Economics Commons^™

Dollar Stores And Supermarket Survivability In Non-Metropolitan Us Communities, Cami Farmer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the growing popularity of dollar stores, concerns have surfaced over the potential relationship between dollar stores and the closures of grocery stores. Healthy food accessibility for consumers, particularly those in rural areas, has additionally become of great interest. This thesis aims to investigate the potential relationship of dollar store presence and grocery store closures. Data used included County Business Patterns, Rural Urban Continuum Codes, American Community Survey, and authorized SNAP retailer data. The spatial distance between grocery stores and the number of dollar stores at various radii were calculated. Following the computation of the number of dollar stores surrounding …

Addressing Food Insecurity In The United States During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role Of The Federal Nutrition Safety Net, Sheila Fleischhacker, Sara N. Bleich

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Food insecurity has been a direct and almost immediate consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated ramifications on unemployment, poverty and food supply disruptions. As a social determinant of health, food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes including diet related chronic diseases, which are associated with worst COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., COVID-19 patients of all ages with obesity face higher risk of complications, death). In the United States (US), the federal nutrition safety net is predominantly made up of the suite of 15 federal nutrition assistance programs that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers and …

Understanding Modern History Of International Food Law Is Key To Building A More Resilient And Improved Global Food System, Michael T. Roberts

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This article advocates the need for a history of the development of modern international food law and suggests an analytical approach to complement the chronicling of events. Comprehension of this history will help elucidate the evolution of a complicated modern global food system, including its resiliency and vulnerability as demonstrated by Covid-19, thereby providing valuable context for change in the system where needed. This essay makes the case for such a history in three parts. First, it briefly demonstrates the need for a historical perspective through a critical examination of a journal article that speaks to Covid-19 food security in …

Obstacles To Dieting Behavior, Shahram Heshmat

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Despite documented short term success, dieting has a very low success rates, most dieters regain their weight back within 3-5 years. The question is why do people fail to stick to their goal for eating a healthy diet in order to lose weight? One possible answer is that people have self-control problems in the form of a present-biased preference. From a prior perspective, they want to behave relatively patiently, but as the moment of action approaches, they want to behave relatively impatiently. The essay presents some insights from behavioral economics to explain why people fail to maintain healthy behavior.

Essays On Spatial Econometrics Application In Study Of Conflict And Economic Activity, Ahmed Sadek Yousuf

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spatial interaction and the locational structure between observations as well as availability of satellite derived data has meant a richer and more exhaustive exploration of topics relevant in development topics, particularly in areas of subnational economic activity and conflict. This research leverages thus spatial econometric techniques to dynamically decompose impacts from socio-economic determinants on conflict incidence (with setting in Sub-Saharan Africa). Later I also present a statistical framework (based on extension of Henderson’s approach (2012)) to augment official income figures at district / county level with multiple satellite derived signals, with specific context given to developing countries.

In the first …

Choice Overload, Information Acquisition, And Gift Incentives In An Altruistic Context: Economic Experiments Exploring Decision Making In Charitable Giving, Jessica Adach White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains three essays on economic experiments concerning altruistic motives. The first chapter, “Choice Overload and Charitable Giving: Can There Be Too Much of a Good Thing?” concentrates on the effects of list sizes of charitable options on an individual’s decision making. The second chapter, “Is No News Good News? Motivated Reasoning in Charitable Giving,” focuses on the impact of information acquisition on an individual’s altruistic contributions. Finally, the third chapter, “Thank You, but No Thank You: Gift Incentives in Charitable Giving,” investigates gift incentives and their influence on donating behavior.

In the first chapter, “Choice Overload and Charitable …

Are Small Businesses The Framework For A Successful U.S. Economy?, Carson Clevenger

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis will investigate the impact of small businesses on the United States’ economy. I will be assessing several impact areas including gross domestic product, employment, and local economy contribution. This thesis will cover a study from the time periods of 1998-2014 of the gross domestic product and employment levels and will use numbers from the years of 2018- present for other impact areas. Furthermore, I will be analyzing certain sectors of the economy, comparing small businesses contribution to corporate contribution, in order to discuss if small businesses are necessary for our country’s successful economy.

