International Economics Commons^™

Prices, Markups, And Trade Reform, Jan De Loecker, Pinelopi K. Goldberg, Amit K. Khandelwal, Nina Pavcnik

Dartmouth Scholarship

This paper examines how prices, markups, and marginal costs respond to trade liberalization. We develop a framework to estimate markups from production data with multi‐product firms. This approach does not require assumptions on the market structure or demand curves faced by firms, nor assumptions on how firms allocate their inputs across products. We exploit quantity and price information to disentangle markups from quantity‐based productivity, and then compute marginal costs by dividing observed prices by the estimated markups. We use India's trade liberalization episode to examine how firms adjust these performance measures. Not surprisingly, we find that trade liberalization lowers factory‐gate …

Optimal International Agreement And Restriction On Domestic Efficiency, Gea M. Lee

Research Collection School Of Economics

The WTO's strict treatment of domestic subsidies has not been well received in the existing literature. An essential reason is that the consequent restriction on domestic efficiency is hardly compatible with the existing theory of government intervention under which the primary objective of using domestic subsidies, domestic efficiency, is not sacrificed for another objective. We develop a trade-agreement model in which the magnitude of a legitimate domestic subsidy with which to address a production externality is private information. We find that an optimal agreement substantially restricts domestic efficiency for the international objective of expanding market access.

Subsidies And Countervailing Duties, Gea M. Lee

Research Collection School Of Economics

This survey pays attention to a recent development of the literature that analyzes two important regulatory features found in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (the SCM agreement): the restrictive treatment of domestic subsidies and the general prohibition of export subsidies. The WTO's restriction on domestic subsidies is challenged by the existing terms-of-trade theory that offers an efficiency foundation for the market-access focus of the GATT rules. On the other hand, against the backdrop of the SCM agreement and preferential trade agreements (PTAs), a recent literature attempts to provide a rationale for the WTO to restrict the use of …

Ocean Economy Valuation Studies In The Asia-Pacific Region: Lessons For The Future International Use Of National Accounts In The Blue Economy, Alistair Mcilgorm

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

There have been several projects that have addressed the challenges of measuring the ocean economy in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper examines some lessons from these projects and the implications for the future use of national accounts.

Following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Bali declaration, the APEC Marine Resource Conservation Working group’s “Measuring the Marine economy” project promoted consistent measurement of the marine economy across the 21 APEC economies against a list of agreed marine industry categories which was developed by an APEC workshop on Easter Island in 2004.

In 2008-09 a Partnership for the Environmental Management of the …

Geopolitics Of The 2015 British Defense White Paper And Its Historical Predecessors, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

On November 23, 2015 the United Kingdom (UK) released a defense white paper detailing its national security strategic objectives. This work examines the geopolitical, economic, and strategic implications of this document and compares it with recent and historical defense white paper documents issued by the British government. It scrutinizes the text of these documents and relevant scholarly literature analyzing them while also examining the national security threats facing the UK at the time of their issuance and assesses whether the 2015 document will be supported with requisite political will, military personnel, and financial support to carry out its objectives

Is Urban Food Demand In The Philippines Different From China?, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

Food is an essential good, and thus understanding its demand is important for the formulation of sound agricultural policies and developing sustainable agricultural business. A timely analysis of food demand is important because it can change over time not only because prices and incomes change but also because people’s taste itself also change. However, even in countries where food accounts for a sizable share of expenditure or where the agricultural sector accounts for a large share of output, careful analysis of food demand is often not readily available. In this study, we analyze the food demand in urban Philippines and …

Exploring Economic And Social Factors That Increase Economic And Well-Being Measurements Of Developing And Developed Countries, Kofi D. Boadu

Undergraduate Economic Review

The historical growth paths of developed and developing countries reveal the challenges that developing countries face in traveling the road from poverty to prosperity. Based on economic development literature, economic theory, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method, this research considers whether or not, and to what extent globalization characteristics, foreign direct investment levels (FDI), secondary school enrollment rates, information communication technology (ICT) as a percentage of trade imports, and happiness levels of 103 developing and developed countries, impact their GDP per capita levels. This paper will also take a look at alternative ways of viewing and measuring economic success.

