Ori Katz
According to a position paper by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies
(JIMS), the corporate tax rate in Israel is higher than in similar-sized countries
such as Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, and does not account for the
disadvantages of the business environment for foreign investors.
The one percent rise in corporate tax rate planned by the Ministry of Finance will hamper
economic growth more than cuts in the government's budget or a rise in other taxes, says a
new study by JIMS. According to a position paper the Institute published (April 30), an
increase in the corporate tax rate may create a significant gap in corporate tax rates
between Israel and countries with similar characteristics.
JIMS Position Paper, PP300413
Yarden Gazit
The Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) recommends transferring the
responsibility for national poverty measurement from the Institute for National
Insurance (Bituach Leumi) to a more objective institution, such as the Central Bureau
of Statistics or the Bank of Israel.JIMS
notes several problems in the information recently published by Bituach Leumi in its
annual "Report on the dimensions of poverty and social inequalities" for 2011.
"The report does not provide a reliable picture that policymakers can use to develop
the most efficient policy to tackle poverty," says Yarden Gazit, a JIMS research
fellow who authored the paper.
JIMS Position Paper, PP121212
Keren Harel-Harari and Zev Golan
Approximately 30 percent of senior citizens in Israel who are not working are able to work, and their net total employment would be worth NIS 6.4 billion in income, according to a new study by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS).
"The agenda in Israel is focused on raising the employment rate in the Haredi and Arab sectors, or in the whole country. Senior citizens are ignored, though many of them want to work and many of them were working until they were forced or encouraged not to," said Keren Harel-Harari.
JIMS Position Paper, PP041212
Yarden Gazit
While according to polls, two thirds of the Jews in Israel will fast on Yom Kippur, including a quarter of
the secular Jews, things are quite different when it comes to marriage: according to this study by the Jerusalem
Institute for Market Studies (JIMS), at least a third of the Jewish population refuses to go along with the official
monopoly of the established rabbinate,
including many religious couples.
JIMS Position Paper, PP230912
Yarden Gazit
On the eve of the opening of the London Olympic Games, the Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies (JIMS) issued a report concluding that the Israeli Sports Law reduces
the potential for winning future Olympic medals. According to JIMS, the Sports Law
sets unnecessary obstacles and barriers to participation in competitive sports,
especially for children and in the periphery.
According to JIMS Research Fellow Yarden Gazit, author of the report, "An
international comparison reveals that the Israeli Sports Law is one of the strictest and
severest in the developed world, while the number of athletes per capita is the lowest
in the West."
JIMS Position Paper, PP230712
Lital Faragi
Internet Banking in Israel = Account Holders Save NIS 411 M/year.
Bank Leumi earned NIS 3.7 billion in banking fees in 2011, with approximately 1.5 million customers.
At the same time, internet bank ING Direct, with ten times as many customers (16.7 million) spread over many countries,
turned a good profit while demanding only one-quarter of that amount in bank fees. JIMS compared the Israeli banking system
with different internet banks around the world and in a position paper issued June 4, 2012, concluded that Israeli consumers
would be well served if local regulators would allow internet banking in Israel.
JIMS Position Paper, PP040612
Lital Faragi
Lack of competition in the home cooking gas industry in Israel causes Israeli consumers to spend
approximately NIS 150 million more than necessary for gas.
JIMS notes that there are 38 state-licensed companies supplying cooking gas in Israel,
but four of them control over 90 percent of the market. Forty percent of the gas is produced in the
local refineries and the rest imported. Consumer prices vary widely: the small companies charge much less
than the four large ones; industry pays about half what homeowners pay; and sometimes homeowners in the same
apartment complex pay different prices. The companies do not publish a set price list,
leaving consumers unable to comparison shop before placing an order.
JIMS Position Paper, PP190312
The 2011 International Property Rights Index (IPRI), released by the Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies (JIMS) and the Property Rights Alliance, ranks 129 countries (accounting for
96% of world GDP) according to their protection of both physical and intellectual property
rights. The IPRI also measures the significance of these rights for overall economic wellbeing.
