Marginal Subsidies in Tullock Contests

In a general Tullock contest, we examine a situation where a limited resource can be used to provide marginal subsidies to either player (weak or strong), or to increase the prize directly. We show that to maximize total effort, subsidizing the weak/strong player is preferred when the contest is sufficiently accurate/inaccurate. This result generalizes to n‐player lottery contests. In a lottery contest (Tullock contest with ), we derive the optimal scheme for a full range of resource: when the resource is small, it is optimal to only subsidize the weak player; when it is large, both players should be subsidized simultaneously.     

THE EFFECT OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, WELFARE BENEFITS, AND OTHER INCOME ON PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY

Personal bankruptcy, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children provide income and wealth insurance. Because they have similar purposes, it should not be surprising that some households use more than one of these programs or that the programs are substitutes. This study contributes to the personal bankruptcy literature by examining this interaction and finds that increases in unemployment benefits decrease the probability of bankruptcy. (JEL D12 , K35 )     

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION AND THE BUSINESS CYCLE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF SEVEN FEDERATIONS

Although fiscal policies of central governments sometimes provide modest insurance against regional income shocks, this paper shows that procyclical fiscal policy among provincial governments can easily overwhelm these stabilizing effects. We examine the cyclicality of budget items among provincial governments in seven federations, showing that own-source taxes are generally highly procyclical, and contrary to common wisdom, revenue sharing and discretionary transfers are either acyclical or procyclical. Constituent governments are thus left alone to smooth their own shocks, and we document the extent to which various restraints on borrowing and saving undermine their ability to do so. The resulting procyclicality of provincial fiscal policy is likely to have important implications in a world where demands for countercyclical fiscal policy are increasing but considerable fiscal responsibilities are being devolved to subnational governments.     

Wage Structure and Dynamics in the Electronics Industry

This study analyzes wage patterns over time among California electronics employers. While the range of wages paid is substantial, employers on average make only small departures from market wage that are not pervasive across occupations or persistent across time. Employers appear able to change employment levels without affecting wages. Internal wage relativities also appear flexible. Differences between administered wage scales and actual wages paid are used to distinguish wage policy from market outcomes.     

Monetary Policy Implementation in a Negative Rate Environment

To analyze monetary policy implementation in a negative rate environment, we add the option to exchange central bank reserves for cash to the standard workhorse model of monetary policy implementation (Poole 1968). Importantly, we show that monetary policy can be constrained when the target overnight rate is below the yield on cash. At this point, the overnight rate equals the yield on cash instead of the target rate. Modifications to the implementation framework, such as a reserve requirement that varies with cash withdrawals, can help restore the implementation of monetary policy such that the overnight rate equals the target rate.     

CARBON REDUCTION COSTS IN NEW ENGLAND'S POWER SECTOR

This paper examines the cost of reducing carbon emissions in New England's power sector. The analysis relies on detailed sectoral studies of costs and resource potentials for demand-side efficiency, cogeneration, renewables, and conventional resource options. Sectoral studies' results were integrated using a production-cost model to estimate the total cost and rate impacts of carbon reduction strategies relative to a business-as-usual forecast. To capture potential uncertainties, the analysis takes into account variations in capital costs, fuel prices, resource utilization levels, and base case retirements of existing power plants. Results show that New England's power sector can freeze carbon emissions at current levels or reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously decreasing customers' total electricity bills.     

Equity and Ecotax Reform in the EU: Achieving a 10 per cent Reduction in CO2 Emissions Using Excise Duties

This paper considers the distributional effects of imposing additional excise duties on energy products according to carbon content. The assumed duties escalate from 1999 to 2010 and achieve levels reducing CO₂ emissions by 10 per cent below baseline by 2010 for 11 EU member states. By 2010, real personal disposable incomes are 1.6 per cent above baseline and employment is 1.2 per cent above, assuming that the change is tax-revenue-neutral. The study concludes that the changes will be weakly regressive for nearly all the member states in the study if revenues are used to reduce employers’ taxes and strongly progressive if they are given back lump-sum to households. JEL classification: C53, D12, H22, Q48.