This paper presents an econometric approach to estimate the behavioral effects of counterfactual policy experiments in the context of dynamic decision models where the current utility function and the distribution of unobservables are nonparametrically specified. Previous studies have shown that...

How do people respond to matched-savings incentives? Studies of 401(k) plans find that matching increases participation but that higher match rates do not increase--and may decrease--the level of savings. This paper analyzes saving by low-income people in Individual Development Accounts (IDAs),...

This paper argues that spacing between consecutive births is an important aspect of competition among siblings for survival. Since parents simultaneously choose their desired values of birth spacing and the amount of time and other resources invested in children (which in turn affect child...

This paper examines the relationship between early childbearing, parental use of health inputs and child mortality in Bangladesh. In order to account for the potential endogeneity of the age at birth and use of health inputs, (hospital delivery and child vaccination) in the child mortality...

This paper studies the relationship between NSF funding and the publications of US economists using data on 1473 applications to NSF during 1985-1990, 414 of which were awarded a research grant. We first outline a basic methodology for assessing the impact of the NSF support for basic research...

This paper examines the efffect of siblings on child mortality in the Indian state of West Bengal arguing that prior and posterior spacing between consecutive siblings are important measures of the intensity of competition among siblings for limited resources. Parental decisions regarding...

This paper investigates whether firms innovate persistently or discontinuously over time using an innovation panel data set on German manufacturing and service firms for the period 1994-2002. We find that innovation behaviour is permanent at the firm-level to a very large extent. Using a dynamic...

How can a potential user distinguish between a quantitative model that may be of some real value and one that is not? The model builder rarely provides much help, since most are advocates of their own work and tend to lose their objectivity toward the model. Therefore, an independent evaluation...