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作者：Ludwig, Alexander; Reiter, Michael
作者单位：University of Cologne
摘要：We model the reaction of a PAYG pension system to demographic shocks. We compare the ex ante first best and second best solution of a Ramsey planner with full commitment to the outcome under simple third best rules. The model is calibrated to the German economy. We find that the German systetm comes relatively close to the second-best solution, and that the recent baby-boom/baby-bust cycle leads to welfare losses of about 5 percent of lifetime consumption far some cohorts. We argue that it is ...
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作者：Hastings, Justine; Washington, Ebonya
作者单位：Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：Previous research has demonstrated that benefit recipients decrease expenditures on, and consumption of food throughout the benefit month. Using detailed grocery store scanner data, we ask two questions: whether cycling is due to a desire for variety that leads to within-month substitution across product quality, and whether cycling is driven by countercyclical retail pricing. We find that the decrease in food expenditures is largely driven by reductions in quantity, not quality, and that pric...
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作者：Goolsble, Austan; Lovenheim, Michael F.; Slemrod, Joel
作者单位：University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research; Cornell University; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan
摘要：This paper documents the rise of the Internet as a source of state tax-free cigarettes and its impact on taxed sales elasticities Using data on cigarette tax rates, taxable cigarette sales and individual smoking rates by state from 1980 to 2005 merged with data on Internet penetration, this paper documents that there has been a substantial increase in the sensitivity of taxable cigarette sales to state tax rates that is correlated with the rise of Internet usage within states The estimates imp...
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作者：Cutler, David M.; Huckman, Robert S.; Kolstad, Jonathan T.
作者单位：Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Harvard University; University of Pennsylvania
摘要：Prior studies suggest that with elastically supplied inputs free entry may lead to an inefficiently high number of firms in equilibrium Under input scarcity however, the welfare loss from free entry is reduced Further, free entry may increase use of high-quality inputs, as oligopolistic firms underuse these inputs when entry is constrained We assess these predictions by examining how the 1996 repeal of certificate-of-need (CON) legislation in Pennsylvania affected the market for cardiac surger...
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作者：Stefanadis, Christodoulos
作者单位：University of Piraeus
摘要：In producer-friendly economies-economies that are ruled by productive agents and have strong property rights institutions-international trade causes an institutional improvement and an aggregate shift of talent towards production, and away from socially wasteful appropriation. However, in predator-friendly economies-economies that are ruled by rent seekers and have weak institutions-international trade leads to an institutional deterioration, and a more unfavorable talent allocation.
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作者：Ju, Jiandong; Wei, Shang-Jin
作者单位：University of Oklahoma System; University of Oklahoma - Norman; Tsinghua University; Columbia University
摘要：This paper proposes a simple model to study how domestic institutions affect patterns of international capital flows. Inefficient financial system, and poor corporate governance, may be bypassed by two-way capital flows in which domestic savings leave the country in the form of financial capital outflows but domestic investment takes place via inward FDI. While financial globalization always improves the welfare of a developed country with a good financial system, its effect is ambiguous for a...
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作者：Mankiw, N. Gregory; Weinzierl, Matthew
作者单位：Harvard University
摘要：Should the income tax include a credit for short taxpayers and a surcharge for tall ones? The standard utilitarian framework for tax analysis answers this question in the affirmative Moreover, a plausible parameterization using data on height and wages implies a substantial height tax a tall person earning $50,000 should pay $4,500 more in tax than a short person One interpretation is that personal attributes correlated with wages should be considered more widely for determining tales Alternat...
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作者：DellaVigna, Stefano; La Ferrara, Eliana
作者单位：University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research; Bocconi University
摘要：We propose a method to detect illegal arms trade based on investor knowledge. We focus on countries under arms embargo and identify events that suddenly increase or decrease conflict intensity If a weapon-making company is trading illegally, an event that increases the demand for arms may increase stock prices. We find positive event returns for companies headquartered in countries with high corruption and low transparency in arms trade. We also suggest a method to detect potential embargo vio...
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作者：Merriman, David
作者单位：University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Chicago; University of Illinois Chicago Hospital; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Chicago; University of Illinois Chicago Hospital
摘要：The large lax differentials between Chicago and neighboring jurisdictions provide an incentive for cigarette tax avoidance. Data from a random sample of cigarette packs littered in Chicago reveals a startling degree of tax avoidance: three-quarters did not display a Chicago tax stamp. Also, the $2.68 difference between the tax in Chicago ad surrounding counties decreases the probability of a local stamp by almost 60 percent, and a one mile increase in distance to the lower-tax state border inc...
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作者：Shue, Kelly; Luttmer, Erzo F. P.
作者单位：Harvard University; Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：If voters have negligible cognition costs, ballot layout should not affect election outcomes. We explore deviations from rational voting using quasi-random variation in candidate name placement on ballots from the 2003 California recall election. We find that minor candidates' vote shares almost double when their names are adjacent to the names of major candidates. All else equal, vote share gains are larger in precincts with higher percentages of poorly educated, poor, or third-party voters. ...
