Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Case Studies In Financial Accounting, Martina C. Gratz

Honors Theses

The thesis is a combination of four case studies that were completed in the 2023-2024 academic year under the supervision of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. The first two cases look at the impact of Chinese markets entering the New York Stock Exchange and the effect Environmental, Social, and Governance legislation will have on Americans and the accounting profession. The third case looks at the beliefs of Dr. Sowell and Dr. Carson and how the implementations of these beliefs can positively impact the United States economy. Finally, in the last case we focus on the Mississippi economy and a project that can …

Better Understanding The Risks And Costs Of Motherhood In The Post-Roe United States, Mackayla Wall

Honors Theses

This paper reviews the literature on the risks and costs of motherhood. The paper compares and analyzes various studies conducted between 1990 and 2023 relating to family planning, pregnancy, and maternal health in America. Changes in healthcare legislation and policies, as well as access to contraception and abortion, have all had an impact on the economic costs of pregnancy and motherhood. These changes emphasize the importance of better understanding the economic costs of pregnancy and motherhood in all its stages— from timing pregnancy to recovering from pregnancy and birth and experiencing childrearing costs. When analyzing previous studies, I discovered that …

How To Get Away With Insider Trading And How To Stop It?, Blade H. Kisler

Honors Theses

The realm of investing, while promising, is often clouded by complexity and opacity, exacerbated by the prevalence of insider trading. This unethical practice allows select individuals to amass vast fortunes by exploiting confidential information unavailable to the public. Particularly alarming is the possibility of insider trading within Congress, where lawmakers wield privileged access to non-public information and could possibly engage in lucrative stock transactions. This paper delves into specific coincidences of Congressional stock trading to underscore the systemic nature of this phenomenon among influential figures.

Dollarization In Latin America, Chloe Wieber

Honors Theses

Dollarization occurs when a country uses the US dollar or other foreign currency alongside or in place of the country’s domestic currency. This research seeks to understand the reasons countries dollarize and analyzes the extent that formal dollarization affects the economic wellbeing of dollarized countries in Latin America. The use of the US dollar is considerable in Latin America with Panama, Ecuador, and El Salvador being formally dollarized, and with Argentina currently considering formally adopting the US dollar. Using difference-in-difference techniques, I analyze the impact of dollarization on economic agents’ perceptions of the economy, on economic growth, and on inflation …

Impact Of Snap On Food Insecurity: A Michigan And Indiana Case Study, Cecelia Chapleau

Honors Theses

Food insecurity is one of the most pervasive and concerning problems in the United States. Approximately 1 in every 13 households within the United States was food insecure at some point during 2022 (Rabbitt et al., 2023) Food insecurity occurs when households have a limited ability to access nutritious foods, there is a limited supply of safe, healthy foods, or they are unable to obtain food in socially acceptable ways (Anderson, 1990). Low food security is associated with adverse health outcomes like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and poor mental health, which contributes to the severity of the problem (Thomas …

Green Bonds, Green Returns: The Impact Of Green Bond Issuances On Financial Performance In The U.S. Energy Sector, Adora Lei

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the impact of green bond issuances on the financial performance of U.S. energy firms, the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sector. To explore the incentives for adopting green projects among firms with the most significant margin for improvement, I focus on Gross Profit Margin (GPM) and the Tobin’s Q Ratio as key indicators of profitability and valuation. Using a dataset of 462 companies, I analyze green and conventional corporate bond issuances from 2010 onwards in the context of their financial reports. The findings reveal that green bonds positively influence long-term valuation, with Tobin’s Q showing significant increases from the …

The Impact Of Signing Bonuses, Age, And Country On Mlb Success: Evaluating Investment Returns In The Mlb International Amateur Free Agent Market, Elliot Wolf

Honors Theses

MLB’s International Amateur Free Agent Market provides teenagers across the world opportunities to sign, develop, and potentially fulfill their dreams of playing in the MLB. It also allows teams to sign players at young ages, increasing the amount of time players can develop within a team’s minor league system. While signing bonus decision-making is backed up by a team’s scouts and data, the signing bonus a player receives is rarely a reflection of their future value. I argue that teams are not spending this money optimally. However, in an environment where players have low acquisition costs and volatile performance outcomes, …

Empowering Diversity: Unveiling The Impact Of Affirmative Action Policies On Intersectional Identities In Indian Village Councils, Auroshree Pani

