Digital Commons Network^™

The True Cost: The Bitter Truth Behind Fast Fashion, Zeynep Ozdamar-Ertekin

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The True Cost is a documentary about the clothes we wear, the people who make them and the impact the industry has on the environment, the society, and the workers. It shows us the dark and grim side of global fast fashion supply chain. The review provides the main highlights of the film and summarizes the human, social and environmental costs of the industry. A number of counter-examples are included to show how people can make a difference and there can be a better way of making clothes. The current fast fashion model is all about profit. It does not …

Globalization Tumult And Civilizational Greatness, Pradip N. Khandwalla

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

In the kind of tumultuous, strife-torn, and stressful world we are living in, we need to ask the questions: “Is our civilization moving in the right direction? What makes a civilization great?” Greed for power and greed for money, unless offset by a shared conception of civilizational excellence, often degenerate into widespread corruption, fraud, and violence. In developing countries like India, the challenge is to design a civilization that uses the creativity and enterprise of the market economy, the freedom of choice of democracy, and the altruism of the developmental state – to reverse degeneration and foster social, economic, and …

Antinomies Of Globalization, Yahya Mete Madra

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The defining antinomy of the post-2008 crash phase is argued to be the one between neoliberalism and populism. This essay aims to complicate the terms of this antinomy and offers a reading that problematizes the association of neoliberalism with internationalism and globalization on the one hand and populism with nationalism and anti-imperialism on the other. Not only internationalism in its historical origins is an anti-imperialist concept but also today we can easily discern how reactionary forms of populist nationalisms are made possible by globalization of finance—a hallmark of neoliberalism. The essay concludes with a discussion of the possibility of …

Collective Narcissism, Anti-Globalism, Brexit, Trump, And The Chinese Juggernaut, Russell Belk

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

Brexit and the election of Trump both relied on a particular type of nationalistic appeal to collective narcissism — an exaggerated emotional belief that the nation’s greatness is being undermined by other nations and other people. This tendency is catered to by appeals to make the nation great again by shutting borders and embracing isolationism while scapegoating refugees and immigrants. The rise of jingoistic leaders like Trump, Putin, and Erdogan can be explained by such appeals. But China, which has long suffered feelings of national humiliation is reacting in quite different ways that embrace globalism, even while rejecting multiculturalism. This …

Using Survey Data To Determine A Numeric Criterion For Nutrient Pollution, Paul Mark Jakus, Nanette Nelson, Jeffrey Ostermiller

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

We present a scientific replication of a benthic algae nuisance threshold study originally conducted in Montana, but we do so using a different sampling methodology in a different state. Respondents are asked to rate eight photographs that depict varying algae conditions. Our initial results show that Utah resident preferences for benthic algae levels are quite similar to those of Montana residents, thus replicating the Montana study. For the full Utah sample, though, Cronbach's α indicated poor internal consistency in rating the photographs, so a “monotonicity rule” was used to identify respondents providing monotonic preferences with respect to chlorophyll a densities. …

Development Beyond Seventy; The Way Forward, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

This paper attempts to examine several alternative hypotheses that can explain this slow down, volatile and inequitable growth of the last twenty five years and through a process of elimination advances theoretical and empirical evidence to show that the most powerful explanatory hypothesis lies in the decay of institutions of governance.. The same institutions , on the other hand, were strong and performed quite well during the first four decades despite a myriad of difficulties and external and internal shocks. The main argument of this paper is that the intermediation process through which good economic policies are translated into a …

Development Beyond Seventy: The Way Forward 1, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

To propose the way forward for Pakistan it is essential to understand the past historical pattern and outcomes and the factors that contributed to those outcomes. The goal that Pakistan has set itself for the future is to become 20th largest economy in the world by 2025. What are the influences that can facilitate or constrain the achievement of the proposed goal? Pakistan’s economic history has gone through periods of booms and busts . But broadly speaking, the seventy years of Pakistan’s economy can be divided into two distinct periods. The first forty years 1950-90 during which Pakistan was one …

Talking Points: Microfinance Innovation & Growth Conference 2017, Ishrat Hussain Dr.

