No Mere Tautology: The Division Of Labor Is Limited By The Division Of Labor,
2017
Marquette University
No Mere Tautology: The Division Of Labor Is Limited By The Division Of Labor, Andrew Smyth, Bart J. Wilson
ESI Working Papers
We explore the intersection of growth theory and the theory of the firm with an experiment. Economic growth is possible in our experiment when agents specialize to exploit increasing returns. We find that low opportunity costs are sufficient for Marshallian internal economies, but that Marshallian external economies are slow to emerge in four probing treatment conditions. Transaction costs do not hamper external economies as we anticipated prior to collecting data. When external economies falter, it is because new ideas about the cost and value of more extensive specialization fail to emerge. Ideas are what make further divisions of the …
Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- September 2017,
2017
University of Rhode Island
Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- September 2017, Leonard Lardaro
The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index
No abstract provided.
School Resources And Student Outcomes: Evidence From The State Of Illinois,
2017
Illinois State University
School Resources And Student Outcomes: Evidence From The State Of Illinois, Alyssa Cooper
Student Research – Stevenson Center
Literature on the subject of school resources and student outcomes tends to find that there is a positive relationship between both variables. Most literature uses per-pupil spending (PPS) or teacher salaries as a measure of school resources. While I have modeled both in my paper, my focus in this paper is on per-pupil spending. Using data from the Illinois State Board of Education from 2006-2016 and measuring student outcomes through average ACT scores, operational PPS is found to be insignificant, whereas instructional PPS is found to be positive and significant at the 5% level. Estimates suggest that a 1 standard …
Determinants Of Firm-Level Domestic Sales And Exports With Spillovers: Evidence From China,
2017
Syracuse University
Determinants Of Firm-Level Domestic Sales And Exports With Spillovers: Evidence From China, Badi H. Baltagi, Peter H. Egger, Michaela Kesina
Center for Policy Research
This paper studies the determinants of firm-level revenues, as a measure of the performance of firms in China's domestic and export markets. The analysis of the determinants of the aforementioned outcomes calls for a mixed linear-nonlinear econometric approach. The paper proposes specifying a system of equations, which is inspired by Basmann's work and recent theoretical work in international economics and conducts comparative static analyses regarding the role of exogenous shocks to the system to flesh out the relative importance of transmissions across outcomes.
Three Essays On The European Sovereign Debt Crisis With A Special Focus On Greece,
2017
CUNY Graduate Center
Three Essays On The European Sovereign Debt Crisis With A Special Focus On Greece, Flora Leventi
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation consists of three chapters where I examine several aspects of the European sovereign debt crisis. The first chapter focuses on systemic risk. Following the financial crisis of 2007-08, both in academic as well as policy circles, much of the research has focused toward the systemic importance of financial institutions. Parallel to that research, but to somewhat lesser extent, there have been improvements in our understanding of how risk is transmitted from the financial system to the real economy. This chapter investigates a related yet distinct manifestation of systemic risk, namely systemic sovereign risk. Using data on sovereign credit …
Robust Linear Static Panel Data Models Using Ε-Contamination,
2017
Syracuse University
Robust Linear Static Panel Data Models Using Ε-Contamination, Badi H. Baltagi, Georges Bresson, Anoop Chaturvedi, Guy Lacroix
Center for Policy Research
The paper develops a general Bayesian framework for robust linear static panel data models using ε-contamination. A two-step approach is employed to derive the conditional type-II maximum likelihood (ML-II) posterior distribution of the coefficients and individual effects. The ML-II posterior means are weighted averages of the Bayes estimator under a base prior and the data-dependent empirical Bayes estimator. Two-stage and three stage hierarchy estimators are developed and their finite sample performance is investigated through a series of Monte Carlo experiments. These include standard random effects as well as Mundlak-type, Chamberlain-type and Hausman-Taylor-type models. The simulation results underscore the relatively good …
Bubble Testing Under Deterministic Trends,
2017
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Bubble Testing Under Deterministic Trends, Xiaohu Wang, Jun Yu
Research Collection School Of Economics
This paper develops the asymptotic theory of the ordinary least squares estimator of the autoregressive (AR) coefficient in various AR models, when data is generated from trend-stationary models in different forms. It is shown that, depending on how the autoregression is specified, the commonly used right-tailed unit root tests may tend to reject the null hypothesis of unit root in favor of the explosive alternative. A new procedure to implement the right-tailed unit root tests is proposed. It is shown that when the data generating process is trend-stationary, the test statistics based on the proposed procedure cannot find evidence of …
Non-Separable Models With High-Dimensional Data,
2017
Singapore Management University
Non-Separable Models With High-Dimensional Data, Liangjun Su, Takuya Ura, Yichong Zhang
Research Collection School Of Economics
