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Full-Text Articles in Economics

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas Apr 2024

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …


Finance And Fear: Sentiment, Media, And Financial Markets During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alison N. Sommers Jun 2022

Finance And Fear: Sentiment, Media, And Financial Markets During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alison N. Sommers

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to build on existing research of market psychology and the effect of sentiment on financial markets. The main objective of this study is to determine the ability of investors to make rational decisions during the most recent period of high sentiment. The anomalies that have occurred in the stock market can be better understood by market psychology which focuses on the biases and social factors that influence investors. The media is a newly relevant factor impacting the volume of sentiment present in the market. A review of literature reveals that many studies of sentiment and financial market’s …


Recessionary Effects On Transfer Fees In European Professional Football, Pierce Snyder Apr 2022

Recessionary Effects On Transfer Fees In European Professional Football, Pierce Snyder

Honors Theses

Association football, most commonly referred to internationally as football, is the world’s most popular sport with billions of fans. Professional football leagues operate in countries all over the globe. While other continents have prominent and successful teams, Europe is the sport’s summit for the club level of competition. Europe boasts the best five leagues in the world, commonly referred to as “the big five”: the Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain), Ligue 1 (France), Premier League (England), and Serie A (Italy). In the 2016-2017 season, these five leagues accounted for 12.6 billion pounds—57.5 percent—of European football’s revenues of about 21.9 billion …


The Effects Of Personality And Risk Preferences On Effort-Based Behavior: A Game Theoretic Approach, Hannah M. Davidsen Jan 2022

The Effects Of Personality And Risk Preferences On Effort-Based Behavior: A Game Theoretic Approach, Hannah M. Davidsen

Honors Theses

Our personality and preferences play a major role in the decisions we make in our everyday lives. Drawing from literature exploring how people innovate under different scenarios (Dubina, 2013), the present study expanded this topic to include any scenario where there is incentive to free-ride off of another’s effort. I designed a study in which participants (N=73) were asked to complete the Big 5 personality questionnaire, a cognitive reflection task, an altruism elicitation task, and a risk elicitation task, then were randomly paired with another participant to complete four different rounds of a public goods game. Each round of the …


Graduating Greener: Analysis Of A Non-Price Intervention To Encourage Pro-Environmental Behavior Among College Students, Jillie Santos Jan 2022

Graduating Greener: Analysis Of A Non-Price Intervention To Encourage Pro-Environmental Behavior Among College Students, Jillie Santos

Honors Theses

According to the Yale Program on Climate Communication, a majority of Americans report worrying about climate change, yet the proportion of Americans who discuss climate change often with friends and family is around half of the worried percentage. This discrepancy illustrates a habit of climate avoidance and climate inaction. Drawing upon psychology and human-centered design, I assisted Dr. Michael A. Smyer in developing Graduating Greener, a workshop aimed at disrupting climate avoidance and promoting pro-environmental behavior through a sequence of social, environmentally-based activities. In this thesis, I investigate concepts from the field of behavioral economics which inform and align with …


Brain Drain In Mississippi, Clifford Adam Conner May 2021

Brain Drain In Mississippi, Clifford Adam Conner

Honors Theses

Brain drain is the out-migration of educated individuals from an area. It is a problem with which Mississippi is overly familiar. This thesis uses data gathered from a survey of 965 respondents to identify who is leaving the state and for what reasons. The data gathered suggest confirmation that brain drain is an issue for the state, with roughly two-thirds of respondents having left the state or seriously considering doing so. The impetus for this varies with each individual, but respondents underscore economic and societal factors within Mississippi as pushing them away from the state. Quality of life factors are …


Crisis And Catalonia: An Analysis On The Impact Of Crisis On The Public Opinion Of The Secessionist Movement In Catalonia, Rachel Ducker Apr 2021

Crisis And Catalonia: An Analysis On The Impact Of Crisis On The Public Opinion Of The Secessionist Movement In Catalonia, Rachel Ducker

Honors Theses

Catalonia, the autonomous region of Spain has seen an increase in secessionist sentiments in recent years. While the past inclination toward independence has been centered on economic autonomy and cultural identity, there has been a recent emphasis on political independence, particularly in the times of crisis. In this thesis. I analyze the relationship between the economic changes during the period of a crisis and the public opinion about the potential Catalan secession. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between the economic change and public sentiment during the financial crisis of 2008, the political crisis of 2017, and the pandemic crisis of …


