Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of New Market-Rate Housing Construction On The Low-Income Housing Market, Evan Mast

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Increasing supply is frequently proposed as a solution to rising housing costs. However, there is little evidence on how new market-rate construction—which is typically expensive—affects the market for lower quality housing in the short run. I begin by using address history data to identify 52,000 residents of new multifamily buildings in large cities, their previous address, the current residents of those addresses, and so on. This sequence quickly adds lower-income neighborhoods, suggesting that strong migratory connections link the low-income market to new construction. Next, I combine the address histories with a simulation model to estimate that building 100 new market-rate …

Diaspora’S Role In Nepal’S Development: Summary Of The Forum Held At The Nepali National Convention. Baltimore, Md, Usa. July 5-7, 2019, Ambika P. Adhikari, Diwakar Dahal, Rajendra Khatiwada

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Four major Nepalese community organizations, ANA, ANMA, BANA, and INLS jointly hosted the “Nepali National Convention 2019” in Baltimore, Maryland, USA during July 5 to 7, 2019. Eight other community-based organizations including Blood Donors of America, Society of American Nepalese Nurses, Nepalese Association of Florida, Nepal Pasa Pucha Amerikaye, America Nepal Women’s Association of Greater Washington, Nepal Education and Culture Center, America Nepal Society, and Association of Nepali Teraian in America were involved as co-hosts of the convention. Several other local organizations participated in support of the convention.

The Forum “Diaspora’s Role in Nepal’s Development” was held from 1:30-3:00 pm …

At The Hands Of Fate: The Political Economy Of Islamic Insurance In Indonesia, Malaysia, And Pakistan, C. 1980 To The Present, Muhammad S. Rahman

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Why have Islamic insurance systems developed well in some countries, but not in others? Malaysia is considered as Islamic insurance elite due to its relatively large number of operators it houses as well as the sustained growth of Islamic insurance sales within the country, while Indonesia and Pakistan are still in early stages of development. Analyzing the political and social history of Islamization of insurance systems in these three Muslim majority countries in Asia since 1980s, this dissertation demonstrates the development gap between these countries on Islamic insurance results from; firstly, complex bargains made between various groups within each country …

Dual-Self Representations Of Ambiguity Preferences, Madhav Chandrasekher, Mira Frick, Ryota Iijima, Yves Le Yaouanq

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We propose a class of multiple-prior representations of preferences under ambiguity, where the belief the decision-maker (DM) uses to evaluate an uncertain prospect is the outcome of a game played by two conflicting forces, Pessimism and Optimism. The model does not restrict the sign of the DM’s ambiguity attitude, and we show that it provides a unified framework through which to characterize different degrees of ambiguity aversion, and to represent the co-existence of negative and positive ambiguity attitudes within individuals as documented in experiments. We prove that our baseline representation, dual-self expected utility (DSEU), yields a novel representation of the …

Working Paper No. 13, Friedrich List And National Development, Mitch B. Priestley

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that Friedrich List offers an approach to national economic development based upon implementing policies. List conceptualizes and describes a situation wherein the United States, along with Germany and some other Continental European countries, face challenges dissimilar to Britain. List emphasizes an alternate approach towards national development that flies in the face of Adam Smith’s laissez-faire, free-trade prescription, focusing instead upon the powers of production, that he suggests, offer a proper measure of a nation’s wealth. List is a limited protectionist who advocates for national policies suited to a nation based upon its history and level …

Working Paper No. 24, Economic Thought During Japan’S Meiji Era, Karson M. Pence

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that it was Fukuzawa Yukichi who played a key roled in developing ideas that assisted the modernization of Japan, leading up to and especially after the Meiji Reformation of 1868. In An Outline of a Theory of Civilization [1875], Fukuzawa advances a clear understanding that Japan should make the shift from a producer nation to a manufacturer nation, and without having to bear the costs of importing vast sums of foreign capital. Under suspicion that the 250 year rule of the Bakufu left the Japanese economy stagnant and weak, Fukuzawa asserted that the only means …

Global Value Chains And The Cptpp, Pao-Li Chang, Tran Bao Phuong Nguyen

SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series

The CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is an example of a “mega-regional” free trade agreement, whose provisions on the rules of origin and trade facilitation can have potentially large impacts on the CPTPP-wide supply chains. In this paper, we investigate whether the CPTPP members are key upstream and downstream trade partners to each other in the global value chains. We develop formulas of bilateral upstreamness and downstreamness, based on the gross-export decomposition framework of Koopman, Wang and Wei (2014) and Borin and Mancini (2017). We demonstrate how the decomposition of gross exports can be used …

