bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Educational contributions, academic quality, and athletic success
Authors: Rhoads TA. , Gerking S.
Published: January 2010

This article examines the role of successful Division I football and basketball programs in motivating alumni and other donors to make charitable educational contributions to U.S. universities. Results from fixed effects analysis of panel data on 87 universities for the period 1986–87 to 1995–96 indicate that year‐to‐year changes in athletic success have a positive impact on levels of alumni giving, but that other types of donors are not as responsive. Also, long‐standing athletic traditions established prior to the sample period appear to generate academic benefits in the form of increased charitable donations from all sources. However, the estimated impact of a successful athletic tradition is relatively weak when compared to the effect of student and faculty quality on educational contributions.
Uzbekistan: the silk road to nowhere?
Authors: Spechler MC.
Published: January 2010

The Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has adopted a unique transition strategy of gradual, state‐guided development in which stability and equality are principal objectives and in which growth is sought for now by exporting staple raw materials and importing capital equipment to assure energy independence and to invest in backward‐linkages into cotton fabricating, chemicals, and other manufacturing branches. Sharp criticisms of the‘Uzbek Road’by multinational agencies unfairly neglect positive aspects of the transition record to date in comparison with other post‐Soviet states of the area.
Smoking laws and their differential effects on restaurants, bars, and taverns
Authors: Dunham J. , Marlow ML.
Published: January 2010

This article examines the effect of restrictive smoking laws on restaurants, bars, and taverns. Supporters of these laws often argue that they do not harm firms and may even raise profits. Opponents argue that owners cater to customer smoking preferences, and laws mandating specific policies will negatively impact profits. This article provides a framework for examining the distribution of effects that smoking laws exert on businesses, and demonstrates that changes in total sales or tax revenues do not provide a meaningful understanding of the economic implications because smoking laws exert different effects on different firms. The distribution of these effects is examined using data from a nationwide survey of 1,300 restaurant, bar, and tavern owners. While some subsets of firms are predicted to suffer revenue declines, bars are predicted to be more than twice as likely to experience losses as restaurants. An important implication is that the increasing level of governmental restrictions on smoking in the hospitality sector could gradually impact the types of service available to the public.
Growth management and housing prices: the case of Portland, Oregon
Authors: Phillips J. , Goodstein E.
Published: January 2010

Portland, Oregon, is well known for its relatively unique urban growth boundary (UGB), a very tight form of zoning designed to control sprawl. The UGB has recently been criticized for raising housing prices. From a theoretical perspective, the UGB will put upward pressure on land and thus housing prices, but the magnitude of this effect is uncertain. Increasing density should substitute for higher land prices, partially offsetting any reduction in the supply of housing. In addition, at any given moment, speculative factors influence housing price levels in bull markets such as the one Portland has been experiencing. This article presents an econometric analysis assessing these conflicting effects. We find the UGB has created upward pressure on housing prices, but the effect is relatively small in magnitude.
DEMAND UNCERTAINTY AND RESALE PRICE MAINTENANCE
Authors: FLATH D , NARIU* T
Published: January 2010

When retailers must commit to shipment quantities prior to resolution of demand uncertainty, manufacturer stipulation of a minimum retail price is likely to be profitable for the manufacturer and not damaging to the retailers. The reason is simple: if demand turns out to be low, the unfettered market‐clearing price can lie below the price that maximizes total sales revenue. A minimum retail price that is binding in the low‐demand state can thus increase total revenue even though it saddles retailers with unsold merchandise. The ubiquity of full reimbursement for returns in Japan, even though it is in theory merely a second‐best way of achieving minimum retail price stipulations, reveals important aspects of manufacturer maintenance of retail prices having to do with enforcement problems, the allocation of risk‐bearing, and economic incentives. These aspects of resale price maintenance (RPM) are relevant to the normative evaluation of the special exemptions for RPM that Japan's Fair Trade Commission has long maintained but is now phasing out.
BRETTON WOODS ‐ ORIGINAL INTENTIONS AND CURRENT PROBLEMS
Authors: Mikesell RF
Published: January 2010

The Bretton Woods institutions have been subjected to a variety of criticisms in recent years and have been faced with severe problems in carrying out their objectives. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have not performed in accordance with the original intentions of their founders. As shown in this article, this is in large measure because the world economic environment has been quite different from that envisaged by the participants in the Bretton Woods conference. Many of the original intended functions for these institutions are no longer relevant. This article examines the current problems facing the IMF and World Bank, with special attention to how they are related to the original intentions. For example, in recent years, a major problem has been the financial crises of member countries that have liberalized their economies in line with trends toward globalization. These crises have resulted in demands on the IMF and World Bank for financial assistance for purposes other than those for which their assistance was originally designed. Other problems of the two institutions include providing assistance to the world's poorest countries that have made virtually no development progress in recent years, and assisting the former communist countries in transition to market economies. The author gives his personal views on how these and other problems of the IMF and World Bank should be dealt with.
The appeal of voluntary environmental programs: which firms participate and why?
Authors: Videras J , Alberini A
Published: January 2010

