Ingar Haaland, Christopher Roth, Johannes Wohlfart
Information provision experiments allow researchers to test economic theories and answer policy-relevant questions by varying the information set available to respondents. We survey the emerging literature using information provision experiments in economics and discuss applications in macroeconomics, finance, political economy, public economics, labor economics, and health economics. We also discuss design considerations and provide best-practice recommendations on how to (i) measure beliefs; (ii) design the information intervention; (iii) measure belief updating; (iv) deal with potential confounds, such as experimenter demand effects; and (v) recruit respondents using online panels. We finally discuss typical effect sizes and provide sample size recommendations.(JEL C90, D83, D91)
{"title":"Designing Information Provision Experiments","authors":"Ingar Haaland, Christopher Roth, Johannes Wohlfart","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211658","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211658","url":null,"abstract":"Information provision experiments allow researchers to test economic theories and answer policy-relevant questions by varying the information set available to respondents. We survey the emerging literature using information provision experiments in economics and discuss applications in macroeconomics, finance, political economy, public economics, labor economics, and health economics. We also discuss design considerations and provide best-practice recommendations on how to (i) measure beliefs; (ii) design the information intervention; (iii) measure belief updating; (iv) deal with potential confounds, such as experimenter demand effects; and (v) recruit respondents using online panels. We finally discuss typical effect sizes and provide sample size recommendations.(JEL C90, D83, D91)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135479571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chris Berg of RMIT University reviews “Voting over a Distributed Ledger: An Interdisciplinary Perspective” by Amrita Dhillon, Grammateia Kotsialou, Peter McBurney, and Luke Riley. The EconLit abstract of this book begins: “Considers the potential of a blockchain-based infrastructure for a decentralized online voting platform, exploring how electronic voting can improve accessibility and how blockchain can potentially overcome problems with centralized electronic voting systems.”
{"title":"Book Review: Voting over a Distributed Ledger: An Interdisciplinary Perspective","authors":"C. Berg","doi":"10.1257/jel.61.1.295.r1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.61.1.295.r1","url":null,"abstract":"Chris Berg of RMIT University reviews “Voting over a Distributed Ledger: An Interdisciplinary Perspective” by Amrita Dhillon, Grammateia Kotsialou, Peter McBurney, and Luke Riley. The EconLit abstract of this book begins: “Considers the potential of a blockchain-based infrastructure for a decentralized online voting platform, exploring how electronic voting can improve accessibility and how blockchain can potentially overcome problems with centralized electronic voting systems.”","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45355032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Editor's Note Our policy is to annotate all English-language books on economics and related subjects that are sent to us. A very small number of foreign-language books are called to our attention and annotated by our consulting editors or others. Our staff does not monitor and order books published; therefore, if an annotation of a book does not appear six months after the publication date, please write to us or the publisher concerning the book.
{"title":"Annotated Listing of New Books","authors":"","doi":"10.1257/jel.61.1.298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.61.1.298","url":null,"abstract":"Editor's Note Our policy is to annotate all English-language books on economics and related subjects that are sent to us. A very small number of foreign-language books are called to our attention and annotated by our consulting editors or others. Our staff does not monitor and order books published; therefore, if an annotation of a book does not appear six months after the publication date, please write to us or the publisher concerning the book.","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42165832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ning Jia, Raven Molloy, Christopher Smith, Abigail Wozniak
We review developments in research on within-country migration, focusing on internal migration in the United States. We begin by describing approaches to modeling individuals’ migration decisions and equilibrium outcomes across local areas. Next, we summarize evidence regarding the impact of migration on individuals’ outcomes, implications of migration for local labor market adjustment, and interactions between migration and housing markets. Finally, we discuss evidence on the efficacy of policies aimed at encouraging migration and conclude by highlighting important unanswered questions that are critical for informing migration-related policy. (JEL I23, I38, J31, J61, J62, R23, R38)
{"title":"The Economics of Internal Migration: Advances and Policy Questions","authors":"Ning Jia, Raven Molloy, Christopher Smith, Abigail Wozniak","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211623","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211623","url":null,"abstract":"We review developments in research on within-country migration, focusing on internal migration in the United States. We begin by describing approaches to modeling individuals’ migration decisions and equilibrium outcomes across local areas. Next, we summarize evidence regarding the impact of migration on individuals’ outcomes, implications of migration for local labor market adjustment, and interactions between migration and housing markets. Finally, we discuss evidence on the efficacy of policies aimed at encouraging migration and conclude by highlighting important unanswered questions that are critical for informing migration-related policy. (JEL I23, I38, J31, J61, J62, R23, R38)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135544249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Traditionally, economic