Public Economics Commons^™

The Impact Of Housing Prices On Aggregate Consumption: Evidence From An East Asian City-State, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Using aggregate consumption data for Singapore, this paper rejects the life-cycle/permanent income and myopia hypotheses as explanations for aggregate consumption behavior. We confirm the presence of liquidity constraints from the asymmetric reaction of consumption to income increases vis-a-vis income declines. When we allow for asymmetric response, anticipated house price increases appear to have a dampening effect on aggregate consumption while declines in expected house price growth also had a negative effect on consumption, although the results are statistically insignificant. There is no evidence that the housing price increases have produced either wealth or collateral enhancement effects on consumption.

Strategic Development Of Airport And Rail Infrastructure: The Case Of Singapore, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article recounts how a number of strategic infrastructure investment decisions in airport and rail development taken by the Singapore government were at variance with recommendations emerging from Cost-Benefit Analysis, but were considered necessary to support external competitiveness. This link between infrastructure provision and economic development may require decision makers to assess the trade-off between prudent macro-economic planning and efficient micro-economic management for major projects. In the case of airport hubs, the most difficult assessment might be the game consideration of how much, and how far ahead, excess capacity is needed to ensure the dominance of the hub.

Better Revenue Forecasting: Is Fiscal Stress A Stimulant? A Look At Nevada Local Governments, Richard A. Derrick

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Revenue forecasting is one of the most critical and often difficult tasks in governmental budgeting. It is critical because it determines the parameters upon which the budget is based. It is difficult because many outside influences can impact revenue results and cause variances with the forecast. If revenue is under projected, valuable services may not be provided during the fiscal year and an unexpected surplus may be created at year-end. By the time it becomes apparent that surpluses are developing, the damage to on-going programs and services, which may require consistency and budget stability for efficient delivery, may be done. …

Public Expenditure On Education And Income Inequality In Malaysia, Chu Kok Wee

Student Works (2000-2009)

The effects of education expenditure and education inequality on income inequality have been the focus of attention of many researchers and policymakers. In Malaysia, the evaluation of the effect of educational funding on economic inequality is an important and difficult task. It is important because education probably has some major impact on economic inequality; certainly Malaysian and the government have consistently assumed that it does. But it is also difficult because education's effects on society are multiple and complex; and scholars have been unable to agree, despite extensive study and discussion in recent years, about which effects are most important. …

An Econometric Analysis Of The Relationship Between Public Expenditure And National Income In Malaysia, Yin Wai Tung

Student Works (2000-2009)

The purpose of this study is to analyse public expenditure growth in Malaysia for the period of 1970-2000. This paper investigates the existence of a long-run relationship between national income and various categories of public expenditure as proposed by Wagner's Law. In Wagner's framework, public expenditure can be treated as an endogenous factor that suggests that public expenditure grows as a result of growth in national income. Causality is expected to run from national income to public expenditure. This contradicts the famous Keynesian doctrine that treats public expenditure as an exogenous factor. As opposed to Wagner's Law, it implies that …

The Implications Of The Financial Crisis For Malaysian Economy, Amir Raslan Abu Bakar

Student Works (2000-2009)

Malaysia had been blessed by rapid economic growth for the past 10 years prior to 1997. In fact, the success of the Malaysian economy had caught the eyes of developed and developing countries to study how Malaysia managed to achieve such growth. However, when the currency speculators attacked the Thai bath in July, 1997, things started to change. That was the beginning point to the 'nightmare' that the Malaysian economy was about to suffer. Later, more and more firms had to cease operations due to financial difficulties. The unemployment rate and interest rate were increasing. The Malaysian government came up …

The Determinants Of Private College Tuition Fees : A Hedonic Approach, Miin See

Student Works (2000-2009)

In the private higher education markets in Malaysia today, education programs are marketed like any other commercial products. The programs are designed, packaged, priced and sold to the consumers - the students. Due to the fact that in these markets, the students are mostly self-funded (without scholarship) pricing strategy is one of the most important marketing tools used by the private higher education institutes (PHEIs). Using the hedonic pricing model, this study has identified several factors that are influential in determining the tuition fee of a degree program offered by a PHEI in Malaysia. This study investigates two markets: the …

Transgenic Crops And The Environment: Missing Markets And Public Roles, David E. Ervin, Sandra S. Batie

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The rapidity of change has left scant opportunity for investigation of the consequences of adoption of transgenic crops on long-term ecosystem or economic system functioning. Economic theory suggests that, if the "Biotechnology Revolution" is left to market forces alone, there will be neglected public goods. Theory and limited empirical evidence suggests that there are significant incentives for private firms to discount and neglect certain environmental impacts and to develop products that meet mainly the needs of those able and willing to pay. Negative distributional impacts on rural societies and economies will not normally enter the private calculus nor will the …

