Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Game-Level Analysis: How Does Trade Affect Team Performance In Nba?, Tianqi Li

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

Using game-level panel data on the National Basketball Association for 2015-2016 season, I examine the relationship between trade and team performance. In my study, trade is measured by a game-minute-adjusted salary dispersion. I construct a fixed effect model to analyze the effect of salary dispersion on team performance. The results show that salary dispersion is negatively related to team performance. To verify whether different team characteristics will affect this relationship, I categorize the teams into two groups twice based on their playoff likelihood and number of trades made. The results provide additional evidence that salary dispersion influence team performance negatively. …

Evaluating Industrial Policies Using Event-Studies: Evidence From Stock Market Reactions To Obama's Stimulus Package, Lukas Raynaud

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper explores the possibility of using the event-study methodology to evaluate industrial policies. I utilize historical stock returns from the energy, telecommunications, and steel industries to calculate abnormal market reactions to several informational releases surrounding the Obama administration's "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act". The results of the event-study indicate a positive evaluation of the polices, both during the informational releases and in months following the official legislation. However, several mathematical and theoretical caveats are highlighted in the literature and in this particular study. The findings suggest that event-studies can be used as an evaluation tool for industrial policy to …

An Analysis Of The Factors Affecting The Spending And Saving Habits Of College Students, Samantha Villanueva

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper analyzes spending and saving behavior among students of various class years, ethnicities, and gender at Skidmore College using data collected from an original survey. The models incorporate both demographic characteristics as well as pertinent economic theory. Results indicate that Whites and Asians spend significantly more than other ethnicities while Blacks save significantly more. Findings also provide support for the Permanent Income Hypothesis, however, no significance was found regarding Hyperbolic Discounting.

The Overlooked Element: An Empirical Analysis Of Team Chemistry And Winning Percentage In Major League Baseball, Daniel Dasgupta

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper explores the relationship between team chemistry and winning percentage in Major League Baseball. Team chemistry or cohesion, is an unobservable property that is applied to multiple group settings that can have a positive or negative effect on productivity. I have identified several group faultlines that have deterred team chemistry, specifically the formation of subgroups based on birth location, salary and years of experience. In addition, I analyze team salary disparity as another measure of team chemistry based on the team cohesion hypothesis. (Levine 1991) For the empirical analysis, I analyzed all 30 MLB teams during the 2010-2015 seasons …

Changes In Profitability For Primary Dealers Since The Financial Crisis, Benjamin Allen

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper will use bank-specific, industry specific, and macroeconomic variables to examine the determinants of bank profitability since the financial crisis in 2008 for primary dealers with the Federal Reserve. The paper will also examine the determinants of bank profitability before the crisis, from 2000 - 2007, and compare the results to determine how the banking industry has changed strategy due to changing environments. Empirical evidence shows a strong international bias within the primary dealers but finds differences in how market concentration, interest rate adaptability, and several other bank-specific variables effect profitability for United States primary dealers.

An Analysis Of The Efficiency Of The Nfl Draft, Aryan Von Eicken

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

In the National Football League (NFL), teams with the worst record in the previous season are given the first opportunity to acquire the most talented players from college football through the reverse-order draft. Teams’ correct identification and selection of talent is vital to the effectiveness of the draft in attempting to competitively balance the league and allowing teams who struggled in previous seasons to compete for the title in the following year. This study analyzes all major positions independently and finds that first round draft choices on average do outperform later round choices, though there is a large amount of …

Cryptocurrency-Remittance Transfers Futuristic Technologies & Poverty Alleviation, Michael Reeves

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

The methodologies used to transfer remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are currently predisposing their citizens to be dealt unethically large surcharges which are relatively greater than any other location in the world. These African nation's average remittance transaction fees were greater than 13% in 2006 and could become the greatest benefactor if a more efficient methodology of remittance currency transferring were to be created. For instance, if Sub-Saharan African citizens began to utilize cryptocurrencies instead of standard transfer companies like Western Union and MoneyGram; transfer fees could be reduced to as little as (.025%) which would directly send more funds to …

Failure At The Fed: A Study Of The Determinants Of Consumers' Inflation Expectations, Luca Mobilia

