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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Need For Weed: Role Of Investor Attention In The North American Cannabis Industry, Noah Lehrecke
The Need For Weed: Role Of Investor Attention In The North American Cannabis Industry, Noah Lehrecke
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
My paper analyzes the role that investor attention plays in the North American cannabis industry by conducting an OLS regression with time fixed effects. I use the North American Marijuana Index, comprised of 44 US- and Canada-based companies operating in the industry, as well as individual company stock performance for my dependent variables as a measure of industry performance. Over a period of 221 weeks, starting in January, 2015, I utilize Google Trends data on search frequency of marijuana-related terms as a proxy for information demand and investor attention towards the marijuana industry. I find that certain search terms are …
The Impact Of Foreign Assistance On Migration, Ivan Lenoyr
The Impact Of Foreign Assistance On Migration, Ivan Lenoyr
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Historically, foreign assistance has been used to support and advance donor countries own interests upon recipient countries. Foreign assistance primary use is to influence and change the behavior of a recipient country. This is achieved by providing foreign assistance to countries in their efforts to maintain global peace, security, provide economic development and humanitarian relief. Germany is ranked as the third-largest donors within the development assistance committee (DAC). Primarily, Germany allocates its official development assistance (ODA) to recipient countries based on emphasis on good governance and human rights. Currently, Germany’s ODA is at a record high and increasing every year. …
The Nordic Gender Equality Paradox: The Effect Of Social Expenditure On Occupational Segregation, Max Hammel
The Nordic Gender Equality Paradox: The Effect Of Social Expenditure On Occupational Segregation, Max Hammel
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper analyzes International Labor Organization data from 2000-2016 to explore what facets of the welfare state have an effect on the occupational segregation by gender of a country's workforce. Eight selected OECD countries have been used in a panel regression to determine these effects, with a special focus on the Nordic countries. Two empirical models were generated based on a review of the literature, though research concerning this specific question within the field of economics has been sparse. The only statistically significant variable found was social expenditure, with a positive correlation to occupational segregation. Contrary to previous suggestions of …
Would Uber Help To Reduce Traffic Congestion?, Qianxi Zheng
Would Uber Help To Reduce Traffic Congestion?, Qianxi Zheng
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This research explores the effects of Uber entry on New York City’s traffic. The two major questions I am trying to answer that might be of vital importance to transportation authorities are 1) does Uber substitute public transits? 2) does an introduce of Uber slow down average travel speed? After Uber was first introduced in year 2009, there are continuous debates on distinguishing its impact on traffic (Rayle et al., 2014; Li et al., 2016; Schaller, 2018; Castiglione et al., 2018). Considering that Uber is relatively new, relevant traffic data such as congestion indices are in general unavailable, which appears …
Measuring The Sexual Orientation Wage Gap Within Racial Groups, Zoe Islar
Measuring The Sexual Orientation Wage Gap Within Racial Groups, Zoe Islar
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
The aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the differentials between race and sexual orientations in the distribution of income/salary and the amount or public assistance received. Using data from the U.S. Census from 2013-2017, I explore different alternatives for the sexual orientation wage gap: human capital differences, industry choice, numbers of hours worker per week and other labour market decisions. Depending on the outcome, I find that people of colour face primarily face a wage penalty. White workers face a wage advantage. However, the extent of the gap is dependent on the individual's gender, racial and …
Assessing The Relationships Between Economic Output And Energy Consumption, Energy Efficiency, And Renewable Energy Consumption For Twelve Southeast Asia And Oceania Nations, Conor Austin
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Energy is an essential input for creating economic output. Increasing energy access, diversifying energy portfolios, and becoming more energy efficient are all believed to be requirements for fostering economic growth worldwide. This research analyzes at the macroeconomic level the correlations and the direction of implied causalities which exist between economic output and energy consumption, energy efficiency, and renewable energy consumption. These relationships are analyzed with considerations for energy access rates and attention devoted to political conditions, a key differentiator in the literature on energy economics. Analysis is conducted using a multivariate panel data set comprised of statistics for twelve ASEAN …