Honors Theses

This study investigates the intersectional effects of affirmative action policies within the con- text of rural local councils in India. Utilizing the natural experiment provided by the randomized implementation of reservation policies in Uttar Pradesh’s gram panchayats, this research exam- ines how the intersectionality of marginalized identities—specifically gender and caste—affects policy outcomes. Employing data from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guar- antee Act (MGNREGA) and gram panchayat elections from 2015 and 2021, the impact on job demand and public asset creation is evaluated. The findings reveal that while female leaders gen- erally improve job demand and public asset creation, …

The Effect Of Postpartum Depression On New Mothers' Return To Work Decisions, Nicole Walutes

Honors Theses

Postpartum depression rates in the United States have doubled since 2010, with potentially significant economic consequences. In this study, I examine the relationship between postpartum depression and new mothers’ labor force participation using a national longitudinal dataset of 738 new mothers. I examine two labor force participation outcomes: whether or not a new mother returned to work postpartum, and the number of days it took for her to do so if she returned. I include a detailed set of demographic and social control factors. I find that conditional on these controls, having postpartum depression relates to a statistically insignificant 4.73 …

Sustainable Frameworks & The Circular Economy Within Digital Marketing & Advertising Agency Groups, Angelique Bautista

Honors Theses

Digital marketing significantly contributes to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of marketing and advertising agencies. Despite efforts towards corporate sustainability, discrepancies in carbon accounting and sustainability practices persist across the industry. An increasingly relevant topic for many industries is the circular economy (CE). It is concerned with creating a structured and cyclical sustainable practice and/or operation. This research paper examines the intersection of the CE and environmental sustainability initiatives in global digital marketing, analyzing sustainability efforts and ordinances up to April 2024, alongside theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS). Then, CE principles are explored more in-depth and the sociotechnological …

Performance And Policy Indexes In Carbon Pricing Efficacy: A Cross-Country Analysis Of Policy Impact (2012-2020), Ke (Zoky) Zhou

Honors Theses

Climate change poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and human societies, driven largely by CO2 emissions from various economic activities. This macroeconomic cross-country study empirically assesses the effectiveness of carbon pricing in reducing CO2 emissions across three periods: 2012-2017, 2015-2019, and 2015-2020. Building on the foundational research by Best et al. (2020), the analysis extends to more recent data, capturing the evolving impacts of carbon pricing amid changing global economic and policy landscapes. A key advancement in this research is the creation and integration of two comprehensive indexes—a performance index and a policy index—constructed from 14 environmental performance or …

The Effect Of The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017 Expansion Of The Child Tax Credit On The Distribution Of Household Chores, Joseph M. Barrett

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on time spent doing household work in married or cohabiting households with children. Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from before and after the implementation of the TCJA, I conduct a difference-in-differences analysis to determine the effect of the CTC expansion on time spent on all household chores, on historically female household chores, on historically male household chores, and on childcare. Then, using an adapted version of Bargain’s (2008) collective utility model, I simulate the TCJA expansion …

The Populist Wave: Unpacking The Global Drivers Of 21st Century Right-Wing Populist Support, Ellie Fallon

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the underlying causes of the global rise in right-wing populism support in the twenty-first century. I will examine both the origins of these shifts in public opinion and their consequences for political systems and global interactions. My analyses will take two forms: (1) a cross-national analysis of the rise in right-wing populism in 34 of the 38 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to explore the demographic factors that exhibit a relationship with populist attitudes and (2) case studies of right-wing populism in the contemporary United States (with particular attention to former …

Immigration Level And Its Impact On The United States Labor Market Tightness, Khai Quy La

Honors Theses

This research investigates the complex interplay between immigration labor and market equilibrium in the United States, focusing on the period from 2000 to 2019. By examining the correlation between the rate of net international migration and the unemployment-to-vacancy ratio (U/V) across 51 states, the study uncovers significant relationships that shed light on immigration dynamics in response to labor market conditions. The findings support the hypothesis that a decrease in the U/V ratio leads to an increase in immigration in the following period as immigrants seek improved job employment prospects.