Financing Legal Education, Marilyn Yarbrough

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Pension Reform In Latin America And Its Lessons For International Policymakers By Tapen Sinha Kluwer, Boston: Academic Publishers, 2000., Mukul G Asher

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Housing Policy, Wealth Formation And The Singapore Economy, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper evaluates the contribution of housing policy in Singapore to financial sector development, housing wealth formation and macro-economic performance, both retrospectively and prospectively. It provides an overview of past housing policies and traces the linkages to the financial sector. Housing policy as effected through the Housing and Development Board and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) hampered the development of the commercial housing loans sector and domestic financial markets, but contributed to the overall growth and stability of the housing loans market and associated financial institutions. Housing policy and the trend of housing asset inflation contributed significantly to the formation …

Motor Vehicle Taxes As An Environmental Management Instrument: The Case Of Singapore, Ngee-Choon Chia, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Being geographically small, land scarcity poses a potential constraint for economic growth in Singapore. Restraining car ownership and car use through motor vehicle taxes is part of the land-transport policy to ensure smoother traffic flow. This paper analyses the use of motor vehicle taxes in Singapore as an environmental management instrument. It evaluates the effectiveness of ownership and use taxes as instruments to internalise congestion and environment externality. Economic issues relating to the use of such taxes are also highlighted. It concludes that motor vehicle taxes offer Singapore a double dividend.

New Anti-Merger Theories: A Critique, Edward J. Lopez

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these new anti-merger instruments on the basis of economic theory and evidence. I first discuss how the economics of antitrust has developed over the years, with the intention of characterizing the intellectual inheritance of 1990s' antitrust regulators. Within this context, I then discuss each anti-merger instrument, how it has been applied in specific cases, and how it accords with underlying economic science. On the basis of these arguments, antitrust regulators should pause and reconsider the theoretical and empirical bases of applying unilateral effects and innovation markets to merger investigations.

Poverty In Thailand: Causes And Solutions, Nuntaporn Artontammakun

Theses Digitization Project

Poverty has been reduced substantially, but most poverty reducing programs have raised other problems out of poverty. This paper outlines the principal causes of poverty in an emerging nation-Thailand. It presents strategies for reducing the level of poverty.

Domestic Public Debt In Egypt: Magnitude, Structure, And Consequences, Gouda Abdel-Khalek

Faculty Book Chapters

[abstract not provided]

Chapter 10: Upper-Middle-Class Politics And Policy Outcomes: Does Class Identity Matter?, Herman L. Boschken

Faculty Publications, School of Management

This chapter in Clark and lipset's book on class in American politics resulted from a multi-day workshop at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in the summer of 1999. The piece reverses the normal causality of class politics. It does not analyze citizens in elections, but government officials creating policies. It asks why policies differ across localities (specifically public transit decisions in 42 U.S. metropolitan areas). It probes how some government officials work with an "upper-middle-class" citizenry in mind, while others do so less. The chapter then tests for differences across localities and finds quite distinct patterns. The chapter …

Preliminary Assessment Of Client Interest In And Needs Of The New England Environmental Finance Center, New England Environmental Finance Center, University Of Southern Maine

Planning

The New England Environmental Finance Center (NE/EFC) has been conceived as a knowledge-based clearinghouse, training, and change-agent program aimed at helping EPA's constituencies find financially successful approaches to environmental improvements. The NE/EFC will develop approaches to needs of particular priority in New England and potentially useful throughout the nation; share such approaches through the EFC national network; and help make tools from that network accessible throughout New England. In 1999 we began exploring with potential users how this ninth of the nation's EFCs might best address the region's needs. The assessment continued through the Muskie School's EFC proposal to EPA …

Interstate Trade And Economic Development In Nigeria., Ukwu I. Ukwu

Bullion

The economy is characterized by low industrial development, predominantly poor population and low agricultural production. The paper presents an analysis of the present size and structure of the Nigerian Domestic market, examine the patterns of trade among states and zones, and consider what needs to be done to improve the domestic trade system and enable it play its appropriate role in the overdue of transformation of the Nigerian economy. Finally, the study reveals that economic development of any state or group of states can be improved if they take advantage of economic integration. The relatively low level of economic development …

Northeast Ohio’S Regional Economy: An Assessment Of The Economic State Of The Region And Its Political Challenges, Edward W. Hill

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing Export Platforms: The Case Of Singapore, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

The aim of this paper is to try to understand how Singapore was generally successful in its export promoting strategy. Historically, Singapore experimented with an import-substituting strategy in the first half of the sixties in anticipation of forming a common market with Malaysia and also briefly after its independence in 1965. The level of protection, however, was relatively low during its import-substituting phase.

