The American Economist


	FALL 2008 VOLUME LIII table of contents abstracts TABLE OF CONTENTS Articles Succeeding in Economics Harold Demsetz Journals, Editors, Referees, and Authors: Experiences at the Journal of Economic Literature John Pencavel Practitioner of the Dismal Science? Who, Me? Couldn't Be!! Richard B. Freeman Econ Agonistes: Navigating and Surviving the Publishing Process Steven Pressman Epistemic Flagpoles: Economics Journals as Instrumental Rhetoric Daniel W. Bromley Linking Labor Productivity to Economic Freedom Edward Nissan and Farhang Niroomand Determinants of the Time-Variation in Emerging-Market Closed-End Fund Premiums: A Comparison Between Equity and Bond Funds Iuliana Ismailescu The Influence of Economists on Public Attitudes Toward Government Scott A. Beaulier, William J. Boyes, William S. Mounts On the Optimality of Escalated Tariff Structure: A Cournot Duopoly Analysis Yu-Ter Wang Explorations in the Economics of Intertemporal Asset Transfer in Roman Palestine P.V. Viswanath Book Reviews Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade Lall Ramrattan and Michael Szenberg ABSTRACTS Succeeding in Economics Harold Demsetz more... Journals, Editors, Referees, and Authors: Experiences at the Journal of Economic Literature John Pencavel more... Practitioner of the Dismal Science? Who, Me? Couldn't Be!! Richard B. Freeman more... Econ Agonistes: Navigating and Surviving the Publishing Process Steven Pressman more... Epistemic Flagpoles: Economics Journals as Instrumental Rhetoric Daniel W. Bromley more... Linking Labor Productivity to Economic Freedom Edward Nissan and Farhang Niroomand This paper provides a review of the role of enterprise in a capitalistic setting to promote economic growth. For this purpose, two indexes on productivity and economic freedom were utilized to compare countries grouped by region and income. The finding by relating productivity to economic freedom index of the Heritage Foundation indicates a statistically significant relationship between the two. This gives credence to the hypothesis that economic liberalization induces growth, despite significant gaps in the levels of productivity and economic freedom index between groups of countries. more... Determinants of the Time-Variation in Emerging-Market Closed-End Fund Premiums: A Comparison Between Equity and Bond Funds Iuliana Ismailescu This paper explores the determinant factors of the time-variation in emerging markets closed-end fund premiums, price returns, and NAV returns. After controlling for variables previously proposed in the emerging market closed-end funds literature, such as the U.S. stock market risk, local stock market return, and the percentage change in exchange rates, two hypothesis are used to explain the variation in fund premiums: the U.S. investor sentiment and the market segmentation theory. The results of the time-series analyses show that country funds, regional equity funds, and global bond funds are influenced quite differently by the suggested factors. more... The Influence of Economists on Public Attitudes Toward Government Scott A. Beaulier, William J. Boyes, William S. Mounts One of John Maynard Keynes's most quoted statements (1935, p. 383) is: ... The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. The number of economists per capita in the United States has risen in the past few decades. At the same time, the public has become more comfortable with big government. This raises intriguing questions regarding just how economists are influencing public opinion; we are left wondering whether economists are instilling a desire in the public for more government or whether, in opposition to Keynes's statement, economists are losing influence. In this paper, we provide some answers. We find that the increased role of economists in society and in policymaking has led to an increase in favorable attitudes toward government intervention more... On the Optimality of Escalated Tariff Structure: A Cournot Duopoly Analysis Yu-Ter Wang This paper examines whether an escalated tariff structure will maximize national welfare by using a simple Cournot duopoly model, where an intermediate good and a final good are vertically related. In this paper, some general results are derived. It is shown that the escalated tariff structure prevailing in most countries does not necessarily benefit an importing country more than a de-escalated tariff structure. The condition for an importing country to adopt an escalated tariff structure is a huge loss incurred by a domestic final-good producer resulting from a tariff imposed on imports of the intermediate good. A de-escalated tariff structure should be adopted by an importing country as a tariff on imports of the final good harms the domestic consumers much more than a tariff on imports of the intermediate good. more... Explorations in the Economics of Intertemporal Asset Transfer in Roman Palestine P.V. Viswanath Following the Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE, there were largescale destabilizations of the Jewish population in Palestine. Information regarding economic decisions has always been available indirectly from Jewish and Roman legalistic material, but it has been insufficiently mined for economic insights. Furthermore, over the last forty years, new documentary material has become available from the second century. This note discusses some interesting aspects of how people managed to transfer resources over time in those turbulent times. Specifically, I look at two cases of asset transfer where the primary purpose was to transfer wealth over time. I explore the role of market frictions in both cases and make comparisons to present-day circumstances. more... Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade Lall Ramrattan and Michael Szenberg more...