Digital Commons Network^™

Egyptian Feminist Critiques Of Neoliberalism, Asmaa Elmalky

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines Egyptian feminist critiques of neoliberal economic policies through a Third World feminist and feminist political economy framework. It argues that neoliberalism in Egypt has produced controlling power dynamics through restructuring labor markets, social reproduction, and legal systems in ways that disproportionately impoverish women, particularly working-class women. The research maps diverse feminist engagements with neoliberal reforms, including structural adjustment programs, privatization, labor reduction, and legal liberalization. These critiques were influenced by the debates between Third World and transnational feminism, the thesis emphasizes the importance of national specific analysis in understanding how global neoliberal policies are mediated through national …

Digital Public Service Delivery As An Institutional Outcome: Data Governance And Interoperability In The Egyptian Public Sector, Waad Hegazy

Theses and Dissertations

Moving beyond technology-centered theories of digital transformation, this thesis examines the institutional and governance factors shaping digital public service delivery in Egypt. It analyzes how governance structures, data governance arrangements, and interoperability frameworks influence the extent to which digital transformation initiatives result in integrated, scalable, and citizen-facing public services. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on an analysis of relevant policy and program documents and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders involved in digital transformation initiatives in Egypt. The findings indicate that persistent challenges in digital public service delivery are driven less by technological constraints than by fragmented governance …

Gender, Integration, And Labor Market Access: The Case Of Syrian Refugees In Germany, Feras Al-Mekhlafy

Theses and Dissertations

Germany hosts one of the largest populations of Syrian refugees in Europe, making their successful labor market integration critical for social and economic stability. This study investigates the gender gap among Syrian refugees in Germany within the broader refugee–native labor market gap. Using cross-sectional data from the 2022 SOEP refugee survey, it applies a Heckman two-step selection model to jointly analyze employment and wage outcomes while correcting for selection bias. Results reveal that structural barriers (e.g.: legal and bureaucratic) and compositional factors (e.g.: human capital) rather than wage discrimination drive most observed disparities. Female refugees face significantly lower employment probabilities, …

The Future Of West African Cacao Farming, Kathryn Lesniewski

CAFE Symposium 2026

This poster covers the detrimental impact climate change has had on the West African cacao farming industry. It also covers long and short term solutions to climate change, and how the global chocolate market has been impacted by climate change.

Human Capital And Labor Market Effects Of Elite Schooling In England, Scotland, And Wales: New Causal Evidence From Nonparametric Bounds, Zhanhan Yu, Vikesh Amin, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Giuseppe Germinario

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the causal effect of attending elite schools in England, Scotland, and Wales on human capital and labor market outcomes for cohorts of children from the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. For identification, we employ a nonparametric partial-identification approach that provides bounds on the causal effect by assuming that, on average, there is positive selection into elite school attendance, and that attending an elite school does not worsen average potential human capital or labor market outcomes. The bounds indicate that there could possibly be large education and labor market returns from attending an …

Equal Chances Or Fewer Victims? Moral Judgments In Autonomous Vehicle Dilemmas, Alexander Matros, Eren Bilen, Leonid Matros

Faculty Publications

We examine the moral dilemma of how autonomous vehicles (AVs) should be programmed to act in unavoidable crash scenarios involving trade-offs between saving one life and saving many. We report results from three experimental studies that investigate individuals’ preferences over alternative AV decision rules in stylized crash scenarios. Across designs, we find robust support for a probabilistic decision rule that assigns passengers and pedestrians equal ex ante chances of survival (a 50:50 rule). This preference persists across different framings and remains salient even when additional probabilistic options are introduced.

Early Learning Across Decades: Advances In Measuring Head Start Effectiveness, Chloe R. Gibbs

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The Head Start program, launched in 1965 and targeted to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, remains the largest early childhood care and education (ECE) program in the United States and the only one deployed at the federal level. As such, the Head Start literature spans several decades and now allows for synthesis of findings from different contexts, time periods, and research designs. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the rigorous evidence measuring Head Start’s effects on children, their families, and society. The focus is on how (1) the contrast between program and counterfactual conditions, (2) takeup of the program among …

The Impact Of Central Bank Digital Currencies News On Bank Stability: Evidence From Asean-5 Countries, Firman Hidayat, Raditya Sukmana, Masrizal Masrizal, Rahmat Heru Setianto

