This paper examines Benedictine monasteries and the way of life of Benedictine monks from the perspective of happiness economics. We argue that social interaction and the personal identification of monks with their community are important determinants of the successful historical performance of...

This paper presents preliminary results of empirical tests for Japanese union workers on a relative utility hypothesis, along the line developed by Clark and Oswald (1996). While our results support the existence of relative utility among Japanese union workers, a caveat is presented. We argue...

Using prefecture level data of Japan for the years 1979 and 1996, I explore the extent to which inequality, age heterogeneity, and social capital have an effect upon interpersonal trust. The major finding is that inequality is associated with low trust, while generational heterogeneity is...

This paper contains a statistical analysis of the factors that contribute to team wins in the NFL. The variables examined are divided into offensive, defensive, and special teams categories. In addition, net turnovers, penalties, and off-field conduct, as measured by team arrests, are also...

This paper aims to analyze the relationship between institutional quality, corruption level, and economic development. The methodology makes use of cross-national data developed by the World Bank on perceived levels of corruption, institutional framework quality and economic development to test...

This paper introduces an alternative method of measuring competitive balance in major league baseball and employs it to assess both payroll (talent) disparity and performance (wins) disparity for 30 selected years between 1929 and 2002. Attention is devoted to the impact of two critical events...

This paper introduces an index called the adjusted churn, designed to measure competitive balance in sports leagues based on changes in team standings over time. This is a simple yet powerful index that varies between zero and one. A value of zero indicates no change in league standings from...

We investigate the startling but real possibility that a reduction in calories can lead to a increase in longevity. In perhaps the simplest model, it may be evolutionarily optimal for a permanent reduction in the food supply to cause such an increase in longevity. However, it is impossible to...

This paper explores the causal link between associationism and general trust. First we study the principal components that constitute social capital. Then we contrast a structural model identifying the relations between the relevant variables in the so-called Olson-Putnam aporia. The results of...

This paper presents preliminary results of empirical tests for Japanese union workers on a relative utility hypothesis, along the line developed by Clark and Oswald (1996). While our results support the existence of relative utility among Japanese union workers, a caveat is presented. We argue...