This paper considers the 'learning curve' relationship between the aggregate tax rate and the relative size of the hidden economy in New Zealand. Some simple non-linear models are estimated so that the effects of changes in the effective tax rate on the underground economy can be simulated. This...

This study investigates the quarterly relationship between the quantity of cigarettes sold, real disposable income per capita, and the relative price level of cigarettes in Canada. Careful attention is paid to the nonstationarity of the data and the dynamic specification of the model. It is...

We model the length of time that it takes for a patent application to be granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), conditional on the patent actually being awarded eventually. Survival analysis is applied and both the nonparametric Kaplan-Meier and parametric accelerated failure...

Using new time-series data for the size of the Canadian underground economy, the relationship between unreported and measured GDP in that country is examined. Granger causality tests are conducted, with a proper allowance for the non-stationarity of the data. It is found that there is clear...

We analyse the survival characteristics of recordings that reached the number one spot on the US popular music charts over the period 1955 to 2003. Our results show that there has been a statistically significant change in the time spent at number one since 'album cuts' were included in the...

The Becker-Murphy model of rational addiction is tested with New Zealand credit card debt data. The results clearly favour the rational addiction model over the myopic, backward-looking model. The estimated short-run and long-run price elasticities are -0.58 and -2.32 respectively, and the...