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Macroeconomic Monetary Policy And Sub-Macroeconomic Impacts: Evaluation Across Eras, Christopher Douglas Kauffman

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the impacts of monetary policy on regions of the United States. The purpose is to show how monetary policy decisions affect the average economy relative to disaggregate components, and to examine the effects over different periods. This will provide broader insight into the workings of the economy beyond the aggregate impacts, and should add a significant amount of information to the current literature on regional monetary effects. To allow for endogeneity between variables, the vector autoregression (VAR) method is used. Impulse response functions (IRFs) are derived to show dynamic responses of regions to a monetary policy shock. …

Investment And Capital Flows Under Uncertainty And Capital Market Imperfection In Oil Producing Countries, Mohamed Gaber Hassan Elsayed

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes and estimates the interactions between domestic investment and each type of capital flow under uncertainty and capital market imperfection in 13 oil-producing countries from 1981 to 2003. First, we discuss the recent development in investment theories under uncertainty, irreversibility, and imperfect capital market. Secondly, decomposing uncertainty into permanent and transitory components--based on C-GARCH--we constructuncertainty measures of broad macroeconomic variables in addition to oil price.

Thirdly, a model of four simultaneous equations is developed to capture dynamic interactions. My contribution is twofold. First, not only do we consider the impact of uncertainty and credit market imperfection on investment, …

Determinants Of Aggregate R&D, Role Of Fiscal Policy, And The Effects Of Government R&D On Economic Growth, Ashraf Galal Mohamed Eid

Dissertations

This dissertation contains three essays on research and development (R&D): determinants, the role of fiscal policy, and the effects of government R&D on economic growth. The first essay is an attempt to study the determinants of aggregate R&D expenditure in both emerging and developed countries with special attention to patent rights protection and technology transfer. The main findings are: (1) patent protection helps R&D but overly burdensome protection can limit access to new innovations and thus slow down the rate of research and development, and (2) technology transfer, through imports and FDI, has a positive and significant effect only if …

A Risk-Averse Newsvendor Model With Pricing Consideration, Zuobin Ye

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

A decision maker who is facing a random demand for a perishable product, such as newspapers, decides how many units to order for a single selling period. This single-period inventory problem is often referred to as the "classic newsvendor problem", in which the selling price is fixed, the order must be made before the selling period, and the decision maker is risk-neutral. If the decision maker orders too many (overage), the inventory cost will be too high. If the decision maker orders too few (underage), the potential profit will be lost. The optimal order quantity is a balance between the …

Justification Of Antisocial Behavior, Wiliam Robert Walton

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to further the study of conditional reasoning (CR) methodology to study personality. The direction of the expansion was two fold. First was to increase the content area of the study of aggressive personality by developing justification mechanisms (JMs) for antisocial behaviors. Second, was to determine the feasibility of using different reasoning-based tasks to measure JMs. Thus the development of a CR based reading comprehension task to measure antisocial JMs was undertaken. This study represents the preliminary investigation of the viability of this measure.

The Conditional Reasoning Reading Comprehension test (CR2C) was administered to 833 …

Motor Vehicle Wealth Taxes And Fleet Age: Air Quality Implications, Karie Anne Barbour

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to determine whether motor vehicle wealth taxes have unintended consequences for fleet turnover, emissions and air quality. Twenty-eight U.S. states have an annual motor vehicle wealth tax that is based on either the age or value of the vehicle, which results in tax liabilities that decrease with age. Given this structure, households have an incentive to make adjustments to their vehicle stocks in favor of older vehicles. These adjustments may be harmful to the environment as older vehicles have higher emissions.

To achieve this objective I have divided this dissertation into three separate empirical …

Endangered Species And U.S. Military Training - What’S The Value?, Jeffrey S. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to value military training using tradeoffs associated with endangered species. Because of urban sprawl, endangered species are encroaching upon many military training facilities throughout the United States. This encroachment interrupts military training activities and may affect the grounds where training takes place. Laws associated with the Endangered Species Act prevent any activities that may harm or destroy critical habitat necessary to ensure endangered species survival.

Choice modeling, which is a subset of contingent valuation, is a stated preference methodology that allows researchers to question respondents about complex scenarios, and to calculate values based on …

Essays On The Econometrics Of Financial Volatility, Yasemin Bardakci

Dissertations

My dissertation consists of three essays on the econometric analysis of financial volatility.

