We use disaster impact data over time to examine the degree to which the human and economic losses from natural disasters are reduced as economies develop. We find that countries with higher income, higher educational attainment, greater openness, more complete financial systems and smaller...

Theoretic growth models and microeconomic evidence suggest that human capital accumulation is an important determinant of per capita income growth. However, early macroeconomic studies found a weak relationship between growth and human capital accumulation. While recent studies addressing...

In this paper data from all 50 U.S. states are used to examine factors associated with the level of educational attainment in the population. Specifically, this inquiry examines the relationship between the percentage of the adult population aged 25-39 with a college bachelors degree or more and...

In this paper we present new evidence of cross-border shopping in response to sales taxation. While several instructive studies provide estimates of the cross-border shopping effect, we utilize a unique opportunity to evaluate the effect of a large discrete change in sales tax policy. Using...

In this paper we use monthly gasoline price data for all fifty U.S. states over the period 1984 to 1999 to examine the incidence of state gasoline excise taxes. Standard economic theory predicts full shifting of the excise tax to consumers when the supply of gasoline is perfectly elastic, and...

In this paper we examine the geographic distribution of economic damages caused by natural disasters throughout the United States. Some economists have advocated the use of appropriately priced comprehensive natural disaster insurance as a means of disaster mitigation. The presumption implicit...

In this paper we examine the impact of the lottery sales and the introduction of new lottery games on the retail activity using panel data on lottery sales, the adoption of new lottery games in West Virginia and in neighboring states, and retail income (a proxy for retail sales) for all 55...

In this paper we investigate the long-run relationship between disasters and societal trust. A growing body research suggests that factors such as income inequality, ethnic fractionalization, and religious heritage are important determinants of social capital in general, and trust in particular....