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This paper examines the role of dark patterns in the context of TikTok, an emerging social media platform. Drawing on principles from behavioral economics and the existing literature on online choice architecture (OCA), the study investigates how TikTok utilizes choice architecture, namely, dark patterns to engage users and explores the potential implications for data protection, algorithmic practices and market dynamics. The paper employs the "walkthrough method" to conduct a case study, describing the TikTok user experience and mapping potential dark patterns employed by the app. Based on the case study, it discusses the challenges in classifying dark patterns (specially as it depends on the user impact) against legitimate commercial practices. Finally, it describes how dark patterns and OCA have been discussed in the Latin American legal landscape, and finally it proposes next steps for the debate based on the findings of the article.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Randomized control trials (RCTs) are recognized as the preferred tool of analysis in modern development economics literature/research and policy evaluation. This may lead to methodologies, including case studies, tabular analysis, simple regressions, taking a back seat. This survey explores the implications of such a methodological hierarchy and the implications of preoccupation with a particular evidence/methodology for research and policy. Similar developments in macroeconomic modelling are also discussed. Major advantages and limitations of RCTs and the attempts to address them are highlighted. The article argues that preoccupation with a methodology can sometimes lead to important inquiries for research and policy getting side-lined on methodological considerations. This leads to inferences favouring a particular technique/methodology or issue. Focusing solely on methodologies that emphasize quantifying the 'effect' may not be appropriate to address all questions relevant to development. As policies involve multiple and conflicting social concerns, methodological pluralism may be preferable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a systematic and critical review of the economics literature on data as an economic good and draws lessons for data governance. We conclude that focusing on data as an economic good in governance efforts is hardwired to only result in more data production and cannot deliver other societal goals contrary to what is often claimed in the literature and policy. Data governance is often a red herring which distracts from other digital problems. The governance of digital society cannot rely exclusively on data-centric economic models. We review the literatures and the underlying empirical and political claims concerning data commons. While commons thinking is useful to frame digital problems in terms of ecologies, it has important limitations. We propose a political-ecological approach to governing the digital society, defined by ecological thinking about governance problems and the awareness of the political nature of framing the problems and mapping their ecological makeup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to bring in the concept of governance and financial bureaucracies into the discussion on financing of innovation and development. The article refers to national development banks as the example of state-backed investors who make investment decisions in line with policy priorities (to prioritized sectors, technologies and development projects). While building on the examples of public development banks, the article seeks to conceptualize the governance of public strategic investments through the notion of a state-led 'investment function'. In doing so, the article seeks complementarity of the concepts that derive from economics and innovation literature on one hand and public policy and governance literature on the other hand. This study suggests that the governance of state-led investments can be understood as a combination of financial policies, institutions and organizational routines that translate into capacities of respective public bureaucratic structures to make financing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural welfare economics has lately been challenged on account of its use of the satisfaction of true preferences as a normative criterion. The critique contests what is taken to be an implicit assumption in the literature, namely that true preferences are context-independent. This assumption is considered not only unjustified in the behavioural welfare economics literature but unjustifiable – true preferences are argued to be, at least sometimes, context-dependent. This article explores the implications of this 'critique of the inner rational agent'. I argue that the critique does not support a wholesale shift away from the use of true preferences as an evaluative standard in normative economics; instead, the critique implies that behavioural welfare economists need to inquire into and establish the 'source' of particular context-dependent choices in individuals' decision-making. The source determines the permissibility of correcting individuals' context-dependent choices and can, in some situations, support decisive welfare judgements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Used correctly, assessments play a vital role in the success of a course: they provide valuable feedback to students regarding their knowledge gaps, encourage deeper understanding of the material, help students to develop critical thinking, and guide students to accomplish a course's learning goals. They also provide a signal to future employers, graduate programs, or future course instructors about the quality of a student's understanding of the material. Used incorrectly, assessments likely achieve none of these. To avoid the latter outcome, this article's author helps new instructors by (1) summarizing pedagogical theory of sound assessment design, (2) applying it to assessment design in economics courses, and (3) assembling examples of assessments from the economics literature for instructors who may wish to experiment with different assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an emerging literature in economics that aims to merge macro issues of structural change and growth with micro data and analysis. This literature focuses on a set of related patterns of change that accompany the processes of growth and development. Traditionally, the