The U.S. immigration crisis

A review of the factors affecting immigration to the United States is presented. The authors develop the argument that present levels of immigration, particularly illegal immigration, are detrimental to U.S. interests, and that current global population trends will make this situation progressively worse. Stricter controls on immigration are considered.     

The impact of immigration on U.S. demographics

The author discusses the impact of immigration on the demographic profile of the United States, with a focus on changes in the sources of immigration and the effect of U.S. migration policy. "The demographic destruction of the U.S. has been swift and dramatic. The transformation, made in constant contravention of popular mandate, has been unprecedented in the history of democratic societies. To better understand this phenomenon and the role which post-1965 immigration policy plays in it,...15 tables have been created and compiled from the official statistics of the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service."     

Public Finance in Spain in the early twentieth century

Abstract

Spanish political economy experienced a profound decadence during the second half of the nineteenth century. Such period of isolation came to an end during the early twentieth century. The most outstanding economists of that period such as Flores de Lemus, Bernis or Torres were persuaded that Spanish economic development was strongly linked to a tax system reform. At the same time, numerous writings on public finance were published by secondary authors and a wide range of foreign handbooks were translated into Spanish. Consequently, public finance became an outstanding channel for the introduction of marginal theory and German Historicism into Spain.     

The effects of federal regulations on corruption in U.S. States

Using the newly constructed Federal Regulation and State Enterprise Index (FRASE Index) to measure the federal regulations and the existing Corruption Convictions Index (CCI), we investigate the effects of federal regulations on corruption in U.S. states. Controlling for several demographic and economic variables including the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index (EFI), which measures the size and scope of government in U.S. states, we find a positive and statistically significant relationship between federal regulations and corruption. Our findings have important policy implications. A 1 standard deviation increase in FRASE Index causes CCI to increase by approximately 0.5 standard deviations. Standardized coefficient of EFI is also approximately equal to 0.5. In other words, it is possible to mitigate the effects of regulations at the federal level by reducing the size and the scope of the government at the state level.     

The demographic transition revisited: lessons for foreign aid and U.S. immigration policy.

"The completed demographic transitions in industrialized countries inspired a model which underlies many well-meant policies affecting the Third World. However, the model's postulate--modernization and prosperity will lower fertility rates--has exacerbated rather than helped control worldwide population growth and the associated environmental degradation. Here we show that perceived economic opportunity leads to raising family size targets and to discarding elements of traditional cultures which formerly held fertility rates in check. Conversely, fertility rates fall when limits are recognized. These observations imply that a liberal immigration policy and large-scale foreign aid are counterproductive for restoring balance between population size and carrying capacity."     

A general dynamic model of 19th century U.S. population change

"The pattern of rural population growth in 23 northern states during the period 1790 to 1900 is examined using a general dynamic approach. The relationship between fertility, migration and population growth is analysed within a single settlement model and a control solution is produced which demonstrates that fertility and migration behaviour reacted to changes in land availability, eventually leading to population stability in rural areas."     

The effects of the monetary policy on the U.S. housing boom from 2001 to 2006

This paper presents a DSGE model to test the relative significance of monetary policy and financial market innovations in creating the U.S. housing boom between 2001 and 2006. The model generates a trajectory of house price that mimics the Case–Shiller index well when actual Federal Fund rates are taken as inputs. It fails to do so when the monetary policy follows the Taylor rule even if MBS are introduced. We identify several transmission mechanisms of monetary policy with an emphasis on the financial accelerator. The model predicts that banks’ lending standards will go down with the benchmark interest rate.     

The effects of third party certification on voluntary self-regulation of accidents in the U.S. chemical industry

We explore whether the introduction of mandatory third party certification in 2005 under the Responsible Care program has reduced the probability and severity of accidents in participating facilities in the U.S. chemical industry. Using a sample of 10,315 observations from 1136 facilities owned by 566 RC and non-RC firms between 1996 and 2010, we estimate the average treatment effect of third party certification. We find that the difference-in-difference estimate of the average treatment effect is statistically insignificant. This result is robust to various model specifications including the potential endogeniety of third party certification due to a firm’s self-selection into RC.     

The effects of the Uruguay round: empirical evidence from U.S. industry

This article uses an event study to evaluate the anticipated results of the Uruguay Round on U.S. industry. Economists commonly use computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to predict the net economic efficiency effects of trade agreements. The event study method represents a complementary approach that relies on stock price movements to assess how investors predict that an event, in this case the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, will affect industry profitability. The empirical estimates indicate that U.S. industries with comparative advantage (disadvantage) experience positive (negative) stock price reactions, reflecting an increase (a decrease) in the industry trade and investment opportunities as well as an increased (decreased) return to existing tangible and intangible assets. For the market as a whole, the variation in stock prices does not differ significantly from zero, and the economic magnitude of industry gains and losses is small. These results are consistent with most CGE assessments and with the skeptical attitude that the real impact of the Uruguay Round Agreement remains uncertain.     

The immigration surplus and the substitutability of immigrant and native labor: evidence from Spain

How immigration affects the labor market of the host country is a topic of major concern for many immigrant-receiving nations. Spain is no exception, as a consequence of the rapid increase in immigrant flows experienced over the past few decades. We assess the impact of immigration on Spanish natives’ incomes by estimating the net immigration surplus (IS) under the assumption of perfect and imperfect substitutabilities between immigrant and native labor of similar educational attainment. To address the imperfect substitutability between immigrant and native labor, we use information on the occupational distribution of immigrants and natives of similar educational attainment to learn about the equivalency of skilled immigrants to skilled and unskilled natives. The results show that the magnitude of the IS significantly rises with the degree of imperfect substitutability between immigrant and native labor.     

