Income Distribution Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Japanese Neet And Freeter: A Representation Of The Relationship Between Social Changes And Youth's Employment Pattern, Linh Hoang

Honors Theses

My paper attempts to analyze the existence of NEET (No Employment, Education or Training – ニート) and Freeter (Freelancing part-time worker - フリーター), two common groups of young unemployed people and irregular workers in Japan. Throughout the study, the relationship between Japanese social changes, modernization process and Japanese NEETs and Freeters is thoroughly examined. The first social change related to the establishment of these two groups is the transformation of employment system. The combination of a seniority-based system and performance-based system as well as their contrasts has increased the competitiveness in the job seeking war while eliminating some of the …

The Cult Of Cultural Consumption In The United States: How Class Stratification Shapes The Social Realms Of Consumer Brand Perception, Nelligan Rose Boff

Honors Theses

An individual’s social position shapes taste culture as it pertains to fashion and branding. The purpose of this research is to develop more knowledge on who or what social factors are driving consumer’s perception of the brands they want, or don’t want to buy. The perspective of consumption seems to transcend self-interest alone and this thesis aims to analyze the extension of that transcendence. Brands are not merely relating to consumers through a relationship of functional need, but also interfere and are driven by social relationships between consumers. There is evidence that suggest that consumers might interact with brands that …

Made In America: The Affects Cognitive Load Consumer Ethnocentrism And Country Of Origin Have On Consumer Purchasing Decisions, Hannah Halstrom

Honors Theses

Previous research suggests that cognitive load affects decision-making tasks. As well, a consumer varies his or her purchasing decisions based off of his or her personal level of Consumer Ethnocentrism (CE) and the Country of Origin (COO) of the product or brand. Eighty individuals participated in the study. Some participants were put under cognitive load by having remembering an 8 digit number span. All subjects were randomly exposed to one of two product sets, where COO was manipulated. Each product set consisted of 5 advertisements followed by a series of 4 questions. These questions regarded their willingness to purchase the …

Divorce Devastates: Do State Divorce Laws Have An Effect On Women's Economic Well-Being?, Ann Cantwell

Honors Theses

Divorce devastates a family, and with over 40% of first marriages ending in divorce in the United States, it is important to analyze the effect divorce has on each member of the family. This paper aims specifically at the economic effect of divorce on women, and furthermore, if the implementation of a no-fault divorce clause in state law has negatively impacted women’s wellbeing. Women’s well-being is determined by annual income divided by annual need. The study looks at three different state divorce laws surrounding fault—fault-based, no-fault as the only option, and no-fault as grounds for divorce—as well as variance due …

A Closer Look At Immigrants' Wage Differential In The U.S.: Analysis Correcting The Sample Selection Problem, Mitsuki Fukuda

Honors Theses

Due to the increasing flow of immigrants into the United States in recent years, numerous researchers have been examining the socioeconomic characteristics of immigrants including wage differential. However, the majority of such wage analysis raises a key issue of the sample selection problem. This problem occurs when one has a non-random sample by ignoring the decision process to be participants of the sample, and it has a potential danger of a biased and inconsistent estimation. In the view of this, it is important to estimate the decision factors of employment status – being a wage earner or self-employed – before …

The Divorce Revolution: The Macro And Micro-Level Factors In The Risk Of Divorce, Arielle Homer

Honors Theses

Over the past fifty or so years, American society has endured overwhelming changes, affecting nearly all aspects of life. A new set of values emerged and families began adopting more liberal mindsets, leading to an increase in the divorce rate. The first aim of this study is to explain the social, macro-level causes of divorce. Literature on the 1960s identifies these influences as the importance of “the self”, feminism, birth control, no-fault divorce laws, and religious teachings. Further, I use data from the General Social Survey to determine whether micro-level factors influence an individual’s risk of divorce, both during this …

The Future Of Retirement: How Has The Change In The Full Retirement Age Affected The Social Security Claiming Decisions Of Us Citizens?, Kyle Kalanta

Honors Theses

Social Security benefits serve as a chief form of income for many retirees. However, the value of these benefits varies based on the age at which a person claims in relation to their Full-Retirement Age (FRA). This paper analyzes the effects of the FRA on the claiming decision of Americans using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study. Current policy has resulted in increases to the FRA of eligible claimants based on their birth year. This has been done in an effort to increase the age at which people claim in response to concerns with the long‐term solvency of …

Does Participation In High School Sports Influence Your Income?, Marisa Lieberman

Honors Theses

My thesis uses data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS-88) to examine the relationship between participation in high school athletics and income. NELS-88 follows students from 8th grade through age 25 and asks them questions about family, school, and personal preferences. I use this information to determine if participation in high school sports affects a person’s wage when he or she enters the labor force. Students gain valuable skills from playing on a sports team that help them achieve great things later in life, such as higher paying jobs. However, students who join sports teams may already …

The Impact Of The 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement On Competitive Balance In The National Hockey League, John L. Simpson

Honors Theses

After a lockout that canceled the 2004‐05 season in the National Hockey League (NHL), the owners and players reached a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that instituted a ‘hard’ salary cap, a modified revenue sharing system, and changes in free agency. The principal motivation for the new agreement was to raise competitiveness among the teams, in order to generate greater revenue and profitability and to support higher player salaries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the CBA on competitive balance within the NHL and identify the principal determinants of the changes in competitiveness among the teams. …