Not-So-Full-Ride Scholarship: Analysis Of Merit-Based Aid Gpa Renewal Requirements, Samuel Brown Mar 2021

Not-So-Full-Ride Scholarship: Analysis Of Merit-Based Aid Gpa Renewal Requirements, Samuel Brown

Honors Theses

This paper examines the potential consequences of the 3.50 GPA renewal requirement for the Regents Scholar Tuition Commitment (RSTC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). To examine these potential outcomes, I’ve synthesized several studies of Georgia’s Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) program. Additionally, I sought to compare the RSTC with other similar programs at UNL’s peer Big Ten institutions. To accomplish this, I compiled and analyzed public information on merit-based programs at the 14 Big Ten schools from their university websites. In doing so, I found that the RSTC is in the lowest quartile in terms of value to the …


Mind Your Youth: Youth Unemployment And Islamic Radicalization, Caleb Ray May 2020

Mind Your Youth: Youth Unemployment And Islamic Radicalization, Caleb Ray

Honors Theses

This study examines the potential existence of a correlation between youth unemployment and Islamic Radicalization in the MENA using data from the World Bank, the Global Terrorism Database, and the Arab Barometer. It aims to add to the current body of research regarding socioeconomic drivers for radicalization and terrorism.


The Residential Location Choices Of Chabad Households: An Analysis Of Decision Making With Non-Price Constraints, Chasity A. Mcfadden Jan 2020

The Residential Location Choices Of Chabad Households: An Analysis Of Decision Making With Non-Price Constraints, Chasity A. Mcfadden

Honors Theses

Where an individual chooses to live informs many of their economic decisions and may be the single largest economic decision one makes in their lives. Through understanding the way that people choose their residential locations, we are able to better understand the opportunities available to them. Within the Chabad community, there is a large focus on emissary work, which calls Chabad Jews to move outside of large Jewish communities in order to help secular Jews become more religious. There are also certain religious amenities that are necessary to live a Chabad life, such as a local synagogue. So the question …


Purchasing Products To Make A Difference: A Study Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Gender, And Cosmetic Purchasing Behavior By College Students, Allegra Blomenberg Oct 2019

Purchasing Products To Make A Difference: A Study Of Corporate Social Responsibility, Gender, And Cosmetic Purchasing Behavior By College Students, Allegra Blomenberg

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences that exist in the way corporate social responsibility (CSR) is perceived by college students and how this affects cosmetic purchasing behavior. Two other objectives included finding what drives millennial cosmetic purchasing behavior as a whole and the ways in which millennials are informed of companies’ corporate social responsibilities. Through analyses of interview data from fourteen college-age millennials, the study showed that non-binary participants more positively perceived CSR and actively bought from responsible brands. The male participant perceived CSR positively but had never been sure to purchase products from a brand …


Barriers: An Exploration Of Architectural Structures As An Indication Of Wealth And Socioeconomic Status, Lisa Demoranville Jun 2019

Barriers: An Exploration Of Architectural Structures As An Indication Of Wealth And Socioeconomic Status, Lisa Demoranville

Honors Theses

I decided to explore the barriers and limitations of wealth through an investigation of architectural structures, focusing on popular industries and institutions on which our society commonly depends. I have noticed that places such as hospitals, schools, grocery stores, and restaurants differ dramatically depending on the neighborhoods in which they were located. This topic sparked my interest after living in Lima, Peru for a month, as I was able to observe the developing economy and dramatic division of wealth among the population. Certain questions about the divides and differences within a society and its culture started crossing my mind; not …


Sacrifice, Benefit, And Reciprocity: Evidence From A Trust Game, Mirco Dinelli Jan 2018

Sacrifice, Benefit, And Reciprocity: Evidence From A Trust Game, Mirco Dinelli

Honors Theses

Social preferences have generated much interest in recent economic literature. While reciprocity has been closely examined by several economists using gift exchange and other games, much of their focus is on the effect of intentions and motivations. Instead, I focus on two strictly outcome-based factors in the context of a trust game: sacrifice made by the giver and benefit received by the recipient. I attempt to isolate these influences by varying the multiplier across variations of the trust game to create comparison groups that differ in one of these factors, but not both. Unable to control for all expected sources …


