Contemporary Economic Policy articles from July 2007

Contemporary Economic Policy archives from July 2007

Drunk Driving Legislation and traffic fatalities: new evidence on BAC 08 laws.(blood alcohol content)(Report)
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION The past 25 yr have witnessed a sea change in attitudes and legislation regarding driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs and alcohol. Although the first laws against drunk driving were passed as long ago as 1910 by New...

Obesity and nutrient consumption: a rational addiction?(Report)
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION The Surgeon General estimates the annual direct and indirect costs of obesity at approximately $117 billion. Clearly, the search for an appropriate public policy response has gone beyond a public health interest to a...

Restructuring U.S. federal financial regulation.
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION The debate over U.S. federal bank regulatory structure goes back for nearly a century. Although studies, commissions and committees of banking scholars, and high-level government officials and industry practitioners have...

United States-China trade at the commodity level and the yuan-dollar exchange rate.(Report)
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades, the United States has been running trade deficits. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japan was said to be a major contributor. Today, the emphasis has shifted to emerging economies, especially China. In...

The Role of Exchange Rate in Sino-U.S. bilateral trade.(Report)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Sino-U.S. bilateral trade has been growing dramatically over the past two decades. According to U.S. statistics, the bilateral trade volume jumped from $7.72 billion in 1985 to $231.43 billion in 2004, representing an...

NAFTA and the maquiladoras: boon or bane?(North American Free Trade Agreement)(Report)
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), implemented in 1994, on the Mexican maquiladora industries has been a subject of continuing controversy. Accordingly, a primary purpose of this...

The burden of debt: an exploration of interest rate behavior in Latin America.(Report)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION After two decades of extremely high nominal and real interest rates, since the early 2000s, interest rates have declined significantly in a number of Latin American countries (for example, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and...

Determinants and effects on property values of participation in voluntary cleanup programs: the case of Colorado.(Report)
July 1, 2007... I. INTRODUCTION Environmental regulation and enforcement-based environmental programs sometimes result in unintended consequences that defeat the purpose of the programs themselves. Many observers argue that the U.S. Superfund program is...

Price and substitution in residential SOLID WASTE.(Report)
July 1, 2007... 1. INTRODUCTION Many municipalities desire to increase recycling and decrease garbage production. Given the well-documented advantages of instituting per-weight garbage fees over flat-rate pricing, many cities have adopted such pricing...

Preserving financial stability: a dilemma for the European Union.(Report)
July 1, 2007... Financial institutions are now crossing national borders within the EU. In balancing member states' desires for sovereignty against the effectiveness of the financial safety net, banks are currently all chartered by Member States and the safety...

An analysis of education externalities with applications to development in the deep south.(Report)
July 1, 2007... A simplified, medium-term dynamic model of endogenous growth is used to analyze education externalities. Returns include not only direct effects but also indirect effects from education on growth and development. Indirect effects are...