focus has been on industrialization – and more broadly the reallocation of employment and economic activity from agriculture to manufacturing and services. The new literature considers a broader set of transformations: from rural to urban, from home to market (and from market to home), from informal to formal, and from self-employment to wage work. Drawing on new data sources, including micro data and administrative records, the literature tries to understand the complex interactions of a broad set of market failures, policy distortions, and impediments to the growth process. In broadening the understanding of structural transformation – to encompass processes beyond industrialization – this literature opens the door to a richer understanding of the processes of growth and a wider set of potential levers for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical assessment of Italian firms' sourcing. Combining the international economics literature on global sourcing with the family business and international business literature on family firms (FFs)' internationalization, we build a comprehensive framework in which sourcing is shaped by location (domestic versus foreign sourcing) and ownership (integration versus outsourcing) decisions. Relying on a new firm-level, cross-sectional dataset on a stratified sample of Italian manufacturing firms, we address the relationship between sourcing and various firm-level features. Our probit and multinomial probit estimates highlight family presence in ownership and control, total factor productivity and reliance on specific inputs as the main drivers of sourcing. While playing little role in shaping the ownership decision, both FF status and total factor productivity affect location choices, fostering domestic and foreign sourcing, respectively. Conversely, reliance on specific inputs is key in orienting the ownership decision, promoting integration over outsourcing. Our study contributes to the international economics literature on global sourcing by studying factors other than productivity and input specificity that affect input procurement; moreover, it contributes to the family business and international business literature on FFs' internationalization by taking a supply-side perspective and investigating sourcing through the interplay between location and ownership choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism demand modelling is one of the most recurrent topics in tourism economics literature. However, difficulties in defining tourism as a product have led to different ways of capturing the concept of tourism demand. In this paper, the main measures used in relevant empirical literature are considered, relating them from a theoretical point of view and analysing the empirical consequences and comparability of each one's use on the elasticity values of the determinants. Special attention is paid to the price elasticity when tourism demand models, based on tourism expenditures or receipts, are compared with those that use the number of tourists. The results show that different demand measures can lead to different estimated elasticity values that are not comparable. Furthermore, in the specific case of the price elasticity, the divergence in the estimated elasticity value of the different models can be quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ extreme value theory to identify stock price crashes, featuring low-probability events that produce large, idiosyncratic negative outliers in the conditional distribution. Traditional methods employ approximations under Gaussian assumptions and central moments. This is inherently imprecise and susceptible to misspecifications, especially for tail events. We instead propose new definitions and measures for crash risk based on conditional extremal quantiles (CEQ) of idiosyncratic stock returns. CEQ provide information on quantile-specific impact of covariates, and shed light on prior empirical puzzles and shortcomings in identifying crashes. Additionally, to capture the magnitude of crashes, we provide an expected shortfall analysis of the losses due to crash. Our findings have important implications for a burgeoning literature in financial economics that relies on traditional approximations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the controversy on Fehr and Schmidt's model of inequity aversion. It borrows insights from disciplines such as philosophy and the sociology of science that have specialized in studying scientific controversies. Our goal is to contribute to the historical and methodological literature on behavioral economics, which happens to have neglected behavioral economists' research on social preferences. Our analysis of the controversy reveals some new insights about the relation of behavioral economics with other sub-fields in economics, as well as with other disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a varied picture in terms of their relative economic strength, Developing and Emerging Economies (DEEs) remain in a subordinate position in the global monetary and financial system. While the IPE and economics literatures provide rich insights about the significance of this phenomenon, research efforts remain fragmented. To address this problem, we offer an umbrella concept—international financial subordination (IFS)—to channel research efforts towards cumulative theory-building. IFS is about unearthing why the structural power of finance takes a particularly violent form of expression in DEEs. To provide structure to IFS as a scholarly field, we first assess the contributions of IPE in analyzing various factors that reproduce IFS. To better ground these efforts in processes of accumulation and the histories of the relation between finance and (post)colonial development, we then offer a critical synthesis of three heterodox traditions—dependency theory, post-Keynesian economics, and Marxism. Next, we develop a pluridisciplinary research agenda organized around six analytical axes: the historical analysis of financial relations, the relations between financial and productive subordinations, the constitutive role of monetary relations as expressions of power, the role of the state, the actions and practices of non-state actors, and the spatial relations of financial subordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from network externalities perspective in the Economics literature, this study investigates the antecedents of trust and users' continuance intention in the context of hybrid online travel