Digital Commons Network^™

Empirical Essays On Retail Investors, Institutional Investors, And Anomalies, Yuqing Yang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of five chapters on market efficiencies through retail and international mutual fund investors.

Chapter 1 This chapter briefly introduces this dissertation.

Chapter 2 This chapter Anomalies Never Disappeared: The Case of Stubborn Retail Investors delves into the “stubborn” retail investors and finds that anomalies traded against by retail investors never disappear in the long run, defying the conventional wisdom that anomalies are disappearing in recent years as market efficiency improves. Incorporating retail trading, I develop asset pricing models that surpass existing prominent models in explaining these long-run alphas. I hypothesize that retail investors exacerbate anomalies: the more …

Can Aspiration And Financial Literacy Interventions Relieve Internal Constraints? Evidence From Uganda And India, Veronika Divis

Master's Theses

Can aspiration and financial literacy interventions relieve internal constraints? We address this question through a novel experiment in Uganda and India, using 617 participants in 89 already existing borrowing groups of microfinance institutions. We carry out aspiration and financial literacy treatments as well as a combined treatment group which received both treatments to measure effects on aspirations, hope, agency, and pathway indices. Results show that receiving the aspirations treatment led to 0.34, 0.42, 0.18, and 0.40 standard deviation increases in aspirations, agency, pathways, and aspirational hope, respectively. The game and combined treatment groups also showed positive effects but lacked statistical …

What The Stork Brought: Endogenous Fertility Preferences, Lucas Fortier Borden

Master's Theses

Where most existing literature on fertility preferences has described how fertility preferences shape outcomes, this paper provides insight into how the sex of a recent birth affects a mother’s fertility preferences. Utilizing data from the Demographic Health Survey from 1985-2020 in 81 countries containing 309,238 mothers who gave birth in the past 12 months and who have equal to or fewer than three children, I employ OLS with two-way fixed effects as my primary specification, examining the effects of the plausibly exogenous sex of a recent birth on sibship sex composition preferences. Results show that a recent daughter birth increases …

Financial Literacy And Aspirations: Experimental Evidence From Eastern Uganda, Ester Agasha

Master's Theses

Financial literacy and the cultivation of aspirations are pivotal in empowering individuals and fostering economic growth, particularly within disadvantaged com munities. Although prior research has extensively analyzed the individual effects of financial education and motivational interventions on economic behaviors, there is less clarity on how the synergy between them can collectively impact the socioe conomic status of individuals in developing economies, especially women. Through randomized control experiment(RCT), this study explored the effectiveness of two interventions; 1) a financial literacy digital gaming application and, 2) an aspirations intervention (a short video documentary and a follow-up curriculum) in not only enhancing financial …

Leveling Up Financial Literacy: Evidence From Game-Based Intervention With Aspiration Treatment Amongst Rural Women In India, Akash Shaji

Master's Theses

In India, rural women exhibit notably low financial literacy levels, necessitating effective and scalable educational interventions. Our randomized controlled trial evaluated a novel approach, combining game-based financial literacy education with a video documentary-based aspirations intervention, targeting women in self-help groups in Karnataka. The study included 348 participants and employed an ANCOVA model adjusted for clustering to analyze the effects. The results demonstrate significant improvements in financial literacy and aspirations, particularly when interventions are combined. The game-based intervention alone significantly enhanced digital literacy, financial confidence, and behavioral indices such as agency, pathways, and aspirations. The aspirations intervention also independently affected financial …

Climate Change And Environmental Crises In Coastal Cities: Charleston Vs New York City, Nolan Rodriguez

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the increasing vulnerability that coastal communities face regarding climate crises and rising sea levels. Specifically, this paper investigates the environmental crises facing Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. The geographical location of these cities places a more severe threat upon their environment, as opposed to urban collectives removed from the immediate effect of rising sea levels. A cross-examination of politics and economics is discussed in order to determine the causal relationship of each city’s engagement with its surrounding environment. This paper examines how each city is affected by climate change, what measures are in place to …

Tax Preferences: A Numerical Exercise, Isaac Babatunde Olatunji

Major Papers

Tax preference focuses on individuals' perception and choice regarding specific tax policies or structure. It examines the extent to which individuals favor certain tax provisions, rates, or exemptions over others. Scholars and researchers have extensively examined tax preference from various perspectives. I performed a numerical exercise on one agent model and two agent model where agents have preferences over consumption, labor supply and tax preferences (dislike of the labor income tax). Under the one agent model there exist one household utility maximization problem and under the two agent model there exist two households with low productive ability and high productive …

