The optimal age for initiating Social Security benefits and the initiation versus postponement of benefits decision are the subjects of a number of recent papers. It is generally agreed that an initiation versus postponement of benefits decision may have significant consequences, but there is...

This paper studies the reactions of commercial banks to the changes in monetary policy tools in mid-1994, when the Federal Reserve Bank altered its policy implicitly targeting the Federal Funds Rate (FFR). Prior to 1994, the FFR had affected, with a considerable lag, the Prime Rate. However,...

Proposals to allow private accounts under Social Security were introduced long before George Bush was elected President, and support for privatization in some form will survive his administration and the economic downturn that followed. This paper studies the impact that private accounts would...

The point that only live participants may initiate or receive Social Security benefits is typically overlooked. Thus a postponement of benefits at any eligible retirement age may be likened to participation in a game of chance in which the participant is subject to a variant form of gambler's...

This paper explores the impacts of the Federal Funds Rate (FFR), a significant money market indicator, on the prime lending rates offered by commercial banks. Prior to 1994, the FFR had lagged effects on prime rates, but since the second quarter of 1994, the Federal Reserve Bank has implemented...

In a recent article in this Review, Robert McCormick, William Shughart, and Robert Tollison (1984) addressed the issue of monopoly deregulation. The authors put forward the provocative idea that "because under most conditions Tullock costs cannot be recouped, the returns to deregulation are...

This paper addresses the following questions: Are the major European stock markets more integrated after the introduction of the Euro? How much of the change in the stock indices in different European countries can be attributed to innovations in other markets? How fast are events occurring in...

Multiple transformations-referred to as "waves" in a panoply of recent public health and law enforcement publications-have rendered North American drug markets increasingly toxic since the early 2010s. The introduction of exceptionally potent synthetic sedatives and stimulants is initiating a...