Digital Commons Network^™

Partially Odious Debts?, Omri Ben-Shahar, Mitu Gulati

Law and Contemporary Problems

Ben-Shahar borrows from a rich private-law tradition to explore the treatment of odious debt as a problem analogous to allocation of liability in private law. Drawing on the economic analysis of private law, it develops insights as to the structure of an optimal liability scheme. Under this approach, liability is imposed not on the basis of some intrinsic judgment as to the parties' relative blameworthiness, but rather in a forward-looking fashion, on parties who are best suited to take actions to prevent the loss. In addition, liability is imposed on a magnitude tailored to induce an optimal level of precautionary …

Tell Me, Tell Me, Tell Me- Please!, Derek L. Leslie

Essays in Education

This article is a personal essay by me, Derek L. Leslie, about the frustrations that occur in teaching. I am an educator in Economics at an urban high school in Omaha, Nebraska, and I have noticed after seven years of teaching that one thing is missing in the arena of public education and that is incentives. When you study economics you realize the market place has a lot of built in incentives to do well at your job and then you are able to be quite successful and are rewarded for this success. My essay will explain how incentives that …

Planting The Seed, David Brown '96

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017

Babylonia Marcus ’02 used her talents in international trade, economics, and biology to assist Afghanistan’s ailing agricultural sector.

Title Page And Editorial Board

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Todd J. Kumler '07

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Interview With Jarod Bona, Benjamin Burry '07

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Alumni Notes, Lane Coonrod '08

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

The Class Of 2007, Brandin Heidbreder '07

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Global Economics 101, Minh Nguyen, Kunaey Garg, Lane Coonrod, Babawande Afolabi, Bukola Olaosebikan

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Remembering Two Economic Giants, Quentin Brummet '08

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Work-Life Balance: Flexibility Or Friction?, Ian Cohen '07

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

A Study On Obesity And Its Relationship To Socioeconomic Background And Current Earnings, Ian Cohen '07

The Park Place Economist

With larger meal portions and fewer natural food production methods, many suggest that people find it difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Nevertheless, certain individuals have been able to maintain a high-quality nutritional status and avoid this unhealthy condition. What are the reasons for these differences between individuals in weight outcomes? Moreover, how does this unhealthy weight outcome affect an individual’s current economic situation? In this study, I will examine the effects of socioeconomic background on obesity and test whether an individual’s weight has an impact on their present salary or wage levels.

Gentrification: Deliberate Displacement, Or Natural Social Movement?, Jessica Biro '08

The Park Place Economist

Gentrification is the process of physically renovating the housing and retail in a neighborhood in order to increase property values, establish high profile restaurants and shops, and attract an influx of wealthier residents. In this literature review I will explore the benefits and costs of gentrification. Section II explores research emphasizing the positive characteristics of gentrification, while Section III reviews literature discussing the negative effects of gentrifying a neighborhood. The final section summarizes the material and addresses areas for further study.

School Vouchers: Does Increased Competition Benefit The Masses?, Anna Konradi '10

The Park Place Economist

The following review attempts to organize and consolidate these competing schools of thought [about school voucher programs]. In the next section, I will summarize the different policies implemented by state and national institutions, as well as their varying degrees of effectiveness. Later sections will discuss public school inefficiencies and nonmarket interactions such as the peer effect. A concluding section summarizes the policy implications of the review and discusses potential directions for future research.

Measuring The Impact Of Urban Amenities On Metropolitan Wages, Benjamin Burry '07

The Park Place Economist

My research will be presented as follows. Section II will review noteworthy research on urban amenities. Section III will present my theoretical model. Section IV will discuss data sources. Section V will present the empirical model developed by applying available data to the paper’s theoretical model. Section VI will show results obtained from the empirical model. And finally, Section VII will summarize conclusions from my study as well as their implications for public policy and future research.

The Causes Of Wage Differentials Between Immigrant And Native Physicians, Matt Goergen '07

The Park Place Economist

This study aims to determine some important determinants of the wage differential between native and immigrant physicians by applying a human capital framework and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis. Section II of the paper details the human capital theoretical framework that is central to this study and that is used in the most important previous literature. Then, this literature is discussed in the context of the research problem that immigrant physicians earn substantially less than native physicians in the U.S. The principle hypotheses are also developed following the theory and literature review. Section III describes the data set and …

Analyzing The Effect Of Change In Money Supply On Stock Prices, Biniv Maskay '07

The Park Place Economist

Money supply is one of the components of monetary policy that the Federal Reserve uses. Changes in money supply can be either anticipated or unanticipated by the people. It is believed that anticipated and unanticipated changes in the money supply affect the stock market differently. Taking this point into consideration, I will differentiate the anticipated and unanticipated components of changes in the money supply and analyze how each affects stock market prices.

In Section II, the theoretical framework is discussed along with the relevant literature on the topic. Next, in Section III, the variables and data set utilized in this …

Ali Wyne On The Economic Life Of Refugees By Karen Jacobsen. Bloomfield, Ct: Kumarian Press, 2005. 131pp., Ali Wyne

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Economic Life of Refugees by Karen Jacobsen. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2005. 131pp.

Does It Pay To Be A High School Athlete?, Brandin Heidbreder '07

The Park Place Economist

Athletics are linked to increasing one’s development of discipline, confidence, motivation, ability to work in groups, competitive spirit, ability to accept constructive criticism, and social networking. Past research has shown that participation in athletics during adolescence has proven to be beneficial to students in multiple areas of human capital development. This study aims to determine the impact of participation in high school athletics on the future income and educational attainment of student athletes.

