Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Pure Test Of Backward Induction, Kelly Padden Hall

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a simple computerized game to serve as a pure test of backward induction and then tests the game in the laboratory. One of the fundamental assumptions of neoclassical economic theory is that human beings function as fully rational agents who maximize their utility over multidimensional alternatives under economic constraints. However, numerous studies have shown systematic deviation from rational decision making in a laboratory setting. While no single explanation is obvious for this suboptimal behavior, the literature suggests other motivations (besides maximizing utility) may be at play, including reciprocity, trust, reputation, and welfare. The "Race to 21" game …

Essays On Financial Fraud And Tax Evasion, Martin W. Tackie

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the problem of misreporting in the corporate setting, where managers may commit accounting fraud, and in the public sector, where taxpayers may not truthfully report their income. Both accounting fraud and income misreporting have contributed to unprecedented financial losses to shareholders and governments respectively. As a result, policy-makers and shareholders are focused on one goal, that is, to mitigate the occurrence of accounting fraud and income misreporting. The process of achieving this goal starts with understanding how compensation contracts and tax schemes influence an agent’s willingness to misreport. This dissertation pursues these objectives using a blend …

Essays On Capital Gains Taxes And Housing, Zachary William Richards

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a collection of three essays regarding the effects of federal taxation of residential capital, with a focus on owner-occupied housing. Owner-occupied housing is granted a number of tax subsidies under the federal individual income tax code. Among them are the mortgage interest and property tax deductions and the tax exclusions on imputed rental income for the homeowner and capital gains from the sale of a primary residence.

In the frst essay, entitled \Does the Exclusion of Capital Gains Taxes on Housing Promote Labor Mobility?", I examine the impact of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA97), which …

Essays On Property Tax Limitation Mechanisms, Bryan Shone

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last half-century, the United States has experienced a tax revolution at the local level of government. Driven by preferences of many residents to limit the size and growth of local government, the tax revolts have spread rapidly since the installment of Proposition 13 in the state of California in the late 1970s. Today, tax and expenditure limitations (TELs), such as property tax limits, have been implemented in the vast majority of states for a variety of reasons. This expansion in the use of TELs has raised three main questions among economists. First, why are TELs implemented to begin …