Digital Commons Network^™

Finances, Depressive Symptoms, Destructive Conflict, And Coparenting Among Lower-Income, Unmarried Couples: A Two-Wave, Cross-Lagged Analysis, Melissa A. Curran, Xiaomin Li, Melissa Barnett, Olena Kopstynska, Alexa B. Chandler, Ashley B. Lebaron

Faculty Publications

Following from an adapted family stress model (FSM), we used two-wave, secondary data from the Building Strong Families project, focusing on 4,424 primarily lower-income, unmarried couples expecting their first child together. We used cross-lagged analyses to test the directionality of the associations among financial difficulties, depressive symptoms, destructive interparental conflict, and coparenting alliance for both fathers and mothers when children were 15 and 36 months old. Two of the three hypotheses provided support for the FSM. First, destructive conflict predicted coparenting alliance (but not the reverse). Specifically, higher destructive conflict at 15 months for both fathers and mothers predicted lower …

Architecture, Social Norms, And Their Economic Consequences In Japan, Koichi Kume

Japanese Society and Culture

Law and market mechanisms presuppose that people are rational. With the diversification of lifestyles and values, however, there is a limit to appealing only to economic rationality to implement social policies. In this study we focus on architecture as a policy instrument that does not presuppose people’s rationality and empirically analyze the effect on economic consequences in Japan. Specifically, we examine the relationship between bank transfers and poverty reduction, and that between statues (Sontoku Ninomiya, Jizo) and labor norms. The results suggest that the use of architecture in policy can improve policy effectiveness regardless of people’s irrationality and heterogeneous preferences.

Paso Del Norte Economic Indicator Review, March, Hunt Institute For Global Competitiveness

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Econometric Analysis Of Japan’S Roadside Stations Provided With The New Type Grants, Ryusaku Matsuo, Mitoshi Yamaguchi

Japanese Society and Culture

The number of Roadside Stations in Japan is increasing rapidly; it increased from 103 in 1993 to 1173 in 2020. From 2007, two new subsidies were given to select Roadside Stations. In this paper, we discuss the endogenous development and the role of the Roadside Stations therein. We also consider the various models we constructed to estimate how subsidies contributed to the business of the Roadside Stations. We estimate the interrelationship between sales and the factors that influence sales amount using a simultaneous equation model. An econometric analysis shows that parking space and sales share a loop (mutual and reciprocal) …

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 5, Number 3, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Ana Gutierrez Zubiate, Ignacio Santana

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Change In Outbreak Epicentre And Its Impact On The Importation Risks Of Covid-19 Progression: A Modelling Study, Oyelola A. Adegboye, Adeshina I. Adekunle, Anton Pak, Ezra Gayawan, Denis H. Y. Leung, Diana P. Rojas, Emma S. Mcbryde, Damon P. Eisen

Research Collection School Of Economics

Background: The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China has now spread to every inhabitable continent, but now the attention has shifted from China to other epicentres. This study explored early assessment of the influence of spatial proximities and travel patterns from Italy on the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide. Methods: Using data on the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and air travel data between countries, we applied a stochastic meta-population model to estimate the global spread of COVID-19. Pearson's correlation, semi-variogram, and Moran's Index were used to …

A Critical Look At The Failure Of Mainstream Economics, Joseph M. Dipoli

Journal of Global Business Insights

Book Review

Foundations of real-world economics: What every economics student needs to know (2nd ed.), by John Komlos, New York, Routledge, 2019, 306 pp., $42.95 (Paperback), ISBN 9781138296541.

Many people in the United States of America are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the economy and some are suggesting measures that seem socialistic. The time has come to recognize that mainstream economics as taught in our schools is not serving students at all. The research sharing platform of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) states that John Komlos’s textbook Foundations of Real-World Economics: What Every Economics Student Needs to …

The Effects Of Income On Health: Evidence From Lottery Wins In Singapore, Seonghoon Kim, Kanghyock Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

We estimate the causal effects of household income on self-reported health status by exploiting random variations in the amount of lottery prizes won. We find that a S$10,000 (US$7,245) increase in income via lottery wins improves individuals’ health by a standard deviation of 0.18. As possible mechanisms, we find that lottery wins increase household consumption spending and improve overall life satisfaction, but do not change healthcare spending, labor supply, and risky health behavior. Previous studies, which focused on the health effects of lottery prizes in Western European countries with strong social safety nets, do not find positive effects other than …

