Mark Skidmore - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mark Skidmore

Land Economics, Aug 17, 2023

Social Science Research Network, 2013

Social Science Research Network, 2012

Social Science Research Network, 2012

Research Square (Research Square), Jul 19, 2022

This study examines the role of sales taxation on cross-border shopping using county level food s... more This study examines the role of sales taxation on cross-border shopping using county level food store data for West Virginia over the 1982-2000 period. During the 1980-82 period, West Virginia legislators eliminated the sales tax on food by cutting the rate on food from 3 percent by 1 percentage point per year. Then in 1989 legislators reintroduced the taxation of food, but at an increased rate of 6 percent. West Virginia's neighboring states (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) either exempt food from sales taxation, or in the case of Virginia tax food at a reduced rate. In total, there are currently 20 states that impose state and/or local sales tax on food products. Residents in West Virginia border counties experienced a significant shift in the after-tax price differential with neighboring states for food products. The reintroduction of the 6 percent sales tax on food in 1989 provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact of this large discrete change in sales tax policy on the food store industry in border counties relative to interior counties. This is relevant particularly due to recent proposals in West Virginia to eliminate or cut the sales tax on food purchases.

Eastern Economic Journal, Dec 22, 2009

Theoretic growth models and microeconomic evidence suggest that human capital accumulation is an ... more Theoretic growth models and microeconomic evidence suggest that human capital accumulation is an important determinant of per capita income growth. However, outliers, measurement errors, and incorrect specifications may have affected early macroeconomic studies that found a weak relationship between growth and human capital accumulation. While recent studies addressing these problems are beginning to show larger positive effects, the potential endogeneity of human capital accumulation has received relatively little attention. In this paper, we demonstrate that endogeneity is significant and find that natural disasters are a good instrument for changes in schooling. Our resulting instrumental variable estimates are larger than our OLS estimates and are generally larger than those in previous studies. Our analysis also provides some limited evidence of human capital externalities.

Journal of Urban Economics, Nov 1, 1994

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Over the last year the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with unprecedented policy ... more Over the last year the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with unprecedented policy responses. In this paper we examine the determinants of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in a crosscountry analysis. We find that countries with greater income, less dense and greater elderly populations, fewer hospital beds, and more freedom experienced greater fatalities, and that travel restrictions and use of hydroxychloroquine reduced deaths. However, we find little evidence that lockdowns reduced fatalities, and though use of PCR testing resulted in more recorded infections, it was unassociated with fatalities.

Weather, Climate, and Society, 2017

This study examines how individuals’ trust levels and patience are affected by a tornado event. A... more This study examines how individuals’ trust levels and patience are affected by a tornado event. Affected and unaffected people were surveyed after a 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, that resulted in 24 fatalities. Findings suggest that those who self-identified as affected became more trusting in general as well as more trusting of police and fire authorities. Affected homeowners also exhibited less patience than their unaffected counterparts. The evaluation of differences in trust and patience enables us to learn about how underlying propensities to invest (or reinvest) in critical private and public infrastructure may be influenced by extreme events. Disasters alter trust levels and patience of affected residents, and documenting the direction and magnitude of these changes may help agencies involved in the recovery process.

BMC Public Health, 2020

Background Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American... more Background Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American opioid crisis. Within this context, our study seeks to improve understanding about stigma associated with, and symptom recognition of, prescription drug abuse. Aims Model the stigma and symptom recognition of PDA in the general population. Methods A randomized, nation-wide, online, vignette-focused survey of the general public (N = 631) was implemented with an oversample for rural counties. Logit estimation was used for analysis, with regional and county-level sociodemographic variables as controls. Results Individual respondents that self-identify as having or having had “a prescription drug abuse issue” were less likely to correctly identify the condition and were 4 times more likely to exhibit stigma. Male respondents were approximately half as likely to correctly identify PDA as female respondents while older respondents (55+) were more likely to correctly identify PDA, relative to ...

