cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.3886/e113755v1
title: Replication data for: Teacher Incentives

description: We analyze a randomized trial of a program that rewarded Kenyan primary school teachers based on student test scores, with penalties for students not taking the exams. Scores increased on the formula used to reward teachers, and program school students scored higher on the exams linked to teacher incentives. Yet most of the gains were focused on the teacher reward formula. The dropout rate was unchanged. Instead, exam participation increased among enrolled students. Test scores increased on exams linked to the incentives, but not on other, unrelated exams. Teacher attendance and homework assignment were unaffected, but test preparation sessions increased. (JEL I21, I28, J13, O15)
DOI: 10.3886/e114081
title: Replication data for: Monetary Policy and Real Borrowing Costs at the Zero Lower Bound

description: This paper compares the effects of conventional monetary policy on real borrowing costs with those of the unconventional measures employed after the target federal funds rate hit the zero lower bound (ZLB). For the ZLB period, we identify two policy surprises: changes in the two-year Treasury yield around policy announcements and changes in the ten-year Treasury yield that are orthogonal to those in the two-year yield. The efficacy of unconventional policy in lowering real borrowing costs is comparable to that of conventional policy, in that it implies a complete pass-through of policy-induced movements in Treasury yields to comparable-maturity private yields. (JEL E31, E43, E44, E52)
DOI: 10.3886/e114081v1
title: Replication data for: Monetary Policy and Real Borrowing Costs at the Zero Lower Bound

description: This paper compares the effects of conventional monetary policy on real borrowing costs with those of the unconventional measures employed after the target federal funds rate hit the zero lower bound (ZLB). For the ZLB period, we identify two policy surprises: changes in the two-year Treasury yield around policy announcements and changes in the ten-year Treasury yield that are orthogonal to those in the two-year yield. The efficacy of unconventional policy in lowering real borrowing costs is comparable to that of conventional policy, in that it implies a complete pass-through of policy-induced movements in Treasury yields to comparable-maturity private yields. (JEL E31, E43, E44, E52)
DOI: 10.3886/e114244
title: Replication data for: How Important Is Technology Capital for the United States?

description: I construct measures of technology capital and country openness for the US economy and the rest of the world for 1982-2007. The key identifying assumption is that firms equalize returns on tangible and technology capital. For the US economy, technology capital is about one-third of tangible capital, and the degree of openness is between 0.61 and 0.70. I provide both a two-country estimation and a multicountry estimation, and find that the US estimates are almost identical in both cases. The welfare loss from totally closing the US economy is small, but the welfare gain from totally opening the US economy is large. (JEL E22, F41, O30)
DOI: 10.3886/e114244v1
title: Replication data for: How Important Is Technology Capital for the United States?

description: I construct measures of technology capital and country openness for the US economy and the rest of the world for 1982-2007. The key identifying assumption is that firms equalize returns on tangible and technology capital. For the US economy, technology capital is about one-third of tangible capital, and the degree of openness is between 0.61 and 0.70. I provide both a two-country estimation and a multicountry estimation, and find that the US estimates are almost identical in both cases. The welfare loss from totally closing the US economy is small, but the welfare gain from totally opening the US economy is large. (JEL E22, F41, O30)
DOI: 10.3886/e114245
title: Replication data for: Political Pressures on Monetary Policy during the US Great Inflation

description: Drawing on an analysis of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) documents, this paper argues that political pressures on the Federal Reserve were an important contributor to the rise in inflation in the United States in the 1970s. Members of the FOMC understood that a serious attempt to tackle inflation would generate opposition from Congress and the executive branch. Political considerations contributed to delays in monetary tightening, insufficiently aggressive anti-inflation policies, and the premature abandonment of attempts at disinflation. Empirical analysis verifies that references to the political environment at FOMC meetings are correlated with the stance of monetary policy during this period. (JEL D72, E32, E52, E58, N12)
DOI: 10.3886/e114245v1
title: Replication data for: Political Pressures on Monetary Policy during the US Great Inflation

description: Drawing on an analysis of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) documents, this paper argues that political pressures on the Federal Reserve were an important contributor to the rise in inflation in the United States in the 1970s. Members of the FOMC understood that a serious attempt to tackle inflation would generate opposition from Congress and the executive branch. Political considerations contributed to delays in monetary tightening, insufficiently aggressive anti-inflation policies, and the premature abandonment of attempts at disinflation. Empirical analysis verifies that references to the political environment at FOMC meetings are correlated with the stance of monetary policy during this period. (JEL D72, E32, E52, E58, N12)
DOI: 10.3886/e114246
title: Replication data for: Learning in a Medium-Scale DSGE Model with Expectations Based on Small Forecasting Models

