Digital Commons Network^™

The Fiscal Sustainability Of Retiree Health Care Benefits Among New York State School Districts, Robert Bifulco, Minch Lewis, Iuliia Shybalkina

Center for Policy Research

We examine spending on retiree health care as a percentage of revenues for a sample of New York State school districts. The fiscal burden of these benefits grew from 2010 to 2021, and big city school districts have faced the largest burdens. Assuming CBO forecasts regarding growth in health care costs and continuation of recent trends in revenue growth, we project that the burden of retiree health care benefits will exceed 10 percent of revenue by 2050. Projected burdens are greatest big city and high need rural districts. We discuss cutting benefits and pre-funding as possible policy responses.

“Model Minorities” In The Classroom? Positive Evaluation Bias Towards Asian Students And Its Consequences, Ying Shi, Maria Zhu

Center for Policy Research

The fast-growing demographic group of Asian Americans is often perceived as a “model minority.” This paper establishes empirical evidence of this stereotype in the context of education and then analyzes its consequences. We show that teachers rate Asian students’ academic skills more favorably than observationally similar White students in the same class, even after accounting for test performance and behavior. This contrasts with teachers’ lower likelihood of favoring Black and Hispanic students. Notably, teachers respond to the presence of any Asian student in the classroom by exacerbating Black-White and Hispanic-White assessment gaps. This suggests that the “model minority” stereotype can …

Lessons Learned: Veerathai Santiprabhob, Maryann Haggerty

Journal of Financial Crises

Veerathai Santiprabhob was the governor of the Bank of Thailand from 2015 to 2020, a period that included the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in his career, he was an economist at the International Monetary Fund. At the time of the 1997–1998 Asian Financial Crisis, he returned to his home country to take a position at the Ministry of Finance. There, he was involved with the government response to that financial crisis. From 2000 to 2015, he held private-sector finance jobs before going to lead the Bank of Thailand. This Lessons Learned is based on an interview with Santiprabhob …

Lessons Learned: Claudia Sahm, Mercedes Cardona

Journal of Financial Crises

Claudia Sahm was a principal economist in the Division of Research and Statistics of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2007 to 2017 and section chief for the Consumer & Community Development section in the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs from 2017 to 2019. Her work focused on macro forecasting; she also researched household behavior and responses to fiscal stimulus. While at the Fed, she proposed the Sahm Rule, a gauge to call the start of a recession, based on an average of the unemployment rate. The rule is part of Sahm’s work on the …

Lessons Learned: Mike Leahy, Yasemin Sim Esmen

Journal of Financial Crises

Mike Leahy was associate director at the Federal Reserve Board’s Division of International Finance between 2008 and 2010. He was instrumental in establishing swap lines with foreign central banks and reviewed and reported on excess reserve balances and required interest payments to depository institutions. This Lessons Learned is based on a phone interview with Leahy on October 22, 2020.

Thailand: Fidf Blanket Guarantee, 1997, Ayodeji George

Journal of Financial Crises

The Thai government’s decision to allow the baht to float in July 1997 was the pivotal event of the Asian Financial Crisis. The baht fell 20% by the end of the month, further pressuring Thai financial institutions that had borrowed heavily in US dollars and other foreign currencies. In early August, Thailand’s Finance Minister and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced the suspension and restructuring of insolvent finance companies and a blanket guarantee covering depositors and creditors of all domestic banks and the remaining finance companies, administered by the BOT’s Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF). However, the blanket guarantee was …

Korea: Blanket Guarantee, 1997, Bailey Decker

Journal of Financial Crises

Korea entered the Asian Financial Crisis in August 1997 with highly leveraged firms and a banking system inexperienced in managing systemic risk. Korea faced a currency crisis and a banking crisis, as foreign banks froze credit to Korean commercial banks and merchant banks. On August 25, 1997, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) announced that it would guarantee all Korean financial institutions’ foreign debt—both existing debt and new borrowings. Nonetheless, foreign lenders continued to withdraw credit from Korean financial institutions. On November 19, 1997, a newly appointed MOEF minister announced a suite of measures to promote foreign creditors’ confidence …

Indonesia: Blanket Guarantee, 1998, Ayodeji George

Journal of Financial Crises

The Indonesian government closed 16 banks on November 1, 1997. At the time, the government said it would guarantee depositors up to 20 million Indonesian rupiah (IDR; USD 6,000) per account. The lack of immediate full protection for large depositors caused deposit runs throughout the banking sector and undermined foreign confidence in the Indonesian financial system. In response, the Indonesian president on January 26, 1998, announced a blanket guarantee and created the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to administer the guarantee and other bank rehabilitation efforts. The blanket guarantee covered all depositors and nonsubordinated creditors in locally incorporated commercial banks. …

