Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Specter Of Caste, Kabir Raj Khanna

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Motivations And Effects Of The Nba Salary Cap, Jeffrey M. Goldrosen

Senior Projects Spring 2018

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) use of a salary cap to restrict player salaries and team payrolls is commonly seen in other professional sports leagues throughout the world, but it is unique in many ways which affect its efficiency in achieving its alleged purposes. Introduced in 1984, the salary cap was supposed to help the league restore competitive balance, as it theoretically would have prevented wealthier teams from overspending and dominating the less wealthy teams. As time has passed, it has become evident that competitive balance was not achieved following the adoption of the salary cap, and it has been …

Shanghai Made: The Trade Off Between Global Transformation And Social Equity In A Chinese City., Nikhil Amar Inalsingh

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Understanding The Shifting U.S Retail Environment: A Theoretical Economic Cause And Affect Analysis (1996-2018), John P. Palermo

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

In this paper is a theoretical analysis that provides rationalization to identifying and understanding the main determinants that have led to a shifting retail environment. Effectively over the last 20 years the traditional retail industry has had to modify its traditional ways of businesses strategy to better accommodate the latest behavioral pattern shifts of consumer spending in retail environments and non-retail environment externalities. Some of the major factorial determinants that have and are producing retail shifts are; the developments of new technology being introduced into the retail environment, …

Perón And The Argentine Paradox: An Investigation Into An Economic Mystery, Antonio Luis Gansley-Ortiz

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Girls' Education: A Behavioral Analysis, Syeda Zahra Ahmed

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Universal education has been an international development goal for a very long time, and gaps still exist in gender parity in developing countries. This project aims to address the fact that while the provision of affordable and accessible education in- stitutions have seen great successes in the past, perhaps the way forward now is to analyze the demand side issues. Due to cultural norms, demand for girls’ education in developing countries is lacking. The first part of the paper explores the psychological constraints of present bias, role model effect and stereotype threat in the context of girls’ educational demands. The …

The Opportunity Cost Of Violence: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Foreign Aid And Terrorism In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brendan T. Byrne

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Zambian Consensus, Stefan Jan Briggs

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

"By Gifts One Makes Slaves": Long-Term Effects Of Denmark's Colonization Of Greenland, Sofia Stærmose Hardt

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Greenland was colonized by Denmark in 1721. Although Denmark’s colonization had elements of racism and economic exploitation, it was not violent. This project explores the long-term effects of a paternalistic colonization on the establishment of extractive institutions and on social well-being and cohesion. I examine ways in which Danish colonial policy, from 1721-1953, on the one hand sought to “civilize” and modernize Greenlandic society and, on the other hand, attempted to maintain traditional hunting practices for economic gain. These complex and sometimes contradictory social engineering techniques of governance have been linked to long-term problems of Greenlandic identity. Greenland was officially …

Who Do You Know & Who Knows You? Networks, Labor Markets, And Exclusion, Tabias J. Wimby

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This thesis takes an in depth look at one of the characteristics of the labor market that is frequently used but is not often discussed, social networks. The paper explains the way social networks are defined and built on an individual level, and how those networks are specifically utilized by agents of the market. This leads to the investigation into the exclusion of minorities in the market. This paper discusses the reasons that minorities are excluded from either the labor market or from better labor market opportunities, mainly because of cultural differences among groups. The final analysis of this paper …

Does Financial Liberalization Increase Corruption?: Evidence From A Panel Analysis, Pranjal Sudhir Ghate

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project investigates whether financial liberalization increases corruption on a global level. Arguments put forward by international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF claim that financial globalization will reduce corruption. However, the experience of India suggests that opening up financial markets might have increased corruption. This project tests whether this experience is generalizable worldwide. I find evidence for the conjecture that financial liberalization increased corruption in a panel analysis using random effects and lagged independent variable.

A Historical Comparison, And Speculative Analysis Of The Technological Revolution: Winners, Losers, And Technological Capabilities, Caleb Larosa

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Technological innovation began long ago, and if we start at its origin, and slowly breakdown its progression to present day, a significant role, and purpose begins to emerge. However, technology is now smarter than ever, and despite being able to refer to the past, there are countless uncertainties regarding the current capabilities, and the predetermined path of automation and computerisation. Moreover, there is much to be discovered surrounding the role of technology within income inequality. How much of the inequality and progression of trends can we attribute to technology? Will technology displace the majority of human labor hours? It is …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Federal Reserve’S Quantitative Easing Policy In Lowering Long-Term Interest Rates, Lee Philip Perry

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project looks at the effectiveness of Quantitative Easing on lowering long-term interest rates. To come up with an answer I look through three separate channels in which QE works to lower long-term rates: the speculation channel, inflations expectation channel, and portfolio balance channel. In examining these channels and their respective effects, I combine relative channel and general economic theory with data relative to each channel such as long-term yields, inflation expectation data, public holdings of federal debt, and much more in order to understand whether QE was at the forefront of the reduction in yields. Through these channels, we …

Finally Putting It Back Into The Pockets Of Brazil’S Bottom 50%: An Analysis Of The “Neo(Capital)” Flows On Income Inequality, Meghann Trago

Senior Projects Spring 2018

A common belief of the global community is that Income inequality in Brazil has decreased. This paper analyses the composition of income inequality in Brazil through the effects of neoliberal policies on the relationship between capital flows and income inequality from the 1980s to 2015. The neoliberal policy that will be the focus of this paper, is the Washington Consensus which was introduced in the early 1990s. The historical analysis situates the Consensus in the context of Brazil. Hyman P. Minsky’s theory of financial instability applied to Brazil reveals the flaws within standard neoclassical trade theories underlying the Consensus, i.e. …

Labor Market Immigrant Integration And Employment: An Analysis Of Eu Countries, Iro Gkrimpizi

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This Senior Project advances the immigrant integration debate, examining the effect of labor market immigrant integration policies on the European labor force. Building on an existing body of literature that examines the migration and immigrant integration debate, this paper assesses the relationship between immigrant integration policies in the EU and the employment rate of the total, non-EU, low-skilled, young, old, and female labour force, by using panel data at the EU level to answer the question, “Can the labor market integration of immigrants lead to positive labor market outcomes as expressed by the employment rate?”. The relationship between labor market …