Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

More Than A Feeling: Exploring The Drivers Of Music Catalog Values, Emily Nutting

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines which characteristics of songs affect transaction price in the sale of artist’s music catalogs. My analysis tests many variables, including the number of years between the song’s release its catalog’s sale (age); the natural log of the number of Spotify streams the song has (popularity); the genre of the song; themes in the song, such as dating, violence, romance, obscenity, sadness, and feelings; and elements of the song like danceability, energy, loudness, instrumentalness (the prevalence of instrumentals relative to vocals in a song), and acousticness (the measure of sound made using instruments as opposed to electronic means). …

Debt And The Medicare Eligibility Discontinuity: Disparate Effects Across Households, Olivia Falck

Honors Theses

Public health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid have been shown to help reduce household debt caused by healthcare costs. The impact of health insurance literacy makes the relationship between public health programs and debt more ambiguous. The increasing complexity of Medicare raises the question of whether cost savings associated with enrollment might be mitigated by the complexity of choosing the ideal plan for those with low health insurance literacy. In this study, I utilize the Medicare eligibility cutoff at age 65 to implement a regression discontinuity design that analyzes the impact of Medicare eligibility on household debt and out …

Analyzing The Accessibility Of Sports Facilities In Missoula, Montana, Quinn T. Peacock

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The purpose of this survey is to understand the qualitative value of the public field inventory that will be analyzed based on quantitative data. We want to understand not only the assumed factors from data that affect rec-participants behavior, but what the individuals have to say about it for themselves as well.

Non-Profits And Living Wages, Jack Buckley

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Non-Profit organizations must find ways to divide their budgets between staff wages and program services, as well as paying their staff a living wage. Unlike for-profits who can increase prices for consumers when they need to increase staff wages, non-profits do not have this luxury. The goal of this project was to collect data on how non-profits manage their budgets and if they provide staff with living wages. A survey was sent out with a total of eight responses, giving a breakdown of various non-profit’s budgets and if they pay a living wage. Overall, seven out of eight non-profits pay …

Us Financial Expansions And Exchange Rate Determination, Matthew Brill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how US financial activity influences the exchange rates of foreign nations. Starting off by building on Currency Hierarchy and Minskyan dynamics, I look at how financial cycles generated in the US, the key economy, transmit liquidity towards economies on the periphery. Additionally, I use the increase in shadow banking asset accumulation relative to commercial banking asset accumulation as indicative of financial expansions in the US, and the driving force of financial cycles. Using vector autoregression (VAR) analysis I test the relationships between the ratio of US shadow banking assets relative to commercial …

The Cost-Effectiveness And Feminization Of The Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Audrey Jammes

Scripps Senior Theses

Approved in 2006, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine provided a medical breakthrough in combating cancer by inoculating first female and then male adolescents in 2010. In 2016, a new HPV vaccine was approved for all adolescents. However, it is the most expensive vaccine created in the United States and its female centered prescription led to debates regarding the vaccine’s necessity and risks. For the STS portion of this paper, analysis of the language in the vaccine’s prescriptions from 2006, 2010, and 2016 demonstrates two implicit assumptions regarding female health built into the vaccine’s rollout. Comparison of the two assumptions to …

The Knights Templar: Blood And Banking, Morgan Thatcher

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

The Knights Templar were a martial religious order founded in the 12th century AD. Though they were known for their prowess on the battlefield, more importantly, they became an important and integral part of the Medieval financial and economic world. This was only possible due their unique position as a sanctioned part of the Catholic Church, their reputation, political connections, and a changing idea of what money was. The Templar utilized every facet of their position in order to gain wealth and power, but were ultimately brought low at the hands of Philip IV of France.

