Economics Commons^™

Evaluating Municipal Solid Waste Tax Policies In California, David Lehman

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Do Preferential Trade Agreements Affect Us Exports? Empirical Evidence From Us Export Panel Data, Benjamin A. Fay

Honors Theses

The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) created under the World Trade Organization in 1995 established minimum standards of intellectual property rights (IPRs) for member nations. Concurrently, the US has used preferential trade agreements (PTAs) to negotiate for stronger IPR protections within its trading partners.

This paper empirically accesses the effects of PTAs on US exports. I use a gravity model of trade to analyze changes in US exports to 19 trading partners who signed a PTA with the US during the period 1991-2015. I regress US exports on dummy (binary) variables that identify the signing and entry-into-force of …

An Economic Analysis Of Civil War: How Constitutions And Ethnic Diversity Impact Internal Conflict, Zachary Roth

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the connection between ethnic diversity and constitutional structures on the incidence of civil war. The following paper will bridge the gap between existing economic literature on constitutions and the existing work on civil wars. The main economic theory behind civil war is a cost-benefit analysis. Costs of civil wars include raising an army supporting the army economic losses due to conflict and the lives lost in the fighting itself while the main benefit is the gains of governing. The other main economic theory to civil war is game theory exploring how the two sides engaging in civil …

New York State's Zero Emission Credits: Exploring The Drivers And Significance Of Nuclear Energy Subsidization In The Empire State, Michael R. Sciascia

Honors Theses

This thesis reviews New York State's recently announced subsidization of nuclear energy, which has been a subject of dissent due to its cost, propagation of nuclear activity, and potential unlawfulness in its influence on competition within wholesale energy markets. Examining the structure and recent trends within New York's energy market and their effect on the state's nuclear energy industry will provide insight into the necessity of such subsidization in preserving in-state nuclear generation. Through an analysis of the expected costs, economic impact, and influence on statewide carbon emissions, the true significance of this legislation and New York's motivations behind its …

The Impact Of Wealth And Sentiment On Consumption: Before And After The Great Recession, Joshua Schwartz

Honors Theses

I study the impact of consumer sentiment and the wealth effect on aggregate U.S. consumption before and after the Great Recession. First I will introduce a background of the 2008 financial crisis and some major factors leading up to it. I will discuss both the Michigan Consumer Sentiment index as well as the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index. I will also discuss several measures of net worth relevant for my study. Second I will discuss the relevant literature and the main findings that correspond to my thesis. Third I will present the methodology used for my thesis and the several …

Is Graduate School Worth It? Evaluating The Return On Investment In A Master's Degree., Kevin Paltat Tran

Honors Theses

Pursuing a college degree is one of the most expensive financial investments that an individual makes during their lifetime. While several elements contribute to the increasing cost of obtaining a bachelor's degree research indicates that the wage premium of a college degree remains highly beneficial. Over a lifetime a bachelor's degree has an estimated worth of $2.8 million with a wage premium that is 84% greater than individuals holding just a high school diploma. The tremendous monetary returns and economic opportunities that are associated with a bachelor's degree lead to the question as to whether an advanced degree is necessary …

Fair Labor Practices: Are Workers Truly Protected?, Xiaofei Xie

Honors Theses

Private businesses often claim that they employ fair labor practices and care about employees' well being. However, firms may face contradictory situations since fair labor practices can result in cost increases and lower profit. In this thesis, I examine historic and contemporary workers’ conditions and fair labor practices. Workers’ conditions during the Industrial Revolution and the basis of relevant Marxist theories are examined. Contemporary labor practices are also examined and a secondary analysis of data on worker attitudes in two major companies is conducted. Results and discussion suggest that although progresses in worker conditions have been made, there still needs …

The Effects Of Oil Price Shocks On The Stock Market Returns In Developed Economies, Ian Zangrillo

Honors Theses

This paper examines the effects of oil price shocks on stock returns in OECD countries specifically Canada France Germany Japan United Kingdom United States and Norway. The empirical method used is the vector autoregression (VAR) model where a generalized impulse response function is applied to the results of the VAR to determine how stock prices respond to a shock in oil prices. The VAR model uses quarterly data for the period 1994 to 2016 for the following variables: interest rates real GDP real stock returns real UK Brent crude oil and APSP crude oil index. To take into account structural …

Do Elderly Workers Crowd Out Younger Workers In The United States?, Jing Jin

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the often repeated 'lump of labor' theory that the increasing labor force participation of older workers negatively impacts the labor market activity of younger workers. Using the panel data spanning from 1998 to 2015 from the Merged Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey, this paper employs time-series state-level regressions to determine the extent to which such 'crowding out' exists in the United States. Existing studies show little evidence of substitution between young and old workers. In contrast to previous studies, this paper controls for differences in individual educational levels by disaggregating the labor force sample …

Acquirer Shareholder Value Creation In United States Mergers & Acquisitions, Kristen K. Landre

