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An Analysis Of The Asymmetric Effect Of Fiscal Policy On Economic Growth In Pakistan: Insights From Non-Linear Ardl, Ibrar Hussain, Muhammad Rafiq, Zahoor Khan

Business Review

This paper evaluates the current state of monetary and non-monetary rewards systems in place in the UK banking sector in an attempt to identify reasons for the preference of monetary rewards over non-monetary rewards. Data was collected from two banks, LLOYDS TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland. The selection of these two banks emanates from their recent bonus crises and the fact that they are both part nationalised, hence the need for a prudent reward system. Questionnaires were used to obtain data and the Evidence Based Reward Management (EBRM) methodology was used to highlight the effectiveness as well as the …

Efficient Child Care Subsidies, Christine Ho, Nicola Pavoni

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study the design of child care subsidies in an optimal welfare problem with heterogeneous private market productivities. The optimal subsidy schedule is qualitatively similar to the existing US scheme. Efficiency mandates a subsidy on formal child care costs, with higher subsidies paid to lower income earners and a kink as a function of child care expenditure. Marginal labor income tax rates are set lower than the labor wedges, with the potential to generate negative marginal tax rates. We calibrate our simple model to features of the US labor market and focus on single mothers with children aged below 6. …

Critical Reflections On America’S Green New Deal: Capital, Labor, And The Dynamics Of Contemporary Social Change, Alex Stoner

Journal Articles

The increasing urgency of the current climate crisis has been accompanied by a growing desire for constructive answers on how to confront the situation effectively and meaningfully. Yet, the pace of global climate change (GCC) continues to accelerate more rapidly than societal, institutional, and individual responses can be formed. The gap between increasingly sophisticated knowledge of objective biophysical threat, on the one hand, and our ability to transform society in accordance with this awareness, on the other hand, highlights the importance of ideology. Ideological barriers have become a major stumbling block for climate change activists and researchers. Focusing on the …

From Hobbes To Habermas: The Anti-Cultural Turn In Western Political Thought, Ralph Gert Schoellhammer

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes.

Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right …

The Coffee In Your Cup: Reviewing Fair Trade’S Impact On Development, Elena Liu

Oswald Research and Creativity Competition

Fair trade is one of many certification strategies available to coffee producers around the globe. The fair trade (FT) movement broke into the American coffee industry with strategies aimed at reducing global poverty among farmers in developing nations, primarily using the FMP and FP mechanisms. This review will discuss why research on the development effects of fair trade is increasingly nebulous, how researchers have analyzed it up until now, their findings, and future recommendations to improve the clarity of results. Current literature on fair trade’s impact provides consistent reports of higher prices attained, but inconclusive findings surrounding increased income and …

Corruption, Government Effectiveness And Human Development In Sub-Saharan Africa, Sakiru O. Akinbode, Jayeola Olabisi, Remilekun R. Adegbite, Timothy A. Aderemi, Abimbola M. Alawode

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Aside economic factors causing low human development which have been extensively studied in literature, the implications of high level of corruption and weak governance prevalent in sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries have not been explored. The study assessed the effects of corruption, government effectiveness and their joint effect on human development in SSA. Data collected on thirty-seven (37) countries within the period of 2005 to 2018 were analyzed using system Generalized Method of Moment which was most suitable for the dataset. Results indicated that lagged human development index (P<0.01), government effectiveness (P<0.05), economic growth rate (P<0.1) and government health spending (P<0.1) had significant positive effect on human development while corruption and its interaction with government effectiveness did not. The results of Arrelano-Bond test of first order autocorrelation and second order autocorrelation of error term as well as the Sargan test and Hansen J test for validity of instrumental variables confirmed the validity of the model. The robustness of the estimation was established as the coefficient of the lagged dependent variable fell between the values in the fixed effect and pooled ordinary least square regression. The study recommended retraining and reorientation of government employees towards the mindset of effective service delivery and strong political will to achieve it, diversification of SSA economies alongside other growth stimulating policies such as reduced lending interest rate on loans meant for the real sector, improvement in the ease of doing business, improved funding of the health sector and proper monitoring of activities in the public service by concerned agencies to curb corruption where it is present.