Why do firms participate in the EPA's voluntary environmental programs? Possible reasons include: (1) to appeal to consumers who demand ‘green’ products; (2) to preempt government regulation; (3) to seek regulatory relief from the agency; and (4) to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. This article examines the determinants of participation in voluntary environmental programs, focusing on testing hypotheses 1 and 3. To test 2, a different approach is used than in previous literature. The focus is on a specified universe of firms (manufacturing firms in the Standard & Poor 500), and their participation in each of three EPA voluntary programs (33/50, Green Lights, and WasteWi$) referring to differently regulated pollutants is analyzed. Our empirical analyses reveal that (1) publicity is an important component of participation; (2) the worse the environmental track record of the firm, the more likely the firm is to participate, but only in programs directly related to highly regulated pollutants; and (3) firms that scrutinize their environmental performance more carefully are wary of newer programs with uncertain reach of the public and uncertain benefits. Firms appear to value the information/technology transfer aspect of joining a program.
INFLATION TARGETING AND THE ECONOMY: LESSONS FROM CANADA'S FIRST DECADE
Authors: Freedman C
Published: January 2010

Inflation targeting has become the centerpiece of the monetary policy framework in a number of industrial countries and emerging economies. The first part of this article examines the Canadian experience with inflation targeting since its introduction in early 1991 and various issues that require resolution in establishing such a framework. It also examines the way inflation targets deal with demand, price, and productivity shocks. The second part focuses on Canada's economic performance during the 1990s. Factors other than monetary policy ‐ most notably private sector restructuring and the fiscal situation in the first half of the decade ‐ played an important role in the sluggishness of the recovery from the recession of 1990–91. Trend growth in Canada during the 1990s was lower than in earlier periods and than U.S. trend growth over the same period. The article examines the role of such factors as productivity growth and participation rates in explaining the differences. I conclude that a good monetary policy is necessary but not sufficient for good economic outcomes.
ASSESSING DAMAGES: THE 1983 ISRAELI BANK SHARES CRISIS
Authors: Blass AA , Grossman RS
Published: January 2010

In 1983, Israeli bank shares collapsed following several years during which the banks had actively intervened to promote share prices and thereby contributed to a 300% rise in real terms. During the crisis the government assumed control of the banks, which they did not begin to sell back to the public until 1993. We compare 1993 bank share prices after the banks were partially relisted on the Stock Exchange with 1983 precrisis values. The 1993 time‐adjusted market values were $10 billion lower than in 1983, a decline borne by precrisis shareholders ($4 billion) and by taxpayers ($6 billion). Of this latter amount, two‐thirds represents a transfer from the government to shareholders, while approximately one‐third represents an efficiency loss ‐ and hence a direct cost ‐ resulting from government ownership of the banks for 10 years following the crisis. The results highlight the risk inherent in a banking system that is both concentrated and universal and illustrates the costs associated with sustained government ownership.
DETERMINANTS OF SCHOOL ENROLLMENT AND PERFORMANCE IN BULGARIA: THE ROLE OF INCOME AMONG THE POOR AND RICH
Authors: Zimmerman FJ
Published: January 2010

Where credit markers are incomplete, households must finance educational investments out of past savings or current earnings. Poor households, with low savings and low current income, may accordingly be highly constrained in their educational choices, whereas richer households are not. The commonly used log‐expenditures specification of the relationship of income to school enrollment may therefore be imprecise. Using data from the 1995 Bulgarian Integrated Household Survey, this analysis shows that the roughly 50% of Bulgarian households with expenditures per adult‐equivalent of less than 5,000 Leva (1995 prices) are financially constrained in their educational choices, while richer households are not.
THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF EFFORT, ORGANIZATION, AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN CHINESE FACTORIES
Authors: Li H
Published: January 2010

Production reports from a set of Chinese factories reveal very rapid productivity growth from 1980 to 1991. To understand the underlying factors, the effects of work effort and labor organization are separated from the productivity estimates. Data analysis reveals that these two effects jointly explain most of the measured productivity growth during this period. This result suggests that (1) very substantial productivity growth can be realized for economies in the take‐off stage even without substantial pure technological advancement, and (2) in reforming the Chinese state factories, there will have to be a more difficult second stage to confront their technological backwardness.
STATE DRUG CONTROL SPENDING AND ILLICIT DRUG PARTICIPATION
Authors: Saffer H , Chaloupka FJ , Dave D
Published: January 2010

The purpose of this article is to estimate the effect of state criminal justice expenditures and state public health expenditures on deterring illicit drug use. The empirics are based on a demand‐and‐supply model of drug markets. The effect of a given expenditure on criminal justice or public health programs is dependent on the magnitude of the resulting shifts in the two functions and the demand price elasticity. A reduced form of the demand‐and‐supply model is also estimated. The data employed come from the 1990 and 1991 National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Data on state and local spending for drug‐related criminal justice and drug‐related public health programs were merged with the NHSDA. The main findings from the regression results are that drug control spending reduces drug use. However, the results suggest that for marijuana users, the marginal cost of drug control exceeds the social benefits of drug control. This may not be the case for users of other illicit drugs. Spending for drug enforcement by police and drug treatment is found most effective in deterring drug use. However, spending for correctional facilities is never significant, which suggests that a more efficient method of reducing drug use might be to reduce correctional facilities spending and increase spending on treatment.
A SIBLINGS ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ONSET ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Authors: Koch SF , Ribar DC
Published: January 2010