description: This paper evaluates the empirical performance of a medium-scale DSGE model with agents forming expectations using small forecasting models updated by the Kalman filter. The adaptive learning model fits the data better than the rational expectations (RE) model. Beliefs about the inflation persistence explain the observed decline in the mean and the volatility of inflation as well as Phillips curve flattening. Learning about inflation results in lower estimates for the persistence of the exogenous shocks that drive price and wage dynamics in the RE version of the model. Expectations based on small forecasting models are closely related to the survey evidence on inflation expectations. (JEL C53, D83, D84, E13, E17, E31)
DOI: 10.3886/e114246v1
title: Replication data for: Learning in a Medium-Scale DSGE Model with Expectations Based on Small Forecasting Models

description: This paper evaluates the empirical performance of a medium-scale DSGE model with agents forming expectations using small forecasting models updated by the Kalman filter. The adaptive learning model fits the data better than the rational expectations (RE) model. Beliefs about the inflation persistence explain the observed decline in the mean and the volatility of inflation as well as Phillips curve flattening. Learning about inflation results in lower estimates for the persistence of the exogenous shocks that drive price and wage dynamics in the RE version of the model. Expectations based on small forecasting models are closely related to the survey evidence on inflation expectations. (JEL C53, D83, D84, E13, E17, E31)
DOI: 10.3886/e114247
title: Replication data for: The Cyclicality of Skill Acquisition: Evidence from Panel Data

description: This paper presents new empirical evidence regarding the cyclicality of skill acquisition activities. The paper studies both training and schooling episodes at the individual level using quarterly data from the NLSY79 for a period of 19 years. We find that aggregate schooling is strongly countercyclical, while aggregate training is acyclical. Several training categories, however, behave procyclically. The results also indicate that firm-financed training is procyclical, while training financed through other means is countercyclical; and that the cyclicality of skill acquisition investments depends significantly on the educational level and the employment status of the individual. (JEL E24, E32, I20, J24)
DOI: 10.3886/e114247v1
title: Replication data for: The Cyclicality of Skill Acquisition: Evidence from Panel Data

description: This paper presents new empirical evidence regarding the cyclicality of skill acquisition activities. The paper studies both training and schooling episodes at the individual level using quarterly data from the NLSY79 for a period of 19 years. We find that aggregate schooling is strongly countercyclical, while aggregate training is acyclical. Several training categories, however, behave procyclically. The results also indicate that firm-financed training is procyclical, while training financed through other means is countercyclical; and that the cyclicality of skill acquisition investments depends significantly on the educational level and the employment status of the individual. (JEL E24, E32, I20, J24)
DOI: 10.3886/e114517
title: Replication data for: Emotional Tagging and Belief Formation: The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism

description: Growing evidence in macrofinance suggests long-lasting effects of personally experienced outcomes on beliefs. To understand the underlying mechanism we turn to the neurological foundations of memory formation. We propose that emotional tagging plays a crucial role in assigning weights in the belief formation process. We use exposure to communism as well as variation in its emotional tagging to predict long-run beliefs. We show that living under communism has long-term effects on beliefs about its benefits. In addition, positive and negative emotional tags strongly affect the (pro- or anti-communist) direction of beliefs, providing anchors to memory that seem hard to reverse.
DOI: 10.3886/e114518
title: Replication data for: Flow Origins of Labor Force Participation Fluctuations

description: We investigate the origins of cyclical and trend movements in the labor force participation rate (LFPR) using a three-state flow decomposition. The procyclicality of LFPR can be traced to cyclical flows between employment and unemployment. By contrast, labor force entry and exit explain virtually all of the trend movements. Among men, rising labor force exit rates account for two-thirds of the trend decline in male LFPR since the 1990s. For women, trend increases in female LFPR during the 1990s were dominated by declining exit rates, while the trend decline since the Great Recession can be traced to declining entry rates.
DOI: 10.3886/e114518v1
title: Replication data for: Flow Origins of Labor Force Participation Fluctuations

description: We investigate the origins of cyclical and trend movements in the labor force participation rate (LFPR) using a three-state flow decomposition. The procyclicality of LFPR can be traced to cyclical flows between employment and unemployment. By contrast, labor force entry and exit explain virtually all of the trend movements. Among men, rising labor force exit rates account for two-thirds of the trend decline in male LFPR since the 1990s. For women, trend increases in female LFPR during the 1990s were dominated by declining exit rates, while the trend decline since the Great Recession can be traced to declining entry rates.
DOI: 10.3886/e114519
title: Replication data for: Is Inflation Just Around the Corner? The Phillips Curve and Global Inflationary Pressures