The Connection Between Gasoline Prices And Physical Activity: Potential Ways To Combat The Rise In Obesity, John Perrotti Jun 2017

The Connection Between Gasoline Prices And Physical Activity: Potential Ways To Combat The Rise In Obesity, John Perrotti

Honors Theses

It is widely understood that one of the most significant public health challenges in the United States is obesity which could rightly be considered an epidemic. Accompanied by billions of dollars in both explicit and implicit costs obesity places great strain on the health care system and economy as a whole. Years of scientific research has linked obesity to three main determinants: genetics over-eating and lack of physical activity. Recent research has introduced the study of the connection between the macro-economy and rates of physical activity thus linking economic variables to obesity. This paper investigates the connection between gasoline prices …


Internship Satisfaction And Educational Performance, Lauren M. Gibson Jun 2017

Internship Satisfaction And Educational Performance, Lauren M. Gibson

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the impact of internship satisfaction on educational performance, in particular GPA, and subsequent educational impacts, including changing a major and adding a minor post-internship. I conduct a survey to collect data on undergraduate students of different class years and majors. The survey asks students questions on their demographic background, their internship experience, and their GPA by year. I collect data on several measures of satisfaction including colleagues, work environment, work load, substance of work, and pay. Using the data I collect from the survey, I run cross-sectional regressions of demeaned GPA gap on satisfaction variables and control …


Product Bundling In Fast Food Advertisements And The Relationship With Consumers' Willingness To Pay, Madison Shapiro Jun 2017

Product Bundling In Fast Food Advertisements And The Relationship With Consumers' Willingness To Pay, Madison Shapiro

Honors Theses

Obesity rates have been rapidly increasing in recent years. This is a problem especially for low-income families and for households without access to quality food. Consequently fast food restaurants are a solution for those who cannot afford healthy food. The large number and variety of fast food restaurants coupled with their aggressive advertisements cheap prices and large portions may have an effect on consumption and obesity rates. This study explored the relationship between types of advertisements utilized by fast food restaurants and consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) to see if bundled advertisements have a significant impact on WTP. Bundles also …


The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On Household Financial Decisions, Sylvia M. Xu Jan 2016

The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On Household Financial Decisions, Sylvia M. Xu

Honors Theses

The Chinese One-Child Policy, enacted in 1979, was an attempt to decrease the population growth rate following a period of massive social and political confusion and uncertainty. While the policy was beneficial to curbing the population growth in China, it also introduced unintentional consequences, including sex imbalance, and other demographic differences. The goal of this paper is to examine the economic behavior and financial decisions of son-families and daughter-families across different provinces and regions of China, which have varying levels of sex imbalance, as a result of a cultural preference for sons. These financial decisions include the household saving rate, …


Investigating The Endogeneity Of Risk Attitudes: Experimental Evidence Involving Cooperation And Competition, Erik Solli Jan 2015

Investigating The Endogeneity Of Risk Attitudes: Experimental Evidence Involving Cooperation And Competition, Erik Solli

Honors Theses

Individual decision making is at the core of microeconomics. Rarely, however, are decisions made in environments without some element of uncertainty or even in isolation. While people may differ in their inherent willingness to take on risk, their preferences could change when new information is learned or a new relationship is fostered. I designed an experiment in which participants were asked to make investment decisions involving different levels of risk. The participants completed task between these gambles which allowed me to introduce competitive and collaborative relationships. I was interested in: (1) understanding the factors that are important to explaining risk …


The Sex Generation: The Impact Of Teen Attitudes Views And Knowledge Of Contraceptives And Sexual Activity On The Teen Pregnancy And Std Rates In The United States, Haritha Sishtla Jun 2011

The Sex Generation: The Impact Of Teen Attitudes Views And Knowledge Of Contraceptives And Sexual Activity On The Teen Pregnancy And Std Rates In The United States, Haritha Sishtla

Honors Theses

Among all industrialized nations, the United States faces the highest rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Previous studies have indicated that teens use engagement in sexual activity as a social mechanism to gain popularity among their peers. This paper focuses on two issues: social factors such as peer perceptions towards other peers engaging in sex and using contraceptives, and assesses the level of knowledge teens have about sex, STDs, pregnancy, and contraceptives that could have an effect on the teen pregnancy and STD rates in the United States. Cross-sectional data from Waves I and II (1994-96) National …