The 2011 IPRI measures three areas in each country: Legal and Political Environment (LP),
Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Each country is given
a score from 1 to 10 in each area and an overall score. Israel's overall score is 6.3, ranking 38
out of the 129 countries included in the index.
co-published by JIMS and the Property Rights Alliance
Yarden Gazit
The chief scientist at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Labor gave grants to dozens
of companied controlled by the Ofer and Dankner groups in the past five years,
according to a new position paper by the Jerusalem
Institute for Market Studies (JIMS). JIMS also found that 23 of the largest 50
companies on the Tel Aviv Blutech index received grants.
JIMS notes the fact that at least 13 companies in the Dankner group and 24 companies
in the Ofer group received grants in the years 2006-2010. Among these companies are
9 out of the 15 companies held by Clal Biotechnology, and over 20 companies held by
Ofer High Tech.
JIMS Position Paper, PP090112
Keren Harel-Harari
In Israel, the biblical land of olives, olive oil costs two to three times what it costs in the U.S. and Europe. A new study by the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) shows that while Israelis pay approximately 50 shekels for a liter of olive oil, in Spain and Greece, the world?s biggest exporters of olive oil, consumers pay one-third of what Israelis pay: the equivalent of 17 shekels. In England and the U.S. that liter would cost 23 shekels, in France 25 shekels, and in Australia 18 shekels.
JIMS Position Paper, PP281211
Yarden Gazit
Through statistical manipulations, the National Insurance Institute (NII) presents a distorted picture of the
state of poverty in Israel, according to the annual Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies (JIMS) Report on Poverty.
Such a picture does not allow policymakers to focus their policy on the truly needy.
JIMS Position Paper, PP221111
Robert Sauer
There are many good reasons to read Paul Rivlin?s account of the recent history of the
Israeli economy. But there are also many reasons to be very careful in accepting all of
the analyses as established facts. The first part of the book discusses the history of the
Israeli economy in terms of its broad structure. The second part focuses on individual
topics in Israeli political economy. The good and the bad in the book roughly follow
this division into two parts.
JIMS Position Paper, PP221011 (Forthcoming in The Middle East Journal, Winter 2012, 66(1))
The members of the Trachtenberg Committee correctly identified the reasons
the average Israeli finds himself in debt and pays too much of his wages to the
government, which manages a centralized, cartelistic economy. But they then devoted
most of their report to planning an even more centralized economy with an even
heavier tax burden.
JIMS Position Paper, PP301011
Israel Ranks 83 in the world in terms of economic freedom, according to the Economic Freedom of the World Annual Report.
Since 2005 Israel's ranking has fallen 35 spots. Last year, Israel ranked 81.
The report puts recent middle class protests over the cost of living in context. The level of economic freedom in Israel is in decline.
The rise in the cost of living is directly linked with lack of economic freedom and competitiveness.
One of the demands made by Israel?s protesters is to adopt the Nordic welfare state model. But comparing the Israeli economy to the Nordic
economies shows that Israel has a long way to go in liberalizing its economy if it wants to be like them.
Such liberalization would include reforms to increase the efficiency of the legal system, reduce bureaucracy and allow a competitive banking sector.
Co-published by JIMS and the Fraser Institute, 2011, PP300911
Keren Harel Harari
The average price of honey in the United States is 28% of the average price in Israel. Honey is also twice as expensive as it is in England,
while Canada, Mexico, Argentina and China offer honey for export at 15% the price of Israeli honey.
Forty percent of the annual consumption of honey in Israel takes place at holiday time this month, mainly on the Jewish New Year.
Israelis will consume 1,500 tons of honey in one month, valued at NIS 60 million. An average Israeli will eat 300 grams of honey.
The paper shows that the reasons for the high cost of honey are the same as the reasons dairy products and cheeses are expensive -
government policy and over-centralization of the industry.
JIMS Position Paper, PP300911
Keren Harel Harari
The government is responsible for the high price of automobiles in Israel because it reneged on a promise to lower the purchase tax on cars to 72% -
which would still be unusually high by world standards. Double taxation and high tariffs on privately imported cars and parts have raised prices for the
whole industry and also discourage proper care of cars. The government has encouraged and continues to support a "leasing" system that discounts its own
fleets but forces private consumers who do not lease to pay exorbitant prices.
