Narrow search
Showing 1 - 10 of 538
Cover Image
The Paradox of Civilization : Pre-Institutional Sources of Security and Prosperity
Dal Bo, Ernesto - 2015
The rise of civilizations involved the dual emergence of economies that could produce surplus (“prosperity”) and states that could protect surplus (“security”). But the joint achievement of security and prosperity had to escape a paradox: prosperity attracts predation, and higher...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013009442
Cover Image
What Do We Know About Evolution of Top Wealth Shares in the United States?
Kopczuk, Wojciech - 2014
I discuss available evidence about the evolution of top wealth shares in the United States over the last one hundred … increase in wealth concentration and the other two methods showing at best a small increase. I discuss strengths and weaknesses … incomes and the increased importance of self-made wealth may explain difficulties in implementing each of the methods and …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013040527
Cover Image
The Complexion Gap : The Economic Consequences of Color Among Free African Americans in the Rural Antebellum South
Bodenhorn, Howard - 2021
reveal a complexion gap in wealth accumulation. Mulattoes acquired more property than blacks, particularly at the upper end … of the wealth distribution. Thus, an analysis of data included in the 1860 census implies a complex social hierarchy … based on subtle gradations in skin color. At the upper end of the wealth distribution, light-complected mulattoes …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013222227
Cover Image
‘To Have and Have Not’ : are Rich Litigious Plaintiffs Favored in Court?
Khan, B. Zorina - 2015
a unique historical data set that allows a direct test of these hypotheses, including information on the wealth of … creating a reputation for uncooperative litigation strategies. However, outcomes in court were independent of wealth, and …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013028536
Cover Image
Can Market and Voting Institutions Generate Optimal Intergenerational Risk Sharing?
Rangel, Antonio; Zeckhauser, Richard J. - 2021
Are market and voting institutions capable of producing optimal intergenerational risk-sharing? To study this question, we consider a simple endowment economy with uncertainty and overlapping generations. Endowments are stochastic; thus it is possible to increase the welfare of every generation...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013221836
Cover Image
Institutions and Behavior : Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Democracy
Dal Bo, Pedro; Foster, Andrew D.; Putterman, Louis - 2021
A novel experiment is used to show that the effect of a policy on the level of cooperation is greater when it is chosen democratically by the subjects than when it is exogenously imposed. In contrast to the previous literature, our experimental design allows us to control for selection effects...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013235634
Cover Image
Under the Thumb of History? Political Institutions and the Scope for Action
Banerjee, Abhijit V. - 2014
This paper discusses the two leading views of history and political institutions. For some scholars, institutions are … that while there is clear evidence that history matters and has long-term effects, there is not enough data to help us …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013060255
Cover Image
Transparency and Credibility : Monetary Policy with Unobservable Goals
Faust, Jon - 2010
We define and study transparency, credibility, and reputation in a model where the central bank's characteristics are unobservable to the private sector and are inferred from the policy outcome. A low-credibility bank optimally conducts a more inflationary policy than a high-credibility bank, in...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013137302
Cover Image
Estimating Dynamic Discrete Choice Models with Hyperbolic Discounting, with an Application to Mammography Decisions
Fang, Hanming - 2010
We extend the semi-parametric estimation method for dynamic discrete choice models using Hotz and Miller's (1993) conditional choice probability (CCP) approach to the setting where individuals may have hyperbolic discounting time preferences and may be naive about their time inconsistency. We...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013137310
Cover Image
Optimal Policy Instruments for Externality-Producing Durable Goods Under Time Inconsistency
Heutel, Garth - 2011
When consumers exhibit present bias and are time-inconsistent, the standard solution to market failures caused by externalities--Pigouvian pricing--is suboptimal. I investigate policies aimed at externalities for time-inconsistent consumers. Welfare-maximizing policy in this case includes an...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013124551