Ann L. Owen

Estimating dynamic panel data models: a guide for macroeconomists

Using a Monte Carlo approach, we find that the bias of LSDV for dynamic panel data models can be sizeable, even when T 5 20. A corrected LSDV estimator is the best choice overall, but practical considerations may limit its applicability. GMM is a second best solution and, for long panels, the computationally simpler Anderson- Hsiao estimator performs well.

Growth and Regional Inequality in China During the Reform Era

An arrangement that for receiving smoking residue that comprises an ash receiver body (22) that receives a cigarette with its burning end close to tube (28). A discharging device (30) that removes smoke and incinerates ashes from the receiver by wind rushing past it, and a residue storage receptacle (24) that stores, out of sight, all tobacco product residue. The invention provides a simple, convenient, inexpensive, environmentally conscious device that requires less cleaning and is less offensive to non-smoking passengers than a conventional vehicle ash receiver.

Do All Countries Follow the Same Growth Process

We estimate a finite mixture model in which countries are sorted into groups based on the similarity of the conditional distributions of their growth rates. We strongly reject the hypothesis that all countries follow a common growth process in favor of a model in which there are two classes of countries, each with its own distinct growth process. Group membership does not conform to the usual categories used to control for parameter heterogeneity such as region or income. However, we find strong evidence that one country characteristic that helps to sort countries into different regimes is the quality of institutions, specifically, the degree of law and order. Once institutional features of the economy are controlled for, we find no evidence that geographic characteristics play a role in determining the country groupings.

Entrepreneurs, Professionals, and Growth

We examine the implications for growth and development of the existence of two types of human capital: entrepreneurial and professional. Entrepreneurs accumulate human capital through a work-experience intensive process, whereas professionals’ human capital accumulation is education-intensive. Moreover, the return to entrepreneurship is uncertain. We show how skill-biased technological progress leads to changes in the composition of aggregate human capital; as technology improves, individuals devote less time to the accumulation of human capital through work experience and more to the accumulation of human capital through professional training. Thus, our model explains why entrepreneurs play a relatively more important role in intermediate-income countries and professionals are relatively more abundant in richer economies. It also shows that those countries that initially have too little of either entrepreneurial or professional human capital may end up in a development trap.

Is Trade Good for Your Health

A detector for bremsstrahlung-isochromatic-spectroscopy (BIS) utilizing a gas-filled metal cylinder forming an outer electrode and a wire extending axially in the cylinder has an inner electrode. The window for the UV photons is constituted of MgF2 while the counting gas is a mixture of dimethylether and an inert gas and in which the pressure of the dimethylether is 0.2 to 0.5 mbar.

Culture and Public Goods: The Case of Religion and the Voluntary Provision of Environmental Quality

Using data from approximately 13,000 individuals in 14 different OECD regions, we find that culture, as expressed by religious beliefs, generates public goods contributions. We characterize individuals into systems of religious beliefs using latent class analysis and find that some types of beliefs influence pro-environment behaviors and attitudes, even after controlling for religious affiliation, political views and activism, and socio-demographic characteristics. We find a role for beliefs that is separate from social capital accumulated via membership in church groups and church attendance. Finally, we make a methodological contribution by showing that the use of latent class analysis to describe systems of beliefs yields more meaningful interpretations than the standard approach of dummy variables for specific beliefs.

Intergenerational earnings mobility, inequality and growth

We examine a model in which per capita income, inequality, intergenerational mobility, and returns to education are all determined endogenously. Individuals earn wages depending on their ability, which is a random variable. They purchase an education with transfers received from their parents, and are subject to liquidity constraints. In the model, multiple steady state equilibria are possible: countries with identical tastes and technologies can reach differing rates of mobility, inequality, and per capita income. Equilibria with higher levels of output also have lower inequality, higher mobility, and more efficient distribution of education.

Trust, Cooperation, and Implementation of Sustainability Programs: The Case of Local Agenda 21

This paper provides evidence of the role of trust in ensuring desirable economic outcomes. We examine the implementation of Local Agenda 21, a regional sustainability initiative that requires the coordination of diverse decision-makers, in a sample of approximately 66 developing and industrialized countries. We use a game theoretic framework to motivate the empirical model. We find that higher levels of citizen trust are associated with more communities in a country adopting a program that requires coordination of multiple stakeholders. We also find that more programs are adopted when the countrys institutional structure is likely to reduce the cost of coordination and when the benefits of the program, measured by environmental quality, would be expected to be greater.

Reconsidering Social Capital: A Latent Class Approach

Social capital has proven to be a useful concept, but has not been well-measured in the economics literature. We motivate and demonstrate the application of latent class models to measure social capital, based on the idea that social capital is an unobservable multidimensional construct. We explain and show the construction of latent classes that measure an individual’s social capital using data from the General Social Survey. Our method generates meaningfully different conclusions about the accumulation of social capital than those obtained by previous research. We present evidence that higher income influences social capital accumulation because of a higher opportunity cost of time. We also find evidence of complementarities in social capital accumulation within an individual’s peer group. Finally, we show that community heterogeneity influences the likelihood that individuals adhere to certain social norms independent of their propensity to participate in voluntary organizations.

Public Goods Provision and Well-Being: Empirical Evidence Consistent with the Warm Glow Theory

Abstract Using a broad multi-country sample, we find that individuals who contribute to the public good of environmental protection report higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness. We show that this result is robust to the use of an instrumental variables technique and provide several pieces of evidence that this positive relationship between contributions and well-being is due to a warm-glow motive. First, well-being does not increase proportionally with contributions, consistent with the warm-glow model that it is the act of giving that generates utility. Second, individuals who think of themselves as socially responsible derive greater satisfaction from their contribution to environmental protection as would be the case if the contribution reinforces a favorable self image. Interestingly, conforming to a social norm may be a motivation for some individuals, but the presence of this motive depends on individual attitudes towards social responsibility. Among those who express the highest level of social responsibility, conforming to the norm makes them less satisfied with life. However, individuals with a moderate level of social responsibility do report higher levels of happiness when their public goods contributions conform to societal norms.