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The Role Of Relative Bmi Across Racial And Ethnic Groups: Impacts On Happiness Within The United States, Colin Knox

Honors Theses

Over the last generation, rising Body Mass Index (BMI) among Americans has had significant health and psychological impacts. My thesis uses data from over 1 million surveys from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine the role of BMI in determining individual happiness. I specifically consider whether being surrounded by others who are overweight reduces the psychological cost of being overweight. Controlling for demographic factors, I create reference groups based on an individual’s state, sex, race and age. My thesis intends to show that individuals with a BMI higher than their reference group will be less happy.

The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing, Angela Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Outsourcing has become increasingly popular to the public since the mid-20th century and has become more controversial in the last decade. The United States economy has been under the microscope for the last 4 years due to an economic recession. Outsourcing has been a subject of interest that has been brought up numerous times by economists. Offshore outsourcing is the main type of outsourcing that is of concern in relation to the United States economy. This topic is highly debated because of the unemployment rate in America.

Analysis Of Bank Failure And Size Of Assets, Guancun Zhong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The financial health of the banking industry is an important prerequisite for economic stability and growth. Bank failures in the United States have run in cycles largely associated with the collapse of economic bubbles. The number of bank failures has increased dramatically over the last thirty years (Halling and Hayden, 2007). In this thesis, we try to address the following two questions: 1) What is the relationship, if any, between a bank's asset size and its likelihood of failures? 2) How can we use statistical tools to predict the numbers of bank failures in the future? Various modeling techniques are …

The United States Credit Rating Downgrade: European Reaction, Brian Scott Roseman

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

The purpose of this paper is to answer the important question of how investors viewed the debt obligations from European countries in reaction to the United States credit rating downgrade by Standard and Poor’s on August 5 2011. During this period there were a handful of countries in Europe that still had AAA ratings. This paper looks at the reaction of investors towards Europe, through the medium of Credit Default Swaps (CDSs). By analyzing the changes in CDS spreads, I am able to determine the perceptions of investors regarding the risk of European Sovereigns during the timeframe surrounding the U.S …

Health Insurance Exchanges: A Panacea Or A Band-Aid?, Luisa Sanchez De Tagle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2010, the 111th Congress passed the first national health care reform in the United States, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This landmark legislation is intended to "fix" a health care system renowned for decreasing access and escalating costs. This paper examines one of the principal reforms in the ACA, the state health insurance exchanges. The author finds theoretical and empirical evidence to support the exchanges' potential (in conjunction with other relevant ACA reforms) to increase access, decrease insurers' excess profits and shift health care costs away from those least able to afford them. The exchanges fall …

Essays On Population Aging And Social Security In The U.S., Shantanu Bagchi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the past few decades, falling birth rates and increasing life expectancies have threatened the viability of social security programs all across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In this dissertation, I attempt to shed some light on the extent of the crisis that the social security program in the United States (U.S.) currently faces, and I also recommend one possible reform policy. In the first essay, I provide an alternative estimate of the impact of population aging on the future social security benefits in the U.S., while accounting for the household-level and macroeconomic adjustments to population aging. …

Specialty Service Lines In The United States Hospital System: Old Wine, New Bottles, Michael Sajovetz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of specialty service lines in the United States health care system presents many significant questions regarding the access to, provision of, and financing of healthcare. In general terms, specialty service lines represent the newest development in several important trends in the American hospital system and reflect important trends in the wider economy. Many claims have been made regarding the effect of physician-owned specialty hospitals, from their exemption from self-referral prohibitions, their diversion of services away from general hospitals that use high profit margins to subsidize the "safety net," and concerns regarding the over-provision of technologically complex treatments in …

China And The United States' Recovery From The Global Financial Crisis, Yufei Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Faced with the global financial crisis, which has a large impact on the world's economy, China and the United Stated took different actions to pull the economy out of it, based on the fairly different financial, fiscal, and even political systems they have. This thesis focuses on the comparison of the financial and fiscal systems and trade structures between the two different countries, and how these have impact on their stimulus packages, thus influencing the economic recovery as a whole.

