The Esteem Theory of Norms
When esteem is costless to supply, does it provide an effectivemeans of enforcing norms for public goods production? I examine thebasic mechanics of an enforcement-through-esteem model. Whileesteem may enforce norms to considerable degree, systematicunderenforcement remains the general result, even in very basicsettings with a minimum of transactions costs. I also examine whyesteem has positive value in equilibrium if it can be producedcostlessly (i.e., why esteem remains scarce), and what collectiveaction problems plague the supply of esteem.
Modern Voting Tools , Social Incentives and Voter Turnout : Theory and Evidence
This paper investigates social norms and voting behavior. I argue that social norms create incentives for signaling, i.e. voting for the purpose of being seen at the voting act. Empirical evidence on signaling can be gained by looking at the introduction of optional postal voting in Switzerland. Even though the possibility of mail voting reduced voting costs substantially, it didn’t increase turnout. Consistent with my model’s predictions, voter turnout decreased more in the smaller communities, but in the meantime, the share of cooperators (i.e. interested voters) was more positively affected there. Therefore, modern voting tools may decrease average turnout, but nevertheless increase the quality of the voting outcome. Current models predict the opposite, but ignore the effect of different voting systems on the incentive for signaling. JEL H0, Z13.
Did the metamorphosis from Export Processing Zones to Special Economic Zones improve the efficiency of trade enclaves in India?
In this paper, the efficiency of seven conventional Special Economic Zones in India is analyzed, by adopting a stochastic production frontier technique, for the period between 1986–1987 and 2007–2008.Results indicate that although the efficiency scores of these enclaves have improved over the years, specifically with the introduction of the SEZ policy (2000–2001), it is far below the threshold level as identified in the literature. Besides, one can also observe a discrepancy emerging between better export earning zones and efficient zones. On the determinants side, policy intervention and large geographical area, accompanied by clustering of units, are found to have impacted the efficiency scores of these enclaves positively.