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Part 1: Virginia's Economy Grows, But Questions Linger About The Future, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

There is good news to report about the economy of the Commonwealth. Economic activity increased in 2022 and 2023. A record number of Virginians were at work or looking for work. Labor force participation increased above pre-pandemic levels. However, this news is tempered by the fact that Virginia grew slower than the nation and Virginians continue to migrate out of the Commonwealth. The Virginia economy should grow in 2024, but work remains to be done to match the economic performance of our peers.

2023 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Vinod Agarwal, Aliou Ousmane Ba, Barbara Blake, James V. Koch, Ria Kolarao, Feng Lian, Anna Makhorkina, Melody Nguyen, Terry Parker, Mohamed Rahoui, Panagiotis Taoulas, Robert D. Mcnab

State of the Commonwealth Reports

This is Old Dominion University's ninth annual State of the Commonwealth Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the University, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Our work seeks to contribute to the conversation about how Virginia can foster growth across the Commonwealth without glossing over the challenges we face. Instead of retreating into partisan enclaves where …

How Nonmarket Externalities Affect The U.S. Business Dynamism: An Economic Approach To Drug Epidemic, Chukwudi Ikwueze

Pennsylvania Economic Review

Businesses thrive best in an environment devoid of constraints, including those resulting from third-party activities with longstanding economic underpinnings. While existing research has extensively explored how costs and benefits emanating from businesses affect third parties, in the form of market externality, little attention has been given to understanding how costs and benefits arising from third-party activities influence businesses. To fill this gap, this paper aims to introduce the concept of nonmarket externality, which represents the influence of third-party activities on businesses, and use it to examine whether third-party activities associated with the drug epidemic influence the U.S. business dynamism. The …

From Macro To Micro: A Study Of The Impact Of Stock Market Development And Behavioral Factors On Charitable Donations During The Covid-19 Pandemic., Sahar Alqunaibit

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Chapter 1: The Impact of Stock Market Development on Economic Growth in Saudi ArabiaThis study investigates the relationship between stock market development and economic growth in Saudi Arabia within the context of the country's Vision 2030 initiative aimed at economic diversification and reducing oil dependency. Bridging a research gap, the study employs the Market Development Index developed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to analyze the link between market sector development and economic growth. Three critical indicators from the IMF - Financial Markets Access Index, Financial Markets Depth Index, and Financial Markets Efficiency Index - are utilized to measure financial …

The Evolution Of Efficiency In The Chinese Stock Market, Qiyun Li

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the weak-form efficiency of the Chinese stock market and provides evidence on how the market efficiency evolved throughout the last three decades. The Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) and the Shenzhen Component Index (SZSE) are the primary indicators of the Chinese stock market in this study. Both traditional economics and the complex systems’ methods are employed to evaluate market efficiency, with an additional focus on the effect of two parameter inputs (embedded dimension and noise filter) on entropy methods to improve their ability to detect phase transitions in stock market data. The traditional efficiency tests indicate that the …

The Impact Of Development Aid On Human Development, Lauren Candia Shaffer

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between development aid and human development in recipient countries. The primary function of this research is to determine which types of aid are most effective in improving human development. To accomplish this goal, I use a fixed effects regression analysis to examine the following aid types in individual chapters of the dissertation: Total Aid, Donor-specific aid, Sectoral Aid, Conditional Aid, and aid flowing from Multilateral, Bilateral, and Private sources. This analysis produced mixed results, indicating that some types of aid have a positive and significant impact on human development, some have a negative and significant …

The Effect Of Bureaucracy On The Inflow Of Foreign Direct Investment: A Comparative Study Of Libya And The United Arab Emirates, Abdurraouf Abdussalam Elakder

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is a determinant factor for developing national economies, and Libya is no exception. However, the bureaucracy in Libya still needs to be improved to help attract foreign direct investment. Therefore, this comparative case study seeks to analyze the effects of bureaucracy on attracting FDI to Libya and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the bureaucratic barriers embodied mainly in bureaucratic expansion, bureaucratic corruption, and the obstacles of the FDI laws. I argue in favor of eliminating those bureaucratic barriers and improving bureaucratic quality, enhancing the chances of attracting and keeping FDI. The study's standpoint is that …

Parenting: An Economic Analysis, Benjamin J. Smith

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Policies like universal preschool and The American Families Plan have brought attention to the need to invest in child development. Research has shown that such investments, when evaluated over the long run, provide large rates of return not just to families but to society. However, the effect of policies directed at children ultimately depends on the way parents respond to these policies. Therefore, in order to design policies effectively, the complex nature of parenting must be considered. In this dissertation, I analyze the impact of parental behavior and traits on child outcomes as well as the influences of specific parental …

Three Essays In Behavioral Economics, Zhou Fang

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Well-being is important because it directly impacts an individual's quality of life and overall happiness. It encompasses physical, mental, and social aspects, promoting a balanced and fulfilling existence. Optimal well-being leads to improved productivity, resilience, and positive contributions to society, creating a healthier and more harmonious world.

