Digital Commons Network^™

Employer Resource Networks: What Works In Forming A Successful Ern?, Bridget Timmeney, Kevin Hollenbeck

Reports

No abstract provided.

Containment And Virtualization Slot Technology And The Remaking Of The Casino Industry, Kah-Wee Lee

Occasional Papers

This paper examines how the casino industry was transformed by slot technology between 1950 and 1990. The criminalization of slot machines in the 1950s led to their massive evacuation into Las Vegas casinos. In this concentrated environment, slot machines revealed to casino operators an automated surveillance technology that could disassemble the player into streams of virtual data, not through any overt means, but through the very activity of play itself. Slot managers and gaming technologists found themselves empowered professionally as they experimented with ways to transform data into profits. From the 1970s to the 90s, this technological development effectively linked …

The Embeddedness Of Responsible Business Practice: National Institutional Environments And Corporate Social Responsibility, Luc Fransen

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

Academic literature recognizes that firms in different countries deal with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in different ways. Because of this, analysts presume that variations in national institutional arrangements affect CSR practices. Literature however lacks specificity in determining, first, what parts of national political economic configurations actually affect CSR practices; second, the precise aspects of CSR affected by national-institutional variables; third, how casual mechanisms between national institutional framework variables and aspects of CSR practices work. Because of this the literature is not able to address to what extent CSR practices are affected by either global or national policies, discourses and economic …

The Role Of Regional Science In Shale Energy Development, Randall Jackson, Christa D. Court, Nancy White

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The most recent boom in fossil fuel extraction is noteworthy through its extensive use of advanced technologies called hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The papers in this issue demonstrate the role that regional science can and should play in guiding policy, usefully complementing research from physical science and engineering disciplines that focuses on the important geological and environmental consequences of shale energy production. Furthermore, we underscore the need for expanding the traditional regional science focus in policy discussions pertaining to shale energy.

The New Hampshire Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund: Year 3 (July 2011-June 2012) Evaluation, Matthew Magnusson, Cameron P. Wake

The Sustainability Institute Publications

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund (GHGERF) was created by the New Hampshire legislature in 2008 and has been administered by the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The purpose of the Fund was to support energy efficiency, energy conservation, and demand response programs to reduce New Hampshire’s greenhouse gas emissions. Funding was derived from the State’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative effort by nine northeastern states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the electric power sector via a cap and trade program. As of June 2012, RGGI auctions have resulted in revenues to New …

Caught In A Poverty Trap? Testing For Single Vs. Multiple Equilibrium Models Of Growth, Cameron Shelton, Francisco R. Rodriguez

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

We look for permanent effects to per capita GDP from exogenous, temporary shocks. Our shocks are temporary changes to the export revenues of small, open economies. We find no evidence that even the largest of these temporary shocks, in excess of 9.7% of GDP, produce permanent effects to the growth path of per capita GDP. The inability to reject a single-equilibrium world with shocks of this magnitude suggests that multiple-equilibria, if they exist, are too widely separated to be policy-relevant. Current aid initiatives, which are of a similar magnitude, are not likely to deliver transition to a higher growth path.

Tackling Tax Evasion: Transfer Price Manipulation, Extractive Natural Resources And A Strategy For The Southern African Customs Union, Patrick Grant Mclennan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An increase in the number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has increased the attention on cross-border challenges, such as transfer price manipulation (TPM). TPM is a development issue - it undermines institutions as well as siphons money from government revenues that could be directed towards programs for human development. Pervasive corruption in the natural resource sector supports an environment where TPM can flourish. This paper develops a strategy for combating TPM within the countries of the Southern African Customs Union. It does this by 1) defining the terrain of illicit flows, both generally and specifically to the abuse of transfer pricing …

Does Proximity To Wind Farms Affect The Value Of Nearby Residential Properties? Evidence From Washington And New York States, Natalie Camplair

Award Winning Economics Papers

The rapid growth of wind farms across rural communities in the U.S. has spurred concerns over the effect of wind turbines on residential property values. This paper presents a hedonic regression analysis of property values using a partial panel of properties from two counties in the United States. A total of 24 models are estimated. This paper compares the results of market and county-assessed data, interaction terms, and varying assumptions about the effect of wind turbines. This study finds weak evidence that property values near wind turbines are lower than nearby areas, but given methodological limitations and likely endogeneity bias …

Economic Deregulation And Corporate Dividend Policy, Xinghua Gao

Wayne State University Dissertations

I investigate the evolution of corporate dividend policy in response to the changing operating environment induced by economic deregulation from the 1970s-1990s. Specifically, I examine the impact of deregulation on the firm's propensity to pay dividends, dividend payout ratio, the sensitivity of corporate dividend policy to current and past earnings, changes in the information content of dividends, and changes in corporate financing behavior along the deregulation process. Empirical results reveal that economic deregulation per se does not have significant impacts on firms' propensity to pay dividends. However, it seems that firms reduce dividend payout along the deregulation process and adjust …

Part 3: Attorneys And Law Firms In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The national market for attorneys is glutted and this has resulted in stagnant salaries, unemployed attorneys, falling law school enrollments, and rising dissatisfaction of attorneys with their lot in life. The situation in Hampton Roads does not differ substantially.

