Economic Inquiry articles from July 1994

Economic Inquiry archives from July 1994

Political influence and regulatory policy: the 1984 drug legislation.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION In the late 1970s and early 1980s dissatisfaction with the length, complexity and cost of the drug approval process combined with rising prescription drug prices led to Congressional attempts at reform. These focused on two...

Do drinkers know when to say when? An empirical analysis of drunk driving. (includes appendix)
July 1, 1994... Drunkenness, for example, in ordinary cases, is not a fit subject for legislative interference; but I should deem it perfectly legitimate that a person, who had once been convicted of any act of violence to others under the influence of drink,...

Variety and superstardom in popular music.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Alfred Marshall [1947] and Irving Fisher [1925, 73] both believed that as average incomes increase, the increase in the demand for "quality" goods and services will be greater than for those goods and services regarded as...

The law of one price revisited: new evidence on the behavior of international prices. (includes appendix)
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION The law of one price asserts that prices of identical goods should be equalized internationally when expressed in a common currency and adjusted for any contract differences, transportation costs, and trade distortions. The...

Do cigarette excise tax rates maximize revenue?
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Cigarettes are a heavily taxed commodity. In 1989 for example, federal excise taxes were sixteen cents per pack and state taxes averaged an additional twenty-two cents. Cigarette excise taxes accounted for approximately 26...

Bridging the natural and the social: science and character in Jevons's political economy. (political economist W. Stanley Jevons)
July 1, 1994... As human knowledge and civilisation progress, these characteristic differences [in human behaviour] tend to develop and multiply themselves, rather than decrease. Character grows more many sided. Two well-educated Englishmen are far better...

Moving out of the house: an analysis of congressional quits.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Tenure in the House may end by electoral defeat, retirement, the pursuit of higher office, or death. While the literature looking at the possibility of defeat in a congressional election is extensive, studies looking at other...

Allocation of goods by lottery.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Many goods such as hunting permits, oil drilling leases, cellular telephone licenses, and rights to fishing berths--as well as some "buds," such as the military draft, jury duty, and who is to be thrown overboard on a sinking...

What does reputation really assure? The relationship of trademarks to expectations and legal remedies.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Klein and Leffler [1981] and Shapiro [1982; 1983] have shown that a firm that engages in repeat transactions has an incentive to use the market, as distinct from formal legal processes, to assure the quality of its product. The...

An empirical analysis of oil price shocks in the interwar period.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Post-World War II experience demonstrates that disturbances to aggregate supply are important determinants of aggregate economic performance. A casual glance at the post-1970 data strongly suggests a correlation between shocks...

Acquisition and dissemination of information in imperfectly competitive markets. (includes appendices)
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Does the market mechanism always generate incentives for the acquisition and dissemination of information about market conditions? The efficiency of prices in aggregating and disseminating information has been extensively...

Is the budget deficit "too large"?: some further evidence.
July 1, 1994... I. INTRODUCTION Since the early 1980s, the U.S. federal government has run unprecedented peacetime deficits. The size of these deficits became a major issue in recent U.S. presidential elections. For example, during the 1992 elections, Ross...

Economics of childhood immunization. (Teaching Tools )
July 1, 1994... Recent outbreaks of measles and other childhood diseases have put immunization policy on the national agenda. This teaching note on childhood immunization, intended for principles courses, discusses the rationale for government involvement, the...