Denmark: General Guarantee Scheme, 2008, Benjamin Hoffner

Journal of Financial Crises

As foreign credit in Denmark dried up during the summer of 2008, Danish banks became increasingly reliant on short-term borrowing. The government took over the failing Roskilde Bank, the country’s eighth-largest bank, in late August. On October 5, 2008, the government announced a voluntary General Guarantee Scheme to fully insure deposits and other senior liabilities of participating banks. Banks could participate in the scheme by becoming members of the financial sector’s banking consortium, Det Private Beredskab, or in English, the Private Contingency Association (PCA), before October 13, 2008. The General Guarantee Scheme fully insured all depositors and senior unsecured creditors …

Adherence To Best Practices For Stated Preference Valuation Within The U.S. Marine Ecosystem Services Literature, Daniel K. Lew, Leif E. Anderson, Douglas W. Lipton, Tammy B. Murphy, Kristy Wallmo

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Non-market economic values derived from stated preference (SP) methods are often of interest for policy analysis and evaluation, program design, green accounting, and damage assessments and are increasingly in demand with adoption of ecosystem-based management approaches that emphasize accounting for ecosystem services and their values. A recent guidance prescribes a set of twenty-three best practices guidelines (BPGs) to follow when conducting a SP study to ensure the validity of the results and maximize its ability to provide reliable economic value information. In this article, we evaluate adherence to these guidelines within the U.S. SP marine ecosystem service valuation literature. Our …

Editors' Note, Nirupama Devaraj, Bharath Ganesh Babu

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Of Movements And Markets: Religious Competition And The Problem Of Black Church Relevance, Omar M. Mcroberts

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Why do cross-denominational public religious movements such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference appear, despite the market-like competitive behavior of churches? Religious economy theory offers one set of explanations, based on a supply-side approach to the dynamics of numeric religious growth and decline. Namely, ecumenical movements are engaged by denominations, or religious firms, in membership decline. The history of national Black ecumenical movements, however, points to ways that religious economic theorizing fails to account for the multiple modes of social consciousness regarding church survival that motivate institutional religious activity. Black churches have existed not merely as a market but as …

Barriers For Small Businesses To Adopt Sustainable Practices In The Sioux Falls Area, Meredith King

Honors Thesis

Sustainability is a broad concept that encompasses environmental, social, and economic factors to meet current and future needs. Many individuals and large businesses are becoming conscious of the effects they have on the planet and the people around them. However, despite the financial benefits and positive publicity of environmentalism, many businesses are not adopting sustainable practices. This study interviewed local business owners to answer the question “What are the main reasons that small businesses in the Sioux Falls area of South Dakota do or do not adopt sustainable practices that benefit the environment and the community?” Five business owners were …

Ecological Green Integration In Yangtze River Delta From Perspective Of Intercity Green Technology Transfer, Debin Du, Hong Jin, Dezhong Duan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Green technology innovation is the core driving force for the high-quality development of regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta, and the free flow of innovative elements represented by green technology across cities is the due meaning of the construction of ecological green integration in the Yangtze River Delta. Based on the inter-city green patent transfer data from 2001 to 2020, this study analyzed the characteristics of the spatial evolution of green technology diffusion in the Yangtze River Delta, and discussed the development degree of ecological green integration in the area from the three levels of overall development, green technology …

Acquired And Useful Abilities: Three Essays On Human Capital Development, Rajan Bishwakarma

Economics ETDs

While early childhood circumstances influence the accumulation of skills and abilities, parental and policy responses can magnify or mitigate the effects of childhood circumstances. This work explores the two ideas mentioned above.

Chapter 1 briefs the historical and philosophical roots of the study of human capital and discusses the economic approach to the understanding of child wellbeing before the age of five. Because childhood circumstances influence the accumulation of skills, Chapter 2 estimates the impact of temperature shock during pregnancy on early childhood health. Evidence from Nepal shows that prenatal exposure to high-temperature days impedes child growth; however, the damage …

The Economic Opportunity Mapping (Eom) Tool, Craig W. Carpenter, Anders Van Sandt, Rebekka Dudensing, Scott Loveridge, Linda S. Niehm

Journal of Extension

Extension professionals increasingly understand data as integral to economic development planning and related efforts. However, regional economic data is often inaccurate, expensive, and unengaging for stakeholders. The Economic Opportunity Mapping Tool provides industry-specific free online interactive maps to engage stakeholders in the process of economic development planning, while also helping connect the determinants of business location with real local data on industry establishments.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go: The Impact Of Crossing Migrants In Local Communities In Mexico, Norma M. De La Rosa-Bustamante

