National Bureau of Economic Research

About: National Bureau of Economic Research is a nonprofit organization based out in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Monetary policy & Population. The organization has 2626 authors who have published 34177 publications receiving 2818124 citations. The organization is also known as: NBER & The National Bureau of Economic Research.

The Government as Venture Capitalist: The Long-Run Impact of the SBIR Program

Abstract: The effectiveness of the many government programs to finance small firms has attracted little empirical attention. This paper examines the largest U.S. public venture capital initiative, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which has provided over $7 billion to small high-technology firms between 1983 and 1997. Using a unique database of awardees compiled by the U.S. General Accounting Office, I show that SBIR awardees grew significantly faster than a matched set of firms over a ten-year period. The superior performance of SBIR awardees was confined to firms based in zip codes with substantial venture capital activity. The impact of the awards was pronounced in high-technology industries. No increase of performance was associated with multiple awards. These patterns are consistent with the awards playing an important role in certifying firm quality, but also with some distortions of the award process.

Does Competition Among Public Schools Benefit Students and Taxpayers

Abstract: Many school choice proposals would enable parents to choose among public school districts in their area, though not among private schools. Theory predicts three reactions to easier choice among public schools: increased sorting of students and parents among schools; easier choice will encourage competition among schools, forcing them into higher productivity (better student performance per input); easier choice among public schools will give parents less incentive to send their children to private schools. I examine easing choice among public schools using exogenous variation in the concentration of public school districts in metropolitan areas measured by a Herfindahl index on enrollment shares. The exogenous variation is generated by topography: I derive instruments for concentration from natural boundaries (rivers) that partially determine district size. I find evidence that easier choice leads to greater productivity. Areas with greater opportunities for choice among public schools have lower per-pupil spending, lower teacher salaries, and larger classes. The same areas have better average student performance, as measured by students' educational attainment, wages, and test scores. Performance improvements are concentrated among white non-Hispanics, males, and students who have a parent with at least a high school degree. However, student performance is not worse among Hispanics,African-Americans, females, or students who do not have a parent with a high school degree.Also, student performance improves at both ends of the educational attainment distribution and test score distribution.

The Effect of the Minimum Wage on Employment and Unemployment: A Survey

Abstract: In this paper, we survey theoretical models of the effect of the minimum wage and, in somewhat greater detail, evidence of its effect on employment and unemployment. Our discussion of the theory emphasizes recent work using two-sector and heterogeneous-worker models. We then summarize and evaluate the large literature on employment and unemployment effects of the minimum on teenagers. Finally, we survey the evidence of the effect of the minimum wage on adult employment, and on employment in low-wage industries and areas.

Prices and Trading Volume in the Housing Market: A Model with Down-Payment Effects

Abstract: This paper presents a simple model of trade in the housing market. The crucial feature is that a minimum down payment is required for the purchase of a new home. The model has direct implications for the volatility of house prices, as well as for the correlation between prices and trading volume. The model can also be extended to address the correlation between prices and time-to-sale, as well as certain aspects of the cyclical behavior of housing starts.

Intra-National versus International Trade: How Stubborn are Nations in Global Integration?

Abstract: This paper examines the home country bias in the goods market among OECD countries. An average country imports about two and a half times as much from itself as from an otherwise identical foreign country, after controlling for sizes of exporter and importer, their direct distance, geographic positions relative to the rest of the world and a possible linguistic tie. If one believes that the substitutability among goods produced in OECD countries is high, as it seems reasonable, the observed bias implies relatively small non- tariff barriers. Over 1982-94, the home bias of OECD countries as a whole exhibited a slow but steady decline. The bias in a typical member country of the European Community relative to its imports from other member countries showed a fifty percent decline during the period.