The Desire For Luxury In Emerging Markets: An Interactional Perspective On Consumer Motivations In Tunisia, Pranjal Gupta,, Mouna Zaghdoudi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The motivations underlying the desire for luxury products and services have long been the subject of academic inquiry. An understanding of these motivations is useful for the luxury market industry to help managers formulate better marketing strategies. Further, such knowledge would also be useful to public policy makers to help them mitigate societal problems that may occur as a result of such consumption. Of particular interest is the growth of the luxury market in emerging economies. This study spotlights the luxury market in Tunisia. Previous work has demonstrated that age has a significant impact both on willingness to buy luxury …

Risk Preference Stability In The Aftermath Of Natural And Human-Influenced Catastrophes: A Meta-Analysis, James R. Bailey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

We estimate the impact of natural and human-influenced catastrophes on individual risk preferences. Using the meta-analysis process with random-effects models, we examine the significance of the effect of different catastrophes on individual risk preferences. As natural and human-influenced catastrophes have become more frequent a number of studies have evaluated their effects on risk attitudes. In this thesis a meta-analysis is performed from the results in these recent studies, allowing for comparisons across catastrophes and against results from laboratory experiments. In evaluating the change in risk-taking behavior amongst affected populations it may better inform relief efforts and policy decisions. Overall, subjects …

Municipal Fiscal Distress In Pennsylvania: Assessing The Municipalities Financial Recovery Act 47 Of 1987, Terry Tracy

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Department of Community and Economic Development administers a Municipal Financial Recovery program to improve outcomes in fiscally and socio-economically distressed cities. The program operates under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Municipal Recovery Act 47 of 1987.

It is designed to provide state and municipal governments the resources necessary to combat fiscal distress and economic decline, where municipalities lack the political or financial wherewithal to do so autonomously. Those resources include access to grant funding, special latitude over tax policy and fee structures not otherwise permitted by Pennsylvania’s Constitution, and developing a five-year fiscal recovery …

Legalized Sports Betting, Vlt Gambling, And State Gambling Revenues: Evidence From West Virginia, Brad Humphreys

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

A Supreme Court decision legalizing sports betting in the US led states to legalize sports betting in order to generate new tax revenues from wagering on sports events. Most states already permit other forms of gambling and receive tax revenues from these sources. The literature analyzing consumer substitution in gambling spending contains some evidence on the impact of expansions in many types of gambling, but no evidence on the impact of expanded sports betting. This paper exploits the legalization of sports betting and timing of sports book openings in West Virginia to analyze the impact of expanded sports betting on …

Time Spent Exercising And Obesity: An Application Of Lewbel’S Instrumental Variables Method, Charles J. Courtemanche, Joshua C. Pinkston, Jay Stewart

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

This paper examines the role physical activity plays in determining body mass using data from the American Time Use Survey. Our work is the first to address the measurement error that arises when time use during a single day—rather than average daily time use over an extended period—is used as an explanatory variable. We show that failing to account for day-to-day variation in activities results in the effects of time use on a typical day being understated. Furthermore, we account for the possibility that physical activity and body mass are jointly determined by implementing Lewbel’s instrumental variables estimator that exploits …

Economic Activity, International Intervention, And Transitional Governance: A Comparative Case Study Of Somalia, Daniel Bonneau, Joshua C. Hall

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper investigates the impact of international state-building efforts in Somalia on economic development. We use satellite data on night lights to measure economic activity to deal with nonexistent or poor-quality national income accounts. Using the synthetic control method, we find that the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government in 2004 was associated with economic stagnation relative to the years under statelessness. Using nighttime light emissions, we find economic stagnation regardless of whether we use the total lights emitted from the country or the spread of lights across the country. Our empirical findings are consistent with the idea that the …

The Role Of Human Capital In The Structural Change Process, Michele Aparecida Nepomuceno Pinto, Edinaldo Tebaldi, Marina Silva Da Cunha

Economics Faculty Journal Articles

The main of this paper is to verify if human capital is an important determinant of structural change in the different sectors of the economy and if it can accelerate the speed of this structural transformation. This paper contributes to the literature once it develops an empirical test of the model proposed by Li et al. (2019) and it uses the generalized method of moments (GMM) which considers the problem of endogeneity found in human capital variables, it also uses two proxies for human capital and structural change in order to verify whether or not they affect the variable of …

Part 2: The Way We Were: 2010-2019, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy

State of the Commonwealth Reports

No abstract provided.

