Economics Commons^™

Using Actual Betting Percentages To Analyze Sportsbook Behavior: The Canadian And Arena Football Leagues, Rodney Paul, Andrew P. Weinbach, Kristin K. Paul

Falk College Research Center

Sportsbook behavior is tested for the Canadian and Arena Football Leagues using real sportsbook betting percentages from on-line sportsbooks. The balanced book hypothesis of the traditional sportsbook models does not appear to hold for these leagues, as favorites and overs attract more than 50 percent of the betting dollars. Although there is some slight evidence toward shading the line in these directions, there is also no overwhelming evidence supporting the Levitt (2004) hypothesis, as sportsbooks do not appear to be actively pricing to maximize profits. In general, the results seem more consistent with the sportsbook pricing as a forecast, content …

New York Camp Econometrics V Program, Center For Policy Research

Camp Econometrics-Programs

No abstract provided.

Optimal Fiscal Policy With Robust Control, Justin Svec

Economics Department Working Papers

This paper compares the fiscal policies implemented by two types of government when confronted by consumer uncertainty. Consumers, lacking confidence in their knowledge of the stochastic environment, endogenously tilt their subjective probability model away from an approximating probability model. The government does not face this uncertainty. Through its choice of a labor tax and the supply of one-period public debt, the government manipulates the competitive equilibrium allocation and the consumers' probability distortion. I consider two types of altruistic government. A "benevolent" government maximizes the consumers' expected utility under the approximating probability model, whereas a "political" government maximizes the consumers' expected …

Wright State University Regional Economic Report, Fall 2010, Thomas L. Traynor

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Providing A Voice To 'Excluded' Nations, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

The article critiques the G20's representativeness, noting that while the grouping improves on the earlier G8 structure, it still excludes 170 nations, including Pakistan, from direct participation in global economic decision-making. Using Pakistan as a case study, the author examines the risks of exclusion from reforms to institutions like the IMF and World Bank, and proposes two options: forming country constituencies or establishing formal consultative mechanisms between G20 members and excluded "associate" countries.

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2010, James V. Koch, Vinod Agarwal, Linda Candler, Lynn Clements, Chris Colburn, Vicky Curtis, Steve Daniel, Susan Hughes, Elizabeth Janik, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Linda Mcgreevy, Janet Molinaro, Ken Plum, Wayne Talley, Ayush Toolsidass, Gilbert Yochum

Economics Faculty Books

This is Old Dominion University's 11th 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 or it's president, John R. Broderick. The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region's many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about "where we are" and a …

Valuing Environmental Quality: A Space-Based Strategy, John I. Carruthers, David E. Clark

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper develops and applies a space-based strategy for overcoming the general problem of deriving the implicit demand for nonmarket goods. It focuses specifically on evaluating one form of environmental quality, distance from Environmental Protection Agency designated environmental hazards, via the single-family housing market in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. A spatial two-stage hedonic price analysis is used to: (i) estimate the marginal implicit price of distance from air release sites, hazardous waste generators, hazardous waste handlers, superfund sites, and toxic release sites; and (ii) estimate a series of implicit demand functions describing the …

Reducing Healthcare Costs Requires Good Market Design, Peter Cramton, Brett E. Katzman

Faculty Articles

Healthcare costs are no doubt too high, and Congress has been pushing for 13 years to harness market forces in Medicare procurement. But despite all this time, we are on the precipice of adopting a very poor market design, according to Peter Cramton of University of Maryland and Brett Katzman of Kennesaw State University.

Corporate Transparency, Private Information And Stock Price Synchronicity., Mohammed Sharaf Mohsen Shaiban

Student Works (2010-2019)

The issue of stock price synchronicity as a measure of stock price informativeness has recently attracted much research attention. Using cross-country data from 40 countries, this study investigates the relationship between corporate transparency (measured by reporting timeliness, financial analyst following and credibility of disclosures) and stock price synchronicity. In addition, this study investigates the moderating effects of reporting timeliness on the relationship between financial analyst and credibility of disclosures and stock price synchronicity. Specifically, it examines whether the relationship between financial analysts and disclosure credibility and stock price synchronicity is stronger or weaker given the range of timeliness of financial …

The Sustainability Of The U.S. Current Account Deficit: Revisiting Mann's Rule, Radhames A. Lizardo, Andre V. Mollick

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Using quarterly data from 1973 to 2008, we provide evidence that current account (CA) deficits exceeding 4.2% of GDP (\"Mann's rule\") do have a significant lowering effect on the U.S. dollar value against major currencies. Controlling for inflation, public debt, and a broad trade weighted index, excessive CA deficits have a negative long-run impact on the USD. Along the transition path, much faster speeds of adjustment to long-run equilibrium are found when current account deficits in excess of Mann's rule are considered: 20% of the deviations from the long-run equilibrium are corrected in a month against 8% or 9% without …

The "Ecclesial" Critique Of Globalization: Rethinking The Questions, James K.A. Smith

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Gender On Voluntary And Involuntary Executive Departure, John R. Becker-Blease, Susan Elkinawy, Mark Stater

Finance Faculty Works

We examine the frequency and conditions of executive departure from S&P 1500 firms. Based upon published news reports, we find that female executives are more likely than male executives to depart their positions voluntarily and involuntarily in the presence of controls for firm performance, firm governance, and human capital. We also find that women are less likely than men to depart voluntarily as firm size increases or board size decreases but more likely to be dismissed as the board becomes more male dominated.

