Meta-regression analysis: Producing credible estimates from diverse evidence

Good policy requires reliable scientific knowledge, but there are many obstacles. Most econometric estimates lack adequate statistical power; some estimates cannot be replicated; publication selection bias (the selective reporting of results) is common; and there is wide variation in the evidence base on most policy issues. Meta-regression analysis offers a way to increase statistical power, correct the evidence base for a range of biases, and make sense of the unceasing flow of contradictory econometric estimates. It enables policymakers to develop evidence-based policies even when the initial evidence base lacks credibility

Efficiency of Root Crop Production in the Fiji Islands

Improvements in the efficiency of agricultural production represent an important source of growth for the Fiji Islands economy. An analysis of the nature and extent of efficiency differences between root crop farmers suggests that there are modest, but economically significant gains that can be made from improving farm level efficiency. On average, around 25% of root crop production is lost due to technical inefficiency. Although our results did not show that larger producers were more efficient than smaller semi-subsistence producers we did find that focus on a smaller range of crops and concentration on farming in terms of work time both tended to improve the efficiency of farmers that produced dalo. The implications of these results for the agricultural R&D system are discussed. The key policy finding is that given the modest gains in production that are feasible from improving technical efficiency, a major growth in root crop production and consumption is likely to be more dependent on the introduction of new technology than the better dissemination of the existing technology.

Institutions and Economic Growth: A Systems Approach

In a simultaneous equations with error components framework, we analyze the institutions-growth relationship. We address individual heterogeneity in cross-country production functions, and endogeneize factor inputs in order to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of institutions on growth. We find that the effects of political freedom on total factor productivity and human capital are positive and significant, but they are negative and significant on physical capital and labor force growth. Economic freedom, on the other hand, has positive and significant effects on total factor productivity, physical and human capital, and labor force growth. The total effects of both freedoms on growth are positiveInstitutions, Growth, Simultaneous Equations, Error Components

The market for software in the U.S.

The US market for software is investigated for the period 1964 to 2000, exploring the impact of price and non-price variables on software demand. and the impact of R&D and productivity on software supply. Software sales are positively associated with advertising, they are negatively affected by a rising consumer credit to GDP ratio. and are highly responsive to disposable income. Supply has been driven by productivity improvements

What drives financial development? A Meta-regression analysis

This article offers a meta-regression analysis of the literature on the drivers of financial development (FD). Our results based on 1,900 estimates suggest that institutional quality is positively correlated to both private sector credit and stock market capitalization (both as share of Gross Domestic Product). Domestic financial openness has a positive effect on both proxies for FD, while trade openness seems only important for stock market capitalization. Inflation has an adverse effect on FD, which is larger for stock market capitalization. Finally, we conclude that the literature has not yet robustly established that remittances matter for FD.ISSN:0030-7653ISSN:1464-381

Discrimination, performance and career progression in Australian public sector labor markets

While promotion is an important mechanism for allocating labor within organizations, relatively little is known about the determinants of promotion in the highly diverse and traditionally heavily regulated Australian labor markets. This study uses unique data from the Victorian Public Sector Census 2004 to identify the extent and nature of bias in the promotion process. Specifically, we use the promotion histories of 16,675 public sector employees to investigate the existence of discrimination in promotion on the basis of gender, disability and cultural diversity. We find that some differences exist in the rate of promotion on the basis of gender, and to a lesser extent, of birthplace, but, importantly, most of these are due to differences in endowments. There are effectively no differences in promotion on the basis of disability. We find that the main driver of promotion in Victorian public sector labor markets is worker effort and performance. Compared to labor markets elsewhere, the Australian public sector is relatively free of discrimination in promotions

What Do Unions Do for Economic Performance?

Twenty years have passed since Freeman and Medoff's What Do Unions Do? This essay assesses their analysis of how unions in the U.S. private sector affect economic performance - productivity, profitability, investment, and growth. Freeman and Medoff are clearly correct that union productivity effects vary substantially across workplaces. Their conclusion that union effects are on average positive and substantial cannot be sustained, subsequent evidence suggesting an average union productivity effect near zero. Their speculation that productivity effects are larger in more competitive environments appears to hold up, although more evidence is needed. Subsequent literature continues to find unions associated with lower profitability, as noted by Freeman and Medoff. Unions are found to tax returns stemming from market power, but industry concentration is not the source of such returns. Rather, unions capture firm quasi-rents arising from long-lived tangible and intangible capital and from firm-specific advantages. Lower profits and the union tax on asset returns leads to reduced investment and, subsequently, lower employment and productivity growth. There is little evidence that unionization leads to higher rates of business failure. Given the decline in U.S. private sector unionism, I explore avenues through which individual and collective voice might be enhanced, focusing on labor law and workplace governance defaults. Substantial enhancement of voice requires change in the nonunion sector and employer as well as worker initiatives. It is unclear whether labor unions would be revitalized or further marginalized by such an evolution