JIMS Position Paper, PP150811
Yarden Gazit
The problems in the housing and dairy markets are a result of a failure of government policy, and not of market failures.
This paper examines several sectors that recently made headlines and finds that politicians and others tend to blame the market in
order to cover for their own failures.
JIMS Position Paper, PP150711
Keren Harel Harari
The paper explains how the government's own budget
and recent Knesset legislation are much to blame for the recent cottage
cheese crisis in Israel. The rising price of cottage cheese led to a consumer
boycott, which has led to a reduction in prices as well as an ongoing public
debate about market centralization in Israel. Since January 2008, the price
paid by consumers for cottage cheese has risen ten times as fast as the price
dairy producers have had to pay farmers for the milk they use.
JIMS Position Paper, PP070711
Yarden Gazit
The paper argues that the recent succession of public
sector strikes and labor disputes (of which teachers, university workers,
foreign ministry personnel, lawyers, social workers, railway and port employees
form only a partial list) causes severe damage to the Israeli economy.
In 2010, the economy lost some 168,000 working days due to strikes,
nearly 70 percent of them in the public sector. Based on IPSOD results 43%
of the public believes labor unions are too powerful, against only 20.5% who
believe they are not powerful enough. In particular, this
paper deals with mandatory arbitration of public sector labor disputes.
JIMS Position Paper, PP010711
Yarden Gazit
Most parents under 35 do not believe in public education, consider sending their children to private schools, a new survey reveals
56% of Israelis under 35 believe that the quality of public education has deteriorated in recent years. JIMS found that 58% of parents under 35
either send or have considered sending their children to private schools. In addition, 52% of young Israelis support a school voucher program,
in which the state education budget would be distributed among parents who would choose and fund their child's school.
JIMS Position Paper, PP0110511
Diana Zaks
The government of Israel is about to begin compiling a biometric database of all Israelis that will put their personal data in
the hands of at least 10,000 government employees. JIMS' paper
warns warns of
the danger of having a biometric database in which the personal data
of all Israelis will be in the hands of at least 10,000 government
employees. The plan to establish a central biometric database, along
with the use of biometric identity cards, will make Israel the only
Western democracy to store biometric information about its own
citizens.
JIMS Position Paper, PP0103011
Boaz Arad
argues that misdirected economic policies
exacerbated the economic woes in Egypt and became one of the reasons
tens of thousands of people took to the streets. In addition to the
adverse effects of governmentmandated
use of biofuels in the West
on the economy of Egypt, recent Western bailouts have caused
inflation, hurting the poor in less developed countries far more than
elsewhere.
JIMS Position Paper, PP2002011
Yarden Gazit
The conditioning of three billion dollars of annual American aid to Israel on similar aid to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians forces
Israel to spend more than three billion dollars on defense.
The lion's share of US aid ends up being spent on maintaining a qualitative edge over other countries who receive such aid.
US aid comes in a bundle with aid to Egypt, Jordan and other countries. Egypt receives from the US two thirds of the sum granted to Israel.
But according to JIMS, every dollar granted to Egypt requires Israel to spend between 1.6 and 2.1 dollars to maintain the balance of power.
As a result, every dollar granted to Israel costs Israel between 1.06 and 1.39 dollars.
JIMS Position Paper, PP0101011
Boaz Arad
The paper reveals that state subsidies
for culture offered by the Israeli government engender massive
inefficiencies. The paper details how theaters are losing customers while
receiving more and more money from Israelis taxpayers. The government
distributes subsidies in a way that rewards poor management, debt, and
loss of customers.
JIMS Position Paper, PP0101011
Yarden Gazit and Corinne Sauer
The survey, conducted by JIMS (via the Dahaf
Institute), asked 989 respondents who represent the Jewish population of Israel to rate
their level of trust in the heads of 13 national institutions. Based on their answers,
each institution was given a "trust score" ranging from 1 (respondent does not trust) to
7 (respondent fully trusts). The survey is the only one of its kind which follows a group of respondents over an
extended period of time and records changes in their attitudes toward different
institutions. According to the survey, there has been a rise in trust in the heads of all
institutions (except television stations) since 2008.
