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on Urban and Real Estate Economics |
| By: | Yoshiro Miwa (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo); Matthew Chambers (Department of Economics, Towson University); Carlos Garriga (Department of Economics, Florida State University); Don E. Schlagenhauf (Department of Economics, Florida State University) |
| Abstract: | After years of being relatively constant, the homeownership rate -a target for housing policy- has increased since 1995. This paper attempts to understand why the homeownership rate has been increasing by constructing a quantitative model and then using this model to evaluate explanations that have been offered to account for this increase. We find that the increase in the homeownership can be explained by innovations in the mortgage market that allows households to take a positive housing investment position with a much smaller downpayment. |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2004cf312&r=ure |
| By: | Neville N. Jiang (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University); Rui Zhao (University of Illinois) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the allocation of skilled and unskilled workers with different human capital levels between locations: city and rural area. In the city, activities are congregated thus there is externality in production. In rural area production is spread out and no externality exists. Given a distribution of workers with various human capital levels in an economy, the social optimal allocation gathers workers with higher human capital in each category in the city, which all competitive equilibria fail to achieve, As a result, any policies that keep workers with low human capital out of the city increase total output. We further demonstrate that in some cases it is necessary to impose direct and selective barrier on the rural-urban migration. However, such policy maintains the city premium for unskilled labor. Great incentives exist for illegal rural-urban labor flow. |
| Keywords: | city externalities, human capital distribution, migration |
| JEL: | H23 R13 |
| Date: | 2003–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:0325&r=ure |
| By: | Alexander Ludwig and Torsten Sløk (Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between stock prices, house prices and consumption using data for 16 OECD countries. The panel data analysis suggests that the long-run responsiveness of consumption to permanent changes in stock prices is higher for countries with a market-based financial system than for countries with a bank-based financial system. Splitting the sample into the 1980s and 1990s further shows an increased sensitivity in the 1990's of consumption to permanent changes in stock prices for both countries with bank-based financial systems as well as countries with market-based financial systems. The relationship between changes in consumption and changes in house prices is positive for the second sample period across all specifications and financial systems. |
| Date: | 2004–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrs:meawpa:0444&r=ure |
| By: | Norberg-Schönfeldt, Magdalena (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, data from Statistics Sweden about students entering upper secondary school (10th grade) in 1994 and graduating in 1996 or 1997, along with socioeconomic characteristics from the 1990 census, are used to explore the relationship between the market work by mothers and fathers in Sweden and their children’s educational achievement, measured as Grade Point Average. The results show, in line with previous research, that there is a positive relationship between parental income and child GPA. When it comes to the number of hours of work that the parents perform in the labour market, the results differ between mothers and fathers. If the mother works less then full time, preferably even less then halftime, it has positive effects on the child’s grades. There are no significant effects of the father’s hours of work, as long as he works a positive amount of time. The lack of effects from the father’s hours of work may, however, be due to lack of variation in data. |
| Keywords: | Time allocation; labour-force participation; educational achievements; child GPA |
| JEL: | D10 I20 J22 |
| Date: | 2004–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0645&r=ure |
| By: | Jahn, Olaf; Möhring, Rolf; Schulz, Andreas; Stier Moses, Nicolás |
| Abstract: | The design of route-guidance systems faces a well-known dilemma. The approach that theoretically yields the system-optimal traffic pattern may discriminate against some users, for the sake of favoring others. Proposed alternate models, however, do not directly address the system perspective and may result in inferior performance. We propose a novel model and corresponding algorithms to resolve this dilemma. We present computational results on real-world instances and compare the new approach with the well-established traffic assignment model. The quintessence is that system-optimal routing of traffic flow with explicit integration of user constraints leads to a better performance than the user equilibrium while simultaneously guaranteeing a superior fairness compared to the pure system optimum. |
| Keywords: | Intelligent Transportation Systems, Route Guidance, Traffic Flow, System Optimum, User Equilibrium, Multicommodity Flow, Constrained Shortest Path, |
| Date: | 2004–12–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mit:sloanp:7380&r=ure |
| By: | William J. Collins (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the incentives for market concentration of (online and traditional) auction houses. Would sellers and buyers be better off if two separate auction houses merged? We suppose that each auction house has a separate clientele of sellers and buyers. Sellers value their (identical) units at 0, while buyers have independent private values. Each auction house uses an ascending auction or by revenue equivalence any auction mechanism that allocates units efficiently among those buyers at that auction house. If no buyers are lost upon the merger, we find that efficiency gains increase, but that the expected sellers' revenue increases by more than the efficiency gains, leaving the buyers worse off. This result extends Bulow and Klemperer's (1996) insight that the competition of an additional bidder increases auction revenue by more than the ability to commit to an optimal auction with one less bidder; in our model, the extra competition created by having all of the bidders bid against each other after the merger more than offsets any supply effects. With an example, we show that if buyers choose whether to participate or not, it is possible upon a merger that so many buyers are lost, the sellers are actually worse off. We conclude that without transfers from sellers to buyers, the merger may or may not be profitable for sellers. |