Neighborhood Effects On Economic Outcomes Of Youths, Jaeyeon Kim
Neighborhood Effects On Economic Outcomes Of Youths, Jaeyeon Kim
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper analyzes the long-term neighborhood effects on incomes of youths in the United States. The working dataset comes from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Youths and consists of the youths between the age of 12 and 14 in 1997. Their neighborhood characteristics between 1998 and 2001 are analyzed to predict their household incomes in 2015. Using two-stage probit models and OLS regressions, this paper suggests two main findings. First, the youths in safe neighborhoods between 1998 and 2001 are 81.5 percentage- point more likely than the youths from risky neighborhoods to earn above the median household income in …
Building Performance And Energy Star Ratings In Commercial Office Space, Quentin Campbell
Building Performance And Energy Star Ratings In Commercial Office Space, Quentin Campbell
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Literature surrounding the topic of environmental certification programs has consistently shown that green buildings financially outperform non-green buildings. Financial performance and energy performance go hand-in-hand when studying commercial real estate, as markets are dominated by institutional and private investors seeking the highest financial returns. Financial performance is the single greatest motivator for firms to implement sustainable initiatives as profit generation takes utmost priority. However, many indications suggest that environmental certification programs are simply branding techniques that do not meet expectations for energy performance. This study examines over 783 million ft2 of office space across four major metropolitan markets to understand …
Nfl Betting Market Efficiency: Finding A Profitable Betting Strategy, Spencer Anderson
Nfl Betting Market Efficiency: Finding A Profitable Betting Strategy, Spencer Anderson
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper uses pregame spread data to attempt to analyze the efficiency of the NFL betting market. I look at hot hand betting, performance during prime-time games, home field advantage, and favorites to test for inefficiencies in the market, thereby uncovering a profitable betting strategy. Using OLS regression analysis, I find no evidence of a profitable betting strategy betting on teams on streaks or home underdogs. However, my results suggest that it may be profitable to bet on the home team in prime-time games, regardless of their favorite or underdog status.
What Impact Does Education And Undergraduate Degree Field Have On Earnings?, Sonja Bernhofen
What Impact Does Education And Undergraduate Degree Field Have On Earnings?, Sonja Bernhofen
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
My paper analyzes the impact that different levels of education and undergraduate degree fields have on earnings. I use Census data from the 2017 American Community Survey and employ OLS regression specifications that include control variables such as gender, age and industry of job. Overall, I find that a professional degree and an undergraduate degree in a STEM field have the highest returns on earnings. My research can be used to better understand the returns from the different levels of education and degree fields from a comparative perspective. This is especially important at a time when the costs of higher …
No Child Left Behind: The Education Policy’S Impact On The Incidence On Crime In The Unites States, Julia Budsey
No Child Left Behind: The Education Policy’S Impact On The Incidence On Crime In The Unites States, Julia Budsey
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper utilizes state level education data measuring public schools’ Adequate Yearly Progress to estimate the impact of the federal education policy, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), on crime rates in the Unites States. The study employs a fixed effects model and a lagged fixed effects model to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of NCLB on decreasing crime through improving the quality and number of educational years completed across the country. The main findings indicate that the policy was effective in decreasing overall property crime and motor vehicle theft. For property crime, the impact of school improvement takes the …
Examining The Impact Of Consolidated Ownership On Ticket Pricing In The Ski Industry: A Hedonic Price Model, Ari Caplan
Examining The Impact Of Consolidated Ownership On Ticket Pricing In The Ski Industry: A Hedonic Price Model, Ari Caplan
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper examines the impact of recent consolidation within the North American ski industry on day ticket and season pass prices. It utilizes a unique cross-sectional data set consisting of 120 ski areas in the US and Canada for the 2018/19 ski season. Using an OLS hedonic price model, I find that conglomerate owned ski areas price day tickets and season passes well above those of independent ski areas. However, for ski areas that are included on multi-area season passes such as the Epic or Ikon Pass, consumers actually pay a far lower price for their season passes. This is …
