Humberto Barreto

The entrepreneur in microeconomic theory : disappearance and explanation

1. Introduction 2. Entrepreneurial Theories in the History of Economic Thought 3. The Disappearance of the Entrepreuneur from Microeconomic Theory - A History 4. An Explanation of the Disapperance of the Entrepreneur - The Description 5. An Explanation of the Disapperance of the Entrepreneur - The Rationale 6. An Explanation of the Disappearance of the Entrepreneur - The Motivation.

An Extension and Further Validation of the Potential for Conflict Index

The Potential for Conflict Index (PCI) was developed to facilitate understanding and applicability of leisure, recreation, and human dimensions findings to managerial concerns. The PCI ranges from 0 (minimal potential for conflict) to 1 (maximum potential for conflict) and simultaneously describes a variables central tendency, dispersion, and shape using a graphic display. This article (a) describes applications of the original formulation of the PCI (PCI1) to illustrate the statistics practical utility, (b) introduces the second generation of the PCI (PCI2) and discusses enhancements incorporated in this version, (c) describes efforts to validate the PCI2, and (d) offers suggestions for continuing the empirical validation process. Programs for calculating, graphing, and comparing PCI2 values are freely available from http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerryv.

Short Communication: Least median of squares and regression through the origin

An exact algorithm is provided for finding the least median of squares (LMS) line for a bivariate regression with no intercept term. It is shown that the popular Program for RObust reGRESSion (PROGRESS) routine will not, in general, find the LMS slope when the intercept is suppressed. A Microsoft Excel workbook that provides the code in Visual Basic is made available at http://www.wabash.edu/econexcel/LMSOrigin.

Cognition, Value, and Price: A General Theory of Value

An explanation of the modern consumer economy that connects price theory and value formation

Estimation Of Output Loss From Allocative Inefficiency: Comparison Of The Soviet Union And The U.S

This paper presents two different estimates of the output loss resulting from allocative inefficiency in the Soviet Union and the United States. Surprisingly, the evidence from our examination of nine industrial sectors during the period 1960–1984 shows only small differences in measured allocative inefficiency between the United States and Soviet economies. Instead of immediately rejecting this result as the product of unreliable data and insurmountable methodological difficulties, we present a plausible explanation for the unexpectedly strong performance of Soviet-type economies in the allocation of labor and capital across sectors. If true, the finding of relatively low levels of resource misallocation implies that the source of poor economic performance in Soviet-type economies must be due to technical inefficiency, slow technological change, and/or production of the wrong mix of outputs.

Teaching Comparative Statics with Microsoft Excel

parative Statics Wizard. The CSWiz works with Excels Solver to resolve an optimization problem or equilibrium model for different values of an exogenous variable, ceteris paribus. The results are presented in a well-organized sheet where additional calculations (e.g., slope or elasticity) and graphs are easily generated. With an easily understood interface, the CSWiz add-in walks the user through a series of steps, collecting information about the objective function, endogenous variable(s), and exogenous variable(s) in the model. In addition, the user identifies the exogenous variable to be shocked, the amount of the change, and the number of shocks.

Understanding and Teaching Unequal Probability of Selection

This paper focuses on econometrics pedagogy. It demonstrates the importance of including probability weights in regression analysis using data from surveys that do not use simple random samples (SRS). We use concrete, numerical examples and simulation to show how to effectively teach this difficult material to a student audience. We relax the assumption of simple random sampling and show how unequal probability of selection can lead to biased, inconsistent OLS slope estimates. We then explain and apply probability weighted least squares, showing how weighting the observations by the reciprocal of the probability of inclusion in the sample improves performance. The exposition is non-mathematical and relies heavily on intuitive, visual displays to make the content accessible to students. This paper will enable professors to incorporate unequal probability of selection into their courses and allow students to use best practice techniques in analyzing data from complex surveys. The primary delivery vehicle is Microsoft Excel®. Two user-defined array functions, SAMPLE and LINESTW, are included in a prepared Excel workbook. We replicate all results in Stata® and offer a file for easy analysis. Documented code in Excel and Stata allows users to see each step in the sampling and probability weighted least squares algorithms.

Let's Put Demography Back into Economics: Population Pyramids in Excel

ABSTRACT The economics curriculum today does not emphasize the study of population. This needs to change immediately because we are in the midst of another demographic sea change, slamming on the brakes right after a rapid acceleration during the last half of the twentieth century. Instead of glibly tossing a dependency ratio onto a slide, this article offers an easy way to improve demographic literacy using population pyramids. Simulation is used to explain the pyramid and its dynamic properties, and then real-world data are presented. Microsoft Excels ability to act as a browser and download data with a single click of a button provides a flexible, powerful tool to explore historic, current, and predicted age-distributions of various countries. Download PopPyr.xlsm from https://archive.org/details/PopPyr.

A Microsoft Excel Version of Parrondo’s Paradox

Parrondo’s paradox is analyzed via Monte Carlo simulation and Markov chains within Microsoft Excel. The properties of individual and mixed games are clearly demonstrated. The accompanying Excel workbook, Parrondo.xls, enables the reader to replicate results, verify claims, and extend the analysis in unforeseen ways.