Indispensable Homes In Third World Countries: Constructing A Home In Tijuana, Mexico, Myles Hubers

Construction Management

This project was created to explore a way in which poverty around the world could ultimately be reduced. The way in which this project intends to demonstrate a method used to reduce poverty is by building a home for a specific family in Tijuana, Mexico. In doing so, this home will act as a model home for a manual, comprised of steps that should be taken to construct similar homes throughout any third world country. The goal of this project is to highlight the importance of poverty in the world while also creating a buildable solution in order to reduce …

The Case For Public Investment In Higher Pay For New York State Home Care Workers: Estimated Costs And Savings, Isaac Jabola-Carolus, Stephanie Luce, Ruth Milkman

Publications and Research

This report explores one potential solution to the mounting home care labor shortage in New York State: substantially raising wages for the state's home care workers. The analysis presents detailed projections, based on the best available data, of the economic effects of such an intervention, estimating the costs and benefits that would result. We find that public funding to raise home care wages would require significant resources, but those costs would be surpassed by the resulting savings, tax revenues, and economic spillover effects. The net economic gain would total at least $3.7 billion. Lifting wages would also help fill nearly …

The Effects Of Renewable Portfolio Standards And The Deregulation Of Energy Markets On Electricity Prices, Amani Chaar

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are public policies put into effect to help alleviate the harmful consequences of air pollution. Every state has a unique form of standards corresponding to their natural resources. More states have implemented the policy to increase the generation of renewable energy; however, many stand opposed to the policy in fear that it will increase electricity prices. The influence that RPS has on the price of electricity is not entirely understood. Previous literature confirms that RPS, on average, increases prices by three percent. This paper focuses on analyzing the effect of RPS on electricity rates over a …

Legal Financial Obligations & Rehabilitation: How The Ability To Pay Fines And Fees Disproportionately Affects Citizens Based On Socioeconomic Status, Bailey R. Code

University Honors Theses

In the United States, legal financial obligations (LFO's), also known as monetary sanctions or criminal justice financial obligations, refer to the fines and fees that result from an individual’s involvement in the criminal justice system. Today, these fines and fees have become the most common form of punishment used by the United States' legal system. This paper answers the following research question: How can the ability to pay legal financial obligations shape the rehabilitation of incarcerated people in the United States?

Legal Financial Obligations are harmful to those entangled within the justice system, as shown by their cyclical nature and …

What Is The Impact Of Economic Stimulus Measures On Covid-19 Mortality Rates?, Stephanie C. Santaguida

University Honors Theses

This inquiry seeks to establish the degree to which economic stimulus measures impact COVID-19 mortality rates. There appears to be an inverse correlation between domestic social spending and COVID-19 deaths. While confirmed infections are the most reliable predictor of mortality rates, trust in government is an important factor to consider when public compliance with health directives determines the degree of epidemiological risk in each country. Although most economists agree that stimulus monies directed to low-income individuals to prevent financial collapse were appropriate, there is some dissention with regard to the type and size of such cash infusions. Nonetheless, behavioral economists …

The Determinants Of House Prices In Malaysia, Hazmi Hamizan Bin Mohd Zaki

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

This paper studied how house prices were affected by macroeconomic factors from Q1 2009 to Q4 2018. The short and long-run effects of real income, nominal interest rates, inflation rate and stock prices on house prices in Malaysia were examined with the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) of a restricted error correction model (ECM). It was discovered that the selected macroeconomic factors were cointegrated with house prices. Income, represented by real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), significantly affected house prices in the short and long-run. Inflation and interest rate, proxied by Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Overnight Policy Rate (OPR), respectively, affected …

Driving Inclusiveness From The Grassroots: The Tambunan Inventors, Kamarulzaman Abdul Aziz, Jule Ashikin Julai Poh

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Reviews of recent studies indicated the growing importance of development and attainment of inclusive societies via inclusive innovations. This is especially relevant for addressing the disenfranchised or those at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). Gaps in the literature pointed to; l) the need for understanding of inclusive innovation processes among small, medium and micro enterprises vis-à-vis among local entrepreneurs, ll) there is a lack of studies on inclusive innovation movement in Malaysia. Specifically under the SME Masterplan 2012-2020, there are a number of high impact programmes defined to drive numerous aims. Specifically, for driving inclusive innovation among Small …

