Other Economics Commons^™

Gambling On Growth: An Analysis Of The Early Impact Of Historical Horse Racing On Kentucky’S Thoroughbred Industry, Barrett W. Kerr

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

With a continuous decline in on-track wagering on Thoroughbred racing, racetrack operators are exploring alternative revenue sources to fund purses and create better quality racing. Historical Horse Racing (HHR), which represents one of the most recent advancements in parimutuel wagering, has become a popular system used by many states to offset the live wagering decline. Proponents of HHR suggest that this alternative wagering option will benefit the live racing industry. Using data from Kentucky racetracks from 2002 – 2021, this study examines the relationship between HHR wagering and key industry metrics, such as purses, on-track wagering, sales prices, and foal …

Futurological Fodder: On Communicating The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, And Employment, Michael E. Samers Dr

Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the debate concerning the employment implications of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (FIR) or the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and robotics in workplaces. I analyze three ‘genres’ associated with this debate (academic studies including neo-classical and heterodox/post-human approaches, the ‘gray literature’, and popular media) and I argue that together they represent ‘futurological fodder’ or discourses and knowledges that ‘perform’ the FIR and its purported consequences. I contend further that these genres involve a complex mix of ethics and politics, and I conclude with a reflection on the political implications of the FIR debate.

Brokers And Investment Advisors, Nathaniel Phillip Graham

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

Brokers and investment advisors are a large and important part of the financial industry. Using a novel data set that includes the majority of the financial advisory industry, in this dissertation I document the size of the financial advisory industry and the prevalence of customer complaints in the industry, which I use as a proxy for misconduct. I then test for two potential drivers of advisors’ misconduct: professional standards in the form of fiduciary responsibilities and influence from social networks. I find that variation in fiduciary duties—specifically fiduciary versus suitability standards— does not appear to affect advisors’ propensity for misconduct. …

The Impact Of Cash Transfers On Labor Force Participation And Household Consumption: Evidence From Post-Apartheid South Africa, Steve M. M. Muchiri

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

The Old Age Pension (OAP) program for elderly South Africans puts a significant cash transfer in the hands of many poor households. This dissertation investigates its impact on labor force participation and consumption of selected household items. In the first half of the dissertation, we take advantage of a policy reform that lowered men's OAP eligibility age from 65 to 60 for men to match that of women for estimation identification. Using the General Household Survey data, we first demonstrate that both men and women respond to the eligibility age by dropping from labor force participation at the eligibility age, …

Essays On The Value Of A Firm’S Eco-Friendliness In The Financial Asset Market, Muhammad S. Ahmadin

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation presents three different closely related topics on the value of eco-friendliness in the financial market. The first essay attempts to estimate hedonic stock price model to find a contemporaneous relationship between stock return and firms’ environmental performance and recover the value of investor’s willingness to pay of eco-friendliness. This study follows stock and environmental performances of the 500 largest US firms from 2009 to 2012. The firms’ environmental data come from the Newsweek Green Ranking, both aggregate measures: green ranking (GR) and green score (GS), and disaggregate measures: environmental impact score (EIS), green policy and performance score (GPS), …

Natural Phenomena As Potential Influence On Social And Political Behavior: The Earth’S Magnetic Field, Jackie R. East

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Researchers use natural phenomena in a number of disciplines to help explain human behavioral outcomes. Research regarding the potential effects of magnetic fields on animal and human behavior indicates that fields could influence outcomes of interest to social scientists. Tests so far have been limited in scope. This work is a preliminary evaluation of whether the earth’s magnetic field influences human behavior it examines the baseline relationship exhibited between geomagnetic readings and a host of social and political outcomes. The emphasis on breadth of topical coverage in these statistical trials, rather than on depth of development for any one model, …

The Responsiveness Of Migration To Labor Market Conditions, Preston M. Brashers

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation explores how migration responds to economic conditions, particularly differences in responsiveness for various segments of the population. After a brief introduction and motivation of my work in Chapter One, Chapter Two estimates the responsiveness of households’ interstate migration to origin state labor market conditions and surrounding state labor market conditions. Each percentage point increase in origin state unemployment insurance claims leads to a 3.2 percent increase in household’s propensity to migrate interstate and each percentage point increase in the unemployment insurance claims rate of surrounding states reduces interstate migration propensity by 5.2 percent. I then examine how this …

Two Essays On Housing: Using Hedonic And Quasi-Experimental Methods In (Dis)Amenity Valuation With Housing Data: The Case Of Communication Antennas, And The Value Of Brand Name Franchises Compared To Local Real Estate Brokerage Firms, Stephen L. Locke

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation consists of two essays on housing, the first on estimation strategies for the valuation of a local disamenity and the second on the structure of the market for the services of real estate brokers.

The purpose of the first essay is to apply hedonic and quasi-experimental methods to measure the value of any disamenity caused by communication antennas. Crucial to unbiased estimates is accounting for both endogenous antenna location and changes in unobservable housing and neighborhood characteristics. Spatial fixed effects are used to control for unobservable characteristics that can influence the location decisions of residents and the location …

Effect Of Nutrition Merchandising And Consumer Preferences On Willingness To Pay For Local Tomatoes And Strawberries In Kentucky And Ohio, Lyudmyla Kompaniyets

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This project investigates the impacts of nutrition merchandising on consumers’ willingness to pay for local tomatoes and strawberries. The data come from survey of Kentucky and Ohio residents in June 2011. Two thousand one hundred twelve individuals from Kentucky and Ohio were surveyed, to find out the impact of selfawareness of health benefits and health benefits information on their willingness to pay. The consumers were offered one of the three survey versions. The versions varied by how much nutrition information was provided to the consumer related to both strawberries and tomatoes – otherwise identical. A had the most, B had …