Although previous works have discussed the benefits of precolonial centralization for development in Africa, the findings and the mechanisms provided do not explain the heterogeneity in development outcomes of formerly centralized states. Using new survey data from Nigeria, I find a significant negative effect of precolonial centralization on access to certain public services for centralized re...

According to standard dynamic choice theories, patience is a key driving factor behind the accumulation of the proximate determinants of economic development. Using a novel representative data set on time preferences from 80,000 individuals in 76 countries, we investigate the empirical relevance of this hypothesis in the context of a development accounting framework. We find a significant reduc...

This paper uses panel and retrospective life history data from an important new data source the British Household Panel Survey to establish some stylised facts about the unemployment experiences of men. In particular we investigate the proportion of the sample who suffer from repeated unemployment spells, the origin and destination states of unemployment spells, some reasons for entering unempl...

Attention to the quality of human capital in different countries naturally leads to concerns about how school policies relate to student performance. The data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide a way of comparing performance in different schooling systems. The results of analyses of educational production functions within a range of developed and developi...

We examine the ability of the Expansionary Fiscal Contraction (EFC) hypothesis to explain the performance of of OECD economies during times of crisis. We ̄nd some limited evidence in its favour: if public consumption is reduced in response to a ̄scal crisis (as de ̄ned by a high level of debt), private consumption does seem to increase. However the size of the e®ect is smaller than that typicall...

Forecasting with Spatial Panel Data This paper compares various forecasts using panel data with spatial error correlation. The true data generating process is assumed to be a simple error component regression model with spatial remainder disturbances of the autoregressive or moving average type. The best linear unbiased predictor is compared with other forecasts ignoring spatial correlation, or...

this study investigates the relationship between market structure and profitability in the iranian manufacturing industries. in this study, raw data based on international standard industrial classification (at four digit code) has been used. fixed effects panel estimation method (based on diagnostic test results) has been chosen for empirical investigation. the result of the study confirms the...

This paper provides an overview of recent econometric advances on testing of functional form with semiparametric methods and their application to the estimation of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The EKC in environmental economics is estimated using panel data models and provides a fertile ground for the adoption of recent panel data developments. The paper provides a discussion of recen...

Charitable giving data from a new Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) philanthropy module are introduced. Relative distribution methods are used to compare the data to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) charitable deductions. Results indicate the new data are high quality. JEL Classification: C80, D64, H40.

Panel data from the United Kingdom are used to estimate a wage curve that allows simultaneously for time, individual, and spatial effects and which thus finesses the problem of grouped data bias. Once allowance is made for the multilevel and crossclassified nature of the data, estimates of the unemployment elasticity of the wage are seen to be volatile and imprecise. JEL Classification: J30