This dissertation explores the intricacies associated with the use of distance functions in empirical studies. It focuses on the measurement of advertising efficiency and investigates the properties of the models that seek to approximate the abatement costs of socially undesirable outputs. The first manuscript is devoted to the development of the algorithm that can be used to measure the efficiency with which firms market their brands in the presence of advertising by rivals. An empirical illustration is carried out using the data from the U.S. brewing industry. The second study analyzes the difficulties associated with the accurate approximation of the abatement costs of socially undesirable outputs. It contrasts the results from a variety of different shadow-pricing models, each of which relies on a different type of distance functions that are used to approximate the polluting technology. The shadow prices of sulfur dioxide are computed using linear programming techniques and the data from the U.S. electric utility industry. The third manuscript shows how a generalized method of moments (GMM) algorithm can be used to estimate the parameters of certain types of distance functions; the empirical illustration is carried out using the data set from the second study. The first manuscript illustrates that advertising spillovers are important in brewing and shows that the estimates of marketing efficiency are inaccurate when spillover effects are present and ignored. The second study shows that the shadow price estimates of socially undesirable outputs are not invariant to the assumptions regarding the parametric form of production technology and can in fact be predetermined by selecting a specific model. Finally, the third study established the legitimacy of the GMM procedure as a choice of an algorithm for the shadow pricing of undesirable outputs. / Graduation date: 2005

Increases in the prices of scholarly journals have exceeded the general rate of inflation for the last decade and more. In the face of this "serials crisis," libraries have found it increasingly difficult to maintain essential journal collections. This thesis investigates the causes of the serials crisis in biology using data generated for a study conducted by the Mann Library of Cornell University for 1988 and 1994 and updated by the author for 2001. The major goals of this thesis are to elaborate some alternative explanations of the crisis, identify econometrically the chief determinants of biology journal prices, and test the theory that prices are significantly determined by market structure. Existing literature sheds some light on price determinants specifically, technical characteristics (including frequency and size), publisher's legal form (profit vs. non-profit), location (domestic or foreign) and scale (circulation) have been found to be statistically significant--but this work is incomplete and sometimes contradictory. OLS and GLS regression analysis conducted in this thesis confirms that the determinants of biology journal prices are country of origin, journal size and frequency, circulation, and publisher's legal form. There is no evidence, however, that greater concentration increases prices. According to this analysis, monopoly power is not a problem in biology journal publishing. / Graduation date: 2003

The relevance of domestic and foreign capacity utilization rates in forecasting future inflation rate has been investigated empirically, using five industrialized countries for which the comparable data are available. It has been found that capacity utilization rates, both domestic and foreign, have a long run stable relationship with domestic inflation rate and a positive shock in the capacity utilization rate results in a significant, although a little bit delayed, acceleration in the domestic inflation rate. Various econometric techniques have been used and led to consistent empirical findings. The results in the present study, therefore, dispute the claim that an increase in capacity utilization rate may not necessarily lead to an accelerated inflation down the road. / Graduation date: 1995

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation has two objectives. The first is to modify the existing Present Value Model of the Current Account (PVMCA) to reflect the major features of the Nigerian economy and to determine if this resulting theoretical framework is valid for the analysis of the Nigerian current account for the period 1960--97. The second objective is to examine the excessiveness and sustainability of the Nigerian current account deficits during this period. / To achieve these objectives, the thesis presents a model of current account determination that is based upon the permanent-income hypothesis of private consumption behavior. We derive a present value relationship among the current account, expected changes in net output and a consumption-based real interest rate. This thesis then extends this framework to incorporate changes in the terms of trade and possible asymmetric access to the international financial markets. It also conducts an empirical estimation of the several variants of the PVMCA. The econometric results show that an intertemporal model of current account determination that includes changes in the interest rate, exchange rate and terms of trade outperforms one that excludes them. / This thesis represents the first attempt to use an intertemporal model of the current account and selected macroeconomic and structural indicators to assess the external position of the Nigerian economy. The empirical results support the hypothesis that current account deficits accompanied by macroeconomic instability and structural weaknesses can generate an external crisis.

