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Charles Maxwell Becker

Research Professor of Economics
Economics
Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708-0097
312 Social Sciences, Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications


Race and Subprime Lending Frequency: Understanding Subprime Lending's Role in the St. Louis Vacancy Crisis

Journal Article Review of Black Political Economy · September 1, 2024 Using loan-level data, this analysis considers the intersection of race, subprime home loans, and the current vacancy crisis in St. Louis, Missouri. Borrowers in Black areas in the north of St. Louis City and St. Louis County received subprime home loans a ... Full text Cite

Moving mountains: Geography, neighborhood sorting, and spatial income segregation

Journal Article Journal of Regional Science · January 1, 2024 Using a novel geospatial panel combined with data from the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS), we investigate the effect of topography—altitude and terrain unevenness—on income segregation at the neighborhood level. Specifically, we perform large-scale c ... Full text Cite

Marking Territory: Modeling the Spread of Ethnic Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-1995

Journal Article Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · May 20, 2022 Open Access Cite

Daughters-In-Law and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan

Journal Article Feminist Economics · January 1, 2022 Patrilocal marriage–living in the husband’s natal household–affects Central Asian women and their choices in family planning, labor force participation, and human capital investment. While anthropological evidence suggests that elder household members play ... Full text Cite

Bubbling Away: Forecasting Real Estate Prices, Rents, and Bubbles in a Transition Economy

Journal Article Comparative Economic Studies · June 1, 2021 Real housing prices have both surged and swooned in formerly socialist countries. We use 2000–2017 aggregate housing sales and rental price data from Kazakhstan to explore price movements during boom and stagnation eras, investigating the rent–price ratio’ ... Full text Cite

Housing price appreciation and economic integration in a transition economy: Evidence from Kazakhstan

Journal Article Journal of Housing Economics · June 1, 2021 This paper explores patterns of real estate price movements in an emerging upper-middle income economy, Kazakhstan. The country experienced an explosive, 11-fold increase in real housing prices in urban areas between 2000 and 2007, followed by a sharp decl ... Full text Cite

Zoned out? The determinants of manufactured housing rents: Evidence from North Carolina

Journal Article Journal of Housing Economics · December 1, 2019 This paper explores determinants of manufactured housing park (MHP) plot rents in North Carolina, with particular focus on the distinction among high-growth urban parks and small town/rural parks, and on the possible role played by zoning restrictiveness. ... Full text Cite

How marriages based on bride capture differ: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

Journal Article Demographic Research · July 1, 2019 BACKGROUND A significant proportion of women in the Kyrgyz Republic marry via ala kachuu, generally translated as bride capture or kidnapping. Many regard this practice as harmless elopement or a tradition; others perceive it as a form of forced marriage. ... Full text Cite

Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Eurasia: a roundtable discussion

Journal Article Central Asian Survey · October 2, 2018 Throughout Eurasia, bride kidnapping continues to be a fairly common way to get married. The practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Some local actors argue the practice is a cultural tradition, while others question its acceptability, particularl ... Full text Cite

The economics of transition literature

Journal Article Economics of Transition · October 1, 2018 This article is based on a panel discussion on the contribution of the economics of transition literature to the broader understanding of economic and social development. All panel participants have been working in the field for decades and made important ... Full text Cite

Economic Crisis, Income Gaps, Uncertainty, and Inter-regional Migration Responses: Kazakhstan 2000–2014

Journal Article Journal of Development Studies · September 2, 2017 There is ample empirical evidence that internal migration occurs in response to wage differentials; recently, evidence has emerged that international migration is deterred by rising destination uncertainty. However, to our knowledge, there has been no anal ... Full text Cite

Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 31, 2016 A longstanding tradition of patrilocal marriage – living with the parents-in-law – affects every generation of Central Asian women and their choices regarding childbearing, employment and education. While anthropological evidence suggests that elder matria ... Open Access Cite

Appendix to 'Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan'

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 31, 2016 Appendix to “Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan,” available here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2862096. ... Open Access Cite

The (Literally) Steepest Slope: Spatial, Temporal, and Elevation Variance Gradients in Urban Spatial Modelling

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 15, 2016 This paper presents an analysis of elevation gradient and temporal future-station effects in urban real estate markets. Using an extraordinary dataset from the Hong Kong publicly-constructed housing sector, we find enormous housing price effects caused by ... Cite

Can a summer make a difference? The impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on minority student outcomes

