ATLANTIC ECONOMIC JOURNAL最新文献

The ticket price for the government lottery Lotto 6/49 in Canada has gone through two changes. The price increased from ($1) to ($2) (Canadian dollars) per ticket in 2004, then increased to ($3) in 2013. The rules of the game also changed with the price increases. The average sales revenue increased slightly, while the number of tickets sold decreased substantially. Using the implicit utility theory developed by Erwin Diewert and the extension to lotteries developed by others, this paper estimates the effects of ticket price changes on consumer welfare. Payout prizes of 1,983 draws were collected from Lottery Canada, while data on average household characteristics were collected from Statistics Canada. A byproduct of the estimation is a true cost-of-living index for the game. The results show that there were substantial decreases in consumer welfare and increases in the real price. While the changes in ticket prices increased revenue for the Lottery Corporation, implications suggest reverting to the ($1) ticket price regime.

This paper examines the effect of H-1B visa lottery outcomes on firm concentration and business diversity at the county level in the United States, leveraging a natural experiment. H-1B data from the Department of Labor and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services were merged with business data from the United States Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns to analyze changes in market structure. Business diversity was measured using two indices: the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index and the Shannon Diversity Index. Using a continuous difference-in-differences design, the analysis found that counties with a higher lottery win rate experienced a 0.64% decline in the Herfindahl Hirschman Index and a 0.27% increase in the Shannon Diversity Index. These findings suggest that high-skilled immigration contributes to economic diversification, supporting the broader argument that the H-1B visa plays a role beyond filling labor shortages.

This study predicts the body weight implications of coronavirus disease 2019 using eight waves of pre-pandemic Canadian Community Health Survey data (2003–2018). Since coronavirus disease 2019 affected the level and location of meal production, leisure, and work, the primary determinants of interest are food quantities, physical activity, and employment. Assuming prices are an inverse proxy of food quantities, regression results suggest that away-from-home meals are associated with a higher body mass index, meaning that lockdowns may have caused Canadians to lose weight. However, the decrease in consumption of take-out meals was smaller than for dine-in meals, and results suggest the former is far more predictive of weight gain. Consequently, substitution within the away-from-home category plausibly mitigated some of the impact of more at-home meals. Given that at-home physical activity was an incomplete substitute for away-from-home exercise during the pandemic, on average, regression results imply that Canadians gained weight. While employment is associated with weight gain among those ages 25–64, it is associated with weight loss for those 18–24. Young people were more at risk of job loss during coronavirus 2019 and their re-entry to the labour market was characterised by employment similar, in terms of physical activity, to that of older Canadians. Thus, for those 18–24, weight gain from job loss is expected to have occurred during the lockdown months and, unlike behavioural changes in eating and exercise that were primarily temporary, the post-pandemic shift to more sedentary employment will likely have a long-run impact on the body weight of young Canadians.

President Trump levied across the board tariffs of 10% and threatened some countries with rates as high as 145%. A number of estimates of the revenues that could be expected from the tariffs announced on April 2, 2025, “Liberation Day,” were made. However, no one has considered the loss of consumer surplus that may result from the rates that the President has or will impose. This paper presents estimates of that annual loss along with estimates of the associated deadweight loss using data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis. Estimates of the revenues from these tariffs made herein are in line with estimates made by the Administration. Of course, the tariff revenues correspond to a loss for consumers. The analysis presented here shows that this loss of consumer surplus per United States household could be over $5,000 annually, with the deadweight loss over $3,000. In short, these tariffs can be expected to place a huge burden on households in the United States, particularly low-income households.

Since collectibles are potentially prized artifacts, determining value is subjective by nature. The value of any collectible is difficult to measure because it is perceived based on desirability, condition, and rarity. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the determinants of market price in a sports card market, namely rookie cards from the National Basketball Association. Empirical data from 2001 to 2009 were collected from the eBay and Professional Sports Authenticator websites to disaggregate price into intrinsic value versus quantity available. After controlling for market supply, third-party grading was used to help quantify demand. Simultaneous endogeneity of both market price and quantity was tested through a two-stage least squares model. This study found that both third-party grading and player performance variables affect the value of graded National Basketball Association basketball cards. The Professional-Sports-Authenticator-10-grading dummy variable carries the largest economic impact. Holding all else constant, a card graded Gem Mint trades at roughly 339% above a grade 8 baseline. The use of third-party grading is a novel measure of demand in markets for collectibles.