TESTING THE THEORY OF MULTITASKING: EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL FIELD EXPERIMENT IN CHINESE FACTORIES

Using a natural field experiment, we quantify the impact of one‐dimensional performance‐based incentives on incentivized (quantity) and nonincentivized (quality) dimensions of output for factory workers with a flat‐rate or a piece‐rate base salary. In particular, we observe output quality by hiring quality inspectors unbeknownst to the workers. We find that workers trade off quality for quantity, but the effect is statistically significant only for workers under a flat‐rate base salary. This variation in treatment effects is consistent with a simple theoretical model that predicts that when agents are already incented at the margin, the quantity–quality trade‐off resulting from performance pay is less prominent.     

THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE ON GROWTH: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM A HETEROGENEOUS PANEL

This paper investigates the impact of government expenditure on growth, in a heterogeneous panel, for a sample of developing countries. Using generalized method of moments techniques, we show that countries with substantial government current expenditure have strong growth effects, which vary considerably across the nations.     

THE IMPACT OF BESTSELLER RANK ON DEMAND: EVIDENCE FROM THE APP MARKET*

This article uses daily data on the ranking by sales of the top 100 apps sold through Apple’s App Store to provide evidence of the causal impact of today’s bestseller rank information on tomorrow’s demand. The estimates indicate that the willingness to pay of consumers is about $4.50 greater for a top ranked app than for the same unranked app. The results also indicate that the effects of bestseller status on willingness to pay decline steeply with rank at the top ranks, but remain economically significant for the apps in the first half of the top 100 list.     

THE IMPACT OF SODA SALES TAXES ON CONSUMPTION: EVIDENCE FROM SCANNER DATA

Scientific evidence on the effect of sugar consumption on obesity has propelled policy makers in several states across the United States to propose the imposition of a tax on soft drinks sales. In this article, we look at the effect of two tax events: a 5.5% sales tax on soft drinks imposed by the state of Maine in 1991 and a 5% sales tax on soft drinks levied in Ohio in 2003. We investigate this question by using sales data collected by scanner devices in the two states, where soda taxes where enacted as well as on neighboring states. We employ a difference‐in‐difference matching estimator (DIDM) that, in our setting, permits the comparison among treatment and control groups based on brand identity. Results suggest that neither sales tax had a statistically significant impact on the consumption of soft drinks. This finding is robust to several alternative specifications. (JEL D12, H22, C90, L66)     

SPACE AND TIME: A COMPETING RISKS ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF PROPERTY TAXES AND ZONING RESTRICTIONS ON RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

Property taxes and zoning restrictions are prevalent tools for managing land use. We combine microlevel data on residential subdivision development from the Baltimore, Maryland, metro area from 1994 to 2007 with a competing risks model to examine how both policies influence the density and timing of residential development. Consistent with theory, we demonstrate that the impact of both policies on optimal density and timing depends on whether density and time are substitutes or complements in the profit function. Our results have important implications as they provide key empirical insights into how property taxes and zoning interact to influence development patterns.     

THE IMPACT OF INFLATION ON PROPERTY CRIME

Using U.S. data from 1950 to 2010, we analyze to what extent inflation raises the incidence of property crime. To match our theoretical predictions, we consider different types of property crime (larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and robbery) and broad and narrow definitions of inflation separately. We control for the state of the business cycle and demographic changes over time explicitly. Unobserved or difficult‐to‐measure determinants of property crime are captured through a stochastic‐trend specification within a state‐space framework. We find a robust statistical link between inflation and each of the four property crime rates. Our findings are robust to alternative definitions of inflation and the inclusion or exclusion of different control variables. In terms of policy, our findings suggest that monetary policy that creates inflation has costly spillover effects. (JEL J10, J11)     

THE IMPACT OF LOW‐PRIORITY LAWS ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: EVIDENCE FROM CALIFORNIA

We examine the impact of low‐priority initiatives on criminal activity. Low‐priority initiatives mandate that minor marijuana possession offenses be the lowest enforcement priority for police. Localities pass these laws because they believe if officers devote fewer resources toward minor marijuana crimes, more resources will be available to deter more serious crimes. Using data from California, we find that jurisdictions that adopted low‐priority laws experienced a reduction in arrests for misdemeanor marijuana offenses. However, we do not find evidence of a consistent effect of enacting a low‐priority initiative on the crime or clearance rate of other felonies. (JEL H1, H4, K4)     

