Robert N. Horn

The Effects of Labor Markets and Income Inequality on Crime: Evidence from Panel Data

We estimate a model of crime using panel data for the U.S. We focus on the role of labor markets, income distribution, and demographics on property crime. We find strong evidence that favorable labor market conditions have a significant negative effect on property crime. We further test this result using sector-specific wages and find that crime is most elastic with respect to wages in sectors that use low-skilled labor. We also find that income inequality has no significant effect on crime and that the proportion of young males in the population has a significant positive effect on crime.

Life among the Subecon: The Pon Farr and Koon Ut Kal If Ee Rituals

Since the publication of Axel Leijonhufvuds classic “Life among the Econ,” anthropological interest in the species Econ has waned. Unfortunately, one of the omissions from his analysis was a study of life among the tribes to which the unsuccessful grads were exiled. This article looks at the ritual of expulsion from the perspective of the outcast tribes (subecon) into which the new outcasts seek asylum. The ritual of accepting these new subecon into a new tribe spurs a long and mysterious process in which the basic tenet of the Econ rationality is replaced with what can only be likened to the pon farr and koon ut kal if ee of the Vulcan mating ritual. JEL Classification: A11, A13

Self-Flagellation and Utility Maximization

Abstract Economic models explain human behavior only to the degree that the underlying assumptions of the model are fulfilled. Consumer theory of rational choice has been applied to a wide array of situations. This paper examines the results of the model when a consumer considers bundles of goods, some of which may affect her self image. Under these conditions, wrong decisions are not easily corrected, but can more easily be reversed if the individual is able to forgive herself for having made the wrong decision.

No Relief in Sight

Much has been written about how the Labor Departments unemployment rate understates the real level of joblessness. It does not include discouraged workers or those in part-time jobs who would prefer to have full-time work, and it also does not account for the changes in the age and gender of the potential workforce. If these are added in, the unemployment rate is even higher.

Keynesian Comparative Economics The Iconoclastic Vision of Lynn Turgeon (1920-1999)

The authors of this article review the late E. Lynn Turgeons contributions to economics, including his studies of the Soviet economy, use of qualitative and demographic analyses, his Keynesian critique of U.S. economic performance, and his critique of international financial markets. Turgeons comparative approach led to unique insights about the challenges that confronted planned economies, including the differential impact of military spending on the demand-constrained economy of the United States and the supply-constrained economy of the Soviet Union. His study of the Soviet and planned economies also informed his analysis of the U.S. economy and international adjustment mechanisms. Turgeon argued for expansionary fiscal and neutral monetary policies, prudential restrictions on portfolio capital flows, and increased foreign direct investment and foreign assistance to shift the burdens of adjustment from deficit to surplus countries. Throughout his career, Turgeon measured economic policies by their effects on real people, including impacts on employment, the environment, living standards, and distributions of income and wealth.