Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Asset Pricing Of International Equity Under Cross-Border Investment Frictions, Thummim Cho, Argyris Tsiaras

Economics: Faculty Publications

We develop a tractable asset pricing model of international equity markets to investigate the impact of frictions in cross-border financial investments on equity return dynamics and cross-border equity holdings across countries. We characterize the equilibrium of the model analytically at the limit as one country becomes large relative to all other countries. Our results clarify the distinct impact of cross-border holding costs, cash-flow fundamentals comovement, and preferences on cross-border portfolio holdings, return comovement, and risk premia. The model offers a unified explanation for key empirical regularities in the cross-section of equity markets regarding cross-country return correlations, CAPM pricing errors, and …

Reciprocity Through Ratings: An Experimental Study Of Bias In Evaluations, Simon Halliday, Jonathan Lafky

Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper studies the potential for ratings of seller quality to be influenced by side payments to raters. In a laboratory setting, we find that even modest side payments from sellers to raters have large effects, with the type of rating (favorable or unfavorable) given to a seller determined primarily by how large a monetary transfer the seller makes to the rater. Our results demonstrate that side payments can crowd out a rater’s concern for buyers, even in situations where there is no potential for long-term relationship building.

A Comparison Of Cognitive Restructuring And Thought Listing For Excessive Acquiring In Hoarding Disorder, Hannah C. Levy, Randy O. Frost, Elizabeth A. Offermann, Gail Steketee, David F. Tolin

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Excessive acquiring is a common symptom of hoarding disorder (HD). Little is known about subjective distress associated with acquiring in HD. The present study examined acquiring-related distress and reactions to cognitive restructuring (CR) in 92 individuals with HD and 66 community control (CC) participants. All participants identified an item of interest at a high-risk acquiring location and then decided whether or not to acquire the item. HD participants completed the acquiring task while receiving a CR-based intervention or a thought-listing (TL) control condition. Results showed that HD participants reported more severe distress and greater urges to acquire the item of …

“Climate Refugees”—A Useful Concept?, Gregory White

Government: Faculty Publications

Book review essay of:

Behrman, Simon, and Avidan Kent, eds. 2018. “Climate Refugees”: Beyond the Legal Impasse? New York: Routledge.

Miller, Todd. 2017. Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security. San Francisco, CA: City Lights.

Wennersten, John R., and Denise Robbins. 2017. Rising Tides: Climate Refugees in the Twenty-First Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Fathers’ And Mothers’ Attachment Styles, Couple Conflict, Parenting Quality, And Children’S Behavior Problems: An Intervention Test Of Mediation, Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Marsha Kline Pruett, Kyle Pruett

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

A diverse sample of 239 primarily low-income couples participated in a random controlled trial of the Supporting Father Involvement couples group intervention. In this report, we examined the value of adding measures of fathers’ attachment style and parenting to mothers’ measures in order to explain variations in children’s behavior problems. We also tested the hypothesis that the link between intervention-induced reductions in couple conflict and reductions in anxious/harsh parenting can be explained by intervention effects on parents’ attachment insecurity or on anxiety and depression. Fathers’ attachment security and parenting behavior added significantly to mothers’ in accounting for children’s internalizing and …

China's “Great Migration”: The Impact Of The Reduction In Trade Policy Uncertainty, Giovanni Facchini, Maggie Y. Liu, Anna Maria Mayda, Minghai Zhou

Economics: Faculty Publications

We analyze the effect of China's integration into the world economy on workers in the country and show that one important channel of impact has been internal migration. Specifically, we study the changes in internal migration rates triggered by the reduction in trade policy uncertainty faced by Chinese exporters in the U.S. This reduction is characterized by plausibly exogenous variation across products, which we use to construct a local measure of treatment, at the level of a Chinese prefecture, following Bartik (1991). This allows us to estimate a difference-in-difference empirical specification based on variation across Chinese prefectures before and after …

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults Have Higher Prevalence Of Illicit Opioid Use Than Heterosexual Adults: Evidence From The National Survey On Drug Use And Health, 2015-2017, Benjamin D. Capistrant, Ora Nakash

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Purpose: We estimated illicit opioid use prevalence among LGB and heterosexual adults. Methods: Cross-sectional National Survey on Drug Use and Health data (2015-2017) were used to estimate illicit opioid use prevalence by sexual identity, age, and gender. Results: An estimated 1.1 million LGB adults used illicit opioids in the preceding 12 months (LGB adults: 9.8%; heterosexual adults: 4.24%). Prevalence of illicit opioid use was significantly higher among LGB women aged /bisexual men (18-25 and 50 +) compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Conclusions: Interventions targeting LGB illicit opioid use should account for possible differential minority stress associated with age and gender.

