uncertain lifespans and medical expenses, the desire to leave bequests to one’s heirs, and the desire to remain in one’s own home. We discuss the empirical strategies used to differentiate these motivations, most of which go beyond wealth to exploit additional features of the data. The literature suggests that all the motivations are present, but has yet to reach a consensus about their relative importance

2022-14 Use It Or Lose It: Efficiency And Redistributional Effects Of Wealth Taxation, Fatih Guvenen, Gueorgui Kambourov, Burhan Kuruscu, Sergio Ocampo, Daphne Chen

Department of Economics Research Reports

How does wealth taxation differ from capital income taxation? When the return on investment is equal across individuals, a well-known result is that the two tax systems are equivalent. Motivated by recent empirical evidence documenting persistent return heterogeneity, we revisit this question. With heterogeneity, the two tax systems typically have opposite implications for both efficiency and inequality. Under capital income taxation, entrepreneurs who are more productive and therefore generate more income pay higher taxes. Under wealth taxation, entrepreneurs who have similar wealth levels pay similar taxes regardless of their productivity, which expands the tax base, shifts the tax burden toward …

Views Of Well-Being In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz, Amanda Tupper

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are more pessimistic about their current situation than they’ve been in the past nine years. The proportion believing they are worse off than they were five years ago was 21 percent, up from the 11 percent reported last year. This is the highest level since 2013, when 26 percent believed they were worse off. This increase in pessimism did not translate into a decrease in optimism, however. This year, one-half of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off compared to five years ago, similar to 52 percent last year. The corresponding change occurred in a decrease …

No. 84: Small-Town Xenophobia And Migrant Anxieties In South Africa’S Limpopo Province, Godfrey Tawodzera, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

South Africa’s major cities are regularly wracked by large-scale xenophobic violence directed at migrants and refugees from other countries. Informal-sector businesses and their migrant owners and employees are particularly vulnerable targets during these attacks. Migrant-owned businesses are also frequently targeted in smallerscale looting and destruction of property. There is now a large literature on the characteristics and causes of xenophobic violence and attitudes in South Africa, based on quantitative and qualitative research in the country’s major metropolitan areas. One of the consequences of big-city xenophobia has been a search for alternative markets and safer spaces by migrants, including relocating to …

How The Past Of Outsourcing And Offshoring Is The Future Of Post-Pandemic Remote Work: A Typology, A Model, And A Review, Chris Erickson, Peter Norlander

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Information and communication technology (ICT) challenges traditional assumptions about the capacity to manage workers beyond organizational and physical boundaries. A typology connects a variety of non-traditional work organizations made possible by ICT, including offshoring, outsourcing, remote work, virtual companies, and platforms. A model illustrates how new technology serves as a proximate cause for a revision of social contracts between capital, labor and government reached through bargaining, and how external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the institutional environment, and limitations in practice influence how technology changes the organization of work. An historical case illustrates the general features of the model, …

Front Matter: 2022 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Cover, front matter, table of contents, sponsors, and other materials for the 2022 State of the Commonwealth Report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University.

Part 5: A Deeper Dive Into The Blacksburg-Christiansburg Metropolitan Area, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg metropolitan statistical area includes the counties of Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski as well as the independent city of Radford. Virginia Tech, with over 37,000 full-time equivalent students in the 2021–2022 academic year, is not only the largest employer in the metro area, but it continues to expand its reach across the Commonwealth. We highlight how the metro region has fared over the last decade and discuss the prospects for future growth.

2022 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Vinod Agarwal, Barbara Blake, Bojana Bolozan, Ashley Desilva, Nikki Johnson, James V. Koch, Timothy M. Komarek, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Christian Manty, Janet Molinaro, Brendan O'Hallarn, Terry Parker, Matt Voegel, Suzanne Wright, Robert M. Mcnab

State of the Commonwealth Reports

This is Old Dominion University’s eighth annual State of the Commonwealth Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business, or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Our work seeks to contribute to the conversation about how Virginia can foster growth across the Commonwealth over the coming decade without glossing over the challenges we face. Instead of …

Part 4: Virginia's Lawyers Confront Tougher Times, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

While movies and television shows portray lawyers as members of high society, with expensive cars and tastes, the reality is grittier. In 2021, more than 90% of law students took out a loan to enable them to pay their costs, and the typical law school graduate owed $165,000 in loans. The crucial point of this report, however, is that significant proportions of law school graduates are destined to be disappointed if they pursue a career in law believing they will earn lots of money. In this chapter, we explore the supply of lawyers in Virginia and whether we are producing …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #3: Economy & Employment, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Life in Hampton Roads 2022 - Economy & Employment