My first essay is titled "The Runs Test for Volatility Forecastibility: Extensions and Comparisons with Tests for GARCH." Recently, Diebold and Christoffersen (2000) introduced a test for forecastable volatility. In this paper, I compare the size and the power of the runs test and the optimal LM test for GARCH by Monte Carlo simulation. For high frequency returns the LM test has superior power to the runs test. For low frequency returns however, the tests have very similar power. I also propose a switching variance model. For …

Basel Capital Adequacy Accord 1988 And The New Proposed Accord With Application To Egyptian Commercial Public Sector Banks : The Period From 1985-2001, Amr Mohamed El Tiby

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Constructing A Social Welfare Function Under Poverty And Inequality With Application To Developing Countries, Nyiwul Linus Mabughi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In this study entitled "Constructing a Social Welfare Function under Poverty and Inequality with Application to Developing Countries"; prepared by Nyiwul Linus Mabughi under the supervision of Dr. Tarek Selim (The American University in Cairo), we provide a post-Sen theoretical conceptualization of a social welfare function and application to developing countries. In the methodology, we undertake a decomposition of efficiency and distribution aspects of welfare and examine the sensitivity of the various elements of the social welfare formulation. We develop a new social welfare .. function based on different ec9nomic development elements. These elements include per capita income (PPP), total …

The Marble Industry In Egypt: A Microeconomic Analysis, Azza Ibrahim Hamed Kandil

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a microeconomic assessment of the marble industry in Egypt. It starts with an overview and analysis of the international marble industry, highlighting this industry as one of the oldest industries in the world. Historically, the industry moved from labor­intensive to capital-intensive with the advent of technological advancement, including development of automated production tools like cranes and diamond cutting wires. In Egypt, during the past 20 years, market entry into the industry was high, due to the high profit margins achieved. In addition, there was (and still is) lack of effective government regulation. Currently, the marble industry in …

Theoretical Mathematical Model Of Fishery Economics, Andre Garron

Honors Theses

The world population recently topped 6 billion people. Each person has the same need to eat, breathe, and drink. Unfortunately the world's limited resources imply a carrying capacity for the human race. As we approach this critical mass, the strain on our resources becomes increasingly severe. We have already begun to realize such disasters. Many of the world's fisheries have been destroyed, depleted to near nonexistence, or critically overfished. In some cases they only held on because the price of catching the final fish outweighed the potential revenue from catching it. This paper is an attempt to increase our understanding …

Comparison Of The Contingent Valuation Method And The Stated Choice Model For Measuring Benefits Of Ecosystem Management: A Case Study Of The Clinch River Valley, Tennessee, Yuki Takatsuka

Doctoral Dissertations

Several recent studies have compared the stated preference contingent valuation method (CVM) and discrete choice analysis for non-market value. The studies suggest that values derived from the two different methods differ because of the information presented in the contingent market. One explanation is that in the CVM consideration of substitutes typically amounts to a statement reminding the respondent of a budget constraint. In the choice analysis, consideration of substitutes is part of the survey design and the decision process. An alternate explanation is that information on the suite of complementary changes is explicitly recognized in the choice models and is …

Determinants Of Residential Water Conservation: The Case Of Salt Lake City Utah, Eric A. Coleman

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

This study evaluates the effectiveness of demand-side water conservation policies in Salt Lake City, Utah for the years 1999 to 2002. We add to the existing residential water demand literature by exploring panel estim ation techniques with disaggregated household level data. Alternative policies used to induce water conservation are di scussed based on estimates of demand schedule parameters. We find that public conservation .campaigns have had negli gible impacts on the city's water use. There have been, however, statistically significant reductions in consumption due to price changes despite minimal price increases. Our findings should enable local and state policymakers to …

Two Essays On Corporate Income Tax Rates And Foreign Direct Investment In The United States, Hapuarachilage Albert Wijeweera

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the relationship between corporate income tax rates and inbound foreign direct investment in the United States. In the two essays presented, the first estimates the effect of the corporate income tax rate on FDI inflows, while controlling for other non-tax variables. The study uses time series data over the period 1957-2002 and employs cointegration techniques and error correction models to estimate the long run and the short run tax responses. The corporate income tax rate is found to exert a significant negative effect on total FDI inflows in the long run. A one percent decrease in the …

Can Fundamental Value Predict Stock Returns? An Empirical Assessment Of The Feltham -Ohlson Model, Colin Anthony Pillay

Doctoral Dissertations

In valuation research, two modeling approaches that have become prominent are those based on the Residual Income Model (RIM) and those based on the G. Feltham-James A. Ohlson framework. Ohlson (1995) develops a valuation model which links a firm's fundamental value to the book value of equity, earnings and other relevant information. Feltham and Ohlson (1995) extend the Ohlson (1995) model to incorporate growth and conservative accounting.