Beer, Bourbon, And Bertrand: An Experimental Economics Analysis, Noah Cameron Dixon

Honors Thesis

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effect that binge drinking has on economic performance in a standard Bertrand-style game. Results indicate that binge drinking, when paired with poor protective behavioral strategies, increases cooperative pricing in a Bertrand-style game, with this result persisting across various contextual frameworks. In the aggregate, this study contributes to the literature by being the first of its kind to evaluate the effect of observational binge-drinking meta scores on performance in a Bertrand-style game. To measure economic performance in the market, participants play the 2/3 average game and a standard Bertrand game with zero …

Economic Anomalies Following The Handover Of Hong Kong, Nathan Martin

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to examine and provide a possible explanation for economic anomalies in Hong Kong following its handover to China. Hong Kong was on a 99-year lease to the United Kingdom from China before being handed back over July 1^st, 1997. Due to the “one country, two systems” policy espoused in the handover agreement that was to be implemented for fifty years, this event marks a rare natural experiment of a peaceful regime change without a significant change in governance. This paper seeks to understand the impact of the act of regime change on selected key macroeconomic …

Financial Self-Efficacy Among Puerto Rican Women In The United States: An Ethnographic Action-Based Research Study, Melinda Jimenez Perez

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic action research study was to better understand the financial self-efficacy of Puerto Rican women in the United States. There is a gap in the literature in identifying the relationship between middle-class Puerto Rican women and financial literacy. In a pilot study, four major findings emerged from the survey about Puerto Rican women and their relationship with finances: (a) as children, mothers taught them to save, and as adults, they rely on the male figures in their families; (b) the traditional education systems did not provide financial education; (c) the childhood culture of poverty and scarcity …

A Multi-Group Public Goods Game Experiment, Aaron S. Berman

Behavioral and Computational Economics (MS) Theses

People belong to many different groups, and few belong to the same network of groups. Moreover, people routinely reduce their involvement in dysfunctional groups while increasing involvement in those they find more attractive. The net effect can be an increase in overall cooperation and the partial isolation of free-riders, even if free-riders are never punished, excluded, or recognized. We test this conjecture with a multi-good extension of the standard finitely repeated public goods game. Our results from four treatments suggest that the multi-group setting indeed raises overall cooperation and dampens the impact of free-riders.

Jargon To Jackpot: The Financial Impact Of Infusing Pop Culture References In Social Media, Madelynn Solow

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This research explores the impact of incorporating pop culture references in a company's Twitter feed on the company's stock price. Pop culture is integral to people's everyday lives, providing a sense of familiarity and fun between individuals. Many companies have started leveraging pop culture references on social media platforms like Twitter to establish a relatable and engaging connection with diverse consumer demographics. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate whether this strategy is beneficial within the stock market. It is hypothesized that incorporating pop culture references on Twitter can lead to increased sales and higher stock prices, as …

Empowering Voices: Exploring The Career Trajectories Of Women Of Color Hr Professionals Amid Disruptive Change, Brandi R. Muñoz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated strategies to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives in organizational leadership, focusing on supporting women of color in the workplace. The specific problem addressed was the underrepresentation and barriers faced by women of color in leadership positions despite their potential contributions to organizational success. The study employed a qualitative approach, combining qualitative interviews with socioeconomic data analysis. Data collection methods included semistructured interviews with women of color and a survey to gather demographic and employment information. The sample consisted of 16 women of color human resource professionals working in various industries and organizational settings across the …

Effects Of Temperature On Economic Preferences: A Cross-Cultural Laboratory Study Of Prosocial Behavior, Nikita Tkachenko

Master's Theses

In light of the pressing issue of climate change, our study investigates the implications of rising temperatures on social and economic behaviors through a laboratory experiment conducted among students at university sites in Mexico, India, Kenya, Colombia, and the United States. This paper examines the influence of temperature differences and exposure length on economic decision-making among students at university sites in Mexico, Kenya, and the United States. Analyzing data from the dictator game, we explored how temperature, both ambient and wet bulb, and session length affect prosocial behavior. Our results suggest a link between temperature measures and prosocial behavior, with …

The Influence Of Flavor On The Abuse Liability Of A Heated Tobacco Product And Its Feasibility As A Menthol Cigarette Substitute, Augustus White

Theses and Dissertations

Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) purport to expose people that use cigarettes to fewer of the harmful or potentially harmful constituents of tobacco while still delivering reinforcing amounts of nicotine (Auer, Concha-Lozano et al., 2017). An exemplar of the HTP class, IQOS, and its three varieties of “HeatSticks” have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “Modified Risk Tobacco Products” (MRTP). However, as the FDA is planning to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, questions remain regarding whether characterizing flavors should be permitted in HTPs (FDA, 2022e). New evidence regarding HTP abuse liability (i.e., the likelihood …

