We study how institutions influence start-up characteristics of firms and how these characteristics predict entrants' growth trajectories over the early firm life cycle. Using census data from India, ...we find that greater financial development is associated with higher entry rates and smaller-sized entrants. Following entry, however, large and small entrants grow at the same rates across states with different institutions or industries with differing reliance on external finance. The impact of access to finance is greater on start-up size and entry rates than on the subsequent growth of firms during the early life cycle.
Does the involvement of foreign third parties in the management of a country in the wake of a civil war have positive or negative economic effects? The approaches used to address this question in the ...social and political science literature are mostly qualitative and not sufficiently supported by quantitative evidence. This paper uses a quantitative analysis of the postconflict economic performance of Kosovo and East Timor under international administrations sponsored by the United Nations in the late 1990s. By using the synthetic control impact evaluation technique, we compute suitable counterfactual scenarios for each country to estimate the intervention effects of interest. We find a robust negative effect from the intervention on Kosovo, whereas the effect on East Timor is positive.
We use German panel data to examine how fixed-term employment affects utility derived from working. In contrast to previous research, we present evidence that working on a temporary contract lowers ...current job satisfaction. We discover that the honeymoon effect of a new job must be considered to reveal this result. Job insecurity appears to be the source of dissatisfaction associated with fixed-term employment. We also consider regional unemployment and perceived employment security to shed light on the basic notion of flexicurity policies. Finally, we apply a life course perspective on employment careers to discuss the overall role of temporary employment for individual job satisfaction.
Observable covariates are useful for predicting default, but several studies question their value for explaining credit spreads. We introduce a discrete-time no-arbitrage model with observable ...covariates, which allows for a closed-form solution for the value of credit default swaps (CDS). The default intensity is a quadratic function of the covariates, specified such that it is always positive. The model yields economically plausible results in terms of fit, the economic impact of the covariates, and the prices of risk. Risk premiums are large and account for a smaller percentage of spreads for firms with lower credit quality. Macroeconomic and firm-specific information can explain most of the variation in CDS spreads over time and across firms, even with a parsimonious specification. These findings resolve the existing disconnect in the literature regarding the value of observable covariates for credit risk pricing and default prediction.
The Gender Gap in Economics Degrees Emerson, Tisha L. N.; McGoldrick, KimMarie; Siegfried, John J.
Southern economic journal,
01/2018, Letnik:
84, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Using a panel of 159 institutions over 10 years, we investigate the role model effect of women faculty and quantitative requirements on the female proportion of undergraduate economics majors. We ...find no evidence that female faculty attract female students. Calculus, however, does matter. A one semester calculus requirement is associated with more female majors at institutions offering business degrees and liberal arts colleges. A second semester calculus requirement deters women from majoring in economics at Ph.D.–granting universities, but is associated with more female majors at liberal arts colleges. Econometrics requirements are unrelated to the gender gap in economics majors.
Excessive levels of lead in homes pose health hazards, but exposure is discerned ex post. As a precaution, local jurisdictions assign risk levels to neighborhoods based on contamination potential and ...require blood lead testing, leading to decreased desirability. This paper examines capitalization effects of lead risk disclosure from such an information-based policy, exploiting spatially varying implementation of a childhood lead reduction program identifying price effects via a triple-difference border discontinuity model. Information about lead risks lowers high-risk house prices by 7.7% while shifting neighborhood composition, suggesting the program altered risk perceptions, creating unintended consequences in the market.
Over a million people in the United States are employed in private security and law enforcement, yet very little is known about the effects of private police on crime. The current study examines the ...relationship between a privately funded university police force and crime in a large US city. Following an expansion of the jurisdictional boundary of the private police force, we see no short-term change in crime. However, using a geographic regression discontinuity approach, we find large impacts of private police on public safety, with violent crime in particular decreasing. These contradictory results appear to be a consequence of a delayed effect of private police on crime.
Abstract
This paper studies the empirical relationship between common ownership and interlocking directorships. I estimate a gravity equation model for the probability that a pair of firms will have ...a common director, as a function of the geographic distance between the firms, their sizes, and a set of covariates, including measures of common ownership between the firms. The main finding is that, robustly across several measures of common ownership, firm pairs with higher levels of common ownership are associated with a higher likelihood of sharing directors. Also, their distance in the network of directors is smaller on average. Consistent with the “gravity” interpretation, larger firms are more likely to share directors, and firms that are geographically more distant are less likely to share directors.
Hurricane Andrew revealed inadequate construction practices were utilized in Florida for decades. In response, Florida adopted a new statewide code—the 2001 Florida Building Code (FBC)—which became ...one of the strictest in the nation. We use 10 years of paid insured loss data to show that the FBC reduced windstorm losses by up to 72%, then use our results to conduct a benefit-cost analysis (BCA). The FBC passes the BCA by a margin of $6 in full reduced loss to $1 of added cost, with a payback period of approximately 8 years.
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