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1500 questions
6
votes
1 answer
If the Engel Curve of a Cobb-Douglas utility function is positive and linear, than does that mean it is neither a necessity nor a luxury good?
Since the concavity of the Engel Curve determines whether it is a necessity or luxury (i.e. how fast quantity demand changes in relation to changes in income), and since the second derivative of a Cobb-Douglas Engel Curve is 0, does that mean it is…
bloopton
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Why do so many models assume homothetic preferences?
...when Engels Law, backed by a good amount empirical evidence, demonstrates that overall consumer preferences are not homothetic.
See for example, Jorgenson (1997)
StatsScared
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Great "constants" of economics
Question
What are the great "constants" of economics?
Background
In his Structural Slumps (Chapter 3, p.20), Phelps refers to the great "constants" of economics. He explains that the natural unemployment rate has been treated as one of these great…
Graeme Walsh
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Sensitivity/continuity of optimal solution
Suppose for every $y$, $f(x,y)$ is strictly convex in $x$. $f(x,y)$ is continuous in $y$ and let $\mathcal X$ be compact (in my problem, $\mathcal X$ is an interval). Can anyone suggest any theorems or references for the problem of whether $x^*(y) =…
eulerup
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What are the consequences of deflation in Japan?
Most of the literature I can find about deflation in Japan takes for granted that deflation is bad for the country. I can also find a lot of literature on why deflation is bad in theory. Is there any analysis of the 20 years of deflation in Japan…
lvella
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6
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1 answer
Arguing uniqueness of Bayes-Nash equilibrium in an auction setting
In an auction setting with interdependent values, let $\theta_i$ denote the type of player $i$ and $m_i$ that player's message (a bid, essentially). I have calculated the best response function as:
$$m_i^* = \theta_i + \gamma \sum_{j \ne i}…
Shane
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6
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2 answers
Foundational equations or concepts of Finance
The following is paraphrased from: Fundamental equations in economics
For the other sciences it´s easy to point to the most important equations, inequalities, propositions or concepts that ground the discipline. If I want to explain Finance to a…
BCLC
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6
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2 answers
Increasing prevalence of price discrimination
It seems to me that the variation of prices for similar or identical products has grown over the last decade. A few examples:
On major air routes, price differences between low-cost and traditional carriers are extreme.
Retail sales appear more…
Shane
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6
votes
3 answers
What is Islamic Banking?
What is "Islamic banking," and how is it similar to and different from banking as it occurs in the U.S.?
I have heard Shariah Law prohibits usury, the taking of interest on loans. How do Muslim bankers justify the prohibition of interest? Are there…
Geremia
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5
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1 answer
US trade outpaces GDP
I notice that US exports doubled between 2000 and 2011, imports also increasing greatly, but GDP only grew by 20%. Thus, trade in the United States seems to have grown substantially faster than production. Why is this?
Lassie Fair
- 1,718
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5
votes
4 answers
Why do rich countries remain rich?
I can think of two possible explanations:
People there inherited the wealth of their ancestors (and of the companies of their generation).
Advances in technology allows you to earn money more easily.
Despite other factors at play: Approximately…
Probably
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5
votes
2 answers
Data mining in econometric modelling
Would I be "mining the data" in a time series analysis if I add more lags than theory suggests? For instance, for annual data analysis, it is recommended that two lags would be sufficient to capture the dynamic interactions among the variables and…
london
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Book for Bretton Woods conferences and gold standard
I am looking for a good book to explain to me why the gold standard existed and why in the Bretton Woods conferences, some countries choose to abandon it. An explanation of the general scenario in a historical setting would also be greatly…
Trajan
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4 answers
Why are stock prices so time sensitive?
It seems like the vast majority of all goods and services don't change price so often.
I guess I should be careful the way I say this, because as far as I understand, they're actually very information sensitive.
So what I really mean is, why do they…
user4207
5
votes
2 answers
Where can I get pizza data
I'm studying the pizza market, especially in Utah, and I would like to know if there are any pizza data sources. Can some kind of sales tax data be used to study pizza? Is there a straight up pizza study that collected data? How creative do I have…
user4207