BMC Infectious Diseases

Background Around the world, policymakers have clearly communicated that COVID-19 vaccination pro... more Background Around the world, policymakers have clearly communicated that COVID-19 vaccination programs need to be accepted by a large proportion of the population to allow life return to normal. However, according to the Center for Disease Control, about 31% of the United States population had not completed the primary vaccination series as of November 2022. Aims The primary aim of this work is to identify the factors associated by American citizens with the decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition, the proportion of fatal events from COVID-19 vaccinations was estimated and compared with the data in the VAERS database. Methods An online survey of COVID-19 health experiences was conducted. Information was collected regarding reasons for and against COVID-19 inoculations, experiences with COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 inoculations by survey respondents and their social circles. Logit regression analyses were carried out to identify factors influencing the likelihood of ...

Economics Letters, 2019

We propose that natural disasters discourage economic development in the short-run by inhibiting ... more We propose that natural disasters discourage economic development in the short-run by inhibiting entrepreneurship start-up activity, which is largely responsible for job creation and growth. Our findings indicate that natural disaster events decrease start-up activity in the short-run (i.e., 1-2 years) but have no effect beyond that term. Furthermore, this relationship is driven by climatic natural disasters in low and middle-income countries and geologic disasters in high-income countries.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Social Capital at the Community Level, 2015

Contents: Introduction: urban resilience efforts in the face of natural disasters, Pierre Filion,... more Contents: Introduction: urban resilience efforts in the face of natural disasters, Pierre Filion, Mark Skidmore and Gary Sands Enhancing hazard resilience among impoverished urban communities in Ghana: the role of women as catalysts for improvement, Robin L. Ersing, Osman Alhassan, Jesse Sey Ayivor and Kiki Caruson An analysis of governmental performance during urban disasters: Fukushima and Hurricane Sandy, Saundra K. Schneider and Marty P. Jordan Urban disaster recovery: considerations for damage reduction and sustainability, Zhila Pooyan The earthquakes in Lisbon (1755) and Angra do Heroismo (1980): reconstruction processes and actual risk, Artur Feio, Roberto Bologna, Daniel Monteiro and Daniel Felix From disaster to opportunity: reviving urban function after the Canterbury earthquakes, Joanne Stevenson, Sonia Giovinazzi, Erica Seville, Charlotte Brown, Yan (Alice) Chang-Richards and Suzanne Wilkinson Adaptive strategies of urban disaster recovery planning, Mark Kammerbauer Urba...

In recent years a number of U.S. states have imposed sales-below-cost (SBC) laws directed at moto... more In recent years a number of U.S. states have imposed sales-below-cost (SBC) laws directed at motor fuel markets. We use panel data over the 1983-2002 period to evaluate the effects of newly imposed motor fuel SBC laws on retail and wholesale gasoline prices, their mark-up, and the structure of motor fuel markets. A unique feature of our analysis is that we utilize transitions in those states that adopted new SBC legislation to evaluate the effects of the laws. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that gasoline prices are about one cent lower five years after the law is imposed. We also find that total number of gasoline outlets is greater in the presence of the law

Extreme heat events can put stress on the body and result in negative health outcomes, not only d... more Extreme heat events can put stress on the body and result in negative health outcomes, not only due to direct deaths, but also because of heat-induced deaths for those who have underlying health problems. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is another threat to human health and also an important confounder of temperature. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of extreme heat events and PM 2.5 on the non-accidental deaths, respiratory system disease deaths, and circulatory system disease deaths in the context of an aging society and increasing urbanicity and associated urban heat islands. This evaluation also takes account the effects of socioeconomic factors, addresses the concerns of endogeneity of air pollution, and relaxes the assumption of spatial dependence by extending the model using spatial econometric analysis. Results show that increases in both the heat index and PM 2.5 lead to substantial increases of non-accidental deaths and circulatory system disease deaths; however only the heat index is associated with respiratory system deaths. Ignoring the confounding effect of PM 2.5 (heat) will lead to overestimates of the heat-related (PM 2.5-related) health risks, and failure to consider the endogeneity of PM 2.5 will substantially underestimate the heat-related and PM 2.5-related risks of non-accidental deaths and circulatory system disease deaths. There are significant spillover effects of PM 2.5 on human health and the damages caused by the PM 2.5 from the neighboring areas are even larger than that from the local PM 2.5 sources.