Woman's Work: Female Lighthouse Keepers In The Early Republic, 1820–1859, Virginia Neal Thomas

History Theses & Dissertations

During the Early Republic between 1820 and 1859, women, on average, comprised about five percent of the principal lighthouse keepers in the United States. These women represent a unique exception to the experience of the majority of working women during the Early Republic. They received equal pay to men, and some supervised lower-paid male assistants. They filled these predominately male positions because lighthouse work had much in common with stereotypical woman's work, they were most often related to the previous keeper, and they fit within cultural ideals of gender roles. Inquiry beyond the romantic image crafted for these light keepers …

Crossing Borders: Mexican Immigration Into The United States, Ewelina L. Dzieciolowski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Immigration has been one of the major political and economic topics debated by governments in the world. In the United States, migration legislation is debated in the Senate, and impacts every industry throughout the country. Therefore, with further research in this field more answers for why migration occurs can be found. Although various disciplines focus on this phenomenon, each offers reasons specific to the discipline which is searching for an explanation. This thesis acknowledges that economic factors, social aspects, push and pull influences are some of the reasons for immigration, but it also proposes that there are other forces behind …

Cost Benefit Analysis Of Wind Turbine Investment In Oberlin, Ohio, Saul Domingo Flores

Honors Papers

As concern over global climate change and fears of rising energy costs permeate our collective and individual decision making, more and more private institutions are seeking out innovative and feasible solutions to meet these issues. Many colleges and universities throughout the United States have been among the first private and public institutions to dedicate themselves to positions of climate neutrality and have begun to incorporate the ethics of conservation and commitment to environmental sustainability into their primary objectives. To date nearly five hundred institutions of higher education have signed the American College and Universities Climate Change Commitment, pledging to take …

Stock Markets And Household Wealth: Can A Stock Market Crash Cause A Recession In The U.S. Economy?, Ishan Singh

Honors Theses

Stock market wealth effects on the level of consumption in the United States economy have been constantly debated; there is evidence for arguments for and against its prominence and its symmetry. This paper seeks to investigate the strength of its negative effect by creating models to analyze unexpected shocks to the Standard and Poor's 500 index. First, a transmission mechanism between the stock market and GDP is established through the use of second-order vector autoregressive models. Following which, theory from the life cycle model and adaptations of previous researchers' models are used to create a structural model. This paper finds …

Deficit Reduction In The U.S. Senate : The Search For Moral Leadership In The Budget Process, David Kendall Roberts

Honors Theses

Contemporary deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility are central to the economic wellbeing of future generations as well as their ability to freely decide their own policy priorities. Many scholarly publications and popular commentary on budget policy describe the obstacles to deficit reduction and political leaders' unwillingness to address the nation's long-term fiscal problems. However, current discussions of budget deficits and the national debt have not been informed by a comprehensive empirical analysis of attempts to reduce the deficit. This thesis examines all deficit-affecting floor amendments to budget legislation from 1975 to 2005 in order to assess whether the bleak account …

Post Merger Performances In Japan, Mami Suzuki

Honors Papers

Mergers and acquisitions are relatively new phenomena in the Japanese market. The total number M & A transactions per year has increased from approximately 500 to 1,752 between 1995 and 2002. MergerStat records 3,510 and 7,411 transactions in the U.S. for the equivalent years. The percentage of M & A transactions per number of business entities was 0.03% for Japan in 2001 and 0.1% for the U.S. in 2002. As illustrated through the figures, the frequency of M&A in Japan is considerably lower relative to the U.S., but proliferation of transactions is evident as well. Post-merger performances of firms in …

Redefining The U.S. Hispanic Market: Generation N And American Society, Cindy L. Pino