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study constructs an index reflecting Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) news coverage and evaluates its impact on bank stability. The CBDC Attention Index (CBDCAI) is formulated based on more than 533 Reuters Digital News Report articles from 2019 to 2023. Employing the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach with data from 92 banks across ASEAN-5 nations, and implementing quantile regression for robustness checks, the findings demonstrate a significant relationship between the CBDCAI and bank stability, alongside variables such as bank size and capitalization. These results offer valuable guidance for central banks, especially within the ASEAN-5 region, as they …

Disaggregated Economic Complexity And Inflation In Oecd Countries, Raymond L. Aor, Afees A. Salisu

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study probes the intricate relationship between economic complexity and inflation dynamics, an area that has been relatively under-researched despite the potential for economic complexity to predict inflation. We focus on selected OECD countries and use panel data from 1998 to 2021. Utilizing a Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) model, we analyze both short- and long-term dynamics across various components of inflation. Our analysis encompasses both aggregate and disaggregated indicators of complexity, including ECI-Trade, ECI-Technology, and ECI-Research. The results indicate that the impact of economic complexity on inflation differs depending on the type of inflation and the time frame considered. …

The Advantages Of Saudi Arabia’S Fixed Exchange Rate Regime For Inflation Control: An Econometric And Empirical Analysis, Rodrigo Bochner

Arab Economic and Business Journal

Since 1986, Saudi, has maintained a fixed exchange rate, pegging the Saudi Riyal (SAR) to dollar at SAR 3.75/USD. This stabilizing domestic prices, and promoting macroeconomic stability in an oil-dependent and economy exposed to volatile global commodity prices and international shocks. This paper provides a assessment of the fixed exchange rate’s advantages for inflation control. Leveraging a dataset spanning 1980–2025 and econometric tools— Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Vector Error Correction Models (VECM), Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) techniques, and GARCH models—this study identifies the causal channels and measures the peg’s impact on inflation dynamics, with a review of literature, confirming that …

Pricing And Production Without The Invisible Hand, Joel P. Flynn, George Nikolakoudis, Karthik A. Sastry

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Modern theories of the business cycle do not allow for the simultaneous rational choice of both prices and quantities, instead assuming that an “invisible hand” determines one of these variables to clear markets. In this paper, we develop a macroeconomic framework in which both prices and quantities are chosen directly by firms, and exchange is both voluntary and efficient. Because of uncertainty about demand and productivity, individual product markets can be in excess supply or rationed. The absence of market-clearing changes pricing and production in qualitatively important ways: markups are no longer determined solely by the elasticity of demand, and …

Interest Rate And Inflation Control In Egypt: Evaluating Policy Efficiency (1976-2023), Fatma Abouzeid

Theses and Dissertations

Inflation has been a persistent problem in Egypt peaking with unprecedented levels throughout the past decades affecting economic stability and living standards in the country. Controlling inflation through interest rate has been a major tool adopted by the monetary authorities in Egypt with no real satisfactory outcome with respect to inflation levels. This links to a theoretical debate in economic literate on the relationship between interest rate and inflation which represents a major controversy in the field. The study examines this controversy in the case of Egypt to reach a conclusion on the actual relationship between these two central economic …

Initial-Condition-Robust Inference In Autoregressive Models, Donald W. K. Andrews, Ming Li, Yapeng Zheng

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper considers confidence intervals (CIs) for the autoregressive (AR) parameter in an AR model with an AR parameter that may be close or equal to one. Existing CIs rely on the assumption of a stationary or fixed initial condition to obtain correct asymptotic coverage and good finite sample coverage. When this assumption fails, their coverage can be quite poor. In this paper, we introduce a new CI for the AR parameter whose coverage probability is completely robust to the initial condition, both asymptotically and in finite samples. This CI pays only a small price in terms of its length …

Willingness To Travel With Endogenous Distance: Evidence From The Changing Retail Landscape, Yue Cao, Judith Chevalier, Jessie Handbury, Hayden Parsley, Kevin Williams

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Economists often use variation in consumers’ distance from services as a source of demand variation. This approach typically treats consumer-supplier distance as exogenous, despite suppliers strategically choosing locations. We develop a novel class of instruments to address this endogeneity. These instruments exploit the spatial distribution of consumer demographics and can be constructed from standard cross-sectional data, making them useful in a variety of spatial applications. Our preferred instruments use the income composition of concentric discs centered on the Central Business District. Applying these instruments to smartphone geolocation data for millions of devices across 18 metropolitan areas, we estimate consumer preferences …