JIMS Position Paper, PP25012010
Yarden Gazit
The Ministry of Industry allocates over NIS 600 million annually for training
programs whose efficiency has never been truly examined. Most of the
graduates of the state courses do not work in the professions for which they received
training. Nearly a third do not work at all. This paper reveals that a year and a half after the course only 44.7% of graduates work in
the profession in which they were trained. In some professions, the percent is less than
a third. About 30% do not work at all.
JIMS Position Paper, PP10122010
Boaz Arad
JIMS' paper, estimates that approximately
210,000 survivors live in Israel today. The study finds that no official tally of
survivors exists in Israel, and only about half receive special benefits or even know
about them. The Israeli bureaucracy is inefficient and delinquent when it comes to
survivors. Two-thirds of Holocaust survivors in Israel have not received
disability reparations. Those who received payments from the Israeli Treasury,
received on average NIS 1.6 million less than survivors who received payments
directly from Germany.
JIMS Position Paper, PP01122010
Boaz Arad
The Israeli army long ago
ceased being a citizens' army. The pretense of it still being so hurts military
preparedness and causes a loss of NIS 9 billion annually to the Israeli economy. It
also increases tensions between different sectors of the Israeli population.
According to statistics published by JIMS, approximately 23% of draft age
individuals do not serve at all. 40% of draft-age women are exempted. Another 18%
of those drafted do not complete their service. Only 20% of the males who serve, do
so in combat roles. 20% serve in administrative roles. About 10 different programs are
used to allow terms of service to be shortened; when all is considered, less than a third
of each year's draftees completes a full term of service.
JIMS Position Paper, PP10112010
Yarden Gazit
A first-ever examination of actual and long-term poverty in Israel reveals that
statistics issued annually by the Institute for Social Security are misleading. The first
annual Report on Poverty of the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies shows that
Israel has made great strides in reducing poverty over the past ten years.
JIMS Position Paper, PP15102010
Yarden Gazit, Corinne Sauer and Robert Sauer
The Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies' national survey of politeness reveals for the first time who are the most polite and most impolite among
Israelis, and shows that being polite has a large payoff in terms of income (being polite substantially increases one's earnings). The survey shows that there
is no correlation between education and politeness, indicating that focusing almost exclusively on improving grades and cognitive skills, does not at the same
time succeed in improving non-cognitive skills such as manners, self-control, and persistence. And since the survey shows that income substantially increases
with politeness, Israeli employers highly value these non-cognitive skills.
JIMS Position Paper, PP15092010
Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and
institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is
published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent
research and educational institutes in over 70 nations. The Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies is the Israel partner in the network, collecting and calculating Israel's
level of economic freedom.
The Economic Freedom of the World project was developed by Milton and Rose Friedman
and a team of economists from universities and think tanks around the world in order
to create a measurable index of economic freedom, useful in academia and policy.
A new report is issued each year, reflecting the latest data available.
(co-published by JIMS and the Fraser Institute, 2010)
Yarden Gazit
The government's support for the business sector does not achieve its goals. Ultimately, it buttresses the concentration of economic power.
That is because the main beneficiaries of the assistance are giant corporations such as Nochi Dankner's IDB or Ofer family companies. The study
finds that over the years, large corporations won the lion's share of government grants and tax breaks, which unfairly increased their market power
at the expense of smaller companies. The report recommends that the government should simply abolish the current system of grants for corporate investment.
JIMS Position Paper, PP07072010
Yarden Gazit and Zev Golan
Israeli land policy has been state-led and centralized for decades. The state owns 93 percent of the land. In recent years, the centralization of land policy
in the hands of a few bureaucrats has made it difficult to establish new townships in Israel's periphery (the Negev and Galilee). JIMS? paper identifies the
key obstacles for development and recommends ways to address them.
JIMS Position Paper, PP20062010
Boaz Arad
In recent years, court rulings have induced large expenditures from the government and have had significant economic consequences. The courts hand down
rulings that lead to the spending of hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of shekels from the public purse.
JIMS? paper reviews several economic rulings of the courts and calculates their costs. Although the analysis is only partial, in the
sense that only five projects were studied, the total cost already reaches 29 billion shekels.
