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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Economics

Illinois Wesleyan University

Honors Projects

2009

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Examining Tufte's Political Business Cycle Under An Adaptive Expectations Framework, Anna Konradi, '09 Jan 2009

Examining Tufte's Political Business Cycle Under An Adaptive Expectations Framework, Anna Konradi, '09

Honors Projects

Given that the executive branch's party desires reelection and that the economy is an important variable in the eyes of the electorate, to what extent has the president and his party been able to exert influence over economic variables in the months preceding an election? Much of the existing literature suggests that there may be an important cyclical pattern between the four-year election cycle and economic variables such as real GDP growth and real disposable income. Using data from the Council of Economic Advisors and the Presidential Elections dataset, this paper finds moderate evidence for the existence of a political …


Explaining Human Influences On Carbon Dioxide Emissions Across Countries, Karin Peterson, '09 Jan 2009

Explaining Human Influences On Carbon Dioxide Emissions Across Countries, Karin Peterson, '09

Honors Projects

Global climate change is a vital issue facing the planet today, posing significant risks to both humans and the natural environment. This dangerous phenomenon is largely caused by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, resulting from such activities as energy production and vehicle travel This paper examines the factors leading to differences in carbon dioxide emissions among countries, including income, energy use, and government institutions. A crosssectional regression indicates that an inverted-U relationship exists between per capita income and carbon dioxide emissions, but that the turning point at which pollution begins to decrease occurs at a very high …


Predicting Major League Talent Through The First-Year Player Draft, Kevin Slattery, '09 Jan 2009

Predicting Major League Talent Through The First-Year Player Draft, Kevin Slattery, '09

Honors Projects

The Major League Baseball first-year player draft is a relatively unexplored topic. Until two years ago it was not even televised, even though other major spoils drafts like basketball and football are major television events. I predict the probability of reaching the major leagues and the probability of a player "making it big" in the major leagues for a player drafted based on a series of variables, like draft position, whether a player is lefthanded, and the schooling the amateur has received. This should help a team determine which players are most risky, and which players are most likely to …


Adopted Children"S Outcome As Young Adults In Regards To Educational Attainment And Income, Nicole K. Spear, '09 Jan 2009

Adopted Children"S Outcome As Young Adults In Regards To Educational Attainment And Income, Nicole K. Spear, '09

Honors Projects

This study explains the differences between the outcomes for children adopted by the age of two in comparison to biologically raised children using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. It analyzes the educational attainment and income earned through a competing effects framework. The Family Background Effect measures the positive effects caused by higher than average socioeconomic status of the average family with adopted children. The Family Background Effect contrasted with the negative Adoption Effect caused by a number of different factors that could work against an adopted child. Using linear regression analysis, the study finds that the Family Background Effect …


Determining The Future Income Of College Students, Paul Oehrlein, '09 Jan 2009

Determining The Future Income Of College Students, Paul Oehrlein, '09

Honors Projects

Many people invest a lot of money in order to go to college with the hope that they will eventually be rewarded with higher salaries. This paper attempts to determine what aspects of college are most important in determining the future income of students. In particular, this paper studies whether GPA is an important determinant of income as well as whether some majors are better investments than others after controlling for other factors. In addition, the effect of math and verbal ability on income and how they interact with different fields of study are studied. The data comes from the …


Length Of Contracts And The Effect On The Performance Of Mlb Players, Katie Stankiewicz, '09 Jan 2009

Length Of Contracts And The Effect On The Performance Of Mlb Players, Katie Stankiewicz, '09

Honors Projects

The goal of any professional athlete is to receive a multi-year contract that guarantees them a salary for multiple years. However, a concern that fans, coaches and owners all share is that when a player receives a multi-year contract they may have a strong incentive to shirk. Shirking is when a player purposely does not perform to the best of his ability and may occur when a player has a guaranteed salary. The goal of this paper is to determine if a Major League Baseball player with a multi-year contract will show any pattern of shirking throughout the contract. Each …