platforms (HOTPs). Data were obtained by surveying 489 users of HOTPs in China. The empirical results based on the PLS-SEM model showed that indirect and direct network externalities positively influence functional quality and hedonic quality respectively. Furthermore, both functional quality and hedonic quality of HOTPs positively affect users' trust, which in turn positively affects users' continuance intention and negatively affects perceived risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to characterize feminist pedagogy within the context of economics instruction in the US and to contribute to the development of this paradigm by charting out a research agenda for feminist pedagogy in economics. Our argument proceeds in two parts. First, we answer the question, what is feminist pedagogy in economics (FPiE)? This section sets out a working definition and contextualizes FPiE within the broader pedagogy literature, within the pedagogy literature specific to economics, and within the practice of economics teaching today. Next, we explore new directions for research and practice in FPiE by discussing post-positivist epistemologies, resisting the depoliticization of economics education, and effective responses to diversity in the neoliberal university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between financial development and economic growth has been widely debated in the economics literature, but the results have been inconsistent and vary between the short and long run. In this study, we investigate the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth in Ethiopia using annual data from 1980 to 2021. We employ the Toda-Yamamoto causality test and the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) modeling framework to analyze the data. Our results show that none of the variables are stationary at the level, but after applying first differences, all variables become stationary. Using the Toda-Yamamoto causality test, we find no causality running from financial development to economic growth, but there is evidence of reverse causality from economic growth to financial development. Furthermore, the NARDL model results suggest that economic growth drives financial development, and the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Ethiopia is nonlinear and asymmetric. Specifically, neither positive nor negative shocks to economic growth affect financial development in the short run, but both affect it in the long run and in joint short run and long run effects. We conclude from our study that financial development may not guarantee economic growth without building better institutions and following sound and stable fiscal policies. Consequently, constructing an effective economic growth strategy that maintains financial development is crucial. Our findings have significant implications for policymakers, academics, and investors and underscore the importance of informed decision-making based on a thorough understanding of the relationship between financial development and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International trade in the 21st century operates through global value chains (GVCs). There is a growing literature on how the emergence of GVCs has changed the playing field for catch-up industrialization of developing countries. Inter-industry linkages have historically been a central aspect of catch-up industrialization. How such linkages on the country level are affected by the reality that trade is conducted via GVCs is an important research question. This paper synthesizes the theoretical elaborations on inter-industry linkages from the classic development economics literature with secondary empirical data from the East Asian industrialization experience to illustrate the importance of inter-industry linkages for the industrialization process. Using primary data from the South African automotive industry, the paper shows how the dynamics of the automotive GVC have affected domestic inter-industry linkage building in the country. The backward linkages to the domestic component manufacturing industry and to the domestic materials industries from South Africa's successful integration into the automotive GVC have been disappointing. Both local policy decisions as well as GVC-specific dynamics of follow sourcing and the proliferation of manufacturing technologies and material standards have undermined more substantial backward linkages from exports of automobiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence shows that training can increase product innovation. Yet in most studies survey design omits the differentiation between 'new' and 'improved' technical innovation. Thus, our objective is to quantify the impact of training on product and process innovation, especially in terms of new versus improved innovations. We use a national, establishment level, mandatory survey, explicity designed as longitudinal. We use a 2SLS approach to correct for endogeneity of training in the innovation production function. We find that training has no effect on new products, while it augments improved products. Training has a positive and significant effect on new and improved process innovations. A question that comes to mind is: 'Can we specifically train for new product innovation?' While there are highly cited papers in strategic management, we conclude after scanning the economics literature that a widely accepted theory of new product innovation does not exist. Perhaps, it is possible to train for new product innovation, while remaining cognizant of our inability to predict the recombinant knowledge required for newness. As Polanyi (1958. Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. University of Chicago Press) surmised: ' ... invention must be acknowledged to be unpredictable, a quality which is assessed by the intensity of the surprise it might reasonably have aroused'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allyn Young's wide knowledge of the economics literature placed him in an ideal position to critically review the work of others. His own attitude was that the discipline of economics was wide open for criticism, improvement, and refinement. He reviewed (or commented on) many authors such as William Stanley Jevons, Alfred Marshall, Arthur C. Pigou, Ralph G. Hawtrey, Irving Fisher, Francis Y. Edgeworth, Thorstein Veblen, Joseph Schumpeter, and John Maynard Keynes. Young used criticism as a method to advance and refine economic theory. For example, he criticized Marshall's notion of consumers' surplus and Pigou's on social cost. He engaged in a long correspondence with Fisher on the theory of index numbers. He disagreed with Fisher that the general price level needed stabilizing. Young agreed with Veblen that economics needed an evolutionary approach and could be more fruitfully studied in terms of disequilibrium and cumulative causation, but disagreed that the discipline was based on a hedonistic psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this article is to explore new paradigms of teacher training in the field of environmental education. That is why this qualitative study explores the literature on ecological economics and degrowth to identify the most important theoretical principles that can be integrated into environmental education practices. From a transdisciplinary approach, the study integrates a philosophical and epistemological dialogue between scientific knowledge and indigenous wisdom of the Ecuadorian peoples. Then, the results of introducing the ecological economics foundations in the Ecuadorian environmental education policies are described with the analysis of the TiNi program. Subsequently, the emergence of the regenerative economics in the literature is discussed. To conclude, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are questioned for their conventional economic vision, and regenerative cultures are proposed to promote world futures focused in human well-being and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing policy for climate change requires analyses which integrate the interrelationship between the economy and the environment. We argue that, despite their dominance in the economics literature and influence in public discussion and policymaking, the methodology employed by Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) rests on flawed foundations, which become particularly relevant in relation to the realities of the immense risks and challenges of climate change, and the radical changes in our economies that a sound and effective response require. We identify a set of critical methodological problems with the IAMs which limit their usefulness and discuss the analytic foundations of an alternative approach that is more capable of providing insights into how best to manage the transition to net-zero emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies considering demand for professional boxing are almost completely absent from the Sport Management/Sports Economics literature. Little is known about consumer preferences for a sport which attracts global attention but is unique insofar as it is exempt from standard sporting institutions maintaining competitive balance. We use two new datasets to ask, what are the determinants of main event viewership (Nielsen ratings) and pay-per-views buys? In addressing this question we offer new insights on the uncertainty-of-outcome hypothesis and extend research on direct demand for individual sport. The datasets comprise of 210 HBO and Showtime broadcasts from 2006 to 2018. We estimate generalised linear models, controlling for economic determinants, bout features, boxer popularity and scheduling factors. For main events, we find conflicting evidence to the uncertainty-of-outcome hypothesis. Fans show a preference for rematches, domestic boxers and heavier divisions. NFL broadcasts and earlier scheduling negatively impact viewership. For pay-per-views, we find a positive price effect. Expectedly, Floyd Mayweather Jr increases buys. Both categories exhibit a negative trend with viewership and PPV buys declining over the sampling frame. The results offer new evidence that is contrary to the uncertainty-of-outcome hypothesis for an individual sport. The findings point to differences in consumer preferences between two sources of demand for the same sport. Practically, these can inform the strategic decision-making of broadcasters, promoters, advertisers and potential new broadcasting entrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the birthday effect has been widely studied in the economics and sport literature, this study introduces the concept of the 'real' birthday effect. It holds that birthday celebrations yield fatigue, which negatively affect running performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of players' birthdays on post-birthday running performance using data from the German Football Bundesliga (2011–2018). The dataset includes 1,040 different field players who played in 2,142 matches (n= 49,233). Running performance was measured by the total distance covered during the game (in m per minute) and the number of intensive runs (>20 and <24 km/h; per minute). On average, players ran 123.68 m and performed 0.70 intensive runs per minute, which are equivalent to 11.1 km and 63 intensive runs during a 90-minute match. The results of fixed effects panel regression analyses, which also control for various player, game, and team characteristics, show that players perform significantly fewer intensive runs on the day following their birthday. This finding supports the concept of the 'real' birthday effect. Football coaches should reconsider fielding players on match days succeeding their birthday as these players perform significantly fewer intensive runs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates thhe effect of international co-production on trade. Co-production, which allows a foreign producer to partner with domestic firms, has emerged as a way of promoting trade. Using the data on the Chinese movies, we find that international co production has a positive effect on both the extensive and intensive margins. We also show that the co-production effect is mainly explained by improvement in quality. Our research investigates international co production, a less explored topic in the literatures of international economics, which mainly focus on export and FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioural economics has taught us that human agents don't always display consistent, context-independent and stable preferences in their choice behaviour. Can we nevertheless do welfare economics in a way that lives up to the anti-paternalist ideal most economists subscribe to? I here discuss Sugden's powerful critique of most previous attempts at doing so, which he dubs the 'New Consensus', as appealing to problematic notions of latent preference and inner rational agency. I elaborate on a fundamental rethinking of the normative foundations of anti-paternalist welfare measurement that often remains implicit in the behavioural welfare economics literature Sugden discusses, but which is required to make these accounts minimally plausible. I argue that, if we go along with this rethinking, Bernheim and Rangel's [(2007). Toward choice-theoretic foundations for behavioural welfare economics. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 97, 464–470. ; (2009). Beyond revealed preference: Choice-theoretic foundations for behavioural welfare economics. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(1), 51–104. ] choice-theoretic framework withstands Sugden's criticism. Sugden's own, more radical proposal is thus under-motivated by his critique of the 'New Consensus'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent sports economics literature has focused on 'superstar effects,' or the independent impact of certain exceptional players on fan attendance at live events. This paper investigates the effect of top-drafted rookies on game attendance in the National Basketball Association from the 2012–13 through 2018–19 seasons. Hypothesizing that the nature of modern basketball could lend unique popularity to top draft picks during their rookie seasons, I find that the presence of top-ten draftees on both home and visiting teams is associated with average increases between 150 and 190 spectators per game throughout the second half of their rookie seasons. These marginal effects are statistically indistinguishable from the impact of an additional All-Star player on the visiting team. Unlike previous work, the censored regression model used in this paper accounts for teams' use of standing room to generate attendance beyond their listed arena capacities, a relevant consideration in over a quarter of the 8,594-game sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choice inconsistency has long been studied in behavioral economics. In this article we critically review theories of media choice, showing that they have not explicitly dealt with this phenomenon. Although digitalization has recently made it more salient, the communication literature on inconsistent choice still remains highly fragmented. We draw on behavioral economics literature to address blind spots in our theorization of inconsistent media selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic trade theory suggests that the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) can lead to more trade and increases in welfare. However, this can also lead to various challenges. In this paper, we use recent literature in economics to identify three such challenges. The first is that there is increasing evidence of malinvestment in previous Chinese infrastructure investments, rising corporate debt and corruption. If the BRI worsens this phenomena, the consequent financial and economic crisis in China is likely to have serious contagion effects with global ramifications. Second, trade brings about winners and losers within a country and unless there is adequate redistribution of the gains within an economy it can lead to increased inequality, poverty and structural unemployment. Finally, there are negative consequences to the environment that trade expansion may bring about unless effective legal, political and economic institutions are in place addressing the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides metaphilosophical reflections on economic methodology by way of discussing the 'Helsinki approach'. This approach combines the study of the practice of economics with an endeavor to retain a normative perspective. It also explains that it is difficult to find explicit espousals of mainstream economics in the methodological literature not because nobody takes a mainstream view, but rather because expressing such a view is inconsistent with the prevalent metaphilosophical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diversification is a common agricultural policy objective. However, the determinants and impacts of crop diversification are heterogeneous and depend on a range of crop-specific characteristics. Index-based measurements of crop diversification, common in the agriculture economics literature, are unable to account for this heterogeneity. Using two national panel surveys from Malawi and Zambia, we develop a multinomial treatment effects model to examine the determinants of adopting seven discreet cropping systems and their impacts on maize productivity and crop income stability. The results of this approach are compared to those obtained when using a Gini–Simpsons index. Differences between the two empirical approaches highlight the importance of accounting for cropping system heterogeneity when conducting analyses of crop diversification to inform policy. For example, in Zambia, we show that levels of output market competition have no significant effect on diversification when diversification is measured as an index. However, at a cropping system level increased private trader activity is associated with a reduced probability of adopting subsistence-oriented cropping systems and an increased probability of adopting more productive and commercialised systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I model the dynamics of the amount of knowledge being learnt and created in the co-invention process between two inventors, by highlighting interpersonal knowledge similarity. Further, I employ U.S. inventor-dyad-level patent data (including 250,546 inventor-dyads) to examine the relationship between knowledge similarity and co-invention performance of the two-inventor teams. The preliminary findings are consistent with the model that predicts a left-skewed inverted U-shaped relationship, suggesting that co-invention performance measured by number of patents is better in teams that consist of inventors with a medium level of similarity in technological knowledge prior to the co-invention process, and that the performance measured by weighted patents is better in teams with more technologically dissimilar members. The study enriches the literature on economics of innovation by explicating knowledge production of inventors in the co-invention process and revealing the left-skewed inverted U-shaped relationship between knowledge similarity and knowledge production performance. In practices, the study suggests assembling teams with technologically dissimilar members for optimal knowledge production performance, especially for the purpose of producing high-quality inventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing tick-by-tick maximum likelihood estimation