JIMS Position Paper, PP10062010
Yarden Gazit
Legislation to curb executive pay has been suggested by members of Knesset, and a ministerial committee has been set up to study the issue.
The paper reviews the academic literature in Israel and abroad on executive pay, and determines that executive pay is strongly correlated to firm performance.
Furthermore, the paper shows that the sharp rise in executive pay in recent decades can be fully explained by market-driven reasons.
JIMS Position Paper, PP10052010
Yarden Gazit
Israeli insurance companies are often criticized for treating their customers unfairly. The paper examines the market for automobile property
insurance and suggests ways to improve its functioning. After surveying the characteristics of the market, it concludes that tight and inefficient
regulation puts barriers to entry, raises premiums and doesn't allow companies to compete.
JIMS Position Paper, PP24042010
Yarden Gazit
Public television has few viewers and a large annual budget deficit likely to reach 100 million shekels by 2010. The Israeli government wants
"to rescue" public broadcasting, forcing the public to pay obligatory fees and taxes to cover public television channels. In this position paper,
JIMS argues against the rescue and questions the value of public television from both an economic and democratic point of view.
JIMS Position Paper, PP13032010
Boaz Arad
When it comes to teaching environment and climate change, the State of Israel, as many other western States has adopted the view of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In this paper, JIMS shows that the IPCC theories have been scientificaly questioned by other theories of climate change and therefore Israeli students should be taught all
competitive existing theories.
JIMS Position Paper, PP25022010
The
2009 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is the second international
comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual
property rights and their protection for economic well-being. In order to incorporate
and grasp the important aspects related to property rights protection,
the Index focuses on three areas: Legal and Political Environment (LP),
Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
(co-published by JIMS and the Property Rights Alliance)
Boaz Arad
Various Israeli MKs are calling for price controls and state regulation of author contracts and book sales. JIMS' Position Paper shows a link
between a recent boom in Israeli publishing and increased competition, and surveys the harm caused by state regulation wherever it is found abroad.
JIMS Position Paper, PP24022010
Boaz Arad
JIMS' Position Paper examines the economic and environmental benefits accruing from small homesteads in the Negev and urges the government
to resolve specific legal and zoning issues preventing their future development.
JIMS Position Paper, PP14022010
Hana Dar Starowicz
In light of the impending sale of 15% of the shares of the
ports of Ashdod and Haifa to private parties, JIMS assessed
the economic feasibility of partial privatization. Unfortunately,
JIMS' findings show that the continued degradation of the
ports' management over the last few years has greatly reduced
the attractiveness of the ports. The lack of economic
efficiency is clear the number of workers has increased by
around 9% over the past few years and the volume of
economic activity has been at best stagnant.
JIMS Position Paper, PP28122009
Boaz Arad
The Knesset discussed a new bill that would prevent foreign ownership of daily newspapers. This initiative seems to be directed against
Sheldon Adelson, the owner of "Israel Today" a free daily with a readership that has increased by 112% within the past year, and which is catching
up to its two main competitors, Maariv and Yedidot Aharonot. JIMS' Position Paper warns against the dangers of such an initiative for the freedom of
the press and democracy in Israel.
JIMS Position Paper, PP20122009
Boaz Arad
Of the 275,000 foreigners working in Israel, about half are here illegally and over 100,000 entered Israel as tourists.
In this JIMS Position Paper, analyst Boaz Arad critiques the government efforts to pay Israelis to take their jobs and suggests a reform in
the method used to bring them to Israel. The paper also argues that foreign workers are good for Israel's and that reducing their numbers will
harm the local economy.
JIMS Position Paper, PP30112009
Boaz Arad
The Bank of Israel policy of buying dollars to keep the exchange rate artificially higher than the market price is a risky business.
In the past 6 months the dollar has lost about 15% of its value against the Swiss franc, about 10% against the Japanese Yen and about 30%
against the Australian dollar, about 14% against the euro and -- 15% against the shekel. According to JIMS' lastest study, this policy subsidies
the export industry but hurts the other sectors of the economy.
JIMS Position Paper, PP28102009
Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and
institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is
published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent
research and educational institutes in over 70 nations. The Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies is the Israel partner in the network, collecting and calculating Israel's
level of economic freedom.