On Persistent Poverty In A Rich Country, T.M. Tonmoy Islam, Jenny Minier, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

We examine differences in income within the U.S., and the regions of persistent poverty that have arisen, using a newly assembled dataset of counties that links historical 19th century Census data with contemporaneous data. The data, along with an augmented human capital growth model, permit us to identify the roles of contemporaneous differences in aggregate production technologies and factor endowments, in conjunction with the historical roles of institutions, culture, geography, and human capital. We allow for possible cross-county factor mobility via a correlated random effects GMM estimator that identifies simultaneously the coefficients on time varying and time-invariant determinants of income. …

Relationships Among Growth, Poverty And Inequality In Developing Countries, Mahlet Getachew Gezahegn

Masters Theses

The relationship among growth, poverty and inequality has been and remains one of the most controversial topics in development economics. Development literature suggests that they are likely to evolve in an interrelated fashion in most countries although their exact path will depend on country circumstances.

The primary objective is to explore relationships among growth, poverty and inequality. The investigation largely follows the approach taken by Lundberg and Squire (2003) who however, examine evolution of only growth and inequality. Suitable modifications to their model are made to achieve a greater understanding of the evolutionary process of the three major variables of …

Trade Openness In North America: The Impacts Of Nafta, Mohammed Dawood

Masters Theses

The objective of this paper is to examine the impacts of the creation of NAFTA on trade openness in the North American region as a whole. We first assess these impacts of on NAFTA on individual member countries- namely, the United States, Canada and Mexico. Then we explore the impacts of NAFTA on North America as a bloc. Towards our goal we develop an empirical model that includes several independent variables to control, among others, for productivity, inflation, capital formation, per capita income, monetary policy and the existence of NAFTA. We collect annual time series data on all variables from …

Review Of Daniel Mockli's "Strategic Trends 2012: Key Developments In Global Affairs, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This review essay describes and analyzes the content of this annual compilation of international affairs essays published by the Zurich-based Center for Strategic Studies.

Health Disparities Among The U.S. Elderly, Heesoo Joo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines health disparities related to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status among the U.S. elderly taking into account empirical challenges including: (1) self-selection and unobserved factors; (2) subjective and objective measures of disease; and (3) attrition bias.

The Impact Of The Welfare Reforms Of 1996 On Migration, Participation And Residential Choice, Samrat Bose

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 gives states wide latitude to institute eligibility rules for welfare payment, set welfare payment amounts and decide on the income threshold that trigger welfare payments under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Do recipients shop around for the best deal by migrating to a state with higher benefits and liberal eligibility rules in the post-welfare reform era? Does the migration behavior of single mothers support the lifecycle hypothesis? Do states with higher welfare payments and easier eligibility rules have increased participation rates for their migrant population compared …

Inflation Targeting In Africa, Stephen A. O'Connell

Economics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act: Examining The Spatial Distribution Of Federal Stimulus Funds, Matin Katirai, Jeffery L. Osgood Jr

Public Policy & Administration Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Three Essays On Financial Development, Biniv K. Maskay

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

My dissertation investigates three separate issues pertaining to a country's financial development. The first essay provides an introduction to the three essays. The second essay examines the combined effect of financial development and human capital on economic growth. While both financial development and human capital are individually positively correlated with growth, the literature has not emphasized their combined effect on growth. In this essay, I analyze the extent to which the effect of financial development on growth depends on a country's level of human capital. Using dynamic panel difference and system GMM, as well as the pooled OLS, I find …

Incentivizing Biodiversity Conservation: The Ecological Icms In Brazil, Erin Franks

CMC Senior Theses

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ecological ICMS (ICMS-e) in the Brazilian Amazon, an intragovernmental transfer for incentivizing biodiversity conservation. Tax funds are passed from state governments to municipalities in proportion to the amount of protected area within their borders; biological reserves, sustainable use areas, and indigenous lands are all considered. Econometric analysis using a fixed effects model found that the policy had little positive effect on increasing protected areas compared to the significant negative influence of poor land tenure, agricultural influences, and lack of monitoring for illegal deforestation. However, the policy may increase municipal governments' acceptance of and …

Do Political Contributions Purchase Regulatory Discretion In Mining Inspections?, Neil K. Malani

CMC Senior Theses

A vast literature acknowledges the corruptibility of regulators; however, empirical tests on the matter have been limited to two-agent models examining the rulemaking process and price regulation of natural monopolies. It remains an open question whether political contributions, by driving legislative pressure, can entice laxity from regulators in their application of the rules. To remedy this issue, I observe the highly-regulated coal mining industry for which there exists several points for inspector discretion. By comparing the outcomes with Congressional coal mining contribution levels, I am able to ascertain capture across several dimensions. Specifically, I find that contributions are associated with …