on several leading models from the financial economics literature, we find that the market microstructure noise is mostly explained by a linear model where the trade direction, that is, whether the trade is buyer or seller initiated, is multiplied by the dynamic quoted bid-ask spread. Although reasonably stable intraday, this model manifests variability across days and stocks. Among different observable high frequency financial characteristics of the underlying stocks, this variability is best explained by the tick-to-spread ratio, implying that discreteness is the first residual source of noise. We determine the bid-ask bounce effect as the next source of noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a number of AI-winters, AI is back with a boom. There are concerns that it will disrupt society. The immediate concern is whether labor can win a 'race against the robots' and the longer-term concern is whether an artificial general intelligence (super-intelligence) can be controlled. This paper describes the nature and context of these concerns, reviews the current state of the empirical and theoretical literature in economics on the impact of AI on jobs and inequality, and discusses the challenge of AI arms races. It is concluded that despite the media hype neither massive jobs losses nor a 'Singularity' is imminent. In part, this is because current AI, based on deep learning, is expensive and difficult for most businesses to adopt, not only displaces but in fact also create jobs, and may not be the route to a super-intelligence. Thus AI is unlikely to have either Utopian or apocalyptic impacts soon. Considering Amara's Law, one should however be wary not to underestimate the long-run impacts of AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflation is an increase in the general level of prices which indicates a decrease in the purchasing power of households and a decrease in their real income. The level of interest rates in an economy plays an important role in entrepreneurs' investment decisions. The Fisher Effect is known as a positive relation between the inflation rate and interest rates, with causality running from inflation rates to interest rates. However, the results of research in the economics literature conducted with different countries and methods on the Fisher Effect have differences. In recent years, linearity methods have been abandoned to examine asymmetric relationships between variables, and nonlinear methods have gained importance. In this study, the relationship between interest rates and inflation in the Turkish economy is examined with nonlinear Granger Causality Analysis in the context of Fisher Effect using monthly data. As a result of the study, a unidirectional causal relationship is detected from inflation to interest rates for the Turkish economy. Also, the Fisher hypothesis is found to be valid for Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines how governments actually use environmental taxes, by looking to what extent their resort to this type of taxation is consistent with three alternative interpretations of environmental taxes proposed by the welfare economics theoretical literature: the strict and the broad Pigouvian and the double dividend hypotheses. We also extend our analysis to an alternative vision of politics, the Leviathan model, to verify how governments that are imperfectly accountable use environmental taxes. Each theory leads to alternative testable hypotheses, which we verify on a sample that minimizes the analysts' discretionary evaluations, the EU-28 countries that committed themselves to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The estimates lend support to the strict Pigouvian hypothesis and, to a lesser extent, to a version of the double dividend hypothesis, where personal income taxes are 'recycled' by environmental ones. The other interpretations do not appear consistent with the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a 'mobility as a service' model for accessing urban transport via autonomous vehicles may be expected to have far-reaching implications for the economics of road transport. In particular, it would offer a new opportunity to price access to the roads in accordance with the principles of the free market. Once people are paying for mobility on the roads on a 'per trip' basis, it will be possible to offer different levels of access – and service – at different prices. According to hegemonic ideas in the transport planning and economics literature the introduction of such a 'market in mobility' would be an economically efficient way of allocating access to the scarce good of space on the roads. In this paper we draw attention to a number of ethical and political challenges to the appropriateness of the use of such a pricing mechanism in the context of urban mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keeping with the established tradition in our journal, this paper reviews and surveys the last decade, that is volumes 21–30. It offers an overview of the thematic coverage of the papers published in Defence and Peace Economics and the changes that have occurred, points to existing gaps in the defence economics literature and possible future directions in the research agenda of this growing and vibrant field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between positive and negative user valence and transport mode choice behaviour. We integrate latent attitudes 'affect' and 'salience' into transport mode choice models using the framework of integrated choice and latent variable modelling and simultaneous maximum likelihood estimation methods. The results are consistent with findings in similar travel behaviour and behavioural economics literature. The study extends the findings of previous research and has demonstrated that user sentiments about public transport mode and salient public transport experiences have a significant impact on travel mode choice behaviour. It was found that private motorised users are more sensitive to overcrowding and anti-social behaviours on PT than active and PT travellers. Key attitudinal indicators influencing individual transport choice behaviour are established to guide public policy. The key indicators of Affect and Salience must be analysed and addressed through public policy to enhance PT user experience and develop services and facilities to increase the utility of PT in-vehicle travel time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymathy may be defined as the productive pursuit of