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作者：Dwenger, Nadja; Kuebler, Dorothea; Weizsaecker, Georg
作者单位：University Hohenheim; Technical University of Berlin; Humboldt University of Berlin; Leibniz Association; DIW Berlin - Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung
摘要：We empirically investigate the possibility that a decision maker prefers to avoid making a decision and instead delegates it to an external device, e.g., a coin flip. A large data set from the centralized clearing-house for university admissions in Germany shows a choice pattern of applicants that is consistent with coin flipping and that entails substantial consequences for the matching outcome. In a series of experiments capturing the relevant features of university choice, participants ofte...
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作者：Mongrain, Steeve; Wilson, John D.
作者单位：Simon Fraser University; Michigan State University
摘要：An ongoing debate in the tax competition literature is whether a system of countries or regions should restrict the preferential tax treatment of different types of firms or capital. We further investigate this issue by departing from the bulk of the literature in three ways: (1) rather than maximize only tax revenue, governments also put positive weight on the income generated by resident-owned firms; (2) under preferential taxation, firms are distinguished by their country of origin; and (3)...
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作者：Kleven, Henrik J.; Luttmer, Erzo F. P.
作者单位：Princeton University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Dartmouth College
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作者：Stern, Nicholas
作者单位：University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
摘要：Tony Atkinson played a crucial role in shaping modern public economics, but throughout his life challenged whether we were making the right assumptions and were building models which captured the essence of the issues under examination. This paper examines questions discussed with Tony concerning public policy to foster change where the pace and nature of change are critical to any serious policy assessment. The primary example is climate change. The paper argues that subjects such as the dyna...
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作者：Arteaga, Carolina
作者单位：University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
摘要：In this paper I test whether the return to college education is the result of human capital accumulation or instead reflects the fact that attending college signals higher ability to employers. I exploit a reform at Universidad de Los Andes, which in 2006 reduced the amount of coursework required to earn degrees in economics and business by 20% and 14%, respectively, but did not change the quality of incoming or graduating students. The size of the entering class, their average high school exi...
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作者：Gordon, Roger; Sarada
作者单位：University of California System; University of California San Diego; University of Wisconsin System; University of Wisconsin Madison
摘要：This paper examines how tax policy should be designed to best encourage entrepreneurial activity in start-up firms. We begin by describing several presumed market failures affecting entrepreneurial firms that would lead to an under-provision of entrepreneurial activity: 1) information spillovers from innovations in entrepreneurial firms to other firms, 2) positive externalities to consumers from innovative new products sold by these firms, and 3) lemons problems in the market for both debt and...
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作者：Saia, Alessandro
作者单位：University of Lausanne
摘要：I investigate the role of social interaction among Members of Parliament (MPs) and the impact of such interaction on the political distance between parties. Using the random allocation of seats in the Icelandic Parliament, I find that MP's voting and speech behaviors are affected by the behavior of legislators seated nearby. I also show that greater (random) exposure to MPs from different parties ultimately reduces the political distance between parties. Similar evidence is found using histori...
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作者：Mattozzi, Andrea; Snowberg, Erik
作者单位：European University Institute; University of British Columbia; California Institute of Technology; National Bureau of Economic Research
摘要：We develop a theory of taxation and the distribution of government spending in a citizen-candidate model of legislatures. Individuals are heterogeneous in two dimensions: productive ability in the private sector and negotiating ability in politics. When these are positively correlated, rich voters always prefer a rich legislator, but poor voters face a trade-off. A rich legislator will secure more pork for the district, but will also prefer lower taxation than the poor voter. Our theory organi...
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作者：Feng, Xin; Lu, Jingfeng
作者单位：University of International Business & Economics; National University of Singapore
摘要：Multi-battle competitions are ubiquitous in real life. In this paper, we examine the effort-maximizing reward design in sequentially played multi-battle competitions between two players. The organizer has a fixed prize budget, and rewards players contingent on the number of battles they win in a three-battle contest. A full spectrum of contest technologies in the Tullock family is accommodated. We find that the optimal design varies with the discriminatory power of the contest technology. In p...
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作者：Bellofatto, Antonio Andres; Besfamille, Martin
作者单位：University of Queensland; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
摘要：We study the optimal degree of fiscal decentralization in a federation. Regional governments are characterized by their abilities to deliver public goods (administrative capacity) and to raise tax revenues (fiscal capacity). Two regimes are compared on efficiency grounds. Under partial decentralization, regional governments rely on central bailouts to complete local projects in financing needs. Under full decentralization, marginal financing is achieved via local capital taxes. We show that th...
