Educational Expansion and Economic Output in the United States, 1890-1969: A Production Function Analysis

Species extinctions and ecological degradation are accelerating to a degree unprecedented in human history. Despite such trends, causal evidence for economic drivers of biodiversity loss and effective policy responses remains sparse. Here we study the relationship between economic production and biodiversity using a novel panel dataset that contains detailed and consistently reported information on the types and quantities of wildlife at thousands of locations across the United States between 1960 and 2015. Our research design exploits well- understood sources of change to local economic output – including those induced by fiscal shocks and environmental regulations – to identify how local economic production affects biodiversity outcomes. We find that economic production re- duces the total abundance of wildlife, reduces the count of distinct species, and changes the composition of species in a local ecosystem even holding the number of species constant. Our findings point toward environmental degradation as a potential culprit in the decline of biodiversity. We show that the adverse effect of economic production is mitigated by conservation, and by advances in emission abatement technologies that were spurred by stricter pollution regulations.

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China and the United States

Inequality in the Developing World ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198863960.003.0011 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 257-283

Author(s):

Roy van der Weide ◽

Ambar Narayan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Economic Growth ◽

Market Economy ◽

The United States ◽

International Standards ◽

Human Potential ◽

Socioeconomic Mobility ◽

Economic Output ◽

Rapid Economic Growth ◽

The Us

The United States and China are the world’s largest economies. Together they are responsible for about one-third of the world’s economic output. This chapter aims to examine whether the two economic giants are also lands of opportunity where resources are allocated in a way that minimizes unrealized human potential. Our analysis shows that despite stark differences in their levels of development, the US and China report remarkably similar levels of socioeconomic mobility—levels considered low by international standards. The US’s level of mobility has historically been low. Before it embarked on its transition from planned to market economy, socioeconomic mobility was relatively high in China. However, as it underwent a period of rapid economic growth, China’s socioeconomic mobility declined significantly. The chapter concludes that the world’s two major economic powers have converged to a low level of socioeconomic mobility where talent from disadvantaged backgrounds is excluded.

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Migration Research and Policy in the United States

Bridging the Gaps ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198834557.003.0010 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 146-166

Author(s):

Philip Martin

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Economic Growth ◽

Policy Maker ◽

The United States ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Economic Output ◽

Us Economy ◽

Migration Research ◽

The Us ◽

Research And Policy

US researchers have reached more consensus on the number and characteristics of migrants than on their socio-economic impacts, especially with regard to unauthorized migrants. When there is consensus among social scientists on some aspect of migration, such as the additional economic output due to the presence of migrants, this consensus result suggests very different policies for advocates. For example, the finding that the US economy may have been up to $10 billion larger in the 1990s due to migrants was touted by advocates of more migrants as proof of their benefits, and criticized by those favouring less migration as the equivalent of two weeks economic growth. President Trump is an example of a policy-maker selectively using migration research to justify restrictionist policies.

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Occupational and Labor Market Effects on Secondary and Postsecondary Educational Expansion in the United States: 1922 to 1979

American Sociological Review ◽

10.2307/2095423 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 49 (5) ◽

pp. 659 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Pamela Barnhouse Walters

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Labor Market ◽

The United States ◽

Educational Expansion ◽

Market Effects

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The benefits of coronavirus suppression: A cost-benefit analysis of the response to the first wave of COVID-19 in the United States

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0252729 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0252729

Author(s):

James Broughel ◽

Michael Kotrous

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Cost Benefit Analysis ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

The United States ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Total Production ◽

Economic Output ◽

At Risk Populations ◽

Net Benefits ◽

Benefits And Costs

This paper estimates the benefits and costs of state suppression policies to “bend the curve” during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. We employ an approach that values benefits and costs in terms of additions or subtractions to total production. Relative to a baseline in which only the infected and at-risk populations mitigate the spread of coronavirus, we estimate that total benefits of suppression policies to economic output are between $632.5 billion and $765.0 billion from early March 2020 to August 1, 2020. Relative to private mitigation, output lost due to suppression policies is estimated to be between $214.2 billion and $331.5 billion. The cost estimate is based on the duration of nonessential business closures and stay-at-home orders, which were enforced between 42 and 65 days. Our results indicate that the net benefits of suppression policies to slow the spread of COVID-19 are positive and may be substantial. We discuss uncertainty surrounding several parameters and employ alternative methods for valuing mortality benefits, which also suggest that suppression measures had positive net benefits.

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Deficit Financing in Contemporary Economies: Effects and Implications

Journal of King Abdulaziz University-Islamic Economics ◽

10.4197/islec.32-1.6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 87-95

Author(s):

Mahfuzul Haque Mahfuzul Haque

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Economic Growth ◽

Government Expenditure ◽

The United States ◽

Temporary Increase ◽

Political Capital ◽

Economic Output ◽

Economic Downturns ◽

Deficit Financing ◽

Public Deficits

Ann Pettifor’s paper on deficit financing elucidates how Keynesian policies in times of economic slumps reduce public deficits. A public misconception is that during economic downturns, increasing government expenditure will worsen the deficit. Deficit financing aims to increase economic output via creating/salvaging jobs and increasing productivity. Thus, the temporary increase in spending creates a longterm increase in economic output, so the size of the deficit in relation to GDP ultimately decreases. However, effective targeting of government expenditure is critical if it is to benefit the economy. Evidence from the United States, Taiwan, and Bangladesh, shows how deficit financing used effectively, and not solely to gain political capital, is necessary to produce economic growth.

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Genomic and acoustic differences separate Lilian’s Meadowlark (Sturnella magna lilianae) from Eastern (S. magna) and Western (S. neglecta) meadowlarks

The Auk ◽

10.1093/ornithology/ukab004 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Johanna K Beam ◽

Erik R Funk ◽

Scott A Taylor

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Function Analysis ◽

The United States ◽

Species Status ◽

Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽

Linear Discriminant ◽

Distinct Evolutionary Lineage ◽

Sturnella Magna ◽

Insight Into ◽

Linear Discriminant Function Analysis

Abstract Examining differences among recently diverged populations can provide insight into the traits and evolutionary mechanisms that drive or maintain divergence. The genus Sturnella includes 2 recently diverged species, Sturnella magna (Eastern Meadowlark) and S. neglecta (Western Meadowlark), the former of which has a complex of subspecies distributed across the Americas. Of the S. magna subspecies that occur in the United States, S. m. lilianae is the only one with a disjunct range, occurring in the southwestern United States and central Mexico. It also has markedly different song patterns than all other S. magna subspecies. In order to assess population differentiation, we performed whole-genome sequencing of 35 birds and analyzed song characteristics from 85 birds. Songs from each species and S. m. lilianae were diagnosable using linear discriminant function analysis and support divergence in song between all taxa. Phylogenetic analysis and admixture proportions support 3 distinct clades within North American meadowlarks, and tests of introgression failed to detect a significant signal. Overall, our results indicate that S. m. lilianae exhibits high levels of genetic and vocal differentiation from both S. magna and S. neglecta, with no evidence of introgression between any group, and forms a distinct evolutionary lineage. We thus recommend the elevation of S. m. lilianae to species status.

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