Economic Inquiry articles from July 2007

Economic Inquiry archives from July 2007

Effects and value of verifiable information in a controversial market: evidence from lab auctions of genetically modified food.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION If all information regarding new products is public, consumers can search out this information and make informed decisions (Hirshleifer and Riley 1992; Stigler 1961), but the available information is typically incomplete...

The optimal public expenditure financing policy: does the level of economic development matter?(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Does the growth effect of public expenditures depend on the way these expenditures are financed? Over the years, a substantial volume of theoretical and empirical research has been directed toward identifying the elements...

Fiscal policy, expectation traps, and child labor.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Child labor is widespread in the contemporary world. In fact, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 246 million of the world's children aged 5-17, or 16%, are child laborers, most living in developing...

Sustainability of the Friedman rule in an international monetary policy game.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION One recurring theme in the analysis of policy-making is that in many situations, policymakers can benefit from the opportunity to make a binding commitment to restrict their activities. One such situation is what is known...

Social preferences and tax policy design: some experimental evidence.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION This article examines whether a taste for fairness influences people's preferences among alternative tax structures. Using an experimental approach, we devise a simple test for social preferences in voting for alternative...

Believing in economic theories: sex, lies, evidence, trust, and ideology.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Beliefs about the descriptive validity of economic theories may influence preferences among economic policies. If so, these beliefs may shape and constrain economic institutions and policies in democracies. We examine how...

Structural change, competitive balance, and the rest of the major leagues.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Competitive balance is the object of significant attention in the analysis of pro sports leagues. Under Rottenberg's (1956) uncertainty of outcome hypothesis, enough imbalance may actually drive down the demand for pro...

Efficient durable good pricing and aftermarket tie-in sales.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION A number of alternative theories currently exist to explain the use of tying arrangements in general. Incentives involving price discrimination, foreclosure, variable proportions, protection of franchise system goodwill,...

Labor market effects of employer-provided health insurance.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Increasing health insurance coverage is arguably an important policy goal. The Congressional Budget Office (2003) estimates that, in 1998, 20-30 million Americans had no health insurance for the entire year, approximately...

Voting, punishment, and public goods.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION This paper examines whether a nonbinding vote promotes cooperation in a linear public-good experiment. The vote is nonbinding because no third-party authority exists to enforce the voting outcome. We also examine how...

Social dynamics of obesity.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION The startling growth rates of average weight and obesity prevalence in the United States over the past 20-30 yr have received widespread media attention for several years running. Obesity has become an object of grave...

Rent seeking and democracy: empirical evidence for Uruguay.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION In this article, we empirically examine the direction of Granger causality between democracy and rent seeking. In fact, it has been claimed both that democratic regimes may reduce rent-seeking behavior in societies and that...

An experimental test on retirement decisions.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION The reform of social security systems is now one of the main issues on the economic policy agenda of most industrialized countries. It is widely considered that, unless serious changes take place, the aging of the...

Health, education, and life cycle savings in the development process.(Author abstract)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Between countries with low and high life expectancy, there are striking differences in their school enrollments, investment to gross domestic product (GDP) ratios, health spending, and growth rates of per capita income....

Technology, capital spending, and capacity utilization.(Author abstract)(Report)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Capacity utilization is a variable of longstanding macroeconomic interest. Many studies have found it to be a valuable indicator of inflationary pressure. For example, Cecchetti (1995) finds that capacity utilization works...