Economics: Research Guide

The motivations for this case study are recent developments in the U.S. broiler chicken industry involving allegations of an illegal exercise of buyer market power by the five largest broiler chicken processors in the country in the market for broiler grow-out services. This case study introduces economic, business, and legal issues related to the alleged input price-fixing cartel of the five largest broiler processors. The case study describes the broiler processors’ conduct and presents a theoretical framework that may explain market and price effects of the alleged input price-fixing cartel. In addition, the case study introduces a comprehensive analysis of a sample broiler production a..

The war in Ukraine and the associated 2022 energy crisis has had far-reaching effects with seaborne prices for coal and gas reaching multiples (5-6x) of their historic averages. While Europe was the epicentre, countries as far away as Australia were impacted. As a major exporter of coal and gas, domestic markets are linked to seaborne prices. Consequently, forward prices for 2023 delivery in Australia’s National Electricity Market surged from ~$48 in 2021 to $156/MWh in 2022 at one point peaking at $247/MWh. Household electricity tariffs were set to in-crease by 11% in 2023 and 35% in 2024. In late-2022, the Commonwealth Government intervened by setting fuel price caps of $125/t and $..

This reports aims to assist the Sino-Australian bilateral relationship adapt to meet China’s new policies and to facilitate a smoother transition to a low carbon future. Southwest University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China and the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia held a workshop at SWUFE to develop a guide to China’s low-carbon policies and their implications for the Sino-Australian energy trade and sectors. This report results from the workshop. Chapter 3 contains the guide to China’s low emission policies and discusses market-based experiments within China’s command-and-control electricity sector. Chapter 4 discuses Australia’s poorly implemented neo..

We study the long-run effect on productivity of labor reallocation during a technology boom. Using French matched employer-employee data, we examine the large cohort of workers who enter the information and communication technology sector during the late 1990s boom. Despite starting with 5% higher wages, these workers experience lower wage growth and end up with 6% lower wages fifteen years out, relative to similar workers who started in other sectors. The long-run wage discount is concentrated on STEM occupations, consistent with a skill obsolescence mechanism. Other moments of the wage distribution are inconsistent with selectioneffects and negative demand shocks.

We propose a simplified framework for evaluating conditional predictive densities based on the probability integral transform (PIT). The approach accommodates a wide range of estimation schemes, including expanding and rolling windows, and applies to both stationary and non-stationary processes. By treating the PIT as a primitive, our approach enables researchers to apply widely used tests in settings where their validity was previously uncertain. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate favorable size and power properties of the tests. In an empirical application, we show that incorporating stochastic volatility into an unobserved components model is essential for generating correctly calibrated..

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland regularly surveys a broad cross-section of businesses in the region it serves and convenes business advisory councils in eight of the region’s major metropolitan areas. The information collected through these surveys and conversations points to trends that are not yet apparent in the data and fills gaps in researchers’ understanding of our region’s economy. The information is helpful to Federal Reserve policymakers during their discussions about the nation’s monetary policy. Anecdotes herein have been edited for length and clarity.

We investigate how length of time on welfare during childhood affects economic outcomes in early adulthood. Using intergenerationally linked mother-child pairs from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we adopt a nonlinear difference-in-differences framework using the 1990s welfare reform to estimate average and quantile treatment effects on intensity of welfare use and earnings in adulthood. The causal estimates indicate that additional childhood welfare exposure leads to more adulthood years on the broader safety net for both daughters and sons, yet this positive relationship only applies below moderate levels of adult welfare participation and reverses at greater levels of dependence. Incr..

This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. Using a Regression Discontinuity design we find that, compared to male mayors, female mayors significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This effect is driven by a reduction in emissions intensity (CO2e/GDP) in the Land Use sector, without changes in municipal economic activity. Part of the reduction in emissions in the Land Use sector is attributable to a decline in deforestation. We examine potential mechanisms that could explain the positive environmental impact of narrowly electing a female mayor over a male counterpart ..

This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. Using a Regression Discontinuity design we find that, compared to male mayors, female mayors significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This effect is driven by a reduction in emissions intensity (CO2e/GDP) in the Land Use sector, without changes in municipal economic activity. Part of the reduction in emissions in the Land Use sector is attributable to a decline in deforestation. We examine potential mechanisms that could explain the positive environmental impact of narrowly electing a female mayor over a male counterpart ..

There have been widespread public expressions of discontent throughout Latin America since the early 2010s. We exploit harmonized microdata from national household surveys covering nearly all Latin American countries to explore potential sources of discontent driven by income changes along the income distribution. We also estimate fixed-effects models that link discontent measures to changes in household incomes. Our results suggest that discontent may stem less from absolute economic performance during the 2010s than from the significant deceleration relative to the previous decade.

Due to surges in gas and electricity prices in Europe, many households will struggle to heat their homes this winter. This paper provides high-level guidance on designing a relief policy in a way that optimally trades off equity and efficiency. We argue that, contrary to conventional economic intuitions, an optimal policy may involve directly controlling prices. Because governments do not have perfect information about households' needs, price controls could improve the targeting of relief through screening out the most vulnerable by offering them discounts for reducing consumption. This could be achieved by “threshold price caps" that lower the price of all energy units below some con..

Percent Change, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Percent Change, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Percent of Fiscal Year GDP, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Percent of Fiscal Year GDP, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Percent of Fiscal Year GDP, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted

In recent years, the Indian e-waste sector has undergone a process of formalisation through the implementation of E-waste Management Rules (2016), leading to the creation of what I call recycling regime. The upper and middle classes, along with NGOs and industry actors, are frontrunners in thinking about e-waste policies. They were prompted by a twofold motive: the desire for a “world-class”, clean, and pollution-free city; and seizing business opportunities by extracting value from e-waste. Rather than replacing the State, they co-opted the State so that it would legislate to safeguard the environment, and address toxicity and health problems associated with e-waste. Recycling regime re..

