Mr. Rosaens Magical Thinking A Short Evaluation of Alex Rosaens 2013 Prevailing Wage Methodology

Peter Philips

Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah from University of Utah, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper critically reviews Alex L. Rosaen, The Impact of Michigans Prevailing Wage Law on Education Construction Expenditures, Anderson Economic Group, LLC, Commissioned by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, 2013. It is shown that Rosaens estimates of the prevailing wage regulatory impact on Michigan educational capital outlays swing widely from negative to positive based on the assumptions used in his model. Further it is shown that the bases for Rosaens assumptions are outdated and miscalculated. An alternative methodology using statistical tests is suggested that provides more stable results. Two alternative examples are presented. This critique concludes that Rosaens estimates are unreliable.

Keywords: prevailing wage; capital outlays; education; construction; Michigan JEL Classification: J24; J28; J8; J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uta:papers:2013_12

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