Are transfer payments stimulative? - Sometimes - with Steve Cassou & Ahmed Iqbal [ under review in the Journal of Policy Modeling ]
Presentations: MVEA 2022; 2022 Kansas University Job Market Exchange Seminar; 2022 K-State Economics Alumni Conference
Abstract: This paper investigates the stimulative effects of transfer payments on personal income and gross domestic product using impulse response functions and forecast error variance decomposition in state-dependent time series econometric models. It is shown that under symmetric response assumptions, positive transfer payment impulses lead to positive and relatively long-lasting effects on personal income and gross domestic product. However, when an asymmetry linked to economic conditions is used, it is found that transfer payment effects are asymmetric and have significant positive effects on personal income and gross domestic product during times of economic weakness but are not very stimulative during strong economic times. A deeper analysis shows that this result is not due to unemployment insurance transfers but is mostly due to the recent special programs undertaken during the Great Recession and the more recent COVID-19 recession. These results indicate that policy which uses transfer payments as economic stimulus for the economy during expansionary economic conditions will not lead to large gains in personal income and gross domestic product. Furthermore, policy expansions for unemployment benefits do not result in large economic regardless of the economic conditions. The primary stimulative benefit to personal income and gross domestic product from transfer payment policy expansions comes from special programs enacted during contractionary economic conditions.
Financial Market Participation of Immigrants and Their Intentions to Emigrate from the United States of America - with Claudia S. Kelly [Accepted in the Journal of Applied Business and Economics]
Abstract: In this study, we empirically examine the relationship between U.S. immigrants’ intentions to emigrate from the U.S. and their financial market participation. Researchers have explored several determinants of immigrants’ financial market participation, namely the characteristics of the immigrants and their country of origin. However, one determinant that has not been explored due to a lack of data is immigrants’ intentions to emigrate from the host country. Using data from the New Immigrant Survey, we find that immigrants with intentions to emigrate from the U.S. are more likely to participate in the financial markets relative to their counterparts with no such intentions. The results also indicate that married immigrants with intentions to emigrate from the U.S. are less likely to own a checking or savings account than immigrants who are not married. In addition, immigrants with the intent to emigrate from the U.S. are more likely to purchase stocks, corporate bonds, or both as they get older.
Effect of Fertilizer Subsidy on Household Level Cereal Production in Ghana - with Francis Tsiboe & Irene Egyir [Published in Scientific African]
Abstract: Agricultural input subsidy programs have once again become a major plank of policies in Africa, aimed at productivity improvements and poverty reduction among farmers. In Ghana, a nationwide Fertilizer Subsidy Program (GFSP) was commenced in 2008. How- ever, there has been limited rigorous evaluation of its impact on crop yields to date. Using matching methods, this study estimated the treatment effect of GFSP on a cross-sectional sample of 5,923 cereal households drawn from a population-based survey dataset for 2012/13 and 2016/17. Results showed that cereal yield enhancement attributable to GFSP was 24.5%. Additionally, the effect disaggregated by type of cereal showed that farmers cultivating maize benefited the most. These findings support the ability of GFSP ability to improve productivity.
Health Status of US Immigrants and the Process of Becoming a Legal Permanent Resident Alien - with Claudia S. Kelly [Published in the Journal of Applied Business and Economics]
Abstract: Using the first round of the 2003 cohort of the New Immigrant Survey, a nationally representative sample of new legal immigrants to the United States, we investigate the relationship between the process of becoming a legal permanent resident alien (the process of obtaining a green card) and the self-reported health status of U.S. immigrants. Results from ordered-logistic regressions indicate that immigrants who felt sad, blue, or depressed because of the process of becoming a legal permanent resident in the U.S. were more likely to report a lower health status.
International Remittances and Political Participation in Ghana - with Precious Allor & Owura Kuffuor (under review) | Presentation: 2nd University of Pretoria Economics Ph.D. Workshop - South Africa
Trust for Electoral Management Bodies - with Owura Kuffuor (under review)
Assimilation of U.S. Female Immigrants: A Cohort Approach
Fiscal Policy and the Sustainability of U.S. Government Debt: New Evidence from Time-Varying Approach
Parental Employment and Child Nutrition in Ghana - with Preety Bhogal, Francis Tsiboe, & Precious Allor