Hampton Roads residents had mixed perceptions of the economy but showed some optimism about their own financial situation. Less than half (42.4%) of those surveyed rated the economic conditions in Hampton Roads as excellent (3.1%) or good (39.3%). A similar percentage (42%) rated economic conditions as fair and 14.6% rated them as poor. Interestingly, despite the impacts of COVID-19, these ratings are not much different than in past years of the survey, during or prior to the pandemic. For example, in 2021, 47.5% rated economic conditions as excellent or good and …

Does Administrative Burden Deter Young People? Evidence From Summer Jobs Programs, Syon Bhanot, S. Heller

Economics Faculty Works

Administrative burden reduces the effectiveness of public social programs by deterring take up among adults, but we know little about the role these burdens play in public programs for young people. This paper uses empirical evidence to assess how different barriers shape adolescents’ take-up of summer jobs programs. In a Philadelphia experiment, we find that reminder emails increased application completion by 1.8 percentage points (12.3 percent), with bigger effects from emphasizing short-term monetary gains. In a non-experimental analysis of Philadelphia and Chicago programs, we show that without individualized support during enrollment, disconnected youth are less likely to participate when offered …

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2022, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, Front Matter, Table of Contents, Sponsors, and other materials for the 2022 The State of the Region Report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University.

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2022, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, Vinod Agarwal, Christen Black, Barbara Blake, Bojana Bolozan, Ashley Desilva, Joseph Hollar, Elizabeth Janik, Nikki Johnson, James V. Koch, Tim Komarek, Feng Liang, Sharon Lomax, Christian Manty, Janet Molinaro, Christian Moore, Brendan O'Hallarn, Terry Parker, Matt Voegel, Suzanne M. Wright

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

[From the introductory material]

This is Old Dominion University’s 23rd annual State of the Region Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Over the past year, we have experienced the continued uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of inflation, and geopolitical shocks that have affected our daily …

In Memoriam: Arthur Diamonstein, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Arthur Diamonstein, a former rector of Old Dominion University’s Board of Visitors, died in Norfolk on Aug. 14. He was 92.

Part 1: Inflation, Drones, And The Economy Of Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

2022 may be characterized as the “best of times and worst of times.” Unemployment continued to fall, wages continued to rise, and homeowners experienced rises in property values. Hotels continued to rebound from the COVID-19 economic shock and the Port of Virginia experienced record volumes of cargo traffic. On the other hand, prices at the grocery store, gas station, and, it seems, almost everywhere else, continued to rise. Employers struggled to find the right employees at the right time and economic sentiment soured. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the continuing revolution in military affairs brought about by drones and other …

Part 3: Splish - Splash - Cash: Swimming In Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is known for its relationship with water. For some, it is too much water in the wrong place at the wrong time. For others, it is how water can transform lives. Hampton Roads is home to several premier swimming organizations, and Hampton is opening a state-of-the-art aquatics facility. We explore how swimming is intertwined with the history of the region and the economic impact of the sport on the economy and lives of the region’s resident

Part 2: The Rent Is Too Damn High: Housing In Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Is Hampton Roads an affordable place to live? At first glance, median rents and housing values are below those of the closest major metropolitan areas. Comparing housing costs to household income yields a different conclusion: more than 1 in 3 households in Hampton Roads paid more than 30% of their income for housing and 1 in 7 households paid more than 50% of their income for housing. In this chapter, we explore housing affordability in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the United States and ask what the region can do to make housing more affordable.

Part 5: Strangers In A Strange Land: Finding Refuge In Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

In 2021, a record breaking 90 million people were forcibly displaced, fleeing war, violence, human rights violations, and persecution. In early 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added to this toll, pushing the estimated number of refugees past the 100- million- person mark This chapter explores how all of these developments are affecting Hampton Roads, which has received more than 300 Afghans and other political refugees over the past eighteen months.

Part 6: Perhaps I Won't Go To Law School After All: Lawyers In Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

While movies and television shows portray lawyers as members of high society, with expensive cars and tastes, the reality in Hampton Roads is grittier. Between 2005 and 2021, lawyers’ real income in the region declined by more than 25%. In this chapter, we explore the supply of lawyers in Hampton Roads and whether we are producing too many lawyers for economic conditions in the region. We ask what the future may hold for the legal profession in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the nation.