This article examines the relationship between youthful drinking and educational attainment using data on same‐sex siblings pairs from the 1979–90 panels of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We consider different estimators that can be constructed using siblings data, including estimators that adopt key restrictions of the standard regression, family fixed effect, and instrumental variable approaches. We also consider the properties of these estimators under more general conditions and show that under very plausible assumptions the effect of drinking on schooling can be bounded. The study finds that estimates of the schooling consequences of youthful drinking are very sensitive to specification issues. The research concludes that the actual effects of youthful drinking on education are likely to be small.
THE PROVISION OF PUBLIC INPUTS AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Authors: KELLENBERG DEREK K.
Published: January 2010

A small open economy model is developed that incorporates direct and indirect effects on multinational location decisions associated with public input provision. It is shown that when agglomeration externalities are present in local intermediate goods markets, public input provision can affect multinational firms directly by lowering the fixed costs of production and indirectly by decreasing the costs of intermediate inputs, but growth is contingent on achieving a critical mass of investment. It is further shown that the effectiveness of a policy of public input provision over a policy of subsidy incentives is critically dependent on key market parameters in the host country. (JEL F2, H4, O1)
EFFECTS OF CHINESE CURRENCY REVALUATION ON WORLD FIBER MARKETS
Authors: PAN SUWEN , MOHANTY SAMARENDU , WELCH MARK , ETHRIDGE DON , FADIGA MOHAMADOU
Published: January 2010

A partial equilibrium model is used to analyze effects of Chinese currency revaluation on world fiber markets. Unique characteristics of this model include incorporation of a regional supply response of cotton, substitutability between cotton and manmade fibers, and linkage between raw fiber and textile sectors. Simulation results show renminbi revaluation is likely to increase China’s fiber imports and lower domestic cotton prices. Internationally, the world cotton price, polyester price, and cotton trade are expected to increase. A scenario modeling currency devaluation in China is run to test the stability of the model and ascertain its accordance with economic theory. (JEL F17, F42, F47, O2)
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINIMUM‐WAGE INCREASES IN REDUCING POVERTY: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Authors: BURKHAUSER RICHARD V. , SABIA JOSEPH J.
Published: January 2010

Extending the work of Card and Krueger, we find minimum‐wage increases (1988–2003) did not affect poverty rates overall, or among the working poor or among single mothers. Despite employment growth among single mothers, most gainers lived in nonpoor families and most working poor already had wages above the proposed minimums. Simulating a new federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, we find 87% of workers who benefit live in nonpoor families. Poor single mothers receive 3.8% of all benefits. Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would far more effectively reduce poverty, especially for single mothers. (JEL J21, J31, J38)
REVENUE, POPULATION, AND COMPETITIVE BALANCE IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Authors: GUSTAFSON ELIZABETH , HADLEY LAWRENCE
Published: January 2010

This article examines the impact of hometown market size on competitive balance in Major League Baseball. We use a four‐equation simultaneous model of win percent, team payroll, team total revenue, and team local revenue in order to avoid simultaneity bias in the estimates. Using two‐stage least squares, our results show that consolidated metropolitan statistical area population does have a statistically significant positive impact on local revenue. This leads to increased payroll, which has a significantly positive, but small, impact on win percent. Specifically, the estimated impact of an additional one million in population ranges from 0.233 to 1.126 additional wins per season.(JELL38)
DRUNK DRIVING LEGISLATION AND TRAFFIC FATALITIES: NEW EVIDENCE ON BAC 08 LAWS
Authors: FREEMAN DONALD G.
Published: January 2010

This article reexamines the effectiveness of blood alcohol content (BAC) laws in reducing traffic fatalities. Differences‐in‐differences estimators of U.S. state‐level data with standard errors corrected for autocorrelation show no evidence that lowering the BAC limits to 0.08 g/dL reduced fatality rates, either in total or in crashes likely to be alcohol related, or in states that passed BAC 08 in laws either in advance of or in response to federal pressure. Other legislations, including administrative license revocation and primary seat belt laws, are found effective in reducing fatalities in all specifications. Endogeneity tests using event analyses confirm the differences‐in‐differences estimates. (JEL I18, K32)
AN ANALYSIS OF EDUCATION EXTERNALITIES WITH APPLICATIONS TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE DEEP SOUTH
Authors: MCMAHON WALTER W
Published: January 2010