Honors Theses

Mergers and acquisitions remain the primary corporate growth strategy for executives around the world. While deals continue to rise in popularity, their success in generating value for participating firms remain uncertain. A vast majority of merger and acquisition research focuses on this disparity and considers whether they create or destroy value for stakeholders. In this thesis, I examine the value generated to shareholders by US acquisitions and mergers announced between 2005 and 2009. Utilizing the event study methodology, I evaluate cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) for acquiring firms to analyze the wealth effects of merger and acquisition announcements. CAR is a …

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 …

Controversies In Industrial Policy: The Creation Of An Explicit U.S Industrial Policy, Matthew Christian Rametta

Honors Theses

As the world continues to globalize the United States will need to adapt in its industrial policy programs in order to stay competitive. As of today the United States has no explicit programs to bolster particular industries to increase their performance but rather does so implicitly through Department of Defense innovations that spill over into the private sector. However we have seen such explicit policies in countries such as South Korea and China. There has been immense growth in the sectors that have been targeted by these programs and this has raised questions about if the United States should adopt …

Children Enrichment Programs And Teaching Methods In Two Different Socioeconomic Classes, Chloe Bartlett

Honors Theses

Students from working class families are not given equal attention treatment opportunities or guidance as those of middle class backgrounds. The 'gap' between family and school is the socioeconomic background being catered to in schools. I argue that schools run on a highly Western middle class ideology and thus do not reflect cultural values or systems of students from working class families who perceive authority differently and have been socialized in a community plagued by violence crime and lack of economic resources. Such resources that middle class families can attain to academically assist their children. As a result those students …

Net Neutrality: Policy And Stock Market Implications, Ian Bennett

Honors Theses

From 2011 to 2015 the Telecommunications Industry faced changing FCC regulations that impacted daily business operations and stock price changes due to Net Neutrality. These changing regulations stemmed from rapidly morphing technology. The three types of firms in this study are Internet Service Providers (ISP's) Content Providers (CP's) who provide video streaming services and those who do not (ISP's CP's streaming and CP's not streaming). During this era the FCC went through two different regulation regimes of the Preserving the Open Internet order and the Open Internet: Bright Line Rules with two key court hearings in between. These key events …

Urban Redevelopment: New Bedford Massachusetts, Michael C. Froman

Honors Theses

In 2010, 80% of Americans lived in urban areas with the number on the rise. Trends in the economy and people's desires affect the demographics of the United States and over recent years there has been a movement from rural to urban areas called urbanization. Throughout the history of the United States, cities have seen economic successes where the city thrived, along with turmoil where the city was plagued with unemployment and a stagnant economy. This study assesses the developments of New Bedford Massachusetts, a city with a population of approximately 100,000, located in South East Massachusetts. New Bedford's economic …

Weight And Wages: The Effect Of Changing Bmi Over Time, Gregory Geisel

Honors Theses

Obesity in the United States has been growing at an alarming rate, driving up health care costs and also promoting a worsening wage penalty for overweight workers. This study explores the determinants of the wage penalty borne by overweight individuals. To investigate this phenomenon individual BMI history was obtained from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for 1986-1999. Upon examination of the cross-sectional data from 1986, there was a wage penalty observed for males who were underweight and for females who were overweight. The analysis of panel data from 1986 and 1999 however showed that it is not the BMI …

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 …

Optimum Currency Areas And The European Experience: An Examination Of Diverging Competitiveness Among Key Eu Nations, Karol Jablonski

Honors Theses

Now in its 18th year of existence, the European single currency - 'the most daring act of integration since the launch of the European integration project' - is facing its biggest challenge yet. Greece, Portugal, and Ireland are still experiencing economic hardships, even after receiving substantial bailout packages in order to avoid defaulting on their debt. Italy and Spain - 'the third and fourth largest economies in the Eurozone' - are close behind, combining high public debts, large budget deficits, and low growth. Germany and France, considered the most robust economies of the Eurozone, are feeling the strain of supporting …

Rating College Debt: A Case Study Of Union College, Laura Mueller

Honors Theses

On Friday March 3rd President Stephen Ainlay made an announcement of 'the largest most expensive most complex project in Union's history.' President Ainlay is referencing the massive rebirth of one of Union's most central academic buildings Science and Engineering. The three-phrase building project will take an estimated three years and cost a total of $100 million. About $50 million of this project will be financed through debt. This comes at a time when Moody's a top rating agency changed the methodology for rating higher education debt. My thesis explores the impact of the new methodology on Union's rating. While the …

Bitcoin Volatility And Currency Acceptance: A Time-Series Approach, Francis Rocco

Honors Theses

Virtual currencies emerged in 2009 as alternatives to traditional methods of payment, offering faster transaction speeds and increased privacy. The prime example of these currencies is Bitcoin. Prior literature in the past five years has generally predicted that bitcoin would fail to supplant an existing widely traded currency, but the volatility of the currency has been decreasing since then. I test Dowd and Greenaway’s (1993) currency acceptance model using recent data on Bitcoin, including Bitcoin volatility. This paper will show whether Bitcoin's ability to act as a store of value and its level of price volatility affect the number of …