美国经济失衡对美元汇率的影响

经济内部失衡或者外部失衡对汇率的影响都是不确定的,但是,当经济内外部同时失衡时,汇率贬值或政府干预外汇市场的可能性最大。实证结果支持了上述结论。当美国经济内外部同时失衡时,美元贬值或美国政府干预外汇市场的概率就会提高27个百分点。这意味着,通过汇率变动,美国将内部问题外部化了。理解了美元汇率变动的原因实际上也就理解了21世纪初期以来人民币面临升值压力的原因。     

Transmission effects of the U.S. and China monetary policy shocks on the world

This paper applies the Markov-switching model to analyse the transition probabilities and generalized method of moments (GMM) with Newey–West heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance estimators (HAC) to examine the continuity of monetary policies in different countries when the U.S. and China change their monetary policies. Our results indicate that the euro area’s monetary authority continues to increase/decrease their money supply to stimulate/depress the economy. In Japan, long-term economic recession motivated the Japanese government to maintain a loose money supply. The continuity of Korea’s monetary policy in expansionary states lasts up to 5.1 years. Besides, the outcomes show the implementation of U.S. quantitative easing (QE), overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP), and Chinese RRP policies have significant spillover effects on other nations. Particularly, the effects on the euro area are the largest. Furthermore, although the monetary policies of China and the euro area seem to move in opposite directions, they are interdependent.     

The value of ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System in the contiguous U.S.

Studies that demonstrate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by public conservation lands can contribute to a more accurate appraisal of the benefit of these lands. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value, in real (2004) dollars, of the ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in the contiguous U.S. In order to estimate this value, we determined the ecosystems present on the Refuge System in the contiguous 48 states, the proportion in which they are represented, and the dollar value of services provided by each. We used land cover classes as an approximation of ecosystems present in the Refuge System. In a geographic information system (GIS), we combined land cover geospatial data with a map of the Refuge System boundaries to calculate the number of acres for each refuge and land cover class within the Refuge System. We transferred values for the following ecosystem services: climate and atmospheric gas regulation; disturbance prevention; freshwater regulation and supply; waste assimilation and nutrient regulation; and habitat provision. We conducted a central tendency value transfer by transferring averaged values taken from primarily original site studies to the Refuge System based on the ecoregion in which each study site and refuge was located and the ecoregion's relative net primary productivity (NPP). NPP is a parameter used to quantify the net carbon absorption rate by living plants, and has been shown to be correlated with spatially fungible ecosystem services. The methodologies used in the site studies included direct market valuation, indirect market valuation and contingent valuation. We estimated the total value of ecosystem services provided by the Refuge System in the contiguous U.S. to be approximately $26.9 billion/year. This estimate is a first cut attempt to demonstrate that the value of the Refuge System likely exceeds the value derived purely from recreational activities. Due to limitations of current understanding, methods and data, there is a potentially large margin of error associated with the estimate.     

The value of ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System in the contiguous U.S.

Studies that demonstrate the economic value of the ecosystem services provided by public conservation lands can contribute to a more accurate appraisal of the benefit of these lands. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value, in real (2004) dollars, of the ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in the contiguous U.S. In order to estimate this value, we determined the ecosystems present on the Refuge System in the contiguous 48 states, the proportion in which they are represented, and the dollar value of services provided by each. We used land cover classes as an approximation of ecosystems present in the Refuge System. In a geographic information system (GIS), we combined land cover geospatial data with a map of the Refuge System boundaries to calculate the number of acres for each refuge and land cover class within the Refuge System. We transferred values for the following ecosystem services: climate and atmospheric gas regulation; disturbance prevention; freshwater regulation and supply; waste assimilation and nutrient regulation; and habitat provision. We conducted a central tendency value transfer by transferring averaged values taken from primarily original site studies to the Refuge System based on the ecoregion in which each study site and refuge was located and the ecoregion's relative net primary productivity (NPP). NPP is a parameter used to quantify the net carbon absorption rate by living plants, and has been shown to be correlated with spatially fungible ecosystem services. The methodologies used in the site studies included direct market valuation, indirect market valuation and contingent valuation. We estimated the total value of ecosystem services provided by the Refuge System in the contiguous U.S. to be approximately $26.9 billion/year. This estimate is a first cut attempt to demonstrate that the value of the Refuge System likely exceeds the value derived purely from recreational activities. Due to limitations of current understanding, methods and data, there is a potentially large margin of error associated with the estimate.     

Price and quality effects on the demand for U.S. graduate business programs

This study identifies the factors that influence the demand for U.S. graduate business programs, using the entire population of schools as the basis for analysis. The study found that higher education institutions, at least graduate business programs, are not immune to the market forces of cost, quality, and trend. Schools that provide better value enjoy success, and those that do not, endure setbacks. Program demand was most sensitive to the tuition change and was moderately elastic. Schools that increased their tuition faster than others suffered significant enrollment declines. In addition, programs that were either accredited by the International Association for Management Education, publicly funded schools, or located in regions with generally rising enrollments enjoyed increased enrollments. Those that were either not accredited, private schools, or less favorably located suffered declines.