A simplified, medium‐term dynamic model of endogenous growth is used to analyze education externalities. Returns include not only direct effects but also indirect effects from education on growth and development. Indirect effects are externalities because they arise as the result of the education of others and prior generations. The existing growth literature often discounts these, although they are shown to be larger than short‐term effects. Simulations for the U.S. Deep South indicate larger medium‐term net education impacts on growth, infant mortality, longevity, and democratization, so policies do matter. These are reasons why micro rate of return estimates are larger than education effects in growth equations. (JEL I21, O40, O10, H23)
AN ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION OF SUICIDE CYCLES IN JAPAN
Authors: KOO JAHYEONG , COX W. MICHAEL
Published: January 2010

Suicide rates in Japan have increased dramatically in recent years, making Japan’s male rate the highest among developed economies. This study revises the standard economic model of suicide to accommodate Japan’s experience, focusing on the change in human capital for the unemployed. We then use the new model and detrended data to empirically investigate the relationship between the suicide cycle and the unemployment cycle. Unlike previous aggregate time series studies, we find that the relationship between the suicide rate and the unemployment rate is significantly and robustly positive for both men and women even after controlling for several social variables. (JEL I12, J60, E30)
PRICE AND SUBSTITUTION IN RESIDENTIAL SOLID WASTE
Authors: ISELY PAUL , LOWEN AARON
Published: January 2010

Many per‐unit curbside recycling and garbage collection pricing systems were implemented in the 1990s. A detailed data set is used to estimate the effect of an increase in the per‐unit price change for a long‐running pricing system across time in one city. A fixed‐effects regression controls for collection district and explanatory variables including weather, time, and employment changes. The elasticity estimate is within the range of previous work but with a higher cross‐price elasticity to recycling. This shift to recycling results in significant financial benefits to the city and a small decrease in social welfare. (JEL Q5, Q53)
“SPILLOVERS” AND PRODUCTIVITY: THE CASE OF THE TAIWANESE HIGH‐TECH FIRMS
Authors: WANG YANLING , CHAO CHIA‐WEN
Published: January 2010

In this paper, we first estimate firms’ total factor productivity by differentiating marginal contributions to firms’ production from various types of workers, grouped by their highest educational attainments. Second, we investigate whether there are human capital as well as research and development (R&D) spillovers across firms. Using data for 72 Taiwanese high‐tech firms, we find (a) more educated workers are more productive: workers with master’s (bachelor’s) degrees are at least three times (two times) as productive as high school–graduated ones, (b) human capital and R&D spillovers are substantial across firms, and (iii) smaller firms tend to benefit more from R&D spillovers.(JELD24, I21, O3)
THE DETERMINANTS OF KOREA’S FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FROM THE UNITED STATES, 1980–2001: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF FIRM‐LEVEL DATA
Authors: JEON BANG NAM , RHEE SUNG SUP
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the link between Korea’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the United States and locational, financial, and macroeconomic variables using firm‐level data of FDI transactions, which were completed during the period from January 1980 to February 2001. Korea’s FDI inflows from the United States are found to have significant associations with real exchange rates, relative wealth, relative wage costs, expected exchange rate changes, and interest rate differentials. The extent and direction of the links, however, have varied according to different FDI regimes during the last 20 yr in Korea. Industry‐specific factors have also played a role in determining Korea’s FDI inflows. (JEL F21, F30)
ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND CONTRACTS: THE USE OF PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATIONS
Authors: LING DAVINA C. , BERNDT ERNST R. , FRANK RICHARD G.
Published: January 2010

The advent of novel psychotropic medications has revolutionized treatments for mental illnesses over the past few decades. Concurrently, changes in mental health coverage, particularly for Medicaid patients, created economic incentives for insurance carriers to shift costs and to encourage the use of psychotropic drugs. To quantify these effects, based on the framework in Griliches’ seminal study on hybrid corn, we estimate logistic diffusion models using a longitudinal data set on Medicaid drug utilization. We find that financial incentives played a significant role in encouraging use of new medications that have lower physician specialty skill requirements. (JEL O30, O33, I18, L14)
THE DECISION TO USE BENEFIT TRANSFER OR CONDUCT ORIGINAL VALUATION RESEARCH FOR BENEFIT‐COST AND POLICY ANALYSIS
Authors: ALLEN BRYON P. , LOOMIS JOHN B.
Published: January 2010

We develop a method for determining the economic returns to using original valuation research rather than benefit transfer to estimate nonmarket values for policy analysis purposes. We provide a method to guide policymakers in determining the project sizes for which original research can be expected to yield positive returns in terms of reduced decision errors. We then provide an empirical example of how our method can be applied to the estimation of recreation benefits and provide simple guidance to policymakers regarding the relationship between project size and expected returns to original valuation research to estimate recreation benefits. (JEL H43, Q51, Q26)
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR AMATEUR SPORT AND RECREATION PROGRAMS
Authors: JOHNSON BRUCE K. , WHITEHEAD JOHN C. , MASON DANIEL S. , WALKER GORDON J.
Published: January 2010

