Does size matter?

from Ali Kadri

This rather serious paper from the Helsinki Center of Economic Research makes a real mockery out of mainstream macro econometrics.   

Male Organ and Economic Growth: Does Size Matter?

Abstract
This paper explores the link between economic development and penile length between 1960 and 1985. It estimates an augmented Solow model utilizing the Mankiw-Romer-Weil 121 country dataset. The size of male organ is found to have  an inverse U-shaped relationship with the level ofGDPin 1985. It can alone explain over 15% of the variation inGDP. TheGDPmaximizing size is around 13.5 centimetres, and a collapse in economic development is identified as the size of male organ exceeds 16 centimetres. Economic growth between 1960 and 1985 is negatively associated with the size of male organ, and it alone explains 20% of the variation inGDPgrowth. With due reservations it is also found to be more important determinant ofGDPgrowth than country’s political regime type. Controlling for male organ slows convergence and mitigates the negative effect of population growth on economic development slightly. Although all evidence is suggestive at this stage, the `male organ hypothesis’ put forward here is robust to exhaustive set of controls and rests on surprisingly strong correlations.
JEL Classification: O10, O47
Keywords: economic growth, development, male organ, penile length, Solow model

The full paper is here:
https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/27239/HECER-DP335.pdf

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