Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On The Market For Higher Education, Samuel Lawrence Rhoads Glick

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation studies the market for higher education and impacts of higher education policy on the market. In the first chapter, I estimate the short-run elasticity of supply of higher education using the rollout of state merit grant programs as plausibly exogenous variation in student demand for in-state higher education. I find that public and private not-for-profit four-year institutions have elastic supply responses to these programs. Public institutions have an estimated elasticity of 2.1 and private institutions have an estimated elasticity of 1.34. I estimate the causal effects of marginally qualifying for and receiving the federal Pell Grant and the …

Essays On Corporate Debt Structure, Kyuyoung Oh

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

The dissertation consists of three chapters exploring three different facets of corporate debt structure choice. In the first chapter, “Risk Management and the Choice between Secured and Unsecured Debt: Evidence from Natural Experiment,” I study whether and how corporate hedging affects firms’ choice between secured and unsecured debt. Exploiting the introduction of steel futures as a natural experiment, I provide causal evidence that risk management enables firms to switch from secured to unsecured debt without sacrificing debt capacity. Cross-sectional evidence supports the interpretation that risk management drives the results. The effects are stronger for firms that are more likely to …

Relationships Between Local Revenue And Expenditure Policies And Urban Housing Markets, Lucas Taulbee

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This dissertation consists of three essays on urban/local public finance, specifically residential property tax assessment and the provision of local public services. A general theme of the essays is the interplay between local financial policies and housing markets. Both revenue (tax) and expenditure policies can have significant effects on housing prices which can, in turn, have feedback effects on current and future revenues and expenditures. In the first chapter, Assessment Regressivity and Capitalization of Property Taxes, I consider assessment regressivity, the phenomenon in which higher-priced homes tend to be underassessed while lower priced homes tend to be overassessed. This may …

Differential Impacts Of Weather Anomalies On Household Energy Expenditure Shares: A Comparison Of Clustered Panel Analysis Methods, Jordan Champion

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Recent emphasis on environmental justice has highlighted deficiencies in our energy system that produce disparities in accessibility and affordability for the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, the realities of a gradually warming climate and the onset of a global energy crisis (IEA 2022) have coincidently contributed to spikes in both energy prices and demand. These implications threaten to further exacerbate existing disparities for income-constrained and vulnerable populations, enhancing their risk of falling into prolonged insecurity. To ensure our transition to a just, sustainable future, we must first ensure equitable access to affordable and reliable energy for everyone. Combining household-level panel and state-level …

Essays On The Economics Of Entrepreneurship, Nicholas Graff

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of three chapters related to the economics of entrepreneurship. The second chapter focuses on the business performance of necessity entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on job creation and earnings. The third chapter investigates the large and persistent earnings differences between self-employed men and women, finding women earn less in self-employment because of different choices of industry, number of hours worked, and differences in business capital. The fourth chapter investigates whether the black-white self-employment gap explains the black-white wealth gap.

Horse Owner Preferences For Equine Veterinary Services, Olivia Gibson

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The decline in the number of equine veterinarians creates significant challenges for the future of equine veterinary medicine. One crucial aspect of this issue is how the financial health of equine veterinary practices might be improved. Examining how horse owners respond to changes in the prices of veterinary services allows practices to determine whether adjusting prices can improve practices’ financial standing. Using an online stated preference survey completed by 4,992 horse owners in the U.S., this study investigates horse owner preferences for equine veterinary services. First, horse owners’ utilization of equine veterinary services and willingness to adapt to the changes …

Essays On The Dynamics Of Subnational Public Finance In Indonesia, Much Rosidi

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This dissertation comprises three essays that collectively explore the intricacies of subnational public finance in Indonesia: vehicle tax amnesty, property tax competition, and corruption. The research aims to understand the dynamics shaping fiscal policies at the subnational level.

In the first essay, I examine vehicle tax amnesty programs in Indonesia that have been very popular in dealing with high delinquency rates. From 2008 to 2020, provincial amnesties occurred every 2.5 years on average. Using the variation in the timing of the province’s amnesty adoptions, I estimate the effect of vehicle tax amnesty on vehicle tax revenue using difference-in-differences. The short-run …

Essays On Impacts Of Natural Disasters, Fang-Yu Yeh

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of three chapters that study how natural disasters affect households and individuals. The first chapter examines how Kentucky’s housing market responds to changes in flood risk information. The second chapter looks at disproportionate drinking water non-compliance post-disaster. The third chapter studies the effect of flooding events and the national school meals program in Kentucky on education outcomes.

The first chapter examines Kentucky’s housing market response to changes in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) flood maps and how the responses differ depending on whether an area has been flooded recently. I use Zillow’s ZTRAX property transaction data …