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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Economics

Climate Change, Information, Beliefs And Action: Can New Information Affect Swedes’ Climate Change Mitigation Efforts?, Martin Kihlstedt May 2022

Climate Change, Information, Beliefs And Action: Can New Information Affect Swedes’ Climate Change Mitigation Efforts?, Martin Kihlstedt

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study illuminates which beliefs drive climate mitigation efforts in the Swedish public and how they are affected by information. Using data gathered in an online experiment (n=372), this study finds that a range of beliefs predict Swedes’ climate mitigation efforts. Mainly, it finds that the impact of correcting misperceptions about either Sweden’s emissions or social norms is both varied and limited. Information about Sweden’s emissions has a negative impact on climate policy support. This effect is not fully explained by some respondents perceiving the information as lacking in credibility. Information about norms has a positive impact on respondents self-estimated …


Information Perception And Climate Change Adaptation, Ji Won Sung Feb 2021

Information Perception And Climate Change Adaptation, Ji Won Sung

Undergraduate Economic Review

Despite 97% of scientists believing that climate change is occurring, a far smaller proportion of ordinary citizens agree with this statement and the proportion of those who do greatly diverge by political affiliation. This paper lays out a dynamic information updating model with adaptation choice as the final outcome, linking information perception, belief perception, and behavioral implementation. Furthermore, this paper examines how various behavioral and environmental factors affect the agent’s adaptation choices by means of such cognitive processes. This research has implications for further research on climate change preference formation and effective communication strategies, such as informative or normative nudges.


Sanctuary Cities And Their Respective Effect On Crime Rates, Adam R. Schutt May 2020

Sanctuary Cities And Their Respective Effect On Crime Rates, Adam R. Schutt

Undergraduate Economic Review

According to the U.S. Center for Immigration Studies (2017), cities or counties in twenty-four states declare themselves as a place of “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. This study addresses the following question: Do sanctuary cities experience higher crime rates than those cities that are not? Using publicly available data, this regression analysis investigates the relationship between crime rates in selected cities and independent variables which the research literature or the media has linked to criminal activity. Results of this research reveal that sanctuary cities do not experience higher violent or property crime rates than those cities that are not sanctuary cities.


Effect Of Unemployment Length On Employment Expectations, Kamyar Kamyar May 2020

Effect Of Unemployment Length On Employment Expectations, Kamyar Kamyar

Undergraduate Economic Review

Unemployment often has devastating effects on individuals -- both in financial and psychological terms. Depending on the type and category of unemployment, its length varies; and as its length increases it may implement biased thought in individuals’ predictions regarding future employment. This paper’s primary purpose is to measure and discuss how the time length that one has been unemployed for affects his or her expectations on his or her own short-term possibility of employment. The results suggest a strong opposite link between one’s prediction of future employment and the same person’s prior unemployment period. This paper was originally written in …


Reference-Dependent Preferences Among Nfl Fans: Evidence From Google Trends, Sunjae Lee Jan 2020

Reference-Dependent Preferences Among Nfl Fans: Evidence From Google Trends, Sunjae Lee

Undergraduate Economic Review

I look for evidence of reference-dependent preferences in the National Football League (NFL). Under reference-dependent preferences, sports fans should react more strongly to surprising wins and losses than expected wins or losses. I use Google Trends to look at the impact of NFL game outcomes on the use of positive or negative words on Google search. While search activity did respond to NFL games, I did not find that this response was sensitive to how surprising the outcome was, and so did not find evidence of reference-dependent preferences.


Recessions Or Partisanship: What Explains Climate Skepticism In The U.S.?, Abhishek S. Sambatur Dec 2019

Recessions Or Partisanship: What Explains Climate Skepticism In The U.S.?, Abhishek S. Sambatur

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper investigates the variations in public mood pertaining to climate skepticism and attempts to empirically assess whether economic recessions or partisanship help explain aggregate-level trends and movements across a 16-year time horizon. Public survey data from the iPoll and Gallup Organization were used to construct the Climate Change Skeptic Index (CCSI) that served as a proxy to capture public opinion trends in skepticism across the U.S. A two-part vector autoregressive model suggests that while economic recessions might be causally linked to climate skepticism, partisanship plays a more influential role in explaining it over time. The key result is that …


A Statistical Analysis Of Economic Perceptions In The 2015 United Kingdom General Election, Amarvir Singh-Bal Mr. May 2019

A Statistical Analysis Of Economic Perceptions In The 2015 United Kingdom General Election, Amarvir Singh-Bal Mr.

