Economists use reduced-form and structural approaches to address questions or model various aspects of economic phenomena. Reduced-form models focus on the effects of causes, explaining relationships between factors without delving into the exact reasons behind those connections. This approach often uses regression. For instance, imagine studying how education affects income. A reduced-form approach mayContinue reading “Structural Form and Reduced Form – Two Empirical Analytical Tools”
Author Archives: Econrc
Cool Head and Warm Heart: How Economists Address Crimes
Some people argue that economics is just a “boring math game” and doesn’t really deal with the messy, real-world economy we’re all living in. As Thomas Quincey once put it, “Economists are too obsessed with math.” But actually, economics does help us think about a bunch of stuff: Why is it that safety and securityContinue reading “Cool Head and Warm Heart: How Economists Address Crimes”
Report Discussion on Education Hub at Social Solution Initiative, Osaka University
Prof. Travis NG, the Director of the Economic Research Centre, discussed the report “Building an education hub to address some population challenges” at The Social Solution Initiative (SSI) at Osaka University in June 2023. The paper serves as a discussion material during a meeting between the Policy Research @ HKIAPS of the Chinese University ofContinue reading “Report Discussion on Education Hub at Social Solution Initiative, Osaka University”
How Can Hong Kong Residents Make Use of Government Data in their Decision Making Process? (Case 1: Choosing a Hospital)
Introduction Various Hong Kong governmental agencies have been uploading datasets that they collected to their own websites. Hence, the establishment of the Annual Open Data Plan in 2018 has provided a comprehensive platform that consolidates their datasets, which is also updated regularly for public use. However, according to the Hong Kong People’s View on OpenContinue reading “How Can Hong Kong Residents Make Use of Government Data in their Decision Making Process? (Case 1: Choosing a Hospital)”
Hong Kong Official Data Sources from Various Governmental Institutions
Everyone has to make a lot of decisions every day, and we always hope to have something to support our decision-making so that we can try our best to reduce any uncertainties. That’s why information is important for all of us: They serve as evidence to help us establish fact-based decisions instead of assumption-based decisions,Continue reading “Hong Kong Official Data Sources from Various Governmental Institutions”
Teaching Case – Balance of Payment for Kowloon True Light School at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
On 21 December 2022, 22 students from the Kowloon True Light School visited The Chinese University of Hong Kong and participated in the Balance of Payment Teaching Case workshop prepared by 2 student helpers from the Department of Economics. We made some adjustments to the game design of the teaching case after the test runContinue reading “Teaching Case – Balance of Payment for Kowloon True Light School at The Chinese University of Hong Kong”
What Leads to Divorce? Some Economic Findings
In our previous blog post, we introduced 3 common measures of divorce. Both the crude divorce rate and the refined divorce rate of the United States show that the number of divorces in the U.S. has been declining. We now look at some factors affecting divorce. Domestic Violence Bowlus and Seitz (2006) show thatContinue reading “What Leads to Divorce? Some Economic Findings”
How Do We Measure Divorce Rates? Introduction of 3 Common Measures
There has been a myth in the United States, which is that over 50% of the married couples in United States will end in divorce. If true, it will bring a lot of irreparable damages to children, families, and the taxpayers. Are we able to debunk the myth from the 3 common measures of divorce? Continue reading “How Do We Measure Divorce Rates? Introduction of 3 Common Measures”
When Does Good Money Drive Out Bad Money
I. Introduction Gresham’s Law is a theory that predicts what will happen when two kinds of money circulate in an economy at the same time. However, the Gresham’s Law is conditional on certain circumstances. Outside of those circumstances, its predictions may not come true. II. The Story of Gresham’s Law The story of Gresham’sContinue reading “When Does Good Money Drive Out Bad Money”
Possible causes behind the recent economic crisis of Sri Lanka
Background A perfect storm has been riding on Sri Lanka that causes a widespread impact on its economy, society and order. Due to the reckless tax cut and the sluggish tourism sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War, the Sri Lanka government’s revenue dropped sharply with its budget deficit picking up. On theContinue reading “Possible causes behind the recent economic crisis of Sri Lanka”