88 research outputs found
Minimum Wage Increases in a Soft U.S. Economy
No full textDo apparently large minimum wage increases in an environment of straightened economic circumstances produce clearer evidence of disemployment effects than is typically reported in the new economics of the minimum wage? The present paper augments the sparse literature covering the very latest increases in the U.S. minimum wage, using three different data sets and the principal estimation strategies for handling geographically-disparate trends. Despite the seemingly more favorable milieu for identifying displacement effects, and although our treatment calls into question one well-received estimation strategy, our preferred specification generally fails to support a finding of negative employment effects. That is to say, minimum-wage workers are apparently concentrated in sectors of the economy for which the labor demand response to statutory wage hikes is minimal. Popular concern with a “recessionary multiplier” thus seems overdone.Minimum wages, Disemployment, Earnings, Low-wage sectors, Geographically-disparate employment trends, Recession
Minimum Wage Increases Under Straightened Circumstances
No full textDo apparently large minimum wage increases in an environment of recession produce clearer evidence of disemployment effects than is typically observed in the new minimum wage literature? This paper augments the sparse literature on the most recent increases in the U.S. minimum wage, using three different data sets and the two main estimation strategies for handling geographically-disparate trends. The evidence is generally unsupportive of negative employment effects, still less of a 'recessionary multiplier.' Minimum wage workers seem to be concentrated in sectors of the economy for which the labor demand response to wage mandates is minimal.minimum wages, disemployment, earnings, low-wage sectors, geographically-disparate employment trends, recession
The Political Economy of State Government Subsidy Adoption: The Case of Ethanol
No full textIn this paper we examine the factors that determine the adoption of state economic development incentives in the ethanol industry. We compile data on the implementation dates for subsidies/tax credits for all states for years 1984-2007, a period that covers the complete emergence of the biofuel industry in the United States and that was characterized by the passage of a numerous of state-level subsidies and tax breaks aimed at increasing ethanol production. Using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, we find that states are more likely to adopt ethanol subsidies when corn production is high, when corn prices are low and gasoline prices are high, when a state is affiliated with the National Corn Growers Association, when a check-off is present, and when state government is under the control of Democrats.ethanol, subsidies, political economy, rent seeking, proportional hazard estimation
Effect of Text Messaging Bans on Fatal Accidents
No full textDo text messaging bans make roads safer? To determine the answer to this question, a multivariate regression model was developed to determine how fatal accidents by state were affected by the following variables: texting bans, cell phone bans, primary versus secondary enforcement, time since bans were passed, vehicle miles traveled per state, gas and beer tax per state, percentage of population under 25 years of age, population density, and unemployment rate. The results indicate that text messaging bans do decrease fatal accidents and also decrease the danger of driving as the vehicle miles driven increases
Atypical Work: Who Gets It, and Where Does It Lead? Some U.S. Evidence Using the NLSY79
No full textAtypical work arrangements have long been criticized as offering more precarious and lower paid work than regular open-ended employment. In an important paper published in this journal, Booth et al. (2002) were among the first to recognize that notwithstanding their potential deficiencies, such jobs also functioned as a stepping stone to permanent work. This conclusion proved prescient and has received increasing support in Europe. In the present note, we provide a parallel analysis to Booth et al. for the United States – somewhat of a missing link in the evolving empirical literature – and obtain not dissimilar similar findings for the category of temporary workers as do they for fixed-term contract workers.
