Digital Commons Network^™

Housing Burden And Insurance Expenditures, Melanie M. Lytell

Honors Capstones

Housing costs shape the way families spend on protection and security. This study looks at how the share of income devoted to housing, the housing burden, influences household spending on four types of insurance: vehicle, life, personal, and health. Using data from nearly 92,000 households and regression models that account for state differences, I find that even small increases in housing burden shift insurance choices in meaningful ways. A one‑percentage‑point rise in housing burden is linked to a 2.1% increase in vehicle insurance spending and a 0.5% increase in life insurance, but a 0.7% decrease in personal insurance and a …

Hkc02 - Stabilizing Credit When Nonperforming Loans Surge: The Role Of Asset Management Companies, Reiner Martin, Edward O'Brien, M. Udara Peiris, Dimitrios P. Tsomocos

Oberlin College Kasper Economics and Business Working Paper Series

When default losses elevate borrowing costs, expanding credit cannot stabilize the economy because default rates feed back to lending rates through bank balance sheets. Asset management companies (AMCs) break this loop by purchasing nonperforming loans at their long-run recovery values, thereby fixing the effective default rate that banks face. Government purchases of performing loans expand credit but leave this feedback intact. In a model calibrated to the eurozone, the AMC reduces quarterly default rates by 0.8 percentage points, lowers lending rates by 1.6 percentage points, and raises welfare by 0.2%. Government purchases crowd out bank deposits, contracting credit; default rates …

Economics Of The Olympics: Impact Of Bidding For And Hosting The Olympic Games On International Openness, Adalynn Cherry

Pennsylvania Economic Review

This study investigates how hosting and unsuccessfully bidding to host the Olympic Games impacts total international trade and influences a country’s openness. This relationship is analyzed using the gravity model of trade to perform a regression analysis of total trade levels from 2000 to 2018. The results of this study did not support the idea that hosting the Olympic Games impacts total trade; although, they did show a strong and permanent positive relationship between unsuccessfully bidding to host the Olympic Games and total international trade. These findings highlight the benefits of the Olympic bidding and candidature process as a policy …

Energetic And Economic Aspects Of Rebound: Part 1 & 2, Matthew Kuperus Heun, Gregor Semieniuk, Paul E. Brockway

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Presentation to Exergy Economics Network Fri, 5 December 2025

Evaluating How New York City’S Recycling And Organic Waste Systems Reduce Resource Waste And Methane Emissions, Zihan Cao

Publications and Research

This study analyzes New York City’s waste management systems, with a focus on food waste diversion, composting, and renewable energy initiatives, to assess their role in methane emission reduction and resource efficiency. The analysis highlights the relative effectiveness of different waste management pathways and suggests that community-scale composting and decentralized anaerobic digestion are associated with substantial methane reductions relative to cost.

National Expenditure On R&D And International Comparison Of Productivity, Aegus Kim

Pennsylvania Economic Review

A higher national expenditure on research and development (R&D) may lead to a higher level of productivity in the national economy because innovations can improve overall efficiency in production by increasing output per worker. Unlike other empirical studies which suggest the positive impact of R&D expenditure on productivity but are often the result from the firm level or the industry level, this paper investigates a positive correlation between R&D spending and productivity using the 2019 national data for the top 25 countries ranked by R&D expenditure. The paper focuses on the relationship between international values of total factor productivity (TFP) …

The Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Economy In The Mountain West, 2025, Dre Boyd-Weatherly, Sean Curry, Krish Sharma, Kristian Thymianos, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet reports on the artificial intelligence (AI) readiness of five Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Salt Lake City-Murray, UT; Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO; Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV; and Albuquerque, NM. Using data from the Brookings Institution's “Mapping the AI Economy” report, the MSAs are benchmarked based on their overall population, employment, talent, adoption, and innovation.