The Economic Freedom of the World project was developed by Milton and Rose Friedman
and a team of economists from universities and think tanks around the world in order
to create a measurable index of economic freedom, useful in academia and policy.
A new report is issued each year, reflecting the latest data available.
(co-published by JIMS and the Fraser Institute, 2009)
Zev Golan
The chief scientist program is designed to support
Israeli technological projects. The level of subsidization,
as revealed in JIMS' position paper, is much higher than
the level used by OECD members. In fact, the Chief
Scientist office distributes freely taxpayers' money
without filtering and sorting the best projects. Usually,
the bulk of the budget is given to large companies with
extended public relations budgets. In the past 10 years,
national expenditure on civilian R&D as a percent of GDP has more than doubled, from 2.2% in
1995 to 4.7% in 2008.
JIMS Position Paper, PP08072009
Zev Golan
The Ministry of Finance is thinking of raising the VAT
on all other products from 16.5% to 17.5%, or increasing
income taxes to cover their "overdraft." JIMS' research
paper explains why such proposals are bad for Israel's
economy and for the ministry of finance. The other proposal of increasing income tax on salaries and
business income seems to be an even worse idea. As
outlined in our paper, when in 2002, the social contributions
paid by employers and employees were increased, 30,000
businesses filed for bankruptcy.
JIMS Position Paper, PP12072009
Keren Harel Harari
The Israeli government intends to raise 200 billion ? this year and in 2010 (100 billion each year) by issuing government bonds.
From this, 140 billion shekels would be raise on the domestic market and 60 billion on the international market.
Some of these funds will be used to re-finance the debt taken in 2002 -2003, but 80 billion are new debt.
JIMS Position Paper, PP12052009
Keren Harel Harari
"The Wisconsin Program" currently called Orot Letasuka (Lights for Employment) in Israel was intended to assist the recipients of
welfare grants to integrate in the labor market and reduce the extent of welfare grants that constitute a burden on the state treasury.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the program has proven itself, because in the regions where the program is currently operating the number of
those who receive income supplements has declined by 52% as opposed to a decline of only 7.2% in those regions where only the State Employment service
is functioning.
JIMS Position Paper, PP03052009
Keren Harel Harari
As early as 1990 an attempt was made to cancel the 0% VAT rate on fruits and vegetables. As a result of fierce opposition and problems that were
raised at the time concerning implementation, it was ultimately decided to leave the situation as it was. Today, after almost 20 years,
the Finance Ministry is once again attempting to revoke the VAT exemption on fruits and vegetables. Additionally, the Finance Ministry suggests
raising the VAT rate by 1% for a year and a half (from 15.5% to 16.5%), despite promises last year to lower VAT by 1%.
JIMS Position Paper, PP03052009
Joseph Isaac Lifshitz
Abstract:
One description of the people of Israel is Kahal, a category that the Talmud is also
concerned with. This category was further employed later in the middle ages, and was
given to the Jewish community, although some times with a little twist, the Kehila.
This paper will focus mainly on the question of the formation of the Kahal as a
large political body in the Bible and in the Talmud, and explore the political
implications that can be derived from it. The Kahal as a spontaneously-defined,
non-organized political body must be clarified. To this end, I will borrow theoretical
frameworks of Friedrich
Hayek and Michael Polanyi.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP23062009
Keren Harel Harari
The Treasury, once again, failed to assess the "unseen"
effects of government borrowing on capital markets. If
the Israeli government raises 200 billion shekels on the
domestic and international capital markets, the same
amount of resources will be taken away from the private
sector. The Bank of Israel warns against raising the cost
of capital to private firms, especially during the
economic downturn. Even if the government uses this
new injection of money in relatively "worthwhile"
projects, (and not only to increase public sector salaries
and cover administrative costs), it is very doubtful that
the benefits associated with the government program
will offset the "unseen" destructive effects in the private
sector. As of now, public debt in Israel is already high,
per capita debt is almost 74,000 shekels. The proposed
increase in debt will bring the per capita amount to
102,000 shekels.