Faculty Research - Talks, Speeches, & Discourse

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to be here today as this conference reflects the impressive progress that Pakistan's microfinance sector has made in the last decade and a half. So first, let me congratulate the conference organizers - Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) and the Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) for putting together this event and providing us all the opportunity to collectively reflect on the state of the sector and identify pathways for the future.

Nebraska Business And Consumer Confidence Index: December 1, 2017, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Consumer and business confidence surged in Nebraska during November. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) rose to 106.2 in November from 95.1 in October. The November value is well above the neutral level of 100.0. Likewise, the Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose from 102.7 in October to 114.1 in November, which is also well above the neutral value of 100.0. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 32 percent of respondents. Nearly as many businesses mentioned workforce issues. In particular, the availability and quality of labor was mentioned as …

Nebraska Snaps Back, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

Nebraska will fully participate in stronger U.S. economic growth. While the farming sector will continue to face challenges, farm income will rise slightly during the forecast period, and consequently, will no longer detract from Nebraska economic growth. Nebraska will match U.S. job growth, with job growth particularly strong in services, construction, and retail trade. The agricultural processing sector also will expand employment. Projected growth rates for 2018 through 2020 are presented in Table 1.

Employment will grow by 1.1% to 1.2% per year, matching the national job growth rate in 2019 and 2020. Non-farm income will grow between 3.9% and …

Let’S Put Demography Back Into Economics: Population Pyramids In Excel, Humberto Barreto

Economics and Management Faculty publications

The economics curriculum today does not emphasize the study of population. This needs to change immediately because we are in the midst of another demographic sea change, slamming on the brakes right after a rapid acceleration during the last half of the 20th century. Instead of glibly tossing a dependency ratio onto a slide, this paper offers an easy way to improve demographic literacy using population pyramids. Simulation is used to explain the pyramid and its dynamic properties, and then real‐world data are presented. Microsoft Excel’s ability to act as a browser and download data with a single click of …

Medicaid Managed Care And The Health Care Utilization Of Foster Children, Makayla Palmer, James Marton, Aaron Yelowitz, Jeffery Talbert

Economics Faculty Publications

A recent trend in state Medicaid programs is the transition of vulnerable populations into Medicaid managed care (MMC) who were initially carved out of such coverage, such as foster children or those with disabilities. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the impact of the transition of foster children from fee-for-service Medicaid coverage to MMC coverage on outpatient health care utilization. There is very little empirical evidence on the impact of managed care on the health care utilization of foster children because of the recent timing of these transitions as well as challenges associated with finding data sets large …

Geographical Scale, Industrial Diversity And Regional Economic Stability, Jing Chen

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

The empirical relationship between economic diversity and economic stability varies when it is measured at dfferent geographical scales. This paper evaluates the role of geographical scales in assessing this diversity-stability relationship among counties, states, Economic Areas (EAs), metropolitan counties and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the contiguous U.S. When choosing geographical units to analyze regional economic structure, it is necessary that the geographical units be large enough in population and employment to quantify effectively the regional economic structure. In addition, this paper proposes that geographical units also should be functionally aggregated regions as they better represent spatial interactions than formal …

Paid Family And Medical Leave: Cost And Coverage Estimates Of Three Choices In Massachusetts, Policy Brief, Randy Albelda, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

This policy brief explores the costs and coverage of three proposed paid family and medical leave programs for Massachusetts. These are House Bill 2172, Senate Bill 1048, and 2018 Initiative Petition C. Each of these proposed programs establishes a contributory fund paid by employers and employees, to be used for eligible workers when they are out of work for their own serious health condition or that of a family member, for pregnancy, or to bond with a new child. The medical leaves considered are for own health reasons, including those related to pregnancy. Family leaves are for bonding with a …