Health Promotion Practice, 2020

Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rate... more Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rates than the general population. Poorer mental health status and outcomes among producers are often attributed to the continuously challenging economic, social, and climate-related changes to agriculture as an occupation and industry. This article describes the development of a training program for agribusiness professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (N = 500) who work with producers, as they regularly interact with producers and thus are in a position to readily offer helpful mental health resources. The goal of the program was for agribusiness professionals to build skills and confidence to identify and respond to distressed producers. The educational program was offered primarily online and included a 1-day in-person training to practice skills to communicate with distressed producers and refer them to appropriate mental health resources. Evaluation of ...

values to those with low per-pupil property values. 7 However, SFE policies are not always based ... more values to those with low per-pupil property values. 7 However, SFE policies are not always based on sound economic principles regarding taxation and redistribution. 8 As noted by Caroline Hoxby, in practice, SFE schemes across the states have sometimes led to outcomes different from what had been the original intent. 9 Below, we present a brief summary of SFE activity across the states and then offer a discussion that is specifically focused on the Wisconsin experience. A. Education Finance Reform Nationwide With the exception of Hawaii and Michigan,'" the funding of K-12 education is primarily a local responsibility, but state governments typically provide some sort of assistance to school districts. Prior to the 1970s, most state governments offered something called "categorical aid" to school districts to assist in the funding of K-12 education. 11 Categorical aid is distinguished by two features: (1) it is funded by state income, sales, and other state taxes with the exception of property taxes; and (2) the amount of aid received by a given school district depends on characteristics such as mean household income and the poverty rate. 12 Thus, aid is provided to a particular district on the basis that its residents have limited resources or that its students are relatively more expensive to educate. 3 Categorical aid can be distributed either as a "flat grant" or as a "matching grant."' 14 Under a flat grant, each district receives a per-pupil grant that depends on income level within the district-the lower the household income is, the higher the grant amount. 5 Under a matching system, state governments develop a matching formula such that the amount of the grant depends on the amount of locally raised 7. Id. at 1189-90, 1212-13 (noting that "SFE has affected every school in the nation" and that a majority of states that have no SFE have equalization activity). 8. See, e.g., id. at 1190-91 (discussing the unintended consequences of California's SFE). 9. Id. at 1190. 10. In 1993, Michigan dramatically altered its education finance system whereby the revenues for each district are largely determined by the state government and the schools are funded primarily by the state sales tax and property tax.

Land Economics, Aug 17, 2023

Social Science Research Network, 2013

Social Science Research Network, 2012

Social Science Research Network, 2012

Research Square (Research Square), Jul 19, 2022

This study examines the role of sales taxation on cross-border shopping using county level food s... more This study examines the role of sales taxation on cross-border shopping using county level food store data for West Virginia over the 1982-2000 period. During the 1980-82 period, West Virginia legislators eliminated the sales tax on food by cutting the rate on food from 3 percent by 1 percentage point per year. Then in 1989 legislators reintroduced the taxation of food, but at an increased rate of 6 percent. West Virginia's neighboring states (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) either exempt food from sales taxation, or in the case of Virginia tax food at a reduced rate. In total, there are currently 20 states that impose state and/or local sales tax on food products. Residents in West Virginia border counties experienced a significant shift in the after-tax price differential with neighboring states for food products. The reintroduction of the 6 percent sales tax on food in 1989 provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact of this large discrete change in sales tax policy on the food store industry in border counties relative to interior counties. This is relevant particularly due to recent proposals in West Virginia to eliminate or cut the sales tax on food purchases.

Eastern Economic Journal, Dec 22, 2009

Theoretic growth models and microeconomic evidence suggest that human capital accumulation is an ... more Theoretic growth models and microeconomic evidence suggest that human capital accumulation is an important determinant of per capita income growth. However, outliers, measurement errors, and incorrect specifications may have affected early macroeconomic studies that found a weak relationship between growth and human capital accumulation. While recent studies addressing these problems are beginning to show larger positive effects, the potential endogeneity of human capital accumulation has received relatively little attention. In this paper, we demonstrate that endogeneity is significant and find that natural disasters are a good instrument for changes in schooling. Our resulting instrumental variable estimates are larger than our OLS estimates and are generally larger than those in previous studies. Our analysis also provides some limited evidence of human capital externalities.