Journal Article Economics of Education Review · August 1, 2016 In the 1970s, the American Economic Association (AEA) was one of several professional associations to launch a summer program with the goal of increasing racial and ethnic diversity in its profession. In this paper we estimate the effectiveness of the AEA' ... Full text Cite

The Z-Axis: Elevation Gradient Effects in Urban America

Journal Article Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · June 7, 2016 This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of hilliness effects in American urban communities. Using data from seventeen cities, robust relationships are established between elevation patterns and density and income gradients. We find that high-income ho ... Open Access Cite

Forced Marriage and Birth Outcomes

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · April 6, 2016 We study the impact of bride kidnapping, a peculiar form of marriage practiced in Central Asia, on child birth weight. The search for a suitable mate in a kidnapped marriage is initiated by the groom, and there is typically non-coerced consent only by the ... Open Access Cite

The relationship between violence in Northern Mexico and potentially avoidable hospitalizations in the USA-Mexico border region.

Journal Article Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · March 2016 BackgroundSubstantial proportions of US residents in the USA-Mexico border region cross into Mexico for health care; increases in violence in northern Mexico may have affected this access. We quantified associations between violence in Mexico and ... Full text Cite

Is High-Tech Care in a Middle Income Country Worth It? Evidence from Perinatal Centers in Russia

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · December 30, 2015 How much does a dramatic increase in technology improve healthcare quality in an upper-middle income country? Using rich vital statistics data on infant and maternal health outcomes, this study evaluates the effect of introducing technologically advanced p ... Open Access Cite

The Value of Manufactured Housing Communities: A Dual-Ownership Model

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · October 15, 2015 There are roughly 50,000 manufactured housing communities (MHCs) in the United States, yet there appears to be virtually no academic research on their asset values. Using a detailed, proprietary database provided by Colliers International, we address this ... Open Access Cite

Race and Subprime Lending Frequency: Understanding Subprime Lending's Role in the St. Louis Vacancy Crisis

Journal Article Review of Black Political Economy · September 1, 2024 Using loan-level data, this analysis considers the intersection of race, subprime home loans, and the current vacancy crisis in St. Louis, Missouri. Borrowers in Black areas in the north of St. Louis City and St. Louis County received subprime home loans a ... Full text Cite

Moving mountains: Geography, neighborhood sorting, and spatial income segregation

Journal Article Journal of Regional Science · January 1, 2024 Using a novel geospatial panel combined with data from the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS), we investigate the effect of topography—altitude and terrain unevenness—on income segregation at the neighborhood level. Specifically, we perform large-scale c ... Full text Cite

Marking Territory: Modeling the Spread of Ethnic Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-1995

Journal Article Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · May 20, 2022 Open Access Cite

Daughters-In-Law and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan

Journal Article Feminist Economics · January 1, 2022 Patrilocal marriage–living in the husband’s natal household–affects Central Asian women and their choices in family planning, labor force participation, and human capital investment. While anthropological evidence suggests that elder household members play ... Full text Cite

Bubbling Away: Forecasting Real Estate Prices, Rents, and Bubbles in a Transition Economy

Journal Article Comparative Economic Studies · June 1, 2021 Real housing prices have both surged and swooned in formerly socialist countries. We use 2000–2017 aggregate housing sales and rental price data from Kazakhstan to explore price movements during boom and stagnation eras, investigating the rent–price ratio’ ... Full text Cite

Housing price appreciation and economic integration in a transition economy: Evidence from Kazakhstan

Journal Article Journal of Housing Economics · June 1, 2021 This paper explores patterns of real estate price movements in an emerging upper-middle income economy, Kazakhstan. The country experienced an explosive, 11-fold increase in real housing prices in urban areas between 2000 and 2007, followed by a sharp decl ... Full text Cite

Zoned out? The determinants of manufactured housing rents: Evidence from North Carolina

Journal Article Journal of Housing Economics · December 1, 2019 This paper explores determinants of manufactured housing park (MHP) plot rents in North Carolina, with particular focus on the distinction among high-growth urban parks and small town/rural parks, and on the possible role played by zoning restrictiveness. ... Full text Cite

How marriages based on bride capture differ: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

Journal Article Demographic Research · July 1, 2019 BACKGROUND A significant proportion of women in the Kyrgyz Republic marry via ala kachuu, generally translated as bride capture or kidnapping. Many regard this practice as harmless elopement or a tradition; others perceive it as a form of forced marriage. ... Full text Cite