description: Tightening labor markets in the United States and other advanced economies suggest inflation should be on the rise, yet it remains subdued. Is the Phillips curve broken? We bring together surveys of household or firm expectations for 18 countries to estimate an expectations-augmented Phillips curve. We find strong evidence of a Phillips curve relationship: the Phillips curve is alive and well. The fact that inflation remains well below inflation expectations, both in the United States and abroad, suggests that there remains significant slack in labor markets.
DOI: 10.3886/e114519v1
title: Replication data for: Is Inflation Just Around the Corner? The Phillips Curve and Global Inflationary Pressures

description: Tightening labor markets in the United States and other advanced economies suggest inflation should be on the rise, yet it remains subdued. Is the Phillips curve broken? We bring together surveys of household or firm expectations for 18 countries to estimate an expectations-augmented Phillips curve. We find strong evidence of a Phillips curve relationship: the Phillips curve is alive and well. The fact that inflation remains well below inflation expectations, both in the United States and abroad, suggests that there remains significant slack in labor markets.
DOI: 10.3886/e114520v1
title: Replication data for: Discrimination in Ambient Air Pollution Monitoring?

description: In the United States, ambient air quality is regulated through National Ambient Air Quality standards (NAAQS). Enforcement of these standards is delegated to state and sub-state regulators who are also tasked with designing their own monitoring networks for ambient pollution. Past work has found evidence consistent with strategic behavior: local regulators strategically avoid pollution hotspots when siting monitors. This paper assesses whether income and race have historically played a role in monitor siting decisions.
DOI: 10.3886/e114708
title: Replication data for: Screening in Contract Design: Evidence from the ACA Health Insurance Exchanges

description: We study insurers' use of prescription drug formularies to screen consumers in the ACA Health Insurance exchanges. We begin by showing that exchange risk adjustment and reinsurance succeed in neutralizing selection incentives for most, but not all, consumer types. A minority of consumers, identifiable by demand for particular classes of prescription drugs, are predictably unprofitable. We then show that contract features relating to these drugs are distorted in a manner consistent with multidimensional screening. The empirical findings support a long theoretical literature examining how insurance contracts offered in equilibrium can fail to optimally trade off risk protection and moral hazard.
DOI: 10.3886/e114708v1
title: Replication data for: Screening in Contract Design: Evidence from the ACA Health Insurance Exchanges

description: We study insurers' use of prescription drug formularies to screen consumers in the ACA Health Insurance exchanges. We begin by showing that exchange risk adjustment and reinsurance succeed in neutralizing selection incentives for most, but not all, consumer types. A minority of consumers, identifiable by demand for particular classes of prescription drugs, are predictably unprofitable. We then show that contract features relating to these drugs are distorted in a manner consistent with multidimensional screening. The empirical findings support a long theoretical literature examining how insurance contracts offered in equilibrium can fail to optimally trade off risk protection and moral hazard.
DOI: 10.3886/e114709
title: Replication data for: Are Consumers Poorly Informed about Fuel Economy? Evidence from Two Experiments

description: It is often asserted that consumers are poorly informed about and inattentive to fuel economy, causing them to buy low-fuel economy vehicles despite their own best interest. This paper presents evidence on this assertion through two experiments providing fuel economy information to new vehicle shoppers. Results show zero statistical or economic effect on average fuel economy of vehicles purchased. In the context of a simple optimal policy model, the estimates suggest that current and proposed US fuel economy standards are significantly more stringent than needed to address the classes of imperfect information and inattention addressed by our interventions.
DOI: 10.3886/e114709v1
title: Replication data for: Are Consumers Poorly Informed about Fuel Economy? Evidence from Two Experiments

description: It is often asserted that consumers are poorly informed about and inattentive to fuel economy, causing them to buy low-fuel economy vehicles despite their own best interest. This paper presents evidence on this assertion through two experiments providing fuel economy information to new vehicle shoppers. Results show zero statistical or economic effect on average fuel economy of vehicles purchased. In the context of a simple optimal policy model, the estimates suggest that current and proposed US fuel economy standards are significantly more stringent than needed to address the classes of imperfect information and inattention addressed by our interventions.
DOI: 10.3886/e113756
title: Replication data for: Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors

description: The careers of MBAs from a top US business school are studied to understand how career dynamics differ by gender. Although male and female MBAs have nearly identical earnings at the outset of their careers, their earnings soon diverge, with the male earnings advantage reaching almost 60 log points a decade after MBA completion. Three proximate factors account for the large and rising gender gap in earnings: differences in training prior to MBA graduation, differences in career interruptions, and differences in weekly hours. The greater career discontinuity and shorter work hours for female MBAs are largely associated with motherhood. (JEL J16, J22, J31, J44)
DOI: 10.3886/e113756v1
title: Replication data for: Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors

description: The careers of MBAs from a top US business school are studied to understand how career dynamics differ by gender. Although male and female MBAs have nearly identical earnings at the outset of their careers, their earnings soon diverge, with the male earnings advantage reaching almost 60 log points a decade after MBA completion. Three proximate factors account for the large and rising gender gap in earnings: differences in training prior to MBA graduation, differences in career interruptions, and differences in weekly hours. The greater career discontinuity and shorter work hours for female MBAs are largely associated with motherhood. (JEL J16, J22, J31, J44)
DOI: 10.3886/e113757
title: Replication data for: Information, Direct Access to Farmers, and Rural Market Performance in Central India

description: This paper estimates the impact of a change in procurement strategy of a private buyer in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Beginning in October 2000, Internet kiosks and warehouses were established that provide wholesale price information and an alternative marketing channel to soy farmers in the state. Using a new market-level dataset, the estimates suggest a significant increase in soy price after the introduction of kiosks, supporting the predictions of the theoretical model. Moreover, there is a robust increase in area under soy cultivation. The results point toward an improvement in the functioning of rural agricultural markets. (JEL O13, O18, Q12, Q13)
DOI: 10.3886/e113757v1
title: Replication data for: Information, Direct Access to Farmers, and Rural Market Performance in Central India

description: This paper estimates the impact of a change in procurement strategy of a private buyer in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Beginning in October 2000, Internet kiosks and warehouses were established that provide wholesale price information and an alternative marketing channel to soy farmers in the state. Using a new market-level dataset, the estimates suggest a significant increase in soy price after the introduction of kiosks, supporting the predictions of the theoretical model. Moreover, there is a robust increase in area under soy cultivation. The results point toward an improvement in the functioning of rural agricultural markets. (JEL O13, O18, Q12, Q13)
DOI: 10.3886/e113758
title: Replication data for: Freedom Fries

description: Do firms always choose the cheapest suitable inputs, or can group attitudes affect their choices? To investigate this question, we examine the deterioration of relations between the United States and France from 2002-2003, when France's favorability rating in the US fell by 48 percentage points. We estimate that the worsening attitudes reduced bilateral trade by about 9 percent and that trade in inputs probably declined similarly, by about 8 percent. We use these estimates to calculate the average decrease in firms' willingness to pay for French (or US) commodities when attitudes worsened. (JEL D24, F13, F14, L14, L21)
DOI: 10.3886/e113758v1
title: Replication data for: Freedom Fries

description: Do firms always choose the cheapest suitable inputs, or can group attitudes affect their choices? To investigate this question, we examine the deterioration of relations between the United States and France from 2002-2003, when France's favorability rating in the US fell by 48 percentage points. We estimate that the worsening attitudes reduced bilateral trade by about 9 percent and that trade in inputs probably declined similarly, by about 8 percent. We use these estimates to calculate the average decrease in firms' willingness to pay for French (or US) commodities when attitudes worsened. (JEL D24, F13, F14, L14, L21)
DOI: 10.3886/e113759
title: Replication data for: Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger

description: Price dispersion across markets is common in developing countries. Using novel market and trader-level data, this paper provides estimates of the impact of mobile phones on price dispersion across grain markets in Niger. The introduction of mobile phone service between 2001 and 2006 explains a 10 to 16 percent reduction in grain price dispersion. The effect is stronger for market pairs with higher transport costs. (JEL O13, O33, Q11, Q13)
DOI: 10.3886/e113759v1
title: Replication data for: Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger

description: Price dispersion across markets is common in developing countries. Using novel market and trader-level data, this paper provides estimates of the impact of mobile phones on price dispersion across grain markets in Niger. The introduction of mobile phone service between 2001 and 2006 explains a 10 to 16 percent reduction in grain price dispersion. The effect is stronger for market pairs with higher transport costs. (JEL O13, O33, Q11, Q13)
DOI: 10.3886/e114248
title: Replication data for: Speculative Bubbles and Financial Crises

description: Are asset prices unduly volatile and often detached from their fundamentals? Does the bursting of financial bubbles depress the real economy? This paper addresses these issues by constructing a DSGE model with speculative bubbles. We characterize conditions under which storable goods, regardless of their intrinsic values, can carry bubbles, and agents are willing to invest in such bubbles despite their positive probability of bursting. The results show that systemic risk, commonly perceived changes in the bubble's probability of bursting, can generate boom-bust cycles with hump-shaped output dynamics and produce asset price movements many times more volatile than the economy's fundamentals. (JEL E13, E23, E32, E44, G01, G12).