This paper examines the relationship between state party politics and the economic performance of the state over six four-year periods covering the years 1978 to 2002. Novel features include that the study: examines the role of party control in a panel; it examines the effects of political...

The paper develops a model of decision making under risk where the tradeoff between risk and reward is modulated by exogenous changes in social capital. This latter is defined as fundamentally constituted by those significant and beneficial relationships one has in spouse, children, friends and...

A value added panel and a larger posttest sample are applied to test hypotheses regarding the common influences on student performance on the TUCE III. Common influences, those shared by all students in a given classroom, included: day vs. night time of course; class size; peer effects; and...

Robert Putnam showed that a social capital index, created as a weighted sum of 14 variables chosen to describe the civic degree of sociability and community-mindedness, is correlated with many community outcomes, such as education, child well-being, crime, and the total mortality rate. Although...

We develop and explore an economic model in which cigarette consumption enhances utility but reduces the probability of survival through the period. Social capital is produced by time spent developing and maintaining social relationships. By requiring time inputs, social capital has an...