Bride kidnapping in post-Soviet Eurasia: a roundtable discussion

Journal Article Central Asian Survey · October 2, 2018 Throughout Eurasia, bride kidnapping continues to be a fairly common way to get married. The practice is becoming increasingly controversial. Some local actors argue the practice is a cultural tradition, while others question its acceptability, particularl ... Full text Cite

The economics of transition literature

Journal Article Economics of Transition · October 1, 2018 This article is based on a panel discussion on the contribution of the economics of transition literature to the broader understanding of economic and social development. All panel participants have been working in the field for decades and made important ... Full text Cite

Economic Crisis, Income Gaps, Uncertainty, and Inter-regional Migration Responses: Kazakhstan 2000–2014

Journal Article Journal of Development Studies · September 2, 2017 There is ample empirical evidence that internal migration occurs in response to wage differentials; recently, evidence has emerged that international migration is deterred by rising destination uncertainty. However, to our knowledge, there has been no anal ... Full text Cite

Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 31, 2016 A longstanding tradition of patrilocal marriage – living with the parents-in-law – affects every generation of Central Asian women and their choices regarding childbearing, employment and education. While anthropological evidence suggests that elder matria ... Open Access Cite

Appendix to 'Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan'

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 31, 2016 Appendix to “Queen Bees and Domestic Violence: Patrilocal Marriage in Tajikistan,” available here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2862096. ... Open Access Cite

The (Literally) Steepest Slope: Spatial, Temporal, and Elevation Variance Gradients in Urban Spatial Modelling

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · October 15, 2016 This paper presents an analysis of elevation gradient and temporal future-station effects in urban real estate markets. Using an extraordinary dataset from the Hong Kong publicly-constructed housing sector, we find enormous housing price effects caused by ... Cite

Can a summer make a difference? The impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on minority student outcomes

Journal Article Economics of Education Review · August 1, 2016 In the 1970s, the American Economic Association (AEA) was one of several professional associations to launch a summer program with the goal of increasing racial and ethnic diversity in its profession. In this paper we estimate the effectiveness of the AEA' ... Full text Cite

The Z-Axis: Elevation Gradient Effects in Urban America

Journal Article Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · June 7, 2016 This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of hilliness effects in American urban communities. Using data from seventeen cities, robust relationships are established between elevation patterns and density and income gradients. We find that high-income ho ... Open Access Cite

Forced Marriage and Birth Outcomes

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) · April 6, 2016 We study the impact of bride kidnapping, a peculiar form of marriage practiced in Central Asia, on child birth weight. The search for a suitable mate in a kidnapped marriage is initiated by the groom, and there is typically non-coerced consent only by the ... Open Access Cite

The relationship between violence in Northern Mexico and potentially avoidable hospitalizations in the USA-Mexico border region.

Journal Article Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · March 2016 BackgroundSubstantial proportions of US residents in the USA-Mexico border region cross into Mexico for health care; increases in violence in northern Mexico may have affected this access. We quantified associations between violence in Mexico and ... Full text Cite

Is High-Tech Care in a Middle Income Country Worth It? Evidence from Perinatal Centers in Russia

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · December 30, 2015 How much does a dramatic increase in technology improve healthcare quality in an upper-middle income country? Using rich vital statistics data on infant and maternal health outcomes, this study evaluates the effect of introducing technologically advanced p ... Open Access Cite

The Value of Manufactured Housing Communities: A Dual-Ownership Model

Other Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (ERID) Working Paper · October 15, 2015 There are roughly 50,000 manufactured housing communities (MHCs) in the United States, yet there appears to be virtually no academic research on their asset values. Using a detailed, proprietary database provided by Colliers International, we address this ... Open Access Cite

Exploring the Association of Homicides in Northern Mexico and Healthcare Access for US Residents.

Journal Article Journal of immigrant and minority health · August 2015 Many legal residents in the United States (US)-Mexico border region cross from the US into Mexico for medical treatment and pharmaceuticals. We analyzed whether recent increases in homicides in Mexico are associated with reduced healthcare access for US bo ... Full text Cite

Disability incidence and official health status transitions in Russia.

