Economics Commons^™

The Impacts Of Pension Privatization In Latin American: A Cross-Country Comparison Of Pension Reforms And The Introduction Of Individual Accounts. An Analysis Modeled After The Six Guiding Core Principles Of Social Security, Victoria Le Fraga

Senior Projects Fall 2017

Latin America was the world’s pioneering nation in the privatization of pensions. In 1981, Chile’s pension system underwent a reform making it the first country to replace a public defined-benefit pay-as-you-go pension scheme with a fully funded defined-contribution pension scheme based on individual accounts. This project assesses the impacts and results of pension privatization in Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. As indicators of a prosperous system, my analyses are made using the six core guiding principles of Social Security: i) Coverage; ii) Equal Treatment and Social Solidarity; iii) Gender Equity; iv) Adequacy of Benefits; v) Administrative Costs; vi) and, Financial Sustainability …

Utilization Of Remittance For Transportation: A Case Study Of Moldova, Nicholas O. Kifyak

Senior Projects Fall 2017

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

Pericles Revived: Proposing Citizen Payments For Social Media Usage, Alexander Jason Breindel

Senior Projects Spring 2017

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

Remittance Securitization As An Alternative Source Of Finance For Cuba, Oscar Valdes Viera Ms

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

In this paper we propose to leverage remittances as an alternative source of finance for the Cuban economy through one particular financial innovation—remittance securitization. This instrument has been successfully used in a number of developing countries to mitigate the risks associated with lending to a developing nation. We show how the structure of the remittance securitization for the particular case of Cuba would also mitigate those risks and could potentially allow Cuba to access capital markets at lower costs and longer terms than its sovereign credit rating would otherwise allow.

Modernization Losers, Political Winners: Assessing The Role Of The Declining Position Of Labor In Right-Wing Electoral Successes Across Western Europe, Eva-Marie C. Quinones

Senior Projects Spring 2017

This Senior Project advances the modernization losers thesis, wherein the electoral successes of the far right in Western Europe are attributable to neoliberal fiscal policy, labor market shifts, and the institutional structure of the euro. Building on an existing body of literature that primarily assesses voting behavior through survey research, this paper assesses the relationship between right-wing electoral successes and the socioeconomic status of semi-skilled, blue-collar laborers thought to comprise the core voting base of extreme right parties, by using panel data at the national and provincial levels to answer the question, “To what extent has the declining position of …

From The Fair Labor Standards Act To Individual State Minimum Wages: Measuring State Minimum Wages And Economic Performance, Adam Charles Carafotes

Senior Projects Spring 2017

This project will analyze the historical foundation of the minimum wage in the United States prior to the first federal wage enactment in 1938 to the current federal wage as well as individual state wages. This paper will offer a historical overview along with economic ideology in determining appropriate minimum wage floors on state and federal levels of the economy. The question of raising either state or federal minimum wages has drawn great importance in the eyes of our country and in the eyes of economic thinkers, policymakers, and individuals. The minimum wage has been the backbone for working individuals …

Does It Take A Village To Teach A Child? Lessons From Experiments In Education, Piyush Kuthethoor

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Why should we and how do we incorporate a community-based development model into the design, implementation and targeting of experimental programs? This project is motivated to create a useful theoretical framework or “lens” for development that reflects social reality, one which sees communities, the space of patterned, meaningful interpersonal relationships, as a locus of development. It is interested in ways that such a framework can help design adaptable policy innovations/developmental programs and come up with successful and sustained solutions to pressing human needs. First, a “lens” of community is developed for analysis using findings from behavioral studies, historic observations, philosophy, …

To Nudge Or Not To Nudge: Promoting Environmentally Beneficial Behaviors, Emma Jean Cooper

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

In order to mitigate the effects of climate change, humans need to change how they act toward the environment. Unfortunately, as much as we may want to act in ways that would be best for us and for the environment, we often struggle to do just that due to cognitive biases. Nudge theory attempts to remedy this problem by helping us make the decision that would be in our best interests. To explore this issue, I conduct an extended review of the literature to examine how well nudge theory can be applied to the realm of environmental policy. Specifically, I …

Are Immigrants The Next Great Appliance? The Effects Of Immigration On Female Labor Force Participation, Logan Daniel Callahan

Senior Projects Spring 2017

This paper argues the burgeoning idea that an inflow of low-skilled immigrants into a receiving country can provide benefits for high-skilled native women. In considering the often increased responsibilities held by women in the household, when compared to men, the introduction of immigrants of certain occupations can help ease these responsibilities. A series of regressions explain that the effect is statistically significant, especially when considering low-skilled female immigrants. Policy implications are discussed as well as areas for future research. The paper concludes with a brief secondary theory and discourse on the labor constraints of women.

