Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Teleworking Across The Border: Insights From Cascadia, Andrzej Jakubowski

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The COVID-19 Pandemic, supported by the rapid improvements in digital communication tools, has accelerated profound changes in how work is performed as millions worldwide started working remotely. Washington State and British Columbia were among the states/provinces with the highest percentage of people teleworking in the United States and Canada, respectively, mainly due to the developed industries of high technology, including the IT sector. However, as digital solutions allow for working from anywhere, they also boosted the rise of international virtual labor migration (cross-border telework), making labor mobility an even more diverse phenomenon. What remains an open question is whether telework …

Unmasking Climate Change: How The Impacts Of Global Warming Alter Disease Spread And Discovery, Ellie Potts, Andy Bunn, Adam Wright

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

What is the relationship between global temperature increase and the number of communicable disease cases, and is this relationship stronger for denser populations? Climate change and communicable diseases are two intertwined global issues. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners, governments, and general consumers have all realized the scale of benefits and risks of an internationally integrated global economy, and how our level of urbanization can cause rapid disease spread. This pandemic has uncovered our lack of preparation for global emergencies. Climate change not only poses a global emergency but will also increase our world’s likelihood of diseases. …

It's The Holiday Rom-Com Season, Mariah Perez

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This study analyzes and categorizes 25 holiday romantic comedy films released between 1938 and 2021. It examines how this genre of film developed and evolved over time. It concludes that Hallmark and Netflix have both had large influences on the holiday romantic comedy genre. This study also discusses the results of a survey regarding people's holiday rom-com habits and opinions. It determines that audiences' opinions shape genre, and therefore it is likely that future holiday romantic comedies will remain lighthearted and comforting, while also becoming more inclusive regarding sexuality, ethnicity, and culture.

Terribly Timely Tariffs, Calvin Golliver

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Mercantilism was an effective system for expanding state power and prosperity in early Modern Europe when three specific conditions existed: weak states, expensive trade, and zero-sum competition. These conditions combined to create a prisoner’s dilemma where all nations engaging in mercantilism was both individually rational and mutually destructive. The significant changes in these three conditions in the late 18th to early 19th century removed the prisoner’s dilemma, making it both individually and mutually rational to engage in a general policy of free trade.

Buenvivir - The Politics Of Living Well, Jeremy Caldeira

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Buenvivir is a development ideology that arose from Indigenous ideas of protecting nature, generating autonomy, and generally living well. This ideology rose to the forefront of South American politics through its placement into the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as through dynamic policies such as the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. Ultimately, the efficacy of buenvivir in both countries was mixed. This paper explores the reasons for this, while also evaluating Ecuador and Bolivia’s implementation of buenvivir using political analysis tools and frameworks. It also briefly considers future paths for success, such as the Pachamama Foundation’s Sacred Headwaters Plan, and holes …

Voting Your (Home)Values: An Empirical Assessment Of Homeownership And Voting Patterns In Seattle, Carter Fredrick Morfitt

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this paper, I draw on data from King County Elections and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Communities survey in an attempt to assess the predictions of the "homevoter hypothesis", which posits that homeowners tend to support policy measures that will boost their home values and oppose policy measures that could be perceived as a threat to their home values.

The Political Economy Of Nuclear Energy: Why There Is Not Broad Public Support For Nuclear Policy & Why There Should Be, Willa Grace Mei Lee

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this paper, I examine how the nuclear incidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima impacted public support for nuclear energy in the United States. Particularly, I look at the ways the media has influenced public perception, and thus, nuclear policy. I also consider the economic arguments for and against using nuclear power and highlight the effects of decommissioning nuclear fleets as was seen in the aftermath of the major nuclear incidents. Lastly, I discuss how the public can become better informed on nuclear energy.

Ultimately, the three major nuclear incidents spurred anti-nuclear sentiment, which shut down nuclear plants, …

Covid-19 And The Us-Canada Border Report 2: Canadians And Taxable Retail Sales Within Whatcom County, Border Policy Research Institute, Western Washington University

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

On February 29th, 2020, the first death from COVID-19 occurred in Washington State. Over the weeks following, both Washington State and British Columbia implemented various efforts aimed at reducing the spread of the virus. On March 14th, B.C. announced closures of many businesses, made recommendations against non-essential travel, and implemented a voluntary two week self- quarantine on Canadians returning to Canada. Two weeks later, Washington issued a stay-at- home order which went into effect March 23rd. These state and provincial measures aimed at limiting mobility were soon followed by coordinated decisions by the U.S. and Canada to limit cross-border travel. …

Covid-19 And The Us-Canada Border Report 1: Covid-19 And The Us-Canada Border: Retail Shopping Destinations For Canadians In Whatcom County, Border Policy Research Institute, Western Washington University

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

On February 29, 2020, the first death from COVID-19 occurred in Washington State. Over the weeks following, both Washington State and British Columbia implemented various efforts aimed at reducing the spread of the virus. On March 14th, B.C. announced closures of many businesses, made recommendations against non-essential travel, and implemented a voluntary two week self-quarantine on Canadians returning to Canada. Two weeks later, Washington issued a stay-at-home order which went into effect March 23rd. These state and provincial measures aimed at limiting mobility coincided with the bilateral decision by the U.S. and Canada to limit cross-border travel. These restrictions, which …

Gender Separate Effects Of Human Capital On Economic Growth, Jordan King

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper examines the gender-separate effects of human capital on economic growth using a regression framework, treating human capital as dually influenced by both health and education. Upon controlling for fertility, we find that there is no statistically significant difference between the effects that the male and female human capital dimensions have on economic growth: accumulation of both is equally important. Furthermore, our results also shed light on the different effects that human capital’s components, health and education, have on countries at different levels of development. We find that health effects, regardless of gender, are more prominent for growth in …