Dual-Self Representations Of Ambiguity Preferences, Madhav Chandrasekher, Mira Frick, Ryota Iijima, Yves Le Yaouanq

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We propose a class of multiple-prior representations of preferences under ambiguity, where the belief the decision-maker (DM) uses to evaluate an uncertain prospect is the outcome of a game played by two conflicting forces, Pessimism and Optimism. The model does not restrict the sign of the DM’s ambiguity attitude, and we show that it provides a unified framework through which to characterize different degrees of ambiguity aversion, and to represent the co-existence of negative and positive ambiguity attitudes within individuals as documented in experiments. We prove that our baseline representation, dual-self expected utility (DSEU), yields a novel representation of the …

Boolean Expected Utility, Mira Frick, Ryota Iijima, Yves Le Yaouanq

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We propose a multiple-prior model of preferences under ambiguity that provides a unified lens through which to understand different formalizations of ambiguity aversion, as well as context-dependent negative and positive ambiguity attitudes documented in experiments. This model, Boolean expected utility (BEU), represents the belief the decision-maker uses to evaluate any uncertain prospect as the outcome of a game between two conflicting forces, Pessimism and Optimism. We prove, first, that BEU provides a novel representation of the class of invariant biseparable preferences (Ghirardato, Maccheroni, and Marinacci, 2004). Second, BEU accommodates rich patterns of ambiguity attitudes, which we characterize in terms of …

Boolean Representations Of Preferences Under Ambiguity, Mira Frick, Ryota Iijima, Yves Le Yaouanq

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We propose a class of multiple-prior representations of preferences under ambiguity where the belief the decision-maker (DM) uses to evaluate an uncertain prospect is the outcome of a game played by two conflicting forces, Pessimism and Optimism. The model does not restrict the sign of the DM’s ambiguity attitude, and we show that it provides a unified framework through which to characterize different degrees of ambiguity aversion, as well as to represent context-dependent negative and positive ambiguity attitudes documented in experiments. We prove that our baseline representation, Boolean expected utility (BEU), yields a novel representation of the class of invariant …

Tax Uncertainty And Business Activity, Jungho Lee, Jianhuan Xu

Research Collection School Of Economics

We investigate the extent to which uncertainties about tax policies affect business activities. We develop a statewide tax-uncertainty measure (TU measure) and show that it captures state corporate tax uncertainty. By comparing adjacent counties across state borders, we show that increasing tax uncertainty by one standard deviation (a 30% increase in the TU measure) leads to a 0.17% point per-year decrease in the growth rate of establishments over two years. The result holds after conducting a variety of robustness checks and is not likely to be driven by general state-policy uncertainties.

Global Value Chains And The Cptpp, Pao-Li Chang, Tran Bao Phuong Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Economics

The CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is an example of a “mega-regional” free trade agreement, whose provisions on the rules of origin and trade facilitation can have potentially large impacts on the CPTPP-wide supply chains. In this paper, we investigate whether the CPTPP members are key upstream and downstream trade partners to each other in the global value chains. We develop formulas of bilateral upstreamness and downstreamness, based on the gross-export decomposition framework of Koopman, Wang and Wei (2014) and Borin and Mancini (2017). We demonstrate how the decomposition of gross exports can be used …

Walled Cities And Urban Density In China, Rui Du, Junfu Zhang

Economics

We analyse a sample of nearly 300 prefectural-level cities in China, among which about half historically had city walls. We document that cities that had walls in late imperial China have higher population and employment density today, despite that their walls have long gone. Using data from various sources, we test whether a historically walled city's higher density can be explained by a historical urban core, a different industry composition, a different local geography, a compact urban shape, or more valuable rural land in surrounding areas. We find that historically walled cities still have higher density after taking into account …

The Effect Of Job Referrals On Labor Market Outcomes In Brazil, Christopher J. O'Leary, Túlio Cravo, Ana Cristina Sierra, Leandro Justino Veloso

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper is the first to use program administrative data from Brazil’s National Employment System (SINE) to assess the impact of SINE job interview referrals on labor market outcomes. Data for a five-year period (2012–2016) are used to evaluate the impact of SINE on employment probability, wage rates, time until reemployment, and job tenure. Difference-in-differences estimates suggest that a SINE job interview referral increases the probability of finding a job within three months of the referral and reduces the number of months to find reemployment, the average job tenure of the next job, and the reemployment wage. Subgroup analysis suggests …