This dissertation delves into the realm of interdisciplinary research, bridging economics and psychology, to investigate several critical areas that affect peoples’ wellbeing. It explores gender discrimination within peer review processes, seeks advancements in the measurement of subjective well-being, and analyzes the influence of cultural factors on prosocial behaviors.

The first chapter delves into …

The Role Of Mediators In The Relationship Between Export Diversification And Economic Development, Hajer Abdulla Basodan

CGU Theses & Dissertations

As the global economy has become interconnected, international trade has become a common medium for developing and developed countries to interact. However, there is a gap in the scholarly literature when considering the effects of export diversification. The goal of this dissertation is to study and identify the relationship between export concentration and economic development in developing countries. Data were collected from the International Monetary Fund World Bank for quantitative analysis. Using mediator analysis and these mediators included export volatility (export instability), net barter (terms of trade), and current account balance (competitiveness). The findings from the quantitative analysis revealed that …

Presidential Economic Approval Rating And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Zilin Chen, Zhi Da, Dashan Huang, Liyao Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We construct a monthly presidential economic approval rating (PEAR) index from 1981 to 2019, by averaging ratings on the president’s handling of the economy across various national polls. In the cross-section, stocks with high betas to changes in the PEAR index significantly under-perform those with low betas by 1.00% per month in the future, on a risk-adjusted basis. The low PEAR beta premium persists up to one year, and is present in various sub-samples and even in other G7 countries. PEAR beta dynamically reveals a firm’s perceived alignment to the incumbent president’s economic policies and investors seem to misprice such …

Adam Smith And The Creative Role Of Imagination, Keith Hankins, Brennan Mcdavid

Philosophy Faculty Books and Book Chapters

That imagination plays a fundamental role in Smith’s accounts of both sympathy and scientific inquiry is well documented. Smith scholars have also long recognized that the accounts of these roles presented in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and the History of Astronomy are broadly Humean. In particular, the exercise of imagination in both the social and scientific domains is limited by the extent of our experience. Whether we are “changing places in fancy” with our fellows, thereby giving rise to that all-important sentiment of sympathy, or conjecturing relations between observed phenomena in an effort to quell the sentiments of wonder …

A Study On Bangladesh's Grameen Bank And The Ready-Made Garment Industry: The Effects Of Rising Industrialization On The Reliance Of Microfinance, Elaine Yang

Scripps Senior Theses

Microfinance institutions offered a solution to borrowing to the ultra-poor through a group lending scheme where social capital drove repayment rates. In Bangladesh, the Grameen Bank was globally recognized as a successful microfinance institution, increasing financial literacy and mobility to the ultra-poor. Tangentially, the ready-made garment industry boomed in some districts with a Grameen Bank presence, while other districts were not impacted at all. Using a difference-in-difference regression model and focusing on the Grameen Bank districts before and after their exposure to the RMG industry on the number of branches, branch members, outstanding loan amount, and zone membership percentage of …

The Impact Of Financial Literacy On Financial Capability: Evidence Based On The National Financial Capability Study, Ramon Müller

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research examines the relationship between financial literacy and financial capability using cross-sectional data of the United States population from five different triennial surveys. Financial literacy is measured in terms of financial education attendance, and financial capability is measured in terms of how well people make ends meet in a typical month. Regression analysis was performed using probit models to determine the likelihood of financial difficulty in relation to financial education and other demographic characteristics. Results confirmed that individuals who had financial education were 5% less likely to suffer financially The results also demonstrated that when financial practices commonly taught …

Navigators As A Means Of Overcoming Administrative Burdens: A Quantitative Study Of State-Administered Federal Assistance Programs, Jonathan Sternesky

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Administrative burdens are the psychological, compliance, and learning costs experienced by individuals interacting with public entities that may shape and reshape their relationship to citizenship and/or access to benefits and rights. It has long been hypothesized that third-party entities, designated as navigators, could be leveraged to mitigate the impact of administrative burden costs on citizens. For effective delivery of service, easing administrative burden costs in application processes may increase applicant likelihood of successfully navigating the bureaucratic process towards a desired end.

