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This paper investigates the impact that proximity to natural amenities has on improving home values in Mesa County, Colorado. Controlling for standard home characteristics, the study investigates the value to homes of the proximity to trails, the Colorado National Monument, Bureau of Land Management Land, golf courses, the Colorado/Gunnison River, open space, and public parks, using ordinary least squares, fixed effects (controlling for time and zip codes), and a spatial error model. GIS is used to determine distances for the spatial econometric model. Each amenity is evaluated at 250, 500, and 1000 meters. The results show that homes located within 250 meters of a trail sell for 4.45% more, homes located within 500 meters of BLM land sell for 9.07% more, homes located within 250 meters of a golf course sell for 12.70% more, and homes located within 250 meters of the Colorado National Monument sell for 12.90% more.

Robert Rowthorn, in his Godley–Tobin Lecture, suggests that Keynesian policies have again been incorporated by the mainstream of the profession, and the old Phillips relation is again relevant. In other words, there seems to be a persistent trade-off between inflation, wage inflation in particular, and unemployment rates, properly measured, which would create the space for Keynesian policies. This paper discusses the return of Keynesian economics, in particular in Latin American economies. While it is true that Keynesian economics made a comeback in terms of policy in Latin America, as in other parts of the world, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, it is also true that the Keynesian moment was relatively weak and short-lived. The evidence in Latin America for a Phillips curve is relatively weak, and suggests that inflation is often cost-push rather than demand-pull, which could be understood to suggest that there is space for expansionary fiscal policy, at least in the absence of an external constraint. The authors remain skeptical about the return of Keynesian economics at the theoretical level, and the possibilities for Keynesian policies in the region.

Physical activity from outdoor recreational pursuits is well known to be beneficial and has been encouraged by the US Surgeon General. Specific constraints, often reflected in sociocultural issues, can be impediments to individuals participating in outdoor recreational activities. Data were collected in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and the Mesa County Health Department in Colorado via surveys involving 580 residents of Mesa County regarding access to outdoor recreation. Ordinal logistic regression was used to test whether ten different constraints to outdoor recreation were important to the respondents, given their age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, native language, and residential density. The results indicated that the probability of experiencing outdoor constraints increased with lower education, Hispanic ethnicity, native Spanish speaking, and young age. A second model, albeit with fewer respondents, was tested to include income. The results of the second model were similar to the first model and also showed that lower incomes were associated with a higher probability of outdoor constraints. The results of the two models indicated that socioeconomic status was a driving factor behind constraints to outdoor recreation.

This paper describes some of the main alternatives to the dominant neoclassical theories of inflation, according to which inflation is always a monetary phenomenon. The model develops a cost†push approach, in which rising costs are mainly related to external constraints. Not only is inflation seen as resulting from balance of payments crises, but fiscal crises also are the result of the initial balance of payments crises within this framework. Fiscal deficits, and all other excess demand pressures, are absent, so that high levels of inflation are compatible with an economy that is below full employment, and stabilization is independent of fiscal adjustments. The model is then tested using a Vector Autoregression model and finds strong evidence for alternative theories of inflation over the monetarist theory. The empirical section tests both the long period (1882–2009) and the modern period (1990–2007) analyzing the impact of wages, the nominal exchange rate, the output gap and the monetary base on inflation. The results show that the exchange rate (external constraints) has been the primary cause of inflation. Wages are a causal factor in both models, and the monetary base and output gap show low causality in the long period, and ambiguous results for the modern period.

Several explanations of the ‘great inflation moderation’ (1982–2006) have been put forth, the most popular being that inflation was tamed due to good monetary policy, good luck (exogenous shocks such as oil prices), or structural changes such as inventory management techniques. Drawing from post-Keynesian and structuralist theories of inflation, this paper uses a vector autoregression with a post-Keynesian identification strategy to show that the decline in the inflation rate and inflation volatility was due primarily to (i) wage declines and (ii) falling import prices caused by international competition and exchange-rate effects. The paper uses a graphical analysis, impulse response functions, and variance decompositions to support the argument that the decline in inflation has in fact been a wage and import price moderation. A Taylor rule differential variable was also used to test the ‘good policy’ hypothesis. The results show that the Taylor rule differential has a smaller effect on inflation, controlling for other factors.

Conventional wisdom contends that fiscal policy was of secondary importance for the economic recovery in the 1930s. The recovery is then connected to monetary policy that allowed non-sterilised gold inflows to increase the money supply. Often this is shown by measuring the fiscal multipliers and demonstrating that they were relatively small. This paper shows that problems with the conventional measures of fiscal multipliers in the 1930s may have created an incorrect consensus on the irrelevance of fiscal policy. The rehabilitation of fiscal policy is seen as a necessary step in the reinterpretation of the positive role of New Deal policies for the recovery.