growth and business cycles have been treated independently. However, the dependence of GDP levels on its history of shocks, what economists refer to as “hysteresis,” argues for unifying the analysis of growth and cycles. In this paper, we review the recent empirical and theoretical literature that motivates this paradigm shift. The renewed interest in hysteresis (or “scarring” in recent parlance) has been sparked by the persistent impact of the global financial crisis —as GDP in advanced economies remained far below the precrisis trends for over a decade—and recent concerns about the lasting impact of the COVID-19 shock. The findings of the recent literature have far-reaching conceptual and policy implications. In recessions, monetary and fiscal policies need to be more active to avoid the permanent scars of a downturn. And in good times, running a high-pressure economy could have permanent positive effects. (JEL E22, E23, E24, E32, E63, G01, O41)
{"title":"Hysteresis and Business Cycles","authors":"Antonio Fatas, Valerie Cerra, Sweta Saxena","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211584","url":null,"abstract":"Traditionally, economic growth and business cycles have been treated independently. However, the dependence of GDP levels on its history of shocks, what economists refer to as “hysteresis,” argues for unifying the analysis of growth and cycles. In this paper, we review the recent empirical and theoretical literature that motivates this paradigm shift. The renewed interest in hysteresis (or “scarring” in recent parlance) has been sparked by the persistent impact of the global financial crisis —as GDP in advanced economies remained far below the precrisis trends for over a decade—and recent concerns about the lasting impact of the COVID-19 shock. The findings of the recent literature have far-reaching conceptual and policy implications. In recessions, monetary and fiscal policies need to be more active to avoid the permanent scars of a downturn. And in good times, running a high-pressure economy could have permanent positive effects. (JEL E22, E23, E24, E32, E63, G01, O41)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135544250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Journal of Economic Literature, March 2023, Volume LXI, Number 1","authors":"","doi":"10.1257/jel.61.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.61.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136325495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
VC: An American History, by Tom Nicholas, offers a compelling chronicle of the development of professional venture capital (VC) in the United States—from VC-like fore-bearers as diverse as eighteenth-century cotton manufacturing and nineteenth-century whaling up to the state of the modern VC market at the turn of the millennium. The book emphasizes America’s enduring advantage in VC as a consequence of these early developments and as a practical governance solution for investing in the long-tailed returns of risky new ventures. In this essay we discuss similar historical precedent and governance arrangements in the spice-trading voyages of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, calling into question the uniqueness of early American VC ancestors. Moreover, far from being a distinguishing feature of early ventures, long-tailed returns exist even in public equities, suggesting that the VC governance structure is about more than the distribution of returns. We conclude that the reasons for American dominance of contemporary VC remain unclear. Picking up where the book leaves off, we summarize facts and trends in twenty-first-century VC. (JEL G24, M13, N20, O16, O31)
{"title":"How Unique is VC’s American History?","authors":"Arthur Korteweg, Berk Sensoy","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211576","url":null,"abstract":"VC: An American History, by Tom Nicholas, offers a compelling chronicle of the development of professional venture capital (VC) in the United States—from VC-like fore-bearers as diverse as eighteenth-century cotton manufacturing and nineteenth-century whaling up to the state of the modern VC market at the turn of the millennium. The book emphasizes America’s enduring advantage in VC as a consequence of these early developments and as a practical governance solution for investing in the long-tailed returns of risky new ventures. In this essay we discuss similar historical precedent and governance arrangements in the spice-trading voyages of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, calling into question the uniqueness of early American VC ancestors. Moreover, far from being a distinguishing feature of early ventures, long-tailed returns exist even in public equities, suggesting that the VC governance structure is about more than the distribution of returns. We conclude that the reasons for American dominance of contemporary VC remain unclear. Picking up where the book leaves off, we summarize facts and trends in twenty-first-century VC. (JEL G24, M13, N20, O16, O31)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136051647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
There is a long-standing debate about the extent to which economic theory should inform econometric modeling and estimation. This debate is particularly evident in the program/policy evaluation literature, where reduced-form (experimental or quasi-experimental) and structural modeling approaches are often viewed as rival methodologies. Reduced-form proponents criticize the assumptions invoked in structural applications. Structural modeling advocates point to the limitations of reduced-form approaches in not being able to inform about program impacts prior to implementation or about the costs and benefits of program designs that deviate from the one that was implemented. In this paper, we argue that there is a new emerging view of a natural synergy between these two approaches, that they can be melded to exploit the advantages and ameliorate the disadvantages of each. We provide examples of how data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the exemplar of reduced form practitioners, can be used to enhance the credibility of structural estimation. We also illustrate how the structural approach complements experimental analyses by enabling evaluation of counterfactual policies/programs. Lastly, we survey many recent studies that combine these methodologies in various ways across different subfields within economics. (JEL C21, C52, C53, H24, I38, J13, R38)
