Public Economics Commons^™

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 12, Spring 2023

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 9, Spring 2016

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Impact Of A Higher Minimum Wage On Enrollment Of Snap, Victoria Perez-Zetune

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper investigates the effect that minimum wage policy has on enrollment in public assistance programs, specifically the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, SNAP. If raising the minimum wage decreases enrollment in SNAP, this could uncover a method to reduce spending without eliminating programs. Using a time-demeaned model to account for fixed effects, I take advantage of the variation in the minimum wage in the 50 states between 1998 and 2014. I estimated that on average an increase in minimum wage in a prior year results in a decrease in SNAP participation by 3.95%.

Negative Interest Rates: Analyses Abroad And Their Applicability To The U.S. Economy, Danielle Cupp

Gettysburg Economic Review

The twenty-first century has thus far posed some of the most difficult economic challenges for policy makers that the world has ever seen. The most recent recession, the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, is considered the worst economic downturn in recent history. In light of unique challenges such as the recession, central banks around the world are coming up with new tools or new ways of thinking about tools in order to mediate financial crises. This paper investigates the possibility of eliminating the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates to stimulate the economy in reaction to severe financial crises. …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 8, Spring 2015

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Price Barriers In The Stock Market And Their Effect On The Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model, Nathan A. Blyler

Gettysburg Economic Review

The predicted price of an American option by the Black-Scholes (B-S) Option Pricing Model is known to differ from the market price of that option systematically with respect to time to expiration, distance in- or out-of-the-money, and liquidity of the option. We examine the possibility of price barriers in the stock market causing further systemic pricing differences between the market price and B-S predicted price. These differences occur when an option’s strike price is near a price barrier and differ in effect and significance depending on the position of the barrier relative to the underlying stocks’ price. We find round …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 7, Spring 2013

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Welfare Incentives And Interstate Migration: An Analysis Of The Migration Decisions Of Poor, Single Mothers, John P. Weis

Gettysburg Economic Review

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of welfare incentives in the decision to move for poor, single mothers. Using micro-level data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and other sources, I develop an econometric model that estimates the influence of state welfare benefits on the interstate migration decisions of poor, single mothers, whether that be moving from states with low benefits or to states with high benefits. This study builds upon previous literature concerning interstate migration by considering new methodological approaches and theoretical models. Ultimately, the evidence suggests that while the welfare benefits offered …

China’S Local Government Debt And Economic Growth, Jia Qi Zhou

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper explores the impact of China’s local government debt on economic growth. This analysis, based on a panel of 31 provinces over 14 years, takes into account a broad range of economic growth determinants as well as various estimation issues including heteroskedascity and omitted variable. The empirical results suggest an inverse relationship between China’s local government debt and economic growth, controlling for other determinants of growth: on average, a 10 percentage point increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio is associated with a slowdown in annual real per capita GDP growth of around 0.27 percentage points per year.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 6, Spring 2012

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 5, 2011

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Local Technological And Demographic Effects On Electricity Transmission: A Spatially Lagged Local Estimation Of New England Marginal Losses, Jacob P. Hochard

Gettysburg Economic Review

Electricity transmission is subject to distribution losses and congestion costs. Economists have prior theorized that these transmission imperfections could create divided markets with electricity generating spatial oligopolists. This concern has been largely dismissed because of recent technological advances in electricity transmission. The effects of local technological and demographic indicators on electricity transmission costs remains both commonly accepted as negligible and spatially untested. This analysis employs a spatially lagged local estimation of New England’s marginal electricity losses with respect to both technological and demographic indicators. The results of this analysis are consistent with the widely accepted notion that technological advances have …

Friedrich Von Hayek: The Socialist-Calculation Debate, Knowledge Arguments, And Modern Economic Development, Cara A. Elliott