Bank Lending Channel And Changing Credit Standards In The Residential Mortgage Market, Salman Tahsin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation examines the relationship between bank conditions and the residential mortgage market. The first essay investigates the effect of bank distress on the residential mortgage market during the 2007-09 financial crisis. We use the county-aggregated change in the ratio of jumbo to nonjumbo mortgage acceptance rate as an instrumental variable to control for endogeneity between bank distress and county economic conditions. The median decrease in the instrumental variable explains an additional 1.5 percentage point decline in county home prices and a 20 basis point rise in the county unemployment rate, which represent 15% and 5%, respectively, of their median …

The Effect Of Health Care Entrepreneurship On Local Health: The Case Of Medexpress In Appalachia, Amir Borges Ferreira Neto, Joshua C. Hall

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

We test the hypothesis that the opening of an Urgent Care Center (UCC) has positive impacts on the local community. There are several mechanisms through which a UCC can have an impact: lower health care costs, emergency room decongestion, and improved access to medical information. We examine the entry of MedExpress into Appalachian counties between 2001 and 2013. Employing data from Health Resources Files, which provides information for all counties for specific years, we use Propensity Score Matching to create a year 2000 control group for the counties “treated” by MedExpress entry beginning in 2001. We then employ a standard …

Revenue And Distributional Impact Analysis Of Indonesian Personal Income Tax Reform In 2008, Bimo Wijayanto, Yogi Vidyattama

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Since 1983, Indonesian tax policy has been the subject of ongoing reforms in order to replace the old colonial tax arrangements, reduce income dependency from oil and gas, decrease the government's foreign debt and maintain its fiscal sustainability. Nevertheless, after 25 years of reform, actual Indonesian tax performance is still far from what might have been expected as Indonesia have one of the lowest total tax ratios among the ASEAN countries. This research show that the most recent changes put in place may have reduced potential tax revenue from personal income but an increase in the compliance rate.

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 1, Number12, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke, Omar Solís, Esmeralda Muñiz

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Nowcasting Philippine Economic Growth Using Midas Regression Modeling, Cesar C. Rufino

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Among the most anticipated data releases of the Philippine statistical system is the quarterly real gross domestic product. This all-important variable provides the basis for deriving the economic growth performance of the country on a year-on-year basis. Official publication of this statistics, however, comes at a significant delay of up to two months, upsetting the planning function of various economic stakeholders. Under this backdrop, data scientists coined the term “nowcasting,” which refers to the prediction of the present, the very near future, and the very recent past, based on information provided by available data that are sampled at higher frequencies …

Metropolitan Report - December 2017, Division Of Business And Economic Research, College Of Business Administration, University Of New Orleans

UNO Metropolitan Report (1986-2017)

No abstract provided.

The Consumption-Oriented Capital Asset Pricing Model In The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Abidemi C. Adegboye

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

In this study, the Consumption-oriented Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM) is tested for Nigeria by considering returns on investments in the Nigerian Stock Exchange market and other financial assets for the period 1993: Q1 to 2016:Q4. Three tests are conducted. The first test examines forecast performance of excess returns for the selected portfolios in predicting future consumption; the second test estimates the consumption betas for the set of assets using two alternative formulations of the CCAPM; and the third test included consumption growth variable in a multifactor risk analysis to compare with the basic CAPM formulations. The empirical results indicates …

Are Teacher Pensions "Hazardous" For Schools?, Patten Priestley Mahler

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

I use a detailed panel of data and a unique modeling specification to explore how public schoolteachers respond to the incentives embedded in North Carolina’s retirement system. Like most public-sector retirement plans, North Carolina’s teacher pension implicitly encourages teachers to continue working until they are eligible for their pension benefits, and then leave soon afterward. I find that teachers with higher levels of quality, as measured by a teacher’s value-added to her students’ achievement test scores, are more responsive to the “pull” of teacher pensions. Younger teachers, those with higher salaries, and nonwhite teachers are also more likely to stay …

