bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RESTORATION‐BASED COMPENSATION MEASURES IN NATURAL RESOURCE LIABILITY STATUTES
Authors: JONES CAROL A. , PEASE KATHERINE A.
Published: January 2010

In the past two decades, the U.S. Congress has passed several major environmental statutes that designate natural resource management agencies as trustees of the resources on behalf of the public and that allow the trustees to recover damages for injuries to public resources from releases of hazardous substances and discharges of oil.

The standard measure of damages in the various statutes is the cost of restoring the resources to baseline conditions (“primary restoration”) plus the interim loss in alue from the time of the incident until full recovery from the injuries. However, trustees are allowed to spend their damage recoveries only on enhancing or creating (“restoring, rehabilitating, replacing or acquiring the equivalent of”) natural resources. The statutory restriction on the use of the recoveries has motivated the development of an alternative measure of damages for interim losses—the cost of “compensatory restoration” actions providing in‐kind compensation—which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) incorporated in its 1996 regulations implementing the natural resource liability provisions of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA).

This analysis first identifies the statutory measure of damages and the traditional framing of damages for interim losses (monetary compensation). It then defines an alternative utility‐theoretic measure of resource compensation and identifies alter‐native methods of implementation.
THE FIFTH ASIAN DRAGON: SOURCES OF GROWTH IN GUANGDONG, 1979–1994
Authors: YUEN CHI‐WA
Published: January 2010

This paper presents a growth accounting exercise to uncover the sources of spectacular growth in the Guangdong Province in China, the so‐called “Fifth Dragon” in Asia, for the post‐open‐door period 1979–1994. A large fraction of Guangdong's output growth cannot be attributed to the growth in its capital and labor inputs. Of the unexplained residuals, foreign direct investment is a significant growth‐spurring engine while export expansion is not. In this sense, China's open door policy did not generate export‐led growth although it did stimulate capital accumulation through the importation of foreign capital.

“East Asia has a remarkable record of high and sustained economic growth. From 1965 to 1990 the twenty‐three economies of East Asia grew faster than all other regions of the world…. Most of this achievement is attributable to seemingly miraculous growth in just eight economies: Japan; the ‘Four Tigers’—Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, China; and three newly industrializing economies (NIEs) of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand….”
CHINA'S FORESTS UNDER ECONOMIC REFORM: TIMBER SUPPLIES, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AND RURAL RESOURCE ACCESS
Authors: ALBERS HEIDI J. , ROZELLE SCOTT D. , GUO LI
Published: January 2010

China's national forest statistics describe increases in total forest cover during the 1980s but mask the diversity of responses to economic reform and some characteristics of the forests and, forest uses. The provincial‐level statistics reported here confirm the regional studies and anecdotal reports about widespread fellings of forest in the non‐state managed areas but demonstrate that high rates of harvest occurred in the state‐managed forests, too. These disaggregated statistics reveal the importance of direct investment projects, as opposed to pure reform measures, to provide environmental services and to increase, forest cover overall. In addition, these statistics provide evidence of an increase in the use of forest land for cash forests and fuelwood forests, as opposed to timber forests, by rural forest managers trying to meet their local resource and income needs.
THE INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE CHINESE FOOD ECONOMY: SOCIALISTIC OR CAPITALISTIC?
Authors: AHMADI‐ESFAHANI FREDOUN Z. , LOCKE CHRISTOPHER G.
Published: January 2010

The controversy over the transformation of socialism recently has focused on China. The analysis here uses an industrial ORGANIZATION framework to portray the key features of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” The structures of ownership, supply, and demand and the process of price formation are analyzed to explicate the ramifications of the reform process and the changing patterns of government intervention and market forces in the Chinese food economy. An examination of this. fusion reveals a number of implications for international socialism.
CANADIAN FARM INCOME SAFETY NETS AND U.S. COUNTERVAIL LAW
Authors: EURICH DARREN , SPRIGGS JOHN , TAYLOR JULIA
Published: January 2010

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the factors explaining U.S. countervail action. Factors that indicate changes in the political economic environment are incorporated into a logit model to explain the propensity to initiate a countervail suit. These factors, augmented by variables representing foreign subsidy specificity, are used in a logit model to explain the propensity to levy a countervail duty, once a suit is initiated. Evidence indicates that factors that would lead to political lobbying are significant in the initiation of a countervail suit. However, these variables are not significant in explaining the propensity to actually levy a duty; rather, the analysis finds that subsidy specificity criteria are the significant variables.
FAIR DAIRY POLICY
Authors: SUMNER DANIEL A. , COX TOM
Published: January 2010