| Keywords: | Fair housing, residential segregation |
| JEL: | J70 R0 |
| Date: | 2003–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:0304&r=ure |
| By: | Bernard Fortin; Guy Lacroix; Marie-Claire Villeval |
| Abstract: | The paper extends the standard tax evasion model by allowing for social interactions. In Manski's (1993) nomenclature, our model takes into account social conformity effects (i.e., endogenous interactions), fairness effects (i.e., exogenous interactions) and sorting effects (i.e., correlated effects). Our model is tested using experimental data. Participants must decide how much income to report given their tax rate and audit probability, and given those faced by the other members of their group as well as their mean reported income. The estimation is based on a two-limit simultaneous tobit with fixed group effects. A unique social equilibrium exists when the model satisfies coherency conditions. In line with Brock and Durlauf (2001b), the intrinsic nonlinearity between individual and group responses is sufficient to identify the model without imposing any exclusion restrictions. Our results are consistent with fairness effects but reject social conformity and correlated effects. |
| Keywords: | Social interactions, tax evasion, simultaneous tobit, laboratory experiments |
| JEL: | H26 D63 C24 C92 Z13 |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0432&r=ure |
| By: | William J. Collins (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University); Robert A. Margo (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University) |
| Abstract: | African-Americans entered the post-Civil War era with extremely low levels of exposure to schooling. Relying primarily on micro-level census data, we describe racial differences in literacy rates, school attendance, years of educational attainment, age-in-grade distributions, spending per pupil, and returns to literacy since emancipation, with emphasis on the pre-1960 period. The overwhelming theme is one of educational convergence, despite overt discrimination for much of the period studied, and subject to several qualifications. We interpret this theme in light of a simple model of educational attainment. |
| Keywords: | Brown, education, Plessy |
| JEL: | I2 J7 N3 |
| Date: | 2003–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:van:wpaper:0313&r=ure |
| By: | Ergun, Özlem; Orlin, James |
| Abstract: | We provide two different neighborhood construction techniques for creating exponentially large neighborhoods that are searchable in polynomial time using dynamic programming. We illustrate both of these approaches on very large scale neighborhood search techniques for the traveling salesman problem. Our approaches are intended both to unify previously known results as well as to offer schemas for generating additional exponential neighborhoods that are searchable in polynomial time. The first approach is to define the neighborhood recursively. In this approach, the dynamic programming recursion is a natural consequence of the recursion that defines the neighborhood. In particular, we show how to create the pyramidal tour neighborhood, the twisted sequences neighborhood, and dynasearch neighborhoods using this approach. In the second approach, we consider the standard dynamic program to solve the TSP. We then obtain exponentially large neighborhoods by selecting a polynomially bounded number of states, and restricting the dynamic program to those states only. We show how the Balas and Simonetti neighborhood and the insertion dynasearch neighborhood can be viewed in this manner. We also show that one of the dynasearch neighborhoods can be derived directly from the 2-exchange neighborhood using this approach. |
| Keywords: | dynamic programming, neighborhood construction techniques, |
| Date: | 2004–12–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mit:sloanp:7387&r=ure |
| By: | Thomas J. Miceli (University of Connecticut); C. F. Sirmans (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | Developers attempting land assembly often face a potential holdout problem that raises the cost of development. To minimize this extra cost, developers will prefer land whose ownership is less dispersed. This creates a bias toward development at the urban fringe where average lot sizes are larger, resulting in urban sprawl. This paper examines the link between the holdout problem and urban sprawl and discusses possible remedies. |
| Keywords: | Urban sprawl, holdout problem, urban renewal, public use |
| JEL: | K11 R14 R52 |
| Date: | 2004–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uct:uconnp:2004-38&r=ure |
| By: | Komlos, John; Lauderdale, Benjamin E. |
| Abstract: | Aiming to further explore possible underlying causes for the recent stagnation in American heights, this paper describes the result of analysis of the commercial U.S. Sizing Survey. Using zip codes available in the data set, we consider geographic correlates of height such as local poverty rate, median income, and population density. We find that after adjusting for variables known to influence height such as income and education, population density is negatively correlated with height among white men, but only marginally among white women. Similar analysis of Body Mass Index (BMI) also shows a negative correlation with population density after adjustment for income, education, and age for both sexes. Local economic conditions as measured by median income, unemployment rate or poverty rate do not have a strong correlation with height or weight after adjusting for individual income and education. |
| JEL: | J15 I31 I10 D60 |
| Date: | 2004–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:466&r=ure |