Long-term appointment of central bankers: costs and benefits

Why do independent central bank boards have a reputation for more moderate policy than do elected governments, even if the board's members have been appointed by the current or former government? This paper gives an explanation for the case of a political world with ‘zeitgeist shocks’ on the electorate's preferences. If the median position of preferences inside the board determines the monetary policy, a trade-off concerning member term length arises: a longer term entails more moderation, while enhancing the likelihood of detachment from contact to the electorate's current preferences.     

New EU member states and the Euro: economic readiness,benefits and costs

All of the new EU member states (NMSs) have made a commitment to adopt the Euro. This essay considers the countries’ economic readiness to adopt the Euro as well as the economic benefits and costs of adoption. Paper applies a method suggested by Bayoumi and Eichengreen (1997) and finds that the changes of real effective exchange rates between the Euro area and the new EU member states follow the pattern predicted by the optimum currency area theory. This finding allows the construction of the readiness for adoption index for every NMS. The tangible benefits (for NMSs) of adoption are also examined in this essay. Analyses suggest that the costs of currency exchange and hedging against the uncertainty in foreign exchange markets account for about 0.08–0.012% of the countries’ GDP. In addition, countries that adopt the Euro might expect lower inflation and interest rates. This essay also examines the possible costs of adoption. These are in the forms of the lost ability to use monetary policy tools and set the level of seigniorage. Analysis suggests that many countries had given up their independence over monetary policy even before the accession to the EU. In addition, bigger NMSs have not used seigniorage as the source of fiscal income. However, they used exchange rate flexibility to depreciate their currencies during the recent crisis.     

Political economy of eastern enlargement of the European Union: Budgetary costs and reforms in voting rules

Eastern European countries are likely to be major recipients of European Union (EU) funds after membership, which has created serious concern among incumbent members. The EU has devised reforms of budgetary rules to limit the funds that will flow to the East. Using a political economy model and drawing on the experience of previous enlargements, this paper argues that such pre-accession reforms will be ineffective because they can be reversed by a coalition of Eastern European countries after membership. The paper then estimates budgetary costs of eastern enlargement. A better way to resolve budgetary concerns is to reform voting rules rather than budgetary rules, before eastern enlargement.     

Stylized facts about stabilization in central and eastern Europe

This paper analyzes the stabilization policies of the ten central and eastern European countries that have negotiated a Europe Agreement with the European Union and had officially applied for European Union membership by the end of 1997. This paper is a cross-country study of time series. Using a diagrammatic approach, the empirical findings are depicted in two-dimensional inflation-and-growth diagrams. The study shows that some common features of the macroeconomic data can be observed for most of the countries of the sample. From discussing potential determinants of the empirical findings, the analysis suggests that early liberalization attempts have had a strong positive impact on the inflation-growth pattern. While the influence of central bank legislation seems to be negligible, the choice of the exchange rate regime seems to play a crucial role. Regarding fiscal policy, the influence seems to be less obvious. This study concludes that the precondition for successful transformation and stabilization of the economy is a comprehensive approach that consists of early liberalization and tight macroeconomic policy.     

Transition economies and trust building: a network perspective on EU enlargement

Many transition economies are characterised by a relativelyrudimentary institutional framework. Weak legislative structuresand the absence of effective market regulation and propertyright enforcement rules diminish the chance of mutually profitablebusiness transactions and—more generally—restrictthe chances for innovation and sustainable growth. Against thisbackground, we analyse the extent to which more efficient governancemechanisms can contribute to a more favourable business environment.In doing so, we adopt a network perspective. We argue that bothin developed market economies as well as in centrally plannedeconomies much of economic exchange takes place in networks.However, the characteristics of these networks, in particularthe concept of trust, can differ significantly. This leads usto conclude that the real challenge of the process of economictransition is connected to building new economic exchange networks.In this paper, we discuss this argument and analyse how thecurrent enlargement of the EU into Eastern Europe may favourablyaffect this process of institutional change in the accessioncountries.     