This paper presents an investigation of global recovery from the Great Recession and the rebalancing of global external imbalances, using a global model of 16 countries and composite regions. The model applies to the short term and only to the real side. Key features are demand-driven output determination, pro-cyclical aggregate labour productivity, imperfect competition in product markets and simple bargaining in non-clearing labour markets, which together determine the functional distribution of income. Trade is modelled in a bilateral import matrix; particular attention is paid to international adjustment. Simulation results suggest that early exit from fiscal support threatens a fragile recovery. Further, domestic demand expansion and revaluation in real terms in surplus countries are necessary for rebalancing, and a variety of measures can be employed to achieve these goals. Copyright , Oxford University Press.

The paper discusses and tests the importance of institutions, geography, and terms of trade in Latin America during the Washington Consensus (WC) reform years. The paper argues that the WC overlooked these three important factors of growth, known as the "deep determinants of growth." The paper discusses the history and failures of the WC and creates an empirical test to determine the importance of the omitted growth factors. The empirical section uses a large panel data set and employs the Hausman-Taylor (1981) estimator to account for time-variant and time-invariant variables. The data includes several measures of institutions, geography, and terms of trade to provide broad evidence. Our results are consistent with the previous literature, showing that institutions are important to growth. Once institutions are controlled for, measures of geography have statistically weak direct effects on income per capita. The paper shows that both openness to trade and an overvalued real exchange rate are detrimental ...

Starting with the March 2008 collapse of Bear Stearns, the steep slide into economic and financial turmoil took the public, elected officials, and many economists around the world by surprise. As f...

In this chapter, we discuss sustainable development in Malaysia and Indonesia in terms of geography, well-being, economic structure, and environmental sustainability.

Several explanations of the "great inflation moderation" (1982-2006) have been put forth, the most popular being that inflation was tamed due to good monetary policy, good luck (exogenous shocks such as oil prices), or structural changes such as inventory management techniques. Drawing from Post-Keynesian and structuralist theories of inflation, this paper uses a vector autoregression with a Post-Keynesian identification strategy to show that the decline in the inflation rate and inflation volatility was due primarily to (1) wage declines and (2) falling import prices caused by international competition and exchange rate effects. The paper uses a graphical analysis, impulse response functions, and variance decompositions to support the argument that the decline in inflation has in fact been a "wage and import price moderation," brought about by declining union membership and international competition. Exchange rate effects have lowered inflation through cheaper import and oil prices, and have indirectly affected wages through strong dollar policy, which has lowered manufacturing wages due to increased competition. A "Taylor rule" differential variable was also used to test the "good policy" hypothesis. The results show that the Taylor rule differential has a smaller effect on inflation, controlling for other factors.

Conventional wisdom contends that fiscal policy was of secondary importance to the economic recovery in the 1930s. The recovery is then connected to monetary policy that allowed non-sterilized gold inflows to increase the money supply. Often, this is shown by measuring the fiscal multipliers, and demonstrating that they were relatively small. This paper shows that problems with the conventional measures of fiscal multipliers in the 1930s may have created an incorrect consensus on the irrelevance of fiscal policy. The rehabilitation of fiscal policy is seen as a necessary step in the reinterpretation of the positive role of New Deal policies for the recovery.

Recent World Bank reports indicate that the world has seen a severe reduction in poverty, representing not just a cutback in the relative incidence of poverty but a significant decline in the total number of “poor” people. However in Latin America, the incidence of poverty has remained approximately constant, while the number of poor people has increased. Because of this it is important to understand why Latin America is not making the same strides that the rest of the world is in terms of poverty reduction. It is also necessary to understand how Latin American countries can achieve a long-term economic development to both reduce poverty and improve income inequality. Since long-term economic development is a complex phenomenon, the paper focuses on three “deep” determinants- geography, integration, and institutions. Traditionally, authors study the impact of institutions, integration and geography on per capita income using worldwide cross-section data. Conversely, this paper employs the Hausman and Taylor (1981) estimator to examine the influence of these three determinants on per capita income in Latin American countries. That longitudinal econometric method allows us to consider unobserved heterogeneity across countries and to obtain direct parameter estimates of the time invariant independent variables, like geography or some institutional measures. Our results demonstrate that not just the quality of institutions, as much of the previous literature has claimed, but also the terms of trade both have strong impacts on per capita income. Once institutions are controlled for, measures of geography have relatively weak direct effects on incomes. Similarly, once institutions are controlled for, we find that both openness to trade and appreciated real exchange rates are detrimental to growth.