Hospital Merger And Acquisition Effects On Healthcare Quality And Cost, Emily Su

Honors Theses

Healthcare is as much a business subject to market dynamics as it is a public service, with enormous sums of money and resources devoted to it. Since a person’s health is one of his or her most valuable assets, healthcare will always be in high demand, regardless of the price of medical goods and services. Considering healthcare’s nature as a necessary good and the irreplaceable importance of a medical facility to its service area, any changes in capacity or method of healthcare delivery may have profound effects on the dependent population. Situations in which a hospital merges with a healthcare …

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 …

Delta Hands For Hope: A Force For Reconciliation And Sustainable Development In The Delta?, Mary D. Travis

Honors Theses

This case study focuses on the question of whether Delta Hands for Hope, a distinctive, possibly unique faith-based organization, is able to facilitate racial reconciliation and sustainable community development in the Delta community of Shaw. If so, is it a potential model for sustainable development for other communities of the Delta and beyond? This thesis builds on existing literature about sustainable development and development in the Mississippi Delta. The original, empirical research is based on Grounded Theory methodology, a participant/observer perspective, and data gathered through in-depth, open-ended interviews. This research work suggests that racial division is pervasive in every area …

Trends In U.S. Tea Imports: 1991-2015, Evan Kennedy

Honors Theses

Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world, and over the past two decades it has experienced a newfound popularity in the United States. Over this time period, ready-to-drink and loose-leaf tea has increased in popularity, whereas tea bags and instant tea declined in popularity. Since the United States produces almost no tea itself, an increase in consumption requires increased imports. Therefore, this paper examines U.S. import trends as a means to begin an examination of consumption. Ten countries (Argentina, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam) provide approximately 80% of the …

Mothers As Career Leaders: Do Maternity Leave Laws Make A Difference?, Briar Rose Smith

Honors Theses

On a national level, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is the only law that provides certain qualifying individuals with 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected maternity leave, although some states and private firms have implemented forms of paid maternity leave. Previous research indicates that female employees, regardless of their parental status, receive fewer promotions due to information asymmetry after the FMLA (Thomas 2015). In addition, some research finds that particular industries are more family friendly due to access to flexible work schedules for mothers (Goldin 2014). This thesis expands on both findings using data from the …

The College Admissions Problem: Effects Of Income And Ability Of Postsecondary Education Outcomes, Martha Whamond

Honors Theses

This paper examines the effects of students’ pre-college income on student outcomes and college admissions decisions. Under the assumption that colleges maximize utility by maximizing student outcomes, a two-stage regression model for student outcomes is building using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the 1997 National Youth Longitudinal Survey (NLSY97). The first stage estimates a model for college quality using the IPEDS dataset. The college quality estimates are then used as independent variables in the second stage. The second stage estimates student outcomes as a function of pre- college income, ability, college quality, and demographic characteristics …

Women Empowerment Externalities Of The 2004 Moroccan Moudawana Reform: Intrafamily Bargaining And Educational Attainment, Jane Alexandra Martin

Honors Theses

In order to evaluate the potential human capital externalities of women empowerment and more equitable Moudawana (personal status law) policies in the North Africa region, I use 2 countries as case studies, each with different Moudawana regimes. I compare Morocco, which had a significant Moudawana reform in 2004, to Egypt, whose Moudawana is far more inequitable. Using difference-in-difference analysis on survey data, I compare educational attainment in Morocco and Egypt. I support this with descriptive statistics about women empowerment in Morocco. The results suggest that the Moudawana reform may increase women empowerment and lead to increased educational attainment.

Us Net Foreign Direct Investment: Determinants And Implications, Ryan Gomez

Honors Theses

Political campaigns always churn the political spectrum on the issue of outsourcing and international trade with the 2017 presidential primary being no exception. Are politicians, like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, correct when preaching the economic negatives associated with outsourcing? Are they considering the right factors? Could it be that a strictly negative outlook on outsourcing is economically inappropriate in determining future policy? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper will critically analyze the impact of incoming and outgoing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the USA. Specifically, this study will use determinants of Net FDI (NFDI), where NFDI …

The Effect Of Distance From Nhl Affiliate On Ahl Fan Attendance, Stephen Picard

Honors Theses

This paper examines the effect of American Hockey League (AHL) teams locating closer to their National Hockey League (NHL) affiliates. With several AHL teams closing the distance (geographically) between their NHL affiliates for logistical purposes, I studied whether or not they will experience higher levels of fan support. I used data from all AHL teams between 2007 and 2017. I found a statistically insignificant negative relationship between proximity to NHL affiliate and average attendance in the AHL for all the teams. However, less popular AHL teams do experience higher levels of fan attendance when located closer to their NHL affiliate. …

Are Chinese Firms Attracted To Political Risk? Locational Determinants Of Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Grant Depoyster

Honors Theses

This study evaluates the foreign direct investment (FDI) location choices made by Chinese firms from 1996 to 2015 and investigates the extent to which Chinese firms are attracted to investing in countries with high levels of political risk. Using new Chinese data, the study categorizes Chinese firms into Central State-Owned Enterprises and Other Chinese Firms to see the relationship between investment location and political risk for firms with varying levels of Chinese government control. Additionally, the data is divided between investments made from 1996 to 2003 and investments made from 1996 to 2015 to measure the effect that important changes …