Journal Article Economics and human biology · January 2012 This paper examines determinants of being disabled in Russia, along with the probability of moving from one disability status to another, using data from 1994 through 2005 from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Results from multinomial probit reg ... Full text Cite

Age-adjusted disability rates and regional effects in Russia

Journal Article Demographic Research · November 10, 2010 We provide three measures of age-standardized disability rates for each Russian region and show that most, though not all, of the regional patterns in disability prevalence disappear with standardization. Disability prevalence remains unusually high for wo ... Full text Cite

Global Infant Mortality: Correcting for Undercounting

Journal Article World Development · April 1, 2010 The UN Millennium Development Goals highlight the infant mortality rate (IMR) as a measure of progress in improving neonatal health and more broadly as an indicator of basic health care. However, prior research has shown that IMRs (and in particular perina ... Full text Cite

Social security reform in transition economies: Lessons from Kazakhstan

Book · January 1, 2009 This book examines social security reform in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, with a focus on lessons for late reformers such as China and Russia. ... Full text Cite

Urbanization and rural-urban migration

Journal Article · December 1, 2008 Cite

W. Arthur lewis in retrospect

Journal Article Review of Black Political Economy · January 1, 2007 This paper reviews several themes from the writings of W. Arthur Lewis, both the first black Nobel Laureate in Economics and the first from a developing country, and examines them from the perspective of two to five decades of hindsight. The paper emphasiz ... Full text Cite

The migration response to economic shock: lessons

Journal Article Journal of Comparative Economics · March 2005 Cite

Mortality recovery and stabilization in Kazakhstan, 1995-2001.

Journal Article Economics and human biology · March 2005 This paper documents both the extraordinary rise in mortality that accompanied economic deterioration in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the far more tentative recovery. Kazakhstan's multi-ethnic population also makes it possible to id ... Full text Cite

Economic consequences of demographic change in the former USSR: Social transfers in the Kyrgyz Republic

Journal Article World Development · November 1, 2004 Dramatic demographic changes accompanied the decay and collapse of the Soviet Union. This paper considers their long-run economic effects, particularly with respect to impacts on government budgetary positions due to social transfers. Using a detailed actu ... Full text Cite

Kazakhstan's pension system: Pressures for change and dramatic reforms

Journal Article Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics · January 1, 2004 Five years ago, Kazakhstan embarked on a dramatic reform of its pension and social security system in order to move from an unsustainable public denned benefit ("solidarity") system to one of defined mandatory contributions (accumulative system). While ass ... Cite

Short-term migration responses of women and men during economic turmoil: Lessons from Kazakhstan

Journal Article Eurasian Geography and Economics · January 1, 2003 A team of population specialists from the United States and Kazakhstan uses heretofore unpublished data of the Kazakhstan Statistical Agency to assess gender and age differences in the propensity to migrate from Kazakhstan for the period 1991-2001. The int ... Full text Cite

Fertility Decline in sub-Saharan Africa

Journal Article Journal of African Policy Studies · May 2002 Historically, fertility in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been quite high, and in the past half century has declined far more slowly than in most other parts of the world (Locoh, 2002). Indeed, during the past three decades the world as a whole has witne ... Cite

Demand for bank loans and credit bureau services in the Republic of

Journal Article ,” Central Asian Journal of Management, Economics and Social Research · 2002 In order to judge the potential viability of a Credit Bureau in the Republic of Kazakhstan, this study estimates the number of credit applications during 2000-2001, and projects changes through 2004. We assume that credit applications provide a good in ... Cite

Macro-Experimental Economics in the Kyrgyz Republic: Social Security Sustainability and

Journal Article Comparative Economic Studies · October 2001 Despite a decade of transition, pension systems in formerly socialist countries still desperately need viable reform. This paper assesses reform packages advocated by different international agencies, and considers their sensitivity to varying economic ... Cite

Speculative Price Bubbles in the Rice Market and the 1974 Bangladesh Famine

Journal Article Journal of Economic Development · December 2000 This paper investigates the role played by speculative price bubbles in destabilizing food markets in Bangladesh during the 1974 famine. The hypothesis of speculative price bubbles in the rice market is tested using weekly price data. These tests are ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Post-Soviet pension systems, retirement, and elderly poverty: Findings from the Kyrgyz Republic

Journal Article Most · December 1, 1999 Using data from household surveys of the Kyrgyz Republic, we explore determinants of pension receipt and wage employment as well as poverty and extreme poverty status. Data are taken from surveys in late 1993 (a period of extreme economic dislocation) and ... Full text Cite

Chapter 43 Urbanization in transforming economies

Chapter · December 1, 1999 The past half-century has witnessed a dramatic change in the way in which people live. Fifty years ago, only a small proportion of the less developed world lived in cities, and world poverty was overwhelmingly rural. In 1950, less than one-fifth of the pop ... Full text Cite

