Economists are still trying to assess the severity of this slowdown, and this assessment has clearly become more difficult since the events of September 11. It is worth emphasizing that this article is silent about the economic implications of wars and similar cataclysms and focuses instead on the analysis of " typical " business cycles. The slowdown that began prior to September 11 had already...

The paper considers the conjecture that forecasts from preferred economic models or theories d-separate forecasts from less preferred models or theories from the actual realization of the variable for which a scientific explanation is sought. Dseparation provides a succinct notion to represent forecast dominance of one set of forecasts over another; it provides, as well, a criterion for model p...

In this article, we review economic theories and empirical studies on the socioeconomic aspects of suicide. Through our survey, we would like to emphasize the importance of studying suicide by employing a “rational” approach that complements the medical perspective on suicide, which assumes suicide to be the result of “irrational” behavior arising from mental illnesses such as depression and ot...

In this paper, we first present and discuss the basic logic underlying all neoclassical economic theories of “optimal” energy supply: maximization of the present value of some stream of economic returns. We then discuss how the economic theory of optimal resource depletion has evolved since Hotelling’s classic 1931 article. We also consider the power of the theory to support improved empirical ...

The projections for the rising cost of healthcare have spurred robust dialogue, and among the many targets for cost control are specialty drugs. An important question thus becomes: Are behavioral economic factors driving physician prescribing? This article presents a review of leading behavioral economic theories and their application to the results of an Oncology Medical Home pilot that revers...

Anthony J. Venables LSE and CEPR . Abstract: Growth and development typically involve the creation of new economic activities. New productive sectors develop, and old activities come to be performed in radically different ways. Evidence from both economic history and economic development suggest that this process of structural change is central to increasing growth and raising standards of livi...