What is the future of water quality trading?

A comprehensive review of experiences with water quality trading (WQT) programs worldwide is presented, spanning altogether more than 4 decades. A new WQT database is built, extracting data and information from existing review papers, complemented with gray and published literature about individual trading programs. Key aspects that affect trading volumes and program continuation are identified and categorized. No single success or fail factor emerges from this review, typically a mix of factors play a role. There is potential for WQT to evolve further and serve as a cost-effective pollution control instrument, but this requires nudging political will to regulate nonpoint source.     

Stochastic convergence analysis of US state economic freedom sub-components: Evidence from unit root tests for bounded processes

This study tests for convergence of the three main sub-components of economic freedom (government spending, taxation, and labor market freedom) for the 50 US states from 1981 to 2019. In particular, we test for stochastic convergence using unit root tests that account for structural breaks and bounded processes. By controlling for these sources of parameter instability, we find limited evidence in favor of stochastic convergence across the three sub-components of economic freedom. However, we find more evidence of stochastic convergence with respect to the sub-components than in the case of the overall economic freedom at the US state level. Our results highlight the distinct nature of the institutional quality across states as represented by government spending, taxation, and labor market freedom.     

Time-varying connectedness of metropolitan housing markets

We construct a time-varying measure of connectedness for 382 U.S. metropolitan housing markets using monthly house price data from 1975 to the present. Housing connectedness in the long run is found to be much stronger than the instantaneous connectedness, both of which exhibit notable variation over time and across metropolitan areas. Unlike stock market connectedness, housing market connectedness leads the business cycle; it helps predict the likelihood of future recessions.     

The convergence dynamics of economic freedom across U.S. states

This study tests for convergence in economic freedom across the 50 U.S. states from 1981 to 2019. In particular, we test for stochastic convergence in overall economic freedom using unit root tests that account for structural breaks and bounded processes, two sources of parameter instability. We find limited evidence of stochastic convergence. Further analysis of relative (club) convergence and weak σ-convergence rejects the presence of overall convergence in the panel of the U.S. states, but the emergence of two convergence clubs with respect to state-level economic freedom. The logit analysis of the determinants of the convergence clubs reveals that more prosperous states and states with a higher initial level of economic freedom have a higher probability of being in the club with more economic freedom. However, more racially diverse states have a lower probability of being in the club with more economic freedom.     

Exploring entrepreneurial intention among engineering students in India: a multiple basket approach

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - In the light of Bandura’s (Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive perspective, Princeton-Hall, Englewood...     

Knowledge Spillovers and Productivity Growth: Role of Absorptive Capacity in the Indian Manufacturing Sector

Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade - The paper explores the role of absorptive capacity in understanding the association between international knowledge spillovers and total factor...     

Owner-occupancy fraud and mortgage performance

We identify occupancy fraud—borrowers who misrepresent their occupancy status as owner-occupants rather than investors—in residential mortgage originations. Unlike previous work, we show that fraud was prevalent in originations not just during the housing bubble but also persists through more recent times. We also demonstrate that fraud is broad-based and appears in government-sponsored enterprise and bank portfolio loans, not just in private securitization; these fraudulent borrowers make up one third of the effective investor population. Occupancy frauds obtain credit at lower interest rates, suggesting a motivation for undertaking fraud. These fraudulent borrowers perform substantially worse than similar declared investors, defaulting at a 75% higher rate. We also provide evidence consistent with fraudulent borrowers’ defaults being more “strategic,” suggesting that this population poses a risk in the face of declining house prices.