Dairy policy in the United States has gone through many changes over the years, but the basic instruments have remained in place for decades. The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996 is best seen as a relatively small scale reform of dairy policy. Most of the income transfers from consumers and taxpayers to dairy farms remain intact, and the major economic distortions are unaffected. The major change from phasing out price support program is more one of form rather than substance. Some consider this a fundamental shift in U.S. dairy policy, but its quantitative impact is likely to be minor. Further, because dairy assessments associated with the price support are eliminated immediately, the net transfer from taxpayers to the dairy industry is likely to be higher than it would be if the price support program were left in place. This paper reviews the effects of this change and other dairy policy provisions in the FAIR Act and compares the implications of the new dairy program to implications of three alternatives: continuing the previous program, eliminating marketing orders and the price support program, and eliminating all policy interventions including import barriers.
REVENUE, PROGRESSIVITY, AND THE FLAT TAX
Authors: HO MUN S. , STIROH KEVIN J.
Published: January 2010

This paper uses detailed household data to analyze revenue potential and progressivity under two popular “flat tax” proposals. The results show that the Hall and Rabushka version of the flat tax would generate $626 billion in revenue in 1993 while the more generous plan of Armey and Shelby would produce only $538 billion. Integrating the individual tax with the business tax indicates that both proposals are progressive. However, there is a substantial shift of the tax burden from the highest income classes to the middle classes in comparison to the current system.
POWER SUPPLY EXPANSION AND THE NUCLEAR OPTION IN POLAND
Authors: MARNAY CHRIS , PICKLE STEVEN J.
Published: January 2010

This paper describes the construction of a data set of the Polish power sector for use with the Elfin capacity expansion planning model. Using Elfin, the paper derives four scenarios and some sensitivities for new generating capacity construction plans. These scenarios simulate choices among several generic generating technologies made to achieve the lowest overall net present cost of operating the power system through 2015. Key results include: (i) single‐cycle natural gas‐fired combustion turbines prove highly attractive for Poland because of its urgent need for peaking capacity, (ii) nuclear power cannot be excluded from consideration for Poland on economic grounds alone, (iii) the effectiveness of conservation to reduce airborne emissions is limited under scenarios in which nuclear generation is adopted, and (iv) the attractiveness of nuclear is shown to be highly sensitive to assumptions on some uncertain inputs, suggesting the need for a more detailed analysis before policy implications can be drawn.
WHO NEEDS GLASS‐STEAGALL? EVIDENCE FROM ISRAEL'S BANK SHARES CRISIS AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Authors: BLASS ASHER A. , GROSSMAN RICHARD S.
Published: January 2010

This paper compares bank share manipulation in Israel with that in the United States prior to the passage of the Glass‐Steagall Act and uses the comparison to assess the desirability of restricting the investment banking activities of commercial banks—not only in the United States and in Israel, but also in the economies in transition (EITs) of Eastern Europe. Many of the techniques of and motivations for manipulation were similar. However, because of their larger relative size, banks in Israel, were far more successful in eliminating market risk. The paper concludes that Glass‐Steagall restrictions could prove a useful policy prescription in Israel, the EITs, and elsewhere in the developing world.
IMMIGRATION, POPULATION HETEROGENEITY, AND EARNINGS INEQUALITY IN HONG KONG
Authors: LAM KIT‐CHUN , LIU PAK‐WAI
Published: January 2010

This paper analyzes the heterogeneity effect of immigration on earnings in‐equality by decomposing the aggregate measure of total inequality. The analysis shows that a substantial portion of an increase in measured inequality could be due to shifts in shares of heterogeneous population groups caused by immigration policy rather than by widening earnings dispersion within these groups. The analysis is illustrated with census data of Hong Kong from 1981 to 1991. Income redistribution policy based on measured total inequality when there are shifts in population shares could be misguided.
FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF WATER THROUGH VOLUNTARY TRANSACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PURPOSES
Authors: SIMON BENJAMIN M.
Published: January 2010

Throughout U.S. history public land management agencies have attempted to achieve environmental objectives by relying on a broad range of policy tools, including both regulatory and voluntary mechanisms. An important component of these policies has been oriented toward the acquisition of land or partial interests in land from voluntary sellers. However, it has become clear that preserving or restoring damaged ecosystems increasingly requires more than land and easement acquisitions. The procurement of water for environmental purposes is becoming increasingly common. In some regions such acquisitions also represent a significant share of the local water market activity. Given the increasingly important role these transactions play in achieving federal environmental objectives, it makes sense to consider the alternative mechanisms available that could be used for such acquisitions. This paper examines the situations where the federal government has acquired water for environmental purposes and the extent to which competitive mechanisms—such as auctions—could be used in future acquisition efforts.
GLOBAL TRANSFER OF ARMS TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH
Authors: LI HSI‐CHENG , MIRMIRANI SAM
Published: January 2010