multiple endeavors, simultaneously or serially, across a lifetime. As such, polymathic breadth of interest across knowledge domains characterizes Nobel laureates in the sciences, literature, economics, and peace, though interest patterns vary between groups. Economics laureates, like science laureates, demonstrate significant trans-domain interests in mathematics and science but differ from scientists by focusing additional interests in the humanities and social sciences rather than in visual arts or crafts. Literature laureates share strong interests in visual arts with science laureates, but they engage far less in crafts and more in humanities. Literature laureates share with economics laureates a high interest in the humanities and social sciences but engage far less in the sciences. Peace laureates focus their multiple interests in the humanities and social sciences along with literature and economics laureates, but they differ from both by participating far less in arts or science. In addition, Nobel laureates are also intra-domain polymaths, engaging in more than one discipline within their primary field. Overall, Nobel laureates are significantly more likely to be trans- and intra-domain polymaths than the average person. Moreover, patterns of interest suggest that different professions select for or attract individuals with reasonably discrete combinations of talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical finding that the stocks with low accruals return higher than the stocks with high accruals is one of the most prominent market anomalies documented in financial economics literature. Evidence from developed markets suggests that the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), three-factor (3 F) model with the factors of excess market return (rm -rf), size (SMB) and value (HML) and five-factor (5 F) model with additional earnings-based profitability (RMW) and investment (CMA) factors cannot deflate the accrual effect. Recent evidence from the U.S. market suggests that accrual effect loses power when it is conditioned against a cash-based operating profitability factor. This paper investigates the accrual effect and its pricing for the stocks listed on Borsa Istanbul (BIST). Portfolio analysis reveals a significant accrual effect among the profitable stocks that gain strength when conditioned against CAPM. However, the 3 F model can deflate the accrual effect and different profitability factors, including cash-based operating profitability factor, and investment factor cannot improve its pricing or economic performance in an emerging market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on the effects of economics training on behavior by examining the link between hyperbolic discounting and the number of economics classes taken by a sample of 1310 college graduates at Ohio University. A strong negative correlation is found between economics training and hyperbolic discounting behavior. Regression analysis shows that dynamic consistency is a determinant of taking economics classes. Once the endogeneity of these variables is accounted for, economics training is no longer a statistically significant determinant of hyperbolic discounting. Thus, the selection effect of studying economics outweighs the training effect. Behavioral variables are found to be more important in explaining hyperbolic discounting than demographic variables. The study suggests the importance of controlling for both the selection effect and the training effect for all studies that examine the role of economic training on behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many environmental problems entail a temporal dilemma. Societies benefit from resource use now that will have cumulative negative impacts on future generations. All too often, societies only act to address these risks after a crisis (such as a fisheries collapse or a river on fire) has occurred. Climate change presents a particularly challenging case since when society decides the harms are too great to withstand, reducing greenhouse gas emissions drastically will take time and society will be left to suffer, adapt or undertake risky geoengineering. In this article, we ask the question: Under what conditions do societies act to address a long-term risk before crisis? We draw from the literature in economics, psychology, sociology and political science to provide a range of potential factors that would contribute to addressing long-term risks. We find that long-term risk governance is under-theorized and that existing relevant understandings are highly fragmented. We also find that empirical studies testing these theories are limited in number and have mixed results. We propose that case studies of long-term risks that have been addressed could be a fruitful avenue forward in developing a more cohesive and empirically rooted theory of when societies address a future risk before a crisis point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his review of our book I Regulation and Planning i , Edwin Buitelaar points to the different ways that planning scholars might think about planning regulation. The implication seems to be that regulation of a rapacious capitalism that seeks inequality and thrives on precariousness is less important than protecting citizens from the government. Third, and lastly, Buitelaar points to another useful distinction, that between an approach to regulation that privileges the law and one that views legal formalism as only one of many normative frameworks at play. [Extracted from the article]