Gettysburg Economic Review

At the close of the nineteenth and the commencement of the twentieth century, socialism began to gain momentum as a large-scale movement in Europe and the United States. This popularity was supported by an increased influence of the working class in society, which put pressure for representation upon European parliaments and began to secure concrete improvements in labor protection laws. Moreover, socialist proponents looked hopefully towards the living example of the Soviet Union, which began its socialist experiment in 1917 following the success of the Bolshevik Revolution. Socialism, which found its economic grounding in the legacies of such men as …

Monetary And Fiscal Policies: Ordinary Recessions And Financial Crises, Svetoslav I. Semov

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper uses two different samples to study the effects of monetary and fiscal policies on the profiles of recessions and recoveries. Several results emerge from the econometric analysis presented. First, monetary policy during ordinary recessions and banking crises is a powerful tool with lasting effects that extend to recovery growth rates. However, the effect of monetary policy during financial crises is strongly diminished in the case of forbearance – banks left to function despite being technically insolvent. Second, the effectiveness of fiscal policy is reversed – it is a powerful tool during banking crises, but it does not seem …

"Does It Pay To Be Informed?" Expenditure Efficiency In The Us Mutual Fund Industry, Jan Cerny

Gettysburg Economic Review

The mutual fund industry would like us to believe that fund expenses are justifiable by their extensive management expertise, security analysis and the consequent delivery of returns that exceed the market performance. Management know-how is costly and thus it drives up the expenditure of actively managed mutual funds and potentially lowers their net returns. Nevertheless the fund managers argue that their contributions to the returns fully outweigh their costs and in general their trading strategies add value to the investors. On the other hand many academics hold that such claims are fundamentally misleading and actively managed funds cannot continuously outperform …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Economic Stimulus For Our Failing Economy, Sarah R. Anderson, Steven T. Ferraro, Jeffrey D. Greenlaw, Justin E. Holz, David H. Krisch, Jonathan M. Koury, Jamee L. Kuznicki, Stephen M. Mcnamee, Jeffrey D. Ryckbost, Kristi L. Saeger, Andrew L. Smith, Daniel B. Sprague, Ryan Willaurer, Timothy D. Wills, Benjamin B. Wood

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper presents a comprehensive plan to fix the ailing American economy, through a five-step approach. First, the Federal Reserve must continue to broaden the scope of monetary policy, by purchasing and selling long-term securities. Manipulating expectations through FOMC statements is another tool at the Federal Reserve’s disposal. Secondly, the government must enact fiscal stimulus to stabilize the economy in the short and medium runs, through investment in infrastructure projects, green technology, fusion technology, and science education. Additionally, the new fiscal policy must tackle the mortgage meltdown, which is weighing down the entire economy. Third, the regulatory system must be …

The Economic Decline Of Zimbabwe, Chidochashe L. Munangagwa

Gettysburg Economic Review

For the past decade, Zimbabwe has been experiencing an economic decline that has resulted in an inflation rate of 231 million percent and an unemployment rate of over 90 percent. Past research has concluded that the economic decline of Zimbabwe has mainly been caused by poor monetary policies and failure of fiscal policies to control the budget deficit. This research aimed to closely examine some of these policies that the Zimbabwean government implemented, the effects of these policies on economic activity, employment and inflation levels in the country. By interviewing many economic analysts in Zimbabwe, I managed to gather the …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 3, Spring 2009

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Framing, Risk, And Uncertainty On Contributions Toward A Public Account: Experimental Evidence, Justin E. Holz

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper uses laboratory evidence from four strategically equivalent voluntary contribution games to evaluate differences in contributions toward a public account due to framing, risk, and uncertainty. I test four hypotheses. (1) Individuals contribute more to a public account when the dilemma is framed as the mitigation of a public loss than the provision of a public good. (2) Individuals contribute more to a public account when the loss is certain than when faced with the risk of a loss. (3) Individuals contribute more to a public account when the loss is certain than when environmental uncertainty is associated with …

Long-Term Contracts And The Principal-Agent Problem, Elizabeth A.R. Purcell

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper examines the principal-agent problem within professional sports. Imperfect information between managers and players, as well as the guaranteed income a long-term contract provides, are predicted to provide players with the incentive to alter effort over the length of a contract – especially during the first year of a long-term contract. Regression analysis indicates that players’ performance levels decline during the first year of a long-term contract, suggesting that the effects of the principal-agent problem may outweigh competing effects. The study does not, however, suggest that players increase performance in the final year of a contract.