The Malmquist index is used to measure the impact of military technology transfer on economic growth. This index can be decomposed into two components: efficiency change and technical change. Given the aggregate production function, the effect of technology diffusion on growth is measured by efficiency change. The shift in aggregate production function due to innovative activities is measured by technical change. An analysis of 16 American and European countries over the period 1978‐1994 reveals that the total impact of arms trade on growth, measured in terms of the Malmquist index, varies across countries. Contrary to common belief the findings of this study do not suggest that industrial countries have more efficient utilization offoreign military technology than do developing countries. The evidence also shows that the difference in total impact among countries is primarily due to the differences in efficiency change, not technical change.
HOW DELEGATING AUTHORITY BIASES SOCIAL CHOICES
Authors: TANSEY MICHAEL M.
Published: January 2010

Delegating authority can bias social choices. The bias derives from the persuasion process that accompanies social decision making. When decision makers can decide to delegate their authority, asymmetries in decision makers' persuasiveness and openness to persuasion can play an important role in distorting the outcomes of social choices. When permitted in social decision making, such ad hoc delegating may favor extreme points of view and may force more group decisions to formal, social‐choice mechanisms such as voting.
COMMUNAL DUALITY: AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES FROM TVES
Authors: WEN GUANZHONG JAMES , CHANG GENE HSIN
Published: January 2010

The policy of subsidizing agriculture with profits made by township and village enterprises has played an important role in maintaining stability and accelerating balanced economic growth in the Chinese rural areas. It represents an interesting subject in the literature of development economics for two reasons. First, the policy started at a very early stage of industrialization. Second, the policy has been carried out often voluntarily at the community level rather than at the state level. This paper examines the origin and rationales of such a policy and finds that the policy cannot be understood unless we look into a special institutional arrangement: China's unique communal duality. Study of the subject contributes significantly to an understanding of development economics. (JEL P5, Q0, O2)
EXPORT‐LINKED EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Authors: GROBAR LISA M.
Published: January 2010

This paper examines relevant data sources and develops a methodology based on available data in order to estimate the level of employment for a region that is linked to exports of goods and services. The methodology allows for the estimation of direct and indirect export‐related employment at the 2‐digit SIC industry level. In addition, the paper describes how the direction of regional trade can be estimated, and how regional employment linked to exports to major trading partners can be calculated. This methodology is then applied using data from the Southern California region. Tables with estimates of total regional export‐linked employment (by industry) and the regional employment associated with exports to each of the region's top 10 export trading partners are included. The usefulness of this type of database with regard to economic policy is discussed, as well as regional economic implications of the current economic crisis in Asia. (JEL F16, R15, R58, R23)
THE HEARTY AND CHEERY STATE
Authors: OI WALTER Y.
Published: January 2010

Progress is usually defined by the growth rate of real per capita income. It is not a sufficient statistic but one that has to do. The extent to which the accumulation of ordinary human capital is responsible for progress is examined. There is, I contend, no place for a concept of entrepreneurial human capital in a positive theory of growth. Professional human capital appears to be a consequence of growth and not a causal force. In an uncertain world, there is no way to guarantee growth. The best that one can do is to create an environment in which individuals are guaranteed the freedom to pursue those activities that they judge to be in their best interest. (JEL O40)
MARKETS FOR ORGANS: THE QUESTION OF SUPPLY
Authors: III A. FRANK ADAMS , BARNETT A. H. , KASERMAN DAVID L.
Published: January 2010

Organ transplantation holds the potential to substantially restore the health of many otherwise terminally ill patients. That potential, however, is currently being denied full realization by a chronic and severe shortage of cadaveric organs that are made available for this use. In recent years, medical practitioners, social scientists, and others have debated the virtues of allowing markets for cadaveric organs to form as a way to end the current shortage. In this debate, market opponents have argued, inter alia, that (1) organ collections may fall with payment of positive prices and (2) the price required to equilibrate organ supply and demand would be high. On the other hand, proponents of organ markets have argued that financial inducements could save many lives and that the equilibrium price is likely to be low. While dozens of papers have been published debating this issue, to date no one has provided any empirical evidence to resolve these important questions of supply. This paper provides preliminary evidence suggesting that potential donors would be relatively responsive to financial inducements and, accordingly, that the price required to eliminate the current shortage of organs is surprisingly low. (JEL 118, L50)
DIVERSITY AND ECONOMIC EVOLUTION: FAILURES OF COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
Authors: TISDELL CLEM
Published: January 2010

This paper has two themes. First, diversity of relevant attributes driving the dynamics of socioeconomic systems, including industrial systems'is often needed to increase their likelihood of transiting to a superior state. However, systems left to their own devices do not always evolve to states where they possess sufficient or optimal diversity for further evolution or growth to a superior state. Evolutionary market mechanisms can be of this nature. Structural adjustment policies and globalization seem to be adding to industrial and other types of uniformity. Hence, real danger exists that global industrial structures influenced by field effects will become “piled up” and reduce the likelihood of the global economic system evolving to a superior economic state. Furthermore, diversity is an important driving force in other growth processes, e.g., those adding to the stock of knowledge. Second industrial diversity of techniques and behaviors may be potentially Paretian valuable as a means of optimal adjustment to continual technological change and as a manifestation of specialization according to differences in individual abilities and in those of organizations. Insofar as attempts at benchmarking try to ensure uniform adoption of “best practice” in industry, they are likely to be doubly damaging because short‐run potential Paretian benefits are forgone, and in stifling industrial diversity they may also undermine industrial diversity as a source of future economic growth. (JEL D00, D89, O30, 014)
STATE WELFARE‐REFORM IMPACTS: CONTENT AND ENFORCEMENT EFFECTS
Authors: SCHILLER BRADLEY R.
Published: January 2010