国有银行改革的成本和收益

四家国有商业银行改革的成本和收益需从多角度来考察,从财务角度来看,四家银行通过剥离不良贷款,注资、股改上市带来巨大收益;从社会成本来看,高利差以及高不良贷款率意味着社会为国有商业银行支付较高的隐性成本;从历史角度来看,国有商业银行垄断国家金融业数十年,从理论上说,应当为出资人和国家贡献利润和超额利润,但是,高成本消耗了这种利润的大部分。总体来说,四家国有商业银行的改革是成功的,但并非四家国有商业银行的成功。     

The costs and benefits of refuge requirements: The case of Bt cotton

Refuge requirements have been the primary regulatory tool to delay pest resistance to Bt crops. This paper presents a simple method to estimate the annual cost of refuges to producers, applying it to Bt cotton. It also examines broader welfare impacts, estimating how Bt cotton acreage restrictions affect producer surplus, consumer surplus, seed supplier profits, and commodity program outlays. The implications of grower adoption behavior — partial adoption, aggregate adoption, and refuge choice — for regulatory costs are examined. Empirical examples illustrate how providing multiple refuge options significantly reduces regulatory costs.     

London bus tendering: the impact on costs

Bids for cost contracts in London Regional Transport bus routes between 1986 and 1993 are analysed for three purposes: to estimate costs for different types of bus operation; to test hypotheses about bidding under competition; to estimate cost savings attributable to tendering. There is no statistically significant difference in costs of operation between public and private sector operators on the tendered network. Bidding behaviour conforms to some features predicted by theoretical models. The estimated cost saving from tendering is 20%.     

Obesity-related costs and the economic impact of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedures: benefits in the Texas Employees Retirement System

Objective: To assess the return on investment (ROI) and economic impact of providing insurance coverage for the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) procedure in classes II and III obese members of the Texas Employees Retirement System (ERS) and their dependents from payer, employer, and societal perspectives.

Methods: Classes II and III obese employee members and their adult dependents were identified in a Texas ERS database using self-reported health risk assessment (HRA) data. Direct health costs and related absenteeism and mortality losses were estimated using data from previous research. A dynamic input–output model was then used to calculate overall economic effects by incorporating direct, indirect, and induced impacts. Direct health costs were inflation-adjusted to 2008 US dollars using the Consumer Price Index for Medical Care and other spending categories were similarly adjusted using relevant consumer and industrial indices. The future cost savings and other monetary benefits were discounted to present value using a real rate of 4.00%.

Results: From the payer perspective (ERS), the payback period for direct health costs associated with the LAGB procedure was 23–24 months and the annual return (over 5 years) was 28.8%. From the employer perspective (State of Texas), the costs associated with the LAGB procedure were recouped within 17–19 months (in terms of direct, indirect, and induced gains as they translated into State revenue) and the annual return (over 5 years) was 45.5%. From a societal perspective, the impact on total business activity for Texas (over 5 years) included gains of $195.3 million in total expenditures, $93.8 million in gross product, and 1354 person-years of employment.

Limitations: The analysis was limited by the following: reliance on other studies for methodology and use of a control sample; restriction of cost savings to 2.5 years which required out-of-sample forecasting; conservative assumptions related to the cost of the procedure; exclusion of presenteeism; and no sensitivity analyses performed.

Conclusion: This analysis indicates that providing benefits for the LAGB procedure to eligible members of the Texas ERS and their dependents is worthy of support from payer, employer, and societal perspectives.     

The impact of trade costs on exports: An empirical modeling

Studies, which have discussed some of the important issues concerning the measurement of trade costs, have conceded that the literature is still in the early stages of understanding and measuring what the real costs are. It is in this context, decomposing trade costs into ‘natural’ costs, ‘behind the border’ costs, ‘explicit beyond the border’ costs, and ‘implicit beyond the border’ costs, this paper suggests a method to measure the impacts of these components on changes in exports between countries in the absence of complete information on all the components of trade costs in home and partner countries. Empirical measurement has been demonstrated using 1999 and 2004 trade data from Pakistan. The results show that Pakistan's export growth between 1999 and 2004 came mainly from the reduction in both ‘explicit and implicit beyond the border’ trade costs in partner countries.     

EU enlargement and satisfaction with democracy: a peculiar case of immiserizing growth

Studies on EU enlargement mostly focus on its welfare-economic and much less so on its public-choice dimension. Yet, the latter may be as important as the former when it comes to sustain integration. This paper aims at filling the gap by exploring theoretically and empirically how enlargement of multi-level systems like the EU affects satisfaction with democracy . In order to assess the effects of a widening in membership, we present a novel approach that draws on the probability of being outvoted. We find that, given the institutional arrangement, enlargement tends to depress satisfaction with democracy. Our theoretical results are backed by panel-data evidence for six European economies displaying a significant decline in satisfaction with democracy with growth in EU-membership.     

