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Working Paper No. 43International Comparison of Household Inequalities
This paper demonstrates the usefulness of the decomposability property of the Generalized Entropy (GE) family of measures in comparing inequality among countries. A family of Generalized Entropy measures are decomposed by family size and by the household head’s age, gender, education, and ethnicity. This is done in order to learn about components which are due […] -
Working Paper No. 42
Poverty and Choice of Marital Status
Over the last few decades in the United States, the poverty rate for female-headed families has been about five times the poverty rate for other family types. This paper addresses the question of why, in general, female-headed families are so much poorer than other families. Recognizing that individuals choose their own marital status, a self-selection […] -
Working Paper No. 41
Generalized Entropy Measures of Long-run Inequality and Stability among Male Headed Households
Short and long-run inequalities and income stability among households with male heads are measured and analyzed using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for 1969–81. The results suggest short-run inequalities are increasing over the period with fluctuations. These fluctuations contain transitory components which can be eliminated by smoothing of the data. Long-run measures are less […] -
Working Paper No. 40
A Kernel Regression of Phillips’ Data
Economists have assumed that the Phillips curve, which shows a positive (negative) relation between inflation and the output ratio (unemployment rate), may be mapped off the aggregate demand -aggregate supply apparatus. The paper shows that the Phillips curve requires that unlikely restrictions be put on the form of the aggregate supply and aggregate demand curves. […] -
Working Paper No. 39
Poverty and Household Composition
This paper has investigated the relationship between poverty and family type, as reflected in the marital status and gender of the head of the family number of factors have been identified as important determinants of poverty for all family types: education and work experience of family members, race, disability, and unemployment of the family head, […] -
Working Paper No. 38
The Mathematics of Economic Growth
Traditionally, economists have considered that mathematics acts as a universal language that lends clarity to theoretical statements. This paper proposes that mathematics does not function as a mere language. Rather, the advocacy of particular theoretical views and the choice of mathematical formalisms go hand-in-hand. The paper explores this issue by investigating the role of mathematics […] -
Working Paper No. 37
What Happened to the Corporate Profit Tax?
The radical reorientation of the federal budget during the 1980s provided generously for military expansion at the expense of pressing social needs. In the wake of such dramatic upheavals, the federal government will eventually be compelled to seek out new sources of revenue in order to compensate for the decade of neglect. But where will […] -
Working Paper No. 36
The Microeconomics of Monopoly Power
The purpose of this paper is to outline a consistent microeconomic theory of the firm based on the concept of monopoly power. It builds on the heritage of Post Keynesian authors, Robinson, Kaldor, and Kalecki, but literally extends the theory in several directions. First, monopoly power is defined formally in terms of substitution. In this […] -
Working Paper No. 35
Industrial De-diversification and Its Consequences for Productivity
Due in large part to intense takeover activity during the 1980s, the extent of American firms’ industrial diversification declined significantly during the second half of the decade. The mean number of industries in which firms operated declined 14 percent, and the fraction of single-industry firms increased 54 percent. Firms that were "born" during the period […] -
Working Paper No. 34
The Determinants of US Foreign Production
Based on an analysis of industry by region data the author finds little evidence that U.S. unions have been a significant factor in the decision of U.S. firms to produce abroad. Additional evidence suggests that U.S. foreign production may have had a negligible effect on the domestic unionization rate. Corresponding with previous research, the results […] -
Working Paper No. 33
What Remains of the Growth Controversy?
This essay contrasts the production function approach to Kaldor’s model of increasing returns which are demand-determined. In particular, the essay analyzes Kaldor’s three major empirical "laws", which were adopted by later economists, and the criticisms of these three "laws" by economists who used the Cobb-Douglas production function as a basis of analysis. In conclusion, the […] -
Working Paper No. 32
The Effects of Mergers on Prices, Costs, and Capacity Utilization in the US Air Transportation Industry, 1970–84
We analyze the effect of mergers on various aspects of airline performance during the period 1970-84, using a panel data set constructed by Caves et al. Estimates derived from a simple "matched pairs" statistical model indicate that these mergers were associated with reductions in unit cost. The average annual rate of unit cost growth of […]