Covid-19: A Black Swan?, Ben M. Uehlinger

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

A Black Swan, as termed by Nassim Taleb, is an unexpected, high magnitude event that is often rationalized in hindsight. 9/11 and the Financial Crisis of 2008 are two examples of these tail probability events. Though COVID-19 has been regarded as momentous and unexpected, Taleb does not credit it as a true Black Swan. This paper aims to compare COVID-19 to these recent Black Swans in terms of predictability and significance. Cointegration was tested across 11 major sectors. Further economic indicators were explored with the goal of discussing the broader context of each event. It was concluded that COVID-19 was …

The Effect Of Female Managers On Mutual Fund Performance During Down Markets, Madison Gates, Madison I. Gates

Scripps Senior Theses

Women in the finance industry have long been underrepresented. The mutual fund industry is no exception, with female managers in the United States falling stagnant at only 11% from 2000 to 2019. Given this low and stagnant number, this study seeks to understand if female managers impact mutual fund performance, specifically comparing down and up market periods. The data for this research was compiled from individual US mutual fund prospectus and fact sheet information in order to create a unique dataset containing the returns for every year between 2000 and 2019 as well as gender make-up, average experience, and team …

Economics Of Higher Education Productivity, Uchenna K. Oparah

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How does spending affect academic outcomes in higher education institutions? Postsecondary schools incur costs to provide services to its student body. In this study, I introduce multiple outcome variables, a two-stage production function, and current-year expenditures on core services to evaluate how school spending affects academic outcomes.

The empirical analysis includes 28 group sample parameter estimates from four outcome variables, the pooled sample, and group samples for each of six sectors. The fixed effects/instrumental variable (FE-IV) instructional expenditure parameter estimates were positive for 20 of the 28 group samples. The sign and size of the estimated academic output effects varied …

Shocks To Aggregate Demand And Aggregate Supply In The Midst Of Covid-19, Anna M. Gellerman

Publications and Research

COVID-19 sent shockwaves throughout the economy, changing the amounts of goods and services distributed and altering the demand. This article discusses the negative demand shock and adverse supply shock that the U.S. economy faced in 2020, and the policies that the government implemented to reverse these effects.

Artificial Intelligence & Personal Finance: Legal And Ethical Implications, Aaron Klein

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Artificial Intelligence and Personal Finance: Legal and Ethical Implications" by Brookings fellow in economic studies, Aaron Klein. The rise of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence herald great promise in making our financial system safer, fairer, and more inclusive. However, the legacy of the use of credit as a tool to enforce and promote discrimination means these same tools can recreate and reinforce biases in ways that challenge basic ethics and the law. This lecture explores how data is used to make financial decisions, …

Bubbles & Bought-Ins: Reevaluating Price Movements In The Art Market, Silas Wuerth

Honors Projects

Employs two tests for bubbles in the art market. First, a right-hand forward recursive augmented Dickey-Fuller test to identify explosive price movements. Second, a test for the statistical significance of hedonic regression price index coefficients after controlling for equity market performance. Finds strong evidence for a speculative bubble in the pre-Great Recession "Post-War & Contemporary" market. Evidence for this bubble diminishes but does not dissipate after accounting for the effect of failed sales on index returns.

Optimal Execution In Cryptocurrency Markets, Ethan Kurz

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to study the Almgren and Chriss model on the optimal execution of large block orders both on the NYSE and in cryptocurrency exchanges. Their model minimizes execution costs, which include linear temporary and permanent price impacts. We focus on how the stock market microstructure differs from a cryptocurrency exchange microstructure and what that means for how the model functions. Once the model and microstructures are explained, we examine how the Almgren-Chriss model functions with stocks from the NYSE, looking at specifically selling a large number of shares. We then investigate how a large "wholesale" …

Predicting Market Trends: Effects Of Gdp And Pmi On Changes In Stock Closing Prices, Charley Renna

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In an effort to learn more about the impact of certain economic variables on the stock market, I chose to analyze the impact that the Purchasing Managers’ Index and U.S. Gross Domestic Product have on three major stock indices: S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq 100. The PMI is an index of the direction of economic trends in the manufacturing and services sector. Released on the first business day of every month, it consists of a diffusion index that summarizes whether market conditions are expanding, staying the same, or contracting. An index level greater than 50 percent suggests …

Payday Lenders And Credit Cards: A Hidden Driver Of Income Inequality, Aaron Klein

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West presents a lecture titled "Payday Lenders and Credit Cards: A Hidden Driver of Income Inequality" by Brookings Fellow in Economic Studies, Aaron Klein. This lecture examines how, for millions of working families, America’s slow payment system costs billions of dollars. The system needs technological innovation, but incumbency, economies of scale, and government may counter technological advancement. This lecture explores if the U.S. remains the dominant global standards setter for payment instruments.

