Economics Commons^™

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2008, James V. Koch, Vinod Agarwal, John R. Broderick, Grace Chen, Chris Colburn, Vicky Curtis, Steve Daniel, Susan Hughes, Elizabeth Janik, Terry Lindvall, Sharon Lomax, Janet Molinaro, Ken Plum, Gilbert Yochum

Economics Faculty Books

This is Old Dominion University's ninth annual State of the Region report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion or it's president, John R. Broderick. The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region's many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about "where we are" and a …

The Return Of Russia: Energy's Superpower Or Potemkin Village?, Greg R. Bayes

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

George Kennan's prediction of the Soviet Union's downfall may have, in retrospect, jinxed Russia on the one aspect that had historically worked in its favor: time. The confluence of time and space--brought about by an emphasis on territorial expansion-had greatly aided Russia when difficulties had rendered the variable of time indispensable. When confronted by the likes of Napoleon and Hitler, for example, Russia had at its disposal the luxury of always trading space for time. Although deprived of its empire, the issue of space is not an overarching concern for a Russia that today still spans from Vladivostok to St. …

Oil And Remittances In The Middle East, Azza El-Sharabassy

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation constructs a framework for understanding the determinants of remittances. It develops the effects of multiple macro economic variables in one area in the Middle East on the remittances flows and the future development of (another Arab neighboring country) Egypt. The framework will explore the relationship between oil prices and remittances from oil based economies (mainly Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait and the Arab Emirates) to a labor exporting country (Egypt). It also highlights the impact of multiple variables affecting the flow of remittances from labor exporting Arab countries: (1) Prices of oil. (2) Oil revenues. (3) Differentials in deposit interest rate …

Crossing Borders: Mexican Immigration Into The United States, Ewelina L. Dzieciolowski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Immigration has been one of the major political and economic topics debated by governments in the world. In the United States, migration legislation is debated in the Senate, and impacts every industry throughout the country. Therefore, with further research in this field more answers for why migration occurs can be found. Although various disciplines focus on this phenomenon, each offers reasons specific to the discipline which is searching for an explanation. This thesis acknowledges that economic factors, social aspects, push and pull influences are some of the reasons for immigration, but it also proposes that there are other forces behind …

An Empirical Analysis Of Macroeconomic And Political Determinants Of Private Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Ralph Cann-Tamakloe

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The general macroeconomic and political difficulties experienced by many Sub-Saharan African countries in the late 1980s has led to economic and political reforms to improve private investment performance. It has been estimated that Sub-Saharan African countries needed to boost private investment in gross domestic product some 25% in the 1990s to achieve sustainable growth and development (Pfefferman and Madarassy, 1989). However, private investment performance has fallen short of the estimated 25%, and remained stagnant between 12.4% and 14.1% per annum from 1993 to 2002.

The purpose of this study therefore is to examine the influence of macroeconomic factors and democracy, …

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2008, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, and other materials for the 2008 The State of the Region report authored by the Regional Studies Institute at Old Dominion University

Part 2: Regional Housing Markets Adjust To Changing Circumstances, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads has not been immune to national housing problems, but our mortgage defaults and foreclosures have been well below the national average. Our housing prices have not yet declined significantly, except for new residential housing. We may be a year or more away from the “bottom.”

Part 1: The Regional Economy Downshifts, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The spectacular first half of this decade is fading into the background as our regional economic growth rate has fallen back to the Commonwealth and national averages. Defense spending continues to rise in importance and now is responsible for more than 40 percent of our regional income generation.

Part 5: An Almost Invisible Corner: Care For The Mentally Ill In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

According to the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services, an estimated 64,972 people (5.4 percent) suffer from serious mental illness in Hampton Roads. Beginning in the 1970s, these individuals largely have been deinstitutionalized and now live within our communities, where they are served primarily by nine community services boards.

Part 4: Women Earn Less Than Men In Hampton Roads. Why?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

As is true nationally, women in Hampton Roads earn less than men. Gender earnings differentials are particularly large in occupations characterized by “crowding” – where women constitute a sizable proportion of those employed. Economically speaking, women may be better off in the Richmond metro area than in Hampton Roads.

Part 3: Local Televsion Evening News, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Only one of every six television evening news stories relates to crime or violence, but almost 33 percent of the stories that lead broadcasts focus on crime and violence, while 45 percent focus on some type of crime. African Americans are frequently featured as alleged perpetrators, while Caucasians usually are the reported victims.

Part 6: Wunderbar! German Firms In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Our region is home to 31 companies hailing from the Federal Republic of Germany and they represent the largest contingent (19 percent) of the area’s international firms. These firms “insource” rather than “outsource” jobs and pay above-average compensation to their workers.

Part 7: Ranking Hampton Roads: Hot Or Not?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The two most respected rankings of the livability of metropolitan areas are David Savigeau’s Places Rated Almanac (PRA) and Bert Sperling’s and Peter Sander’s Cities Ranked and Rated (CRR). In their most recent editions, PRA ranked Hampton Roads 20th in the nation among 370-plus metro areas, while CRR ranked our region 137th. We analyze where these ratings come from and how we compare to other areas.

Do Analysts Influence Corporate Financing And Investment?, John A. Doukas, Chansog (Francis) Kim, Christos Pantzalis

Finance Faculty Publications

We examine whether abnormal analyst coverage influences the external financing and investment decisions of the firm. Controlling for self-selection bias in analysts' excessive coverage, we find that firms with high (low) analyst coverage consistently engage in higher (lower) external financing than do their industry peers of similar size. Our evidence also demonstrates that firms with excessive analyst coverage overinvest and realize lower future returns than do firms with low analyst coverage. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that analysts favor the coverage of firms that have the potential to engage in profitable investment-banking business.