Part 1: Covid-19 And The Commonwealth, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

In January 2020, Virginia was focused on the continuing economic expansion and shortages of skilled labor in many areas of the Commonwealth. Now, as 2020 draws to a close, we face the prospects of a hard winter and a slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine the impact of COVID-19 on Virginia and discuss how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted our Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino residents.

The Residential Location Choices Of Chabad Households: An Analysis Of Decision Making With Non-Price Constraints, Chasity A. Mcfadden

Honors Theses

Where an individual chooses to live informs many of their economic decisions and may be the single largest economic decision one makes in their lives. Through understanding the way that people choose their residential locations, we are able to better understand the opportunities available to them. Within the Chabad community, there is a large focus on emissary work, which calls Chabad Jews to move outside of large Jewish communities in order to help secular Jews become more religious. There are also certain religious amenities that are necessary to live a Chabad life, such as a local synagogue. So the question …

Effects Of Exposure To Chinese Imports On School Spending And Revenue From Property Tax, Yilei Bao

Honors Theses

I analyze the effect of exposure to Chinese import competition on school revenues per student from property tax, from local sources, and school expenditures per student in 676 Commuting Zones (CZ) from 1990 to 2007. I discover a negative relationship on the CZ level between exposure per worker to Chinese import competition and school expenditure per student, as well as school revenue per student from local sources. In contrast, impact on school revenue per student from property tax is not statistically significant. On average, in a given period, an increase of 1000 dollars in import exposure is related to a …

Naloxone Access And Opioid Use: A Theoretical Analysis, Caroline Dunsby

Honors Theses

Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication that reverses the potentially fatal effects of an opioid overdose. Amidst the opioid epidemic that has taken tens of thousands of lives each year, many policies have been enacted to increase the public's access to naloxone, allowing non-medical personnel to save lives. There have been two distinct reactions to these policies. Those that support the policies state that harm reduction measures are necessary to save lives. Those that oppose the policies claim that by providing naloxone, states may be increasing risky opioid use - suggesting that naloxone leads to …

Diversity, Bias, And Student Outcomes, Amanda J. Schmidt

Honors Theses

This paper examines how racially-motivated bias incidents relate to college students’ academic outcomes, and how this relationship differs across race. There is evidence that students’ academic outcomes are negatively impacted by bias, particularly among marginalized groups. This could have severe impacts on equality, overall student success, and future outcomes. I use Colby College student-level data to analyze the effects of bias incidents on both changes in individuals’ GPAs, and differences in probability of retention across individuals. I analyze the effects of one severe bias incident in the Spring of 2009, and the effects of several bias incidents which occurred over …

Forecasting The Thailand Housing Price Indexa Case Study On Condo Hpi During The Covid-19, Pengfei Chen

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

HPI (house price index) measures the price development of houses sold to households. And it measures the price as a percentage change from some specific start date, which is treated as the benchmark with the index at 100. In another word, HPI reflects the housing market fluctuation in some respects. Moreover, real estate is a good type of investment for people for avoiding various risks. Hence, under the global rampant of COVID-19, forecasting the possible short-term floating of HPI would offer some foresight to the residential market both on individual and policy sides. In this paper, five kinds of models …

Influence Of Online Shopping Channel On Sales Volume Of Beauty Products During Covid-19, Vichayada Vorapongpisut

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Increasing numbers of online shopping users during COVID-19 have accelerated the growth of e-commerce, especially in the beauty sector in Thailand. The Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are combined in this study to produce an integrated model that predicts beauty product online sales, measured by a behavioral usage of online shopping for the purchase of beauty products in the context of COVID-19. The total number of respondents from the online survey is from 365 online beauty shoppers in Bangkok, aged 16 and above. By conducting a multiple linear regression analysis, the empirical results support …

What Is Socialism Today? Conceptions Of A Cooperative Economy, John E. Roemer

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Socialism is back on the political agenda in the United States. Politicians and some economists who identify as socialists, however, do not discuss property relations, a topic that was central in the intellectual history of socialism, but rather limit themselves to advocacy of economic reforms, funded through taxation, that would tilt the income distribution in favor of the disadvantaged in society. In the absence of a more precise discussion of property relations, the presumption must be that ownership of firms would remain private or corporate with privately owned shares. This formula is identified with the Nordic and other western European …