The continuing debate over the cause of the precipitous 1994—1998 decline in welfare caseloads is fueled by the ambiguity of evaluation results that attempt to disentangle cyclical and programmatic effects. One reason for this uncertainty is the lack of homogeneity across jurisdictions in the content, timing, and enforcement of welfare‐reform parameters. This paper attempts to incorporate interjurisdictional variation in program content and enforcement into the standard evaluation model. The results suggest that state initiatives do reduce Aid for Families with Dependent Children caseloads but that all of the aggregate impact derives from a few “tough” provisions that limit welfare access. Variation in local enforcement of exemption and participation rules are also shown to have significant caseload effects. (JEL138)
CONSTITUENCY PREFERENCE AND POLICE CONSOLIDATION: THE CASE OF WEST HOLLYWOOD
Authors: FINNEY MILES
Published: January 2010

This study estimates the determinants of voter behavior in a local referendum on contracting for municipal police services. Recent empirical research has found that police services are produced under decreasing returns to scale. The electorate in West Hollywood, California decided in 1992 to maintain its police contractual agreement with the larger county police department. This paper finds that economic costs/benefits were significant determinants of the voters' decisions, suggesting that the electorate's expectations on the relative costs of the alternative police regimes contradict the efficiency implications of recent empirical research. (JEL H31, H77)
A REDUCTION IN CONSUMER EXPENDITURE ON CIGARETTES AND ITS EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: MERWE ROWENA VAN DER , ABEDIAN IRAJ
Published: January 2010

This study estimates empirically the employment effects if stronger tobacco control policies result in reduced consumption in South Africa. Since 1995, the government has committed itself to a stronger tobacco control policy and increased excise taxes. Yet policy makers are sensitive to the need to pursue this public health policy in a way that will minimize job losses. This study uses input‐output methodology and four expenditure scenarios to estimate output and employment effects following such policies. The analysis suggests that net employment effects will be positive if consumption expenditure is switched from tobacco to other goods and services in the economy. Further, this study suggests that these policy implications for tobacco control and public health hold, if a country has a self‐sufficient industry like South Africa. (JEL 118, D57)
CHINA'S CORPORATIZATION DRIVE: AN EVALUATION AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Authors: ZHU TIAN
Published: January 2010

This paper evaluates China's corporatization drive based on an assessment of the state sector's current problems. It shows that the worsening agency problem and excessive welfare burdens, as well as increasing competition, have contributed to the increasing losses experienced by Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs). While socialization of welfare burdens may improve SOEs' financial health, the mass corporatization drive by itself without institutional underpinnings, is unlikely to solve the more fundamental agency problem. The paper then argues that the key to a successful restructuring of the state sector lies in the fundamental transformation of state ownership and the creation of effective governance mechanisms, which, in turn, requires the development of the country's market‐oriented institutions, in particular, financial markets and the rule of law. (JEL P20, P31)
World oil: the growing case for international policy
Authors: Chapman D. , Khanna N.
Published: January 2010

Can the economic theory of depletion be reconciled with low petroleum prices? This article uses a revision of the theory, which reflects demand functions that rise in response to increasing world population and income. The magnitude of producers' and consumers' surplus is estimated under both competitive and monopolistic assumptions; the result indicates a present value comparable to or in excess of today's gross world economic product. Game theory suggests a framework that explains the interaction between oil pricing and military policy, and the economic incentives that result in a general pattern of recent market equilibrium crude oil prices often fluctuating with a $15–20 per barrel range. The analysis concludes that the economic incentives for political instability in the Persian Gulf will increase, and more formal methods of setting the international framework for Persian Gulf oil may be expected.
Value of public goods from sports stadiums: the CVM approach
Authors: Johnson BK. , Whitehead JC.
Published: January 2010

Many state and local governments have subsidized the construction of arenas and stadium for the use of professional sports teams. They often justify the subsidies by claiming the projects generate valuable public goods and positive externalities, though such benefits are difficult to measure. This article reports an application of the contingent valuation method (CVM) to measure the value of public goods generated by two proposed projects in Lexington, Kentucky: a new basketball arena for the University of Kentucky and a minor league baseball stadium. Neither project would generate sufficiently valuable public goods to justify public financing. Although the results cannot be generalized to other cases, they do shed light on some of the main issues involved, and they demonstrate the feasibility of applying CVM to the evaluation of the subsidized stadiums.
Crowding‐out and crowding‐in effects of the components of government expenditure
Authors: Ahmed H. , Miller SM.
Published: January 2010

