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Series:Working Papers  Bank:Federal Reserve Bank of Boston 

Working Paper
Network externalities and technology adoption: lessons from electronic payments

We seek to determine the presence and causes of network externalities for the automated clearinghouse (ACH) electronic payments system, using a monthly panel data set on individual bank adoption of ACH. We construct a model of ACH usage that shows how to separately identify network externalities from technological advancement and peer-group effects. We find significant evidence of network effects and find evidence that these network effects are not internalized. Moreover, a large part of these network effects is due to informational problems. Sunk costs of adoption appear to be low.
Working Papers , Paper 99-5

Working Paper
Are \"deep\" parameters stable? the Lucas critique as an empirical hypothesis

For years, the problems associated with the Lucas critique have loomed over empirical macroeconomics. Since the publication of the classic Lucas (1976) critique, researchers have endeavored to specify models that capture the underlying dynamic decision-making behavior of consumers and firms who require forecasts of future events. By uncovering "deep" structural parameters that characterize these fundamental behaviors, and by explicitly modeling expectations, it is argued one can capture the dependence of agents' behavior on the functions describing policy. However, relatively little effort ...
Working Papers , Paper 99-4

Working Paper
Housing and debt over the life cycle and over the business cycle

This paper describes an equilibrium life-cycle model of housing where nonconvex adjustment costs lead households to adjust their housing choice infrequently and by large amounts when they do so. In the cross-sectional dimension, the model matches the wealth distribution; the age profiles of consumption, homeownership, and mortgage debt; and data on the frequency of housing adjustment. In the time-series dimension, the model accounts for the procyclicality and volatility of housing investment, and for the procyclical behavior of household debt.
Working Papers , Paper 09-12

Working Paper
A model of real estate auctions versus negotiated sales

Real estate auctions have grown substantially in recent years, emergingas an alternative sales method for many institutions interested in sellinglarge amounts of property quickly. This paper develops a framework for comparing auctions to the more traditional negotiated sales. The model showsthat auctions will sell property at a discount because a quick sale results in a poorer "match" between house and buyer, on average, than could be obtained by waiting longer for a buyer. Furthermore, the model predicts that auction discounts should be larger in a down market with high vacancies, and in a ...
Working Papers , Paper 93-3

Working Paper
A survey of economic theories and field evidence on pro-social behavior

In recent years, a large number of economic theories have evolved to explain people?s pro-social behavior and the variation in their respective behavior. This paper surveys economic theories on pro-social behavior and presents evidence ? mainly from the field ? testing these theories. In addition, the survey emphasizes that institutional environment might significantly interact with pro-social preferences and explain some of the variation in observed pro-social behavior.
Working Papers , Paper 06-6

Working Paper
Fiscal devaluations

The authors show that even when the exchange rate cannot be devalued, a small set of conventional fiscal policy instruments can robustly replicate the real allocations attained under a nominal exchange rate devaluation in a standard New Keynesian open economy environment. They perform the analysis under alternative pricing assumptions?producer or local currency pricing along with nominal wage stickiness, under alternative asset market structures, and for anticipated and unanticipated devaluations. There are two types of fiscal policies equivalent to an exchange rate devaluation: one, a ...
Working Papers , Paper 12-10

Working Paper
Sovereign default risk and uncertainty premia

This paper studies how foreign investors' concerns about model misspecification affect sovereign bond spreads. We develop a general equilibrium model of sovereign debt with endogenous default wherein investors fear that the probability model of the underlying state of the borrowing economy is misspecified. Consequently, investors demand higher returns on their bond holdings to compensate for the default risk in the context of uncertainty. In contrast with the existing literature on sovereign default, we explain the bond spreads dynamics observed in the data as well as other business cycle ...
Working Papers , Paper 12-11

Working Paper
Consumer Payment Behavior by Income and Demographics

Despite the introduction of an array of innovations and new payment options for consumers over the last decade, income and demographics remain significant predictors of payment behavior. Using data from a 2023 consumer payments diary, we find that income, age, and education are significant predictors of which payment instruments consumers adopt and use. These associations hold not only for traditional payment instruments—cards and paper—but also for innovations such as mobile apps; buy now, pay later (BNPL); and cryptocurrency. In 2023, less educated consumers were significantly less ...
Working Papers , Paper 24-8

Working Paper
Why state medicaid costs vary: a first look

This study will begin by reviewing why governments have a role in providing ,health care for their citizens. The following sections will explain why the Medicaid program has become a substantial burden for many state governments and why that burden is likely to increase. The~study will then examine why some states? Medicaid expenditures are well above average and will outline some choices that policymakers may be forced to consider in the immediate future.
Working Papers , Paper 91-1

Working Paper
Household Liquidity and Macroeconomic Stabilization: Evidence from Mortgage Forbearance

We estimate the impact of household liquidity provision on macroeconomic stabilization using the 2020 CARES Act mortgage forbearance program. We leverage intermediation frictions in forbearance induced by mortgage servicers to identify the effect of reducing short-term payments with little change in long-term debt obligations on local labor market outcomes. Following statewide business reopenings, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of mortgages in forbearance leads to a 30 basis point increase in monthly employment growth in nontradable industries. In a model incorporating ...
Working Papers , Paper 23-12

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