This research used data from recently implemented assistance programs in two separate state-level jurisdictions to conduct logistical regression analyses …

The Meaning Of Optimum And Chosen Method Of Optimization Are Individually Defined, Jeffrey Yi-Lin Forrest, Lawrence Shao, Jun Liu, Brian Sloboda

Pennsylvania Economic Review

Finding the true meaning of the assumption of rationality has attracted the attention of many scholars and brought forward major changes to the discipline of economics. However, the vast amount of literature shows that such attention has not only led to inconsistent interpretations, but also contradictory ones. To clear up these inconsistencies and contradictions, this paper looks at this assumption from a different angle – natural endowments of individuals and business firms, respectively. To do so successfully, this research goes far beyond all well-adopted methods of analysis and employs systems methods and such a logical reasoning that is parallel to …

Counties As Catalysts For Change_ Exploring The Economic Costs Of Child Maltreatment Through Its Connection To Incarceration, Kayla Solomon

Scripps Senior Theses

This study posits the question, what is the relationship between child maltreatment and adult incarceration at the county-level, and how can we utilize an understanding of it to inform child welfare strategies? Child maltreatment is a public health crisis and an obstacle to the United States Economy. Inspired by my high school capstone project on the connection between the foster care and criminal justice systems, I entered this project hoping to add to the myriad of literature that influences child welfare policy throughout California and the broader United States. This project serves to culminate my college career and exemplifies my …

Factors Influencing The Foreign Direct Investment Inflow In The Service Sector In China, Ying Hong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Due to the advancement of informatization and adjustments in industrial structure, the service sector has emerged as a crucial foundation for numerous developed nations. However, in comparison to industrialized nations, the service sector in China does not contribute much to the country’s GDP. China, as a developing nation, still requires foreign capital inflows to assist in reducing the disparity and fostering the growth of its service sector. Hence, pinpointing the crucial variables, particularly digitalization, that impact the entrance of FDI will expedite the enhancement of the sector’s development level as well as economic growth and transformation. This study applies the …

Organizational Structure And Pricing: Evidence From A Large U.S. Airline, Ali Hortaçsu, Olivia R. Natan, Hayden Parsley, Timothy Schwieg, Kevin R. Williams

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Firms facing complex objectives often decompose the problems they face, delegating different parts of the decision to distinct subordinates. Using comprehensive data and internal models from a large U.S. airline, we establish that airline pricing is inconsistent with canonical dynamic pricing models. However, we show that observed prices can be rationalized as an equilibrium of a game played by departments who each have decision rights for different inputs that are supplied to the observed pricing heuristic. Incorrectly assuming that the firm solves a standard profit maximization problem as a single entity understates overall welfare actually achieved but affects business and …

Hiring Discrimination In Denmark, Sweden, And Iceland: A Comparative Study Of Ukrainian And Afghan Job Applicants, Annika Brown

Economics Honors Papers

This paper investigates the labor market discrimination faced by job applicants from Afghanistan and Ukraine, using a correspondence test. Specifically, we examine the impact of nationality, gender, skill, and industry on positive responses from potential employers in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden using a linear probability model. We used popular names in Afghanistan and Ukraine to create resumes that implied particular nationalities and included previous job experience in Kabul and Kyiv. Although the sample size of positive responses in Sweden and Iceland was too small to draw conclusions, employers in Denmark responded to 28 percent of the applications. For a Ukrainian, …

Part 2: A Recovery In Progress: Virginia's Go Virginia Regions, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

For some areas of Virginia, the recovery from the economic shock associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been robust, with evidence emerging of a new expansion in economic activity in 2023. For other areas of the Commonwealth, the recovery would be best characterized as anemic. As we conclude 2023 and look forward to 2024, the economic fate of the Commonwealth looks increasingly bifurcated, with economic activity and population concentrated in a handful of regions. Now, with evidence of a “soft landing” from the turbulence of 2022 increasingly evident, the open question remains: can we spur economic growth across the state?

Conspicuous Wellness: How Acquired Identities Affect Conspicuous Consumption, Katherine S. Eu

Scripps Senior Theses

This research provides evidence that individuals will conspicuously consume based on their acquired identities, which parallels similar conclusions drawn for conspicuous consumption based on ascribed identities. Using data from 653 respondents, I found positive marginal effects of the “that girl” wellness identity on product choices, accounting for an individual’s potential higher willingness-to-pay, demographics, and speed of making product choices. I conclude that the more an individual associates themselves with an identity, the higher the likelihood of choosing products which align and signal membership in an identity subculture.

