Economic Inquiry articles from April 1995

Economic Inquiry archives from April 1995

Testing for efficiency in lotto markets.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION When some agents behave irrationally or when some markets operate inefficiently, opportunities exist for others to profit. The profit motive tends to eliminate these opportunities so that markets will tend to be efficient....

The demand for cigarette smuggling.
April 1, 1995... INTRODUCTION An enduring issue in economic analysis involves accounting for the behavior of agents when illegal or quasi-legal activity is rewarded. Smuggling, retrading under regulations or restrictions, bribery, and bootlegging are all...

The changing influence of money and monetary policy on exchange rates.
April 1, 1995... [Foreign exchange] dealers said the American currency got an additional boost after the Federal Reserve reported that the nation's money supply rose $700 million in the latest week, a development that is likely to put upward pressure on interest...

Catholic schools, dropout rates and educational attainment.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION Several studies suggest that Catholic schools have a positive effect on academic achievement (Bryk, Lee, and Holland [1993], Chubb and Moe [1990], Coleman and Hoffer [1987], Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore [1982b], Greeley [1982],...

Fear and lathing in the Michigan furniture industry: employee-based discrimination a century ago.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION Despite progress made in the conceptualization of labor market discrimination, the sources of discrimination continue to elude economists in their empirical investigations (D'Amico [1987]). The primary reason for this failure...

Good grapes and bad lobsters: applying the Alchian and Allen theorem.
April 1, 1995... I. THE THEOREM The Alchian and Allen theorem states that adding a common charge to the price of two substitute goods increases the relative consumption of the higher quality good, real income held constant. The classic example of this theorem...

Do labor markets provide enough short-hour jobs? An analysis of work hours and work incentives.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION Female labor force participation has increased dramatically over the past three decades. Much of this change is due to the increased participation of married women and women with children.(1) In households where both adults...

The biases of Federal Reserve bank presidents.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION This paper tests the conjecture that there is a subgroup of Federal Reserve bank presidents who can be relied upon to vote in Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings in a manner that is consistent with the partisan...

Risk, rationality, and religious portfolios.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION This paper builds on two assumptions - the first, self-evident; the second, more controversial. Together they yield a provocative theory of religious behavior and organization. The first assumption is that religion involves a...

Consumer confidence and economic fluctuations.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION The idea that consumer sentiment might cause output fluctuations is popular in the business press.(1) It is easy to see where this belief comes from: in Figure 1 we plot an index of consumer sentiment against recessions for the...

The expectational stability of underemployment equilibria.
April 1, 1995... I. INTRODUCTION One of the most important recent developments in macroeconomic theory has been the demonstration of how external economies of scale may generate multiple perfect-foresight equilibria. A positive externality, such as that...

Teaching tools: should we teach microeconomic principles before macroeconomic principles.
April 1, 1995... Economics departments offering courses in both microeconomic and macroeconomic principles must make decisions relating to the sequencing of these courses. Although many economists have strong opinions on this subject, no broad consensus exists on...