This article examines the effects of disaggregated government expenditure on investment using fixed‐ and random‐effect methods. Using the government budget constraint, the analysis explores the effects of tax‐ and debt‐financed expenditure for the full sample, and for subsamples of developed and developing countries. In general, tax‐financed government expenditure crowds out more investment than debt‐financed expenditure. Expenditure on social security and welfare reduces investment in all samples while expenditure on transport and communication induces private investment in developing countries.
The nature and consequences of lawyers’market regulation in Japan
Authors: Kinoshita T.
Published: January 2010

In Japan, the lawyers’market is regulated so strictly that the contrast between the small lawyers’market and the huge economy is surprising. The number of lawyers is about 15,000, while the GDP and population are $4 trillion and 130 million, respectively. The regulation is governed principally by the Supreme Court of Japan and the Ministry of Justice. Regulations are implemented mainly through (1) strict bar examinations and (2) long trial times. The pass rates of the exam are 2–4% each year, and the average trial time (civil cases and District Courts) is 19.2 months. The consequences of the regulation are that (1) consumers pay 13.9‐100.0% higher prices than in countries with no regulation, and (2) the expected rate of return on human capital investment in lawyers is very low, around the 0% level. It is not only a great loss for Japanese economy but also very unfortunate for university students that the investment opportunity in this most respected profession is almost blocked.
Four decades of Asian American women's earnings: Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino American women's earnings 1960–1990
Authors: Mar D.
Published: January 2010

This article examines the earnings progress of Asian American women from 1960 through 1990 by comparing their actual hourly wage and salary earnings to simulated earnings. The simulated earnings are obtained by using parameter estimates obtained from human capital models of white women corrected for sample selection bias. Data come from the decennial census Public Use Micro Samples data. American‐born Asian American women appear to have made dramatic gains in the 1970s. The 1980s and 1990s show some fluctuations in actual earings relative to simulated earnings between Asian American and white women. These fluctuations may be due to problems measuring experience as opposed to differences in discrimination over time.
The acquisition and labor market value of four English skills: new evidence from NALS
Authors: Gonzalez A.
Published: January 2010

This study investigates the factors related to proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing English among immigrants using data from the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). It also investigates the earnings‐English relationship for each of these four skills to establish which is more valuable in the labor market. English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, education, and years in the United States are found especially to affect English proficiency. Furthermore, the returns on oral proficiency are greater than the returns on literacy skills, although writing skills are more valuable than reading skills. The study concludes that English acquisition is a dynamic process, rather than static as argued by supporters of English‐only legislation. An increased role for ESL courses in the acquisition of English is suggested as an alternative policy to English‐only laws as long as the marginal cost is less than the marginal benefit.
Labor productivity of small and large manufacturing firms: the case of Taiwan
Authors: Hsu M. , Chen B‐L.
Published: January 2010

This work studies the factors influencing the labor productivity of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms using Taiwan as a case study. A special emphasis is placed on two possible international channels: exports and foreign direct investment (FDI). Different from conventional studies, we employ the two‐stage switching regressions to correct the firm‐size effect on labor productivity and estimate labor productivity for SMEs and large firms. The main findings are as follows. First, the estimates of the selectivity variable are statistically significant for both SMEs and large firms, supporting the hypothesis of correcting the effect of firm‐size truncation. Second, while a larger trade intensity significantly increases the labor productivity of SMEs, it deteriorates significantly that of large firms. Third, FDI enhances the labor productivity of SMEs internally, whereas it has a negative spillover on that of other small and large firms in the industry. While the first outcome lends supports to the role of self‐selection, the remaining stands in sharp contrast to conventional wisdom.
IS THERE A ROLE FOR TRANSACTION COST ECONOMICS IF WE VIEW FIRMS AS COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS?
Authors: FOSTER J
Published: January 2010

This article assesses the usefulness of transaction cost economics when we view economic organizations, such as firms, as complex adaptive systems. Modern complexity science is radically different in orientation to neoclassical economics, which deals with decision making in contexts that are presumed to be simple and, therefore, disconnected from complex reality. However, transaction cost economics can be related to aspects of modern complexity science: bounded rationality, opportunism, and asset specificity are all associated with behavioral complexity. Furthermore, the emphasis of transaction cost economics on hierarchy and organizational rather than technological considerations is also consistent with complexity science. Drawing on literature in psychological economics, this article synthesizes transaction cost economics with aspects of complexity science in a manner that offers a new research agenda, not only in the context of the organization of production but in economics generally. Such theoretical developments are vital if policy makers are to have at their disposal analytical perspectives that are coherent and applicable in complex historical settings.
Suicide as an indicator of quality of life: evidence from dialysis patients
Authors: Ford JM , Kaserman DL
Published: January 2010