Is There An Economic Case For The Olympic Games?, Chris Dempsey, Victor Matheson, Andrew Zimbalist

Economics: Faculty Publications

The Olympic Games are a major undertaking that promise both large costs and potentially large benefits to host cities. This paper lays out the potential economic benefits of hosting the Olympics and details how, in the vast majority of cases, these gains are unlikely to cover the costs of hosting the event. The ideas are then applied to the experience of Boston in its ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Efficient Empiricism: Streamlining Teaching, Research, And Learning In Empirical Courses, Tomas Dvorak, Simon Halliday, Michael O'Hara, Aaron Swoboda

Economics: Faculty Publications

The increasing importance of empirical analysis in economics highlights the need for efficient ways to bring these skills to the classroom. R Markdown is a new technology that provides a solution by integrating writing, statistical work and computation into a single document. R Markdown benefits students and instructors by streamlining teaching, research, and collaboration. We report on our use of R Markdown in undergraduate teaching, including core courses, electives, and senior theses. We discuss the costs and benefits of adoption, and explain the advantages of R Markdown in teaching reproducibility of empirical work, avoiding time-consuming and error-prone ‘cut and paste,’ …

Saving Inventory – Revised: Psychometric Performance Across The Lifespan, Kirstie Kellman-Mcfarlane, Brent Stewart, Sheila Woody, Catherine Ayers, Mary Dozier, Randy O. Frost, Jessica Grisham, Simone Isemann, Gail Steketee, David F. Tolin, Alison Welsted

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: The Saving Inventory – Revised (SI-R) is the most widely used self-report measure of hoarding symptom severity. The goal of this study is to establish a firm empirical basis for a cutoff score on the SI-R and to examine the functioning of the SI-R as a screening tool and indicator of hoarding symptom severity across the lifespan. Methods: This study used archival data from 1,116 participants diagnosed with a clinical interview in 14 studies conducted by research groups who focus on hoarding. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and the Youden's J statistic to determine optimal cutoff scores …

An Agi With Time-Inconsistent Preferences, James D. Miller, Roman V. Yampolskiy

Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper reveals a trap for artificial general intelligence (AGI) theorists who use economists’ standard method of discounting. This trap is implicitly and falsely assuming that a rational AGI would have time consistent preferences. An agent with time-inconsistent preferences knows that its future self will disagree with its current self concerning intertemporal decision making. Such an agent cannot automatically trust its future self to carry out plans that its current self considers optimal.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Is Associated With Lipids In Postmenopausal Women, Corinna Serviente, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, Jyrki Virtanen, Sarah Witkowski, Leo Niskanen, Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between FSH and lipid levels in postmenopausal women from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study.

Methods: Postmenopausal women (n = 588) aged 53 to 73 years and not using hormone therapy were included. The relation between FSH and total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TGs) was evaluated using linear regression, adjusting for estradiol, body mass, smoking, and other hormonal and lifestyle factors. The relation between FSH, dyslipidemia, and abnormal lipid levels were also evaluated.

Results: FSH was positively and linearly …

John P. Mccormick, Reading Machiavelli: Scandalous Books, Suspect Engagements, And The Virtue Of Populist Politics, John Patrick Coby

Government: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, But Not Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Is Associated With Flow-Mediated Dilation With Advancing Menopausal Stage, Corinna Serviente, Sarah Witkowski

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective:The aim of the study was to evaluate if there are differences in endothelial function before and after acute exercise in women at different menopausal stages with high and low cardiorespiratory fitness.Methods:Participants were healthy high-fit premenopausal (n = 11), perimenopausal (n = 12), and postmenopausal women (n = 13) and low-fit perimenopausal (n = 7) and postmenopausal women (n = 8). Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured before and after acute moderate intensity exercise. FMD was calculated as (Diameterpeak-Diameterbaseline)/ Diameterbaseline) × 100. Differences between high-fit women and between high- and low-fit perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were assessed with repeated-measure …

Global Capital And The Cross-Section Of International Equity Return Comovement, Thummim Cho, Argyris Tsiaras

Economics: Faculty Publications

What makes a country’s stock market more correlated with the U.S. stock market than others? This paper documents and investigates theoretically a strong positive cross-sectional relationship between the share of an equity market held by foreign investors, U.S. investors in particular, and the return correlations of 40 equity markets with the U.S. market. We argue that frictions impeding the cross-border holding of equity are key determinants of cross-border positions and equity market return correlations across countries. We develop an asset pricing model that illustrates how heterogeneity in cross-border asset holding costs can generate the observed cross-sections of cross-border positions, return …