The Quality Of Xbrl Structured Financial Statements: An Empirical Examination Of Custom Tags, Aidana Razhap Kyzy

Theses and Dissertations

In 2009 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) system to improve the process by which financial statements can be used. Interactive financial data filed with the SEC using XBRL provides easily readable and comparable financial data, thereby improving transparency and efficiency in the corporate market. SEC rules permit companies to use custom tags in their financial reports in cases when an appropriate element cannot be found in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard XBRL taxonomy. The inordinate use of custom tags may result in a reduction of financial report quality by …

Does Family Income Determine A Children Future Educational Attainment Level?, Diaisha T. Richards

Applied Economics Theses

Family income and education have been a major concern in a variety of researches, and as a topic in society. These two components are a major concern because they are known to be key elements in determining future success for an individual. Various studies investigated the significance, correlations and impacts these two factors have on one another. It is common for the amount of family income obtained to determine how much education one will receive in the future. This study focuses on testing the hypothesis that family income determines how much education a child will receive in the future. By …

Are Cds Auctions The Tail Wagging The Dog? An Empirical Study Of Corporate Bond Return Volatility At The Time Of Default, Jennifer Mace

CMC Senior Theses

Over the past decade, numerous engineered credit events and cases of market participants manipulating bond prices to influence Credit Default Swap (CDS) auction payouts have occurred. These cases have become increasingly common, and the CFTC has stated they may constitute market manipulation and undermine not only the CDS market but also the credit derivative and default markets. Although there is a plethora of news and media coverage on publicized cases, there is no previous empirical research on evidence of these practices. This paper is motivated by the desire to determine if there is indirect evidence of bond price manipulation around …

Examining Moral Hazard In The Healthcare Insurance Market, Samuel Ashby

Honors College Theses

This study aims to examine the effect of insurance coverage on medical expenditure in the United States. The data was gathered from the Household Component Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and is a cross-sectional data set with a sample size of approximately 1500 observations. The study also distinguishes between public and private insurance coverage to compare the potential moral hazard in the two separate markets. The results of this study suggest that insurance status, specifically public, has a strong positive effect on healthcare expenditure. This result, combined with a negative relationship between household income and healthcare expenditure, suggests that the source …

The Impact Of Brexit Related Events On European And Us Exchange Rates, George E. Lavallin Mr.

Honors College Theses

On June 23^rd, 2016, the British public voted to leave the European-Union in a highly contested referendum. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of whether ‘Brexit’ associated events and announcements had an impact on the US Dollar/Euro, British Pound/Euro and US Dollar/British Pound exchange rates. 69 Brexit associated events or announcements were identified for the study from 1^st January 2013 to 31^st December 2017. Using a univariate analysis (two-sample t-test in combination with a Levene-test of equal variance) as well as a multivariate analysis (OLS regression), the study examines exchange rate changes …

Essays In Business Cycles And Asset Pricing, Ruiyang Hu

Economics Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates several key macroeconomic and asset pricing topics, with a particular interest in exploring the underlying driving forces of business cycles and asset market fluctuations. The dissertation includes three chapters, with the first two chapters solo-authored by me and the third chapter co-authored with Dr. Carlos Zarazaga.

The first chapter develops a dynamic and stochastic general equilibrium model, and exploits Bayesian inference methods to investigate the major sources of fluctuations in aggregate variables and asset prices. Taking into account the possibility that the growth of total factor productivity, labor-augmenting technology and investment-specific technology might consist of permanent and …

Dream Hoarders: The Dangerous Separation Of The American Upper Middle Class, Richard Reeves

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

This lecture blends economics, philosophy and policy analysis to examine the growing gap between the upper middle class (broadly the top 20 percent) and the majority of Americans. In terms of dollars, but also education and skills, social capital, health, lifestyle and leisure attitude and zip code - not just by standard of living, but a way of life. The inheritance of upper middle class status in the next generation results from a growing gap in human capital formation, or ‘market merit’, and from a degree of ‘opportunity hoarding’. What changes are required to ensure that the American Dream is …