Exploring The Socioeconomic Determinants Of Abortion: Evidence From Pennsylvania, Guido Giuntini, Allyssa A. Wadsworth, Michael A. Malcolm

Pennsylvania Economic Review

Economic factors play a key role in determining fertility and the number of abortions performed. Using detailed county-level data from Pennsylvania, we used fixed-effects analysis to examine how changes in these economic factors are related to the number of abortions. Our most robust estimate suggests that each percentage point increase in the poverty rate is associated with approximately 5 additional abortions per 1000 live births, but that increases in college education rates are associated with a decline in abortions. We also offer some preliminary evidence on the effects of partisanship, religiosity and proximity to an abortion clinic.

Contests With Ambiguous Prizes, Cary Deck, Aidan Hathaway, Emma Kate Henry, Tigran Melkonyan, Samuel Redinger

ESI Working Papers

This paper examines behavior in contests where the prize value is ambiguous. We develop a theoretical model of bidding in a Tullock contest with an ambiguous prize where contestants account for the ambiguity attitude of their rival. Ambiguity affects optimal behavior via two countervailing channels - a direct effect arising from contestants’ ambiguity about the value of the prize and an indirect effect corresponding to the effect of ambiguity on the opponent’s behavior. Using a controlled laboratory experiment, we elicit individual risk and ambiguity attitudes and compare predicted and observed behavior in contests with an ambiguous prize, a risky prize …

Shock Transmission In Granular Economies: Impact Of Pass-Through Effects Of Idiosyncratic Microshocks To The Aggregate, Anamarija Cijan, Jože P. Damijan, Črt Kostevc

Economic and Business Review

This paper studies the importance of shocks to the largest firms on the aggregate output. Using firm-level data on eight European countries (2006--2019), we find that shocks to the largest firms explain an important part of aggregate fluctuations. Our paper brings several novelties. Firstly, in addition to the aggregate level, we extend the analysis of the transmission of firm-level shocks to study the shocks at the sectoral level. Secondly, we provide a novel measurement for demand-side shocks within granularity. We show that idiosyncratic shocks affecting the largest 20 firms can explain almost half of the output volatility, which is consistent …

Resolving The Energy Efficiency Paradox: Leveraging Benefits For Saudi Arabia’S Building Sector, Fateh Belaïd, Mahelet G. Fikru

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article examines the economics of energy efficiency in Saudi Arabia's building sector, centering on the "energy efficiency paradox," the observed under adoption of cost-effective technologies despite their clear benefits—such as reducing energy use and associated emissions. We show that a mix of market barriers and behavioral biases—including split incentives, informational gaps, and the value-action gap—constrains adoption of energy-efficient solutions. Recent modeling suggests that improved air-conditioning labels could save up to 80 TWh of electricity annually, though rebound effects may erode some of these gains. Our analysis shows that tackling market failures is necessary but not enough. Strong building codes …

Performance And Policy Review: Does Connecticut’S Open Choice Program Provide Equitable Opportunities To Underserved Students?, Jacob S. Carson, Gazi M. Duman

Pennsylvania Economic Review

The intent of Connecticut’s Open Choice Program is to offer underserved urban students the opportunity to achieve equitable educational outcomes by attending higher-quality public schools. As students transfer to schools that theoretically have more resources, increased educational achievement growth is expected. Additionally, with the implementation of the state exam, Smarter Balanced Assessment, student growth metrics have been introduced in state reporting. Examining student growth is a better measure for school quality than achievement levels. To understand the impact of Open Choice Program, a multiple regression analysis is applied to multiple imputed aggregate data to determine the relationship between school choice …

Firms Heterogeneity In Indonesia’S Manufacturing And Services Sectors, Rizki Nauli Siregar

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Firm heterogeneity is the building block of modern trade theories. One of its important implications is that comparative advantage is driven by firm productivity, rather than sector differences across countries. Despite the prevalence of this framework, there has not been any systematic documentation on firm heterogeneity in Indonesia’s man ufacturing and services firms. Using the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) data for Indonesia in 2015 and 2023, we confirm that there is firm heterogeneity in the form of size and productivity dispersion in both of the economy’s manufacturing and services sectors. We also find no strong association between size and …

