GAINS FROM TRADE WITH VARIABLE TRADE ELASTICITIES

We measure gains from trade in multisector economies with nonhomothetic preferences where changes in trade costs generate reallocation of expenditure across sectors. We show how to measure the trade elasticity and how it relates to welfare. In this environment, the trade elasticity now varies both across countries and with levels of trade costs. In an application, we find that the trade elasticity varies substantially across countries and that the gains from moving from autarky to observed trade are on average between 24% and 28% greater than in a model where the trade elasticity is constant.     

Comparing New Keynesian models of the business cycle: A Bayesian approach

The baseline New Keynesian model cannot replicate the observed persistence in inflation, output, and real wages for sensible parameter values. As a result, several extensions have been suggested to improve its fit to the data. We use a Bayesian approach to estimate and compare the baseline sticky price model of Calvo's [1983. Staggered prices in a utility maximizing framework. Journal of Monetary Economics 12, 383-398.] and three extensions. Our empirical results are as follows. First, we find that adding price indexation improves the fit of Calvo's [1983. Staggered prices in a utility maximizing framework. Journal of Monetary Economics 12, 383-398.] model. Second, models with both staggered price and wage setting dominate models with only price rigidities. Third, introducing wage indexation does not significantly improve the fit. Fourth, all model estimates suggest a high degree of price stickiness. Fifth, the estimates of labor supply elasticity are higher in models with both staggered price and wage contracts. Finally, the estimated inflation parameters of the Taylor rule are stable across models.     

The place of the family in tourism research: Domesticity and thick sociality by the pool

This article is concerned with the place of the family in tourism research. In an attempt at situating tourism theory, three discourses of tourism are examined in order to see what kind of articulations of the familiar they epitomize. This article is also concerned with developing theoretical constructs that are sensitive to the familiar character of tourism. Making space for the family in tourism research requires the reappraisal of domesticity and thick sociality in tourism. The article makes references to research on mass tourism in Menorca to discuss the implications of the re-socialization of tourism theory. The idealized notions of the nuclear family that are formed and performed on coastal resorts are contrasted to the complex realities of family life.     

Tax Amnesties In A Dynamic Model of Tax Evasion

We present a dynamic model of tax evasion, where tax liabilities last for two periods and the probability of an inspection decreases with the sum of taxes evaded this period plus taxes evaded last period. We show that a tax amnesty that pardons more than the evasion penalties (an extensive amnesty) can temporarily improve compliance. Whenever the inspection technology improves, steady state compliance also improves, but the economy takes time to transit from one steady state to the other. We show that an amnesty may accelerate this transit, or even make it instantaneous if the amnesty is extensive enough.     

Claims Auditing in Automobile Insurance: Fraud Detection and Deterrence Objectives

Research on insurer management of opportunism in claiming has developed in two parallel literatures. One is a theoretical literature on insurance contracting that yields predictions about the nature of optimal auditing strategies for the deterrence of fraud. The other is a literature based upon statistical analysis of claims that yields empirical strategies for the detection of fraudulent claims. This article links the two literatures by providing an empirical assessment of insurers’ auditing practices in relation to theoretical predictions. The analysis makes use of a data set on the disposition of more than 1,000 randomly selected automobile personal injury protection claims settled in the state of Massachusetts. The findings of the article are consistent with the use of rational auditing strategies by insurers and with the use of audits for both deterrence and detection.     

Correction to: Framing effects on risk-taking behavior: evidence from a field experiment in multiple choice tests

Experimental Economics -     

Framing effects on risk-taking behavior: evidence from a field experiment in multiple-choice tests

We exploit testing data to gain better understanding on framing effects on decision-making and performance under risk. In a randomized field experiment, we modified the framing of scoring rules for penalized multiple-choice tests. In penalized multiple-choice tests, right answers are typically framed as gains while wrong answers are framed as losses (Mixed-framing). In the Loss-framing proposed, both non-responses and wrong answers are presented in a loss domain. According to our theoretical model, we expect the change in the framing to decrease students’ non-response and to increase students’ performance. Under the Loss-framing, students’ non-response reduces by a 18%-20%. However, it fails to increase students’ scores. Indeed, our results support the possibility of impaired performance in the Loss-framing.