Gender Empowerment In The Development Economics Literature: The Language Of Choice, Preferences And Agency, Pranay Panday

Senior Projects Spring 2017

In my project, I try to trace how our present understanding of gender empowerment is formed, and how mainstream economics literature has accommodated feminist contributions to the concept. I look at neoclassical household models, feminist critiques of the same models, foundational ideas on gender empowerment, and finally the current development economics literature on empowerment. I find that the concept of choices and preferences, and in particular the formation of preferences, is central to understanding gender empowerment. I deduce that a) empowerment is both a process and an outcome, b) that the end goal of empowerment is the access to resources …

There And Now, Tinghua Huang

Senior Projects Spring 2017

THERE AND NOW

by Tinghua Huang

History/Observation of Life/Rebellion/Challenge/ Time/(without)Intention

In my exhibition, I have photos, bags, garments, the FIT IN room, and a clock with a second display. I will explain my points for choosing to put them in my show, and it is up to you, the viewers, to take it, expand it, or not. I believe there is never a final answer to art, as long as humans have their own ability to think.

I made the choice of putting the photos in my show to convey a straightforward sense of my personal background: where I am …

Financial Institutions And The Global Farming Industry: The Impacts Of Large-Scale Agricultural Investments Observed In Ethiopia, George William Goceljak Iii

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Due to the significant deregulation of commodity futures markets in 2000, the presence of index-speculators became increasingly prevalent. The strategies applied by these market participants drastically manipulated global commodity prices. The severe rise in food prices would come to initiate a global concern towards food security. Consequently, developed countries began implementing policies that would secure agricultural production and food supplies. This policy movement facilitated a trend in agricultural investments. Through political influence, investing governments were able augment favorable environments abroad for investors. In such environments, farmland was easily obtainable and regulations of agricultural investments were minimal. The combination of government …

Two Essays On The Stability Of The Auto Lending Market, Sam Martin Grumet

Senior Projects Spring 2017

This project is composed of two essays examining the credit markets for the finance of automobiles. In particular, both chapters focus on subprime loans for the purchase of used cars, often financed by independent finance companies. In the first chapter, I review Hyman P. Minsky’s writing on credit and securitization to create a theoretical framework that explains how auto finance has evolved. This chapter’s analysis primarily compares the current period of subprime auto finance with short boom and bust cycle experienced by the auto finance sector in the 1990s. The second chapter reviews various evidence of discrimination in subprime auto …

Does Globalization Enhance Countries’ Ability To Combat Human Trafficking?, Yewen Zeng

Senior Projects Spring 2017

There is much literature that argues that human trafficking (HT) is actually a down side of globalization since HT increased dramatically with globalization during the mid-1980s. However, it must be acknowledged that globalization is not the inherent cause of HT but an intermediary that helps to achieve it. Although much literature studies the nexus of globalization and human trafficking, there is a lack of publications to analyze the future impact of globalization on combating human trafficking. This project aims to fill the gap by providing an empirical analysis of whether globalization enhances countries’ ability to combat HT or not. This …

Before 'It' Happens Again: Identifying Financial Fragility In The Financial Sector, John Henry Glascock Iii

Senior Projects Spring 2017

The project builds extensively on the theoretical foundations of Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis. A Minskian framework is integrated with both behavioral and human rights theory. The goal is to develop a more holistic view of market dynamics which includes psychological and human rights considerations. In developing this framework, we establish an indicator that can be used to track fragility at the sector and firm levels. This work can be applied to macroprudential policy to more adequately equip regulators whose responsibility it is to tame an unpredictable market.

Demonetization, The Movement To An Electronic Payments System And The Inch Towards Full Financial Inclusion In The Indian Economy, Satwik Srikrishnan

Senior Projects Spring 2017

There is ever-growing evidence, and importance of Financial Inclusion in economic growth and development in emerging economies like India. However, there is little-to-no information about the role of institutions engaged in digitized payments in accelerating Financial Inclusion. This paper aims to study the effects of the recent Demonetization ordinance, and its impact on Financial Inclusion in 2016, as well as the impact on recent institutional policy announcements. Additionally, It aims to assess the potential benefits of a digitized payment ecosystem and its institutional framework, in response to orders made by the Government of India and The Reserve Bank of India …

An Ghaoth A Chriofidh An Eorna: The Moral Economy Of Ireland's Whiteboys, 1761-1787., Connor Bartlett Mcdermott

Senior Projects Spring 2017

In 1761, the peasantry of Ireland rose in insurrection against enclosure and tithes. The initial wave of protesters were known as 'Whiteboys,' and their insurrection came to be a model for subsequent Irish agrarian redresser movements throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Applying E.P. Thompson’s theory of moral economy to the practice of Whiteboyism reveals the sophisticated motives which lay behind the Whiteboy’s 18th century protests against enclosure, tithes, and middlemen in rural Ireland. Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Effects Of Where You Grew Up On Your Future Opportunity, Christopher Josiah Lockwood

Senior Projects Spring 2017

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

Neighborhoods effect developing children from several areas. The influence that a community possesses can either bolster socioeconomic status or inhibit it. Some experiments have been done in the US to aid struggling families in disadvantaged neighborhoods that have produced significant results. This purpose of this senior project is to analyze and discuss the varying ways in which neighborhoods can affect its inhabitants (i.e. education, health/nutrition), the experiments aimed to helping poor families, and offer a possible solution to mitigate these issues.