Labor Migration In China: How Families Affect Migrant Workers, Xiyu Cai
Labor Migration In China: How Families Affect Migrant Workers, Xiyu Cai
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
China’s huge economic growth over the past four decades has been observed by the world and oftentimes acknowledged as an economic miracle. One of the main factors of this extraordinary growth is the large labor population and comparatively cheap labor cost. With the introduction of the Economic Reform and Opening-Up in the late 1970s, a large proportion of the Chinese citizens started to seek better work opportunities outside their permanent residencies, which was not restricted prior to the reform. These people, commonly quoted as the migrant workers and consist more than 20% of the Chinese labor force, is being studied …
The Number 80: A Simple Score Or A Reference Point For Diii College Golfers, Damian Hammond
The Number 80: A Simple Score Or A Reference Point For Diii College Golfers, Damian Hammond
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
There is an abundance of existing literature which shows the presence of behavioral biases in professional sports. Researchers have used reference dependent preferences and loss aversion, to explain athlete the behavior of professional golfers. Existing literature showed that par of the hole (Elmore and Urbaczewski, 2019), par of the round (Pope and Schweitzer, 2011) and par of the tournament (Stone and Arkes, 2016) have all been identified as reference points for professional golfers on the PGA tour. In this paper, I analyze a new sample of golfers: DIII college golfers. I use a 4 part analysis to examine whether the …
Different Or The Same? The Spillover Effects Of U.S. Monetary Policy And Determinants Of Portfolio Capital Inflows To Emerging And Frontier Economies: Evidence From Emerging Europe, Dennis Maier
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper studies the determinants of portfolio capital flows to emerging Europe along with the spillover effects of U.S. monetary policy on the region’s portfolio investment inflows. Using a sample of eleven emerging European countries over the period from 2000Q1 to 2018Q3, this paper employs five fixed-effects regressions that include combinations of exogenous push and domestic structural pull factors as explanatory variables for portfolio flows to emerging Europe. My results suggest that U.S. monetary policy is only a secondary driver of portfolio equity flows to the region and rather domestic factors including capital inflow restrictions, institutional quality, and Eurozone membership …
The Impact Of Universal Motorcycle Helmet Regulation On Deceased Organ Donors, Carissa Jaehnert
The Impact Of Universal Motorcycle Helmet Regulation On Deceased Organ Donors, Carissa Jaehnert
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
As of today, only one study (Dickert-Conlin et al., 2011) has analyzed the impact of a universal motorcycle helmet law on the number of donors who died from motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and found that a universal law was associated with a significant decrease in MVA donors of approximately 10%. I update this study by using a difference-in-differences (DID) estimation procedure based on the methodological approach of Cheng & Hoekstra (2016) and by extending the time period analyzed to include the years 1994-2018. My estimations reveal that a universal law is associated with a decrease in MVA donors of roughly …
What Is The Impact Of Pricing Gun Violence On Support For Gun Control Organizations?, Hatoon Mushasha
What Is The Impact Of Pricing Gun Violence On Support For Gun Control Organizations?, Hatoon Mushasha
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper investigated the impact of economic valuation of gun control on views, attitudes, and behaviors towards gun control legislation in an experimental setting. The data for this study was collected through the use of a survey administered on MTurk in March 2019. The sample consists of 810 participants evenly disturbed between a treatment group and a control group. Both groups received a narrative regarding gun violence in the United States, however the treatment group received economic valuation information in addition to the qualitative description. Participants were then given the opportunity to donate a part of their compensation to a …
Compliment Or Substitute? Impact Of Marijuana Legalization On Alcohol Consumption, Edvinas Rupkus
Compliment Or Substitute? Impact Of Marijuana Legalization On Alcohol Consumption, Edvinas Rupkus
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper uses a state-level alcohol sales dataset to analyze how marijuana legalization affects alcohol consumption. I employ a difference-in-differences model to investigate the relationship between alcohol and marijuana in the short-term and long-term. In addition, marijuana legalization effects are estimated for different alcohol types – beer, wine and spirits. Overall, the results indicate a negative, yet insignificant relationship between the two narcotic drugs. There is not enough evidence to firmly conclude substitutability or complementarity of the two goods, therefore, leaving the debate unsolved.
Is Projection Bias Present Within A General Manager’S Decision-Making Process Within Major League Baseball (Mlb)?, Jacob Berish
Is Projection Bias Present Within A General Manager’S Decision-Making Process Within Major League Baseball (Mlb)?, Jacob Berish
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Throughout my research I seek to understand the role projection bias plays within Major League Baseball (MLB). Projection bias stems from the field of behavioral economics, which as a whole seeks to understand the psychological side of the individual’s economic decision-making process. MLB teams have contuinally seeked ways to better analyze the performance of players prior to signing them. By limiting projection bias, teams will be able to better allocate their funds to players who are most likely to remain consistent or even increase in performance folowing the contract. White and Sheldon (2014) show through empirical evidence that MLB players …
The Effect Of An Increase In Minimum Wages On Gender, Prachee Arora
The Effect Of An Increase In Minimum Wages On Gender, Prachee Arora
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
To estimate the effect of an increase in minimum wages on gender, this paper utilizes a natural experiment opportunity, arising from increases in 21 states of the U.S. and the District of Columbia in 2015. In my study, I implement a difference-in-differences (DID) methodology to evaluate the impact of the increase in minimum wages implemented in 2015 on gender in the Production industry, the Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media industry and the Transportation and Material Moving industry. Through my research, instead of focusing on the employment effects of minimum wages, I shed light on the effectiveness of minimum wages …
The Effect Of California's Open Carry Ban On Gun-Related Homicides, Patrick Geiger
The Effect Of California's Open Carry Ban On Gun-Related Homicides, Patrick Geiger
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This study examines the effectiveness of the ban on the open carry of firearms in California (implemented in January, 2012). Data was taken from the U.S. Vital Statistics website on a monthly basis from January, 2006 to December, 2017, and it incorporated gun-related murder totals as well as totals for African Americans and Caucasians. RDD and DID regressions were run (using Texas as a control state) in order to determine the impact of the law. The RDD turned out insignificant results. The DID showed that the law had a significant negative impact on total homicides (decreasing them by about 1 …
Market Manipulation And A Case For The Further Regulation Of Social Media And The Finance Industry, Ross Powell
Market Manipulation And A Case For The Further Regulation Of Social Media And The Finance Industry, Ross Powell
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper intends to investigate the potential of market manipulation in under regulated markets that does not exist in regulated ones. I do this by looking at the previous literature discovered on ambiguity aversion, and how it is linked to the increase of social media’s effect on price changes in markets. I investigate two different markets that are regulated and unregulated. These markets are the US stock exchange and the cryptocurrency market. I then see what the effect that twitter has on the two over the same periods of time using the most up-to-date models. Finally, I recommend policy changes …
Aquaculture As A Method To Insulate Fishery Markets From Oil Spill Shocks, Owen Kula
Aquaculture As A Method To Insulate Fishery Markets From Oil Spill Shocks, Owen Kula
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Resource extraction from wild fisheries is and continues to be a behemoth of an industry both in the US and worldwide. Indeed, wars have been fought over such resources, and many communities have become dependent upon the oceans to provide their primary industry. Oil spills are an ecological disaster that serve to uproot these quintessential pillars of these communities, and lead to externalities that are difficult to quantify. As oil spills occur, fishery harvests cease as toxic chemicals infect the water surrounding these communities, effectively leaving them in deep recessions. In this paper, aquaculture is examined as a potential alternative …
The Effect Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth In The Asian Region, Chase Ta
The Effect Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth In The Asian Region, Chase Ta
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper examines the effect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic growth. Following a theoretical model of endogenous growth to analyze this relationship, I use a log linear regression with country and time fixed effects. I focus specifically on Chinese FDI in 6 Asian countries: Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. I reach the conclusion that FDI does not have a significant impact in this particular case. I further conclude that the growth rate of the population and the level of human capital have a significant effect on economic growth.
