Quarterly Journal of Economics articles from August 2000

Quarterly Journal of Economics archives from August 2000

ECONOMICS AND IDENTITY [*].
August 1, 2000... This paper considers how identity, a person's sense of self, affects economic outcomes. We incorporate the psychology and sociology of identity into an economic model of behavior. In the utility function we propose, identity is associated with...

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF A DRUG-SELLING GANG'S FINANCES [*].
August 1, 2000... We use a unique data set detailing the financial activities of a drug-selling street gang to analyze gang economics. On average, earnings in the gang are somewhat above the legitimate labor market alternative. The enormous risks of drug...

PAY ENOUGH OR DON'T PAY AT ALL [*].(effect of monetary compensation on performance )
August 1, 2000... Economists usually assume that monetary incentives improve performance, and psychologists claim that the opposite may happen. We present and discuss a set of experiments designed to test these contrasting claims. We found that the effect...

MEASURING TRUST [*].
August 1, 2000... We combine two experiments and a survey to measure trust and trustworthiness--two key components of social capital. Standard attitudinal survey questions about trust predict trustworthy behavior in our experiments much better than they predict...

PARTICIPATION IN HETEROGENEOUS COMMUNTIES [*].
August 1, 2000... This paper studies what determines group formation and the degree of participation when the population is heterogeneous, both in terms of income and race or ethnicity. We are especially interested in whether and how much the degree of...

SECT, SUBSIDY, AND SACRIFICE: AN ECONOMIST'S VIEW OF ULTRA-ORTHODOX JEWS [*].
August 1, 2000... Israeli Ultra-Orthodox men study full-time in yeshiva until age 40 on average. Why do fathers with families in poverty choose yeshiva over work? Draft deferments subsidize yeshiva attendance, yet attendance typically continues long after...

"BEYOND THE MELTING POT": CULTURAL TRANSMISSION, MARRIAGE, AND THE EVOLUTION OF ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS TRAITS [*].
August 1, 2000... This paper presents an economic analysis of the intergenerational transmission of ethnic and religious traits though family socialization and marital segregation decisions. Frequency of intragroup marriage (homogamy), as well as socialization...

REPUTATION EFFECTS AND THE LIMITS OF CONTRACTING: A STUDY OF THE INDIAN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY [*].
August 1, 2000... This paper examines evidence of the role that reputation plays in determining contractual outcomes. We conduct an empirical analysis of the Indian customized software industry, using a data set we collected containing detailed information on...

NETWORK EFFECTS AND WELFARE CULTURES [*].
August 1, 2000... We empirically examine the role of social networks in welfare participation using data on language spoken at home to better infer networks within an area. Our empirical strategy asks whether being surrounded by others who speak the same...

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND INDIVIDUAL BACKGROUND: EXPLAINING REGIONAL SHIRKING DIFFERENTIALS IN A LARGE ITALIAN FIRM [*].
August 1, 2000... The prevalence of shirking within a large Italian bank appears to be characterized by significant regional differentials. In particular, absenteeism and misconduct episodes are substantially more prevalent in the south. We consider a number of...