T.W. Schultz (1975) proposed that returns to human capital were highest in economicenvironments where technology, price or production shocks were common and managerial skillsto adapt resource allocations to those shocks were most in need. We hypothesize that variationin returns to human capital...

[...]This study shows that tourism did respond positively to the local public amenities built as part ofthe Vision Iowa program. County taxable retail sales rose by 0.9% for every 1% increase in expenditureson the projects. Because the State of Iowa taxes sales at 5% of each additional dollar of...

This paper examines the roles of specialized versus general skills in explaining variation in thereturns to an agriculture degree across majors inside and outside the agricultural industry. Thefocus on returns by sector of employment is motivated by the finding that most agriculturalmajors are...

The link between measured risk aversion and the decision to become an entrepreneur iswell established, but the link between risk preferences and entrepreneurial success is not.Standard theoretical models of occupational choice under uncertainty imply a positivecorrelation between an...

Universities spend almost $2 billion subsidizing their collegiate sports programs. Even the mostpopular women’s sport, basketball, fails to break even. An application of Becker’s theory ofcustomer discrimination is used to calculate the relative preference for men’s basketball for bothmen...

A theoretical model is advanced that demonstrates that, if teacher and student attendancegenerate a shared good, then teacher and student attendance will be mutually reinforcing.Using data from the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, empirical evidence supportingthat proposition is...

There are substantial differences in output per worker across states that persist over time. This studydemonstrates that differences in state taxation of capital income, capital ownership, and consumption canexplain why differences in labor productivity can persist. First, state tax policies...