Beyond The Aid Paradigm: Neocolonialism, Recolonisation And The Future For Africa’S Development, John Ringson, Manamela Johannes David Matshabaphala

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

The persistence of poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment in Africa, despite decades of foreign aid and assistance, has raised fundamental questions about the efficacy and sustainability of the aid paradigm. This qualitative desktop research study, employing discourse analysis, critically examines the complex relationships between aid, neocolonialism, and recolonisation in Africa, exploring the implications for the continent's future development. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of existing literature, policy documents, and online archives, this study reveals how the aid paradigm has perpetuated neocolonialism and recolonisation in Africa, undermining the continent's sovereignty, agency, and self-determination. The study illuminates the power dynamics and relationships …

How Is South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment Policy (Bee) Addressing Historical Inequalities And Promoting Inclusive Development As Of 2024?, Nasim Uz Zaman

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy was introduced to dismantle apartheid-era economic disparities; however, its corporate-driven model has fostered symbolic compliance rather than substantive transformation. This study critically examines BEE’s structural limitations, specifically its failure to generate mass employment, its susceptibility to elite capture, and the prevalence of "fronting" practices. By juxtaposing BEE with affirmative action frameworks in Malaysia, India, and the United States, this research elucidates why ownership redistribution alone has failed to translate into inclusive economic mobility. Employing a qualitative policy analysis, this study synthesizes unemployment trajectories, implementation distortions, and systemic governance inefficiencies to highlight the constraints …

Earnings, Ethics, And Fast Fashion: How Does Income Affect Consumers’ Decisions?, Ava M. Minton

All Theses

This thesis examines if annual earnings influence consumers’ likelihood of avoiding clothing brands associated with labor exploitation. To examine this question, the study draws on four major U.S. datasets that together capture two decades of consumer attitudes and self-reported behaviors. The results show that income has a strong and statistically significant effect: household income increases the odds of avoiding exploitative brands by roughly 27 percentage points. Education, ideology, and gender also exhibit meaningful positive associations with ethical consumption, while age slightly reduces the likelihood of boycott participation. Overall, the analysis provides evidence that ethical consumption behaves like a normal good …

Finanse Cyfrowe: Tesserakt, Jakub Górka

Monografie/Monographs

Monografia przybliża sposób, w jaki technologie cyfrowe (m.in. sztuczna inteligencja, big data, blockchain, chmura obliczeniowa) oddziałują na usługi finansowe oraz wspierają rozwój innowacyjnych modeli biznesowych podmiotów świadczących usługi finansowe, oddziałują na struktury rynkowe czy transformują rynki finansowe oraz jakie generują konsekwencje społeczno-ekonomiczne.

Digital Finance: Tesseract

The monograph presents how digital technologies (i.e. artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cloud computing) affect financial services and support the development of innovative business models of financial service providers, influence market structures, transform financial markets, and generate socio-economic consequences.

Data-Driven Mechanism Design: Jointly Eliciting Preferences And Information, Dirk Bergemann, Marek Bojko, Paul Dutting, Renato Paes Leme, Haifeng Xu, Song Zuo

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study mechanism design in environments where agents have private preferences and private information about a common payoff-relevant state. In such settings with multi-dimensional types, standard mechanisms fail to implement efficient allocations. We address this limitation by proposing data-driven mechanisms that condition transfers on additional post-allocation information, modeled as an estimator of the payoff-relevant state. Our mechanisms extend the classic Vickrey–Clarke–Groves framework. We show they achieve exact implementation in posterior equilibrium when the state is fully revealed or utilities are affine in an unbiased estimator. With a consistent estimator, they achieve approximate implementation that converges to exact implementation as the …