A contingent valuation method (CVM) survey in Alberta, Canada, allows estimation of the household willingness to pay (WTP) for enhancements in the province’s extensive sport and recreation programs. The estimated annual WTP of $18 per household for small enhancements in the programs far exceeds the estimated WTP of households in the United States to avoid the loss of major league sports teams, as determined in previous CVM studies. Those opposed to gambling, which helps to fund the Alberta programs, are more likely to favor using income taxes to finance expansions. (JEL H41, L83)
ARE ATHLETES DOPED? SOME THEORETICAL ARGUMENTS AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
Authors: DILGER ALEXANDER , FRICK BERND , TOLSDORF FRANK
Published: January 2010

Sports fans all over the world have recently witnessed an increasing number of spectacular doping cases, leading to considerable annoyance in the public. However, our knowledge regarding the prevalence of doping is still quite limited, leading some people to speculate that (nearly) all professional athletes are doped and possibly even have to be doped to be good enough to compete successfully in highly selective tournaments. On the other hand, particularly representatives of the sports associations pretend that since the number of positively tested athletes remains small, there are only a few “black sheep,” while in general, the world of sport is clean and fair. In the recent past, a number of theoretical models have been developed that can be empirically tested, which, in the end, may lead to the formulation of policy recommendations (ranging from higher sanctions to legalizing doping). We review the more important models and present anecdotal as well as some quantitative empirical evidence on the prevalence as well as the determinants of doping. (JEL K42, L83, M52)
MONETARY POLICY AND LONG‐TERM INTEREST RATES
Authors: WU SHU
Published: January 2010

Movements in long‐term interest rates Granger‐cause movements in the target federal funds rate, but not vice versa, during 1990–2001. This implies that changes in the monetary policy stance, as measured by the target rate, are predicted by the bond market. Moreover, even innovations to the target rate have little effect on long‐term interest rates. The policy instrument seems to be responding to information that is already impounded in the bond market. In sharp contrast, during an earlier period, changes in the target federal funds rate are mostly unanticipated by the bond market, and innovations to the policy target have a large and significant effect on long‐term interest rate. (JEL E52, E43)
REPLY TO SIEGEL ET AL.: ALCOHOL ADVERTISING IN MAGAZINES AND DISPROPORTIONATE EXPOSURE
Authors: NELSON JON P.
Published: January 2010

Nelson investigated advertising placements for a diverse sample of 28 magazines and concluded that targeting of underage youth by alcohol advertisers was not occurring. Siegel et al. claim that my results suffer from collinearity, but fail to present a comprehensive measure of multicollinearity. For my model, variance inflation factors are within acceptable limits and estimation using redefined variables does not alter my prior results or conclusion. Further, Siegel et al.’s empirical results are fragile and do not support a targeting outcome. I also discuss the limitations of estimates of magazine readerships and the shortcomings of the public health literature on advertising and youth alcohol behaviors. Neither the empirical results in Siegel et al. nor their literature citations support a public policy based on a simple rule of disproportionate exposure.(JELL82, L66, M37)
WHY WAIT?: EXAMINING DELAYED WIC PARTICIPATION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN
Authors: TIEHEN LAURA , JACKNOWITZ ALISON
Published: January 2010

Despite the benefits of prenatal participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), many eligible women either do not participate or begin participation late in their pregnancies. Using recent nationally representative data, we find that more disadvantaged women are more likely to access WIC and, with some notable exceptions, to participate earlier in their pregnancies. Hispanic women, especially those with language difficulties, enroll in WIC later in their pregnancies. Early WIC participation, particularly among teenagers, is less likely among women experiencing a first birth and depends on the mother’s early recognition of her pregnancy. (JEL I18, I30)
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WELFARE CASELOADS AND LOCAL LABOR MARKETS
Authors: HILL BRIAN C. , MURRAY MATTHEW N.
Published: January 2010

This paper provides an empirical examination of interactions between welfare caseloads and local labor markets using data on caseload stocks, entries, and exits. Granger‐causality tests show that unemployment rates Granger‐cause caseload activity but caseload activity does not Granger‐cause unemployment rates. The results also reveal differential dynamics between caseloads and labor market conditions for rural versus metropolitan markets. Several models of one‐way association between caseload activity and unemployment rates are presented. The results show that higher unemployment rates are positively associated with welfare caseloads and entries and negatively related to exits. (JEL I38, R23)
DOES SMALL DAM REMOVAL AFFECT LOCAL PROPERTY VALUES? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: PROVENCHER BILL , SARAKINOS HELEN , MEYER TANYA
Published: January 2010

This paper uses hedonic analysis to examine the impact of small dam removal on property values in south‐central Wisconsin. Data on residential property sales were obtained for three categories of sites: those where a small dam remains intact, those where a small dam was removed, and those where a river or stream has been free‐flowing for at least 20 yr. The primary conclusions that emerge from the data are that shoreline frontage along small impoundments confers no increase in residential property value compared to frontage along free‐flowing streams and that nonfrontage residential property located in the vicinity of a free‐flowing stream is more valuable than similar nonfrontage property in the vicinity of a small impoundment. (JEL Q2, Q25, Q5, Q51)
STRATEGIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY: SOCIETAL OBJECTIVES AND THE CORPORATE WELFARE ARGUMENT
Authors: GRETZ RICHARD T. , HIGHFILL JANNETT , SCOTT ROBERT C.
Published: January 2010

