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Working Paper
Is the U.S. economy characterized by endogenous growth?: a time-series test of two stochastic growth models
In this paper, I conduct a structural change test that casts doubt on the validity of exogenous growth assumptions. Cross-sectional empirical support for non-stochastic convergence in the neoclassical growth model is the reason that the literature rejects endogenous growth. But, in a stochastic world, both neoclassical and endogenous growth models exhibit disequilibrium adjustment dynamics, thus convergence is not sufficient to reject endogenous growth. After testing for cointegration in regional per-capita incomes, I extract a single common trend to control for non-stationarity in ...
Journal Article
Is New England underinvesting in public infrastructure?
Journal Article
How will New Hampshire solve its school funding problem? part 1 of 3
In December 1997, the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided that the local property tax used to fund the states K-12 public education was set at $6.60 per $1,000 of a propertys value. On the surface, this measure would appear to meet the stipulation of equal and proportionate, since a uniform tax rate is applied equally to all property owners across the state. However, on January 17, 2001, Rockingham Superior Court Judge Richard E. Galway ruled in Sirrell, et al. v. State of New Hampshire, et al. that the new statewide property tax was also unconstitutional. A divided state Supreme Court ...
Journal Article
Will the current boom encourage states to spend too much?
Working Paper
Are taste and technology parameters stable? a test of \"deep\" parameter stability in real business cycle models of the U.S. economy
Lucas (1976) criticized Keynesian models because of parametric instability. For many economists, the "Lucas critique" provided a reason to replace the Keynesian approach with equilibrium models of the business cycle. One example of the equilibrium approach is the Real Business Cycle (RBC) model. However, RBC models have not been subjected to the same scrutiny of tests of parameter instability. We present a prototypical RBC model and subject it to structural change tests. Our results document evidence of extensive parameter instability. Thus, the "Lucas critique" is applicable and we ...
Journal Article
How will New Hampshire solve its school funding problem? part 2 of 3
Ever since the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided in Claremont II that the local property tax used to fund K-12 public education was unconstitutional, policymakers have struggled to find a permanent solution to the school finance problem. In 1999, the legislature enacted an interim funding plan centered around a temporary statewide property tax. The price tag of providing New Hampshire students with an "adequate" education was set at $825 million in spending, but the funding plan raised revenues of only about $725 million. Thus, lawmakers were aware that they would have to revisit the ...
Journal Article
Will the tobacco settlement payments go up in smoke?
In December 1995, Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger filed a civil suit against the tobacco industry. The Commonwealths lawsuit charged that the tobacco industry had conducted research into the addictive properties of nicotine and used this research to willfully manipulate the nicotine level of cigarettes in order to addict smokers and increase cigarette sales. The lawsuit asked the court for damages to compensate the Commonwealth for expenditures paid to treat smoking-related illnesses. At the time this litigation was filed, Massachusetts was the fifth state in the nation to ...
Journal Article
How will future aid cuts affect New England's public sector?