An Exploration Of Stock-Flow Consistent Models: An Analysis Of Fiscal Policy Effectiveness, Quinn Patrick Mcinerney

Senior Projects Spring 2017

This project explores the stock-flow consistent (SFC) approach to modeling with the goal of examining the effectiveness of different fiscal policy tools, specifically tax policies and government expenditure. By exploring the historical and theoretical elements of stock-flow consistent models, we aim to gather insight on past successful models proven to predict crises. This paper begins with a history and continues into a simple SFC model thought experiment, which emphasizes the flexibility of the models as well as a precursor to the shock approach we employ at the end of the paper. We create Model ECONOMY with several strong assumptions, such …

Environmental Migration From Egypt And Morocco: A Comparative Study, Mahir Ali Sheikh

Senior Projects Spring 2017

As economies continue to industrialize and grow, human activity and general changes in weather patterns have had an adverse effect on the global climate. Global temperature continues to rise creating changes in the climate of many different areas of the world, increasing the intensity of sudden and slow onset disasters. Less developed countries in the Middle East and North Africa particularly Egypt and Morocco are two economies that are negatively affected by certain dimensions of climate change. These dimensions of climate change have direct implications on internal and international migration patterns of these countries. Both countries rely on agriculture as …

The Political Economy Of State-Level Emergency Unemployment Relief: The Case Of The New York Tera, 1931-37, Hasani J. Gunn

Senior Projects Fall 2017

Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt created The New York State Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA) in response to the Great Depression. Operating from 1931-37, this state-level jobs-and-income style policy featured comprehensive in-kind assistance, “home relief,” and emergency unemployment relief, “work relief.” Though the program is fascinating just in this respect, it has been systematically overshadowed by the alphabet soup of New Deal era relief policies. We revisit the TERA to shed light on what it offered to the people of NY and, overall, what it offered to the economy. We find significant evidence that the program stabilized the State economy by …

Institutionalized: How Racial Wealth Inequality Creates A Cycle Of Mass Incarceration, Alphonso C. Kenneth

Senior Projects Fall 2017

Racial wealth inequality is a relentless cycle that operates uniquely in America because it implies that the racial consequences of racism continue to influence decisions made in structures and institutions and create unjust economic relationships between white and Black people in America.(Richard F. America) The recent political discourse alleges, by asserting neoclassical theory, that the wealth divide is resultant of differences in self-determination, prioritization, and work ethic alone varying across racial demographics — reinforcing the assumption that some races of people (Whites and Asians, for example) work harder than others(like Blacks). Therefore, by the transitive property, racial wealth inequality is …

Making The Male Manager: Can Non-Cognitive Skills Explain The Glass Ceiling?, Nora Paget Harrington

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Abstract: This project examines whether men and women’s non-cognitive skills —or personality characteristics— influence their respective occupational attainment. I take an interdisciplinary approach to inform my hypothesis by incorporating psychological and sociological theories on the production and reproduction of gender roles in order to understand why men and women may systematically differ along some personality dimensions. I use linear probability and probit models to measure the effect of the non-cognitive traits, locus of control, self-esteem, and risk tolerance on the probability of being a manager. In both models I find that an internal locus of control, high self-esteem, and high …

Grants: Band-Aids On A Bullet Wound, Heske Van Doornen

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

Kenneth Boulding maintains that the economy is comprised not just of an exchange system (twoway transfers), but also of a grants system (one-way transfers), where the latter arises to bridge gaps in the former. This paper uses Boulding’s unconventional framework to analyze the modern economy of the United States. I investigate grants issued by the government, by families, and by private entities, and reveal their respective inabilities to adequately mitigate inequality and unemployment in the exchange economy. I show that the current grants system is unable to bridge the gaps in exchange, and that the grants expansion that would be …

Decomposition Of Sexual Orientation Wage Gap In Massachusetts And Alabama From 2001 To 2015, Shuhao Zhang Ms

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

Sexual orientation wage gap has been an emerging topic in economic analysis. In United States, most of the research is focused on national level. However, given the deeply divided political ideologies on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights issues such as same-sex marriage legislation among different states, one might wonder whether the wage gap would be also different. In this paper, we take the first step to present a systematical comparison of the sexual orientation wage gap from the past 15 years between Massachusetts and Alabama, who are opposite sides on almost every issue regarding LGBT rights. We employed …

Employment And Economic Wellbeing Of Single Female-Headed Households, Dwitiya Jawer Neethi Ms

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

This study focuses on the the employment and economic wellbeing of single female-headed households in the United States in the years 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013. This has been examined from two vantage points: a Heckman Selection Model shows that the reservation wage for the nonemployed single female heads is lower than the employed single female heads. This indicates a lack of suitable jobs for the nonemployed single female heads. The other mode of investigation involves an economic wellbeing analysis of single female heads using the Levy Institute Measure of Economic Wellbeing. The LIMEW analysis shows that while the gap …