The article considers the optimal research and development subsidy regime in a two‐firm two‐country model where each firm is “located” in a specific country. Trade is intra‐industry in that customers in both countries purchase from both firms. The article suggests that when both countries subsidize their local firm usually welfare increases compared to the case of zero subsidies. Making the same comparison, profit always falls in the symmetric game and falls about half the time in the asymmetric game. These results call into question some common notions about corporate welfare. (JEL O38, H25, F23)
DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FIRST AND REPEAT OFFENSES
Authors: McCANNON BRYAN C.
Published: January 2010

I present a model where a regulator monitors compliance with a policy by a population of individuals, some of whom repeatedly prefer to violate the policy, while others only occasionally want to experiment. I show that the regulator can use sanctions, contingent on past violations of the policy, to differentiate between the agents and to improve welfare. Such punishment plans arise frequently in practice. As a result, a regulator prefers investing in enforcement rather than use maximal sanctions. (JEL K42, K14, L51)
THE EFFECTS OF THE 1.03 MILLION YEN CEILING IN A DYNAMIC LABOR SUPPLY MODEL
Authors: ABE YUKIKO
Published: January 2010

In this paper I examine the effects of a means‐tested transfer system in Japan (“1.03 million yen ceiling”) in a dynamic labor supply model with endogenous retirement. In Japan, married women have reason to limit their annual earnings to no more than 1.03 million yen in order to receive a number of benefits available to low‐income wives, and in fact often choose to do so. In a dynamic model, the optimal labor supply schedule follows a pattern that is not seen in a static framework, which I call the “spillover effect.” The paper also examines the properties of dynamic welfare cost of this ceiling. (JEL J22, H24, H55)
JOB SEPARATION OUTCOMES OF WELFARE HIRES: INSIGHT FROM LINKED PERSONNEL AND STATE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
Authors: FITZPATRICK JILL , HOTCHKISS JULIE L.
Published: January 2010

This article makes use of a unique personnel data set and state administrative data to follow welfare and nonwelfare hires that separate from similar jobs with the same firm. Welfare hires are more likely to be on welfare after separation but are equally likely as similarly low–skilled nonwelfare hires to transition to another job after separation. Among those with a new job, welfare hires experience a significantly lower wage gain, suggesting that welfare hires would benefit (even more than nonwelfare hires) from focused assistance with job search and transition skills. (JEL H53, J62, C35)
THE IMPACT OF FORESTRY‐RELATED ORDINANCES ON TIMBER HARVESTING IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH, LOUISIANA
Authors: HENDERSON JAMES E. , WILLSON TINA M. , DUNN MICHAEL A. , KAZMIERCZAK RICHARD F.
Published: January 2010

Local government regulations of forestry practices on private land are often developed independently and without a full understanding of possible economic consequences. The number of forestry‐related ordinances is growing, particularly in the southern United States. St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, is a prime example of an increasingly exurbanized area that has passed a number of forestry‐related ordinances. Impacts of forestry‐related ordinances on timber harvesting activities were examined using seemingly unrelated regression. Results indicate that a significant negative relationship exists between an ordinance requiring a $10,000 road performance bond and the level of timber harvest in the Parish.(JELQ23, Q28)
INFLATION DYNAMICS IN LATIN AMERICA
Authors: CAPISTRÁN CARLOS , RAMOS‐FRANCIA MANUEL
Published: January 2010

This article studies the mean and the persistence of inflation in the 10 largest Latin American countries for the period 1980–2007. We find multiple shifts in the mean, with inflation in the region increasing throughout the eighties and decreasing in the nineties, thus documenting that the rise and fall of inflation in Latin America occurred a decade later than in industrial countries. Regarding the persistence, we find that it is high but that it decreases when the shifts in the mean are taken into account, as in developed countries, while it appears to have decreased recently in more than half of the countries in our sample. Finally, we find that only about a third of the total variation of inflation in Latin America can be explained by a common factor and, therefore, that most of the variation in the region has been related to idiosyncratic factors. We discuss the relation of our findings with economic policies implemented in the region. (JEL E31, E42, C22)
THE DETERMINANTS OF LAWS RESTRICTING YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO
Authors: GALLET CRAIG A. , HOOVER GARY A. , LEE JUNSOO
Published: January 2010

Since many smokers begin consuming tobacco products in their adolescent years, many states have adopted a variety of restrictions on youth access to tobacco, which studies show reduces the demand for tobacco among this cohort. This paper takes a different track by addressing the demand for youth access restrictions. Specifically, using a random effects Probit procedure, which controls for the endogeneity of cigarette consumption and taxation, we examine the determinants of nine methods commonly used by states to restrict youth access to tobacco. (JEL H70, I18)
THE UNEMPLOYMENT PARADIGMS REVISITED: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF U.S. STATE AND EUROPEAN UNEMPLOYMENT
Authors: ROMERO‐ÁVILA DIEGO , USABIAGA CARLOS
Published: January 2010

