scholarly journals Standard Voting Power Indexes Do Not Work: An Empirical Analysis

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW GELMAN ◽  
JONATHAN N. KATZ ◽  
JOSEPH BAFUMI
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Square Root ◽  
Voting Systems ◽  
Political Implication ◽  
Weighted Voting ◽  
Voting Power ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Decisive Vote ◽  
Voting Model

Voting power indexes such as that of Banzhaf are derived, explicitly or implicitly, from the assumption that all votes are equally likely (i.e., random voting). That assumption implies that the probability of a vote being decisive in a jurisdiction with n voters is proportional to 1/√n. In this article the authors show how this hypothesis has been empirically tested and rejected using data from various US and European elections. They find that the probability of a decisive vote is approximately proportional to 1/n. The random voting model (and, more generally, the square-root rule) overestimates the probability of close elections in larger jurisdictions. As a result, classical voting power indexes make voters in large jurisdictions appear more powerful than they really are. The most important political implication of their result is that proportionally weighted voting systems (that is, each jurisdiction gets a number of votes proportional to n) are basically fair. This contradicts the claim in the voting power literature that weights should be approximately proportional to √n.

scholarly journals Competition and microfinance institutions’ performance: evidence from India

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailu Abebe Wondirad
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Competitive Market ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Abstract This paper empirically examines whether competition (measured by using the new measure of competition, the Boone Indicator) moderates the relationship between Microfinance Institutions’ (MFIs) social and financial performances using data from 183 Indian MFIs over the period 2005–2014. The findings indicate that MFIs’ social and financial performances have a positive significant relationship. Moreover, the form of the relationship is both lead-lag and cotemporal. The Indian microfinance market was very competitive over the period 2005–2014. The empirical findings show that competition positively moderates the relationship between MFIs’ social and financial performances. More precisely, the empirical analysis provides evidence that the association between MFIs’ depth of outreach and operational self-sufficiency is conditional upon competition. These results suggest that in a competitive market, the more MFI deepen their depth of outreach, the higher contribution it has to their operational self-sufficiency.

Balanced Budget Requirements Revisited

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-672
Author(s):  
Sharon N. Kioko ◽  
Michelle L. Lofton
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
General Fund ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
Fund Balances ◽  
Balanced Budget ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Balanced Budget Requirements

We test the effect of balanced budget requirements (BBRs) on budget outcomes using data published in audited financial statements. With a focus on the General Fund, we find states frequently reported deficits in their adopted budgets and relied on sizeable and favorable expenditure variances to close budget gaps before the end of the budget period. Empirical analysis shows that technical or strict BBRs procedures did not increase the likelihood that a state would report a balanced budget. We corroborate our findings using fund balance data. If technical or strict BBRs are effective, states would report higher fund balances, all else equal. Results show that states that adopted political BBRs reported lower fund balances. More importantly, the adoption of strict or technical BBRs did not lead to higher fund balances.

scholarly journals The Impact of Austerity Measures on Government Borrowing in GIIPS

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Ersoy ◽  
Talha Yanmaz
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Rate Increase ◽  
Panel Cointegration ◽  
Government Debt ◽  
Cointegration Test ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Panel Cointegration Test ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

The article investigates the effects of austerity measures on government debt in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain (GIIPS) by employing panel cointegration test and using data between 1998 and 2014. The result of empirical analysis shows that tax rate increase on personal income did not result with decrease in government debt. Interest rate and wage that are control variables are also positively related with government debt levels. The result of this empirical analysis suggests that the impact of austerity measures on government borrowing in GIIPS is positive, despite the expectations of certain economic agents.

Toward a Theory of Constitutional Amendment

1994 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Empirical Verification ◽  
American States ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Cross National

Constitutional design proceeds under the assumption that institutions have predictable consequences, but modern political science has not pursued the empirical verification of these predicted consequences with much vigor. I shall attempt to link the theoretical premises underlying one important aspect of constitutional design, the amendment process, with the empirical patterns revealed by a systematic, comparative study of constitutions. An examination of all amendments in the 50 American states since 1776 reveals patterns that are then confirmed using data from 32 national constitutions. The interaction of the two key variables affecting amendment rate can be described by an equation that generates predicted amendment rates close to those found in the cross-national empirical analysis. A constitution's length measured in number of words, the difficulty of an amendment process, and the rate of amendment turn out to have interlocking consequences that illuminate principles of constitutional design.

scholarly journals The Economics and Management of Non-Traditional Trademarks

2018 ◽  
pp. 257-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Castaldi
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Returns ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Economic Studies

Economists have largely neglected the phenomenon of NTTMs and its consequences for society so far, partly because of their limited interest in the social returns of trademarks in general. After reviewing the handful of economic studies on this matter, I present a first systematic empirical analysis of the extent of NTTM filings, with a focus on the number of filings, their nature, and the actors behind those filings. Using data from the USPTO, I find that NTTMs are steadily increasing, they are filed by very different types of firms, but they remain a relative small phenomenon, as compared to all trademark filings. I conclude by discussing avenues for further research.

scholarly journals Team rivalry and lending on crowdfunding platforms: an empirical analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Ge ◽  
Xuechen Luo
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Member Participation ◽  
Lending Decisions ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Background Prosocial crowdfunding helps the underprivileged obtain non-profit seeking loans from multitudinous lenders. Some platforms introduce team competition to motivate member participation and may thus induce team rivalry. Methods We investigate how team rivalry affects lending decisions using data from Kiva.org. We argue that a rivalry relationship may engage teams to compete directly against rivals by lending to the same project or prevent them from doing so because they intend not to cooperate. Result We find that a team is less likely to lend to a project that has received funding from its rival team, suggesting that rival teams tend to avoid cooperation. Conclusions We discuss the implications of our findings for crowdfunding and competition-based motivation mechanisms in general.

The Effects of Attitudes Toward Family Life and Gender Roles on Marital Satisfaction

1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIANE N. LYE ◽  
TIMOTHY J. BIBLARZ
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Family Attitudes ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the relationship between the gender role and family attitudes of husbands and wives and five indicators of marital satisfaction. The authors argue that men and women who espouse nontraditional attitudes are likely to be less satisfied than their more traditional counterparts. An empirical analysis is presented using data from husbands and wives interviewed in the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Husbands and wives who hold nontraditional attitudes toward family life are less satisfied with their marriages, as are men and women whose attitudes diverge from their spouse's attitudes. The effects of attitudes did not vary according to the actual gender roles observed by the couple.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document