Longer-Run Effects Of Antipoverty Policies On Disadvantaged Neighborhoods, David Neumark, Brian J. Asquith, Brittany Bass

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the longer-run effects of minimum wages, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and welfare on key economic indicators of economic self-sufficiency in disadvantaged neighborhoods. We find that the longer-run effects of the EITC are to increase employment and to reduce poverty and public assistance. We also find some evidence that higher welfare benefits had longer-run adverse effects, and quite robust evidence that tighter welfare time limits reduce poverty and public assistance in the longer run. The evidence on the long-run effects of the minimum wage on poverty and public assistance is not robust, with some evidence pointing to reductions …

Can Antipoverty Policies Change Neighborhood Outcomes In The Long Run?, Brian J. Asquith

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Long-Run Effects Of Tropical Cyclones On Infant Mortality, Isabel Miranda

Master's Theses

In the United States alone, each tropical cyclone causes an average of $14.6 billion worth of damages. In addition to the destruction of physical infrastructure, natural disasters also negatively impact human capital formation. These losses are often more difficult to observe, and therefore, are over looked when quantifying the true costs of natural disasters. One particular effect is an increase in infant mortality rates, an important indicator of a country’s general socioeconomic level. This paper utilizes a model created by Anttila-Hughes and Hsiang, that takes advantage of annual variation in tropical cyclones using annual spatial average maximum wind speeds and …

Captive Nations: Measuring Economic Growth On Native American Reservations In California, Mahsa Ashabi

Master's Theses

A history of institutional oppression and genocide has shaped Native American communities across the United States today, reflected in large disparities of socioeconomic outcomes and infrastructure. Due to a lack of comprehensive data and macroeconomic research, alternative forms of spatial data and theories regarding human settlement are needed to develop an understanding ofthis stagnation. In our efforts to better understand growth on Native American reservations, we utilize nighttime lights data to proxy for economic output in these geographic areas, measuring the settlement characteristics ofreservations themselves and against surrounding U.S. regions. Through a series of log-log regressions that focus on Zipf’s …

The Behavioral Determinants Of Well-Being In Sierra Leone, Madison Levine

Master's Theses

Ensuring the needs of individuals are met leads to a more prosperous economy. Healthy economic activity is dependent on a supported community of people. These people express different levels of happiness depending on where they come from and make behavioral choices every day influenced by their association with their community. Currently most subjective data have come from western educated industrialized rich and democratic (WEIRD) areas. These results are placed as generalizations across all other countries and are not giving an adequate representation of well-being for the population in non-WEIRD areas. Our study outlines an in-depth survey covering subjective well-being measurements …

Measuring Cocoa Agricultural Productivity: A Spatio-Temporal Econometric Approach, Yurlady Chaverra-Palacios

Master's Theses

A significant increase of 50.5 percent in the national production of cocoa was registered between 2011 and 2015 in Colombia. Nevertheless, 5,890 tons were imported in 2015 to supply domestic demand. Unlike other crops, the production of cocoa has made a significant contribution to the income of approximately 38,000 families of which 90 percent are small farm-producers with very little capital. Facilitating credit for investment is one of the main strategies of the national government to increase cocoa productivity. Correspondingly, the impact of the credit for investment on the cocoa agricultural productivity and if those investments have a spillover effect …

Connecticut Waterfront Property Premium In Areas With Flood Risk, Conor O'Donnell

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper investigates the premium paid for waterfront property along the Connecticut shoreline and how that premium is affected by its vulnerability to coastal flooding as measured by its location relative to the FEMA 100-year and 500-year flood zones. The primary analysis is a comparison of the rate of appreciation of properties within each flood zone relative to coastal properties outside the flood-zone. An analysis of the impact of Super Storm Sandy in 2012 on the appreciation rate is also presented. It is hypothesized that the rate of appreciation of properties within the 100-year flood zone is lower following Hurricane …

A Fishy Problem: Effects Of Atlantic Salmon Farming In The Pacific Ocean, Madeleine A. Griffith

Student Theses 2015-Present

In this report, I explore the historical, climatological, economic, and ethical issues created by the contemporary industrial salmon farming practices off Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. Chapter 1 utilizes a variety of sources from Stephen Hume’s A Stain upon the Sea to Miller’s Living in the Environment, to examine the integral part salmon plays in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the ecosystem services salmon contribute in wild and farmed settings, and the trends in salmon consumption around the world. Chapter 2 examines the historically relevant role salmon held among indigenous societies and how that role has changed …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals In Nyc, Jeremy J. Sze