Covered Interest Parity Empirical Analysis Of Non-Traditional Monetary Policy's Effects On Exchange Rates, Tyler Salminen

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This research sought to find an economically justifiable relationship between non-traditional monetary policies of the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve and the dollar/yen exchange rate. This research utilized the covered interest parity condition in conjunction with a partial least squares structured equation analysis in order to discern any possible relationships between these two phenomenon. A solid relationship between the non-traditional monetary policies of these central banks and dollar/yen exchange rate was found. In order to analyze significance, direction, and nature of this relationship this research followed up the partial least squares analysis with bootstrap structural equation modeling. Because …

Mortality And Conflict In The Developing World, Stephen Partin

Student Scholarship - College of Business

To varying extents, the world one is born into does not provide equal opportunities. This study measures the extent to which survivability across the developing world is affected by factors outside of the health and lifestyle choices one can make: industry, foreign markets, conflict, and the demographics around them. These variables are tested for a balanced panel of 102 countries over 7 years, allowing country-specific factors to be controlled.

A Culture Shaped By Immigrants: Examining The Consequences Of U.S. Immigration Policy, Roger White, Shane Francis

Economics

We examine U.S. immigration history both by recounting the related legislative history and by examining data on immigrant inflows and inflow shares during the period from 1820 through 2013. A descriptive analysis of the cultural differences between the U.S. and several cohorts of countries suggests that U.S. culture has been shaped by the pattern of immigrant arrivals. Broadly stated, American culture has evolved to be similar to those of European societies (predominantly, countries in Northern and Western Europe) and to largely be dissimilar to the cultures of other regions. Following the enactment of the Hart-Celler Act in 1968, the primary …

A Panel Data Analysis On Globalization And Income Inequality, Dave Mclean-Shinaman

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The paper investigates the relationship between globalization and income inequality using a comprehensive set of variables. It uses a panel data analysis of 51 countries over the time period of 2000-2013. The independent variables included are globalization, economic growth, education, economic freedom, and urbanization. Overall, the results suggest that globalization, as well as economic freedom and urbanization, have a significant impact on income inequality within developing nations. However, they differ in their effect on income inequality. Globalization is shown to decrease income inequality while economic freedom and urbanization in turn widen the income distribution gap. Meanwhile, results also suggest that …

Revisiting Government Size And Economic Growth: Does Institutional Quality Matter?, Julio Diaz

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper revisits the relationship between government size and economic growth depending on the public sector quality. In this paper, an econometric panel study on a sample of 12 Latin American countries covering 1996-2013 period. It is important to note that the data has its limitation and may affect the quality of the study. The results show no significance in the relationship between government size and economic growth at any level institutional quality. These findings show a negative relationship between government size and economic growth. In addition, the results show a dependency between government size and corruption.

Tip-Off Titans: Hedonic Price Analysis Of Autographed Nba Memorabilia, Jeffrey Girgenti

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Studies have explored the economics surrounding the emergence of superstars, but relatively little research exists on the associated memorabilia markets. Using a sample of autographed artifacts, on sale through an internet outlet, hedonic analysis is used to gain insight into the significant characteristics of price determination. The data consists of current and former autographs of National Basketball Association (NBA) players on photographs. This study explores price differences with respect to a number of independent variables related to the artifact and player status. A notable difference emerges among framed and limited edition pieces, and pieces signed by top-ranked players.

Corruption And Economic Growth In The Brics: An Empirical Analysis, Iemanjá Dos Santos

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the relationship between corruption and economic growth in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; collectively known as the BRICS. Given the rapid rise of the BRICS and the international spotlight placed on them, this research study aims to explore the effect corruption has on the GDP growth of the states. To do this, a time-series analysis is conducted on each of the five states in order to analyze corruption’s effect on the individual countries. It is found that corruption only holds significance in Brazil and Russia, however, whilst there appears to be an inverse relationship between …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 9, Spring 2016

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Restructuring The Eurozone, Anthony M. Juliano

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper suggests that there should be a realignment of the current Eurozone. There has been research to argue that the Eurozone does not fit the Optimum Currency Area (OCA) criteria. This might be a contributing factor to the current economic crisis in Europe. I propose, based on results from k-means data clustering, that the Eurozone be divided into three separate regions under the European Central Bank (ECB). The division would allow for enhanced stabilization and efficiency due to better fitting of the OCA criteria and policy implications.

