This paper examines the claim that ethnic heterogeneity reduces government spending on various local public goods. Our analysis suggests that higher ethnic heterogeneity does not necessarily reduce local public spending due to two factors: (1) the low price elasticity of demand for local public...

This paper reviews the literature on culture and economics, focusing primarily on the epidemiological approach. The epidemiological approach studies the variation in outcomes across different immigrant groups residing in the same country. Immigrants presumably differ in their cultures but share...

The United States ranks second among the advanced nations of the world in per capita health care expenditures. However, there is wide variation in health care spending across states. This paper therefore focuses on exploring factors that influence the per capita outlays in health care across the...

This paper examines the health performance rankings of the 50 U.S. state governments (SGs), and addresses the relationship between SG performance rankings and SG environmental health, economic prosperity, and state healthcare policy. We use the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate and...

Unless repeal attempts succeed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ObamaCare) promises to increase state government obligations on account of Medicaid by expanding Medicaid eligibility and introducing an individual health insurance mandate for all US citizens and legal...

The aim of this paper is to analyse patterns of private individual giving to Cultural Heritage institutions in Italy. Based on the emerging economic literature on pro-social behavior, we carried out a Contingent Valuation survey to assess individuals' willingness to donate to museums and...

Do you believe that at Christmas time the gas prices, the economy and the number of suicides peak? Do you think that the value of presents you are giving to your beloved is of importance? We show in this paper that conventional wisdom about Christmas is often doubtful. Furthermore, we give an...

The aim of this paper is to analyse patterns of private individual giving to Cultural Heritage institutions in Italy. Based on the emerging economic literature on pro-social behavior, we carried out a Contingent Valuation survey to assess individuals’ willingness to donate to museums and...

Do you believe that at Christmas time the gas prices, the economy and the number of suicides peak? Do you think that the value of presents you are giving to your beloved is of importance? We show in this paper that conventional wisdom about Christmas is often doubtful. Furthermore, we give an...