Journal of Urban Economics, Nov 1, 1994

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Over the last year the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with unprecedented policy ... more Over the last year the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with unprecedented policy responses. In this paper we examine the determinants of COVID-19 infections and fatalities in a crosscountry analysis. We find that countries with greater income, less dense and greater elderly populations, fewer hospital beds, and more freedom experienced greater fatalities, and that travel restrictions and use of hydroxychloroquine reduced deaths. However, we find little evidence that lockdowns reduced fatalities, and though use of PCR testing resulted in more recorded infections, it was unassociated with fatalities.

Weather, Climate, and Society, 2017

This study examines how individuals’ trust levels and patience are affected by a tornado event. A... more This study examines how individuals’ trust levels and patience are affected by a tornado event. Affected and unaffected people were surveyed after a 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, that resulted in 24 fatalities. Findings suggest that those who self-identified as affected became more trusting in general as well as more trusting of police and fire authorities. Affected homeowners also exhibited less patience than their unaffected counterparts. The evaluation of differences in trust and patience enables us to learn about how underlying propensities to invest (or reinvest) in critical private and public infrastructure may be influenced by extreme events. Disasters alter trust levels and patience of affected residents, and documenting the direction and magnitude of these changes may help agencies involved in the recovery process.

BMC Public Health, 2020

Background Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American... more Background Prescription drug abuse (PDA) disorders continue to contribute to the current American opioid crisis. Within this context, our study seeks to improve understanding about stigma associated with, and symptom recognition of, prescription drug abuse. Aims Model the stigma and symptom recognition of PDA in the general population. Methods A randomized, nation-wide, online, vignette-focused survey of the general public (N = 631) was implemented with an oversample for rural counties. Logit estimation was used for analysis, with regional and county-level sociodemographic variables as controls. Results Individual respondents that self-identify as having or having had “a prescription drug abuse issue” were less likely to correctly identify the condition and were 4 times more likely to exhibit stigma. Male respondents were approximately half as likely to correctly identify PDA as female respondents while older respondents (55+) were more likely to correctly identify PDA, relative to ...

BMC Infectious Diseases

Background Around the world, policymakers have clearly communicated that COVID-19 vaccination pro... more Background Around the world, policymakers have clearly communicated that COVID-19 vaccination programs need to be accepted by a large proportion of the population to allow life return to normal. However, according to the Center for Disease Control, about 31% of the United States population had not completed the primary vaccination series as of November 2022. Aims The primary aim of this work is to identify the factors associated by American citizens with the decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition, the proportion of fatal events from COVID-19 vaccinations was estimated and compared with the data in the VAERS database. Methods An online survey of COVID-19 health experiences was conducted. Information was collected regarding reasons for and against COVID-19 inoculations, experiences with COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 inoculations by survey respondents and their social circles. Logit regression analyses were carried out to identify factors influencing the likelihood of ...

Economics Letters, 2019

We propose that natural disasters discourage economic development in the short-run by inhibiting ... more We propose that natural disasters discourage economic development in the short-run by inhibiting entrepreneurship start-up activity, which is largely responsible for job creation and growth. Our findings indicate that natural disaster events decrease start-up activity in the short-run (i.e., 1-2 years) but have no effect beyond that term. Furthermore, this relationship is driven by climatic natural disasters in low and middle-income countries and geologic disasters in high-income countries.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Social Capital at the Community Level, 2015

Contents: Introduction: urban resilience efforts in the face of natural disasters, Pierre Filion,... more Contents: Introduction: urban resilience efforts in the face of natural disasters, Pierre Filion, Mark Skidmore and Gary Sands Enhancing hazard resilience among impoverished urban communities in Ghana: the role of women as catalysts for improvement, Robin L. Ersing, Osman Alhassan, Jesse Sey Ayivor and Kiki Caruson An analysis of governmental performance during urban disasters: Fukushima and Hurricane Sandy, Saundra K. Schneider and Marty P. Jordan Urban disaster recovery: considerations for damage reduction and sustainability, Zhila Pooyan The earthquakes in Lisbon (1755) and Angra do Heroismo (1980): reconstruction processes and actual risk, Artur Feio, Roberto Bologna, Daniel Monteiro and Daniel Felix From disaster to opportunity: reviving urban function after the Canterbury earthquakes, Joanne Stevenson, Sonia Giovinazzi, Erica Seville, Charlotte Brown, Yan (Alice) Chang-Richards and Suzanne Wilkinson Adaptive strategies of urban disaster recovery planning, Mark Kammerbauer Urba...