Trading Perspectives: The Impact Of Gender In Shaping National Trade Policies, Katherine Kwiatkowski

Honors Theses

Economic and political factors have been shown to influence the trade policy decisions of national leaders. The impact of a national leader’s gender on their trade policy preferences remains an underexplored area of research. The increasing share of female national leaders raises the question of whether their policy preferences vary from those of male leaders because of their gender. In this study, I utilize the gender of a nation’s leader to implement a two-way fixed effects regression that analyzes the impact of gender on a leader’s trade policy preferences. Controlling for factors that could also impact a leader’s trade policy …

County-Level Unemployment Dynamics Following The Covid Recession: The Effects Of Ppp Loan Take Up, Preston Antes

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a nationwide shutdown, dragging the US into a recession. To combat the effects of the pandemic on the economy, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with the focus of preserving jobs and providing liquidity to small businesses. PPP created low-interest, forgivable business loans with forgiveness tied to a few benchmarks, providing a de facto cash transfer to small businesses. Did PPP preserve jobs? When examining Mississippi, this paper shows that counties with high cyclical unemployment participated more intensely in the program. Furthermore, the research shows that as loan totals grew within a county, local labor …

The Effect Of Bike Share Expansion On Bay Area Rapid Transit Ridership, Jacob Holifield

Honors Theses

The transportation sector causes significant negative externalities (collisions and pollution), most of which are caused by cars. As a result, policymakers often seek to reduce reliance on cars and spur demand for alternative modes of transportation. Many urban planners posit that bike sharing could serve to increase public transit ridership by allowing the bike sharing system to feed into the public transit stations, thereby solving first- and last-mile problems and reducing the time cost to access public transit. However, research into the effect of bike sharing on public transit is mixed. This thesis examines the effect of the 2017 expansion …

Our Mothers Are Dying: How Economics Affect Maternal Mortality, Kendall Wheelock

Honors Theses

One of the primary goals from the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce maternal mortality on a global scale. It is well documented that economic success has a strong correlation with maternal mortality (Kirigia et al 2014, 1-3). There is ample research on how one’s health affects their ability to participate in society, furthermore protecting women within the sphere of medicine is a key part of advancing society. This thesis aims to give qualitative and quantitive backing to a deeper investigation of the correlation between economic success and maternal health.

To focus this research, the thesis focuses on …

Chinese Political Rhetoric And Ideology: Tension And Pretension, Israel Paredes

Honors Theses

This changing nature of the Chinese government’s ideology leads one to believe that its core beliefs are not dogmatic, despite the foundation for their ideology being rooted in specific societal and economic theories. Starting with Mao Zedong to modern day, the Chinese government officials will continue to support the original tenets (and, no doubt, future presidents’ additions to the tenets). However, the interpretation of their ideology over time is fluid and is used to support policies and actions during a political cycle. Chinese political leaders are unlikely to disagree with a past leaders, and will rather use their own interpretation …

When God Gives You Tomatoes, Don't Import Them From Italy: A Case Study On The Impact Of Supranational Institutional Policy On The Ghanaian Tomato Industry, Kaci Wilcox

Honors Theses

Supranational organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the European Union (EU) have impressed market liberalizing policies upon developing countries for decades in efforts to stabilize their economies and introduce them to global markets. While these programs and the resulting popular scholarly debates are typically geared toward macroeconomic indicators, the way those policies affect industries on the micro level has been somewhat overlooked, especially when considering how such policy over time could affect an individual industry. This thesis studies how supranational organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the EU contribute to the …

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Preserving The Great Barrier Reef, Taylor Cox

Honors Theses

This paper investigates both the economic benefits and costs of protecting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The benefits associated with the Reef come from a 2016 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited report and quantifies direct economic contributions, nonuse values, and a social, economic, and icon value. The costs of protecting the Reef come from a collection of sources, including the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, “The Cost and Feasibility of Marine Coastal Restoration”, and a number of annual reports from governmental and non-governmental organizations. By analyzing these documents, the net benefits were calculated. The Great Barrier Reef contributes $6.4 billion to …

Urban Understandings: Exploring Potential Coercion In Lincoln Park’S Gentrification Process, Jacob Price

Honors Theses

While much research has been carried out on the topic of gentrification over the past several decades, little to no economic research has been conducted on the potential presence of coercion within the process. In this paper, we define coercion as any attempts by third parties, whether government or private entities, to artificially accelerate the natural housing cycle. In studying this, we examine Lincoln Park as a case study, a Chattanooga neighborhood that was once a bastion of culture and security for the Southern African American community, by employing a two-pronged approach. On the qualitative front, we interview community and …

Debt And The Medicare Eligibility Discontinuity: Disparate Effects Across Households, Olivia Falck

Honors Theses

Public health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid have been shown to help reduce household debt caused by healthcare costs. The impact of health insurance literacy makes the relationship between public health programs and debt more ambiguous. The increasing complexity of Medicare raises the question of whether cost savings associated with enrollment might be mitigated by the complexity of choosing the ideal plan for those with low health insurance literacy. In this study, I utilize the Medicare eligibility cutoff at age 65 to implement a regression discontinuity design that analyzes the impact of Medicare eligibility on household debt and out …