The Welfare Effects Of Long-Term Health Insurance Contracts, Soheil Ghili, Ben Handel, Igal Hendel, Michael D. Whinston

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Reclassification risk is a major concern in health insurance where contracts are typically one year in length but health shocks often persist for much longer. We use rich individual-level medical information from the Utah all-payer claims database to empirically study one possible solution: long-term insurance contracts. We characterize optimal long-term contracts with one-sided commitment theoretically, derive the contracts that are optimal for consumers in Utah, and assess the welfare level that a full implementation of these contracts could achieve relative to several key benchmarks. We find that dynamic contracts perform very well for the majority of the population, for example, …

Household Portfolios And Financial Preparedness For Retirement, Rowena Crawford, Cormac O'Dea

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Using a lifecycle model of consumption, saving and portfolio choice combined with linked survey and administrative data on wealth and lifetime earnings we evaluate measures of retirement preparedness. We estimate heterogeneous discount factors for households and compare the estimates of their patience to their replacement rates { the simple measure of- ten used to evaluate the adequacy of retirement savings. We find first that the specification of the model’s asset structure matters quantitatively for preference parameter estimates { households appear to be much more patient when they are assumed to have access only to a risk-free asset compared to when …

The Plight Of An Indian Woman: Role Of Gender And Caste In Determining Land Owning Capacity In India, Grishma Bhattarai

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In India, gender gap in the ownership and control of property significantly contributes to the gender gap in all other aspects of a woman’s life including her physical and emotional well-being, economic autonomy, social status, and her empowerment. Studying property and land rights is a good stepping stone in understanding the paradigm of gender equality in India. In terms of land property in an agrarian country like India, it is particularly ironic given that agriculture is a woman’s occupation, however, land occupation is still tipped in the male population’s favor. Caste subjugates this disparity further. Despite progressive acts and rights …

Drug Policy: The Effect Of Medical Marijuana On Opioid Consumption During The Us Opioid Epidemic, Jonathon David Knudson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The introduction and subsequent over-prescribing of extended-release opioids in the United States resulted in a large rise in both addiction and overdose. Recognition and regulation of these new drugs as addictive did little to control the supply of opioids to Americans while Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and Abuse Deterrent reformulations had limited effect to control the problem. Simultaneously, states like Michigan and Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana through voter referenda opening the door for a new approach to pain management. Recent research has found medical marijuana has proven an effective treatment for conditions such as chronic pain and PTSD and …

Understanding Pharmaceutical Pricing In The United States, Ashley Howe

Economics Honors Papers

The issue of high drug prices in the United States is something that could go on forever due to the industry’s profit maximizing design. Given the current time with the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes will be made to what Americans have considered a “normal lifestyle” for the past century. This will involve policy changes across many industries to keep Americans safe throughout the duration of this disease, and through any other virus to come. Hopefully, significant changes will be made in the pharmaceutical industry. This industry is unlike any other industry in the world, as all major players: hospitals, insurance …

Regional Integration And Growth Spillovers: Is Africa An Economic Space?:, Abdoulaye Seck, Founty Alassane Fall, Khadidiatou Aidara

Journal of African Trade

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Adoption And Adoption Intensity Of Precision Agriculture Technologies In South Dakota, Md Mahi Uddin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Precision agriculture can play an important role in preserving the environment and improving the economic conditions of agricultural producers. This thesis analyzes the determinants of adoption and adoption intensity of precision agriculture technologies in South Dakota. This analysis uses survey data collected from 199 farms distributed over 28 different counties in South Dakota, accounting for approximately 500,000 acres of tillable agricultural land, to (1) discover the factors impacting precision technology adoption; (2) compare and contrast several characteristics among adopters and non-adopters; and (3) develop probit, count, and negative binomial models to determine the significance of explanatory variables impacting precision technology …

Part 5: Virginia's Opioid Epidemic Continues And Covid-19 May Be Making It Worse, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

In 2017, we explored the rising toll of the opioid epidemic in Virginia and the United States. While COVID-19 has garnered much of the attention in 2020, the opioid epidemic continues in the Commonwealth. We revisit the evidence and consider whether the pandemic and social distancing measures have affected opioid overdoses in Virginia.