JIMS Position Paper, PP08062009
Donald S. Siegel
Abstract:
This essay was written in response to the theme of this years Academy of Management
Meeting, Green Management Matters. I assert that firms should adopt green management
practices only if such activities complement the organizations business and
corporate-level strategies and ultimately, enhance profitability or shareholder wealth.
To illustrate this, I outline an economic/strategic perspective on green management
practices, focusing on the strategic benefits and competitive dynamics associated with
this activity. I also identify specific tactics firms can employ to achieve such
strategic goals, as well as the functional areas affected by these decisions.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP31052009
Donald S. Siegel and Charles Wessner
Abstract:
There has been little direct, systematic empirical analysis of the role that
universities play in enhancing the success of entrepreneurial ventures.
We attempt to fill this gap by analyzing data from the SBIR program,
a set-aside program that requires key federal agencies (e.g., Department of Defense)
to allocate 2.5 percent of their research budget to small firms that attempt to
commercialize new technologies. Based on estimation of Tobit and negative binomial
regressions of the determinants of commercial success, we find that start-ups with
closer ties to universities achieve higher levels of performance.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP10309
Stefan Krabel, Donald S. Siegel and Viktor Slavtchev
Abstract:
We conjecture that the mobility of academic scientists increases the propensity of
such agents to engage in academic entrepreneurship. Our empirical analysis is based
on a survey of researchers at the Max Planck Society in Germany. We find that mobile
scientists are more likely to become nascent entrepreneurs. Thus, it appears that
citizenship and foreign-education are important determinants of the early stages of
academic entrepreneurship.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP280109
The
2009 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is the second international
comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual
property rights and their protection for economic well-being. In order to incorporate
and grasp the important aspects related to property rights protection,
the Index focuses on three areas: Legal and Political Environment (LP),
Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
(co-published by JIMS and the Property Rights Alliance)
JIMS' Year in Review reports on the many activities of the institute in the past
twelve months. The Center for Data Analysis and the Center for the Study of Judaism and
Economics are given a section where we report on selected highlights.
Published by JIMS, 2008
Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and
institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is
published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent
research and educational institutes in over 70 nations. The Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies is the Israel partner in the network, collecting and calculating Israel's
level of economic freedom.
The Economic Freedom of the World project was developed by Milton and Rose Friedman
and a team of economists from universities and think tanks around the world in order
to create a measurable index of economic freedom, useful in academia and policy.
A new report is issued each year, reflecting the latest data available.
(co-published by JIMS and the Fraser Institute, 2008)
Donald S. Siegel and Kenneth L. Simons
Abstract:
The unit of analysis in empirical studies of the employment and wage effects of mergers
and acquisitions is typically the plant or firm. In contrast, the unit of observation
in this study is the individual worker, which allows us to provide direct, systematic
empirical evidence on the effects of different types of mergers and acquisitions on
employees. Specifically, we analyze linked employer-employee data for the entire
population of Swedish workers and over 19,000 manufacturing plants for the period
1985-1998. For each worker, we have data on gender, age, national origin, level of
education, type of education, location, industrial sector, annual earnings, as well
as each employees complete work history both before and after a merger or acquisition.
We can also identify whether the plant was involved in a full or partial acquisition or
divestiture, as well as a related or unrelated acquisition. The empirical evidence
suggests that employee outcomes are more favorable when only part of the company is
bought or sold or when the firm engages in an unrelated acquisition.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP100708
K. Yanovskiy and S. Shulgin
In this paper, based on our past research, we have set ourselves the goal of
testing the following hypothesis: the fundamental precondition for the due protection
of private property is personal immunity in
the broad sense, i.e. guarantees of rights such as the protection of life, personal
freedoms and the inviolability of private property, including the requisite
institutions for the enforcement of the same, often conceived of in political terms.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP150808
The
2008 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) is the second international
comparative study that measures the significance of both physical and intellectual
property rights and their protection for economic well-being. In order to incorporate
and grasp the important aspects related to property rights protection,
the Index focuses on three areas: Legal and Political Environment (LP),
Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
(co-published by JIMS and the Property Rights Alliance)
Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and
institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The annual report is
published in conjunction with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent
research and educational institutes in over 70 nations. The Jerusalem Institute for
Market Studies is the Israel partner in the network, collecting and calculating Israel's
level of economic freedom.