Aurora: The Pandemic Within, Nahariah Jaffar, Haslin Johari

International Journal of Management, Finance and Accounting

Aurora Layar Group (Aurora) had been experiencing losses for three consecutive years since 2017. Among factors contributing to these losses were high depreciation due to high capital expenditure and recognition of impairment losses. However, Aurora managed to reduce its losses from RM252 billion in 2017 to RM79.5 billion in 2019. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic had hammered many industries worldwide including Aurora, in the travel, leisure and hospitality sector. The implication from the restrictions on business operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic on Aurora was evidenced by its reported losses of RM371.3 billion in the first six months to June 2020 …

Labor Market Monopsony And Wage Inequality: Evidence From Online Labor Market Vacancies, Samuel I. Thorpe

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper estimates the effects of employer labor market power on wage inequality in the United States. I find that inequality as measured by interdecile range is 23.7% higher in perfectly monopsonistic labor markets than in perfectly competitive markets, even when controlling for commuting zone and occupation fixed effects. I also decompose these results into 50/10 and 90/50 ratios, finding much larger impacts on inequality among low earners. These results suggest that monopsony power has significant and policy-relevant impacts on wage inequality, and particularly harms the lowest earning subsets of the labor force.

Survival Pessimism And The Demand For Annuities, Cormac O'Dea, David Sturrock

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

The “annuity puzzle” refers to the fact that annuities are rarely purchased despite the longevity insurance they provide. Most explanations for this puzzle assume that individuals have accurate expectations about their future survival. We provide evidence that individuals misperceive their mortality risk, and study the demand for annuities in a setting where annuities are priced by insurers on the basis of objectively-measured survival probabilities but in which individuals make purchasing decisions based on their own subjective survival probabilities. Subjective expectations have the capacity to explain significant rates of non-annuitization, yielding a quantitatively important explanation for the annuity puzzle.

The Economic Impact Of Natural Gas Unitization In West Virginia, Eric Bowen

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

In this study, we examine the potential economic impact of instituting a unitization law in West Virginia. The economic impact of natural gas unitization will depend largely on the increase in drilling and production that will come as a result of resource unitization. We define two scenarios whereby drilling activity in West Virginia is assumed to increase by either 5 percent or 10 percent above current levels. We then estimate the additional economic activity from three major sources: well construction, spending due to ongoing production, and royalties paid to rights-holders within the state.

Is Habit A Powerful Policy Instrument To Induce Prosocial Behavioral Change?, Johann Caro-Burnett, Judith A. Chevalier, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Recent literature suggests the power of interventions to change habits. In a dense slum in Nairobi, we adopt best practices from the habit literature to encourage toilet use instead of alternatives that damage community health. Offering subsidies increased toilet usage, effects continue for one month after discounts end, but erode thereafter. Treatments designed to induce habit formation (marketing, time-limited discounts encouraging repetition, discounts for longer periods, targeting `habitual types’) generated no greater persistence. We see some persistent behavior change due to learning about the new toilet option. It appears difficult to induce pro-social behavior without private benefits through habit change.

An Economic Impact Study Prepared For Michigan State University, Christian Glupker, Paul Isely, Grand Valley State University

Other Faculty Publications

Michigan State University’s investment and growth in Grand Rapids brings economic opportunity, scientific innovation, and business synergy to the Medical Mile in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Launched through the vision of Grand Action more than ten years ago and authorized through the MSU Board of Trustees, the economic impact of the presence of the initial Michigan State University College of Human Medicine is now amplified by subsequent buildings. The MSU presence along the Medical Mile in Grand Rapids expands medical education, scientific research and innovation. It supports pioneering innovators and researchers and strengthens the operations of regional partners including Van …

Very Low Prevalence And Incidence Of Atrial Fibrillation Among Bolivian Forager-Farmers, Christopher J. Rowan, Michael A. Eskander, Edmond Seabright, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Edhitt Cortez Linares, Raul Quispe Gutierrez, Juan Copajira Adrian, Daniel Cummings, Bret Beheim, Kirsten Tolstrup, Abinash Achrekar, Thomas Kraft, David E. Michalik, Michael I. Miyamoto, Adel H. Allam, L. Samuel Wann, Jagat Narula, Benjamin C. Trumble, Jonathan Stieglitz, Randall C. Thompson, Gregory S. Thomas, Hillard S. Kaplan, Michael D. Gurven

ESI Publications

Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in post-industrialized populations. Older age, hypertension, obesity, chronic inflammation, and diabetes are significant atrial fibrillation risk factors, suggesting that modern urban environments may promote atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Here we assess atrial fibrillation prevalence and incidence among tropical horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon with high levels of physical activity, a lean diet, and minimal coronary atherosclerosis, but also high infectious disease burden and associated inflammation.