The Effect of Casinos on Local Labor Markets: A County Level Analysis
No full textThe economic outcomes surrounding the dramatic spread of “Las Vegas” style casinos in the United States has become a point of great interest and inquiry both politically and academically. Prior research has tended to focus on regional studies and provided uniform conclusions regardless of differences in the nature of the community. Moreover, much of the previous empirical work fails to account for local level trends during estimation. By using a comprehensive data set on employment and earnings from across the US, and by including county-specific trends, this research hopes to alleviate these earlier concerns, as well as help reconcile differences in the early literature surrounding casino effects on related industrial sectors. Basic findings suggest that counties experience an increase in employment after a casino opens, but there seems to be no measurable effect on average earnings. More detailed analysis reveals that the effect on industries related to casinos is somewhat mixed, but in general mildly positive, as casinos provide a positive employment and earnings spillovers into the surrounding local community. Intertemporal estimation suggests that the casino effect changes over time, but also finds that time effects vary across sectors. Estimates of how overall effects vary across different population sizes find that employment growth is inversely related to county population. Finally, additional estimation finds little impact on employment levels in neighboring counties, although there are some small effects in certain industries.I would like to thank Scott Adams, Scott Drewianka, John Heywood, James Peoples, McKinley Blackburn, Keith Bender, Don Siegel, Gary Anders, Doug Walker, and Mike Wentz for their helpful suggestions. I would also thank David Mustard and Earl Grinols for their help with the data. Dain Johnson provided valuable research assistance
The Effect of Casinos on Local Labor Markets: A County Level Analysis
No full textThe economic outcomes surrounding the dramatic spread of “Las Vegas” style casinos in the United States has become a point of great interest and inquiry both politically and academically. Prior research has tended to focus on regional studies and provided uniform conclusions regardless of differences in the nature of the community. Moreover, much of the previous empirical work fails to account for local level trends during estimation. By using a comprehensive data set on employment and earnings from across the US, and by including county-specific trends, this research hopes to alleviate these earlier concerns, as well as help reconcile differences in the early literature surrounding casino effects on related industrial sectors. Basic findings suggest that counties experience an increase in employment after a casino opens, but there seems to be no measurable effect on average earnings. More detailed analysis reveals that the effect on industries related to casinos is somewhat mixed, but in general mildly positive, as casinos provide a positive employment and earnings spillovers into the surrounding local community. Intertemporal estimation suggests that the casino effect changes over time, but also finds that time effects vary across sectors. Estimates of how overall effects vary across different population sizes find that employment growth is inversely related to county population. Finally, additional estimation finds little impact on employment levels in neighboring counties, although there are some small effects in certain industries.
Drunk driving after the passage of smoking bans in bars
No full textUsing geographic variation in local and state smoke-free bar laws in the US, we observe an increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol following bans on smoking in bars that is not observed in places without bans. Although an increased accident risk might seem surprising at first, two strands of literature on consumer behavior suggest potential explanations -- smokers driving longer distances to a bordering jurisdiction that allows smoking in bars and smokers driving longer distances within their jurisdiction to bars that still allow smoking, perhaps through non-compliance or outdoor seating. We find evidence consistent with both explanations. The increased miles driven by drivers wishing to smoke and drink offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home following a ban, resulting in increased alcohol-related accidents. This result proves durable, as we subject it to an extensive battery of robustness checks.
Decomposing the Relationship between Macroeconomic Conditions and Fatal Car Crashes during the Great Recession: Alcohol- and Non-Alcohol-Related Accidents
No full textAbstract
This paper investigates to what extent and in what ways conditions related to the 2007-2008 recession reduced fatal crashes. It hypothesizes that the reduction in fatal automobile accidents operates through both the quantity of driving and changes in behaviors associated with driving. Using state-by-quarter fixed effects models, the study shows that unemployment rate increases significantly reduce fatal accidents. Decomposing the fatal accident rate into accidents per mile traveled and miles traveled per capita reveals that higher unemployment is significantly associated with fewer accidents per mile, and also reveals that fatal accidents associated with alcohol are more responsive to unemployment rate changes than are accidents overall. These results suggest that the recession’s “lost” fatal accidents occurred in areas hit harder by the recession and were in the form of fewer alcohol-related accidents per mile traveled rather than fewer miles traveled overall.</jats:p
THE IMPACT OF STOCK MARKET FLUCTUATIONS ON THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN
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