The Viability Of Profit-Loss Sharing Models To Finance Small And Medium Enterprises: The Case Of Saudi Arabia, Alhanoof Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore the role of profit-loss sharing (PLS) models to alleviate access to finance for small and medium enterprises in Saudi Arabia, in the light of the stringent requirements of traditional financial institutions, to ensure the growth and development of the SME sector. A central question of this study is the extent to which Islamic banks can adopt profit-loss sharing modes to finance SMEs. The main results present the barriers preventing Islamic banks from the application of profit-loss sharing that increase incidence of agency problems for such institutions. High asymmetry of information and the nature of Islamic …

Does Lowering The Interest Rate Stimulate Economic Growth? An Analysis Of Current Macroeconomic Policy, Tomas Araujo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The effectiveness of monetary policy moving forward from the subprime mortgage crisis has come into question by academics and economists from around the world. The unconventional monetary policy tools implemented have left central banks in a tough spot in terms of an exit from these policies in an environment where economic growth and inflation targets still have not been reached ten years after the onset of the recession. One of the main criticisms by economists is the prolonged easy monetary policy implemented by central banks, which have left interest rates at near zero levels since the recession and are just …

Public Actors In Private Markets: Toward A Developmental Finance State, Robert Hockett, Saule Omarova

Saule T. Omarova

The recent financial crisis brought into sharp relief fundamental questions about the social function and purpose of the financial system, including its relation to the “real” economy. This Article argues that, to answer these questions, we must recapture a distinctively American view of the proper relations among state, financial market, and development. This programmatic vision – captured in what we call a “developmental finance state” – is based on three key propositions: (1) that economic and social development is not an “end-state” but a continuing national policy priority; (2) that the modalities of finance are the most potent means of …

Three Essays On Capital Regulations And Shadow Banking, Diny Ghuzini

Dissertations

The shadow banking sector is a sector that is comprised of financial intermediaries that do not have access to central bank funds and performs their activities outside the regular banking system. This sector had been rapidly growing in most developed economies. This dissertation focuses on the behavioral difference and interaction of the traditional and shadow banking sectors as displayed by the relative asset position of both sectors, their risk-taking positions, and their business-cycles properties.

The first essay examines the impact of minimum capital requirements on the share of shadow to total banking assets. Previous literature has argued that increased regulation …

Greece's Banking Sector Options, Warren Coats

Warren Coats

A review of the new Greek government's choices in its negotiations with its creditors, with a focus on the banking sector.

Mortgage Crisis: Exploring Incentives Prevalent During The Boom And Bust Of The 2001–2007 Mortgage Market, Justin P. Nowicki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to explain the mortgage market's behavior from 2001 through the first quarter of 2007 by discussing the economic incentives key market participants faced. By exploring incentives faced by key participants, a multifaceted yet logical explanation for the aggressive economic expansion and contraction appears. Throughout this paper I argue that the simultaneous acting upon of such incentives was fundamental to the market behavior and that the actions of each participant are, for the most part, understandable given the incentives that each faced. The paper will describe the monetary and cultural incentives underlying this behavior and …

Asimmetria Del Rischio Sistematico Dei Titolo Immobiliari Americani: Nuove Evidenze Econometriche, Paola De Santis, Carlo Drago

Carlo Drago

In questo lavoro riscontriamo un aumento del rischio sistematico dei titoli del mercato immobiliare americano nell’anno 2007 seguito da un ritorno ai valori iniziali nell’anno 2009 e si evidenzia la possibile presenza di break strutturali. Per valutare il suddetto rischio sistematico è stato scelto il modello a tre fattori di Fama e French ed è stata studiata la relazione tra l’extra rendimento dell’indice REIT, utilizzato come proxy dell’andamento dei titoli immobiliari americani, e l’extra rendimento dell’indice S&P500 rappresentativo del rendimento del portafoglio di mercato. I risultati confermano la presenza di un “Asymmetric REIT Beta Puzzle” coerentemente con alcuni precedenti studi …