This article tests the main unemployment paradigms for the unemployment rates of the states of the United States and the European Union–15 countries over the past three decades. For that purpose, we employ a state‐of‐the‐art panel stationarity test, which allows for an unknown number of endogenous structural breaks as well as for cross‐sectional correlation. Overall, our analysis renders clear‐cut evidence in favor of regime‐wise stationarity in U.S. state unemployment, while hysteresis in European unemployment. Interestingly, the timing of the breaks broadly coincides with major macroeconomic shocks mainly associated with the oil crises of the 1970s and marked changes in interest rates in the 1980s and early 1990s. Based on our results, we draw some policy prescriptions that point to the need for greater flexibility in the European labor markets. (JEL C23, E24)
BENEFITS AND COSTS OF INTENSIVE FOSTER CARE SERVICES: THE CASEY FAMILY PROGRAMS COMPARED TO STATE SERVICES
Authors: ZERBE RICHARD O. , PLOTNICK ROBERT D. , KESSLER RONALD C. , PECORA PETER J. , HIRIPI EVA , O’BRIEN KIRK , WILLIAMS JASON , ENGLISH DIANA , WHITE JAMES
Published: January 2010

The foster care system attempts to prepare children and youth who have suffered child maltreatment for successful adult lives. This study documents the economic advantages of a privately funded foster care program that provided longer term, more intensive, and more expensive services compared to public programs. The study found significant differences in major adult educational, health, and social outcomes between children placed in the private program and those placed in public programs operated by Oregon and Washington. For the outcomes for which we could find financial data, the estimated present value of the enhanced foster care services exceeded their extra costs. Generalizing to the roughly 100,000 adolescents age 12‐17 entering foster care each year, if all of them were to receive the private model of services, the savings for a single cohort of these children could be about $6.3 billion in 2007 dollars. (JEL D61, H75)
TELEVISION VIEWING, FAST‐FOOD CONSUMPTION, AND CHILDREN’S OBESITY
Authors: CHANG HUNG‐HAO , NAYGA RODOLFO M.
Published: January 2010

Childhood obesity is rising in Taiwan and is becoming a major public health issue. This article examines the effect of children’s TV viewing and fast‐food consumption on childhood obesity. Using a nationwide survey data in Taiwan and a two‐step estimation procedure, our results show that TV viewing hours and fast‐food consumption are correlated. After controlling for the endogeneity, we find these two activities positively contribute to children’s body weight and the increased risk of being overweight. Results suggest that public health/childhood obesity programs should educate parents of the critical influence of TV viewing and fast‐food consumption on childhood obesity. The government can also encourage the fast‐food industry to develop and sell healthier foods for children and provide point of sale nutritional information of these products. (JEL I12, I18)
WAL‐MART AND BANKS: SHOULD THE TWAIN MEET? A PRINCIPLES‐BASED APPROACH TO THE ISSUES OF THE SEPARATION OF BANKING AND COMMERCE
Authors: WHITE LAWRENCE J.
Published: January 2010

The application in July 2005 by Wal‐Mart to obtain a specialized bank charter from the state of Utah and to obtain federal deposit insurance reopened a national debate concerning the separation of banking and commerce. Though Wal‐Mart withdrew its application in March 2007, the issue and the debate continue. This article offers a principles‐based approach to this issue that begins with the recognition that banks are special and that safety and soundness regulation of banks is therefore warranted. Building on that recognition, the article lays out the principle that the “examinability and supervisability” of an activity should determine if that activity should be undertaken by a bank. Even if an otherwise legitimate activity is not suitable for a bank, it should be allowed for a bank’s owners (whether the owners are individuals or a holding company), so long as the financial transactions between the bank and its owners are closely monitored by bank regulators. The implications of this set of ideas for the Wal‐Mart case and for banking and commerce generally are then discussed. (JEL G21, G28)
CHALLENGES FOR FRANCE IN THE EMERGING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
Authors: TRUETT LILA J. , TRUETT DALE B.
Published: January 2010

France faces substantial challenges as the economic integration of Europe and the international economy continues. This article uses a dynamic aggregate translog cost function with inputs of capital, labor, and imports to examine the likely impact of closer world economic ties on France. This technique allows one to estimate short‐ as well as long‐run direct price elasticities of demand for the inputs and cross‐price elasticities for each respective input pair. The findings of the article include that (1) the French economy is becoming more sensitive to changes in import prices and (2) all the inputs are substitutes for one another. These results suggest that continuing international economic integration will present substantial challenges to the French economy. The short‐run estimates of direct and cross‐price elasticities are consistent with the Le Châtelier principle, except for the cross‐price elasticities between capital and labor. Some possible reasons for the latter result are discussed in the article. (JEL F14, O10, O12)
ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES FOR FIRMS IN OPPRESSIVE AND CORRUPT STATES: INFORMALITY OR FORMALITY VIA BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS?
Authors: NUGENT JEFFREY B. , SUKIASSYAN GRIGOR.
Published: January 2010