轨道交通对房地产价值的影响——以北京市八通线为例

尽管大多数研究都证实了轨道交通对房地产价值的积极影响,但也有一些研究发现,影响并不显著。分市场效应是导致该现象的重要原因。文章提出,不同区位的分市场效应是两种相反的效应共同作用的结果。商业及办公、住宅等部门竞租曲线梯度的差异使得两种效应的相互大小发生了根本性的变化。对于商业及办公物业,效应Ⅰ的作用要大于效应Ⅱ,使得其价值增幅在中心区更大;对于居住物业,效应Ⅱ则占据了上风,使得其价值在郊区增长更大。针对北京市八通线的实证研究结果映证了以上观点。     

THE IMPACT OF EXPORTING AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON PRODUCT INNOVATION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINESE MANUFACTURERS

To understand the drivers of product innovation at the firm level, I compare the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and exporting on product innovation using a rich firm‐level database of manufacturing and industrial enterprises. The article focuses on product innovation, as it is vital to economic development. Estimates from linear regressions and propensity score matching tests show that learning‐by‐exporting is a stronger predictor of product innovation. Firms that receive foreign investment also tend to engage in more product innovation, but not at the same level as the firms that export. Additional tests confirm that as they start and stop exporting, firms change their patterns of investment in the drivers of product innovation—fixed capital and research. (JEL D22, F14, F23, L25, O31)     

ESTIMATING THE EFFECTS OF BROWNFIELDS AND BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION ON PROPERTY VALUES IN A NEW SOUTH CITY

Using data from Charlotte, NC, a New South city without a legacy of heavily contaminated properties, we find the distance from unremediated brownfields—typically former industrial properties believed to have modest contamination—to have no effect on residential sales values, but proposed cleanup and actual remediation have positive, substantial, and significant effects especially within 0.5 miles of the brownfield. Our results are consistent whether we examine all property values within a given distance, such as 0.5 miles, or examine discrete distances, such as 0.3–0.5 miles. An estimate of the benefits is on the order of $4 million. (JEL Q51, Q24, Q28, R52)     

DETERMINANTS AND EFFECTS ON PROPERTY VALUES OF PARTICIPATION IN VOLUNTARY CLEANUP PROGRAMS: THE CASE OF COLORADO

State voluntary cleanup programs (VCPs) were established in the 1990s to encourage cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. I ask three questions: First, what properties are attracted to VCPs? Second, is there an interaction between VCP incentives and enterprise or brownfield zone incentives? Third, does participation in VCPs affect property values? Data from Colorado’s VCP suggest that (a) the main determinants of participation are the size of the parcel and the surrounding land use, (b) other incentives have little effect, (c) properties with confirmed contamination sell at a 43%–56% discount, and (d) participation does tend to raise the property price. (JEL R14, Q58, K32)     

THE IMPACT OF DOUBLE TAXATION TREATIES ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: EVIDENCE FROM LARGE DYADIC PANEL DATA

To increase inward foreign direct investment (FDI), policy makers increasingly resort to the ratification of double taxation treaties (DTTs). However, the effectiveness of DTTs in inducing higher FDI is still open to debate, as the empirical evidence of existing studies is anything but conclusive. In contrast to earlier approaches, we use a largely unpublished dataset on bilateral FDI stocks, covering a much larger and more representative sample of host and source countries. Controlling for standard determinants of FDI and employing various econometric specifications, our results indicate that DTTs do lead to higher FDI stocks and that the effects are substantively important as well.     

IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES ON SMALLHOLDERS’ TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA

Using household survey data from Ethiopia, this paper evaluates the impact of agricultural cooperatives on smallholders’ technical efficiency. We used propensity score matching to compare the average difference in technical efficiency between cooperative member farmers and similar independent farmers. The results show that agricultural cooperatives are effective in providing support services that significantly contribute to members’ technical efficiency. These results are found to be insensitive to hidden bias and consistent with the idea that agricultural cooperatives enhance members’ efficiency by easing access to productive inputs and facilitating extension linkages. According to the findings, increased participation in agricultural cooperatives should further enhance efficiency gains among smallholder farmers.     