Whittier Scholars Program

The interactions between migrants and Mexican local communities have positive and negative outcomes. A report by Human Rights First found that more than 630 violent crimes against asylum seekers were reported in the first few months of the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Still, some migrants have been able to assimilate and stay in Mexico, particularly in large cities such as Tijuana, Baja California and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. This research project combines qualitative data collected through interviews with local NGOs between September 2020 to February 2021 and secondary research data. It focuses on the living conditions of migrants who have stayed …

Working Paper No. 70, Industrialization, Retail Activities, And The Rise Of American Consumerism, Joseph French

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the department store can be viewed as a novel institution that emerged to facilitate an economic relationship between a burgeoning American industrial sector and a new generation of working-class consumers with rising incomes and changing needs. The development of retail in America lagged behind Europe for many decades, until the rapid pace of American industrialization acted as a catalyst for retail to evolve into a modern institution. Alongside the creation of the department store, American cities were taking to the skies, and those who inhabited them would establish a new socio-economic class that was …

Housing Profiles, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Brian Pittelko, Kathleen Bolter

Reports

No abstract provided.

Kalamazoo County Housing Plan, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Dakota Mccracken, Brian Pittelko

Reports

A healthy housing continuum provides homes for those in a range of incomes or in different life situations. Kalamazoo County has a shortage of housing units at multiple price points. Low rates of construction, high construction costs, increased demand from a growing population, and housing costs that are increasing faster than wages have contributed to the shortage and affordability issues. Fortunately, many strategies are available to help alleviate some of the housing concerns found in the county. These strategies are most effective when community partners band together and implement them as a cohesive unit.

St. Joseph County 2021 Housing Plan, Molly Trueblood, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Southcentral Michigan Planning Council

Reports

No abstract provided.

The Free College Handbook: A Practitioner’S Guide To Promise Research, Michelle Miller-Adams Co-Editor, Jennifer Iriti Co-Editor, Elizabeth Bell, Meredith S. Billings, Kathleen Bolter, Celeste Carruthers, Daniel Collier, Gresham D. Collom, Denisa Gándara, Douglas N. Harris, Brad J. Hershbein, Amy Li, Danielle Lowry, Lindsay C. Page, Bridget Timmeney

Reports

No abstract provided.

Montcalm And Ionia Counties Housing Plan, Emily Petz, Lee Adams, Gerrit Anderson, Dakota Mccracken, Brian Pittelko, W.E. Upjohn Institute For Employment Research

Reports

No abstract provided.

Volume 5, Issue 2 (2022) Migration, Community, And Environment During A Pandemic

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Education On Self-Reported Health, Mai Le '24

Student Research

Human Capital Theory pointed out health as a possible return to education. The question at the center of this research is if education can improve health. Replicating the work of Goesling (2007) on new data from the 2000-2022 Current Population Survey (CPS), a cross-sectional probit analysis shows a positive relationship between educational level and self-reported health. This relationship is robust and significant across age groups.

New Perspectives On The Ocean Economy Of The Mid-Atlantic States, Charles Colgan

Publications

No abstract provided.

Handwringing Over How To Slice The Pie When Ustr Should Be Focused On Growing It, Christine Mcdaniel

Yeutter Institute International Trade Policy Review

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently released its report on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on U.S. workers and “underrepresented and underserved communities.” The report catalogs a host of information gathered from a literature review and several roundtables on the adverse effects of U.S. manufacturing imports. But the report’s laser focus on manufacturing imports leaves a huge gap for readers interested in the distributional effects of trade.

Manufacturing imports are an important part of trade, but they aren’t all of trade. Trade is imports and exports, goods and services, inputs and final goods. Trade is manufacturing, …

“It’S Getting Hot In Here”: Climate Change And Tensions Surrounding Environmental Injustice For Minority And Low-Income Communities, Symone Gaskin

Symposium of Student Scholars

Our current climate crisis presents the perfect opportunity to address other social ills that reflect environmental injustice. The purpose of this research was to explore if, when, and how climate change disproportionately impacts minority communities. A thematic analysis was developed through the creation of a literature review matrix comprised of twenty academic and practitioner articles. This thematic analysis uncovered four key themes: implications in the workplace, the housing market, the economy, and the standard of health. Consequently, confirming the disenfranchisement of marginalized groups in relation to the environment, this research uncovered the long-lasting effects of systemic racism as an important …