Economics Commons^™

Robust Linear Static Panel Data Models Using Ε-Contamination, Badi H. Baltagi, Georges Bresson, Anoop Chaturvedi, Guy Lacroix

Center for Policy Research

The paper develops a general Bayesian framework for robust linear static panel data models using ε-contamination. A two-step approach is employed to derive the conditional type-II maximum likelihood (ML-II) posterior distribution of the coefficients and individual effects. The ML-II posterior means are weighted averages of the Bayes estimator under a base prior and the data-dependent empirical Bayes estimator. Two-stage and three stage hierarchy estimators are developed and their finite sample performance is investigated through a series of Monte Carlo experiments. These include standard random effects as well as Mundlak-type, Chamberlain-type and Hausman-Taylor-type models. The simulation results underscore the relatively good …

Planet Of The Celtic Tiger, Alexid Wai Kit Lam

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Due to the vast developments in technology and information sharing, developing countries now have instant access to a library full of articles documenting the growth of various developed countries in the world. As these countries are searching for an economic model and hoping to replicate its result, they often come across Ireland’s economic success during the Celtic Tiger times. During this period, Ireland transformed from the “poorest of the rich” to “one of Europe’s shining lights.” Although Ireland's economic growth seems extremely appealing, how likely is it that another country could follow Ireland’s success by adopting its economic approach?

This …

The Effect Of Macroeconomic Conditions On Applications To Supplemental Security Income, Ke Xu

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This study examines whether macroeconomic conditions affect applications to the Supplemental Security Income program. Specifically, we focus on the impact of unemployment rate on under age 18 applications. Using data from 2002 through 2012, we found that a higher unemployment rate is associated with an increased intention to apply for Supplemental Security Income benefits for both disabled adults and children. However, the effect is much higher for adults. These findings suggest that under age 18 applications of Supplemental Security Income is sensitive to the macroeconomic conditions.

Too Hot To Handle: Managing America’S Ecosystems In A Changing Climate, Riley Morin

Honors Capstone Projects - All

For over 140 years, Americans and have enjoyed their national parks. In the national parks, nature and history come together to form uniquely public as well as enormously valuable landscapes. Today, America’s national parks are in danger of undergoing serious changes. Climate change is going to alter the physical characteristics of the national parks. Many of the parks have changed before, but this change will be the most dramatic. In this report I examine the historical and current mission of the National Park Service. I also examine the past and current valuation of the national parks by the American people. …

The Economic Theory Of Deregulation, Samuel D. Gass

Honors Capstone Projects - All

One of the consequences of the financial crisis of 2008 was a renewed focus on the issue of deregulation. The broadly recognized connection between the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression and the systematic deregulation of our financial markets dating back over three decades reinvigorated the economic and political debate around the appropriate balance between market freedom and government regulation. This paper explores this theme historically, analyzing several economic markets that were highly regulated prior to the late 20^th century. Through this analysis it establishes a foundational framework for the study of the widespread deregulation of the late …

The 1999 Repeal Of Glass-Steagall: The Effect On U.S. Commercial Banks, Ryan Michael Daddi

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The Great Recession of 2008-2009 was one of the most devastating financial crises of our history. The extent with which the recession plagued our financial system and affected everyday citizens created an immediate search for answers as to what had happened. Many experts pointed at the 1999 repeal of the Banking Act of 1933 (commonly referred to as Glass-Steagall) as a possible cause of increased risk-taking in the financial system. After the Great Depression, Glass-Steagall was enacted to separate commercial banking from investment banking, the combination being seen as a cause for the worst financial crises in history.

With the …

The Effects Of Walmart On Healthcare And Unionization: Is America Really Saving Money And Living Better?, Leyla Ziad

Honors Capstone Projects - All

As the largest private sector employer in the United States, corporate retail giant Walmart continues to make waves in United States culture and the economy since launching its first store in 1962. As Walmart seeks to expand, the validity of its consumer guarantee to “save money, live better” has been increasingly scrutinized, given Walmart’s use of controversial business practices, most notably its employee benefit policies and anti-unionization efforts. With over 1.4 million employees in the United States, there is much talk surrounding the potential costs of Walmart’s low prices. This study analyzes selected healthcare and unionization impacts of Walmart in …

