2007 Working Papers continued

The Role of Institutions of Private Property Rights and Money in Entrepreneurial Discovery, Odd J. Stalebrink, John Sacco and Gerald Bushee
Research Paper #2007-8 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 15, 56 K)
Abstract:This paper examines the influence of private property rights and monies on entrepreneurial discovery. A framework is presented and tested, which views these two institutions as key determinants of entrepreneurial discovery. Using several measures as proxies for their influence, two variables, minimum wage legislation and percentage government employment, support the idea that private property rights and monies are associated with entrepreneurial discovery as indicated by business starts, failures, patents and bankruptcy.

Farmland Preservation Programs In West Virginia: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Merits of Purchase Development Rights
Odd J. Stalebrink and Samuel E. Wilkinson / Research Paper #2007-7 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 13, 90 K)
Abstract:To prevent the loss of farmland in West Virginia, the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act (VFPA) was passed in 2000. This act gives counties and the State authority to develop and fund local farmland protection programs, which typically involve a voluntary sale by a landowner of the right to develop the farmland. Following the purchase, the purchaser (often a government or a land trust) would retire the property. Since the inception of the VFPA, 5,000 acres of farmland have been retired in West Virginia. The objective of the paper is to assess the merit of this legislation in terms of its contribution toward its objective of preserving open space. The analysis is carried out at three levels, including the state, county and operational level. The state level analysis is conducted to assess the overall risk of eroding farmland in West Virginia. Aggregate statewide data will be used to determine this risk, including data on population density and state economic growth rates. A similar assessment is conducted at the county level to determine if development rights are more common in high growth counties (i.e., a micro level assessment). Finally, an analysis is conducted at the operational level to determine the operational efficiency the programs carried out under this legislation. The focus will be on the risk of misappropriation. Issues related to transparency and accountability in the distribution of funds swill be analyzed (how are decisions made, and how is accountability achieved). It is concluded that there seem to be, at the minimum, significant inroads for critical examination of the VFPA.

Re-scaling Household Strategies: Globalization and Livelihoods in Accra, Ghana
Ann M. Oberhauser and Kobena Hanson / Research Paper #2007-6 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 18, 4058 K)
Abstract: This paper addresses livelihood diversification in the context of neo-liberal reforms through a case study of a rapidly urbanizing area in the capital city of Accra, Ghana. Existing literature on urban livelihoods suggests that adjustment policies and other neo-liberal reforms both impact and are affected by socioeconomic and material resources available to households. Our analysis seeks to examine the shifting nature of urban livelihood strategies in the face of increased integration into the global economy. This discussion will also explore how the intersections of gender, generation, and social positioning in society shape the patterns and/or outcomes of this livelihood diversification. The study provides background information and more detailed insight about how individuals, households, and communities make a living in the face of structural adjustment and neoliberal globalization in Ghana. Through a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods, the research provides in-depth analyses of people’s everyday lives as well as an overview of the broad processes affecting livelihoods in the context of globalization. The findings indicate how livelihood strategies in urban households relate to economic shifts at the national and international levels.

Global Impact of Energy Use in Middle East Oil Economies: A Modeling Framework for Analyzing Technology-Energy-Environment-Economy Chain / Hodjat Ghadimi / Research Paper #2007-5 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 21, 240 K)
Abstract: To explore choices of improving energy efficiency in energy-rich countries of the Middle East, this study lays out an integrated modeling framework for analyzing the technology-energy-environment-economy chain for the case of an energy exporting country. This framework consists of an input output process-flow model (IOPM) and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The former investigates the micro-level production processes and sectoral interdependencies to show how alternative technologies affect the energy intensity of the economy (Lin, Polenske 1998 and Polenske, McMichael 2002). The latter belongs to the optimal depletion category of CGE models that analyzes energy economy interaction; it is an optimization model that solves the inter-temporal resource depletion problem subject to the workings of a multi-sector market economy, where relative prices play a crucial role (Ghadimi 1995, 2006). Such a formulation provides a systematic framework for analyzing the technology-energy-environment-economy chain in resource-rich developing countries. The main focus of this paper is to describe the theoretical structure of the class of CGE model proposed for this modeling framework.

Conditional Logit, IIA, and Alternatives for Estimating Models of Interstate Migration, Christiadi and Brian Cushing
Research Paper #2007-4 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 28, 240 K)
Abstract: Many researchers have used the conditional logit model to examine migration. One common objection to this model is that it carries the independence from irrelevant alternatives (IIA) assumption, which may be too restrictive. This study compares the conditional logit with models that partially relax (nested logit) or fully relax (mixed logit) the IIA assumption. We will begin to learn whether assuming IIA holds poses serious estimation problems for migration modeling. Given the substantial computational cost of the more complex models, a finding that a well-specified, but computationally much simpler, conditional logit model may suffice would be useful.

Modeling Small Business Growth, Migration Behavior, Local Public Services and Household Income in Appalachia: A Spatial Simultaneous Equations Approach / Gebremeskel H. Gebremariam / Research Paper #2007-3 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 57, 288 K)
Abstract: In this paper, a spatial simultaneous growth equilibrium model of small business growth, migration behavior, median household income and local public expenditures is developed. The model is empirically estimated by Generalized Spatial Three-Stage Least Squares estimator using count-level data from Appalachia for 1990-2000. The results suggest the existence of interdependence among the growth rates of small business, gross in-and out-migration, median household income and local public services in the form of feedback simultaneities, spatial autoregressive lag and spatial cross-regressive lag simultaneities. The findings also suggest the existence of conditional convergence with respect to endogenous variables of the model. The speeds of adjustment towards the steady states, however, are very slow which would cover many generations. The growth rate of median household income with a half–life time of about 9 years is the fastest and the growth rate of gross in-migration with a half-life time of about 180 years is the slowest to adjust. The findings also indicate the clustering of counties on the bases of their growth rates of median household incomes which would require the need for development policy coordination at the regional level, a region being defined as a group of counties, or the whole Appalachia. Another key finding of the study is also that Appalachian counties with higher initial population sizes were both destinations and sources of migrants during the study period.

Agricultural Land Development in the Northeast United States: A Spatial Simultaneous Growth Equilibrium Model
Yohannes G. Hailu and Cheryl Brown / Research Paper #2007-2 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 35, 200 K)
Abstract: This study introduces a spatial simultaneous growth model to examine the impact of regional growth on agricultural land development. County level data on growth factors, land values, farmland density and a set of exogenous variables are used from 12 Northeast states. Results indicate that regional growth, accessibility, and growth in neighboring counties may negatively impact agricultural land density. Farmland protection policies did not have a significant impact in reducing agricultural land development. Based on these results, cross-county and cross-state land use policy coordination may provide better land management outcomes than a county-level focus that disregards growth and land development interdependences.

Impacts of Regional Growth on Farmland Development in the Northeast U.S.
Yohannes G. Hailu and Cheryl Brown / Research Paper #2007-1 / view paper with Acrobat Reader (pp. 30, 88 K)
Abstract: This study models the relationship between regional growth and agricultural land development in the Northeast United States. A system of simultaneous equations is estimated using three-stage-least squares on county-level data. Results indicate that regional growth puts upward pressure on agricultural land values and downward pressure on the stock of agricultural land. Farm performance and some farmland protection policies were not effective in limiting farmland development.