Contemporary Economic Policy articles from October 2003

Contemporary Economic Policy archives from October 2003

Economic valuation of ozone-related school absences in the South Coast Air Basin of California.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION Although ozone concentrations have fallen substantially in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) of southern California over the past decade, the health-based state air quality standards (AQS) are still violated on a...

Does economic development lead to mangrove loss? A cross-country analysis.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION Mangrove, or mangal, systems are the subtropical and tropical equivalents of the temperate coastal and estuarine salt marsh system. They are essentially forest-based systems that tolerate salt and occupy the intertidal zone...

The optimal time to license a biotech "lemon".
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION The optimal time to license an irreversible technology is affected by uncertainty and the externalities created by its adoption. A new genetically modified (GM) wheat variety developed by Monsanto is an example of an...

Is the Taylor rule really different from the McCallum rule?(federal funds rate; money-base nominal gross domestic product targeting )
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION The Taylor rule (Taylor, 1993) has become very popular in recent years. The rule represents an automatic response of the Federal funds rate (FFR) to any deviation of the inflation rate from a desired target value and to the...

Budget deficits and inflation: the roles of central bank independence and financial market development.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION If a government's spending exceeds its revenue, the resulting deficits have to be financed either through borrowing or issuing money. However, borrowing is limited by the public's capacity or willingness to hold additional...

The political economy of growth in Latin America and East Asia: some empirical evidence.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION This article adds insights into research geared toward assessing the political-economic sources of country growth. It investigates determinants of economic betterment from experiences in the 1970s and 1980s of countries in...

Modeling the legislator as an agent for the party: the effects of strict party discipline on legislator voting behavior.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION Over the past two decades, an extensive literature has developed that models the constituent--legislator relationship as an agency problem. Of particular focus has been the study of the legislative voting behavior of...

The role of migrant networks in labor migration: the case of China.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION Migrant networks play an important role in labor migration in both the developed and developing world. This role is particularly prominent in situations in which migration involves large informational or psychic costs, such...

Injecting competition into public-sector return to work: prospects for the "ticket to work" initiative.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides substantial transfer payments to persons with work disabilities through the Disability Insurance (DI) program. Cash benefits under this program currently exceed $60...

Identifying efficient crime-combating policies by var models: the example of Switzerland.
October 1, 2003... I. INTRODUCTION The seminal economic model of crime (Becker, 1968), claiming that crime can be reduced by increasing either the probability or the severity of punishment, has triggered a huge amount of empirical research. On one hand, the...