Covid-19 Disruptions And Coping Strategies For Media Houses In Uganda: Case Of Next Media Services, Aurthur Matsiko

Theses & Dissertations

News production in the legacy media houses occurs in enclosed spaces. Editors, reporters, sub-editors, and news producers discuss and develop story ideas for production and dissemination on television, radio and print platforms. However, the Covid-19 pandemic presented a significant change in the traditional operation of the newsroom. This disruption interfered with the journalistic norms of story ideation, news sourcing, gatekeeping and distribution. Local and regional media organisations struggled through the Covid-19 pandemic because technological adoption mechanisms had long been dragged. By the time the pandemic hit Ugandan newsrooms, most media houses lacked fall-back plans, which led to several changes such …

Happy Teams: Utilizing Remote Data Entry Work To Understand The Relationship Between Team Gender Composition, Team Performance, And Worker Satisfaction, Laura Zimmer

CMC Senior Theses

The following study contributes to existing scholarship surrounding the relationship between gender and teamwork. My experiment aims to build on how gender impacts team members' success, emotions, and overall experience by randomly pairing individuals in two-person remote teams, to complete data entry tasks together. Teams work together remotely to complete tasks rating Chicago roads. Pre and post-teamwork surveys were completed by individuals surrounding their emotions and experience working with their partner. My results demonstrate that single-gender female teams report the highest increases in happiness while working in teams. Individuals were found to rate partners of their same gender more highly …

Mental Imagery Contributes To Loss Aversion By Amplifying Negative Emotions, Daniel Kroshchuk

CMC Senior Theses

Defined as the experience of sensory information without the presence of external stimuli, mental imagery is thought to play a role in memory, emotional regulation, and decision-making. Recent studies suggest that mental imagery varies widely across the general population, with approximately 2-4% of individuals having a reduction or complete absence of visual imagination, a phenomenon known as aphantasia. Individuals with aphantasia show reduced emotional arousal to fear-inducing imagery, raising the question of how variation in imagery affects cognitive processes that are influenced by emotion. Specifically, in economic decision-making it has been shown that the prospect of loss triggers negative emotions, …

Catching Up To Yesterday: An Argument For A Practical Application Of Creativity For Inspiring Change From A Content-Based Course Delivery To A 21st-Century Skills-Based Delivery, Darren Chapman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project is a creative vision for how college-level courses could be changed to deliver the most important skills students need in the 21st century—moving toward an essential employability skills-based delivery process while training vocational (content) skills. Technology is outpacing humans' ability to adapt and adopt to it, making it increasingly difficult to keep pace with technological change. This has wide-ranging effects on each of us – productively, emotionally, and perhaps physically. Colleges are at the forefront of educating citizens about the working world to improve their productivity, incomes and their sense of intrinsic motivation. However, these same colleges are …

Heat & Social Cooperation: The Effects Of Thermal Stress On Altruism, Alexander J. Courtman

Master's Theses

Recent literature has highlighted the effects of temperature on economic outcomes and violence in humans, on both the interpersonal and intergroup levels: as temperatures rise, humans are more likely to exhibit increased aggression and agitation. However, little research has been done on how pro-social behaviors like cooperation and altruism among humans might respond to increased temperatures. As extreme heat events increase in frequency, will humans and communities work together in the face of adverse shocks and crises? Leveraging experimental data collected randomized controlled trails held in 4 locations across the world, this paper seeks to establish a relationship between thermal …

Social Media Impacts On Arkansas Consumer Perceptions Of Gmos, Elizabeth R. Berner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study builds upon previous consumer perceptions of GMOs studies. A need existed to determine what, if any, effects social media messages about GMOs had on consumer perceptions in Arkansas. The study utilized a qualitative approach with three focus groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive code. Participants were found to have a general understanding of GMOs, though discussion about what a GMO product was took an uncertain tone. Most participants did not consider GMOs as a factor when purchasing products. Rather participants considered characteristics such as price, quality, and convenience. Participants did not believe the infographics had changed their opinions …

Evaluating Garment Fit Perception For Pregnant Women During 1st, 2nd, Or 3rd Trimesters, Nelima Zipporah Barasa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During pregnancy, women experience diverse physical body changes as the pregnancy progresses through different periods. It has been noted that anthropometric changes occur during pregnancy in a non-linear manner and can be measured using 3D body scanners at various stages of pregnancy. The changes are diverse, and impact pregnant women's garment fit differently as the pregnancy progresses through each trimester. Pregnant women have experience in dressing their pre-pregnant bodies in stylish garments and would similarly want to dress fashionably when pregnant. This has led to the need for garments that can accommodate body changes comfortably and fashionably without losing the …