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper characterises the vote which took place in the United Kingdom's (U.K.) 2015 General Election as an ‘accountability instrument.’ In doing so, the research interrogates which sections of the electorate hold the incumbent government more accountable for economic outcomes between the 2010 and 2015 U.K. General Elections. The Rational Choice Theory and the Michigan Model are used in this study to present two interlinked, and yet distinct, hypotheses – that less politically informed and non-partisan voters are more likely to hold the government accountable for economic performances; compared to the politically informed and partisan voters within the electorate. Implementing …


How Deep Is Your Love? Loss Aversion In Dating Markets, Genevieve B. Gregorich May 2019

How Deep Is Your Love? Loss Aversion In Dating Markets, Genevieve B. Gregorich

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study uses experimental evidence to examine the existence of loss aversion in the dating market. Applying a valuation gap experiment, this study finds that people are loss averse when it comes to dating opportunities, meaning people weigh the loss of a dating opportunity more heavily than an equivalent gain. The results also support the hypothesis that people experience more loss aversion when they have fewer dating opportunities available. This finding provides preliminary evidence that the existence and growing prevalence of online dating, which dramatically increases peoples’ access to dating opportunities, reduces loss aversion, therefore increasing turnover in the market.


Measuring Health Outcomes Of Uncovered Employment: A Study Of Income, Social Mobility, Equality, And Health Indicators In An Under-Looked Segment Of The Labor Force, Zakariya Kmir Feb 2018

Measuring Health Outcomes Of Uncovered Employment: A Study Of Income, Social Mobility, Equality, And Health Indicators In An Under-Looked Segment Of The Labor Force, Zakariya Kmir

Undergraduate Economic Review

Economists have strongly supported the idea that unemployment causes many undesirable health outcomes. However, how does belonging to a different sector of employment tied closely to changes in minimum wage and inflation relate to overall health? To properly understand the numerical significance of health disparities in the uncovered sector of employment, this research is targeted at quantifying the relationship between the insured and non-insured within the uncovered sector. By substantiating the existence of severe health disparities as a function of the labor force dynamic, this research subsequently estimates the amount of inefficiency and negative health outcomes in the US economy …


The Perceived Return On College Investment In Relation To Economic Expectations Of Students At The University Of Maryland, Joshua S. Roston Nov 2017

The Perceived Return On College Investment In Relation To Economic Expectations Of Students At The University Of Maryland, Joshua S. Roston

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper presents the results of a survey conducted in the spring semester of 2017 of University of Maryland students. The results illustrate how University of Maryland students weigh the decision to attend college in terms of their perceived current economic situation and future expectations as well as predicted return on investment. A body of economic literature on the perception of return on investment from attending college exists already and this study hopes to add to the discussion as its results are unexpected. The results imply that the current generation of college students feels uncertain over the worthwhileness of higher …


Investigating A Modern Midwestern Crisis: The Economy And Opioid Overdose Death In Ohio, Anna M. Gagliardo Jun 2017

Investigating A Modern Midwestern Crisis: The Economy And Opioid Overdose Death In Ohio, Anna M. Gagliardo

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper examines the effect of local economic factors on the amount of opioid overdose deaths across counties in Ohio. Ohio leads the nation in opioid overdose deaths. The data examined spans all 88 counties of Ohio and compares 2009 and 2013 data, relying predominantly on Ohio Department of Health and US Census American Community Survey data. Using two linear regression models, I demonstrate that there is a significant correlation between insured rates and opioid overdose deaths in 2009 as well as a significant correlation between poverty rates and opioid overdose death rates in Ohio in 2013. Additionally, I show …