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Us School Breakfast Program: Short- And Long-Term Academic Effects, Chris Rohlfs

Honors Papers

This paper evaluates short- and long-term academic effects of the US School Breakfast Program (SBP). The paper divides into four sections: an introduction (page 4), a literature review (page 11), a statistical model (page 31), and an empirical model (page 38). In the first section, we cover general facts and details about the SBP. In the second section, we first review literature relevant to the SBP (supply, demand, and short-term effects studies). Next, we explore studies of the long-term effects of schooling and of school quality. Many of the techniques and information from these studies relate to our discussion of …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of The Internet As A Marketing Tool For Economic Development In Municipal Governments In The Western Region Of The United States, Jacquelin Risner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper is a cross-sectional analysis of the western United States that explores the research question of whether the internet, when used as a marketing tool, has an impact on urban economic development for municipal governments. Economic development has changed throughout the years. It is now global in perspective. The necessity for municipal governments to compete on a global level requires an investigation into new technology and its importance to economic development efforts. Specifically, the advent of the internet and its significance to economic development in municipal governments was explored. A survey was constructed and sent to one hundred …

Viability Of Traditional Banking Services: Evidence From The Regional Level U.S. Banking Industry, Sofia Xinchen Lou

Honors Papers

My study focuses on testing the conduct of banks in their traditional activities, loans and demand deposits provision. The twenty-one year period runs from 1972 to 1992. A relatively recent econometric model is employed. The model takes a set of two-equation system that contains one demand function and one reduced-form supply equation. A parameter that references the deviation in the conduct of banks from the competitive equilibrium level can be estimated using the model. When the parameter has a value that is not significantly different from 0, banks' conduct is said to be competitive. A positive value indicates market power …

State Anti-Smoking Legislation And The Demand For Cigarettes, Jean Mcintire

Honors Papers

This paper evaluates the effects of anti-smoking legislation on cigarette sales across the fifty states for the years 1975 through 1990. The relevance of this issue can be entertained from several perspectives as it pertains to both smokers and non-smokers contrasting the right to smoke with the right to breathe clean air. Anti-smoking legislation was initiated from early on in our country's legal history, not as a method of protecting non-smokers from the externalities imposed upon them by smokers with respect to their right to clean air, but rather in light of smoking's inherent fire hazards. The most significant development …

All Work: An Evaluation Of Worker's Attitudes, Worker's Behavior And Productivity In The U.S. Automobile Industry, Todd M.R. Baker

Honors Papers

The American automobile industry has become extremely sensitive to the increased number of Japanese cars and plants in the United States. Some parties believe that in order to operate competitively in the future labor and management must continue to find ways to work together and improve relations. Irving Bluestone, a former labor leader, believes that humanistic relations between the two parties are essential to the welfare of everyone involved. Joint efforts between the workers and management need to be continued and expanded. Both sides can benefit from such cooperation.

Devaluation, Short-Run Supply Response, And The J-Curve, Alexander L. Brown

Honors Papers

This paper will attempt to empirically illustrate the contribution of short-run supply adjustment to the U.S. J-curve. I plan to study, on the major industry division level (2 digit SIC), 15 manufacturing sectors of the united states. Their supply movements will be calculated in terms of total short-run adjustment. These statistics will then be compared to the trade balance (J-curve) for the U.S. to see if the supply movements of U.S. manufacturers can explain the continued drop in U.S. international trade. If the theory is supported few industries will adjust quickly in the short-run, reflecting the slow adjustment of aggregate …

The Presidential Business Cycle In The U.S.: A Theoretical And Empirical Examination, Ranjit S. Dighe

Honors Papers

The idea of a politically-motivated business cycle is basically a conspiracy theory: "office-motivated" politicians, seeking to exploit the well-documented relationship between favorable economic news and votes for the incumbent president and his party, manipulate the timing of business cycles for their own electoral gain. This manipulation, theorists maintain, is effected through the use of any of several policy instruments including discretionary federal spending, government transfer payments, and the average tax rate, as well as pressure on the central bank to pursue a more accommodating monetary policy.

