STADIUM CONSTRUCTION AND MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE

The established literature shows that new stadium construction for major league baseball (MLB) teams can increase attendance, but there are limited studies at the minor league level. We use a data set encompassing all A, AA, and AAA minor league baseball teams from 1992 to 2006 to estimate the impact of stadium construction on minor league attendance. This data set includes almost 200 teams, over half of which constructed a new stadium during the 15‐year observation period. Over a 10‐year period our results show that new stadiums increase attendance by 1.2 million fans at the AAA level, 0.4 million at the AA and high A level, and 0.2 million at short season low A. A cost benefit analysis suggests that increased ticket sales do not offset the stadium costs, in line with previous works on MLB. (JEL H0, L83)     

THE DETERMINANTS OF STATE‐LEVEL CAPS ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES: THEORY AND EVIDENCE

Under the standard economic model of torts, punitive damages correct for imperfect detection. Incorporating litigation costs into the model provides a justification for punitive damage caps. At the optimum, caps balance deterrence against the cost of litigation. Empirical testing of the model is performed via Cox proportional and parametric hazard analyses, using a panel dataset from 1981 to 2007. The results reveal a positive relationship between legal services employment (a proxy for legal costs) and cap enactment, and a negative relationship between state gross state product (a proxy for damages) and cap enactment. Cap enactment is also influenced by political ideology. (JEL K13, K41, L51)     

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION

High technology investments are a rapidly growing segment of business capital expenditures. The questionnaire responses presented in this paper provide information on the capital investment decision processes currently being used for high technology projects. Respondents indicate that the capital evaluation techniques used to justify high technology investments are similar to those used for other types of capital projects and that high-tech projects must meet normal requirements for project acceptability. Respondents specified that a wide variety of factors, some quantified and some not quantified (such as quality control and reduced lead time), are included in their decision process. While there is general satisfaction with the procedures used for project justification, the relative newness of these investments suggests that there is a need to gather more detailed information about this type of capital decision.     

Illegitimacy,paternal financial responsibility,and the 1834 Poor Law Commission Report: the myth of the old poor law and the making of the new

The new poor law's bastardy clauses were amongst the most contested of the 1834 Act, and their unpopularity led to their (partial) reversal by 1844. The issue of paternal financial responsibility for the maintenance of illegitimate children was central to the reforms, and this article uses the Rural and Town Queries to show how parishes could enforce this responsibility effectively. This evidence could have been used as an alternative model of reform; instead, the Poor Law Commissioners misrepresented the operation of the law and recommended the abolition of affiliation. Rooted in the writings of Malthus, their proposals proved ultimately impracticable.     

DEMAND RESPONSE TO COST SHARING UNDER MANAGED HEALTH CARE

We use 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to examine the demand response of ambulatory medical services to demand-side cost sharing under managed health care and find that demand response to a coinsurance rate is less than that under conventional plans. To address the selection problem, only respondents who were offered a single insurance plan from private establishments are studied. Our results show that managed care, relying on different approaches to ration, has blunted demand response. This suggests that in a managed care context, increasing demand-side cost sharing will reduce costs to plans mainly by shifting costs to enrollees. ( JEL I11)     

A LANDFILL CLOSURE AND HOUSING VALUES

The United States disposes roughly 60% of the municipal solid waste it generates each year in solid waste disposal facilities, commonly known as landfills. Hedonic pricing studies have estimated the external costs of landfills on neighboring housing markets, but the literature is silent on what happens to property values after the landfill closes. Original housing price data collected both before and after a landfill closure are used to estimate how a landfill closure affects neighboring property values. Results of both a hedonic pricing model and a repeat-sales estimator are used in the analysis. ( JEL H42, H72, Q51, Q53, R21)     

Consumption and Income Inequality in Australia

Consumption may be a more appropriate measure of household well-being than income or earnings. Using four ABS Household Expenditures Surveys collected between 1975 and 1993, we compare trends in consumption and income inequality among Australian households. We find that consumption is much more equal than income. While there were significant increases in both income and consumption inequality, consumption inequality rose by much less. One interpretation of the results is that some income inequality in Australia reflects transitory fluctuations which households can smooth,'and that part of the growth in income inequality reflects an increase in these transitory fluctuations.