A Look At Women And Abortion In The United States, Denitsa D. Koleva, Kristina V. Marinova, Robyn A. Byrne

Gettysburg Economic Review

The issue of abortion is defined by ethical questions and, often, controversial views. This paper argues the importance of a coherent and enhanced effort to study the quantitative relationship between women’s characteristics and the average number of abortions in the United States. It specifically looks at the average number of previous abortions and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, as this relationship has not been explored before in the existing literature. We expect to establish a correlation between the average number of previous abortions and characteristics such as age, marital status, income and highest degree of education completed. An empirical model is …

A Current Microeconometric Assessment Of The Racial Wage Gap In The United States, David H. Krisch

Gettysburg Economic Review

Minority groups in the United States promoted affirmative action legislation in the 1960s during the civil rights movement to help ease the inequalities suffered in their economic history. Many labor economists have sought since this time to study the effects of race, gender, and the effect of income – how it has changed and if the gap has closed. Existing literature uses many different econometric models to show how the effects of race, gender, age, occupation, educational attainment, and geographic location on an individual comparative basis. This paper will examine the effects of all of these variables jointly using an …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 2, Spring 2008

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Intermarriage On The Earnings Of Female Immigrants In The United States, Milena V. Nikolova

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper investigates the effects of intermarriage on the earnings of female immigrants in the United States. The main empirical question asked is whether immigrant females married to US-born spouses have higher earnings than those of immigrant females married to other immigrants. Using 1970 and 1870 samples of IPUMS data, I estimate an earnings equation through OLS. I also correct for the labor force selection bias using the Heckman procedure. I finally take into account the endogeneity of intermarriage and apply a twostage least squares (2SLS) estimation procedure. I find that there is a positive marriage premium among immigrant females …

The Effects Of Maternal Welfare Receipt On Children’S Development, Nikolay O. Doskov

Gettysburg Economic Review

Over the past 25 years, welfare and other public policies for families living below the poverty line have developed a primary objective of promoting parents’ self-sufficiency. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), passed in 1996, was a milestone in this effort, limiting the number of years that families can receive federal cash welfare assistance and requiring most of them to participate in work-related activities to be eligible for such assistance. This new emphasis on work was one of the main reasons for the dramatic decline in welfare dependency during the late 1990s. The new legislation, however, also …

The Effects Of Sexual Orientation On Earnings, Tsz-Ying Yeung

Gettysburg Economic Review

Gay and lesbian topics have received much media attention in recent years. Debates have revolved around issues such as gay marriage, adoption rights, and the legal relationship of children born to a homosexual couple with their nonbiological second parent. Corporations have started to provide partner benefits to gay and lesbian employees. Many companies today have added the words “sexual orientation” to their equal rights hiring policies. Nevertheless, discrimination against homosexual people in the workplace is still widely perceived to exist.

In this paper, I address the question, does earnings discrimination against homosexual and bisexual workers exist in the U.S. labor …

The Macroeconomy And Long-Term Interest Rates: An Examination Of Recent Treasury Yields, Hans W. Hardisty

Gettysburg Economic Review

From 2001 to 2006, U.S. long-term interest rates have remained steady while the federal funds rate has both declined and increased, as Figure 1 shows. Historically, long term interest rates tend to respond to changes in short term rates, but recently this does not appear to be the case. Former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, recently dubbed this occurrence a “conundrum,” because no one can provide a distinct explanation concerning this phenomenon. There are several noteworthy incentives for why long-term yields should have increased from 2004 to 2006, but they have remained constant during this time period. According …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 1, Spring 2006

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.