This paper studies non-separable models with a continuous treatment when the dimension of the control variables is high and potentially larger than the effective sample size. We propose a three-step estimation procedure to estimate the average, quantile, and marginal treatment effects. In the first stage we estimate the conditional mean, distribution, and density objects by penalized local least squares, penalized local maximum likelihood estimation, and penalized conditional density estimation, respectively, where control variables are selected via a localized method of L1-penalization at each value of the continuous treatment. In the second stage we estimate the average and the marginal distribution …
Domestic Liquidity Conditions And Monetary Policy In Singapore,
2017
Singapore Management University
Domestic Liquidity Conditions And Monetary Policy In Singapore, Hwee Kwan Chow-Tan
Research Collection School Of Economics
Singapore has an unusual exchange rate-centered monetary policy framework that has served the economy well over the past decades. Monetary policy operations are carried out by the central bank through the management of the Singapore dollar against a currency basket. As is well recognized, such foreign exchange interventions do have an impact on domestic liquidity conditions. However, in the case of Singapore, this tends to be counteracted by the liquidity impact of public sector operations related to the fiscal position and the national pension scheme. The central bank takes into account the net liquidity impact these and other autonomous money …
Adaptive Estimation Of Continuous-Time Regression Models Using High-Frequency Data,
2017
Singapore Management University
Adaptive Estimation Of Continuous-Time Regression Models Using High-Frequency Data, Jia Li, Viktor Todorov, George Tauchen
Research Collection School Of Economics
We derive the asymptotic efficiency bound for regular estimates of the slope coefficient in a linear continuous-time regression model for the continuous martingale parts of two Itô semimartingales observed on a fixed time interval with asymptotically shrinking mesh of the observation grid. We further construct an estimator from high-frequency data that achieves this efficiency bound and, indeed, is adaptive to the presence of infinite-dimensional nuisance components. The estimator is formed by taking optimal weighted average of local nonparametric volatility estimates that are constructed over blocks of high-frequency observations. The asymptotic efficiency bound is derived under a Markov assumption for the …
The Attack And Defense Of Weakest Link Networks,
2017
Chapman University
The Attack And Defense Of Weakest Link Networks, Dan Kovenock, Brian Roberson, Roman M. Sheremeta
ESI Working Papers
We experimentally test the qualitatively different equilibrium predictions of two theoretical models of attack and defense of a weakest-link network of targets. In such a network, the attacker’s objective is to successfully attack at least one target and the defender’s objective is to defend all targets. The models differ in how the conflict at each target is modeled — specifically, the lottery and auction contest success functions (CSFs). Consistent with equilibrium in the auction CSF model, attackers utilize a stochastic “guerrilla-warfare” strategy, which involves randomly attacking at most one target with a random level of force. Inconsistent with equilibrium in …
Loss Aversion And The Quantity-Quality Tradeoff,
2017
Chapman University
Loss Aversion And The Quantity-Quality Tradeoff, Jared Rubin, Anya Samek, Roman M. Sheremeta
ESI Working Papers
Firms face an optimization problem that requires a maximal quantity output given a quality constraint. But how do firms incentivize quantity and quality to meet these dual goals, and what role do behavioral factors, such as loss aversion, play in the tradeoffs workers face? We address these questions with a theoretical model and an experiment in which participants are paid for both quantity and quality of a real effort task. Consistent with basic economic theory, higher quality incentives encourage participants to shift their attention from quantity to quality. However, we also find that loss averse participants shift their attention from …
Do Weapons Make Warfare? An Instrumental Variables Approach Towards Investigating The Relationship Between Small Arms Abundance, Civil Conflict Onset, And Civil Conflict Intensity,
2017
Macalester College
Do Weapons Make Warfare? An Instrumental Variables Approach Towards Investigating The Relationship Between Small Arms Abundance, Civil Conflict Onset, And Civil Conflict Intensity, Gabriel S. Barrett
Political Science Honors Projects
Scholars, journalists, and policymakers frequently attribute the intensity and onset of civil conflict to the abundance of small arms. However, the direction of causality has been difficult to assess due to a lack of data on the illicit small arms market and the plausibly endogenous relationship between the abundance of weapons and civil conflict. Using a new dataset of estimated small arms prices, I determine that a decrease in the price of small arms is significantly and negatively correlated with an increase in the intensity of conflict in the following year. I also determine that small arms prices increase in …
Direct Effects Of Bundled Payments For Care Improvement Initiative: A County-Level Approach,
2017
City University of New York (CUNY)
Direct Effects Of Bundled Payments For Care Improvement Initiative: A County-Level Approach, Konstantinos Panitsas Mr
Theses and Dissertations
Implementing a nonlinear, Difference-in-Differences estimation method, I quantify the positive impact bundled payment reforms have on vulnerable population groups living in U.S. counties where this cost reducing initiative was implemented. I find statistically significant effects of this health-care initiative on the elderly and the economically disadvantaged individuals.
