Edinaldo Tebaldi

Sexual Orientation and Labour Supply

This is the first study of the effects of sexual orientation on labour supply. After discussing various reasons to expect that labour supply could differ by sexual orientation, the 2001 Current Population Survey is used to test for differences in both labour supply and labour market status (part-time, full-time, and not employed). It is found that gay men supply less labour than married and unmarried heterosexual men. With regard to women, it is found that lesbians supply more labour and are more likely to be employed full-time than either married or unmarried heterosexual women. Extensive controls are used and links to the discrimination literature are found.

Charitable Giving: Factors Influencing Giving in U.S. States

Charitable giving by households in the United States is significant. More than two thirds of households self-report giving. Private giving represents more than 2% of total gross domestic product (GDP) and is a significant factor in funding the nonprofit sector. This research note documents giving across U.S. states. It adds detailed data and analysis supporting and supplementing research that identifies personal income, capital gains, religious group affiliation, age, volunteerism, and educational attainment as the main factors affecting household giving.

Does institutional quality impact innovation? Evidence from cross-country patent grant data

This article contributes to the literature on institutions and economic growth by conducting an empirical examination of the links between innovation and institutions. Using cross-country data and the instrumental variable method, this study finds that institutional arrangements explain much of the cross country variations in patent production. Our results also imply that controlling for institutional quality, geographic related variables are not significant in explaining patent production. This article also finds evidence to support the idea that in the long run human capital accumulation is an important factor in shaping institutions.

Institutions and Poverty

Abstract This study utilises eight alternative measures of institutions and the instrumental variable method to examine the impacts of institutions on poverty. The estimates show that an economy with a robust system to control corruption, an effective government, and a stable political system will create the conditions to promote economic growth, minimise income distribution conflicts, and reduce poverty. Corruption, ineffective governments, and political instability will not only hurt income levels through market inefficiencies, but also escalate poverty incidence via increased income inequality. The results also imply that the quality of the regulatory system, rule of law, voice and accountability, and expropriation risk are inversely related to poverty but their effect on poverty is via average income rather than income distribution.

Evaluating growth theories and their empirical support: An assessment of the convergence hypothesis

Understanding the factors determining economic growth has been a major concern for economists and governing bodies for many years. The Solow growth model and the endogenous growth models are the main theories tested and used in the growth literature. This paper discusses the main contributions to economic methodology and uses Lakatoss scientific research program framework to evaluate the main theoretical contributions to growth theory. Based on Lakatoss ideas, Solovian models are both empirically and theoretically progressive. Endogenous growth models, on the other hand, are not empirically corroborated, and thus not progressive in Lakatosian sense. However, there are many reasons for rational growth economists to continue working in this field, even facing empirical refutations of an important theoretical prediction. Endogenous growth models are promising in terms of generating enormous gains that will help us better understand the mechanisms of economic growth.

The determinants of marital happiness

This study contributes to the literature by providing an empirical analysis of the determinants of marital and general happiness. The empirical analysis is conducted using US data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and an Ordered Probit Model. We also attempt to overcome the endogeneity problem between marital happiness and infidelity using a recursive bivariate probit model. One of the advances of this study is to show that the determinants of marital happiness differ between men and women in interesting ways. While infidelity has similar effects for both sexes, we find that women have a detectable preference for a traditional division of labour within the household. In addition, social class, religion, age, children and income have differential effects between men and women. In particular, for marital happiness we find diminishing returns from household income for women and satiation for men. Hence, we find that most of the existing literature has left hidden important differences in the determinants of marital happiness between men and women.

Convergence, dynamics, and geography of economic growth: The case of municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Analyses of municipal GDP growth in Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast of Brazil during 1970-96 reveal that the cross-section dispersion of per capita income increased over time. Although the analysis indicates some spatial dependence in income, it is small and has a downward trend, indicating that the growth path is only weakly determined by geographical links in Rio Grande do Norte. Moreover, dynamic analyses based on the Markov chain transition matrix show that the probability of a municipality moving from a poor income class to a rich class is very small and vice-versa. Municipalities located in the middle-income class have high mobility, but there is no strong evidence indicating direction. Public policy should include assisting the rural families by providing them education and training that increases their opportunities for employment. There should also be policies to assist poor and unskilled migrants to integrate fully into the modern economy in the urban areas through skill development training and education.

Do Entrepreneurship and High-Tech Concentration Create Jobs? Exploring the Growth in Employment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas From 1991 to 2007

Technological concentration and innovation have been identified as important forces behind growth, and entrepreneurship has been recognized as an important link between new knowledge and economic growth. This article examines the influence of entrepreneurship and technology concentration on employment growth in U.S. metropolitan areas (MSAs) over the course of the last full business cycle from 1991 to 2007. The findings are in support of the efficacy of entrepreneurship together with high technology expansion in job creation. The findings question the view that entrepreneurship in and of itself, or a high but not growing high technology concentration, can be strong contributors to employment growth. In contrast, this analysis indicates that MSAs with growing high-tech activities and above-average entrepreneurship can be expected to add jobs much faster than other MSAs. The findings suggest a need for a more targeted approach to economic development and job creation.

Two tales on human capital and knowledge spillovers: the case of the US and Brazil

This article uses a quasi-Mincerian approach to verify whether the concentration of college-educated individuals employed in the business support services sector and in the own sector contributes to increased productivity in other sectors of the economy. We estimate the returns to education using data from the 2008 US Current Population Survey (March supplement) and from the 2008 Brazilian household survey. This article finds evidence of a positive and significant human capital sectorial spillover effect, which is consistent with Acemoglu’s (1996) conjecture. The sectorial concentration of highly educated workers contributes to increase wages for all workers. This study also finds evidence of increasing returns to education in Brazil and diminishing returns to education in the United States. This finding may be explained by differences in supply of skilled workers in both economies. In addition, the short supply of highly skilled workers in Brazil likely explains the importance of the spillover effect from the business supporting sector.

Teaching Economic Growth Theory with Data.

Many instructors in subjects such as economics are frequently concerned with how to teach technical material to undergraduate students with limited mathematical backgrounds. One method that has proven successful for the authors is to connect theoretically sophisticated material with actual data. This enables students to see how the theory relates to the real world, allowing for a deeper understanding of both. The authors developed a simple and insightful empirical application of the Solow growth model that can be used in an undergraduate macroeconomics or economic growth course. The exercise uses a data set on perception of corruption levels by country to look at the relationship between corruption and the level and rate of growth of output per worker across 70 countries. The results not only allow students to see for themselves the impact that corruption has on gross domestic product per worker but also improve their understanding of the distinction between level effects and long-run growth effects.