New Asymptotics Applied To Functional Coefficient Regression And Climate Sensitivity Analysis, Qiying Wang, Peter C. B. Phillips, Ying Wang

Research Collection School Of Economics

A general asymptotic theory is established for sample cross moments of nonstationary time series, allowing for long-range dependence and local unit roots. The theory provides a substantial extension of earlier results on nonparametric regression that include near-cointegrated nonparametric regression as well as spurious nonparametric regression. Many new models are covered by the limit theory, among which are functional coefficient regressions in which both regressors and the functional covariate are nonstationary. Simulations show finite sample performance matching well with the asymptotic theory and having broad relevance to applications, while revealing how dual nonstationarity in regressors and covariates raises sensitivity to bandwidth …

Authoritarianism And Conspiracism Around The World, Valerie Capraro, Folca Panizza, Joseph A. Vitriol, Mikey Biddlestone, Andrè Krouwel, Yordan Kutiyski, Alberto López Ortega, Ana Ebert, Max Wan, Praveen Kujal, Karen M. Douglas, Christopher M. Federico, Jolanda Jetten, Sander Van Der Linden, Flávio Azevedo

ESI Working Papers

Authoritarian leaders frequently deploy conspiracy narratives to justify power concentration and delegitimize opponents, yet the link between authoritarianism and conspiracism remains underresearched. Integrating data across six studies from multiple international surveys (N=63,403; 20 countries), expert-coded party systems (71 countries; 14 datasets), and longitudinal panel studies, we demonstrate that individuals with stronger authoritarian orientations are consistently more prone to conspiracism across diverse cultures, political contexts, and time. These results remain robust when controlling for populist attitudes and multiple political, psychological, and demographic variables. The link between authoritarianism and conspiracism appears to constitute a durable and generalizable psychological relationship. This may help …

A General Limit Theory For Nonlinear Functionals Of Nonstationary Time Series, Qiying Wang, Peter C. B. Phillips

Research Collection School Of Economics

New limit theory is provided for a wide class of sample variance and covariance functionals involving both nonstationary and stationary time series. Sample functionals of this type commonly appear in regression applications and the asymptotics are particularly relevant to estimation and inference in nonlinear nonstationary regressions that involve unit root, local unit root, or fractional processes. The limit theory is unusually general in that it covers both parametric and nonparametric regressions. Self-normalized versions of these statistics are considered that are useful in inference. Numerical evidence reveals interesting strong bimodality in the finite sample distributions of conventional self-normalized statistics similar to …

Dynamic Spatial Panel Data Models With Interactive Fixed Effects: M-Estimation And Inference Under Fixed Or Relatively Small T, Liyao Li, Ke Miao, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

We propose an M-estimation method for dynamic spatial panel data models with interactive fixed effects based on (relatively) short panels. Unbiased estimating functions are constructed by adjusting the concentrated conditional quasi scores, given the initial values and with the factor loadings being concentrated out, to account for the effects of conditioning and concentration. Solving the estimating equations gives the M-estimators of the common parameters and common factors. Under fixed T, n-consistency and joint asymptotic normality of the M-estimators are established. Under T = o(n), the M-estimators of the common parameters are shown to be nT-consistent and asymptotically normal. For inference, …

Corrigendum To “Interim Rationalizable Implementation Of Functions” (Kunimoto T, Saran R, Serrano R (2024) Mathematics Of Operations Research 49(3):1791–1824), Takashi Kunimoto, Rene Saran, Roberto Serrano

Research Collection School Of Economics

This is the brief corrigendum to “Interim rationalizable implementation of functions” [Kunimoto T, Saran R, Serrano R (2024) Interim rationalizable implementation of functions. Math. Oper Res. 49(3):1791–1824].

Teaching Principles Of Macroeconomics In One Equation

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

We leverage the quantity theory of money in teaching because it represents well the big picture of macroeconomics and the relationships between key macroeconomic variables, providing a simple intuition and unified framework. To spark interest, we design authentic learning activities that begin with the opening minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) press conference. Then, we illustrate in a simple classroom experiment how quantity theory works and why it relates to the FOMC decisions. To further equip students with macro data interpretation skills, we assign group presentations on economic outlook for non-US countries.