This study provides an evaluation of the Feltham-Ohlson (1995) model assuming market inefficiency. Analyst forecast data are obtained from the international I/B/E/S files. Financial information and share prices are obtained from the Compustat …

Three Essays On Real Estate Investment Trusts, Yan Lin

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This dissertation includes three essays that study on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The first essay examines the shape of market demand curve by employing REIT equity fund flows as a proxy for REIT aggregate demand. An empirical framework is introduced to disentangle the price-pressure effect and the information effect. We do not find evidence for the price-pressure effect, which states that REIT equity fund flows directly affect REIT market prices. Instead, we find that the performance of REIT market prices does influence REIT equity fund flows. The results indicate that investors adjust their demand for REITs by investigating and …

Using Value-Focused Thinking To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of Air Force Utility Privatization, Carlos Braziel

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the Air Force s stateside utility systems are old, obsolete, and unreliable. The cost to upgrade and repair these systems is currently estimated at over $4 billion. In response, the Air Force began efforts to convey ownership of these utility systems to the private sector through privatization efforts. However, privatization critics believe that newly privatized entities of government will cost the public more money and provide a lower level of service. Therefore, independent audits are a necessity to ensure government initiatives, meet their intended goals. However, the Air Force currently lacks an effective auditing tool to ensure …

Economic Sanctions As A Tool Of Coercive Diplomacy, Heba Mostafa Rizk

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Using Information And Communication Technology For Human Development: Comparing Strategies, Jenny Engelbrektsson

Theses : Honours

In the last 20 years, applications of lnformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have impacted on the economics of the industrialised world. In today's "information society", information and knowledge are essential to social and economic development. However, not everyone has access to ICI sand the information they may provide. There is concern that existing inequities of income, knowledge, skills and measures of social development may increase as a result of a growing "digital divide" both between and within countries. There is an ongoing discussion within the international community about whether ICTs may play a significant role in human development. This study …

The Effects Of Asset Allocation And Active Management On Total Return Of Managed Funds, Florian Halili

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Portfolio managers are charged with maximizing returns for a given level of risk. There are practical problems that arise in creating an efficient portfolio and maintaining a target level of risk and return. This paper will identify two important factors that a manager needs to address in creating and managing a portfolio. The first step in creating a portfolio should be the establishment of the structure of the portfolio or the portfolio policy, what asset classes it holds and in what proportions. The structure of the portfolio is the main factor that shows how a portfolio is exposed to risk. …

Wealth Effects On Consumer Spending In The Us Economy, Andriy Avramenko

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the effects of wealth on consumer spending in the United States. A traditional life-cycle model is estimated first. Although it does find a statistically significant wealth effect, its findings are unusable due to the presence of autocorrelation and non-stationarity. Variables in logarithmic forms are found to be cointegrated. Thus, a logarithmic model with the Stock-Watson adjustment and an AR(I) term is estimated instead. Three extensions to this model are offered. First, wealth is divided into stock market and non-stock market components, second into liquid and illiquid components. Finally, a new approach to the wealth division is introduced, …

Risk Premiums On Government Bonds: A Cointegration Approach And Error Correction Model, Onisiforos Iordanou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis we investigated the long-run relationships among risk premiums for long-run government bonds of seventeen countries from four regions (East Europe, East Asia, Africa and Latin America). To do this I applied the cointegration test determining the long-run dynamics among the risk premiums, while also employing a vector error correction model that abstracts simultaneously the short-run and long-run information about the relationships. Causality tests were also performed to determine the influence of each risk premium on others.

The results indicated that there is a strong long-run relationship among the risk premiums for each region. In other words, the …

Compatibility Of A Western Systemic Approach For Handling Complex, Pluralist And Coercive Problems In Developing Countries: A Case Study Of Micro Satellite Development In Indonesia, Alexander Sudibyo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this era of globalization, there has been much western investment in the eastern world, increasing the number of large projects financed by internal and foreign investments. It was thought a challenging proposition to investigate whether systemic approaches could be used in eastern developing countries that are in transition between Toffler’s first (agricultural focused) and second (industrial centered) waves of economic development.

Provincial Growth Convergence In China, Zhifang Peng

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Is Economic Growth Enough To Reduce Poverty, Hongying Chen

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Tipping Fees In The Waste Industry, Kelli Jean Mayes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Import Transit Corridors Of Landlocked Countries In West Africa, Michael Achagwe Luguje

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Logistics Potential Of The Aqaba Special Economic Zone As A Regional Gateway, Sufian Atalah Al-Muhaisen

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

"Optimal” Inflation Under Dollarization, Kazutaka Kurasawa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper analyzes the effects of dollarization, where a country (C) uses money produced by another country (M). We derive a general formula to determine the "optimal" rate of inflation, which maximizes M's welfare but does not take into account any loss to C. We show how this inflation varies with relative income size and output growth. Estimates of the "optimal" inflation rate are made for some countries. We also analyze a contract, under which M shares a fraction of total potential seignorage with C to induce M to inflate at a rate which leads to no seigniorage accruing to …