Global Climate Change, Fair Trade, And Coffee Price Volatility, Thomas M. Segerstrom

Gettysburg Economic Review

Fair Trade coffee sales have grown exponentially over the past fifteen years amidst a volatile and shaky coffee commodity market. This paper incorporates the prior research that global climate change will lead to more climate shocks with research on the coffee market’s volatility and farmer welfare. In accordance with prior research on commodity volatility, I develop an OLS estimator of the volatility of prices received by growers and evaluate the effect of climate shocks on it. I find that, when control variables are introduced, the volatility of the coffee price does increase at a statistically significant level with a climate …

Resilience Of Developing Countries To Shocks: Case Study Of Waemu Countries With Sur And Var Approaches, Assande Adom

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This article investigates the economic resilience of West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) member states to shocks. Towards that end, an indepth study is conducted with, first, seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) and structural vector auto-regression (SVAR) models. Second, two indexes - namely, a resistance index and a recovery index — capturing two major aspects of economic resilience in a given country, or group of countries, are constructed. Following a comprehensive analysis of results, five key elements stand out: (i) the WAEMU as a whole takes longer than the individual member countries to accommodate both domestic and external shocks; (ii) …

How Does Student Debt Affect Household Formation?, Robert Young

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the impact student debt has on household formation. In order to determine what the impact is, an existing model around household formation was used and that model expanded it to include additional variables in order to add student debt into the model. Overall student debt at the individual and household levels has increased tremendously in the last 30 years. With student loan debt taking up a greater share of income for individuals and households, this research seeks to demonstrate that as student loan debt increases, the rate at which households are formed decreases. The findings of this …

A Panel Analysis Of Fdi And Trade: Growth In Developing Countries, Matthew Guerriero

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the relationship between FDI and trade openness in 5 lower-middle income countries and 5 upper-middle income countries. This study utilizes a panel data regression analysis to determine what plays a role in growth and whether or not it varies depending on development level. The results show that lower-middle income countries should focus their attention on attracting FDI and upper-middle income countries should focus on increasing trade and decreasing government involvement in business operations.

How Trade Liberalization Affects Unemployment Under The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Panel Data Analysis, Steven Brodeur

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Between 1994 and 2000, NAFTA eliminated over 700,000 U.S. jobs from an increasing trade deficit. Will the TPP have similar detrimental effects? This study uses panel data to investigate the relationship between trade liberalization and unemployment among the TPP confirmed and interested signatories. The results show that a negative correlation exists between taxes on international goods and the net barter terms of trade index, indicating and ceteris paribus that the elimination of duties could result in a larger trade deficit for countries with comparably stronger currencies. Additionally, the fixed-effects GLS regression yields real exchange rates to be insignificant, supporting cheaper …

Empirical Analysis Of Immigrant Wage Gap: Study Of Ethnicity And Language Proficiency, Dominik Kozlowski

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the effect of being an immigrant on a person’s wage. There is also a key focus on variables such as on language proficiency and ethnicity. Comparing the people that were born in New England to the people that were born in different areas of the world for the most recent data that was collected from the American Community Survey. The model shows and the research shows that immigrants’ wages are negatively affected because they are immigrants.