Universal Basic Income And Its Effect On The Capital To Labor Ratio, William Blauvelt
Universal Basic Income And Its Effect On The Capital To Labor Ratio, William Blauvelt
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper examines the possibility of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) implementation in the United States. Theory and past experiments suggest a reduction in work hours, but both say little regarding the capital to labor ratio. Existing literature on the topic is also underwhelming, therefore this paper will go on to examine their relationship. It also reviews healthcare’s role in this relationship as it is related to worker productivity as well as nearly one fifth of GDP for the US.
Achieving Genuine Progress: An Exploration Of The Well-Being Increasing And Decreasing Components Of Economic Activity, James Erickson
Achieving Genuine Progress: An Exploration Of The Well-Being Increasing And Decreasing Components Of Economic Activity, James Erickson
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the most well-known and used economic indicator to measure the strength and size of an economy. However, too often the assumption is made that the higher the GDP of a country, the better off the people are. Using GDP to measure the wellbeing can lead to the unwanted consequence of a reduction in well-being by economic policies being made to further expand GDP. Because of this, another indicator is needed to measure the well-being of an economy. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) attempts to measure wellbeing by taking into account both economic activity …
It Depends: The Maturity Of Cultural Economics And Its Public Policy Debates, Terence Durrant
It Depends: The Maturity Of Cultural Economics And Its Public Policy Debates, Terence Durrant
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
This paper explores a few core cultural economic theories such as Baumol’s Cost Disease and Crowding out/Crowding in effects, and it delves in the why, the how, and the how much of the public subsidy debate within economics. It asses all of these topics using an academic life cycle framework to determine if the field of cultural economics is mature enough to truly be giving recommendations to government. The author finds that there is conflict in terms of policy implication and a lack of data. Leading to the discovery that the field of Cultural Economics is not mature enough to …
Punitive Profit: An Analysis Of Privatization And Prisons As Engines Of Economic, Isabel Carey
Punitive Profit: An Analysis Of Privatization And Prisons As Engines Of Economic, Isabel Carey
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
During the Prison Boom period (late 1980s through 2000), the US saw a dramatic increase in the number of prisons across rural America. Increasingly, policy makers came to see and use prisons as vehicles of economic growth intended to invigorate stagnant economies. This paper seeks to analyze the effectiveness of these promises by analyzing the effect of prisons on per capita income, unemployment, and poverty rates. I build on previous scholarship by differentiating between public and private prisons in my analysis. My results suggest that prisons are ineffective in spurring long term growth and that private prisons perform significantly worse …
Stock Buybacks And Innovation: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Share Repurchases On Research & Development Expenditures, Nicholas Henning
Stock Buybacks And Innovation: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Share Repurchases On Research & Development Expenditures, Nicholas Henning
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
Rates of stock buybacks have recently hit an all-time high, and have gained a lot of attention from both the business community and the mainstream media. A polarizing debate exists over whether or not stock buybacks are harmful to the economy, especially in the context of stagnant wages and rising income inequality throughout the United States. The primary goal of this research paper is to examine what effect stock buybacks have, if any, on the innovation of large multi-national corporations. The analytical framework uses logit regression and ordinary least squares regression analysis to add to the debate surrounding the effects …
The Impact Of Snowfall On Home Prices: A Study Of Northeastern Ski Resort Towns, Hadley Benneyan
The Impact Of Snowfall On Home Prices: A Study Of Northeastern Ski Resort Towns, Hadley Benneyan
Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects
As global temperatures continue to rise, it is expected that there will be a reduction in natural snowfall in the mountain regions of North America. Many ski area industry experts warn that snow depth will decline by at least 25% in the next decade. For the 38 states that add value to their state economies through the winter tourism industry and the 191,000 jobs that are supported by the winter sport industry, the concern is real and growing. Lower than average snow years lead to an immediate and significant decrease in skier visits and therefore consumer demand for related goods …