Theses and Dissertations

I evaluated the impact of the phased introduction of Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals (LPIs) on collision and injury outcomes at 12,987 signalized traffic intersections in New York City over the course of 25 quarters from 2012 to 2018. An intersection is treated when a LPIs is installed to give pedestrians lead time to cross the street before vehicles are allowed to move. Outcomes from NYPD’s Motor Vehicle Collisions data were matched to signalized intersections. I hypothesize that LPIs would reduce collisions and reduce injuries for pedestrians at intersections. A difference in difference fixed effects panel regression was used to identify …

The Effect Of The Fresh Program On Crime Rate In Nyc, Ashley M. Kraus

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines whether opening up grocery stores in underserved areas in New York City have an affect on the occurrence of crimes in those neighborhoods. Using data from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) grocery stores and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) on crime statistics by precinct, regressions are run to determine how the different types of crime varies across precincts over time with the introduction of the FRESH program by employing a difference in difference regression with fixed effects. The primary data for my project …

Understanding Maternal Mortality In The United States, Alexis Whellan

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Background and Purpose: The maternal mortality rate in the United States is uncharacteristically high for a developed nation. Despite a concerted effort to participate in decreasing maternal mortality rates internationally as part of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, the United States has failed many of its mothers when it comes to positive maternal health outcomes. The quality of health care in the United States is comparable to other developed nations, suggesting that the unusually high maternal mortality rate is not due to physician error and lack of proper physician techniques and rather due to social variables. There are many …

Perceptions Of The North American Free Trade Agreement And Mexican Migration: “What Is The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Labor Mobility?”, Colin Gonzalez

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the author uses previous academic literature to assesses the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s primary and peripheral goals. To understand how North American citizens, perceive NAFTA and their future relationship with one another, the author uses survey data to analyze attitudes of American and Mexican citizens towards trade liberalization (NAFTA) and labor mobility. Regression analysis reveals that there is a positive relationship between labor mobility and trade liberalization for Mexican citizens but not for American citizens. This is a significant finding that contributes …

A Framework For Learning During An Honors Internship: Embold Health Inc., Haley Haldeman

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Embold Health Inc. is a health care analytics start-up company that identifies top performing providers using large data sets and clinically nuanced measurement. A comprehensive assessment of quality, appropriateness, and cost is what Embold Health delivers. Embold allows payers more control in choosing providers within their region. Being able to identify top provider behaviors through rigorous data driven measurement is significant both clinically and commercially; it provides the opportunity to increase value of care, decrease waste, and drive down cost.

Over the past year as an intern, I’ve had a first-hand look into the complexity that surrounds data driven health …

Are You Happy? Local Economic Development In Northern Thailand, Katherine Sorensen

Master's Theses

Thailand has had a long history of economic development. In recent years, Thailand began to focus on economic development initiatives a local level. The implementation process has been slow, but the introduction of social enterprise programs has proven a promising strategy in local economic development. Successful examples of economic development can be found in Thailand wherein this paper argues through collaboration between government agencies and local communities lies the key to success.

Qualitative techniques including a two months of fieldwork in Thailand, first hand observations, and appreciative inquiry interviews are used to analyze economic development initiatives in the communities of …

A Systematic Assessment Of Socio-Economic Impacts Of Prolonged Episodic Volcano Crises, Justin Peers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uncertainty surrounding volcanic activity can lead to socio-economic crises with or without an eruption as demonstrated by the post-1978 response to unrest of Long Valley Caldera (LVC), CA. Extensive research in physical sciences provides a foundation on which to assess direct impacts of hazards, but fewer resources have been dedicated towards understanding human responses to volcanic risk. To evaluate natural hazard risk issues at LVC, a multi-hazard, mail-based, household survey was conducted to compare perceptions of volcanic, seismic, and wildfire hazards. Impacts of volcanic activity on housing prices and businesses were examined at the county-level for three volcanoes with a …

The Value Of Farmland: Mapping Assessor Data To Understand Land Use Change, Lyndi Perry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ideas developed by regional economists have potential applications within the urban planning field. One potential application is toward conserving farmland, and within this thesis this topic is examined for the study area of Utah County, Utah. Using assessor data, a land value map is created and further used to develop a regional economic model and spatial models that were analyzed for patterns of land use change.

Findings show that representing land value as continuous surface maps is a useful approach. The maps reveal that Utah County has densified as its population increased while farmland loss still occurred in agriculturally-important areas. …