Digital Commons Network^™

Lethal Elections: Gubernatorial Politics And The Timing Of Executions, Jeffrey D. Kubik, John R. Moran

Economics - All Scholarship

We document the existence of a gubernatorial election cycle in state executions, suggesting that election year political considerations play a role in determining the timing of executions. Our analysis indicates that states are approximately 25 percent more likely to conduct executions in gubernatorial election years than in other years. We also find that elections have a larger effect on the probability that an African American defendant will be executed in a given year than on the probability that a white defendant will be executed, and that the overall effect of elections is largest in the South. These findings raise concerns …

Can Policy Changes Be Treated As Natural Experiments? Evidence From State Excise Taxes, Jeffrey D. Kubik, John R. Moran

Economics - All Scholarship

An important issue in public policy analysis is the potential endogeneity of the policies under study. If policy changes constitute responses on the part of political decision-makers to changes in a variable of interest, then standard analyses that treat policy changes as natural experiments may yield biased estimates of the impact of the policy (Besley and Case 2000). We examine the extent to which such political endogeneity biases conventional fixed effects estimates of behavioral parameters by identifying the elasticities of demand for cigarettes and beer using the timing of state legislative elections as an instrument for changes in state excise …

The Private Prison Debate: A Look Into The Efficiency Of Private Prisons Vs. Public Prisons, Megan Swanson

Major Themes in Economics

The resurgence of private prisons during the 1980s has caused a lot of debate. If a private firm can run a prison more efficiently than the government, the government should allow privatization. Factors such as cost, quality of service, competition and liability must be examined in order to determine whether a private prison is more efficient than a public prison.

Ua12/2/1 Take Control, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

Special job fair edition of the College Heights Herald. Articles:

• Directory of Organizations & Opportunities
• Shinall, Dave. Economists Say Recession Over; Students Still Worried
• Nations, Amber. Internships, Co-ops Provide Experience
• Schoenbaechler, Danny. Resumes, Interview First Steps to Job
• Sewell, Beth. Job Availability Depends on Major
• Corcoran, Kate. Local Entrepreneurs Pass on Words of Wisdom
• Youngman, Sam. Columnist Encourages Students to Stay in School as Long as Possible
• Ford, Sam. Freshman Balances Job, Homework, Married Life
• Sigman, Amber. Many Students Choose Jobs in Bowling Green
• Shinall, Dave. Military Recruitment Sees Increase
• Roberts, Amy. Students Find Pros of Working On & Off …

Study Of Area Deprivation In Connecticut And Maine, Jonathan H. Ryder

Honors Theses

This paper accounts the development of an area deprivation index for two New England states, Connecticut and Maine. The index incorporates data from the 1990 U.S. Census. By applying methodology used in previous projects that created similar indices for area in Britain, an area deprivation index is created at the 5-digit zip code level for these two states in the year 1990. This project provides an example of how such a study can be applied to and completed in the United States. Foremost, it is an attempt to evaluate the relative merits of examining a comprehensive measure of area deprivation, …

The Economics Of Work And Family, Jean Kimmel Editor, Emily P. Hoffman Editor

Upjohn Press

Using an economic perspective, the contributors confront work/family issues including child care (potentially the biggest obstacle to parents successfully integrating work and family priorities), how parents balance time between work and family obligations, links between women's childbearing and their economic outcomes, the success of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the relationship between family structure and labor market outcomes. They also argue for specific policies designed to alleviate the stresses related to these issues.

Enron And The Dark Side Of Shareholder Value, William W. Bratton

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Double Helix, Double Bind: Factual Innocence And Postconviction Dna Testing, Seth F. Kreimer, David Rudovsky

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.