Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-08-12DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70081
Surjit S. Bhalla, Karan Bhasin, Prakash Loungani
{"title":"Macroeconomic effects of formal adoption of inflation targeting","authors":"Surjit S. Bhalla, Karan Bhasin, Prakash Loungani","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70081","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We examine the impact of formal adoption of inflation targeting (IT) on inflation, growth and anchoring of inflation expectations in advanced economies and emerging markets and developing economies. We find that while the early adopters of IT (pre-2000) saw declines in inflation rates following adoption, IT adopters since then have enjoyed such success in only about half the cases. Our country-level analysis—using the synthetic control method—shows that IT adoption delivers significant inflation gains in about a third of the cases. We find limited support for the concern that adoption of IT systematically leads to poorer growth outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1560-1588"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-06-14DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70073
Michael A. Klein
{"title":"Intellectual property rights and innovation in vertically related industries","authors":"Michael A. Klein","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70073","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper examines the economic impact of intellectual property rights in the context of complementary vertical innovation by firms in upstream and downstream industries. Empirical patterns suggest that industry downstreamness is associated with a greater relative importance of patents versus trade secrecy in firm appropriation strategies. Using a novel model of endogenous growth, I show that strengthening patent protection generates downstream-biased technical change in most cases. The corresponding reallocation of resources creates distributional effects from patent policy that existing analysis do not account for. I examine the impact of these effects on economic growth, welfare, and optimal patent policy.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1327-1344"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-08-30DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70086
Prakrati Thakur
{"title":"Global waste trade: Comparative advantage, the pollution haven effect, and externality costs","authors":"Prakrati Thakur","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70086","url":null,"abstract":"<p>I quantify how comparative advantage and the pollution haven effect (PHE) shape international waste flows and infer the associated externality costs by constructing a Ricardian model with generation, trade, and use as a production input of waste. Combining waste flow, tariff, and environmental regulation data with a meteorological pollution dispersion instrument, I estimate that a 1% increase in trade costs reduces various waste flows by 7%–29.3%. Stricter environmental regulation in origin relative to the destination lowers trade costs for certain waste by 7%–77.7%. Per-unit externality costs increase but gains from waste trade decrease with income, with PHE contributing substantially.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1303-1326"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-06-13DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70069
Sargam Gupta, Snigdha Kalra
{"title":"Improving tax revenues in the emerging markets: A Laffer curve analysis","authors":"Sargam Gupta, Snigdha Kalra","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70069","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) can significantly improve their tax-to-GDP ratios by expanding the tax base and strengthening institutional quality. This paper develops a neoclassical growth model with heterogeneous agents- Ricardian and non-Ricardian households-to examine fiscal capacity using a Laffer curve framework. It highlights two key constraints in EMDEs: a large untaxed population-including exempt and informally employed individuals, and institutional weakness reflected in tax evasion, poor audits, and weak compliance norms. Non-Ricardians are untaxed; Ricardians may evade or pay taxes. Results show that raising tax rates alone is ineffective; broader compliance, limited exemptions, and institutional reforms are essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1458-1492"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125787","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-06-30DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70070
Berno Buechel, Lydia Mechtenberg, Alexander F. Wagner
{"title":"When do proxy advisors improve corporate decisions?","authors":"Berno Buechel, Lydia Mechtenberg, Alexander F. Wagner","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70070","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper studies the impact of proxy advisors on shareholder decision-making. We posit two assumptions: (i) the board is at least as well informed as any individual shareholder; (ii) shareholders can condition their information acquisition on the proxy advisor's (PA) recommendation. If only (i) holds, shareholders optimally rubber-stamp the board's proposal and do not invest in private research. If (ii) additionally holds, disagreement between the board and the PA can trigger private information acquisition by some shareholders. We identify the conditions under which this mechanism restores value-of-information logic and improves the informational quality of shareholder voting outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1183-1208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ecin.70070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-06-22DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70071
Ufuk Devrim Demirel, Matthew Wilson
{"title":"Supply disruptions, economic slack, and the state-dependent Phillips curve","authors":"Ufuk Devrim Demirel, Matthew Wilson","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70071","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper investigates how supply disruptions and economic slack affect the responsiveness of inflation to changes in aggregate demand. We propose and estimate a nonlinear Phillips curve, whereby the sensitivity of inflation to changes in demand varies with supply conditions and the amount of slack in the economy. We find evidence that supply disruptions and low unemployment both steepen the Phillips curve, thereby amplifying the inflationary effects of increased demand. Our results suggest that the effects of fiscal policy on inflation depend on the prevailing supply conditions and the level of unemployment in the economy.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1260-1280"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-06-06DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70068
Niamh Wylie, Martha O’Hagan-Luff
{"title":"A qualitative assessment of quantitative easing sentiment","authors":"Niamh Wylie, Martha O’Hagan-Luff","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70068","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This mixed-method study undertakes a comprehensive inquiry of the public discourse on social media surrounding quantitative easing (QE) across the US, the UK, and the European Union. Utilizing a unique tweet dataset, we reveal the sentiment polarity toward QE policy to be strongly negative, at 71.27%, with positive sentiment a mere 4.25%. Distilling the negative QE sentiment, we identify prominent themes of “anti-government,” “anti-central bank,” “inequality,” “ineffectiveness,” “inflation,” and “asset inflation,” and demonstrate a longitudinal association between perceived inequality and asset price inflation with an anti-establishment stance. We conclude with suggested central bank policy recommendations to restore and foster public trust.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1230-1259"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ecin.70068","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-07-21DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70076
David J. Balan, Jeremy A. Sandford
{"title":"Mergers when price and quality are set by bargaining","authors":"David J. Balan, Jeremy A. Sandford","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70076","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We study the effects of horizontal mergers on product quality in a bilateral bargaining environment. In our model, a competition-reducing merger reduces equilibrium quality as long as the buyer's marginal rate of substitution of quality for price declines with price, holding quality constant. This condition is closely related to quality being a normal good. This result holds when price and quality are jointly negotiated, and it extends to a sequential setting in which sellers first choose quality and then bargain with buyers over price. We discuss applications to procurement and healthcare markets, as well as several extensions.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1345-1362"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Economic InquiryPub Date : 2026-10-09Epub Date: 2026-08-25DOI: 10.1111/ecin.70085
Tho Pham, Daniel Schaefer, Carl Singleton
{"title":"Unequal hiring wages and their impact on the gender pay gap","authors":"Tho Pham, Daniel Schaefer, Carl Singleton","doi":"10.1111/ecin.70085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.70085","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Payroll data from Great Britain reveal that men are paid more than women upon entry into firms. Although this hiring wage gap has narrowed over the past two decades, it still accounts for over two-thirds of the steady-state gender pay gap—the wage gap that would eventually prevail under constant employment levels. A significant part of this hiring wage gap is not explained by men and women working in different firms and occupations. Even when hiring men and women into the same job, there remains an unexplained hiring wage gap that favors men by 2.4 log points.</p>","PeriodicalId":51380,"journal":{"name":"Economic Inquiry","volume":"64 4","pages":"1434-1457"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ecin.70085","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149125761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}