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper utilizes data from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) to investigate the determinants of consumers' inflation expectations. I employ a series of OLS models to test the effect of various goods’ prices on consumers' inflation expectations, as measured by the Michigan Survey of Consumers, as well as the effects of monetary policy and previously observed inflation. My results indicate that energy prices have a positive statistically significant effect on consumers' inflation expectations, while previously observed inflation has no statistically significant effect. Furthermore, I find that adjustments to the federal funds rate and the recent implementation of inflation targeting do …

A Cost Efficiency Analysis For Private Vehicles: Determinants For Households’ Choices Of Vehicles Using A Household-Level Commute Data Approach, Tuan Vu

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

In attempts to evaluate the different levels of fuel efficiencies across different types of vehicles, this paper uses a household-level commute dataset to look at the different determinants for a household owning an efficient vehicle. Employing both an OLS and a Probit model, the empirical results illustrate that the current number of vehicles and the vehicle’s purchasing price are the attributes that most significantly affect the household’s probability to own an efficient vehicle. A similar analysis is adopted for the case of electric vehicles as well. A further analysis includes calculations for different total costs of owning vehicles with different …

The Allocation Of Net Official Development Assistance: The Role Of Corruption And Influence On Standard Of Living, Jessica Torres

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper utilizes data from The World Bank Group’s Foreign Aid Effectiveness indicators to analyze the determinants of official development assistance aid to countries that are considered more or less corrupt. I utilize an OLS population regression function, with fixed effects, time series models, and an instrumental variable, as determined by the existing literature and my own determinations. My results indicate that the population’s accessibility to improved sanitation facilities and school enrollment of children in primary and secondary schools are statistically significant indicators of net official development assistance allocation to countries, regardless of their perceived corruption rating. These findings suggest …

Determinants Of Post-Secondary Education Attainment, Yidi Wu

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper uses high school longitudinal dataset to address a central question: What are the factors determining whether a student decides to enroll in post-secondary education, particularly 4-year Bachelor’s degree programs? Employing a Probit empirical design, this study measures the probability of a student attending both post-secondary education and specifically Bachelorette programs when considering an array of student- and parent-specific independent variables. The results highlight the importance of family influence on a student’s PSE outcome, most notably parental expectation. Further analysis also indicates that students with PSE inclinations experience larger effects across all variables. The findings of this paper suggest …

Nfl Betting: Is The Market Efficient?, Mathew Marino

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

The Purpose of this research paper is to analyze the NFL point spread and Over/Under betting market and determine if it follows the efficient market hypothesis. This research paper uses data from armchairanalysis.com for the 2000 NFL season through the 2015 NFL season including playoffs. I use OLS and probit regressions in order to determine NFL betting market efficiency for the point spread betting market and the Over/Under betting market. The results indicate, that as a whole, the NFL betting market appears to be efficient. However, there may be behavioral tendencies that can be taken advantage of in order to …

Monetary Policy And Housing Market In China, Ziao Zhang

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper studies the interaction effects between monetary policy actions and house price changes in China. I focus on the impact of M2 money supply on house prices in Beijing, the capital of China. A VAR model is constructed and shows that an M2 money supply shock has a significant positive impact on Beijing house prices from the fifth to the ninth month, whereas a house price shock has no significant impact on M2 money supply. To verify whether the impact of money supply is robust in different Chinese cities, I develop another VAR model to observe the housing market …

An Analysis Of Income Inequality And How It Is Affected By Different Factors In The United States Of America With Respect To The Kuznets Hypothesis Over The Time Period Of 1983 And 2016, Vir Vohra

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

Economic well being has increased considerably in the last three decades that has caused an income gap in the United States has increased in the same time frame. Various distinguished economists have argued since 1955 about the various factors that cause this trend. Income Inequality occurs because a number of factors impact it such as the productivity of a country.