Firms operating in oppressive conditions such as those in the transition countries often take advantage of informality, making unofficial payments to officials and underreporting their sales for tax purposes. This paper argues that business associations may constitute a more transparent, efficient, and formal alternative. Empirical support for the argument is provided based on firm level data on several thousand firms from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys in 25 transitions countries for 2002 and 2005. We show that, despite their often rather bad reputation, business associations tend to play a rather positive role, helping firms to reduce both having to make unofficial payments and underreporting of sales for tax purposes.(JEL D2, D7, L2, P2, P3)
THE DYNAMIC FACTOR IN MARSHALL'S ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Authors: JENNER R. A.
Published: January 2010

We have shown that Marshall's model of the competitive economy was fundamentally both an evolutionary and a dynamic structure. Two elemental variables that are subject to the pressure of continual change in this model are product and production methods. The impulse of this change is channeled and controlled by a carefully counterbalanced series of forces that Marshall designated “external and internal economies.” The initial mover behind this dynamic system is the struggle for competitive survival which forces a continually increasing level of efficiency. This spiraling movement toward greater efficiency is triggered by the activity of substitution, which works much like a “chain reaction,” and which, in turn, is governed ultimately by consumer demand. Taken together, these acts of substitution form a rightly controlled and carefully counterbalanced system of dynamic competition in which successful product and price competition ensures survival.
DEFENSE‐SPACE EXPENDITURES AND WESTERN ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE NONMANUFACTURING IMPACT
Authors: HOUSTON DAVID B.
Published: January 2010

The five considerations just discussed– (1) the regional variation of direct defense contracts awarded to nonmanufacturing industries; (2) the special distribution and impact of R&D expenditures; (3) the varying proportions of value added in, and the indirect employment tied to nonmanufacturing versus manufacturing industries; (4) the possible variation in the input requirements from nonmanufacturing industries under defense versus nondefense contracts; and (5) the induced impact of nonmanufacturing defense expenditures – all encourage analysis of the nonmanufacturing sector separately from the manufacturing sector. The determination of whether or not this is necessary in a particular regional study should be one of the first questions decided. For example, having answered in the affirmative the basic question “Are aggregate defense expenditures a significant part of the economic activity in this region?” we should next examine the importance of the nonmanufacturing sector. If it is significant, then special studies are necessary. If direct awards to nonmanufacturing industries are not important, the fourth of the problems mentioned above remains, namely: Are there any unique indirect impacts on the nanmanufacruring industries as a result of defense contracts?

The foregoing analysis has emphasized the need for studying nonmanufac‐turing industries in regional defense expenditure analyses. This of course is only a particular example of a more general problem. Whether the study is regional or national, defense oriented or not, it is generally the case that the nonmanufac‐ruring sectors (with the exception perhaps of agriculture and construction) are inadequately studied. All too often imputations take the place of observations, and heroic assumptions abound. This is particularly serious when we observe the high percentages of employment in SIC groups 40–89. Contemporary regional studies resemble icebergs, with small segments well perceived and outlined, but with larger parts obscured by the murky depths of proportionality and linearity assumptions. Input‐output analysis or variants thereof undoubtedly provide the most powerful framework for analyzing regional economic structure. However, the fact that this type of analysis is applied more easily to manufacturing industries than to nonmanufacturing industries, which produce less well‐defined goods and services, is not a sufficient reason to ignore the latter.
Insertion site‐based polymorphism markers open new perspectives for genome saturation and marker‐assisted selection in wheat
Authors: Paux Etienne , Faure Sébastien , Choulet Frédéric , Roger Delphine , Gauthier Valérie , Martinant Jean‐Pierre , Sourdille Pierre , Balfourier François , Le Paslier Marie‐Christine , Chauveau Aurélie , Cakir Mehmet , Gandon Béatrice , Feuillet Catherine
Published: January 2010

In wheat, the deployment of marker‐assisted selection has long been hampered by the lack of markers compatible with high‐throughput cost‐effective genotyping techniques. Recently, insertion site‐based polymorphism (ISBP) markers have appeared as very powerful new tools for genomics and genetic studies in hexaploid wheat. To demonstrate their possible use in wheat breeding programmes, we assessed their potential to meet the five main requirements for utilization in MAS: flexible and high‐throughput detection methods, low quantity and quality of DNA required, low cost per assay, tight link to target loci and high level of polymorphism in breeding material. Toward this aim, we developed a programme, IsbpFinder, for the automated design of ISBP markers and adapted three detection methods (melting curve analysis, SNaPshot® Multiplex System and Illumina BeadArray technology) for high throughput and flexible detection of ISBP or ISBP‐derived SNP markers. We demonstrate that the high level of polymorphism of the ISBPs combined with cost‐effective genotyping methods can be used to efficiently saturate genetic maps, discriminate between elite cultivars, and design tightly linked diagnostic markers for virtually all target loci in the wheat genome. All together, our results suggest that ISBP markers have the potential to lead to a breakthrough in wheat marker‐assisted selection.