This study discusses the economic power and international fame of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia's tourist sector. A review of the economics literature justifies our measurement of tourism's economic impact on the tourist sector. The main contribution is an estimation of foreign tourist expenditure in Andalusia, the main Spanish tourist destination per number of overnights. Drawing on this estimate, the input–output methodology is applied to determine the global impact of this expenditure on the region. The study differentiates the three types of tourism of the region: coast, urban interior and rural interior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a novel perspective for the examination of urban public transport (UPT) systems based on a literature review of new institutional economics (NIE). New institutional economics is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary economic perspective which seeks to explain the role of institutions in the performance of socio-economic systems. It encompasses various economic theories including transaction cost economics, agency theory, contract theory and property rights economics. Although NIE-based approaches have been utilised in different sectors and policy areas, management and organisation of UPT systems is a policy area where the implications of NIE-related theories have not been thoroughly explored. UPT systems are complex and involve a variety of transport actors such as transport authorities, regulators, operators and passengers. These actors interact with each other as embedded in an institutional environment which structures the rules, hence determines the incentives, roles and liabilities for the actors. However, previous studies have generally taken this institutional environment as given and have not problematised it. This paper seeks to provide a concise literature review of UPT through the perspective of NIE to delve into the institutional configuration of UPT systems so that an institutional account of UPT is given. An institutional framework is proposed to help structure the current literature on UPT. To explore the applicability of NIE in conceptualising and problematising the issues concerning the management of UPT, the paper attempts to delineate the institutional landscape of UPT. The informal and formal institutions, governance structures and contractual relationships in UPT are examined through the lens of NIE. These institutional levels constitute the building blocks for the institutional arrangement of the UPT systems, and the proposed institutional framework for the analysis of UPT systems reviews and examines each institutional level in a systematic way. The paper explores the potential added-value that NIE provides, identifies the research gaps in the literature, and finally, shows the future avenues for NIE-inspired UPT studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common approach to evaluating robustness to omitted variable bias is to observe coefficient movements after inclusion of controls. This is informative only if selection on observables is informative about selection on unobservables. Although this link is known in theory in existing literature, very few empirical articles approach this formally. I develop an extension of the theory that connects bias explicitly to coefficient stability. I show that it is necessary to take into account coefficient and R-squared movements. I develop a formal bounding argument. I show two validation exercises and discuss application to the economics literature. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the topic modeling technique known as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a form of text-mining aiming at discovering the hidden (latent) thematic structure in large archives of documents. By applying LDA to the full text of the economics articles stored in the JSTOR database, we show how to construct a map of the discipline over time, and illustrate the potentialities of the technique for the study of the shifting structure of economics in a time of (possible) fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at 33 economics books that were published before 1750 and appeared in ten editions or more before 1850. This is a period – before Physiocracy and before the works of Adam Smith – which has been largely neglected in the history of economic thought. The article sheds new light on the early bestselling contributions of German and Italian economists, and on an internationally famous Spanish economist at the time. Also of interest is that three of the bestselling English economists of the period are so forgotten that they do not even have an entry in Wikipedia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the topic modeling technique known as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a form of text-mining aiming at discovering the hidden (latent) thematic structure in large archives of documents. By applying LDA to the full text of the economics articles stored in the JSTOR database, we show how to construct a map of the discipline over time, and illustrate the potentialities of the technique for the study of the shifting structure of economics in a time of (possible) fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine some of the literature in Economics that concerns itself with the economics of advertising and to present some of the public policy implications of the results of these studies. It is found that it is unlikely that advertising expenditures are subject to increasing returns to scale, thus probably do not lead to an increased concentration of industry for this reason. A study is presented that deals with competition by advertising expenditures and product differentiation in the U.S. cigarette industry. It is found that advertising expenditures, during the 1956-68 period, were not effective in obtaining sales from competitors, although they may have had the affect of inducing new customers to buy the product. The effect of anti-smoking commercials is examined, and it is found that, although they may have had some effect on cigarette smoking, it is doubtful that they provide the impetus for the decreases in advertising expenditures in this particular industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing literature in economics seeks to estimate the costs of violence against women by examining, for example, its impact on the health outcomes of their children. However, it is difficult to assign a causal interpretation to these nonexperimental studies due to the presence of unobservable characteristics affecting violence and health outcomes simultaneously. The lack of credible instrumental variables applicable in several countries further limits our knowledge. I address this gap by using new partial identification methods to estimate the relative size of the unobservables needed to eliminate the estimated effects in nonexperimental studies. I also expand the external validity of the analysis by using data from five standardized nationally representative household surveys in Latin America. Consistent with previous studies, cross-sectional estimates show large negative associations between violence against women and an array of child health outcomes. However, when accounting for omitted variable bias, at best, two-thirds of the estimates remain robust and they are concentrated on the outcomes with the largest cross-sectional estimated impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]