No abstract is available for this item.

No abstract is available for this item.

This paper tests the visa-led tourism hypothesis (VTH) which contends that easing of visa restrictions increases international tourism. Israel acts as a natural laboratory in this case with clear before and after junctures in visa restrictions. We use panel data on tourism to Israel from 60 countries during 1994-2012. In contrast to previous work we take account of non-stationarity in the data and test for the effect of multilateral resistance on tourism. Partial waivers of visa restrictions are estimated to increase tourism by 48 percent and complete waivers increase tourism by 118 percent. Other results include the adverse effect of Israel?s security situation on tourism, the beneficial effect of real devaluation on tourism, and the fact that the elasticity of tourism to Israel with respect to tourism to all destinations is very small.

Spatial impulses are derived for SAR models containing a spatial unit root. Analytical solutions are obtained for lateral space where the number of spatial units tends to infinity. Numerical solutions are obtained for finite lattices where edge-effects are shown to influence spatial impulses. Monte Carlo simulation methods are used to compute critical values for spatial unit root tests in SAR models estimated from spatial cross-section data. We also compute critical SAC values for spatial cointegration tests for cross-section data that happen to be spatially nonstationary. [...]

We "spatialize " residual-based panel cointegration tests for nonstationary spatial panel data in terms of a spatial error correction model (SpECM). Local panel cointegration arises when the data are cointegrated within spatial units but not between them. Spatial panel cointegration arises when the data are cointegrated through spatial lags between spatial units but not within them. Global panel cointegration arises when the data are cointegrated both within and between spatial units. Spatial error correction arises when error correction occurs within and between spatial units. We use nonstationary spatial panel data on the housing market in Israel to illustrate the methodology. [...]

We test the causal Gateway Theory of drug use dynamics by way of a natural experiment. We randomize cigarette smoking by birth cohort and cigarette prices. We use data for Israel to show that while cigarette smoking causes cannabis use, the evidence that cannabis use causes hard drug use is much weaker. These results are based on various econometric methodologies including two-stage [...]

participants in seminars at the Institute for Race and Social Division and a labor lunch at Boston University. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research. [...]

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the institute. Research disseminated by IZA may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit company supported by Deutsche Post World Net. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA [...]

The payout rate on lotto is normally fixed. We show that such a policy is generally suboptimal from the lotto authorities ’ point of view. The payout rate should be allowed to vary according to the number of rollovers that have occurred. To illustrate our argument, we simulate and optimize an econometric model of the lotto market in Israel. We also consider whether it is profitable to increase the frequency of lotto from once to twice a week. We wish to thank the referees for helpful remarks and the Eshkol Institute for Social Research in Israel for financial support in [...]

The article reviews the book "Heredity, Family, and Inequality: A Critique of Social Sciences," by Michael Beenstock.

Proponents of Taylor Rules assume that the natural rate of interest is independent of the rate of interest set by the central bank. We use data for Israel to test this hypothesis. We proxy the natural rate of interest by the forward yield to maturity on indexed-linked treasury bonds. If the null hypothesis is false it is difficult to suggest persuasive instruments that would identify the causal effect of the money rate on the natural rate of interest. Our identification strategy is therefore built around natural experimentation and event analysis. Large and seemingly exogenous shocks to monetary policy have no [...]

An econometric methodology is developed for nonparametric estimation of concave production technologies. The methodology, based on the principle of maximum likelihood, uses entropic distance and convex programming techniques to estimate production functions. Empirical applications are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the methodology in small and large datasets. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [...]

No abstract is available for this item.

Bhash Mazumder of Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reviews, 'Heredity, Family, and Inequality: A Critique of Social Sciences' by Michael Beenstock. The EconLit Abstract of this book begins: 'Explores the roles of heredity, family, and social environment in the determination of outcomes among humans, including anthropometric, psychological, behavioral, and economic outcomes. Discusses the apple and the tree-Francis Galton revisited; correlation within the family; explaining the intergenerational and sibling correlations; inequality, diversity, and family; empirical methodology; empirical knowledge on the causes of correlations within the family; where we go from here; statistics; parenting theory and child behavior; and empirical methodology. Beenstock is Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Bibliography; index.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical literature in disciplines ranging from behavioral genetics to economics shows that in virtually every aspect of life the outcomes of children are correlated to a greater or lesser extent with the outcomes of their parents and their siblings. In Heredity, Family, and Inequality, the economist Michael Beenstock offers theoretical, statistical, and methodological tools for understanding these correlations. Beenstock presents a comprehensive survey of intergenerational and sibling correlations for a broad range of outcomes–including fertility and longevity, intelligence and education, income and consumption, and deviancy and religiosity. He then offers a critique of the sometimes conflicting explanations for these correlations proposed by social scientists from such disciplines as developmental psychology, sociology, and economics. Beenstock also provides an axiomatic framework for thinking about the complex interplay of heredity, family, and environments, drawing on game theor