Microfinance And Poverty Alleviation, Tessie Swope

Rollins Undergraduate Research Journal

Microfinance, banking to the poor, is a recent global phenomenon introduced by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh in the 1970’s. Before Dr. Yunus, the poor were not allowed access to credit and loans due to the widespread belief that the poor could not repay loans. Dr. Yunus’ project, Grameen Bank, began with loans of less than $50 to poor basket weavers in Bangladesh. In the past 30 years Grameen has grown to over 3.7 million borrowers worldwide with a 98% repayment rate, higher than any commercial bank. Dr. Yunus has proven that the poor are indeed responsible …

The World Trade Organization: Equity Values In A Global Economic Community, Allison Hughes

Rollins Undergraduate Research Journal

Still in its youth, the World Trade Organization is struggling to deal with the rapid changes of the global community while remaining true to its key equity values. Its focus on economic integration for the world has created its share of critics and supporters, placing more pressure on the organization to complete its goals. This work examines how the organization's fundamental equity values—utilitarian efficiency, society opportunity, and individual liberty of states—has affected their policies and actions. It also examines the opposing opinions of the World Trade Organization, including the views of Bruce E. Moon, author of Dilemmas in International Trade, …

Economic Implications Of Environmental Sustainability For Companies: A Case Study Of 3m, Kristina Luus, Sarah Beckerman, Timothy Nash

Undergraduate Economic Review

As awareness of sustainability grows, firms are being pressured to adopt social and environmental practices to keep pace with ethical standards and consumer demand. Firms must adapt to a changing marketplace, and new management strategies are being developed. Our central purpose in this paper is therefore to explore the economic implications of enhanced environmental sustainability through a case study of 3M, a chemical company that has been implementing sustainable solutions for over 30 years. We begin our case study by analyzing the effectiveness of the lifecycle management approach (LCM) currently advocated to businesses in search of sustainability. Although the LCM …

The Extended Heckscher-Ohlin Model: Patterns Of Trade Between The U.S. And China, Mark Clements

Undergraduate Economic Review

Though there have been many attempts to extend the Heckscher-Ohlin model in order to account for empirical data, I intend to examine John Romalis’ model of factor proportions and commodity structure. The purpose of this paper is to examine Romalis’ model to see if it is supported by empirical data on trade between China and the United States. In order to do this, I will use data from the 2000 and 2005 U.S. Census trade data CD-ROM to determine if Romalis’ extended Hecksher-Ohlin model of international trade can explain the U.S.-China pattern of trade.

Pseo: Are Your Tax Dollars Really Paying Off?, Erin Mcquillan

Undergraduate Economic Review

The Minnesota Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program allows high school students to take courses at the college level and receive both high school and transferable college credit. Qualified juniors and seniors are allowed to take up to a full load of college courses, and if successfully completed, will earn college credits. PSEO is a state funded program, allocating $2,154 per student in 2004. This research analyzed whether the PSEO student gains from the use of the education policy. Three potential gains were assessed by utilizing an independent sample t-test to determine if PSEO students at a liberal arts college …

Determinants Of The Music Piracy Divide, Valentina Assenova

Undergraduate Economic Review

Why has physical piracy of music grown globally in recent years despite international efforts to reduce the problem? This research employs cross-country time series data analysis to examine physical music piracy rates across developed and developing economies. We provide 1999-2004 cross-country evidence from 70 countries that mean global music piracy rates grew over this period, and observe different mean rates for OECD and non-OECD countries. We examine the effect of per capita income, legal enforcement and technology on piracy rates in the developed and developing economies and choose a fixed-effects model. Our model indicates that variations in piracy of CDs …

A Study Of Monetary Transmission Mechanism Convergence And Monetary Policy Effectiveness Among Core Emu Members From 1991-2006, Bennett Surajat

Undergraduate Economic Review

In this paper, I study how the implementation of the European Monetary Union (EMU), which involves the adoption of a single currency and a common monetary policy by all members, impacted its core members (Germany, Spain, France and Italy). Specifically, I examine how the implementation of the EMU affected the core members’ experience with macroeconomic shocks and consequently, how effective a common monetary policy is in meeting their individual economic objectives. I use SVARs (Structural Vector Autoregressions) to model the core members’ experience with EMU integration. Using SVARs, I generate impulse response graphs (IRGs) to illustrate how macroeconomic shocks propagate …

The Effect Of Oil Prices On Exchange Rates: A Case Study Of The Dominican Republic, Jennifer C. Dawson '06

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study employs a multivariate regression model in order to test the structural relationship between oil prices and exchange rates suggested by economic theory. It also applies cointegration techniques in order to identify the linear combination of variables that provides the best data fit.

The American Indian And Alaskan Native Development Index: The Progress Of And Prospects For Indian Country, Tom Niblock

Undergraduate Economic Review

Over the past century, the public consciousness has created a stereotype of the modern Native American as a poor, hopeless person sustained only by the charity of others. While it is certainly true that American Indians are generally poor compared to the rest of the United States, some Native American populations have grown quite wealthy as this project will demonstrate. This problem is the classic question of development that has vexed economists for years: why did some tribes become rich, when the rest did not?

Is Selling Sex Good Business? : Prostitution In Nineteenth Century New York City, Ida Bastiaens

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study examines the impact of red light districts on the New York City’s land values for the years 1867 to 1870 using the monocentric model and bid-rent function as the foundation for the analysis. The results suggest that the Tenderloin red light district is a positive amenity, while the Bleecker and Washington Square red light district is a disamenity. The history of prostitution in New York City provides valuable insight into causes for the differences in the marginal impacts of prostitution on Manhattan’s urban environment. In the end, despite prostitution’s ongoing profitability well into the twentieth century, the strong …