Identifying Bubbles In Latin American Equity Markets: Phillips-Perron-Based Tests And Linkages, Diego Escobari, Sergio Garcia, Cristhian Mellado

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

The identification of periods of price exuberance in equity markets is of great interest to policy makers and financial investors. In this paper, we identify financial bubble periods within the major equity markets in Latin America. We use the recently developed recursive Augmented Dickey-Fuller methods and propose similar recursive procedures based on Phillips-Perron. We find that conditional on bubbles in the S&P 500, there are strong links between bubble episodes across equity markets in Latin America. In addition, the financial bubble periods in Latin America begin earlier and last longer than bubble periods in the United States during the 2008 …

Worked To Leisure: The Intersections Of Volunteerism, Work, And Leisure, Denise Nicole Cook

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Volunteerism and work are topics which academics in several disciplines research. This study is an examination of the intersection of work and volunteerism via the lens of role theory. According to role theorists, the term role refers to behaviors which are either a result of social position or expectations (Biddle 1986). Cognitive role theorists use vocabulary such as “role conflict” and “role overload” to identify incongruences sometimes found in roles individuals have in their lives (Biddle 1986). These incongruences are primarily examined as they relate to individual level consequences. This research explores volunteerism and work as they relate to role …

Mapping Persons With Disabilities (Pwds) In Indonesia Labor Market, Dr. Alin Halimatussadiah, Chaikal Nuryakin

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) has recently attracted the attention of the Indonesian government. Several initiatives have been made to empower their life, especially the establishment of Act No. 8/2016 which enhances their right to inclusive economic activities. This study aims to map PWD in Indonesian labor market. Specifically, it analyzes the characteristics of employed and unemployed PWD. It explored Labor Force Survey (Sakernas), which began to concern on disability issue in 2016. The results show that PWD prevalence varies highly among provinces led by West Sumatera, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi and that PWD has lower …

Types And Severities Of Export Barriers: Evidence From Indonesian Smes, Mohamad Revindo

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are more constrained to export than their large counterparts and SMEs' limited participation in export market is more prevalent in developing than in developed countries. Extant literature suggests that SMEs encounter a set of export inhibiting factors distinct to those faced by large firms and therefore accurate identification of export barriers is crucial in fostering SMEs export. This study investigates the export barriers faced by Indonesian SMEs. The evidences were collected from 271 exporting SMEs and 226 non-exporting SMEs in seven provinces in Jawa, Madura and Bali regions. The results show that the types and …

Regulation And Energy Poverty In The United States, Michael C. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Energy poverty is a topic often neglected in the discussion about global climate change. Apocalyptic prophecies about the negative future effects of climate change ignore the suffering of people around the globe whose lives could be drastically improved with access to reliable sources of energy. Though energy poverty from a global perspective is much more serious than energy poverty from a domestic perspective, high home energy bills are a serious cause for concern for many Americans.

This research examines the relationship between regulation, the prices of electricity and natural gas, and the household energy burden, which is the ratio of …

Why ‘Simple Economics’ Is Often Wrong, And Other Book Recommendations For The Econ Lover In Your Life, Louis D. Johnston

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Perceived Return On College Investment In Relation To Economic Expectations Of Students At The University Of Maryland, Joshua S. Roston

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper presents the results of a survey conducted in the spring semester of 2017 of University of Maryland students. The results illustrate how University of Maryland students weigh the decision to attend college in terms of their perceived current economic situation and future expectations as well as predicted return on investment. A body of economic literature on the perception of return on investment from attending college exists already and this study hopes to add to the discussion as its results are unexpected. The results imply that the current generation of college students feels uncertain over the worthwhileness of higher …

Producer Services: A Hub For Stem And An Engine For Job Growth, Eric Thompson, Kalana Jayanetti

Business in Nebraska

No abstract provided.