Using a Spreadsheet SAM for GAMS CGE Modeling

This technical document provides in a single document a template to follow when using spreadsheet Social Accounting Matrix data to drive a GAMS-based Computable General Equilibrium model

Three Essays on the Economics of Public Libraries

This dissertation explores empirical issues concerning public libraries in the United States. In particular, it analyzes the direct and indirect effects to and from public libraries, on different issues such as charitable donations, labor market outcomes, institutions and technical efficiency. Chapter 1 discusses the economics of public libraries and its relevance. In addition, it provides an outline of the dissertation and its main contribution to the literature. Chapter 2, analyzes the determinants of donations to public libraries testing the crowding effect from government funding of public libraries. I find suggestive results of a crowd in effect with an inverted U shape in all levels of government. In other words, additional government dollars increase private donations to public libraries at a decreasing rate. Chapter 3 investigates the effect of public library programs and participation on unemployment and labor force participation in Appalachia. Using an instrumental variable approach, I show that neither adult nor children’s programs and participation affect local labor market outcomes. These results are robust across different specifications. Chapter 4 explores the institutional determinants of public library technical efficiency in West Virginia. The analysis is carried out in two steps. First, I document considerable cross-district variation in library efficiency. Then, I estimate the effect of institutional characteristics on the technical efficiency measures. I find consistent evidence that urban libraries are more inefficient than county and multi-jurisdictional libraries. In addition, I find revenue from local sources is associated with reduced efficiency, contrary to what would be predicted by local public goods producer theory. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation by summarizing its main findings and discussing possible implications

Setting up a SAM in Excel using VBA

This technical document describes how to set up a full Social Accounting Matrix from its own partition in a spreadsheet file. This is done using VBA code

Scientific output: labor or capital intensive? An analysis for selected countries

Scientific research contributes to sustainable economic growth environments. Hence, policy-makers should understand how the different inputs—namely labor and capital—are related to a country’s scientific output. This paper addresses this issue by estimating output elasticities for labor and capital using a panel of 31 countries in nine years. Due to the nature of scientific output, we also use spatial econometric models to take into account the spillover effects from knowledge produced as well as labor and capital. The results show that capital elasticity is closer to the labor elasticity. The results suggest a decreasing return to scale production of scientific output. The spatial model points to negative spillovers from capital expenditure and no spillovers from labor or the scientific output

MATLAB and Python Functions for Weighted Disaggregation

This technical document describes a weighted disaggregation problem and provides the code for a function in MATLAB and Python to perform such disaggregation

The Effect of Health Care Entrepreneurship on Local Health: The Case of MedExpress in Appalachia

We test the hypothesis that the opening of an Urgent Care Center (UCC) has positive impacts on the local community. There are several mechanisms through which a UCC can have an impact: lower health care costs, emergency room decongestion, and improved access to medical information. We examine the entry of MedExpress into Appalachian counties between 2001 and 2013. Employing data from Health Resources Files, which provides information for all counties for specific years, we use Propensity Score Matching to create a year 2000 control group for the counties “treated” by MedExpress entry beginning in 2001. We then employ a standard difference-in-difference model on an unbalanced panel between 2001 and 2013. Our results suggest that MedExpress has a positive impact on different health outcome variables

Looking Behind the Scenes: An Assessment of the Interdependence of Brazilian Cultural Industries

How important is Brazil’s cultural industries to its economy? We provide an answer to this question by evaluating the interdependence of the cultural activities in the Brazilian production structure and its evolution over the last few years (2005 – 2009). To accomplish this, we disaggregate 13 cultural economic industries in the Brazilian input-output table and calculate several indexes, such as, the production multiplier, linkage indexes, fields of influence and extraction analysis. Results show that the only cultural sector with high links to other sectors in the production structure is Telecommunication, edition and news agencies and that this sector provides the greatest loss in output when removed from the economy. Moreover, the sectors Jewelry, music instruments and toys, and Manufacture of telecommunication equipment have output multipliers higher than the average of the economy

Woody Biomass Processing: Potential Economic Impacts on Rural Regions

This paper estimates the economic and environmental impacts of introducing woody biomass processing (WBP) in a rural area in central Appalachia. WBP is among the most promising additions to energy generation portfolios for reducing import dependency and at the same time providing economic opportunity to stimulate regional economies, especially in rural regions where economic development options are often limited. We use an input-output framework to assess regional economic impacts of introducing WBP under three different pathways, fast pyrolysis, ethanol and coal/biomass to liquids. Based on an analysis of local biomass feedstock supply and using the results of life cycle assessments to parameterize the three production functions, we find that the proposed WBP will increase the regional output by $138.1 to$333.3 million dollars; it will increase income by $17.32 to$51.31 million dollars and employment by 218.1 to 1127.8 jobs in the region. Of these impacts, the direct portions are 63% to 77% of the total impact, depending on the chosen pathway. The results from the accompanying environmental assessment show that only the ethanol pathway has both economic and environmental benefits