Quality of life has been measured in many different ways for patients with chronic medical conditions. What is unique about the approach used here is that it uses suicide rates as a relatively objective measure of quality of life within the population of dialysis patients. Using a Heckman selection model, we estimate the relative suicide rates across patients undergoing both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Our empirical results show that patients on hemodialysis have relatively lower suicide rates after controlling for other factors. Specifically, our results indicate that 141 fewer suicides will occur for every 1,000 patients shifted from peritoneal to hemodialysis. Prior estimates of the higher costs of the latter modality yield an estimated expenditure of $42,043 per suicide avoided.
HAYEKIAN ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE AS A FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINED PROSPERITY
Authors: Jordan JL
Published: January 2010

Rather than debate whether technical advances have created a ‘new economy’, economists should focus on the more interesting and useful question: How do we create the sort of environment in which innovation and the productive use of new technology thrive, thereby creating economic prosperity? Such an environment is the product of government laying the appropriate infrastructure, manifested in the culture of the institutions it supports. This article discusses the features governments must incorporate into their institutions in order to build an economic infrastructure that promotes prosperity.
DOES TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE HELP TRADE‐DISPLACED WORKERS?
Authors: Marcal LE
Published: January 2010

The federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program was designed to aid workers who have lost their jobs because of increased import competition. Linear earnings functions provide little evidence that the TAA program increases the subsequent wages of its participants over comparable unemployment insurance (UI) exhaustees. However, adjusting for time spent training, TAA trainees were employed more than comparable nontrainees.
QUALITY‐ASSURING PRICE AND BREACH OF EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY
Authors: Vandegrift D
Published: January 2010

If consumers cannot discern quality prior to purchase, firms may use both court enforcement and the market mechanism to assure quality. But the level of warranty protection that firms choose to offer depends on the efficiency of the market. As the ability of consumers to communicate information concerning quality among themselves (market efficiency) increases, the level of warranty protection that maximizes consumer surplus falls. In highly efficient markets, producers do not offer a warranty. Thus, courts should not imply a warranty if producers do not specify one. In addition, the level of warranty protection depends on the courts' ability to distinguish between producer and consumer moral hazard.
WATER BANKING AND RESTORATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES HABITAT: AN APPLICATION TO THE SNAKE RIVER
Authors: Green GP , O'Connor JP
Published: January 2010

Most river basins have experienced development of water projects to promote flood control, recreation, and hydropower and agricultural production. Though the projects helped establish stable economies, there have been adverse impacts to the natural environment and wildlife that reside in these river basins. One of the key policy tools for habitat restoration is management of instream flows. Alternative water banking policies for restoring habitat are compared using a spatial optimization model to identify which policies work best to augment instream flows for habitat restoration. Results indicate that policy goals dictate what type of water bank is preferred.
ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE: AN F‐22 CASE STUDY
Authors: KING DAVID R. , DRIESSNACK JOHN D.
Published: January 2010

Consolidation of the defense industrial base has led to concerns about whether enough competition exists between remaining firms to maintain needed cost reduction and innovation. We examine competition in the U.S. defense industrial base by performing an in‐depth case study of Lockheed Martin and the F‐22 program that considers multiple tiers of the industrial base. We find that defense firm specialization has led to outsourcing practices and arguably a more robust U.S. defense industrial base. Implications for government policy are identified. (JEL H57, O38, D43, L14)
HOW KNOWLEDGE AFFECTS PAYMENT TO CONSERVE AN ENDANGERED BIRD
Authors: WILSON CLEVO , TISDELL CLEM
Published: January 2010

The paper reports the findings of an experimental survey conducted to determine the public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the protection and conservation of the golden‐shouldered parrot in Australia. This parrot is endemic to Australia and is one of Australia’s most endangered birds. The paper examines the public’s knowledge of this parrot and compares it with other endangered birds as well as common birds and the public’s WTP for conservation from a hypothetical allocation of money based on their current knowledge. We then examine how this allocation changes with increased knowledge about all species.
FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN MALE‐DOMINATED OCCUPATIONS: EVIDENCE FROM THE 1990 AND 2000 CENSUS DATA
Authors: ASHRAF MOHAMMAD
Published: January 2010

This article investigates the effects of age, marital status, number of children, and education on the probability of female presence in traditionally male‐dominated occupations using the PUMS 1990 and PUMS 2000 data. The results indicate that being married with husband present decreases the probability of female presence in traditionally male‐dominated occupations, whereas college education has changed from having a positive effect in the 1990 data to a negative effect in the 2000 data. The analysis also finds that there are significant regional variations with regard to the effects of these factors. (JEL J71, J31)
THE IMPACT OF THE MINIMUM WAGE ON FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN JAPAN
Authors: KAWAGUCHI DAIJI , YAMADA KEN
Published: January 2010

This article examines the impact of the minimum wage on employment, focusing on women in their 20s and 30s, who are known to be typical low‐wage workers in Japan. The results, based on a panel estimation, suggest that the minimum wage has a measurable impact on employment; the workers whose current wage is below the revised minimum wage are about 20–30 percentage points less likely to be employed in the following year than comparable low‐wage workers who are not affected by the revision of the minimum wage. The estimation results are sensitive to the choice of the control group. (JEL J23, J38, J88)
THE IMPACT OF MERGERS IN U.S. PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ON WHOLESALE GASOLINE PRICES
Authors: KARIKARI JOHN A. , AGBARA GODWIN , DEZHBAKHSH HASHEM , EL‐OSTA BARBARA
Published: January 2010

Starting in the mid‐1990s, the U.S. petroleum industry experienced a wave of mergers, several of them between large petroleum companies that were previously competitors. Using an econometric analysis of terminal city‐specific data, this study finds that the majority of the mergers led to higher wholesale gasoline prices in the United States in the mid‐1990s through 2000. (JEL L7, L13, L40)
TRIGGER‐POINT MECHANISM AND CONDITIONAL COMMITMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR ENTRY, COLLUSION, AND WELFARE
Authors: QIU LARRY D. , CHENG LEONARD K. , FUNG MICHAEL K.
Published: January 2010

When fixed, sunk investment costs are high, firms may not have sufficient incentive to enter the market unless future entry is constrained. In this case, the government faces a dilemma between a full commitment and noncommitment of restricted future entry. A way out is to consider a commitment conditional on the realization of the uncertain parameters, such as the trigger‐point mechanism (TPM) that sets conditions on current production level, excess capacity, and demand growth under which future entry will be allowed. This article shows that the TPM facilitates the incumbents’ collusion but may improve social welfare under certain circumstances. (JEL L13, L43, L50, H10, H54)
THE ECONOMICS OF HOMELAND SECURITY EXPENDITURES: FOUNDATIONAL EXPECTED COST‐EFFECTIVENESS APPROACHES
Authors: FARROW SCOTT
Published: January 2010

While most economists expect some marginal conditions to result from basic expected value models involving government expenditures and homeland security investments, such models are not readily found in the literature. The article presents six basic models that all incorporate uncertainty; they also capture various problems involving technological limits, behavioral interactions, false negatives and false positives, and decision making with uncertainty and irreversibility. Recent reviews of homeland security programs by the U.S. Government Accountability Office are used to illustrate the relevance of the models.(JEL H100)
ASYMMETRIC EFFECTS OF MARITAL SEPARATION ON HEALTH INSURANCE AMONG MEN AND WOMEN
Authors: ZIMMER DAVID M.
Published: January 2010

Despite widespread interest among policy researchers in the effect of job displacement on insurance loss, there is little focus in the literature on the insurance implications of a married person losing his or her spouse. Using a large household survey, this article finds that despite legislation aimed at protecting separating spouses, individuals remain at risk of losing health insurance in the event of marital disruption. This is especially true for wives who are enrolled in their husbands’ plans prior to marital termination. (JEL D13, I18)
THE ROLE OF EXCHANGE RATE IN SINO‐U.S. BILATERAL TRADE
Authors: KOO WON W. , ZHUANG RENAN
Published: January 2010

We use the error component two‐stage least squares estimation method to examine the effects of the Sino‐U.S. exchange rate and the weighted exchange rate between the United States and other Asian countries on the Sino‐U.S. trade patterns. Our study suggests that both the exchange rates have contributed to China’s increased trade surplus with the United States. China has imported intermediate goods from the Asian countries, produced final goods using its cheap labor, and exported those goods to the United States. This is especially true for bilateral trade of high‐tech manufacturing goods. Our study also reveals that the U.S. bilateral trade balance could improve if China appreciates its currency (Yuan) against the U.S. dollar. (JEL F14, F10, F19)
THE EFFECTS OF FISCAL AND MONETARY DISCIPLINE ON BUDGETARY OUTCOMES
Authors: NEYAPTI BILIN , OZGUR SECIL
Published: January 2010

This article extends the model of Von Hagen and Harden that analyzed the impact of fiscal discipline on budgetary outcomes. We modify the model by adding monetary discipline to interact with fiscal discipline in order to analyze the effects of both on budgetary outcomes. The model predicts that while both inflation and budget deficits are negatively associated with fiscal discipline, they may be positively associated with monetary discipline, proxied by central bank independence. This result obtains due to optimizing agents internalizing the burden of spending: inflation. Although not conclusive due to data limitations, empirical findings also support these predictions. (JEL D73, E58, H61, H72)
RESTRUCTURING U.S. FEDERAL FINANCIAL REGULATION
Authors: KUSHMEIDER ROSE M.
Published: January 2010

