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Joshua C. Hall

Bio: Joshua C. Hall is an academic researcher from West Virginia University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Economic freedom & Economic Freedom of the World. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 183 publications receiving 2309 citations. Previous affiliations of Joshua C. Hall include Bowling Green State University & Beloit College.


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TL;DR: Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist as discussed by the authors is a self-help book that explores the concepts of incentives, signaling and scarcity in order to provide instruction on getting the most out of everyday life.
Abstract: Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist Tyler Cowen Dutton, New York, 2007 Tyler Cowen's book Discover Your Inner Economist is a study of how individuals can make utility maximizing decisions, while taking into account the different social contexts they may find themselves in The book explores the concepts of incentives, signaling and scarcity in order to provide instruction on getting the most out of everyday life Cowen emphasizes that the main concept in economics is not money, but rather incentives Money can be a tool used to obtain things, but not everything can be bought with money Incentives are always at work as we go about obtaining things Money is one type of incentive, as is praise or approval or a smile He also points out that not every transaction is as simple and straightforward as buying a banana If a consumer wants a banana, he or she will go to the market and buy it There aren't such simple markets for everything As a result, we must often try to motivate others and ourselves to get what we want Discover Your Inner Economist provides the reader with insight on how to overcome the problem of motivation and as well as how to make more effective choices In this respect, Cowen has written what might be regarded as an economics self-help book To be able to understand the choices people make, and to make more effective decisions ourselves, we must understand how human beliefs and opinions change based on social context We must consider questions like: does dressing casually for a job interview signal a weak and careless candidate or does it signal strength? The second and third chapters of the book explore ways to "control the world" (by which Cowen means manipulate the circumstances around oneself), and they also instruct readers on knowing when to stop In trying to cure parents of lateness when picking up their children from daycare, for example, one option would be to charge them late fees Cowen points out, however, that in this context charging parents for being late will likely have unintended negative consequences Parents will begin to assume that it is fine to be late because they are paying This may cause them to be late more often, or to take advantage of extended and probably less expensive daycare services If the goal is to get parents to pick up their children on time, late fees are probably a bad incentive In attempting to motivate one's dentist, an option might be to give the dentist a bonus when you think he or she has done an exceptional job during your visit But Cowen asserts that this could yield a negative unintended consequence similar to the daycare scenario A bonus will probably give the dentist an incentive to put the patient through as little pain as possible, telling them to ignore something like a fragmented tooth, in order to give the patient short term, rather than long term, satisfaction Instead, Cowen's solution to motivating his dentist is to pretend he has no fear and tell his dentist he did a good job This, he says, contributes to his self image as a good dentist, causing him to perform better Chapter 4 is titled "Possess All the Great Art Ever Made," and it focuses on how to become a "cultural billionaire" (or, how to maximize your utility while exposing yourself to a maximum amount of culture) He instructs the reader on how to tour museums, choose and read books, watch movies, and eat out at restaurants An important thing to keep in mind is the scarcity of time and attention When touring a museum, we can become bored quickly An effective technique that Cowen provides is bringing the "me" factor into the experience by making it all about oneself In each room of the museum, he advises individuals to ask themselves which piece of art they would choose to take home This causes the individual to have a critical, interactive experience with the art, as well as to create a kind of personal attachment to specific pieces …

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of the influence of Tullock's work on rent-seeking in the area of economics education and conduct an analysis of undergraduate and graduate textbooks in public economics.
Abstract: In this paper, we provide an overview of the influence of Tullock’s work on rent-seeking in the area of economics education. After summarizing the basic rent-seeking model in both a domestic and international context, we conduct an analysis of undergraduate and graduate textbooks in public economics. We find a majority of undergraduate texts cover rent-seeking in depth, but two texts provide zero coverage. No graduate textbook surveyed mentions rent-seeking. We conclude by summarizing the economic education literature on rent-seeking, which can be divided into either classroom experiments or popular culture examples.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors apply a multistep semiparametric stochastic production frontier estimator to investigate the effects of economic freedom on the production frontier and technical efficiency.
Abstract: This paper applies a multistep semiparametric stochastic production frontier estimator to investigate the effects of economic freedom (EF) on the production frontier and technical efficiency. We allow output elasticities and technical efficiency to depend on EF, estimate a smooth coefficient stochastic production frontier, and compare with parametric alternatives. Our results highlight the flexibility of semiparametric approaches as we find parametric approaches are too restrictive in estimating marginal productivity. Output elasticities of labor, human capital, and physical capital vary with the level of EF and our average efficiency estimates are at least 20% higher than those obtained from parametric counterparts. (JEL C14, O43)