Immigrants tend to have substantially worse labour market outcomes than Canadian-born workers. This paper provides an overview of immigrants in the Canadian labour market, describing the key barriers that can arise when changing cultures and labour markets and that can hinder immigrants from realizing their economic potential. It then summarizes the efforts Canada has made to alleviate these barriers and highlights some persistent challenges going forward, such as the current state of foreign credential recognition (FCR) and cautioning against the rise of the two-step immigration scheme. Finally, it offers some insights for future policy, such as a more rigorous evaluation of Canada’s..

Immigrants tend to have substantially worse labour market outcomes than Canadian-born workers. This paper provides an overview of immigrants in the Canadian labour market, describing the key barriers that can arise when changing cultures and labour markets and that can hinder immigrants from realizing their economic potential. It then summarizes the efforts Canada has made to alleviate these barriers and highlights some persistent challenges going forward, such as the current state of foreign credential recognition (FCR) and cautioning against the rise of the two-step immigration scheme. Finally, it offers some insights for future policy, such as a more rigorous evaluation of Canada’s..

When imagining how a green transition can take place, the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability is commonly viewed in two ways: As ‘green growth, ’ where the two can be mutually supporting, and as ‘degrowth, ’ where they cannot. The two are considered mutually exclusive, internally coherent, and competing eco-political paradigms. Here, we conceptually analyze the literature and map standpoints within the two positions along nine dimensions covering national institutions, world order, and scientific cosmology. We find that there are substantial disagreements within as well as agreements between green growth and degrowth. In consequence, we argue that th..

When imagining how a green transition can take place, the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability is commonly viewed in two ways: As ‘green growth, ’ where the two can be mutually supporting, and as ‘degrowth, ’ where they cannot. The two are considered mutually exclusive, internally coherent, and competing eco-political paradigms. Here, we conceptually analyze the literature and map standpoints within the two positions along nine dimensions covering national institutions, world order, and scientific cosmology. We find that there are substantial disagreements within as well as agreements between green growth and degrowth. In consequence, we argue that th..

When imagining how a green transition can take place, the relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability is commonly viewed in two ways: As ‘green growth, ’ where the two can be mutually supporting, and as ‘degrowth, ’ where they cannot. The two are considered mutually exclusive, internally coherent, and competing eco-political paradigms. Here, we conceptually analyze the literature and map standpoints within the two positions along nine dimensions covering national institutions, world order, and scientific cosmology. We find that there are substantial disagreements within as well as agreements between green growth and degrowth. In consequence, we argue that th..

The global food system provides nourishment to most of the world’s eight billion people, generates trillions of dollars of goods and services, and employs more than one billion people. On the other hand, it generates substantial dietary health costs and environmental harms. Policymakers are asking about the overall contribution of the global food system to social welfare and how much larger it might be on a sustainable path. This paper describes our efforts to answer these questions. We couple multiple domain-specific models into a large-scale integrated assessment modelling framework capable of quantifying the outcomes of different food-system scenarios for incomes, health and the environ..

The global food system provides nourishment to most of the world’s eight billion people, generates trillions of dollars of goods and services, and employs more than one billion people. On the other hand, it generates substantial dietary health costs and environmental harms. Policymakers are asking about the overall contribution of the global food system to social welfare and how much larger it might be on a sustainable path. This paper describes our efforts to answer these questions. We couple multiple domain-specific models into a large-scale integrated assessment modelling framework capable of quantifying the outcomes of different food-system scenarios for incomes, health and the environ..

The global food system provides nourishment to most of the world’s eight billion people, generates trillions of dollars of goods and services, and employs more than one billion people. On the other hand, it generates substantial dietary health costs and environmental harms. Policymakers are asking about the overall contribution of the global food system to social welfare and how much larger it might be on a sustainable path. This paper describes our efforts to answer these questions. We couple multiple domain-specific models into a large-scale integrated assessment modelling framework capable of quantifying the outcomes of different food-system scenarios for incomes, health and the environ..

The growing number of people aged 80 or older living in the community has raised concerns about meeting their care needs and about socio-economic inequalities in their care use. The study examines socio-economic status (SES) patterns in informal and formal care use, as well as unmet care needs, of people aged 80 or older living in the community in Germany and England. We propose that SES patterns in care use change with the intensity of care needs. The analyses use data from the Survey of Quality of Life and Well-Being of the Very Old in North Rhine-Westphalia and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Despite the differences in the long-term care systems (LTCSs) and cultural norms around..

Work meaning can be an important driver of labor supply. Since, by definition, work meaning is associated with benefits for others, it also has an important fairness dimension. In a theoretical model, we show that workers’ willingness to pay for work meaning can be positive or negative, depending on the relative strength of fairness concerns and meaning preferences. To examine the importance of these behavioral motives for labor supply, we conduct a survey experiment with representative samples from The Netherlands and Germany in which we vary within-subject the benefits that a job creates for others. We find that only a minority of workers are actually willing to sacrifice wage for work m..

In this paper, we explore an important but understudied driver of health inequalities: whether doctors treat patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds differently during a clinical encounter. We design an audit experiment in Tunisia, sending standardised patients with the same symptoms to 130 public and private primary care doctors for consultation. Informed by in-depth qualitative work, we vary the attitude and appearance of the patients so that they appear to be “poor” or “middle-class”. We find no evidence that doctors manage patients differently, but they respond to the socioeconomic profile of patients by prescribing fewer expensive drugs and giving out more free drugs t..