Methods: Between 2005–2019, 1314 Tsimane aged 40–94 years (52% female) and 534 Moseten Amerindians aged 40–89 years (50% female) underwent resting 12-lead electrocardiograms to assess atrial fibrillation prevalence. …

The Covid-19 Pandemic's Evolving Impacts On The Labor Market: Who's Been Hurt And What We Should Do, Brad J. Hershbein, Harry J. Holzer

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

In this paper, we shed light on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market, and how they have evolved over most of the year 2020. Relying primarily on microdata from the CPS and state-level data on virus caseloads, mortality, and policy restrictions, we consider a range of employment outcomes—including permanent layoffs, which generate large and lasting costs—and how these outcomes vary across demographic groups, occupations, and industries over time. We also examine how these employment patterns vary across different states, according to the timing and severity of virus caseloads, deaths, and closure measures. We find that the …

Negative Shocks Predict Change In Cognitive Function And Preferences: Assessing The Negative Affect And Stress Hypothesis, Francesco Bogliacino, Cristiano Codagnone, Felipe Montealegre, Frans Folkvord, Camilo Gómez, Rafael Charris, Giovanni Liva, Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, Giuseppe A. Veltri

ESI Publications

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, households throughout the world have to cope with negative shocks. Previous research has shown that negative shocks impair cognitive function and change risk, time and social preferences. In this study, we analyze the results of a longitudinal multi-country survey conducted in Italy (N = 1652), Spain (N = 1660) and the United Kingdom (N = 1578). We measure cognitive function using the Cognitive Reflection Test and preferences traits (risk, time and social preferences) using an experimentally validated set of questions to assess the differences between people exposed to a shock compared to …

Covid-19'S Impacts On The Labor Market In 2020, Brad J. Hershbein, Harry J. Holzer

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Standard & Poor 500 Index Sectors: A Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity Model, Maha Elhini, Rasha Hammam

Economics

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases in the USA (COVID), the Federal Fund Rate (FFR) and the trade-weighted US dollar index (USDX) on S&P500 index daily returns and its 11 constituent sectors’ indices for the time period between January 22, 2020, until June 30, 2020. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses the multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) model to gauge the impacts over the whole period of study, as well as over two sub-periods; first, January 22, 2020, until March 30, 2020, reflecting uncertainty in the US markets and …

Indonesian Provinces Sdgs Composite Index: Lampung Province Analysis, Reny Andriati, Mohamad Fahmi

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Publications of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have mainly been conducted at a national level and separately for each goal. No prior research has been done on SDGs composite index at a provincial level in Indonesia. It is necessary to create a composite index that presents a single value at the provincial level to enable regional evaluation. The Indonesia Province SDGs composite index is developed from indicators based on Statistics Indonesia gathered from several publications. The data sources are the National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) and the Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) which were linked surveys held in 2018. Principal Component Analysis and …

Job Creation Policies Can Raise Local Employment Rates, Especially For Distressed Communities, Timothy J. Bartik

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Feasibility Of Renewable Natural Gas In New Jersey, Anneliese Dyer, Amelia Christine Miller, Brianna Chandra, Juan Galindo Maza, Carley Tran, Justin Bates, Vicky Olivier, Amy Tuininga

PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies Publications

With traditional natural gas being one of the top options for heating in the United States and the present threat of climate change, there is a demand for an alternative clean fuel source. A Renewable Natural Gas Implementation Decision-Making Conceptual Model was created to provide a framework for considering the feasibility of renewable natural gas (RNG) projects and applied to New Jersey, specifically investigating landfills and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Data from the US EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection Sewage Sludge databases were used to identify seven landfills and 22 WWTPs as possible …

Examining Future Expansion Opportunities At The Morgantown Industrial Park, Brian Lego, Christiadi

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP) encompasses a wide area between the Monongahela River and Interstate-79, and currently houses approximately 20 companies. A new interchange on Interstate 79 at River Road (approximately mile marker 151) is expected to improve access to the industrial park in a substantial manner, allowing expanded access into the MIP and creating the opportunity to house a variety of new businesses from several sectors. In this study, we provide a brief look at the North Central West Virginia region’s economic and demographic characteristics as a means of assessing the area’s viability and attractiveness to potential businesses. Measures …