Mental Illness Economics In The United States: A Comparison With Foreign Countries, Christopher Odum

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2018, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of over forty-eight thousand people.1 Globally, eight-hundred thousand people die from suicide every year, which is twice the number from homicide.2 For years, there has been a stigma around mental illness causing it to be a taboo topic, but recently there has been more of a focus and acceptance in our society. Along with the stigma, throughout most of history there has not been a focus on innovating and curing mental health diseases. In many cases, these diseases left unchecked lead to irrational …

The Effects Of Religiosity On Gender-Differentiated Household Decision-Making In Indonesia, Juliann Phillips

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Religion is a dominant influence in household decision-making and is an important factor in understanding intra-household bargaining power, especially within developing countries. It is important to understand the extent to which religious beliefs affect decisions made within the household when designing interventions to improve women’s agency. This paper examines the fourth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey using the difference-in-differences method to analyze the impact of Islamic religiosity on the likelihood of allowing women within the household to make certain decisions in eight critical categories. While stereotypical beliefs may negatively correlate women’s bargaining power and high levels of religiosity …

Determinants Of Female Bargaining Power In Northern Mozambican Households, Sara Marilyn Gardner

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Melinda Gates stated, “If you search for poverty, you will find women who don’t have power. If you explore prosperity, you will find women who do have power and use it.” Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, women are expected to perform disproportional amounts of labor but are often ignored in household decision-making regarding social and economic matters. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) states that women in Mozambique are highly disadvantaged, relative to men, due to low levels of education, maternal health risks, restricted economic prospects, and cultural norms. This study aims to better understand the causes of female empowerment in Northern …

An Analysis Of The Factors That Influence Success Rates Of Honors College Students, Braden Bateman

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

University honors programs provide students with challenging yet rewarding opportunities. Pursuing honors often offers students opportunities (such as access to uique coursework or specialized mentorship) that are not available to the general student popultion. However, honors programs also hold students to more or higher educational milestones in order to graduate with honors. Data from the University of Araksas Fayetteville (UAF) suggest students who start in honors as new freshmen typically graduate at rates much higher than students who were not honors freshmen. However, the percentage of those honors freshmen who complete their honors requirements is much lower than those who …

How Has Covid-19 Affected Financial Gains Of Big-Tech Companies?, Erin Flanigen

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial returns received by Big-Tech companies in order to predict future financial returns and related business activities. The main objectives of this paper are to delineate business models and financial statements of Big-Tech companies prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, present ample, relevant economic information regarding COVID-19, and encompass the effects of COVID-19 on global economies. This study then predicts the future economic effects of COVID-19 on Big-Tech companies. The selected Big-Tech companies included in this study are Facebook, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon; each company saw …

An Exploration Of The Impact Of Economic Recessions On The S&P 500 And Its Sectors, Weston Sizemore

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a method of predicting future stock prices based on past returns. Specific areas of CAPM analysis utilize regression analysis to accomplish this goal. Historic prices and returns for a specific stock in a company, or even whole sectors of the economy, are compared with the corresponding returns for the market. There have been several historical recessions in United States history, as well as a current, ongoing recession. These recessions, along with their causes and effects, will be discussed extensively in this paper. This paper utilizes an analysis of the Capital Asset Pricing Model …

Economic Experiments On Conflict, Information Acquisition, And Public Goods, Jeffrey Braxton Gately

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains essays on economic experiments. The first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences,” focuses on the effects of information acquisition on social decision-making. The second chapter, “Paved With Good Intentions: Partial Willful Ignorance and Group Identity in Public Goods Games,” focuses on the effect of information acquisition on contributions to public goods. I also explore human conflict in the third chapter, “Risk Preferences and Reform Paths: Experimental Evidence.”

In my first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences”, I investigate whether remaining partially …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Healthy Food Choices, Kaylea Hopfer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The practice of mindfulness has a long history in research, particularly psychological studies. In this paper I examine the effects of a short mindfulness intervention on healthy food purchases. Specifically, I developed an online survey and recruited 634 participants via Prolific between July 24 - July 27, 2020. I randomly assigned participants to either a mindfulness manipulation or a control condition. Following treatment (or control) participants completed a food choice task and various other control. Following the survey, I analyzed data using R version 4.0.2 (2020-06-22) and R-Studio. I estimated three different regression models, ordinary least squares (OLS), Poisson, and …

Can Small-Scale Poultry Initiatives Alleviate Food Insecurity And Increase Empowerment For Women In Economically Disadvantaged Areas?, Patrick Daniels

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the summer of 2019, I, along with 8 other students from the University of Arkansas departed the United States for the Central American country of Belize. Despite our limited knowledge of what Belize held in store for us, we were enthusiastic about the coming months. While we had different projects, we all set out with the same universal question in mind. How can we use the knowledge we have gained through education to make a positive impact on the lives of people living in an impoverished town? Some of the members of our team worked alongside local businesses to …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On Single Women, Catherine Martens