European Union Membership And Levels Of Corruption, Kevin J. Morris

The Corinthian

Recent accessions to the European Union (E.U.) membership have been met with protests as critics noted the widespread corruption still rampant in both recent and established member countries. Given the global ramifications of the debt crises in Italy, Spain, and Greece, determining the efficacy of the E.U. Accession Reforms and Membership Criteria on corruption reduction is vitally important. Using European and Central Asian country-level data from the World Bank’s Global Development and Global Indicator database regional-level fixed effects, I estimate the impact of EU membership on corruption levels and find that E.U. membership has a small, but significant impact on …

The Impact Of Government Debt Levels On Gdp Growth: A Panel Data Analysis, Guillaume Sabourin

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper analyzes the impact of government debt-to-GDP levels on GDP growth in 6 European Union Nations and 5 Middle Eastern countries. While government debt levels shot up in the EU as a result of massive fiscal stimulus following the Great Recession, debt levels have been steadily decreasing in certain Middle Eastern countries. Several variables are observed to determine the relationship between debt and growth, including real interest rates, unemployment, inflation, population growth, trade, and consumption. For the EU nations studied, panel least squares analysis indicates that every 10% increase in government debt-to-GDP costs 30 basis points of GDP growth. …

The Relationship Of Savings And Economic Growth In Developing Nations, Zachary Westner

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The aim of this paper is to analyze the cause and effect relationship between economic growth and savings in developing countries. In this paper I used the co-integration model and the granger causality test which are typically used in finding the relationship between savings and economic growth. Before estimating the model, it was essential to determine the stationaries of the time series. To do so I used the ADF test (augmented dickey-fuller). The results confirmed the existence of a one-way causal relationship between Gross Domestic Savings and economic growth in developing nations.

An Empirical Analysis Of The Effect Of Wealth On Health Indicators, Olivia Derogatis

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper uses regression analysis with panel data in order to investigate the relationship between income and health indicators in ten high income countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate if income has a significant and positive effect on the health of a nation’s population. In theory, the health of the population in high income countries should be positively correlated to the country’s income because the wealthier a nation, the more available resources the nation has to allocate to health care spending. The dependent variables in this study are life expectancy at birth and infant mortality rate. The …

Causal Relationship Between Terrorism And Economic Indicators, Jenna Labarre

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This study aims to understand the causal linkage between terrorism and various economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product, Tourism, and Foreign Direct Investment by running a Granger Causality regression. The expected results will show that terrorism does indeed decrease or increase as a result of changes in these economic indicators. In order to test for Granger Causality a unit-root test will first be performed, followed by a cointegration test. The results show that each nation experiences a different causal relationship with each of these indicators. Inflation is the most significant causal indicators in terms of percentage of countries tested …

Leadership Positioning Among U.S. Firms Investing In China, Rossitza B. Wooster, Donna L. Paul

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates leadership positioning by U.S. firms in China using the awareness, motivation, capability (AMC) perspective. We define leadership as first in industry to invest in China, and find that leaders have characteristics associated with higher AMC, evidenced by pre-existing multinational experience, higher product market orientation, smaller scale of operations, and higher input cost structure. Notably, the motivation to lower input costs and the prior capability in multinational operations mattered only for the first wave of firms leading industry investment earlier in time, while firms with smaller scale of operations exhibited a preference to lead investment in less popular …

Barriers To Prevention In Dengue Fever In Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Swat District, Abdul Zahir, Assad Ullah, Mussawar Shah, Arsalan Mussawar

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The main aim of this study was to find out the barriers in dengue prevention in the Swat District of Khyber Pkhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. A sample size of 354 respondents were proportionally allocated to each Mahallah or street (Tahir Abad, Angaro Dheri, Usman Abad and Banr) and then randomly selected. The association of the independent variable (barriers to prevention) and dependent variables (practices for control) were tested by using a Chi Square test. The perception about barriers in dengue prevention shows that a highly significant association was found between practices for control and access to medical facilities (p=0.034), government agencies …

Exploring The Budget Deficit-Economic Growth Nexus: New Evidence From Ghana, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Emmanuel Orkoh, Augustine Mensah Owusu

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

In this paper, we combine Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with trend analysis to assess the relationship between Ghana’s budget deficit and economic growth from 2000 to 2015 using quarterly data. The trend analysis reveals that since 2000, years of high budget deficit were usually followed by years of low economic growth and vice versa. This phenomenon was pronounced in 2009, when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate fell from 7.3 percent in 2008 to 4 percent in 2009, following an increase in the budget deficit from 8 percent in 2007 to 11.5 percent in 2008. The same phenomenon …