Ai Teaching Assistants In Higher Education: A Case Study In Pedagogical Integration And Support

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

This case study examines the implementation of three customized AI teaching assistants in a graduate quantitative methods course for adult learners. Designed to provide timely, course-specific support, the AI tools enhanced student engagement, upheld academic integrity, and aligned with pedagogical principles such as constructivist learning and formative assessment. The assistants were evaluated on the accuracy of their responses and compliance with behavioral requirements. Student feedback indicated improved learning and reduced frustration. This study offers a replicable model for responsibly integrating AI in higher education to support diverse learner needs and promote academic success.

The Abcs Of Modified Bond Duration And Wxyzs Of Bond Convexity

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

By breaking the mathematical derivation of Macaulay Duration, Modified Duration, and Bond Convexity into smaller easily calculated component parts, a more manageable means of calculation for these bond measures emerges for the student. Further, an Excel spreadsheet or an algorithm within a programming language can also be implemented using these smaller component calculations. The Excel template provided can be made into an assignment or used as a resource for the student.

An Empirical Implementation Of A Two-Standard-Deviation Investment Signaling Framework Across Multiple Asset Classes

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

This paper presents a pedagogically driven application of a quantitative investment signaling model based on two standard deviation bands. Deviations beyond the two standard deviation range are interpreted as potential mean reversion signals, triggering tactical shifts in asset allocation or trading actions. Students construct the models in Excel using live market data, overlaying asset returns against calculated deviation bands to inform decisions. The firsthand approach emphasizes applied learning and critical thinking, with students analyzing model results and presenting empirical findings. Evidence suggests this experiential method significantly enhances student engagement, comprehension, and retention of investment strategy concepts across diverse financial settings

Coase, Thaler, And Behavioral Economics: Methodological Considerations

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

In their experiments to measure the endowment effect in market settings, Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1990; hereafter KKT) assessed the assumption of zero transaction costs associated with the Coase theorem. Their study recruited a sample of advanced undergraduate economics students who were placed in a market setting using coffee mugs as real-world goods, under conditions in which there were zero transaction costs. Their results suggested that an endowment effect lowered trading volume, which should not have occurred if Coase theorem worked in practice. We reexamine the research design employed by KKT, as well as their study’s statistical analysis and results.

Excerpt From: Hera, Or Empathy, William Leiss

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Modern Science, Enlightenment, And The Domination Of Nature: No Exit?, William Leiss

Fast Capitalism

"The disease of reason is that reason was born from man’s urge to dominate nature." —Max Horkheimer, Eclipse of Reason (1947)

In the fuller passage from which this extract is taken, Horkheimer locates the origins of the ‘collective madness’ of modern times in ‘in primitive objectification, in the first man’s calculating contemplation of the world as prey’ (176). Perhaps all one can say in response is, if this diagnosis is correct, there is certainly no cure, so we might as well get on with our lives.

In the early sections of this paper I will first note briefly the argument …

The Killing Fields Of South Africa: Eco-Wars, Species Apartheid, And Total Liberation, Steve Best

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Fast Capitalism Editorial Team

Fast Capitalism

No abstract provided.

High Prevalence Of Cerebrovascular Calcifications And Clinical Correlates In Indigenous Bolivian Forager‐Horticulturalists: A Population‐Based Observational Study, Giuseppe Barisano, Bavrina Bigjahan, Grant Schleifer, Maria Ashna, Wendy J. Mack, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Helena C. Chui, Meng Law, Thomas J. Fischbach, Andrei Irimia, Nikhil N. Chaudhari, Daniel K. Cummings, Paul L. Hooper, Jacob E. Aronoff, Ellen E. Walters, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Raul Quispe Gutierrez, Jesus Bani Cuata, Kenneth Buetow, Caleb E. Finch, Michael D. Gurven, Jonathan Stieglitz, Gregory S. Thomas, Randall C. Thompson, Benjamin Trumble, Hillard Kaplan, Margaret Gatz

ESI Publications

Background

Methods

The Cost Of Underperforming Investments

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

Underperforming investments change a firm's equity value, cost of equity, capital structure and cost of capital. We show how to correctly adjust the cost of capital and correctly value a firm with underperforming investments. The correct equity estimate equates the equity value derived from the Economic Profit Model with the equity used to estimate the WACC. We demonstrate how underperforming investments can reduce equity value even though earnings may increase. We confirm our results with the Residual Earnings Model and show that our approach for valuing a company with underperforming investments also works well with investments that increase equity value.