The Elasticity Of Taxable Income During The 1990s: New Estimates And Sensitivity Analyses, Seth H. Giertz

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

Over the past two decades, the elasticity of taxable income has emerged as the central parameter for assessing efficiency and revenue implications from changes to tax policy. This article estimates short- and longer-run responses of taxable (and gross) income to changes in tax rates using panels of U.S. tax returns for the 1990s. With the richest set of income controls, income-weighted elasticity estimates range from 0.19 to 0.33, depending on whether responses are measured over one- or three-year intervals. An alternative approach designed to capture delayed and anticipatory responses yields much larger estimates -- ranging from 0.43 over the short …

Border Metropolitan Water Forecast Accuracy, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Angel L. Molina Jr.

Border Region Modeling Project

Municipal water consumption planning is an active area of research due to infrastructure construction and maintenance costs, supply constraints, and water quality assurance. In spite of that, relatively few water forecast accuracy assessments have been completed to date, although some internal documentation may exist as part of the proprietary “grey literature.” This study utilizes a data set of previously published municipal consumption forecasts to partially fill that gap in the empirical water economics literature. Previously published municipal water econometric forecasts for three public utilities are examined for predictive accuracy against two random walk benchmarks commonly used in regional analyses. Descriptive …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Teodulo Soto

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Unlv / Brookings West: Intermountain West Region Regional Survey, University Of Nevada Las Vegas, Brookings Institute

Brookings Mountain West Publications

The 2010 Intermountain West Public Opinion Survey documents responses from 2,000 residents of the Intermountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications conducted the survey from August 23 – September 1, 2010. A minimum of 250 respondents for each state are included in the results for this survey. Respondents included 1,700 landline interviews and 300 cell phone interviews. Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications provides strategic planning, communications, project management, and research services to a wide range of non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and candidates for elected office.

The survey includes an extensive series …

Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract For Smoking Cessation, Xavier Giné, Dean Karlan, Jonathan Zinman

Dartmouth Scholarship

We designed and tested a voluntary commitment product to help smokers quit smoking. The product (CARES) offered smokers a savings account in which they deposit funds for six months, after which they take a urine test for nicotine and cotinine. If they pass, their money is returned; otherwise, their money is forfeited to charity. Of smokers offered CARES, 11 percent took up, and smokers randomly offered CARES were 3 percentage points more likely to pass the 6-month test than the control group. More importantly, this effect persisted in surprise tests at 12 months, indicating that CARES produced lasting smoking cessation. …

The Incompatibility Of Dependence And Development: A Critical Analysis Of International Development Efforts In The Nicaraguan Context, Molly Dunton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Countries in the Global South have been receiving billions of dollars annually in humanitarian and development aid for the past half-century. But they still remain poor, marginalized, and on the periphery in spite of this massive influx of money into the region. Many would argue that this very aid is in fact working to maintain the economic hierarchies responsible for their poverty. Through the lens of Dependency Theory, I analyze this apparent failure of the International Development Industry in the context of Nicaragua. After researching what was working and what wasn’t in Nicaraguan rural development, I was able to categorize …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Greening An Older Modest-Sized Home, Delilah Zoe Leval

Master's Theses

This professional project estimates the upfront costs and utility savings expected from greening an approximately 1,100 square foot home built in the 1950s in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two sets of upgrades (alternative and original) were compared for costs and benefits. The alternative set (which included ceiling insulation and omitted upgrading to dual-pane windows) clearly out performed the original set. The alternative set would be expected to reduce resident utility bills by 28% annually, and to prevent approximately 2,700 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The water efficiency upgrades were the best performing group of upgrades, as they had …

Justice Sector Reform In Rwanda: A Space Of Contention Or Consensus?, Maria Sebastian

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Justice sector reform is an arena of competition, where international development partners and Rwandan government institutions introduce contending ideas of justice through different development projects. In this ensuing competition of influence, how do international players utilize their roles as development partners to affect the accepted standards within Rwandan courts through established systems of monitoring and evaluation? And moreover, how do individuals in the Rwandan government perceive these partners, projects, and indicators? This study aims to answer these questions through an in-depth literature review, an analysis of development projects in the justice sector, and finally semi-structured interviews with key individuals in …