arXiv subjects

Yasusada Murata

Publications and source records attributed to Yasusada Murata.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Marshall meets Bartik: Revisiting the mysteries of the trade

We identify a causal effect of top inventor inflows on the patent productivity of local inventors by combining the idea-generating process described by Marshall (1890) with the Bartik (1991) instruments involving the state taxes and commuting zone characteristics of the United States. We find that local productivity gains go beyond organizational boundaries and co-inventor relationships, which implies the partially nonexcludable good nature of knowledge in a spatial economy and pertains to the mysteries of the trade in the air. Our counterfactual experiment suggests that the spatial distribution of inventive activity is substantially distorted by the presence of state tax differences.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2026

Linear fractional relative risk aversion

We characterize the family of utility functions satisfying linear fractional relative risk aversion (LFRRA) in terms of the Gauss hypergeometric functions. We apply this family, which nests various utility functions used in different strands of literature, to monopolistic competition and obtain the profit-maximizing price by generalizing the Lambert W function. We let firm-level data decide whether the RRA in each sector or in the aggregate economy is increasing, decreasing, or constant, which in turn determines whether markups are decreasing, increasing, or constant with respect to marginal costs.

econ.GN↗