Technological change has been a major factor contributing to the income gap. It has favored high skilled workers and various industries in the United States. In addition, there is an analysis of the effects of globalization and how it causes …

Is It Truly A Building Ground? A Returns To Skill And Learning By Doing Study Of The Pga Tour And The Web.Com Tour, Mackenzie Nelson

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

A study is carried out on the Web.com Tour from the 2007-2016 seasons using a panel data regression, to identify which shot making skills offer the highest return in earnings. The Web.com results are then compared to the shot making skills that were found to be most valuable on the PGA Tour during the 2015-2016 season. The results show that putting and greens in regulation are the two most lucrative statistics on both professional golf tours. The second portion of the study analyzes the effect of the theory of learning by doing on golfers playing on the Web.com Tour. The …

United States Monetary Policy As A Determinant Of Capital Flows To Emerging Market Economies: A Study On Portfolio Investment To The Brics Countries, Lillian Philbrick

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

Following the global financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve implemented unconventional monetary policy through near-zero interest rates and quantitative easing. This unprecedented policy has had unintended consequences, including effects on capital flows to emerging market economies. This paper studies the effect of U.S. monetary policy on portfolio investment in the BRICS countries. Using exogenous and endogenous variables as determinants of capital flows, I use a series of panel regression models that includes U.S. monetary policy as an explanatory variable of portfolio investment in the BRICS countries. My results suggest that U.S. monetary policy is not a significant determinant of …

Firm Clustering And Lek Mating: Similarities In The Clustering Behaviors Of Firms And Lek Species, Gabriel Salitan-Alvarez

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper explores the causes behind firm clustering, specifically job density in computer and math occupations, and similarities between firm clustering and lek mating, a mating strategy among certain species, particularly avian, involving male clustering to attract female mates. I use a model that contains economic variables and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping techniques to compare the similarities between the two phenomena visually. My findings suggest a significant positive effect of average annual salary for computer and math occupations and real GDP per capita on job density in those fields and a positive significant effect of job density and real …

The Application Of The Phillips Curve In Developed And Developing Countries, Connor Van Arnam

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This research utilizes data drawn from multiple government sources regarding unemployment, consumer price index (CPI), GDP, and industrial productivity from Colombia, Japan, and the United States. The research seeks to identify common trends and characteristics of the Phillips curve by applying the Phillips curve to both developed economies, like the United States and Japan, and also developing countries like Colombia. The results suggest that while there are similarities within economies, like the inflation and unemployment comovement in the United States, each economy must be viewed and analyzed independently. There were no findings indicating that there are common differences of Phillips …

Perceptions Of The Word “Healthy” On Moral Balancing And Licensing Patterns, Sophia Tate

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the complex relationship between the subjective FDA-regulated word "healthy" and its effect on consumers moral balancing and licensing habits. I create a survey to test the ability of the word "healthy" to balance or license future decisions. The results indicate that if the word "healthy" is on a package, regardless of nutritional quality, consumers use "healthy" to license unhealthy activities the next time period they are faced with a decision in the moral sphere of health. However, the balancing effect is lost after two time periods. The findings suggest that balancing and licensing patterns may depend on …

Finance, Financial Services, And Economics Growth How Does The Size Of The Financial Sector And Different Types Of Financial Services Impact Economic Growth?, Abd-Alrahman Al-Asaad

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper studies the relationship between finance, financial services, and economic growth. More particularly, this study attempts to answer the following two questions: What is the relationship between the size of the financial sector and economic growth? And how do different types of financial services impact economic growth? Understanding the dynamics between the financial sector and economic growth is extremely important from an intellectual as well as practical perspective. Intellectually speaking, it is safe to say that finance as a sector and financial services in general do not have a very good reputation in popular culture, especially in the post …

Understanding The Relationship Between Unemployment And Happiness: How Healthcare Efficiency Plays A Role In Life Satisfaction, Dayana Baez

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the impact of unemployment on happiness (life satisfaction, subjective well-being) in a cross-sectional study, while focusing on country’s health care systems. I used a classic multivariate OLS model in attempts to capture the effects of unemployment and healthcare efficiency on life satisfaction. Overall, I found that unemployment has a significant negative effect on life satisfaction and living in a country with an efficient health care system greatly and positively impacts one’s happiness. Unlike previous literature, my results add to the general discussion about life satisfaction by focusing on how efficient healthcare systems play a role.

The Process Of Gentrification In New York City, Robert Graham

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the effects of increases in median property value and median rent on a neighborhood in New York City. Specific attention is paid to shifts in three variables: education outcomes of public school students, housing displacement, and fluctuations in crime rates. Data from the Census Bureau and American Community Survey are used to assess the impact of gentrification.

