Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Does Bitcoin Use Affect Crime Rates?, Kevin Keane

The Corinthian

Bitcoin is the most widely used cryptocurrency in the world because of its decentralized network that completes user-to-user transactions, eliminating the need for intermediaries. During 2017, the volume of Bitcoin transactions totaled $94.3 trillion. Bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public database called the blockchain. Although the blockchain can keep track of how many transactions there are, it can’t identify the people involved in transactions. The lack of identity increases the anonymity of Bitcoin transactions, making it less detectable when used for crime. Using the Uniform Crime Reporting’s state-level crime rate data and blockchain’s Bitcoin transaction information, I estimate the …

The Republic Of Macedonia: Factors Of Economic Growth, Kevin J. Morris

The Corinthian

This article provides an analysis of the obstacles to economic growth faced by the Republic of Macedonia and provides policy recommendations to address these issues.

Do Farm Subsidies Affect Crop Diversification?, Chadwick O'Neal

Georgia College Student Research Events

The United States spends $20 billion each year on farm subsidies. Farmers face increased risk and income variation when their crop portfolio is less diversified. It’s possible for farm subsidies to decrease diversification if they are focused on specific crops. Utilizing state level subsidy and agricultural data from the Environmental Working Group, I used econometric analysis to estimate the effect of farm subsidies on crop diversification. I used the number of acres planted from the 15 top most subsidized and grown crops in the United States to derive my dependent variable, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). The HHI is a market …

Does Race Impact Judicial Outcomes?, Kameron L. Griffin

Georgia College Student Research Events

Over the past decade, many arguments over racial disparity have become the center of worldwide media attention. While many studies have gathered and revealed a consensus of the existence of racial inequality in mass incarceration rates and the criminal justice system, few have investigated the role that race plays in determining severity of punishment. Utilizing Waves 1, 3 and 4 of the Add-Health cross-sectional data set, this paper will estimate and examine the effect being in a minority has on judicial decisions in criminal court. By using traditional OLS procedure in STATA, I estimated the impact that race has on …

Does An Adoptee’S Race Affect The Probability Of An Interracial Adoption?, Timothy C. Yates

Georgia College Student Research Events

I estimate the effect an adoptee’s race has on their chance of interracial adoption. I use data provided by the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents for the linear regression, one of the only sources of individual data on adopted children. The study tests the idea that adopting outside of one’s race provides greater utility to the adopter since it is perceived as more altruistic relative to adopting within one’s race. For the purpose of the study, any circumstance where at least one adoptive parent differs in race from the adoptee is considered an interracial adoption. Ultimately, the results indicate …

Does The Effect Of Driving Distance On Pga/Lpga Tour Earnings Differ Across Genders?, Conner R. Albright

Georgia College Student Research Events

Since the early 21st century, the game of golf has seen a shift in importance of touch and finesse towards power and distance. Though many studies have observed the effects of individual golf statistics on earnings, none have examined if these effects fluctuate between genders. The purpose of my study is to show male and female professional golfers the effects of hitting the ball far and if their practice time might be better off spent practicing other areas of the game. By using player statistics from the 2015 PGA and LPGA cross sectional data set, this paper will examine if …

European Union Membership And Levels Of Corruption, Kevin J. Morris

The Corinthian

Recent accessions to the European Union (E.U.) membership have been met with protests as critics noted the widespread corruption still rampant in both recent and established member countries. Given the global ramifications of the debt crises in Italy, Spain, and Greece, determining the efficacy of the E.U. Accession Reforms and Membership Criteria on corruption reduction is vitally important. Using European and Central Asian country-level data from the World Bank’s Global Development and Global Indicator database regional-level fixed effects, I estimate the impact of EU membership on corruption levels and find that E.U. membership has a small, but significant impact on …

Family Structure Choice: Taxation As An Incentive To Change, Aman Khanna

The Corinthian

Traditionally defined as the union of one man and one woman charged with the responsibility of rearing children, the notion of family now includes a variety of living arrangements including non-marital cohabitation and single parents. The current study investigates individual incentives to change family structure from a person’s original status as single. This conceptual research, which is grounded in theories of marriage, proposes that federal, personal income tax is an input to change in family structure. A model of family structure change and propositions of the relationship between the federal tax and family structure are developed.

Ethical Concerns Faced By Various Stakeholders Of The Natural Gas Industry In The Deregulation Environment, Michael A. Payne

The Corinthian

Deregulating the natural gas industry in Georgia and elsewhere has resulted in a "mixed bag" of beneficial and non-beneficial outcomes for industry stakeholders. The approach to deregulation has been varied and multifaceted; however, achieving the best overall outcome for the greatest number of stakeholders should not be the sole major objective. The American philosopher and psychologist William James argued best against the concept that the means in accomplishing an objective are more important than the end: "millions kept permanently happy" even though one single soul is left to "lead a life of lonely torture" is neither justified nor desirable (qtd. …

Tobacco Awareness Among Elementary School Students: Does Advertising Effect Children's Impression Of Cigarette Smoking?, John D. Johnson

The Corinthian

In 1996 the United States government began a series of lawsuits against the major tobacco manufacturing companies that have resulted in the elimination of major cigarette campaign slogans and/or characters judged to be aimed primarily at children. This action led to numerous state class-action lawsuits costing tobacco companies billions in future revenue. In their suit against tobacco companies, government lawyers successfully argued that tobacco companies had been deliberately marketing a dangerous product to the young. One of the more significant outcomes of this case was the elimination of the popular Joe Camel character.

In 1996 the United States government began …