Pension burdens and labor force participation in Kazakstan

Journal Article World Development · November 1, 1998 This paper examines the pressures imposed by the vast pension system in the former Soviet republic of Kazakstan. Today, some 17% of the country receives pension payments, one of the highest rates in the world - despite the fact that Kazakstan is only now c ... Full text Cite

Maternal care vs. economic wealth and the health of newborns: Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and Kansas City, USA

Journal Article World Development · November 1, 1998 This paper focuses on a narrow aspect of the demographic and health crisis in the former Soviet Union, examining the extent to which maternal behavior can compensate for poverty and poor medical conditions. Using sister hospital data form Bishkek, Kyrgyzst ... Full text Cite

Demographic change in the former Soviet Union during the transition period

Journal Article World Development · November 1, 1998 This paper examines patterns of mortality and other demographic changes across the former Soviet Union. Using regional data from the early 1990s, a simultaneous equations model of fertility, marriage, divorce, infant mortality and abortion is estimated as ... Full text Cite

The Demographic crisis in the Former Soviet Union: Introduction

Journal Article World Development · January 1, 1998 Full text Cite

Rural-Urban Migration in Africa: Do Age-Gender Cohorts Matter?

Journal Article Journal of African Economies · June 1996 Cite

Cohort-specific rural-urban migration in Africa.

Journal Article Journal of African economies · June 1996 "Rural-urban migration has been modeled by both demographers and economists since the 1960s. Little regard has been given by either discipline for the other's models.... The purpose of this paper is to address this void in the African context. We examine t ... Full text Cite

Interregional Inequality in Russia during the Transition Period

Journal Article Comparative Economic Studies · May 1996 Cite

Observational equivalence in the modeling of African labor markets and urbanization

Journal Article World Development · January 1, 1993 This article examines the appropriateness of neoclassical and rent-seeking models of urbanization for the African milieu and demonstrates that the reduced forms of these two models may be quite similar. The models are not observationally equivalent, howeve ... Full text Cite

The demo-economic impact of the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa

Journal Article World Development · January 1, 1990 This paper examines the available data on the incidence and spread of AIDS and the associated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Africa. Assessments of the impact of the spread of AIDS on African population growth and economic performance are then offer ... Full text Cite

The Impact of Sanctions on South Africa and Its Periphery

Journal Article African Studies Review · September 1988 Cite

The Determinants of Urban Population Growth in sub-Saharan Africa

Journal Article Economic Development and Cultural Change · January 1988 Cite

Saturn and State Economic Development

Journal Article Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy · March 1987 Cite

Urban sector income distribution and economic development

Journal Article Journal of Urban Economics · January 1, 1987 This paper examines the relationship between measures of urban sector inequality and economic development for a sample of 25 developing and newly industrialized countries. A U-shaped relationship is found in which bottom urban quintiles' income shares init ... Full text Cite

Economic Sanctions Against South Africa

Journal Article World Politics · January 1987 Cite

Modelling Indian migration and city growth, 1960-2000.

Journal Article Economic Development & Cultural Change · January 1, 1987 This paper uses a multisectoral model of the Indian economy to isolate the sources of Indian economic growth and urbanization since 1960. it stresses spatial issues so that it can provide predictions on rural/urban labor demands, which, when combined with ... Cite

Dynamics of rural-urban migration in India: 1960-1981.

Journal Article Indian journal of quantitative economics · January 1986 "This paper analyzes a multi-sectoral simulation model of the Indian economy designed to isolate the sources of Indian economic growth and urbanization since 1960. The model shares many common traits with other computable general equilibrium (CGE) simulat ... Cite

IMPACT OF UNBALANCED PRODUCTIVITY ADVANCE ON INDIAN URBANIZATION: SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS.

Conference Modeling and Simulation, Proceedings of the Annual Pittsburgh Conference · December 1, 1984 This paper investigates the impact of changes in sectoral productivity on output and employment patterns in a simulation model of the Indian economy. Productivity gains in major urban sectors are found to have fairly strong urban growth effects both in the ... Cite

Water resources in the soviet union: Trends and prospects

Journal Article Studies in Environmental Science · December 1, 1984 Soviet growth has placed heavy demands on its water resources. As in capitalist countries, rapid economic development has been accompanied by declines in the quality of the USSR's natural resources. Plans to continue high rates of investment ensure that th ... Full text Cite

Income Tax Incentives to Promote Savings

Journal Article National Tax Journal · September 1980 Cite