Do Ct Scans Help Prevent Cancer-Related Deaths?, Auyon J. Ghosh

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper uses a region-level estimation approach associated with medical procedures to identify the effectiveness of X-ray Computed Axial Tomography (CT) scans as a diagnostic tool in preventing cancer-related deaths. In order to measure the effects of the CT scan on cancer-related deaths, I use data from both the National Health Interview Survey and the Vital Statistics of the United States. For all four regions, we observe an increase in CT scan use after 1979 or, as illustrated specifically in the figure, from 1975 to 1980. All four regions exhibit marked increases in lung cancer-related deaths, very little fluctuation in …

America In Recovery: Tracking And Analyzing The Obama Stimulus During 2009, Gregory Cassel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper tracks and analyzes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, better known as the Obama stimulus plan during the 2009 year. As one of the most expensive public policies in history, the ARRA was designed to turn around an ailing economy by creating and preserving jobs, investing in key areas, providing relief to States and individuals, and tax cuts. Thus, it is important and useful to track the policy in order to see if it is doing what it is supposed to. Using federal agency Financial and Activity Reports, I create detailed graphs showing where the …

Measuring The Effect Of Conflict On Oil Production And Prices, Benjamin Skomsky

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper examines the degree to which armed conflict interrupts oil production, and the effects of these supply shocks on the region-specific oil prices. By measuring the effect of conflict on oil output, I aim to quantify one important and underexamined economic cost of conflict. By examining the effect on oil prices, I hope to provide new empirical evidence on the global demand curve for oil and the substitutability of demand across alternative oil types.

Do Children's Hospitals Have Lower Mortality Rates? Evidence From The 2003 Kids' Inpatient Database, Christiane Labonte

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Objective: To compare mortality rates at children’s hospitals and non-children’s hospitals.

Data Source: I used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2003. Thirty-six states participated in the HCUP in 2003, which included 3,438 hospitals, and 2,984,129 pediatric discharges.

Study Design: I hypothesized that mortality rates at children’s hospitals would be lower than mortality rates at non-children’s hospital because children’s hospitals have more specialized inputs, from the clinical training of sub-specialists and nurses to advanced machines and diagnostic tools, and may use these inputs more productively. To …

Credit Card Interest Rates: Does Race And Gender Matter?, Brian Hecht

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper examines the consumer credit card market in theUnited Statesto determine what factors, race and gender specifically, influence interest rates available to consumers. Data from the 2001 Survey of Consumer Finances is used to model the credit card market and answer the questions: All else being equal do women have higher credit card interest rates than men? Do blacks or Hispanics, all else being equal, have higher credit card interest rates than whites?

The paper provides background on the credit card market and its growing importance, reviews key literature on the role that discrimination can play in different lending …

Movement Of Economics Professors Among Top Research Universities In The Us, Benjamin E. Resnick

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Abstract not Included

Can The World Industrialization Project Be Sustained?, Isidor Wallimann

Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

No abstract provided.

The Currency Of The Word: Communications, War And Revolution In The Formation Of The Nation-State, 1608-1655, Milton L. Mueller

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

An original and provocative analysis of the role of communications in the Thirty Years War and the English Revolution of 1640-1649. The years covered by the book saw the first printed new periodicals, the opening of the royal postal system to public correspondence, the monopolization of the posts by the state, and the exploitation of this communications infrastructure for surveillance and news purposes by the emerging territorial state. The book argues that all these developments were related aspects in the emergence of a currency of the word, a change in the temporal status of literate media. Printed commentary now flowed …

Jan Maria Novotny And His Collection Of Books On Economics, Michael Markowski

The Courier

This article describes the life and books of economist Jan Novotny, whose extensive collection is now housed in the Syracuse University Libraries. Novotny believed that a comprehensive, liberal arts education was an essential prerequisite for anyone who wished to study or professionally practice finance and business. The well-roundedness obtained from the humanities, he argued, would lead those in business and finance to make moral and ehtically sound decisions. His collection covers the last five hundred years, consisting of nearly 6,000 books in many different languages. Novotny managed to flee Czechoslavakia with all of these books, which now provide a wealth …

Financial Problems Of A Revolutionary: The Memoir Of John Wilkins, Howard L. Applegate

The Courier

In this article, Howard L. Applegate describes and includes an excerpt of the autobiography of John Wilkins, a shop owner in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution period who became a militia captain. Instead of detailing the colonial militia of the time, Wilkins related how militia members often took on significant financial burdens in order to keep the regiment intact, and lamented the rampant devaluation, inflation and speculation that occurred during this turbulent period in American history.