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are among the most influential tools in applied economics. In the past few years, however, some serious questions have been raised about the validity of these models. The core of the critique is that the parameter selection criteria and the functional forms used are at odds with contemporary standards of practice in econometrics. After surveying the relevant literature, which I refer to as the 'econometric critique', a formal summary of the case against standard CGE modeling is presented, as is an alternative econometric-based modeling strategy which answers the critique. I then work through a comparative CGE modeling experiment designed to assess the contrasting methods. It is found that the parameter selection rule influences model predictions in individual sectors, but industry- and economy-wide aggregates do not appear to be much affected by reparameterizing a CGE model according to econometric criteria. By contrast, the choice of functional forms affects not only industry-specific results, but aggregate results as well, even for small policy shocks. However flexible functional forms are difficult to implement in CGE models because global monotonicity must be maintained. In the second and third chapters, I adapt one of the models to analyze the effects of carbon taxes in Canada. I review an approach called 'double dividend' taxation, in which the revenues from carbon taxes are used to reduce the rates of other distortionary taxes, so an overall efficiency gain can potentially be realized whether or not the reduction in pollution improves welfare. This eliminates the need to measure benefits, and in an international context, would obviate the free-rider problem. I demonstrate the existence of a double dividend strategy for carbon taxation in Canada in the short run. In chapter three, however, a long run extension of the model shows that the double dividend does not persist over time. Nevertheless, choosing an efficient revenue-recycling option can significantly reduce the implementation cost of the carbon tax.

Most studies on unions have concentrated on examining the union impact on wages. This thesis, in two essays, examines the union impact on wages, hours, earnings and employment, particularly focussing on the union impact on hours of work. The first essay summarizes previous theoretical union models which normally assume fixed hours of work and extends them so that hours as well as wages and employment can be determined by collective bargaining. Three kinds of union models are employed to examine union impacts on hours as well as union impacts on wages and employment: the monopoly union model (Oswald [1982]), the right to manage model (Nickell [1981]; Nickell and Andrews [1983]) and the efficient contracts model (McDonald and Solow [1980]). The predicted union impact on hours and employment is found to be ambiguous while the union impact on wages is found to be positive. The second essay is concerned with estimating union-nonunion wage, hours and earn ings differentials. Using the 1990 Labour Market Activity Survey, this essay finds that (1) union-nonunion hours differentials are ambiguous for males, but they are positive for females, (2) employers in the union sector extract more hours from more able workers and this contributes greatly to the positive union-nonunion hours differential and (3) union-nonunion hours differentials are smaller for males than for females and as a result, union-nonunion earnings differentials are larger for females than for males.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (114-120) / Microfiche. / xi, 120 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-201). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / vii, 201 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are among the most influential tools in applied economics. In the past few years, however, some serious questions have been raised about the validity of these models. The core of the critique is that the parameter selection criteria and the functional forms used are at odds with contemporary standards of practice in econometrics. After surveying the relevant literature, which I refer to as the 'econometric critique', a formal summary of the case against standard CGE modeling is presented, as is an alternative econometric-based modeling strategy which answers the critique. I then work through a comparative CGE modeling experiment designed to assess the contrasting methods. It is found that the parameter selection rule influences model predictions in individual sectors, but industry- and economy-wide aggregates do not appear to be much affected by reparameterizing a CGE model according to econometric criteria. By contrast, the choice of functional forms affects not only industry-specific results, but aggregate results as well, even for small policy shocks. However flexible functional forms are difficult to implement in CGE models because global monotonicity must be maintained. In the second and third chapters, I adapt one of the models to analyze the effects of carbon taxes in Canada. I review an approach called 'double dividend' taxation, in which the revenues from carbon taxes are used to reduce the rates of other distortionary taxes, so an overall efficiency gain can potentially be realized whether or not the reduction in pollution improves welfare. This eliminates the need to measure benefits, and in an international context, would obviate the free-rider problem. I demonstrate the existence of a double dividend strategy for carbon taxation in Canada in the short run. In chapter three, however, a long run extension of the model shows that the double dividend does not persist over time. Nevertheless, choosing an efficient revenue-recycling option can significantly reduce the implementation cost of the carbon tax. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate