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A Statistical Analysis Of Economic Perceptions In The 2015 United Kingdom General Election, Amarvir Singh-Bal Mr.
A Statistical Analysis Of Economic Perceptions In The 2015 United Kingdom General Election, Amarvir Singh-Bal Mr.
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper characterises the vote which took place in the United Kingdom's (U.K.) 2015 General Election as an ‘accountability instrument.’ In doing so, the research interrogates which sections of the electorate hold the incumbent government more accountable for economic outcomes between the 2010 and 2015 U.K. General Elections. The Rational Choice Theory and the Michigan Model are used in this study to present two interlinked, and yet distinct, hypotheses – that less politically informed and non-partisan voters are more likely to hold the government accountable for economic performances; compared to the politically informed and partisan voters within the electorate. Implementing …
Education And Job Match: Revisited, Saagar Dulani, Hannah Baney, Hoang Nguyen, Yifei Yan
Education And Job Match: Revisited, Saagar Dulani, Hannah Baney, Hoang Nguyen, Yifei Yan
Undergraduate Economic Review
To study the changes in the effect of degree field on mismatch and the change in the effect of mismatch of wages over time, we revisit a study by Robst (2006) who found that workers who are mismatched earn less than adequately match workers with the same amount schooling. Using recent data from 2015 National Survey of College Graduate (NSCG), we also find a negative relationship between the case of mismatch and the outcome of workers in term of wages, even though the degree of mismatch doesn’t seem to matter as much.
The Perceived Return On College Investment In Relation To Economic Expectations Of Students At The University Of Maryland, Joshua S. Roston
The Perceived Return On College Investment In Relation To Economic Expectations Of Students At The University Of Maryland, Joshua S. Roston
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper presents the results of a survey conducted in the spring semester of 2017 of University of Maryland students. The results illustrate how University of Maryland students weigh the decision to attend college in terms of their perceived current economic situation and future expectations as well as predicted return on investment. A body of economic literature on the perception of return on investment from attending college exists already and this study hopes to add to the discussion as its results are unexpected. The results imply that the current generation of college students feels uncertain over the worthwhileness of higher …
Take Me Out To The Ball Game? The Effect Of Crime On Major League Baseball Game Attendance, Allison Jakubek
Take Me Out To The Ball Game? The Effect Of Crime On Major League Baseball Game Attendance, Allison Jakubek
Undergraduate Economic Review
Major League Baseball attendance has been examined since the league’s establishment in 1869. Winning percentage, opponent quality, and stadium quality have all been deemed significant determinants of increasing attendance, but deterring factors have yet to be closely examined. Since a majority of professional sports stadiums are constructed in economically poor, crime ridden areas, it seems natural to assume that crime could have an impact on people’s desire to attend Major League Baseball games. Panel data collected on twenty-eight teams over the course of ten years was used to determine whether or not crime rates have a significant effect on attendance.
The Payoff Of A Healthy Lifestyle While In College, Richard D. Angeletti Iii
The Payoff Of A Healthy Lifestyle While In College, Richard D. Angeletti Iii
Undergraduate Economic Review
This study analyzes the effect that an individual’s body mass index (BMI) has on their hourly compensation in their next job directly following attainment of their bachelor degree. This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth that started in 1997. This study aligned all the survey participants’ timeline of life events to be coordinated in such a way that bachelor degree attainment, regardless of year, is the common reference point. Sufficient observation of bachelor degree receipts was found in the year 2001 through 2007 resulting in a pooled data set across seven years. This study hypothesizes that individuals with …
Returns From Self-Employment: Using Human Capital Theory To Compare U.S. Natives And Immigrants, Nikola Popovic
Returns From Self-Employment: Using Human Capital Theory To Compare U.S. Natives And Immigrants, Nikola Popovic
Undergraduate Economic Review
The focus of this paper is to examine the economic returns from self-employment when comparing natives and immigrants. I hypothesize that returns from self-employment will increase with age and education, and that immigrants from China, India, and the Philippines will have higher returns while immigrants from Mexico will have lower returns than natives. I also hypothesize that immigrants with high levels of education will earn more than natives with the same amount of education. The OLS regressions show that human capital variables explain the differences in self-employed income between natives and immigrants, as the literature suggests.
Horizontal Educational Inequalities And Civil Conflict: The Nexus Of Ethnicity, Inequality, And Violent Conflict, Katharine M. Lindquist
Horizontal Educational Inequalities And Civil Conflict: The Nexus Of Ethnicity, Inequality, And Violent Conflict, Katharine M. Lindquist
Undergraduate Economic Review
Development economists have long questioned the relationship between civil conflict, inequality, and ethnic heterogeneity. While most quantitative literature has focused on inequality between individuals, this study analyzes the relationship of horizontal inequality – between groups of individuals sharing a common identity – and propensity for the onset of civil conflict, focusing on horizontal educational inequality (HEI). Findings from Demographic and Health Survey data for 44 countries from 1986 to 2005 show that measures of both female and male HEI are marginally or not significant in predicting civil conflict but strongly significant in predicting ethnic civil conflict.
Interest Rate Policy In China: The Impact Of Suppressed Deposit Rates On Household Income From 2000-2007, Zhuliang James Zhang
Interest Rate Policy In China: The Impact Of Suppressed Deposit Rates On Household Income From 2000-2007, Zhuliang James Zhang
Undergraduate Economic Review
An often-overlooked impact of China’s policy of maintaining low interest has been the suppression of household interest income, which has increased the propensity of households to save while decreasing their consumption rates. This paper posits that from 2000 to 2007, deposit rates in China were suppressed annually by around 720 basis points, imposing an implicit tax on annual per-capita income of 12.8% on average. Raising deposit rates will increase household income and boost consumption in the medium-term if the Chinese government is able to initiate policy shifts that distribute the gains of economic growth more equitably to households. Research advised …
Cointegration Of International Stock Markets: An Investigation Of Diversification Opportunities, Taimur A. Khan
Cointegration Of International Stock Markets: An Investigation Of Diversification Opportunities, Taimur A. Khan
Undergraduate Economic Review
Abstract: This paper examines the long-run convergence of the United States and 22 other developed and developing countries. I use daily data and run the Johansen (1988) and the Gregory and Hansen (1996) test to show that stock markets of most countries have become cointegrated by 2010. I also look at short-run diversification opportunities across the countries by comparing their daily returns to the daily returns of the global index (S&P 1200). China, Malaysia and Austria stand out as countries with highly favorable diversification opportunities as they are not cointegrated about with the US and are insensitive to the global …
R&D Investment Link To Profitability: A Pharmaceutical Industry Evaluation, Lawrence J. Nord
R&D Investment Link To Profitability: A Pharmaceutical Industry Evaluation, Lawrence J. Nord
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper is an in depth analysis of the influence that investment into research and development has on a firm’s profitability in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. The pharmaceutical industry is chosen due to its high intensity of research and development expenditures. The top 16 companies in the pharmaceutical industry are analyzed through regression analysis. The argument made is that as more funds are invested into research and development a firm in the pharmaceutical industry will experience a higher market value. Theoretically as firms spend more on research and development they are increasing the likelihood of innovation, which …
What Makes People Infidel? An Analysis Of The Influence Of Demographics On Extramarital Affairs, Saheli Nath
What Makes People Infidel? An Analysis Of The Influence Of Demographics On Extramarital Affairs, Saheli Nath
Undergraduate Economic Review
People in most cultures view sexual fidelity as one of the key foundations of a strong marital relationship. When a person engages in extramarital affairs, irrespective of the length of involvement in such an activity and whether or not the spouse is aware of it, the mutual 'trust' in 'sexual fidelity' takes an intrinsic blow. This paper explores the causes behind extramarital affairs from an economic perspective by statistically testing the hypothesis that the numbers of extramarital affairs people have depend on demographic characteristics of the population.
Implications Of Economic Growth On Poverty Levels In Putin’S Russia, 2000-2008., Sergey Maltsev
Implications Of Economic Growth On Poverty Levels In Putin’S Russia, 2000-2008., Sergey Maltsev
Undergraduate Economic Review
Devastating economic performance of the first years of Russia’s transition seemed to have reversed since the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s presidency. This work investigates whether the economic growth which occurred in Russia between 2000 and 2008 benefited all and the poor in particular. With the panel data from Rosstat we commence OLS, Fixed Effect and Random Effect regressions to find significant evidence that economic growth of the analysed period was pro-poor, however it was also associated with rising income inequality. Besides, we find that economic growth accounted for little variation in some other indicators of social welfare (education, housing, healthcare).
Financial Development And The Mdgs For Education, Gender Equality, And Health, Benjamin N. Rosner
Financial Development And The Mdgs For Education, Gender Equality, And Health, Benjamin N. Rosner
Undergraduate Economic Review
Recent research has found that financial development reduces poverty in developing countries. This paper shows that it also improves education, gender equality, and health. Specifically it has 3 key findings. First, financial development helps achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for education, gender equality, and health by increasing the amount of private credit, money, and deposits in the economy. Second, increasing opportunities to deposit savings is the most significant way that financial development affects the MDGs. Third, the least financially developed countries benefit the most from financial development. These results are robust to omitted variable and reverse causation biases.
The Effects Of Workplace Smoking Bans On Smoking Prevalence: A State Level Analysis, Chelsea R. Stanley
The Effects Of Workplace Smoking Bans On Smoking Prevalence: A State Level Analysis, Chelsea R. Stanley
Undergraduate Economic Review
This study investigates the effects of workplace smoking bans on smoking prevalence. Using a unique panel data set on state-wide smoking prevalence in all U.S. jurisdictions, while controlling for fixed and lagged effects, I find that smoking bans decrease overall smoking prevalence. The magnitude of this impact, however, makes the federal government’s goal of reducing the national smoking rate from its current level to 12 percent by 2020 a hopeful aspiration. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that workplace smoking bans, especially in conjunction with other statewide governmental initiatives, are a worthwhile endeavor in decreasing smoking prevalence.
What Drives Financial Literacy Among The Young?, Jacqueline Bartley
What Drives Financial Literacy Among The Young?, Jacqueline Bartley
Undergraduate Economic Review
Existing studies find that young people have the lowest levels of financial literacy when compared to other ages. I argue that this low financial literacy is driven by a lack of experience with financial decision making. I designed and administered a survey that measures students’ financial literacy and financial experience. I find that students know more about the products they use. For example, students with loans know more about loans than students without them. These results suggest that knowledge is driven by need and experience. The implication is to increase financial literacy among students by involving them in financial decisions.
The Impact Of Rising Corn Prices On The Conservation Reserve Program: An Empirical Model, Davide Gill-Austern
The Impact Of Rising Corn Prices On The Conservation Reserve Program: An Empirical Model, Davide Gill-Austern
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper examines the relationship between corn prices and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment within the Corn Belt Region. While this paper places particular emphasis on corn prices, other variables are examined which could have an impact on enrollment, such as corn yield, corn acreage, gross state product and the 2008 Farm Bill. Five empirical models are constructed to estimate the results. This paper finds that a rise in corn prices leads to a reduction in CRP acreage. Specifically, if corn prices rise by $1, CRP land in the Corn Belt will decline by 135,263 acres over a three-year period.
Income Elasticity Of Demand For Large, Modern Rapid Transit Rail Networks, Brian J. Asquith
Income Elasticity Of Demand For Large, Modern Rapid Transit Rail Networks, Brian J. Asquith
Undergraduate Economic Review
In spite of evidence to the contrary, there is a common perception inside of academia and out that rail transit is an inferior good. This paper proposes a demand model for radial subway networks utilizing the monocentric city model in order to quantify the income elasticity of demand. This model is tested against extant data from the 2000 Census, and controls for spatial variability, demographic and economic factors, and commuter costs. This paper concludes that while the factors that drive demand vary across urban areas, the results suggest that rail transit may in fact be a normal good.
Reassessment Of The Weather Effect: Stock Prices And Wall Street Weather, Mitra Akhtari
Reassessment Of The Weather Effect: Stock Prices And Wall Street Weather, Mitra Akhtari
Undergraduate Economic Review
Recent research in behavioral finance has investigated whether investors’ mood fluctuations induced by hours of sunshine affect investment decisions in a significant manner such that equity mispricing follows. Some research in this area has concluded that there is a systematic relationship between security markets and local weather, while other research has found no relationship between investment decisions and hours of sunshine. This paper aims to study the weather effect and its possible evolution over time in an effort to consolidate the different findings in the field.
The Wealth Effect In Equity And Fixed Income, Jason K. Boldt
The Wealth Effect In Equity And Fixed Income, Jason K. Boldt
Undergraduate Economic Review
Individual consumption and saving decisions are integral to aggregate economic growth, demonstrated in economic theories such as the exogenous growth model. Behavioral economists have posited that a “wealth effect” plays a factor in individual consumption patterns. In this paper, I use the 1999-2007 cohorts of the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to explore evidence of a wealth effect in stock equity and fixed income. Using panel data estimation techniques, I find no evidence of a wealth effect stemming from equity or fixed income gains among individuals with concentrated financial wealth.
Economic Freedom And Fiscal Performance: A Regression Analysis Of Indices Of Economic Freedom On Per Capita Gdp, Jason R. Ockey
Economic Freedom And Fiscal Performance: A Regression Analysis Of Indices Of Economic Freedom On Per Capita Gdp, Jason R. Ockey
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper explores whether different forms of economic freedom drive fiscal performance. We also seek to determine which specific measurements of economic freedom have the most statistically significant impacts. Though the results of our analysis show that economic freedom does impact levels of per capita GDP, the interpretation of these results is more complicated. Because some indices of economic freedom have negative effects on per capita GDP or are statistically insignificant, it is important to note that simply generally increasing a country’s overall level of economic freedom will not necessarily spur economic growth or increase fiscal performance. This paper does …
The International Nature Of Alcohol As Determined By A Cross-Country Analysis Of Demographs And Pricing, 1995-2002, Justin C. Fung
The International Nature Of Alcohol As Determined By A Cross-Country Analysis Of Demographs And Pricing, 1995-2002, Justin C. Fung
Undergraduate Economic Review
Few publications have attempted to tackle the nature of alcohol on a global level. Given its universal availability and the emerging amount of alcohol-related data, we explore the cross-country and cross-continent nature of alcohol. Similarly, the extremely visible global burden of disease attributed to consumption warrants its classification. Subject to available data, we find both relative price (incorporating income levels) and demographics of a nation to be the primary determinants of consumption and the effects of higher education and unemployment to be negligible. Further, we find the observed converging phenomenon of consumption rates to be attributable to the decreasing propensity …
Has Foreign Direct Investment Exhibited Sensitiveness To Crime Across Countries In The Period 1999-2004? And If So, Is This Effect Non-Linear?, Evangelos Constantinou
Has Foreign Direct Investment Exhibited Sensitiveness To Crime Across Countries In The Period 1999-2004? And If So, Is This Effect Non-Linear?, Evangelos Constantinou
Undergraduate Economic Review
In the present paper one finds a cross country examination for the effect of crime on Foreign Direct Investment, over a seven year period covering the years 1998-2004. We extend literature by controlling for crime endogeneity, considering financial crimes and finally testing for heterogeneous crime effects according to country’s wealthiness. The system GMM estimator is adopted as it allows to treat variables as endogenous and corrects bias when a lagged dependent variable is used. We confirm earlier literature that only violent related crimes seem to affect FDI. While, we fail to find evidence supporting differentiated crime effect depending to country’s …
Effects Of Age And Income On Individual Health Insurance Premiums, Jessie Li
Effects Of Age And Income On Individual Health Insurance Premiums, Jessie Li
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper examines the effect of an individual's age and income on the premiums that she pays in the individual (non-employer sponsored) health insurance market. After controlling for medical conditions, insurance plan type, and demographic characteristics, it was found using both OLS and 2SLS that older and wealthier people pay higher premiums than younger and less wealthy individuals, which raises the possibility of adverse selection in the individual insurance market. These results may have important policy implications for regulation in the individual health insurance market.
A Question Of Consumption? An Analysis Of The Relative Effectiveness Of Multilateral And Bilateral Aid Receipts, Oliver Zornow
A Question Of Consumption? An Analysis Of The Relative Effectiveness Of Multilateral And Bilateral Aid Receipts, Oliver Zornow
Undergraduate Economic Review
The literature focusing on the effects of foreign aid on economic growth contains a wide range of conclusions. Despite this lack of consensus, policy makers have been strongly influenced by the work of Burnside and Dollar (2000) (B&D). In addition to their primary conclusion that total aid is linked with growth in a good policy environment, B&D make a claim which is not directly supported by their results. My research is motivated by their claim that multilateral aid is the most effective form of aid. This paper demonstrates that B&D's data does not support this claim.
Uncovering The Roots Of American Political Corruption: An Analysis, Dustin Atkins
Uncovering The Roots Of American Political Corruption: An Analysis, Dustin Atkins
Undergraduate Economic Review
This work seeks to explore the relationship between political corruption as defined by cases brought to the United States Department of Justice against individuals holding public office from the fifty American states. An comparative analysis of determined state-by-state corruptions rates and external factors such as the net legislative salary in a given state, executive to legislative pay ratio (E/L ratio) in a given state, and the pay determinant factor. A state-by-state analysis is done to determine correlation of these variables relative to their corresponding corruption rates and the departure from average in those rates.
Money Illusion And Its Implication On Unemployment, Takuma Habu Mr
Money Illusion And Its Implication On Unemployment, Takuma Habu Mr
Undergraduate Economic Review
The paper discusses the implication of money illusion on persistent unemployment. A particular form of money illusion is assumed and this is modeled into the efficiency wage theory while separating the analysis into nominal and real frames. The model shows that the level of unemployment in the nominal and the real frame are likely to be different and that the government has an incentive to provide a signaling mechanism to the workers to reduce unemployment levels. Additionally, the government is shown to have an incentive to announce unemployment rates.
Intergenerational Transfer Of Human Capital Among Immigrant Families, Kelsey Hample
Intergenerational Transfer Of Human Capital Among Immigrant Families, Kelsey Hample
Undergraduate Economic Review
While immigrants in the United States tend to earn less than comparable natives, their children close the earnings gap. The purpose of this study is to determine how differences in intergenerational transfer of human capital between immigrant families and native families affect different earning outcomes for respondents of each group. Specifically, this study uses a human capital framework to analyze both the direct effect of parental education on respondent earnings and the indirect effect on earnings by first affecting respondent education, which in turn affects respondent earnings. Data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth allows background variables within …
Natural Resource Abundance And Fdi In Latin America. The Path Of Inequality., Luciano H. Romero Mascarell
Natural Resource Abundance And Fdi In Latin America. The Path Of Inequality., Luciano H. Romero Mascarell
Undergraduate Economic Review
Does natural resource abundance decrease Latin American Foreign Direct Investment? This paper studies the effects of natural resource abundance on foreign direct investment (FDI), by focusing on inequality as the channel that links these two variables. Two arguments in the literature inspire this paper: 1) scholars attribute Latin America’s high income inequality to its abundance of natural resources; and 2) some scholars argue that income inequality leads to lower investment. I argue that large shares of capital-intensive endowments (export measured as percentage share of GDP) are associated with low levels of secondary and tertiary FDI. The theory is based on …
Crisis: Capitalism, Economics And The Environment, Raj Navanit Patel Mr
Crisis: Capitalism, Economics And The Environment, Raj Navanit Patel Mr
Undergraduate Economic Review
The basic thesis of this paper is that there is an undeniable tension between maximization of individual welfare and a sustainable and healthy environment in a finite world. Following from this, the further claim is that our current capitalist system of private production and ownership is fundamentally in tension with the environment and should be changed. Without a change in attitude toward our conceptualization of these problems, that is, without contextualizing these problems outside of the market-based solutions and free market solutions, crisis is inevitable. Homo economicus needs to be replaced by homo environmentus.
Energy Trade Brinkmanship Between The European Union And Russia, Alla Khalitova
Energy Trade Brinkmanship Between The European Union And Russia, Alla Khalitova
Undergraduate Economic Review
This paper proposes a brinkmanship game of unilateral deterrence to model the dynamics of energy trade between the European Union and Russia. Nuclear deterrence and crisis bargaining theory is extended to show the relationship between a spectrum of risk and trade dependency. Russia and the EU are mutually dependent upon continued natural gas trade, but Russia has an asymmetrical incentive to disrupt the status quo in order to extract a concession from the EU. It can do so by initiating a crisis that escalates toward a mutually disastrous gas shutoff through sequential bargaining. The risk of a gas shutoff is …