{"title":"The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Randomized Controlled Trials with Structural Modeling","authors":"Petra E. Todd, K. Wolpin","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211652","url":null,"abstract":"There is a long-standing debate about the extent to which economic theory should inform econometric modeling and estimation. This debate is particularly evident in the program/policy evaluation literature, where reduced-form (experimental or quasi-experimental) and structural modeling approaches are often viewed as rival methodologies. Reduced-form proponents criticize the assumptions invoked in structural applications. Structural modeling advocates point to the limitations of reduced-form approaches in not being able to inform about program impacts prior to implementation or about the costs and benefits of program designs that deviate from the one that was implemented. In this paper, we argue that there is a new emerging view of a natural synergy between these two approaches, that they can be melded to exploit the advantages and ameliorate the disadvantages of each. We provide examples of how data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the exemplar of reduced form practitioners, can be used to enhance the credibility of structural estimation. We also illustrate how the structural approach complements experimental analyses by enabling evaluation of counterfactual policies/programs. Lastly, we survey many recent studies that combine these methodologies in various ways across different subfields within economics. (JEL C21, C52, C53, H24, I38, J13, R38)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45904359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL, JEL on CD, and EconLit. New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.econlit.org . The JEL classification system may be used freely for scholarly purposes. We suggest the following format: “JEL: A10, B10, etc.”
{"title":"JEL Classification System","authors":"","doi":"10.1257/jel.61.1.365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.61.1.365","url":null,"abstract":"The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL, JEL on CD, and EconLit. New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.econlit.org . The JEL classification system may be used freely for scholarly purposes. We suggest the following format: “JEL: A10, B10, etc.”","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42511926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thirty-six states have legalized medical marijuana and 18 states have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. In this paper, we review the literature on the public health consequences of legalizing marijuana, focusing on studies that have appeared in economics journals as well as leading public policy, public health, and medical journals. Among the outcomes considered are: youth marijuana use, alcohol consumption, the abuse of prescription opioids, traffic fatalities, and crime. For some of these outcomes, there is a near consensus in the literature regarding the effects of medical marijuana laws (MMLs). As an example, leveraging geographic and temporal variation in MMLs, researchers have produced little credible evidence to suggest that legalization promotes marijuana use among teenagers. Likewise, there is convincing evidence that young adults consume less alcohol when medical marijuana is legalized. For other public health outcomes such as mortality involving prescription opioids, the effect of legalizing medical marijuana has proven more difficult to gauge and, as a consequence, we are less comfortable drawing firm conclusions. Finally, it is not yet clear how legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes will affect these and other important public health outcomes. We will be able to draw stronger conclusions when more posttreatment data are collected in states that have recently legalized recreational marijuana. (JEL I12, I18, K32, K42, R41)
{"title":"The Public Health Effects of Legalizing Marijuana","authors":"D. Mark Anderson, Daniel I. Rees","doi":"10.1257/jel.20211635","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20211635","url":null,"abstract":"Thirty-six states have legalized medical marijuana and 18 states have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. In this paper, we review the literature on the public health consequences of legalizing marijuana, focusing on studies that have appeared in economics journals as well as leading public policy, public health, and medical journals. Among the outcomes considered are: youth marijuana use, alcohol consumption, the abuse of prescription opioids, traffic fatalities, and crime. For some of these outcomes, there is a near consensus in the literature regarding the effects of medical marijuana laws (MMLs). As an example, leveraging geographic and temporal variation in MMLs, researchers have produced little credible evidence to suggest that legalization promotes marijuana use among teenagers. Likewise, there is convincing evidence that young adults consume less alcohol when medical marijuana is legalized. For other public health outcomes such as mortality involving prescription opioids, the effect of legalizing medical marijuana has proven more difficult to gauge and, as a consequence, we are less comfortable drawing firm conclusions. Finally, it is not yet clear how legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes will affect these and other important public health outcomes. We will be able to draw stronger conclusions when more posttreatment data are collected in states that have recently legalized recreational marijuana. (JEL I12, I18, K32, K42, R41)","PeriodicalId":48416,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Literature","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135544217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}