Per Capita Gdp’S Potential Effect On The Percentage Of Children In Foster Care, Jenna Mcclain

Honors College Theses

Few studies have been conducted on the presence of a direct connection between per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and the percentage of children in foster care in a given region. GDP is a known indicator of economic growth (Powers, 1995; Roshaniza & Selvaratnam, 2015), as is a child’s potential for foster care placement associated with a parent or family’s financial status (Bald et. al, 2022; Barth et. al, 2010). Poverty is the bridge in many of these scenarios – low GDP can be indicative of higher poverty rates, and financial hardship under poverty classification can lead to child maltreatment …

Essays On Market Inefficiencies Arising From Information Asymmetry And Market Power, Ming Ge

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three chapters that empirically investigate various kinds of market inefficiencies arising from seller misbehaviors. The first two chapters focus on physicians' overtreatment in healthcare markets. A standard reputation system falls short of effectively curbing overtreatment due to the credence-good nature of such a market: patients cannot tell whether a high-cost treatment recommendation (versus a less costly and complex treatment) is necessary even after the service is completed. In the first chapter, I propose a novel solution to reinstate the function of reputation by combining a reputation mechanism with patient search for second opinions. I conduct a laboratory …

The Influence Of Framing And Recent Experience On Farmer Choices In Experimental Games Depicting Risk-Reducing Agricultural Technologies, Ana Maria Ospina Tobar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major threat to food security, particularly in low and middle-income countries that are highly dependent on staple crops for subsistence. The vulnerability of staple crops, like maize, in the face of climate change, is increasing due to the increasing frequency of droughts. This thesis aims to evaluate two mechanisms through which farmers may be more willing to adopt new technologies that increase their resilience to climate change: First, I evaluate the effectiveness of a new virtual maize farming game as a learning tool to teach farmers about the outcomes they could obtain under different weather events …

The Role Food Security, Financial Literacy, And Nutrition Literacy Play On The Diet Quality Of College Students, Amelia Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to explore the roles of food security status (FSS), financial literacy (FL), and nutrition literacy (NL) on the diet quality (DQ) of college students at the University of Maine. This research additionally sought to understand mediational relationships among these factors that could impact DQ.

A cross-sectional convenience sample of college students completed an online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic factors, short healthy eating index (sHEI)-score, FSS, FL, and NL. Participants' continuous data were analyzed using a Pearson correlation. Differences between interactive NL and sHEI-score while controlling for gender and meal plan differences were analyzed using a MANCOVA. Additionally, differences …

Beef And Dairy Substitution Effects Associated With Carbon Labeling And An Information Intervention, Sara Gardner Hedgecock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about …

Are There Differences In Household Borrowing Across Religions?, Seth Dunn

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This study explores the relationship between religion and economic behavior, specifically asking whether variations in household borrowing can be attributable to identification with different Christian religious traditions across the United States. The hypothesis of different borrowing behaviors across religions is motivated historically and theoretically. Historical data from l967 and 1971 are used in ordinary least squared and logistic regression analyses. Density of religious affiliations and relevant controls are used to predict households’ debt and attitudes towards different reasons for borrowing. Some differences across religions are found. This research contributes to a broader literature exploring the impact of religion on economic …

Understanding Factors Influencing Electric Vehicle Adoption: Evidence From Panel Data Analysis, Ryker Brian

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper investigates the factors influencing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) using panel data from California. The analysis employs a panel data model with within effects to examine the relationship between EV adoption rates and various socio-economic factors. The continued analysis gives out-of-sample forecasted results for the 4 counties with the highest share of electric vehicles registered in 2021. Additionally, the paper explores the influence of supply-side issues and complementary infrastructure on EV adoption. An introduction to Hidden Markov Methods is then given as the next step in the research.

Search Models Of Money: Alternative Means-Of Payment And Consumer Behaviour With Credit, Kheng Tat Marcus Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation consists of three chapters on Search Models of Money.

The first chapter is a review of recent advances in Search Models of Money. It reviews the Lagos and Wright (2005) framework which is the workhorse of many modern search models with applications to models with Competing Media of Exchange to Fiat Currency, and models with Money and Credit. We trace the history of the development of search models of money from the first generation to present day. We highlight recent developments that address puzzles such as the coexistence of money in an environment where an asset serves as …