The Effect Of Paid Sick Leave On Physician Office-Based Visits,
2017
CUNY Hunter College
The Effect Of Paid Sick Leave On Physician Office-Based Visits, Korvin Vicente
Theses and Dissertations
This paper uses a balanced sample of workers from cross-sections of the National Health Interview Survey to estimate the causal effects of paid sick leave on the medical care seeking behavior of individuals, as measured by physician office-based visits.
Exchange In The Absence Of Legal Enforcement: Reputation And Multilateral Punishment Under Uncertainty,
2017
Chapman University
Exchange In The Absence Of Legal Enforcement: Reputation And Multilateral Punishment Under Uncertainty, Aidin Hajikhameneh, Jared Rubin
ESI Working Papers
Prinicpal-agent problems can reduce gains from exchange available in long distance trade. One solution to mitigate this problem is multilateral punishment, whereby groups of principals jointly punish cheating agents by giving them bad reputations. But how does such punishment work when there is uncertainty regarding whether an agent actually cheated or was just the victim of bad luck? And how might such uncertainty be mitigated—or exacerbated—by nonobservable, pro-social behavioral characteristics? We address these questions by designing a simple modified trust game with uncertainty and the capacity for principals to employ multilateral punishment. We find that a modest amount of uncertainty …
How Product Innovation Can Affect Price Collusion,
2017
Chapman University
How Product Innovation Can Affect Price Collusion, Andrew Smyth
ESI Working Papers
Price conspiracies appear endemic in many markets. This paper conjectures that low expected returns from product innovation can affect price collusion in certain markets. This conjecture is tested—and supported—by both archival and experimental data. In particular, average market prices in low innovation experiments are significantly greater than those in high innovation, but otherwise identical experiments, because price collusion is more successful in the low innovation experiments.
Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- August 2017,
2017
University of Rhode Island
Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- August 2017, Leonard Lardaro
The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index
No abstract provided.
Building Research Skills In The Macalester Economics Major,
2017
Macalester College
Building Research Skills In The Macalester Economics Major, J. Peter Ferderer, Gary Krueger
Faculty Publications
Economics majors at Macalester College have won numerous awards for their research papers, and this success has helped them land jobs in finance, consulting, and the nonprofit sector, as well as gain admission to top graduate programs. This article describes how the Economics Department at Macalester promotes economic research among its students.
A Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Household Financial Reactions And Homebuyer Awareness Of Registered Sex Offenders In A Rural, Suburban, And Urban County.,
2017
University of Louisville
A Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Household Financial Reactions And Homebuyer Awareness Of Registered Sex Offenders In A Rural, Suburban, And Urban County., John Charles Navarro
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As stigmatized persons, registered sex offenders betoken instability in communities. Depressed home sale values are associated with the presence of registered sex offenders even though the public is largely unaware of the presence of registered sex offenders. Using a spatial multilevel approach, the current study examines the role registered sex offenders influence sale values of homes sold in 2015 for three U.S. counties (rural, suburban, and urban) located in Illinois and Kentucky within the social disorganization framework. Homebuyers were surveyed to examine whether awareness of local registered sex offenders and the homebuyer’s community type operate as moderators between home selling …