Changing costs and the impact on RSV prophylaxis

Abstract

Objective:

Acquisition costs of palivizumab have increased in Canada since 2007. This analysis aims to re-evaluate the cost effectiveness of palivizumab in Canada for premature infants born between 32 and 35 weeks’ gestational age using updated 2010 healthcare costs compared to those used in a 2007 decision analytic model.

Methods:

New costs (CAN$) were acquired from the same Health Canada and Ontario Ministry of Health sources that were utilized in the previously published 2007 model. Palivizumab prices were acquired from Abbott Laboratories Ltd., current as of August 2010.

Results:

Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) rose by $742, going from $30,618/QALY to $31,360/QALY. ICER changes increased from a range of $801,297 to $820,701 for infants with zero risk factors to a decrease from $808 to $192 for infants with four or more risk factors.

Conclusions:

Palivizumab ICERs remained fairly stable from 2007 to 2010. The original recommendation stating that palivizumab is cost effective in infants born between 32 and 35 weeks’ GA with two or more risk factors, or who are at moderate-to-high risk based on a risk assessment model, does not change. Analyses founded on evolving country-specific variables are needed in order to accurately reassess the cost effectiveness of interventions as costs change worldwide.

Limitations:

There are a limited number of publications reporting mortality in premature Canadian infants with RSV as a primary outcome. In addition, conclusions drawn from this analysis are country-specific and limited to premature infants dwelling in Canada.     

The benefits of central bank's political independence

We consider a two-tier model of monetary policy where the central banker is both subject to the explicit influence of elected political principals through contracts and the implicit influence of interest groups willing to capture monetary policy. We analyze the impact of granting independence to the central banker on the scope for capture and the agency costs of delegating the monetary policy to a central banker. Political independence increases those agency costs but significantly stabilizes the politically induced fluctuations of inflation and improves ex ante social welfare.     

The impact of the Great Recession on TFP convergence among EU countries

This article provides evidence on the effect of the Great Recession on productivity convergence among European Union (EU) economies. We use firm data, aggregated at the country-year level, to analyse the evolution of beta-convergence on total factor productivity (TFP) for 2003–2014. We obtain a positive impact of the recession on TFP (unconditional and conditional) beta-convergence across EU economies. These results support the existence of a catching-up process within the EU during the recent financial crisis. Other macroeconomic and institutional characteristics are important in fostering TFP growth, namely R&D intensity and quality of governance.     

The impact of universal child benefits on family health and behaviours

In 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit was introduced in Canada for all children aged less than 6 years. This program aims to help cover the cost of children and to provide financial assistance to families with young children in their choice of childcare. We exploit this policy change to estimate the effects of unconditional family cash transfers on the health and behaviours of two-parent families and their children. Using a difference-in-differences model, we find no evidence that the program improved child and parental outcomes in aggregate. A modest but fragile beneficial effect is found for low-education families and for girls.     

The benefits and costs of public housing in New York City

Public housing has been the largest program of housing subsidies to low-income families in the United States for fifty years. This is a comprehensive study of its benefits and costs. It contains the first estimates of the extent to which the program provides its participants with greater effective incomes than the poorest ineligible families and the first detailed analysis of the distribution of benefits among all eligible households. It provides significantly better estimates of the effect of the program on consumption patterns of participants, the effect of replacing public housing with cash grants, and the efficiency with which housing services are produced. Finally, it adds to few reliable estimates of the distribution of benefits among participants.     

On measuring the benefits of lower transport costs

Despite large amounts invested in rural roads in developing countries, little is known about their benefits. This paper derives an expression for the willingness-to-pay for a reduction in transport costs from the canonical agricultural household model and uses it to estimate the benefits of a hypothetical road project. Estimation is based on novel cross-sectional data collected in a small region of Madagascar with enormous, yet plausibly exogenous, variation in transport cost. A road that essentially eliminated transport costs in the study area would boost the incomes of the remotest households – those facing transport costs of about $75/ton – by nearly half, mostly by raising non-farm earnings. This benefit estimate is contrasted to one based on a hedonic approach.