The authors examine how the government-policy environment effects entrepreneurship, specifically if marginal income tax rates and bankruptcy exemptions influence rates of entrepreneurship. Previous work has shown both policies are positively related to entrepreneurship, but these authors show a U-shaped relationship with marginal tax rates and an S-shaped relationship with bankruptcy exemptions.
Growth of human capital (change in the fraction of a metro area's college-educated labor force) is typically seen as generating desirable outcomes (e.g., economic growth). With a sample of >200 U.S. metro areas for 1980, 1990, and 2000, the author explores why some economies have more human capital than others and finds two significant correlates ...
Economic news affects the perceptions of investors, forecasters, and policymakers about the economy. The authors evaluate the responses of the yield of 10-year TIIS to nearly 3 dozen macroeconomic announcements and find that the real long-term interest rate responds to surprises in a handful of key macroeconomic indicators (e.g., labor productivity growth).
Gaps between output and employment growth are often attributed to transitional phases as the economy adjusts to shifts in productivity. But cyclical factors can also drive a wedge between output and employment growth. This article shows that one measure of cyclical dynamics (expected output loss from a recession) helps predict the gap between output and employment growth in the coming four quarters and implies that a weaker-than-expected rebound can partially mute employment growth relative to output growth.
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