This article develops a theoretical model and employs recent state-level data on highway finance to assess the consequences of using highway levies for non-highway purposes. It examines whether states that divert some of their highway-related levies to fund general government services spend...

This paper focuses on the research behavior of nonprofit firms. In particular, we model process innovation and compare equilibrium research spending under alternate objectives to outcomes under profit-maximization. Do profit-maximizing organizations spend more on research than nonprofit firms?...

Corruption, which remains a serious problem in many countries, has prompted considerable research in recent years. This paper adds to the extant literature with insights on factors influencing corrupt activity. Using cross-country data for about 100 nations, the roles of national history,...

Using a two-stage model, this paper studies auctions of research and development (R&D) contracts when the outcome of research is uncertain. The agent is contracted by the principal to invent a new product or a new process. The principal selects the most capable agent through an auction and...

Insurance intermediaries provide a useful link between insurers and the insured in commercial insurance markets. However, recent revelations of improprieties by some intermediaries have cast a shadow on insurance markets. This has led to calls for reforming the workings of these markets. This...

Based on U.S. data for the 48-year-period 1953-2000, this study makes a contribution on the R&D-growth relation along five dimensions. First, we note several descriptive patterns that may be regarded as stylized facts relative to R&D outlays in the U.S. during the half-century period. These...