Asymmetric effects of housing wealth on college enrolment

We investigate the impact of housing wealth, credit availability and financial distress on college enrolment decisions. We find that housing wealth is negatively related to enrolment in public schools and positively related to enrolment in private schools. This evidence suggests that, on average, students substituted away from private schools towards public institutions during the recent financial crisis.     

Time banditry: Examining the purloining of time in organizations

Time banditry, a variant of counterproductive work behavior, is defined as the propensity of employees to engage in non-work related activities during work time. We extend past research on time banditry in two ways. First, we develop a model of time banditry. It is posited that a significant number of employees engage in time banditry despite their level of engagement with their job and even when productivity levels remain at an acceptable level. Implications of the model are described and testable propositions are developed. Second, we suggest that time bandits as a group are not monolithic, but instead there are at least four types of bandits. Supervisors need to manage each type with different human resource management practices.     

Future impacts of coal distribution constraints on coal costs

This study seeks to identify potential capacity constraints within the US rail network that could limit expanded use of coal for electricity generation and hydrogen fuel production. We estimate the costs of alleviating those constraints under various scenarios of future coal demand growth. By 2050, coal transportation is projected to increase 35–90% necessitating rail capital investments of $1.5–11.0 billion. These investments are within the range of historical expenditures in the railroad industry, so it is unlikely that delivered prices of coal will necessarily increase or that rail capacity will be a barrier to a future coal-based “Hydrogen Economy”.