Jeff Milyo:: Economics

Research in Focus:

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Should the FCC lift the ban on cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast television stations? The Federal Communication Commission has proposed to end the decades old prohibition on media cross-ownership; I examine the effects of cross-ownership in a study commissioned and published by the FCC: Milyo, J. 2007. “The Effects of Cross-Ownership on the Local Content and Political Slant of Local Television News,” Federal Communication Commission (Washington, D.C.). ___________________________________ Objective studies of media bias? The issue of media bias has long been the bailiwick of partisan shills like Eric Alterman of Media Matters, but there is a fascinating and fast growing scholarly literature on the subject following the novel study by Tim Groseclose and myself that measures the partisan leanings of major media outlets: Groseclose, T. and J. Milyo 2006. “A Social Science Perspective on Media Bias,” Critical Review, 17:3-4: 305-314. Groseclose, T. and J. Milyo 2005. “A Measure of Media Bias,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(4):1191-1237 [lead article]. ___________________________________ Do liberals play nice? A fun study for political junkies of any stripe; you always wondered about it, didn’t you… Anderson, L., J.M. Mellor and J. Milyo 2005. “Do Liberals Play Nice? The Effects of Political Party and Ideology in Public Goods and Trust Games,” in Advances in Applied Microeconomics: Experimental and Behavioral Economics. John Morgan, Editor. (JAI Press: Stamford, Connecticut). _________________________	Campaign finance reform in the states: ignorance in action? Is there any current policy debate as divorced from the lessons of social science as this one? I confront the common and pernicious myths about the role of money in American politics and the efficacy of campaign finance regulations in a series of studies. Lots of interesting work in progress and much more on my vita (above) on this topic! Milyo, J. 2007. “Campaign Finance Red Tape: Strangling Free Speech and Political Debate,” Institute for Justice (Washington, D.C.). Primo, D. and J. Milyo 2006. “Campaign Finance Laws and Political Efficacy: Evidence from the States,” Election Law Journal, 5(1): 23-39. Primo, D., J. Milyo and T. Groseclose 2006. “State Campaign Finance Reforms, Competitiveness and Party Advantage in Gubernatorial Elections,” in The Marketplace of Democracy. John Samples, Editor. (Cato-Brookings: Washington, DC). Primo, D. and J. Milyo 2005. “Reform without Reason: the Scientific Method and Campaign Finance,” in Taxpayer Financing of Political Campaigns. John Samples, Ed. Cato Institute: Washington, DC. Milyo, J. 2002. “Bribes and Fruit Baskets: What Does the Link Between PAC Contributions and Lobbying Mean?”Business and Politics, 4(2): 157-160. Milyo, J. D. Primo and T. Groseclose 2000. “Corporate PAC Campaign Contributions in Perspective,” Business and Politics , 2(1): 75-88. Milyo, J. and T. Groseclose 1999. “The Electoral Effects of Incumbent Wealth,” The Journal of Law and Economics, 42(2): 699-722. Milyo, J. 1999. “The Political Economics of Campaign Finance,” The Independent Review, 3(4): 537-548. ___________________________________ Studies of state alcohol regulations More work in progress to come… Milyo, J. and J. Waldfogel 1999. “The Effects of Price Advertising on Prices: Evidence from 44 Liquormart,” American Economic Review, 89(5): 1081-1096.	Is income inequality really bad for your health? PBS and Public Campaign are promoting a new documentary series on inequality and health. This is an intriguing and controversial area of public health scholarship. Not surprisingly the rhetoric far outpaces the evidence. Jennifer Mellor and I have co-authored several articles on this topic: Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2002. “Income Inequality and Health Status in the United States: Evidence from the Current Population Survey,” Journal of Human Resources, 37(3): 510-539. Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2001. “Re-Examining the Ecological Association Between Income Inequality and Health,” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 26(3): 485-518 [lead article; also, the most cited article in JHPPL as of 10/1/07]. More on inequality and health: Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2003. “Is Exposure to Income Inequality a Public Health Concern? Lagged Effects of Income Inequality on Individual and Population Health,” Health Services Research 38(1.1) 137-151. Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2001. “Income Inequality and Health,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 20(1): 151-155. Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2000. “Is Income Inequality Bad for Your Health,” Critical Review, 13(3/4): 359-372. Related work on social determinants of health: Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2004. “Individual Health Status and Minority Racial Concentration in U.S. States and Counties,” American Journal of Public Health, 94(6): 1043-1048. Mellor, J.M. and J. Milyo 2003. “On the Importance of Age-Adjustment Methods in Ecological Studies of Social Determinants of Mortality,” Health Services Research 38(6.2): 1781-1790. _________________________ Social capital experiments Anderson, L., J.M. Mellor and J. Milyo (in press). “Inequality and Public Good Provision: an Experimental Analysis,” Journal of Socio-Economic. Anderson, L., J.M. Mellor and J. Milyo 2006. “Induced Heterogeneity in Trust Experiments,” Experimental Economics, 9:223-235. Anderson, L., J.M. Mellor and J. Milyo 2004. “Social Capital and Contributions in a Public Goods Experiment,”American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), 94(2): 373-376. ___________________________________