Multidimensional Sorting: Comparative Statics, Joe Boerma, Andrea Ottolini, Aleh Tsyvinski

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

In sorting literature, comparative statics for multidimensional assignment models with general output functions and input distributions is an important open question. We provide a complete theory of comparative statics for technological change in general multidimensional assignment models. Our main result is that any technological change is uniquely decomposed into two distinct components. The first component (gradient) gives a characterization of changes in marginal earnings through a Poisson equation. The second component (divergence-free) gives a characterization of labor reallocation. For U.S. data, we quantify equilibrium responses in sorting and earnings with respect to cognitive skill-biased technological change.

Drivers Of Racial Differences In C-Sections, Adriana Corredor-Waldron, Janet Currie, Molly Schnell

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Black mothers with a trial of labor are 25 percent more likely to deliver by C-section than non-Hispanic White mothers. The gap is largest among mothers with the lowest risk and is reduced by only one-fifth when controlling for observed medical risk factors, sociodemographic characteristics, hospital, and physician or medical practice group. Remarkably, the gap disappears when performing a C-section is more costly due to a concurrent pre-labor C-section limiting surgical resources. This finding is consistent with provider discretion—rather than differences in unobserved medical risk—accounting for persistent racial disparities in delivery method. The additional intrapartum C-sections that occur among low-risk …

The "Gray Tsunami": Aging Trends In East Texas, Manuel Reyes-Loya, Cecilia Cuellar, Pedro Gallardo-Toledo

Hibbs Outlook of East Texas

This report examines the “gray tsunami,” the rapid aging of the Baby Boomer generation, and its impact on East Texas. As more workers retire, the region faces a shrinking labor force and a growing elderly population, reflected in a higher old-age dependency ratio than state and national averages. These demographic changes may create challenges for businesses and public services but also open opportunities through workforce flexibility, delayed retirement, and improved planning for healthcare, housing, and transportation. The report emphasizes the importance of proactive strategies to help East Texas adapt to and benefit from this

Cooperative Agreement Between Countries Of The North Atlantic Ocean Reduces Marine Plastic Pollution But With Unequal Economic Benefits, Nicola J. Beaumont, Tobias Börger, James R. Clark, Nick Hanley, Robert Johnston, Keila Meginnis, Christopher Stapenhurst, Frans P. De Vries

Economics

Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans threatens ecosystems and biodiversity. The connected nature of the marine environment suggests that coordinated actions by countries sharing an ocean border may provide more effective pollution control than unilateral actions by any one country. However, countries often fail to cooperate, even when joint economic benefits would be higher under cooperation. Here we present a modelling framework to determine the potential economic benefits of cooperative marine plastic pollution management. The framework integrates an estimated plastic transfer matrix from a particle tracking model with game theory to derive the economic benefits of international cooperation for 16 …

University Athletic Subsidies Connections To Various Campus-Wide Outcomes, Daniel Vainner

Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between university athletic subsidies and outcomes for the broader undergraduate student population. The athletic subsidy, referred to as an athletic tax, is defined as institutional and student fees used to support athletics. Although athletics are often viewed as enhancing institutional prestige and recruitment, most universities depend heavily on subsidies to sustain their programs. In 2019, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions spent over $18.8 billion on athletics, with $8.3 billion, or 44 percent, coming from institutional and student sources rather than athletic revenue (NCAA, 2019a). This research explores whether such subsidization predicts measurable differences in …

An Empirical Investigation Of The Effects Of Gunshot Detection Technology In Detroit, Joe Davis

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This paper evaluates the impact of acoustic gunshot detection technology (GDT) on crime and policing outcomes in Detroit, Michigan. Leveraging the implementation of ShotSpotter across high-crime neighborhoods, I analyze outcomes including crime rates, emergency calls, police response times, and case clearance. My findings indicate that ShotSpotter installation is associated with a 6% reduction in violent crime but a modest increase in nonviolent crime. The technology also produces a large increase in the reporting of gunfire incidents—over 300% more gunshot-related calls for service—yet police respond 7% slower to ShotSpotter alerts than to citizen-reported gunshots. Consistent with prior research, I find no …