A Multilevel Jurisdictional Analysis Of The Impact Of Walmart On Host Communities, Matt Young

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This research takes a holistic approach to answer the empirical question about what impacts Walmart has on host jurisdictions. This consists of a thorough review of the extant literature; a formalization of Walmart’s potential impact into a theoretical framework; a consideration of endogeneity within Walmart’s operations from multiple angles; a nationwide analysis of impacts on labor and retail markets at both the county and municipal level; a nationwide analysis of the impacts on housing prices and property tax revenue post Walmart; a multistate analysis of host jurisdictions’ reactions to these changes through the lens of local sales taxes; finally, a …

Three Essays On Consumption Taxation In Indonesia, Partomuan Transparenter Juniult

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Consumption taxes play a major role in revenue generation for many developing countries. They are also used to encourage or discourage certain consumption behaviors. However, the administrative aspects of implementing these taxes can create challenges for the tax authorities, and lead to distortions in taxpayer behavior. To overcome these challenges, efforts have been made to simplify policies and utilize technology to improve administration and compliance. My dissertation aims to provide empirical evidence on the effects of three consumption or commodity tax policy reforms in Indonesia. The dissertation consists of three essays as follows.

In my first essay, titled “The effect …

Health And Health Care Access In Rural Hospital Markets In The Us, Xue Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The first chapter examines whether losing access to hospital-based emergency department services play a role in heightening mortality in rural areas using Vital Statistics death certificate records from 2005-2018. Our analysis reaches several results. First, rural populations residing in counties experiencing complete loss of emergency department services suffer an increase in mortality from drug overdoses for two years. The effect is mainly driven by males aged between 15-44 living in the Rust Belt. Such effect is stronger among Black and Hispanic individuals than white individuals. Second, in the Mountain Census Division, which is a geographically dispersed region, rural populations residing …

Accounting For Student Performance In Online Higher Education, Mengdi Hao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This paper uses a novel data on both students’ and teachers’ online participation with students’ administrative academic records and characteristics. The first chapter provides evidence that pre-pandemic lower-achieving students benefitted of the extra time they got during the Spring 2020 lockdown by doing more homework and completing the work assignments that counted towards the final grade, improving their academic performance relative to their pre-pandemic performance (relative to the change observed among higher-achieving students). Using difference-in-differences models and event-study analyses, both with individual fixed effects, we find that lower-achieving students’ Spring 2020 GPA improvement relative to their pre-pandemic academic performance (relative …

Informal Migration Resilience And Response To External Shocks : Evidence From India, Jayanta Talukder

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores facets of inter-state migration in India through the lens of various external shocks. The first chapter aggregates descriptive and economic statistics from primary surveys conducted in India in response to COVID-19 lockdowns in the form of a survey paper. The second chapter utilizes the survey data to provide detailed empirical contexts on the migration patterns and occupational choices of informal migrant workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The third chapter investigates long term changes in inter-state migration flows as a response to extreme climate events in India.

Three Essays In Behavioral Economics And Macroeconomics: Unraveling Celebrity Influence On Philanthropy, Racial Disparities In Donation Decisions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, And The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment On Economic Growth In Saudi Arabia, Rawan Khalid Alothaim

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation encompasses three chapters. Two delve into behavioral aspects of charitable donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, investigating celebrity influence and racial disparities, as well as risk preferences. The third chapter shifts to macroeconomics, examining the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth in Saudi Arabia over a long-term horizon. The first chapter investigates the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements on charitable giving during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants' donation decisions were compared after exposure to celebrity and non-profit expert endorsements. Logistic regression and Ordinary Least Squares regression were used to analyze the impact of independent variables on the likelihood …

External Imbalances And Exchange Rates, Adrian Simion

Wayne State University Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is on the external imbalances for exchange rate determination and forecasting. We demonstrate that external imbalances maintain a relationship with exchange rate movements, while accounting for various forms of risk. We extend the analysis by considering the Covid time period and dynamic panel model specifications. Furthermore, we show how changing global risk appetite impacts exchange rate dynamics differently depending on the channel. We demonstrate by constructing portfolios based on different measures.

In the third chapter, we refine a construction of external imbalances, based on Gourinchas and Rey (2007). We create a direct bilateral measure based …

Sexed Propensities And Gendered Penalties?: An Analysis Of The Economic Outcomes Of Transgender People, Jiwon Chung

CMC Senior Theses

Recent research has indicated the adverse economic outcomes of transgender people. The titular question of this paper refers to the effect on gendered economic outcomes that differences related to sex assigned at birth has for a sample of transgender individuals that is plausibly correlated with being at an early stage of their gender affirmation processes (e.g. social or medical transition). For this group of plausibly early-in-transition transgender individuals, I hypothesize and test a theory that draws the following account: assigned female at birth (AFAB) transgender individuals encounter significant economic penalties as a result of labour market decisions (i.e. industry sorting) …