The Motherhood Wage Gap: An Industry Level Analysis, Tatiana Grava

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

Fertility choices in the United States (U.S.) have significant wage implications for parents. Men generally do not experience any negative wage effects from children, and men with children are often among the best performers in the labor market as they are able to earn higher wages than their childless peers. On the contrary, children result in serious negative wage effects for women, and cause notable pay gaps among women. As compared to their female colleagues, mothers typically earn less and face slower wage growth. The degree to which this wage gap exists varies based on skill level, education, experience, and …

Does Corruptin Affect Productivity In Terms Of Growth In Brazil?, Alessandro Lannes

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper explores the relationship between the corruption that occurs in Brazil and its effect on productivity in terms of economic growth. While there are multiple facets of corruption, currently, the only measure of corruption is Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This index is measured from 0, most corrupt, to 10, least corrupt. The productivity of Brazil in terms of economic growth will be measured using GDP per capita. My hypothesis is that the corrupt acts that occur in Brazil have a direct negative influence on the productivity of Brazil. Mainly, this is through the rent seekers theory that …

Tourism As A Development Mechanism: Evidence From Households In Indonesia, Patricia Mcguire

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

Indonesia is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, placing it in a position to use tourism as a mechanism for development and for poverty alleviation. In order to do so effectively, the country must consider the true impacts of tourism at the household level. Many studies of tourism in Indonesia investigate the case of one island or region, often using Input-Output models to measure the expenditure that flows through different areas of the sector and the amount of inputs from tourism that either reach or do not reach the rest of the economy, ultimately measuring the …

The Impact Of Trade Liberalization On The Gender Wage Gap In The Labor Market, Kaiyao Xu

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This research mainly focuses on the impact of trade liberalization on the gender wage gap in the labor market. Collecting the evidences from countries in a worldwide range, the impact of trade liberalization on gender wage gap is supposed to be analyzed on a domestic industrial level. An empirical OLS estimates model is applied inside the U.S. domestic labor market. The data comes from PSID data base of 1985 and 1995. Linking the empirical result to the industrial shift and labor structure shift caused by trade liberalization, the relationship between trade and gender wage gap can be discussed and concluded.

Salary Dispersion And Team Performance In The National Basketball Association, Robert Pierce

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper explores the relationship between salary dispersion in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and team performance. Team performance will be measured by regular season win totals as well as playoff performance. I hypothesize that teams with higher salary dispersion typically perform better because of superstars in the NBA. Superstars are more effective in basketball than in any other sport because of rules inherent to the game. They also create high salary dispersions on their respective teams, and being superstars, they contribute largely to team success. This study will encompass all 30 NBA teams over the past 20 NBA seasons, …

The Economic Impact Of Incarceration: Measuring And Exploring Incarceration-Related Costs Across The United States, David Immerman

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This study estimates and examines incarceration costs across the United States. It expands the definition of cost beyond state budgetary expenditures by aggregating various per inmate economic impacts that result from incarceration and crime. The study builds an econometric model to analyze an original dataset from 33 states in years 2002, 2007, and 2012. The results show state median salaries, crime rates, and police employment all positively impact total cost, while incarceration rates have a negative impact. Income inequality and the political climates of states may also affect cost.

Cultural Acceptance Of Digitalization And Growth Of An Economy: A Comparison Of East And West Germany, Everett Benner

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

In the following paper aims to analyze the significance and relevance that change in cultural acceptance of digitalization has on the output gap (in terms of GDP) between East and West Germany based on the borders that existed between WWII and reunification in 1989. Culture will be measured by taking Google Trend data for the search term “Facebook,” broken down by State (16) between the years 2004 and 2014. Google Trend data will be taking the place of technology in a standard Swan-Solow Model. The model will then be regressed using a simple GLS sample population equation. Following will be …

The Impact Of Patents On Research & Development Expenditure As A Percentage Of Gross Domestic Product: A Case In The U.S. And Eu Economies, Patrick Otomo

Economics Student Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper examines the recent upward trend of patent applications and its impact on Research and Development Expenditure in the U.S. and the EU. Opening with the decline in total factor productivity in the United States, the paper focuses on the decline by analyzing the effect that patents have on research and development expenditure, taking firm size, government subsidization, and historical financial performance, into account. Patents were found to have an increasing effect on research and development expenditure decreasing rate.