Female Politicians And Corruption In Rural India, Somdeep Chatterjee, Shiv Hastawala, Elisa Taveras

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This paper leverages random assignment of female quotas for leadership positions on Indian village councils to assess its causal effect on corruption. Since the mid-1990s, India has mandated that at least one third of village council chief positions be randomly reserved for women. Using data from the Rural Economic and Demographic Survey (REDS) 2006, we find that an additional term reserved for a female head as opposed to just a single one reduces both the occurrence and bribe amounts paid to the local government by households. This reduction is also observed in bribes paid to other local officials suggesting downstream …

Too Far, Too Costly, Too Complex: How Structural Factors Impact Women’S Mobile-Money Adoption And Business Investment In Sub-Sahara Africa, Iyabo A. Olanrele Dr

Bullion

This study investigates how structural factors shape women’s adoption of mobile-money services and access to credit for entrepreneurship across Sub-Sahara Africa. Using cross-country data from the 2025 Global Findex Database, the analysis demonstrates that women face disproportionately higher barriers than men. Long distances to mobile-money agents significantly reduce women’s likelihood of borrowing, while men’s borrowing is less affected. High service and transaction fees further constrain women, reflecting their lower and more irregular incomes, and liquidity limitations prevent many from maintaining active accounts. Documentation requirements, though partially mitigated by improved national ID systems and tiered Know-Your-Customer (KYC) rules, remain a secondary …

A Thesis On Incentive Structures, Shirking Dynamics, And Market Valuation In Major League Baseball: A Statcast Analysis Of Worker Effort Levels, Charles Jordan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how guaranteed contract length influences player effort and market valuation in Major League Baseball using high resolution Statcast data across over 1,200 player season observations. Fixed effects regressions on the 2015 to 2024 seasons show directionally consistent but statistically imprecise shirking and final year effort spikes in hard hit rate and sprint speed. Machine learning models (OLS and Random Forest) predict next year Dollars Over League Average (DOL) with out of sample MAE approximately $11.4–11.8 million and approximately 0.23–0.27, with plate appearances, hard hit rate, sprint speed, and contract timing as top predictors. Embedding these findings in …

The Moderating Effect Of Income Inequality On The Income–Emissions Relationship In G20 Countries, Zahra Rizky Fadilah, Budiasih Budiasih

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study analyzes the moderating effect of income inequality on the income–emissions relationship in the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. Findings indicate that the relationship is inverted U-shaped in middle-income G20 countries, but monotonically increasing in high-income G20 countries. Interestingly, income inequality moderates this relationship only in the latter group. These findings suggest that middle-income G20 countries should focus on raising income per capita to mitigate environmental degradation, while their high-income counterparts need to prioritize reducing income inequality to effectively decouple income from emissions.

The Relationship Between The Development Of Tourism Special Economic Zones (Sezs) And Local Tax Revenue, Ibnati Misbha Hussudurri, Riatu Mariatul Qibthiyyah

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study employs dynamic two-way fixed effect (TWFE) event regressions to analyze the direct impact of SEZ policies, specifically focusing on tourism SEZs in 6 districts across Indonesia and neighbouring districts within the same province. By examining data from 2010 to 2022, the research aims to evaluate how tourism SEZ development influences local tax revenue. Our estimation results show no evidence that Tourism SEZs affect aggregate local tax revenues. However, by type of local taxes, we found that Tourism SEZs have increased hotel tax and entertainment tax but not restaurant tax revenues.

Does Investing In Schools Reduce Violent Crime?, Jamein Cunningham, Monique E. Davis, Kenneth Whaley

Presentations

No abstract provided.