Moral Hazard And Mispriced Systemic Risk In The Lead-Up To The 2007 Subprime Mortgage Crisis In The United States, Georgi Rusinov May 2016

Moral Hazard And Mispriced Systemic Risk In The Lead-Up To The 2007 Subprime Mortgage Crisis In The United States, Georgi Rusinov

Undergraduate Economic Review

The 2007 subprime crisis was caused by high demand for subprime mortgage products underpinned by the unrealistic assumption that property prices would keep rising indefinitely. The subprime mortgage market worked as expected as long as prices were rising and demand for property was high. When these two conditions were violated and the housing bubble collapsed, the system became dysfunctional, many subprime borrowers defaulted, and mortgage-backed securities lost much of their value. Prevention could have been achieved through regulatory measures to shift the risk back from taxpayers and investors to loan originators. Fair distribution of risk should be the main objective …


Exploring Economic And Social Factors That Increase Economic And Well-Being Measurements Of Developing And Developed Countries, Kofi D. Boadu Jan 2016

Exploring Economic And Social Factors That Increase Economic And Well-Being Measurements Of Developing And Developed Countries, Kofi D. Boadu

Undergraduate Economic Review

The historical growth paths of developed and developing countries reveal the challenges that developing countries face in traveling the road from poverty to prosperity. Based on economic development literature, economic theory, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method, this research considers whether or not, and to what extent globalization characteristics, foreign direct investment levels (FDI), secondary school enrollment rates, information communication technology (ICT) as a percentage of trade imports, and happiness levels of 103 developing and developed countries, impact their GDP per capita levels. This paper will also take a look at alternative ways of viewing and measuring economic success.


The Effect Of New York City Sports Outcomes On The Stock Market, Nir Levy Oct 2015

The Effect Of New York City Sports Outcomes On The Stock Market, Nir Levy

Undergraduate Economic Review

This thesis investigates whether sports outcomes for New York City based teams affect the daily returns, volatility or trading volume of major stock indexes in the United States. I research whether events that affect local mood in a major financial center can influence national stock indexes by swaying the sentiment of workers in the financial sector. By performing an event study I found evidence that returns are abnormally high following championships won by New York City professional sports teams. Returns are abnormally low and volume is abnormally high following elimination from a championship round.


Analyzing Options Market Toxicity And The Black-Scholes Formula In The Presence Of Jump Diffusion As Simulated With Agent-Based Modeling, William D. Elliott Mar 2015

Analyzing Options Market Toxicity And The Black-Scholes Formula In The Presence Of Jump Diffusion As Simulated With Agent-Based Modeling, William D. Elliott

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper presents new and significant research on the Black-Scholes Formula using the agent-based modeling software NetLogo. The software was used to simulate an options market subject to jump diffusion. Since the widely-used Black-Scholes Formula has at times proven unreliable, this research sought to understand circumstances that render the formula ineffective. It was hypothesized that markets would become difficult to trade in or “toxic” at low price volatility but high jump volatility. Further, it was predicted that kurtosis would alert the presence of toxic markets by accurately and consistently conveying whether jump diffusion was present.


A Backward Bending Supply Of Loanable Funds: An Examination Of The Interest Rate Elasticity Of Saving, Rachel M. Doehr Ms. Jun 2014

A Backward Bending Supply Of Loanable Funds: An Examination Of The Interest Rate Elasticity Of Saving, Rachel M. Doehr Ms.

Undergraduate Economic Review

The market for loanable funds is presented as either a market with an upward sloping supply curve, or as one with a perfectly inelastic supply. This paper relates the supply of loanable funds to the supply curve in the labor market: backward bending. Once interest rates are high enough, people start to save less, creating the "backward bend.” This explains the discrepancies in previous literature that attempted to put a single value on the interest rate elasticity saving. The reason for the variation in values could be because the elasticity actually depends on the point on the curve.