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since its formation in the 1700’s, America has been home to varying degrees of discrepancies between social classes, which include assumptions inherently held within these differences. Considering the fact that America was largely built by the hands of human slaves ruled by those with political influence often landowners, social hierarchy has been intricately woven into the fabric of America’s story from the beginning. Despite the progress that has been made to create and advance equal economic opportunity, there is still a considerable lack of social mobility available for those in lower socioeconomic statuses. More specifically, the impact of poverty is …

Effects Of Covid: Non-Essential V Essential Industries, William Shipley

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the year 2020 has finally come to an end and the end of Covid is in near sight, it is important for us to look back at how it has shaped the world from an economic perspective. Ever since the closure of most of the U.S. and global economy in March 2020 it has made us deem which companies we consider essential and non-essential. This major decision came as all governments across the world had to close the operations of as many companies they could to limit the spread of the covid-19 virus. This major choice of determining what …

Does Affordability Guarantee Accessibility? Analyzing The Effect Of Subsidized Tuition On Diversity In University Demographics, Matthew Cole

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the 2020 presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden announced his initiative to make higher education free for any individual whose parents earn less than $125,000. This proposal was inspired by progressive representatives, such as Bernie Sanders, who have made a larger issue of American higher education costs (Berger). Although this initiative garnered little focus during the election – Biden has not addressed it since being elected and the proposal was even removed from his campaign website – his endorsement shows just how much the notion of “free” college has grown amongst Americans in recent years. This growing sentiment …

Consumer Motivations And Perceived Value In Online Second-Hand Luxury Fashion Shopping, Murphy Brianne Aycock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The second-hand luxury fashion market is growing four times faster than the primary luxury fashion market and already represents a $24 billion market today (Beauloye, 2019; Siwak, 2020). Younger generations such as millennials and Gen Z are buying and selling preowned luxury products almost three times faster than any other age group (Beauloye, 2019). Digital selling platforms such as The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective are fueling the growth of the second-hand luxury fashion market (Beauloye, 2019). Despite the increased consumer interests and sales growth in the second-hand luxury fashion market, existing research has not concentrated on the underlying motivations of …

Investing In Our Future: A State-Level Analysis Of The Relationship Between Education Funding And Economic Growth, Corinna Campbell-Green

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research paper aims to investigate associations between education investments and economic growth on the state level. These relationships are measured in terms of two dependent variables: state gross domestic product output and cumulative personal incomes by state. These dependent variables, or indicators of economic growth were selected from previous supportive literature. The present study analyzes publicly available aggregate school finance data reports and aggregate GDP output reports for the year of 2018. Two hypotheses were tested to assess these associations. The results of the present study showed significant, positive associations for both tested hypotheses. This study further supports existing …

2021 Arkansas Business Forecast, Catherine Mann, Mark Palim, Mervin Jebaraj

Publications and Presentations

“The annual Business Forecast is a chance for business and community leaders from Northwest Arkansas, the state and the region to get first-hand insight into the direction for the next year from top economists,” said Matt Waller, dean of the Walton College. “The insights provided by these three experts will inform and shape decisions that help to drive the business community in Arkansas in 2021.”

Waller said those valuable insights and networking opportunities are only possible through the continued strong support of event sponsors.

“Each year, the interest and level of participation in the Business Forecast event continues to grow …

Survey Of The Labor Market For New Ph.D. Hires In Economics 2021-2022, Mervin Jebaraj, David Sorto, Raja Kali

Labor Market Survey

This year, the survey questionnaire was sent to 368 organizations. Questionnaires were returned by 144 organizations (39.1 percent). Of this year’s responses, 53 (36.8 percent) were from those who responded to the last survey conducted for the 2020-21 academic year. Among the academic institutions responding, the distribution of highest degrees offered was as follows: Ph.D.—51.4 percent; Master’s—11.8 percent and Bachelor’s—35.4 percent.

The responses are reported for all respondents, and separately for Ph.D. Degree granting institutions and for schools whose highest degree offered is the Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. Data for the top 30 institutions in the revised National Research Council’s …

Northwest Arkansas State Of The Region Report 2021, Mervin Jebaraj, David Sorto

State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report

The State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report is an annual publication, commissioned by the Northwest Arkansas Council, that serves as a tool for evaluating economic performance. In 2018, the Northwest Arkansas Council created a strategic action agenda for 2018-2021. In this plan, the performance of Northwest Arkansas is benchmarked with other contemporary, high-performing regions: Austin, Des Moines, Madison, Durham-Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Provo-Orem. The 2021 State of the Region Report compares Northwest Arkansas with these regions in the areas of gross domestic product, employment, unemployment, establishment growth, average annual wages, research and development, and average domestic airfares. The 2020 …