Despite changes over the past 70 yr, the U.S. federal financial regulatory system remains rooted in the reforms of the 1930s. The institutions governed by this system have, nevertheless, continued to evolve. Today, regulation of large, multiproduct, internationally active financial organizations poses challenges for a system designed largely to regulate smaller, distinct, locally based organizations. Reform of the regulatory system, however, is not an easy task—complex issues regarding deposit insurance, the role of the central bank, and the dual banking system must be addressed. In the absence of a crisis, however, regulatory restructuring will not likely generate much political interest. (JEL G28)
WHY ARE AMERICANS ADDICTED TO BASEBALL? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FANDOM IN KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES
Authors: LEE YOUNG H. , SMITH TRENTON G.
Published: January 2010

Theories of rational addiction posit that certain habit‐forming goods—characterized by an increasing marginal utility of consumption—generate predictable dynamic patterns of consumer behavior. It has been suggested that attendance at sporting events represents an example of such a good, as evidenced by the pricing strategies of commercial sports interests. In this essay, we provide new evidence in support of rational addiction for the case of Major League Baseball but fail to find such support in data from the Korean Professional Baseball League. We then review the scientific literature on sports fans from the perspective of human behavioral ecology and propose a theory of endogenous habit formation among sports fans that could explain our findings. (JEL C32, D83, D87, D91, L83)
THE SOURCES OF THE DECLINE IN U.S. OUTPUT VOLATILITY
Authors: CHOI KYONGWOOK , JUNG CHULHO
Published: January 2010

In this paper, we investigate the sources of the decline in U.S. output volatility. We estimate structural vector autoregression models before and after the structural break date of the first quarter of 1984. We find that the magnitude of both supply and demand shocks in the pre‐1984 period is greater than that in the post‐1984 period. We also find that the relative importance of the demand shocks in the post‐1984 has decreased drastically compared to the pre‐1984 period. Further counterfactual analyses show that good luck, good policies, and better business practices might have played a role in reducing U.S. output volatility. (JEL E30, E60, C32)
ASSESSING THE INTEGRATION OF ELECTRICITY MARKETS USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS: NETWORK AND MARKET STRUCTURE EFFECTS
Authors: EVANS LEWIS , GUTHRIE GRAEME , VIDEBECK STEEN
Published: January 2010

Market power in electricity wholesale spot markets is more likely if there is market segmentation. We show that principal component analysis is a natural tool for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the presence of local markets. We study whether the New Zealand market has been a national market or a set of local markets since its inception in 1996 and find that increased competition induced some segmentation that was eliminated by transmission enhancement and the introduction of generation downstream from the constrained circuits. Transmission investment policy that ensures one market will contribute to the efficiency of electricity, water, and related other markets. (JEL D4, L1, L4)
CREDIT UNION TO MUTUAL CONVERSION: DO INTEREST RATES DIVERGE?
Authors: HEINRICH JEFF , KASHIAN RUSS
Published: January 2010

This study conducts a cross‐sectional analysis of 175 depository institutions, assessing the impact on the interest rates charged on loan products and offered on savings products by the size of the institution, its liquidity, its net worth, its tax and salary payments, and its status as a for‐profit institution, a credit union (CU), or a converted CU. We find that banks and converted CUs have interest rates significantly less favorable for consumers than CUs, suggesting that a CU converting will result in adverse interest rate movements for its customers. (JEL 621, L3)
WHY HAVE SO MANY DISINFLATIONS SUCCEEDED?
Authors: HOFSTETTER MARC
Published: January 2010

Why is it that the achievements of some disinflations from low and moderate peaks are long‐lived, whereas in others the gains in the inflationary front dissipate quickly? Based on an index of the sustainability of disinflations, various competing explanations of what determines sustainability are tested. Three factors, potentially at the top of the list of many researchers, are shown to be insignificant: oil shocks, fiscal policy, and inflation targeting. Nevertheless, other important features such as the exchange rate regime, achieving low inflation rates during the disinflation, and food price shocks are shown to be important variables driving the sustainability records. (JEL E31, E32, E52, E58, F41)
DO ADULT CHILDREN MATTER?—THE EFFECTS OF NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE ON RETIREMENT BEHAVIOR: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN
Authors: HSIEH HSIN‐LING
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the effect of the 1995 implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) on retirement behavior in Taiwan. The identification strategy is based on the fact that, in Taiwan, adult children offer significant insurance to elderly parents. The results suggest that NHI had significant effects on retirement among the elderly lacking an adequate traditional “safety net.” NHI raised the conditional probability that a male, private sector worker over the age of 51 would retire by more than 60%. However, men with a stronger safety net in the form of adult sons were less responsive to NHI. (JEL I18, J14, J26)
HOUSE PRICES IN THE MEASUREMENT OF INFLATION IN THE EURO AREA
Authors: O’SULLIVAN RÓISÍN
Published: January 2010

An important element of the current monetary policy debate in Europe is the question of if and how house prices should be included in the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP). This paper uses a signal extraction approach to inflation measurement to illustrate the impact of including house prices when the aggregate inflation measure is constructed by assigning weights to individual price series based on their signal‐to‐noise ratio. The inclusion of house prices in the HICP in this manner does not materially impact the appropriate stance of monetary policy.(JELE31, E52, E58)