Water Policy: The World's Most Important Resource Politicized, Ethan Gilbert

CMC Senior Theses

Water is the most important resource on the planet for sustaining life, and many consider access to water as a fundamental human right. However, in light of its necessity, the distribution and allocation of water has become a highly politicized issue. Economic and political conditions have been shown to be influential in shaping a country’s water policy, more so then recognition of water as a basic human right. The reason for this is that many agree that there needs to be a value assigned to water to encourage its conservation and efficient use, and different methods of addressing that issue …

Responding To Foreclosures In Cuyahoga County 2011 Evaluation Report, Kathryn W. Hexter, Molly Schnoke

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The foreclosure crisis hit Cuyahoga County earlier and harder than the rest of the nation. The crisis continues to weaken the County’s already weak housing market, as evidenced by declining property values, increasing numbers of vacant and abandoned properties and the continuing high rates of foreclosure filings. In 1999, there were 4,900 residential foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County. That number doubled to about 10,000 by 2005 and peaked in 2007 at close to 14,000. In 2011, the County had just over 11,000 residential foreclosure filings. In total, an estimated 68,000 homes in the County have been “touched” by foreclosure. The …

Metro And Non-Metro Business Incubators: Similarities And Critical Differences, Randall Jackson, Peter V. Schaeffer, Mark Middleton

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Business incubators often figure prominently into regional economic development and innovation strategies. This paper reports on a recent survey aimed at identifying appropriate methods for the evaluation of nonmetropolitan, rural incubator performance. The results draw upon responses from 209 of 719 active U.S. Business incubators identified through our research. Roughly one quarter of the respondents were located outside of areas classified as metropolitan. This paper focuses on critical similarities and differences between metropolitan and non-metropolitan business incubators along the dimensions of economic role, function, and effectiveness. The survey and preliminary synthesis of follow-up interviews suggests that an explicit awareness of …

A Knowledge Base For The World's Energy Rich Regions, Hodjat Ghadimi, Davina Bird

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Energy rich regions (ERRs) play an important role in the world economy. A knowledge base of energy rich economies on a regional level provides a useful tool for comparative research of sustainable development in ERRs with an interdisciplinary perspective. The purpose of this knowledge base is to present a foundation for understanding the attributes and development processes of various ERRs and the collective role they play in the world’s energy, environment, and development debate. The construction of the ERR knowledge base is described, including the steps and data sources, structure, and process. Using two databases on oil and gas giant …

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth: How The Tragedy Of The Anticommons Emerges In Organizations, Matthew W. Mccarter, Shirli Kopelman, Thomas A. Turk, Candace Ybarra

ESI Working Papers

In organizations, conflict often revolves around commons resources because they are critical for influence, performance, and organizational survival. Research on property rights, territoriality, and social dilemmas suggests that to reduce such conflict, organizations should facilitate the (psychological) privatization of commons resources. We complement these three literatures by drawing from the legal, organizational, and social psychology literatures to model how psychologically privatizing organizational commons resources – to prevent a tragedy of the commons (an overuse problem) – can lead to the emergence of equivalently problematic tragedy in organizations: the tragedy of the anticommons (an underuse problem). Our model contributes to these …

Securing Access To Lower-Cost Talent Globally: The Dynamics Of Active Embedding And Field Structuration, Stephan Manning, Joerg Sydow, Arnold Windeler

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

This article examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high-skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Based on two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China we analyze how MNCs engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. MNCs thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations.Our findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and get shaped by MNC activities.

Substituting The End For The Whole: Why Voters Respond Primarily To The Election-Year Economy, Andrew Healy, Gabriel S. Lenz

Economics Faculty Works

According to numerous studies, the election-year economy influences presidential election results far more than cumulative growth throughout the term. Here we describe a series of surveys and experiments that point to an intriguing explanation for voter behavior that runs contrary to the standard explanations political science has offered, but one that accords with a large psychological literature. Voters, we find, actually intend to judge presidents on cumulative growth. However, since that characteristic is not readily available to them, voters inadvertently substitute election-year performance because it is more easily accessible. This “end-heuristic” explanation for voters’ election-year emphasis reflects a general tendency …

Global Production Networks, Relational Proximity, And The Sociospatial Dynamics Of Market Internationalization In Bolivia's Wood Products Sector, James T. Murphy

Geography

This article advances conceptualizations of global production networks (GPNs) through an analysis of the relational processes that firms in Bolivia's growing wood products industry use to build ties to international markets. Both large- and small-scale manufacturers are increasingly internationalizing their operations in response to the global demand for tropical hardwoods and decentralization of control over the country's forest resources. These firms use four different types of production networks and networking practices to develop international market ties. Each of these networks is distinguishable by its entry barriers, value-creation possibilities, upgrading strategies, and the cognitive, social, and cultural factors that influence who …

Economic Growth And Energy Consumption In Oecd Countries; A Causality Analysis, Daria Kostyannikova

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.