The Economic Freedom of the World project was developed by Milton and Rose Friedman
and a team of economists from universities and think tanks around the world in order
to create a measurable index of economic freedom, useful in academia and policy.
A new report is issued each year, reflecting the latest data available.
(co-published by JIMS and the Fraser Institute, 2007)
A new Report by a coalition of over 40 prominent civil society
organisations from 33 countries says that governments should reject calls for a
post-Kyoto treaty (Kyoto 2) with binding limits on carbon emissions.
The report says a better strategy would be to focus on removing barriers to adaptation,
such as subsidies, taxes and regulations that hinder technological innovation and
economic growth.
(co-published by JIMS and the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change, 2007)
Corinne Sauer and Robert M. Sauer
This paper argues that drugs are expensive not because of a lack of
competition among research-based pharmaceutical companies, but because of a lack of competition in the drug approval process. Lack of competition in the drug approval process has led to exceedingly high drug development costs. High drug development costs combined with artificially low drug prices, obtained through price control legislation and legislation that eases the entry of generic products into the market, has caused lower levels of pharmaceutical research and development, innovation, and economic growth.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP110108
(published in: Journal of Technology Transfer, 2007, 32(5), 509-524.)
Robert M. Sauer
A review of the basic theory of optimal open-source software contributions points to three key
factors affecting the decision to contribute to the open-source development process: nonpecuniary
benefits, future expected monetary returns, and open-source licence type. This paper
argues that existing large-scale software developer surveys are inadequate for measuring the
relative importance of these three factors. Previous econometric studies that collect their own
unique datasets also fall short because they generally measure the importance of only one
supply factor in isolation. To fill the gap, I specify an estimable dynamic programming model
of joint labour supply and open-source participation decisions that can provide empirical
estimates of relative importance within a single unified framework of optimal decision-making.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP061007
(published in: Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2007, 23, 605-619)
Corinne Sauer and Robert M. Sauer
It is sometimes assumed that Judaism is a religion that is more socialistic
than capitalistic and that 'tikkun olam' requires extensive government intervention.
In this monograph JIMS' co-founders Corinne and Robert Sauer argue that Judaism is
a system of thought that more naturally aligns itself with the basic principles of
economic liberalism.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP210606
(published by the Acton Institute, 2006)
Adriana D. Kugler and Robert M. Sauer
Re-licensing requirements for professionals that move across borders are widespread. In this
paper, we measure the returns to an occupational license using novel data on Soviet trained
physicians that immigrated to Israel. An immigrant re-training assignment rule used by the
Israel Ministry of Health provides an exogenous source of variation in re-licensing outcomes.
Instrumental variables and quantile treatment effects estimates of the returns to an
occupational license indicate excess wages due to occupational entry restrictions and
negative selection into licensing status. We develop a model of optimal license acquisition
which suggests that the wages of high-skilled immigrant physicians in the nonphysician
sector outweigh the lower direct costs that these immigrants face in acquiring a medical
license. Licensing thus leads to lower average quality of service. However, the positive
earnings effect of entry restrictions far outweighs the lower practitioner quality earnings effect
that licensing induces.
JIMS Discussion Paper DP100303
(published in: Journal of Labor Economics, 2005, 23 (3), 437-466)
Corinne Sauer
This study, published by the Stockholm Network, explores the economies of
several non-European Union countries. Focusing on their economic freedom and
market-oriented reforms, JIMS looked at the prospects and challenges of the Israeli
economy for the report.
(published by the Stockholm Network, 2005)
A new study from International Policy Network concludes that aid has failed to achieve its goals in the past 50 years. Worse, in many cases aid has been counterproductive, crowding out private sector investment, undermining democracy and perpetuating poverty.
Africa received over $400 billion in aid between 1970 and 2000. Yet, the evidence
presented in the study shows an inverse relationship between aid and economic growth,
when aid rises, growth falls. In part this is because aid supplants private sector
investment and undermines savings: there is also an inverse relationship between
savings and aid -- when aid increases, saving decreases.
(co-published by JIMS and International Policy Network, 2005)