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors survey perspectives on the economic differences between countries and argue that economic freedom is the key to prosperity, and that removing obstacles to the exercise of economic freedom are an important step towards prosperity.
Abstract: We survey perspectives on the economic differences between countries and argue that economic freedom is the key to prosperity. We close by outlining the policy implications. Specifically, removing obstacles to the exercise of economic freedom is an important step towards prosperity.

9 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
01 May 1981
TL;DR: This chapter discusses Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers, a method for assessing Collinearity, and its applications in medicine and science.
Abstract: 1. Introduction and Overview. 2. Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers. 3. Detecting and Assessing Collinearity. 4. Applications and Remedies. 5. Research Issues and Directions for Extensions. Bibliography. Author Index. Subject Index.

4,948 citations

Posted Content
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: The 2008 crash has left all the established economic doctrines - equilibrium models, real business cycles, disequilibria models - in disarray as discussed by the authors, and a good viewpoint to take bearings anew lies in comparing the post-Great Depression institutions with those emerging from Thatcher and Reagan's economic policies: deregulation, exogenous vs. endoge- nous money, shadow banking vs. Volcker's Rule.
Abstract: The 2008 crash has left all the established economic doctrines - equilibrium models, real business cycles, disequilibria models - in disarray. Part of the problem is due to Smith’s "veil of ignorance": individuals unknowingly pursue society’s interest and, as a result, have no clue as to the macroeconomic effects of their actions: witness the Keynes and Leontief multipliers, the concept of value added, fiat money, Engel’s law and technical progress, to name but a few of the macrofoundations of microeconomics. A good viewpoint to take bearings anew lies in comparing the post-Great Depression institutions with those emerging from Thatcher and Reagan’s economic policies: deregulation, exogenous vs. endoge- nous money, shadow banking vs. Volcker’s Rule. Very simply, the banks, whose lending determined deposits after Roosevelt, and were a public service became private enterprises whose deposits determine lending. These underlay the great moderation preceding 2006, and the subsequent crash.

3,447 citations

01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, the interactions learners have with each other build interpersonal skills, such as listening, politely interrupting, expressing ideas, raising questions, disagreeing, paraphrasing, negotiating, and asking for help.
Abstract: 1. Interaction. The interactions learners have with each other build interpersonal skills, such as listening, politely interrupting, expressing ideas, raising questions, disagreeing, paraphrasing, negotiating, and asking for help. 2. Interdependence. Learners must depend on one another to accomplish a common objective. Each group member has specific tasks to complete, and successful completion of each member’s tasks results in attaining the overall group objective.

2,171 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explored the multiplicity of contexts and their impact on entrepreneurship, identifying challenges researchers face in contextualizing entrepreneurship theory and offers possible ways forward, arguing that context is important for understanding when, how, and why entrepreneurship happens and who becomes involved.
Abstract: This paper sets out to explore contexts for entrepreneurship, illustrating how a contextualized view of entrepreneurship contributes to our understanding of the phenomenon. There is growing recognition in entrepreneurship research that economic behavior can be better understood within its historical, temporal, institutional, spatial, and social contexts, as these contexts provide individuals with opportunities and set boundaries for their actions. Context can be an asset and a liability for the nature and extent of entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship can also impact contexts. The paper argues that context is important for understanding when, how, and why entrepreneurship happens and who becomes involved. Exploring the multiplicity of contexts and their impact on entrepreneurship, it identifies challenges researchers face in contextualizing entrepreneurship theory and offers possible ways forward.

1,856 citations