Theories of such a cycle seem to fall in and out of favor with …

Public Insurance, Private Insurance, And The Demand For Hospital Care: Implications For Medicare And Private Contracts, Martin Zelder

Honors Papers

The findings of this paper can briefly be summarized. Demand, as measured by hospital admissions rate, is inelastic. Demand, as measured by mean length of stay, is elastic. A given amount of public hospital insurance has a small, but significantly larger effect on demand, by either measure, than an equal amount of private hospital insurance. These estimates can then be applied to several topics. One such topic is the effect of the Reagan Administration's plan to alter the Medicare benefit payment system. A second application measures the welfare loss (Martin Feldstein's phrase) of "excess" hospital insurance coverage, and the gains …

An Examination Of Statewide Mandates In Economic Education And Of The Programs Developed To Implement These Mandates, Virginia Carol Frye

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Further Investigation Into The Role Of Education In The Demand For Health Care, Mohammad Al-Hadi Al-Bakir Al-Barazi

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation intends to examine the inconsistency prevailing in the health economics literature between theoretical predictions and empirical findings concerning the role of education in the determination of health care services. Starting from the premise that the household’s stock of health capital is a nondurable commodity which depreciates over time; that it can be augmented by investment; that the household production function for gross investment in health capital stock is homogeneous of degree one in both inputs of health care services and health care time; that a ‘factor-neutral’ education enters the production function of the household as an environmental variable …

Environmental Problem: An Economic Viewpoint And Humanistic Solution, Michael Robert Currie

Senior Scholar Papers

Economics deals with wealth, which is essential in allowing people to maintain their activities. Wealth is produced by human effort, guided by science, mediated by technology, governed by the economic system, and exerted through the environment . That a problem exists in our environment is clear from the observable stress on our natural ecosystems. Our water has been fouled, Lake Erie is dead, our air has been sufficiently poisoned in many urban areas to be classified as dangerous to health, and in general there exists the threat that the natural systems which support our lives may collapse. Although certain statistics, …

The Supply Of Public School Teachers In The United States: A Study In Human Capital Theory, Andrew W. Bacdayan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study uses the principles of human capital theory to develop and test a theory of a supply of a class of educated manpower services with special reference to school teachers.

In the theory formulation, the determinants of the existing stock of teacher education capital are first identified. These are: (a) the price per man-year of teaching service, WTS, (b) the rate of interest, r, (c) the price of the human capital already embodied in the individual working for a college degree in teacher education, WCS, and (d) private costs of education such as foregone earnings and tuition fees, FERTN. …

Impact Of Technology On Labor, Allan Jeong Wong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is not the intent of this paper to contribute to the body of technological knowledge nor even to report on it at length, but to investigate in one area the important economic and social effect caused by technological progress. It is the intent of this study to answer or at least throw some light on the problem of the technological impact on labor.

Application Of Location Theory And Empirical Data By Area Industrial Development Groups, Clarence Arthur Middleton Jr.

Master's Theses

The objective of this paper is to determine if theories of industrial location and empirical data describing changes in manufacturing employment might suggest efficient approaches in attracting industry to a particular area. This is in sharp contrast to the usual application of location theory in which the optimum location of a firm or of a particular industry is selected.

Current Proposals For Changes In Reserve Requirements Of Commercial Banks In The United States, William Byrd Harrison

Master's Theses

The well-being of a nation is dependent in large part upon the state of its money. Bank reserve positions have a great deal to do with the state of our money. An impressive volume of study and evidence has been brought forth in just the past few years to indicate that United States laws which establish the rules under which financial institutions operate need revising. Other, more readily understood topics, however, however claimed the attention of the public and its representatives in Congress. Little has been done to remedy serious shortcomings in banking laws.

This paper examines briefly these studies …