In recent years a number of U.S. states have imposed sales-below-cost (SBC) laws directed at moto... more In recent years a number of U.S. states have imposed sales-below-cost (SBC) laws directed at motor fuel markets. We use panel data over the 1983-2002 period to evaluate the effects of newly imposed motor fuel SBC laws on retail and wholesale gasoline prices, their mark-up, and the structure of motor fuel markets. A unique feature of our analysis is that we utilize transitions in those states that adopted new SBC legislation to evaluate the effects of the laws. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that gasoline prices are about one cent lower five years after the law is imposed. We also find that total number of gasoline outlets is greater in the presence of the law

Extreme heat events can put stress on the body and result in negative health outcomes, not only d... more Extreme heat events can put stress on the body and result in negative health outcomes, not only due to direct deaths, but also because of heat-induced deaths for those who have underlying health problems. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is another threat to human health and also an important confounder of temperature. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of extreme heat events and PM 2.5 on the non-accidental deaths, respiratory system disease deaths, and circulatory system disease deaths in the context of an aging society and increasing urbanicity and associated urban heat islands. This evaluation also takes account the effects of socioeconomic factors, addresses the concerns of endogeneity of air pollution, and relaxes the assumption of spatial dependence by extending the model using spatial econometric analysis. Results show that increases in both the heat index and PM 2.5 lead to substantial increases of non-accidental deaths and circulatory system disease deaths; however only the heat index is associated with respiratory system deaths. Ignoring the confounding effect of PM 2.5 (heat) will lead to overestimates of the heat-related (PM 2.5-related) health risks, and failure to consider the endogeneity of PM 2.5 will substantially underestimate the heat-related and PM 2.5-related risks of non-accidental deaths and circulatory system disease deaths. There are significant spillover effects of PM 2.5 on human health and the damages caused by the PM 2.5 from the neighboring areas are even larger than that from the local PM 2.5 sources.

Health Promotion Practice, 2020

Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rate... more Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rates than the general population. Poorer mental health status and outcomes among producers are often attributed to the continuously challenging economic, social, and climate-related changes to agriculture as an occupation and industry. This article describes the development of a training program for agribusiness professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (N = 500) who work with producers, as they regularly interact with producers and thus are in a position to readily offer helpful mental health resources. The goal of the program was for agribusiness professionals to build skills and confidence to identify and respond to distressed producers. The educational program was offered primarily online and included a 1-day in-person training to practice skills to communicate with distressed producers and refer them to appropriate mental health resources. Evaluation of ...

values to those with low per-pupil property values. 7 However, SFE policies are not always based ... more values to those with low per-pupil property values. 7 However, SFE policies are not always based on sound economic principles regarding taxation and redistribution. 8 As noted by Caroline Hoxby, in practice, SFE schemes across the states have sometimes led to outcomes different from what had been the original intent. 9 Below, we present a brief summary of SFE activity across the states and then offer a discussion that is specifically focused on the Wisconsin experience. A. Education Finance Reform Nationwide With the exception of Hawaii and Michigan,'" the funding of K-12 education is primarily a local responsibility, but state governments typically provide some sort of assistance to school districts. Prior to the 1970s, most state governments offered something called "categorical aid" to school districts to assist in the funding of K-12 education. 11 Categorical aid is distinguished by two features: (1) it is funded by state income, sales, and other state taxes with the exception of property taxes; and (2) the amount of aid received by a given school district depends on characteristics such as mean household income and the poverty rate. 12 Thus, aid is provided to a particular district on the basis that its residents have limited resources or that its students are relatively more expensive to educate. 3 Categorical aid can be distributed either as a "flat grant" or as a "matching grant."' 14 Under a flat grant, each district receives a per-pupil grant that depends on income level within the district-the lower the household income is, the higher the grant amount. 5 Under a matching system, state governments develop a matching formula such that the amount of the grant depends on the amount of locally raised 7. Id. at 1189-90, 1212-13 (noting that "SFE has affected every school in the nation" and that a majority of states that have no SFE have equalization activity). 8. See, e.g., id. at 1190-91 (discussing the unintended consequences of California's SFE). 9. Id. at 1190. 10. In 1993, Michigan dramatically altered its education finance system whereby the revenues for each district are largely determined by the state government and the schools are funded primarily by the state sales tax and property tax.