Capping the Mortgage Interest Deduction

In this paper we examine the economic implications of several policy options for capping the mortgage interest deduction (MID). We extend the standard user–cost model of owner–occupied housing to include a cap on the mortgage size receiving tax–favored status. Our user–cost estimates for taxpayers with mortgages above the current–law cap are 4.41 percent higher than estimates from a model without the cap. We simulate the share of mortgage dollars that would be subject to three alternative cap policy variants and summarize the distributional impacts of each proposal, computing the share of mortgage dollars impacted across U.S. Metropolitan Areas

A Pragmatic Approach to DHT Adoption

Despite the peer-to-peer community's obvious wish to have its systems adopted, specific mechanisms to facilitate incremental adoption have not yet received the same level of attention as the many other practical concerns associated with these systems. This paper argues that ease of adoption should be elevated to a first-class concern and accordingly presents HOLD, a front-end to existing DHTs that is optimized for incremental adoption. Specifically, HOLD is backwards-compatible: it leverages DNS to provide a key-based routing service to existing Internet hosts without requiring them to install any software. This paper also presents applications that could benefit from HOLD as well as the trade-offs that accompany HOLD. Early implementation experience suggests that HOLD is practical

Has the long-run velocity of M2 shifted? Evidence from the P* model

An examination of one of the P-Star model's primary assumptions: the constancy of M2's long-run velocity, or V-Star. Using actual data through the end of 1992, the authors find that simulations of the model under a variety of hypotheses regarding changes in V-Star provide little support for a dramatic shift in that measure.Inflation (Finance) ; Money supply ; Velocity of money

Did the Devil Make Them Do It? The Effects of Religion and Religiosity in Public Goods and Trust Games

We test whether religious affiliation and participation in religious services are associated with behavior in public goods and trust games. Overall, religious affiliation is unrelated to individual behavior. However, we find some weak evidence that among subjects attending religious services, increased participation is associated with behavior in both public goods and trust games.Public goods, experiments, religion, and trust

Explant Analysis of Total Disc Replacement

Explant analysis of human disc prostheses allow early evaluation of the host response to the prosthesis and the response of the prosthesis from the host. Furthermore, early predictions of failure and wear can be obtained. Thus far, about 2-3% of disc prostheses have been removed. Observed wear patterns are similar to that of appendicular prostheses including abrasions/scratching, burnishing, surface deformation, fatigue, and embedded debris. Chemically the polymeric components have shown little degradation in short-term implantation. In metal on metal prostheses the histologic responses consist of large numbers of metallic particles with occasional macrophages and giant cells. Only rare cases of significant inflammatory response from polymeric debris have been seen

Do Liberals Play Nice? The Effects of Party and Political Ideology in Public Goods and Trust Games

We test the conventional wisdom that political ideology is associated with generosity or compassion by comparing the behavior of experimental subjects in public goods or trust games. We find that self-described liberals and those identifying more closely with the Democrat party are just as likely to free-ride as conservatives or Republican-leaners; likewise, political ideology is unrelated to observed trusting behavior or trustworthiness in a bilateral trust game.Political Party, Free Rider