Extraordinary Acts To “Show Up”: Conceptualizing Resilience Of Lgbtq Youth, Kenta Asakura

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Sexual and gender diversity is an overlooked subject in resilience research. This study seeks to advance the conceptualization of resilience among lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Informed by social ecological theory of resilience, grounded theory analysis of interviews with service providers (n = 16) and LGBTQ youth (n = 19) yielded the following categories: (a) facing adversities across contexts, and (b) “doing well” while still in pain. LGBTQ youth face both general and LGBTQ-specific adversities. LGBTQ youth, even in a so-called “post-gay” era, remain challenged to navigate marginalization to maintain their well-being. Participants endorsed a context-dependent understanding …

Entrepreneurial Capital, Inequality, And Asset Prices, Argyris Tsiaras

Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the contribution of entrepreneurship to increasing U.S. wealth inequality. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), I document that, since 2000, the increase in the wealth shares of the top 0.1% and 1% groups of households is almost exclusively driven by entrepreneurs, identified empirically as private business owner-managers. Additional evidence from the SCF points to an increase in the average returns to entrepreneurial ventures as a likely driver of these patterns. I develop analytical characterizations of summary measures of inequality in the context of a model of wealth accumulation featuring heterogeneity in investment returns and …

Supporting Father Involvement: An Intervention With Community And Child Welfare–Referred Couples, Marsha Kline Pruett, Philip A. Cowan, Carolyn Pape Cowan, Peter Gillette, Kyle D. Pruett

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Objective: To expand the evidence base of the Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) intervention to include child welfare families. Background: Taking a preventive father-inclusive approach, SFI aims to strengthen coparenting, parent–child relationships, and child outcomes. This study replicates 4 prior iterations of the program using the same 32-hour curriculum facilitated by clinically trained staff, case managers, and onsite child care and family meals. Method: Participants (N = 239) included low-income (median = $24,000) coparenting pairs, typically mothers and fathers/father figures, half of whom were Mexican American, with toddlers (median age < 3 years). Questionnaires assessing multiple family domains were administered verbally over an 18-month period. Intervention effectiveness was tested through a randomized control trial with immediate treatment or waitlist–control groups using a moderated mediator structural equation model. Results: The model explained 49% to 56% of the variance in children's problem behaviors (intervention and autoregressive effects). The intervention reduced couple conflict, which reduced anxious and harsh parenting, leading to better child outcomes. The intervention was equally effective for community and child welfare–referred families and family dynamics pathways were similar across conditions. Conclusion: With its intentional outreach and inclusion of fathers, SFI offers an effective intervention for lower risk child welfare–involved families. Implications: Results argue for the utility of treating community and child welfare parents in mixed-gender prevention groups that focus on strengthening multiple levels of family relationships.

Data Literacy In Economic Development, Simon Halliday

Economics: Faculty Publications

In economic development and other economics electives, students regularly encounter economic measures of absolute and relative deprivation, from poverty measures like the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke index to measures of distribution like the Gini index. By “doing economics,” students practice applying economic measurement to real-world data and develop more general data literacy. The author proposes a series of exercises starting with stylized 10-household economies, proceeding to nationally representative cross-sectional surveys using MS Excel or Google Spreadsheets, and culminating in students applying their acquired data literacy to a team project. The data sources are easily tailored to alternative household surveys in low- and middle-income …

Shifting Courses: Economies Of The Maghreb After 2011, Karen Pfeifer

Economics: Faculty Publications

Chapter Four of the book: The Lure of Authoritarianism: The Maghreb after the Arab Spring

Stephen King and Abdeslam Maghraoui, eds.

Indiana University Press

Long-Term Trajectories Of Human Civilization, Seth D. Baum, Stuart Armstrong, Timoteus Ekenstedt, Olle Häggström, Robin Hanson, Karin Kuhlemann, Matthijs M. Maas, James D. Miller, Markus Salmela, Anders Sandberg, Kaj Sotala, Phil Torres, Alexey Turchin, Roman V. Yampolskiy

Economics: Faculty Publications

Purpose: This paper formalizes long-term trajectories of human civilization as a scientific and ethical field of study. The long-term trajectory of human civilization can be defined as the path that human civilization takes during the entire future time period in which human civilization could continue to exist.