The Effectiveness Of Malaysian Personal Income Tax Policy (1977-1997), Saidatulakmal Mohd

Student Works (2000-2009)

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Malaysian Personal Income Tax Policy for the year 1977 - 1997. The areas of concentration are tax burden, poverty level, savings incentives, progressivity index and Inland Revenue Board's objectives. The methodologies to accomplish the mission are regression analysis, mathematical calculation, and index of progressivity. The research concludes that there is no significant relationship to explain any kind of relationship between the tax rates and the poverty level. Another finding shows that Malaysian personal income tax policy seems to be a good policy to induce private savings. Regression analysis, both under the …

Hong Kong And Singapore, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

There are many similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore. They have both enjoyed high rates of economic growth over the past three decades, averaging six percent a year in real terms. The two have become known as “East Asian Tigers,” having made the transition from poverty to newly industrialized economies in a relatively short time. Both started off as British colonies, with British legal and administrative systems, and made their living as trading ports serving their respective regions. Singapore has been an independent republic since 1965; Hong Kong was returned to China on July 1, 1997. While Hong Kong and …

Volatility Of Central Europe Exchange Rates: Reaction To Financial Contagion, And Policy Recommendations For European Union Accession, Lucjan T. Orlowski, Thomas D. Corrigan

WCBT Faculty Publications

Examines the volatility of the exchange rates in Central Europe. Role of capital account liberalization and financial market integration in exchange rate stability; Remedies employed to financial problems of each countries; Impact of Asian and Russian financial crises on currencies of Central European countries; Recommendations for European Union accession.

The Challenge Of Administration By Regulation: Preliminary Findings Regarding The U.S. Government's Venture Capital Funds, Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

This article assesses the ability of elected officials to control public policy as implemented by public/private hybrid organizations, specifically, government venture capital funds. The study reveals greater control over OPIC investment funds than Enterprise Funds despite the existence of more traditional administrative tools of control for Enterprise Funds. This finding suggests that the regulatory infrastructure for hybrid organizations is more determinative of control than the existence (or lack) of traditional administrative control tools. Thus the challenge of hybrid government centers on the development of regulation as a substitute for administration.

How Useful Are Forecasts Of Corporate Profits, Dean D. Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

If forecasters predict higher earnings for corporations, the stock market will rise. Stock prices will drop with a forecast of lower earnings. But are such forecasts on the money? Dean Croushore uses data from the Survey of Professional Forecasters to check the accuracy of forecasts of corporate profits. The results show that, despite the volatility of corporate profits, the forecasts are rational.

Mosler, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes.

• Shaikh, A., PhD. (1999, March 2). XR’s citing Mosler on government intervention in foreign currency [Unpublished handwritten notes].

• Shaikh, A., PhD. (n.d.). Mosler [Unpublished handwritten notes on government deficits, taxes, unemployment, and the base wage].

An Analysis Of The Economic And Social Issues Associated With Restructuring The Port Of Port-Au-Prince (Haiti), Ginelle Lambert Noel

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exchange-Rate Policies In Central Europe And Monetary Union, Lucjan Orlowski

WCBT Faculty Publications

Looks at the relationship between exchange-rate and monetary policies in transition economies (TEs) in central Europe bent on becoming part of the European Union. Review of practiced targets of monetary policy in response to the requirements of monetary union; Question of whether or not candidates will resort to a final currency devaluation; Suggestions for adjustments in short- and long-term monetary policy.

Productivity Growth And Public Sector Employment, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Our model endogenizes the share of public sector employment in a neoclassical growth model. Under the assumptions that public sector production is labor intensive and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is less than one, the public share of employment is shown to decline with a rise in capital per effective worker. Our theory predicts that periods of high productivity growth are associated with a rising trend of the public share of employment. This prediction conforms well with U.S. experience from 1950–1995.

Productivity Growth And Public Sector Employment, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Our model endogenizes the share of public sector employment in a neoclassical growth model. Under the assumptions that public sector production is labor intensive and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is less than one, the public share of employment is shown to decline with a rise in capital per effective worker. Our theory predicts that periods of high productivity growth are associated with a rising trend of the public share of employment. This prediction conforms well with U.S. experience from 1950-1995.