THE IMPACT OF INTRA HOUSEHOLD BALANCE OF POWER ON EXPENDITURE PATTERN: THE AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE*

The collective approach to household behaviour models the household utility function as the weighted average of the utilities of the individual members of the household. These weights, which measure the relative bargaining power of males and females within the household, are generally regarded as fixed and exogenous. The paper extends the collective approach and estimates a model where the weights are endogenously determined. The novelty of the analysis lies in the simultaneous equations estimation of the bargaining power and the budget share equation that allow for the endogeneity of the power variable in the examination of its impact on the budget share of the various items. The estimation is conducted using data from the 1998–99 Australian Household Expenditure Survey data set. The relative bargaining power of males and females have statistically significant effects on household expenditure patterns. The analysis reveals some interesting non‐monotonic relationships between relative power and budget shares that vary a great deal between commodities.     

THE LABOUR MARKET IMPACT OF THE UK DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT: EVIDENCE FROM THE REPEAL OF THE SMALL FIRM EXEMPTION

This paper uses data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in the UK (1997–2006) and changes in the coverage of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), that result from the removal of the small firm exemption, to assess the labour market impact of the legislation. The data support a narrowing of the employment gap between the disabled and non‐disabled over the post DDA period. However, the evidence based on small firms does not support this being a direct result of the employment provisions of the DDA.     

MARKET EFFICIENCY: EVIDENCE FROM A NO-BUBBLE ASSET MARKET EXPERIMENT

Abstract.  We report the results of an experiment that demonstrates that market experience is not necessary to eliminate bubbles in the type of asset markets studied in Smith et al . (1988) . We introduce a pre-market phase in which subjects experience a dividend flow themselves by literally observing and receiving dividends for 12 periods. The robust bubble–crash phenomenon never occurs in our experiment. Our results provide strong evidence that so long as a majority of the subjects have full understanding of the structure of the dividend, market efficiency can be ensured.     

TURNOVER IN POWER AS A RESTRAINT ON INVESTING IN INFLUENCE: EVIDENCE FROM THE POSTCOMMUNIST TRANSITION

We develop and implement a method for measuring the frequency of changes in power among distinct leaders and ideologically distinct parties that is comparable across political systems. We find that in the postcommunist countries, more frequent changes in power in the early years of transition are associated with better governance in the later years. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that more frequent turnover in power lowers the returns to firms seeking to buy political influence: i.e. that government turnover serves as a restraint on investing in influence regardless of the ideology of the government.     

IMPACT OF HIGHER NATURAL GAS PRICES ON THE NORTHEAST REGIONAL ECONOMY

This paper examines the impact of higher natural gas prices on the Northeast regional economy. While there is a common belief that higher gas prices will further disadvantage the already high-energy-cost Northeast, recent analysis suggests the opposite conclusion. Simply stated, by virtue of using relatively little natural gas, industry in the Northeast will likely experience an improvement in its competitiveness as gas prices rise; at the same time, the region could contribute relatively little to the higher revenues for gas producers. In contrast, by virtue of high population, high income, political strength, and improved competitiveness, the region will likely receive at least its proportionate share of these revenues as they are recycled throughout the national economy     

IMPACT OF DIVIDEND‐PROTECTED EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTIONS ON PAYOUT POLICIES: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

Abstract. This study used a sample of 1035 Taiwanese firms to examine the impact of dividend protected employee stock options on stock repurchase and cash dividend policies from 2000 to 2005. This study finds a positive relationship between cash dividends and executive options, implying that executives holding stock options might prefer to distribute cash dividends to boost the stock price. This result, unlike in earlier studies, arises from the dividend protected characteristic of Taiwanese employee stock options. Finally, free cash flow, firm profitability, level of debt, investment opportunities and firm size are found to considerably influence payout decisions.     

ESTIMATING THE IMPACT OF BEER PRICES ON THE INCIDENCE OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: CROSS‐PROVINCE AND TIME SERIES EVIDENCE FROM CANADA

We attempt to contribute to the literature by evaluating the effects of higher beer prices on gonorrhea and chlamydia rates through pooling data across Canadian provinces and over time. Ordinary least squares as well as instrumental variables estimates suggest that higher real beer prices are correlated with a reduction in both gonorrhea and chlamydia rates, with corresponding implied elasticities within a tightly defined interval of (roughly) ?0.7 to ?0.9. However, the increase in real beer prices over the sample period is only responsible for less than a tenth of the decline in gonorrhea rates. (JEL I18)