Approach: We focus on four types of trajectories: status quo trajectories, in which human civilization persists in a state broadly similar to its current state into the distant future; catastrophe trajectories, in which one or more events cause significant harm to human civilization; technological transformation trajectories, in which radical technological breakthroughs put human …

Neural Circuits Underlying Rodent Sociality: A Comparative Approach, Nicole S. Lee, Annaliese K. Beery

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

All mammals begin life in social groups, but for some species, social relationships persist and develop throughout the course of an individual’s life. Research in multiple rodent species provides evidence of relatively conserved circuitry underlying social behaviors and processes such as social recognition and memory, social reward, and social approach/avoidance. Species exhibiting different complex social behaviors and social systems (such as social monogamy or familiarity preferences) can be characterized in part by when and how they display specific social behaviors. Prairie and meadow voles are closely related species that exhibit similarly selective peer preferences but different mating systems, aiding direct …

Change In Patient Activation And Mental Illness Symptoms After Communication Training: A Multisite Study With A Diverse Patient Sample, Mengchun Chiang, Janet Chang, Ora Nakash, Mario Cruz-Gonzalez, Mirko K. Fillbrunn, Margarita Alegría

School for Social Work: Faculty Publications

Objective: Patient activation involves patients’ ability and motivation to communicate about their health and health care. Research has demonstrated that clinician or patient interventions may improve patient activation. This study explored the degree to which clinician and patient interventions affected both patient activation and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a racially and ethnically diverse clinical sample. Methods: Data were from a randomized clinical trial that included 312 patients and 74 clinicians from 13 Massachusetts community- and hospital-based outpatient behavioral health clinics. Patients completed measures of patient activation and depression and anxiety symptoms. Secondary data analyses were conducted to examine …

Acknowledging The 2018 Anthony Leeds Prize In Urban Anthropology, Caroline Melly

Anthropology: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Promoting An Ethical Economics Classroom Through Partnership, Simon Halliday

Economics: Faculty Publications

In teaching economics, the instructor scaffolds what they teach on an implicitly assumed or explicitly recognized ethical vision. Such a vision holds true even as economists often separate “positive economics” from “normative economics,” claiming positive economics finds its basis in data and theory whereas normative economics concerns the ought or ethical statements that data or theory may imply (Davis, 2016). Economics, furthermore, suffers from lack of diversity: from white men constituting the majority of researchers and teachers, to textbooks that fail to show the diverse range of real people participating in the economy (Aerni, Bartlett, Lewis, McGoldrick, & Shackelford, 1999). …

Groundwater Depletion In India: Social Losses From Costly Well Deepening, Susan Stratton Sayre, Vis Taraz

Economics: Faculty Publications

We develop a dynamic groundwater model that incorporates both groundwater pumping and investment in deeper wells and apply the model to the arid, alluvial aquifer region of Northern India that is experiencing rapid depletion. We compute the potential benefits of regulating groundwater use by comparing the net benefits of groundwater under optimal management to the net benefits under a common pool regime with two different cost structures: one with flat electricity tariffs, which are widespread in India, and a second with full marginal cost electricity pricing. Using numerical simulation, we find that the opportunity to invest in deeper wells significantly …

Frank Beach Award Winner: Neuroendocrinology Of Group Living, Annaliese K. Beery

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

Why do members of some species live in groups while others are solitary? Group living (sociality) has often been studied from an evolutionary perspective, but less is known about the neurobiology of affiliation outside the realms of mating and parenting. Colonial species offer a valuable opportunity to study nonsexual affiliative behavior between adult peers. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) display environmentally induced variation in social behavior, maintaining exclusive territories in summer months, but living in social groups in winter. Research on peer relationships in female meadow voles demonstrates that these selective preferences are mediated differently than mate relationships in …

Salient Ballot Measures And The Millennial Vote, Scott J. Lacombe, Courtney Juelich

Government: Faculty Publications

We explore the relationship between ballot measures on issues salient to Millennials and their turnout in presidential and midterm elections. Both scholars and observers in the media have worried about decreasing levels of citizen participation, particularly among young voters. We demonstrate that one way to engage Millennials into traditional forms of political participation is through ballot measures that focus on issues salient to their generation (marijuana liberalization and higher education reform). We show that not only do these measures increase Millennial voting, but they erase difference in turnout levels between Millennials and older generations. This effect is primarily concentrated in …

The Impact Of College Athletic Success On Donations And Applicant Quality, Benjamin Baumer, Andrew Zimbalist

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

For the 65 colleges and universities that participate in the Power Five athletic conferences (Pac 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, and Big 12), the football and men’s basketball teams are highly visible. While these programs generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually, very few of them turn an operating “profit.” Their existence is thus justified by the claim that athletic success leads to ancillary benefits for the academic institution, in terms of both quantity (e.g., more applications, donations, and state funding) and quality (e.g., stronger applicants, lower acceptance rates, higher yields). Previous studies provide only weak support for …