Evaluating Conformity And Reciprocity In University Alumni Donation, Guanyi Yang Feb 2014

Evaluating Conformity And Reciprocity In University Alumni Donation, Guanyi Yang

Undergraduate Economic Review

Alumni donation has a significant impact on the function of liberal arts institutions across the U.S. Specific factors relating to alumni donation behavior have been identified in previous research; however few studies systematically utilize existing theories of motivation for voluntary contributions to evaluate the effectiveness of alumni donation factors. This research classifies specific factors into reciprocity and conformity and surveys Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) alumni about donation attitudes. The logistic regression model and the linear regression model complement each other and provide support for the hypothesis that the more one subjects to conformity, the more likely one tends to donate …


The Effect Of Crossing The $100 Million Jackpot Threshold On Ticket Sales, Stanton Hudja Jan 2014

The Effect Of Crossing The $100 Million Jackpot Threshold On Ticket Sales, Stanton Hudja

Undergraduate Economic Review

There has been little research done on how consumers react to jackpots that first cross the $100 million threshold. Using two sets of time series data, I measure the effect on demand of being the first jackpot in a series of jackpots to cross the $100 million threshold. In both datasets, there is an additional increase in the growth of lottery ticket sales based solely on being the first jackpot to equal or surpass $100 million. These findings are not consistent with the principle of diminishing marginal utility and suggest a psychological significance of the number 100.


Customer Racial Discrimination In The Professional Sports Card Market: The Case Of League Majority Versus Minority, Tyler Forrest Jan 2003

Customer Racial Discrimination In The Professional Sports Card Market: The Case Of League Majority Versus Minority, Tyler Forrest

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

Previous research finds that customer racial discrimination decreases the price of a non-white baseball player’s card but does not decrease the price of a non-white basketball player’s card. This paper seeks to examine if racial minority or league minority affects the value of a trading card. Using disaggregated player performance data from 1977 we explore this question with baseball cards (in which non-white players are the league minority) and basketball cards (in which white non-players are the league majority). Using Tobit regressions, we find that customer discrimination exists against non-white players in both baseball and basketball leagues.


Housing Preferences Of Spanish-Speaking Migrants, Pueo Keffer Jan 2003

Housing Preferences Of Spanish-Speaking Migrants, Pueo Keffer

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

In this research I attempt to model and investigate the housing decisions of Spanish-speaking migrants. I use methods developed by Bajari and Kahn (2002) to obtain willingness to pay measurements for the migrant groups in samples drawn from three major California cities. I then apply these results to several hypotheses that attempt to describe current migration patterns of Hispanics into increasingly segregated communities characterized by high levels of crowding, low educational attainment, and high levels of Spanish speakers. This research finds that spoken language plays a significant role in a migrant’s decision process. Spanish-speaking migrants demonstrate a significant preference for …


Are Art Students Nicer Than Economics Students? A Discussion Of How Economic Game Theory Predicts That Art And Economics Students Differ In Terms Of Reciprocity, Abigail Claiborne Jan 2002

Are Art Students Nicer Than Economics Students? A Discussion Of How Economic Game Theory Predicts That Art And Economics Students Differ In Terms Of Reciprocity, Abigail Claiborne

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

Neoclassical economic game theory predicts that a player’s goal is to maximize her income regardless of others. In playing the Ultimatum Game this means that Allocators will allocate the minimum amount and the Responders will accept that amount because something is better than nothing. Economics students behave differently because they self-select into that field already thinking as economists do and while studying economics they adapt their behaviors to economic theory. Therefore it is natural to assume that Economics students will act according to theory and that non-economics students will not. The Smith College study between Art students and Economics students …


Czech Voucher Privatization: A Case Of Decision Making Under Uncertainty, Katia Hristova Jan 2002

Czech Voucher Privatization: A Case Of Decision Making Under Uncertainty, Katia Hristova

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

In my study, I plan to analyze voucher privatization in the Czech Republic. This process is best characterized as decision making under both risk and uncertainty, where the thousands of individuals who initially received vouchers were operating under near total uncertainty while larger institutional investors who later seized control of the vouchers were operating under conditions of risk. I will analyze the resulting patterns of ownership in comparison to the goals of the process. I will also discuss the role of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as institutions which affect the conditions under which voucher privatization was conducted. …