Esg Reporting And Its Effect On Financial Performance Of Oil, Gas, And Utility Companies In The United States, Logan Lam

Honors Theses

According to the Harvard Business Review article ESG Investing Isn’t Designed to Save the Plant (Pucker and King 2022), the term ESG investments – which stands for environmental, social, and governance investing – often confuses investors because it is unregulated. Additionally, the author continued to claim that the data is outdated and mostly unaudited. Even if data on these investments is available to investors, it can still be challenging for them to make decisions regarding ESG. Trusting compatibility and accuracy can be difficult considering that companies can choose how to produce or calculate their own ESG data. Another claim that …

The Parental Labor Gap: The Impact Of Daycare Access On The Parental Labor Force During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Acacia Wyckoff

Honors Theses

In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the landscape for work has shifted dramatically. Many companies and employers switched to telework when the pandemic hit, and many still do not require workers to come into the office. Research suggests these COVID-induced changes have led to a closing of the gap in childcare duties between men and women in households. Comparing parents in positions with telework eligibility versus in-person positions, Heggeness and Suri (2022) found that while telework improved the labor participation rate of mothers slightly, there was still a major gap in labor force participation between mothers and …

The 2015 Ncaa Cost-Of-Attendance Stipend And Its Effects On Institutional Financial Aid Packages, Sara Greene

Honors Theses

In 2015, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allowed “Cost of Attendance” (COA) stipends to be offered to athletic recruits for Division I schools. These stipends are intended to allow schools to grant aid to student-athletes beyond a full-ride scholarship to cover additional costs imposed on student-athletes. These stipends created an opportunity for the “Autonomy” Power 5 programs to utilize a competitive tactic to try to win over the top recruits. There is evidence that these COA stipends have caused an increase in the estimated cost of attendance reported by the university. This paper examines if the COA stipends have …

Vietnam’S Gdp: Re-Assessing Growth Rate And Identifying An Alternative Indicator, My Linh D. Nguyen

Honors Theses

Since the economic reform known as Doi Moi (Renovation) in 1986, Vietnam has changed from one of the world’s poorest to a middle-income country in one generation (USAID, 2022). The country has consistently registered high and stable economic growth since the reform, averaging 6.3% from 1985 to 2021 (World Bank, 2022). High growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) is good news, but it has also raised questions that go both ways. On one side, there is much speculation that the government of Vietnam has manipulated economic statistics, compared to the case of China and India. As quoted in Kinh …

A Gis And Economic Analysis Into Solar Electricity Generation Siting Within The Greater Kalamazoo Area, Devon Kelly

Honors Theses

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains a significant number of incentives, both grants and loans, for state and local governments to institute clean energy-related projects. As such, and to aid in the development of decision-making support tools for solar investments in the City of Kalamazoo, this research contains a ground-mounted solar project suitability map with an additional development siting potential map for the municipal government of Kalamazoo. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and specific parcel-by-parcel siting potential of land for the construction of solar projects in the Kalamazoo Area. In doing so, …

Earnings Gap Between Urban And Rural Migrant Workers In Vietnam, Kristen Le

Honors Theses

This thesis studies whether there is an earnings disparity between urban and rural migrant workers in Vietnam’s urban areas and whether that earnings gap is due to individual characteristics and human capital levels or other unobserved factors. In this paper, urban workers, or urban residents, are workers who have household registration status in the urban cities where they work. On the other hand, rural migrant workers, or rural-to-urban migrants, are defined as workers who live and work in urban cities but have their registered household statuses in other rural areas. Using the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey (VHLSS) in 2008, …

Food As A Vector For Change: Lessons From The Third Sector On Improving Livelihoods With Nutritional Knowledge In Medellín And Bogotá, Solomon Treister

Honors Theses

In this thesis I argue that improving diet in communities depends on building nutritional knowledge. In examining the role of community level organizations, I look specifically at how knowledge is conveyed through agriculture and gastronomy. This project analyzes how civil society organizations work to reintegrate individuals into food systems, compelling consumers to take agency over their diets and pursue better livelihoods. The industrialization of food systems has fundamentally changed the way humans connect with food and diet. In Colombia, internal displacements and urban migration have accelerated a loss of connection with the land and food processes. At the same time, …