Empirical study of broadband adoption using data from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey

Using 2009 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a study of factors that influence broadband adoption is conducted. The data set includes previously studied demographic factors, as well as records associated with the household’s use of computers, television, pay television services, and broadband. Analysis of the data indicate that, when controlling for a number of demographic factors, the purchase of television services is positively correlated with broadband adoption, with consumers who purchase either cable or satellite television service adopting broadband at a higher rate than those who utilize over-the-air television services. The results suggest that consumers who prefer over-the-air television services may face a more substantial hurdle in broadband adoption, one that might be lowered through the availability of affordable stand-alone broadband services.     

Long-run impacts of inflation across sectors in a small sample of countries

This article investigates the long-run effects of inflation on economic output for 10 sectors of the economy, with a sample of 7 countries. The analysis is done using long-run restrictions in a vector autoregression and reports long-run multipliers with bootstrapped confidence bands. The results suggest that some sectors seem to be affected differently than others, as well as significant heterogeneity across countries. The results suggest the strongest effects in the low inflation countries Germany and Japan as has been found in similar studies. In contrast to research using growth regressions, the evidence suggests a positive long-run effect of inflation on output.     

The exchange rate pass-through into import prices: the case of Japanese meat imports

Japan is a traditional net importer of food products in general and meat products in particular. Japanese meat imports come from a few countries thus making Japan potentially very sensitive to the swings in one or a few bilateral exchange rates. One of the key contributions of this article is the use of commodity (meats in this case) imports weighted exchange rates in the analysis. The standard practice in previous international agricultural trade studies related to either exchange rate pass-through or pricing to market was to use the aggregate trade weighted exchange rates usually provided by the Central Bank authorities or sources. Beef and poultry import prices indicate partial exchange rate pass-through while import prices of pork indicate zero exchange rate pass-through, primarily due to gate price policy system applied to pork imports. In terms of competitiveness, these results suggest relatively more competitive markets among poultry importing firms, somewhat competitive markets among beef importing firms, while competitiveness of pork importing firms could not be assessed due to existing import policies.     

Intermodal traffic,regulatory change and carbon energy conservation in US freight transport

Conserving transport carbon emissions is an important policy goal. Conventional wisdom often holds that conservation is best achieved by increased regulation, and that such gains are best achieved in passenger auto transport (fuel efficiency standards or diversion to transit). We argue that the growth of rail freight has conserved carbon fuel use in the United States, and that fuel-saving changes have been facilitated by reduced regulation since 1980. Methods used include estimation of translog cost functions (and related demand functions for fuel) for intermodal rail and for truck, allowing controlled comparisons of modal fuel use. We find intermodal rail (e.g. trailer on flatcar) to be a powerful conserver: if intermodal rail were eliminated, and traffic transferred to over-the-highway truck, extra annual carbon emissions would be nearly 25?Tg. By comparison, if urban passenger transit were eliminated and replaced by autos (according to one study) the extra annual emissions would be only 3.9?Tg.     

How economic rewards affect cooperation reconsidered

Recent studies suggest that payoffs in cents, compared to dollars, produce less defection in a repeated prisoner’s dilemma game. We are unable to replicate these findings with conventional economic procedures or in a direct replication.     

Dynamic almost ideal demand systems: an empirical analysis of alcohol expenditure in Ireland

This paper presents a dynamic form of the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Three versions of the static AIDS model are employed to determine the preferred long-run equilibrium model and represents the short-run dynamics by an error correction mechanism. This estimation procedure is then applied to alcohol expenditure in Ireland. The estimated point elasticities are consistent with previous studies and a priori expectations. Beer and spirits are found to be price inelastic in both the short and long run. While wine is price inelastic in the short run and price elastic in the long run.     

Smokeless tobacco,smoking cessation and harm reduction: an economic analysis

Good estimates place ‘hard core’ smoking rates in the United States at approximately 25%, with little change over the decade of the 1990s. This paper examines the possibilities of ‘harm reduction’ with the use of smokeless tobacco. Specifically, using an econometric model we seek to determine whether an increase in the use of smokeless tobacco would lead to reduced smoking rates in the United States. Applying our model to the NHANES III (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) we find that the use of smokeless tobacco by an average U.S. male smoker would increase the average probability of smoke cessation by over 10%. Approximately 3 million additional ‘quits’ would result for 26 million smokers. Our study permits an examination of cessation by age groups and we find that males who use smokeless tobacco between 16 and 65 have a 10–14% probability of quitting but that the probability falls beyond age 66. Important implications for life extension and health costs would attend these results with, under conservative assumptions, life years saved approximating 2.16 million and health care cost-savings of about $3 billion per year.     

Workforce gender effects on firm performance and workers’ pay: evidence for the UK

Using linked workplace–worker data for the UK, a number of hypotheses are tested related to individual gender and the gender composition of the workforce. The proportion of female workers per establishment is strongly negatively associated with median workplace pay. There is some evidence that workplace performance (but not employment size or growth) is positively associated with the female–male workforce ratio. For workers, the female wage penalty (which is substantial) is strongly influenced by the female–male workforce ratio. In addition, commensurate with gender discrimination, those who manage female workers receive lower wages but professional workers in the same establishments do not.     

Regulatory Barriers and Entry into a New Competitive Industry

We model the effects of license fees and bureaucratic delay on firm entry into a new competitive industry, whose profitability is initially unknown. A license fee alone reduces the number of first movers and the steady‐state number of firms. The combination of license fee and delay may cause some entrepreneurs to purchase licenses speculatively, only using them to enter production later if profitability is revealed to be sufficiently favourable. Alternatively, some entrepreneurs may wait, possibly buying a license only after profitability is revealed; but it is never found that some entrepreneurs adopt one of these strategies and some the other.