Ernest W. King

Broker beauty and boon: a study of physical attractiveness and its effect on real estate brokers’ income and productivity

This study examines beauty and its effect on real estate agents’ wages. We develop a model of beauty and real estate agent wages, performing empirical tests of the theory. We apply Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) methodology to a combined data set that includes multiple listing service data and a unique survey designed to measure individual agents’ beauty or attractiveness; the analysis takes two forms: transaction-level analysis and agent-level analysis. Results suggest that beauty augments more attractive agents’ wages and that more attractive agents use beauty to supplement classic production-related characteristics such as effort, intelligence and organizational skills.

Religiosity and the Political Economy of the Salem Witch Trials

Abstract Salem Village, both before and through the witchcraft trials, was a religion-based community, allowing its minister to exert a level of political–economic control over its citizens. During the height of the witchcraft episode, there was an increased demand for ministerial services (salvation) in the Salem area. Recent research has argued that the minister used the witchcraft episode to maintain and build upon personal and corporate wealth. In the years after the witchcraft trials changes were made in the business and legal environment of the surrounding New England region. By transitioning to a more neutral rules system with a larger area of consensus for the system, Salem and the rest of the New England transitioned from the 17th Century traditional, religion-based community to a more rules-based, pro-business one in the 18th Century.

Consistency and Momentum in NASCAR

Conventional wisdom in sports is that consistency is praiseworthy and that competitors should seek momentum. A small standard deviation is the simplest measure of consistency, and a positive autocorrelation is the simplest measure of momentum. With these statistical definitions, we find that consistency is predictable for Sprint Cup drivers, but momentum is not. Simulating seasons, we find consistency reduces the variability in season-ending performances and momentum increases them. Since drivers are ordinarily seeking unlikely occurrences, consistency is harmful and momentum is beneficial. Thus, consistency is obtainable but not desirable, and momentum is desirable but not obtainable in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

Helping Hispanic-America vote? Ballot technology, voter fatigue and HAVA 2002

Lott (2009) finds that nonvoted ballot rates for down-ballot races are greater than those for presidential races, and newer technologies that reduce nonvoted presidential ballots create even greater rates of nonvoting down-ballot than the same older voting technologies. The conclusion is momentous: adopting voting technologies that minimize under-voting in presidential races actually increases under-voting across all races on the same ballot. This study extends Lotts by examining the Congressional vote on the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA 2002), which established a program to provide funds to states in order to replace punch card voting systems with newer technologies. We focus on the racial component of Lotts finding, specifically that Hispanic-American voters exhibit greater rates of voter fatigue than do white voters. This study posits that, given the large Hispanic-American populations in California and Texas and their propensity to support Democrats in these states, House Democrats from these states would not view the HAVA 2002 as favourably as House Democrats from other parts of the US. Among other results presented here, the data show that support for HAVA 2002 among California and Texas House Democrats was 11.6 percentage points below that of House Democrats from the other 48 states.

Unbitten, yet undeterred: the Salem witch trials as a demand‐pull phenomenon

Purpose - In a relatively new and interesting study, a new theory was offered to explain events surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692. According to the author of that study (Carlson), the behavior of the accusers can be explained by an outbreak of encephalitis. The purpose of this paper is to offer evidence that contradicts that hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach - To these ends, this paper examines life expectancy data from the Wigglesworth 1789 life expectancy tables to reject the Carlson thesis. The current study also provides a graphical exposition of the Salem witch trials as a demand-pull phenomenon. Findings - According to the data, the age at-death minus the Wigglesworth life expectancy of 28.15 years for the witch trials accusers averages between 26.4 years, a figure that is statistically significant. This result contradicts Carlsons view that the accusers encountered encephalitis. Finally, the stylized graphical model presented here provides an additional way of viewing the witchcraft episode in 1692 Salem as a demand-pull phenomenon.