A More Sustainable Future: Energy Efficiency Policies In Buildings, Campbell Miller

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Energy efficiency is often times the most cost effective solution towards reducing energy demand. Energy usage in buildings accounts for upwards of 40% of the total energy consumption in the United States, as well as the vast majority of the growth in energy demand. Despite this buildings are often not built to be energy efficient, causing the residential and commercial sector to paying for hundreds of millions dollars on unnecessary energy use. The reason for this is the many market failures including: risk, lack of information, and access to capital. Looking at policies by the United States and China attempting …

Finance In The Fifth Dimension: Lessons In Logic For The Social Sciences, Dawson J. Sanders

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The purpose of this paper is to highlight lessons from various areas of academia that I feel would benefit all social science. I will discuss physics, biology, sociology, and more, doing my best to explicitly state their relationships to economics throughout the paper. I hope that the lessons learned here will together serve as a means for prescribing and evaluating solutions to social problems and assist in the development of models through a new level of methodological dimensionality where applicable. The fifth dimension will serve to metaphorically illustrate this new way of thinking, through which we will construct a theoretical …

Occam's Razor Vol. 9 - Full (2019)

Occam's Razor

No abstract provided.

Passenger Flows Through The Cascade Gateway: Changes From 2013 To 2018, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

Every five years, the BPRI partners with the Whatcom Council of Governments to conduct a passenger vehicle intercept survey at four ports of entry between British Columbia and Washington State.Students from Western Washington University intercept drivers as they cross the border in both directions and ask them a variety of questions related to trip purpose and travel characteristics (see sidebar). This Border Brief provides a preliminary analysis of survey findings from the summer of 2018 and compares them to the responses collected in the summer of 2013. It also considers the impacts of changes in cross-border travel in the Cascade …

Regional Cross-Border Collaboration Between The U.S. & Canada, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

On October 24th, 2018, the BPRI hosted a one-day forum to assess the state of cross-border collaboration between British Columbia and Washington State. The forum brought together regional experts from government, academia, and private industry to discuss the successes, barriers, and opportunities for cross-border collaboration across three ‘sectors’: transportation/infrastructure, business/economics, and the environment (see sidebar). U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen provided opening remarks about the region and Canadian Coast Guard Regional Director Brian Wooton gave a keynote address on collaboration in the marine environment. This Border Policy Brief highlights some of the findings from the forum, which illustrate the need for …

Cannabis In Cascadia: Impacts Of Legalization In The Region, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

The policies regulating the use and sale of cannabis have historically been constructed differently in the United States and Canada, yet both countries had deemed recreational use to be illegal. Beginning in 2012, however, individual states in the U.S. began to legalize recreational cannabis, including Washington, Oregon, and most recently, California. In 2017, the Government of Canada passed similar legislation. If Canada’s legislation goes into effect in mid-2018, the West Coast of North America will become the only contiguous region where recreational consumption and sale of cannabis are permitted across multiple jurisdictions (see Map 1, next page). However, because cannabis …

The Impact Of Mnc Involvement On The Lives Of Workers In Developing Economies Of Latin America, Gabriel Moss

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

It is clear that multinational corporations (MNCs) have significant impact in the growth trajectory of developing countries. The nature of this relationship, however, is heavily debated. What is the downstream impact from MNCs on the lives of workers in developing countries? Are countries perversely incentivized to repress and exploit their unskilled labor forces to attract investment? Do multinationals promote better working conditions and raise standards of living for workers? In this essay, I argue that multinationals have the potential to bring massive benefits to the working class in developing countries. If the government of the host country develops strong linkage …

Coal Trains And Home Values: The Effect Of The Gateway Pacific Terminal Project On Housing Prices In Bellingham, Washington, Rose G. Howe

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The proposal to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal generated much controversy in Bellingham, Washington. As a deep-water port slated to export large quantities of coal and other commodities, the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) threatened to increase the amount of rail traffic passing through the region.The following study uses a hedonic price model to test whether proximity to the railroad affected the sales price of houses in Bellingham after the announcement of the GPT environmental review process. Little previous research focuses on the effect of rail traffic on housing prices in the Pacific Northwest and no empirical studies have examined the …

Occam's Razor Vol. 7 - Full (2017)

Occam's Razor

No abstract provided.

Modernizing The Columbia River Treaty, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

In February of 2017, Western Washington University (WWU) and Northwest Indian College (NWIC) hosted a two-day symposium titled, “The Changing Environment and the Columbia River Treaty.” The purpose of the symposium was to develop public awareness and inform treaty negotiators from the U.S. and diplomats from Canada on key issues to address when modernizing the Treaty. This event brought together tribal and First Nations leaders, representatives from government and private industry, non-governmental organizations and academics to discuss the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty (CRT).

Changes In Canadian Shopping Visits To Northwest Washington, 2013-2016, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

In 2013, the BPRI launched a long-term study to analyze the behavior of Canadians crossing the border to shop in Northwest Washington by counting the percentage of Canadian license plates in specified shopping locations along the Interstate 5 corridor. Our “license plate survey” includes data collected over the course of 6 weeks (3 days per week), for a total of 18 survey days in 2013 and 2016. This Border Policy Brief is a comparative analysis of the data collected in 2013, when the loonie averaged $0.97 USD, and data collected in 2016 in the same locations, when the loonie averaged …

Effects Of Microfinance Penetration Rates On Education Participation, Samuel W. Martinez

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Microfinance, or the extension of financial services to low-income individuals unserved or underserved by traditional financial institutions, has been championed as a method of reducing poverty and creating social change, especially in developing countries. However, empirical studies examining the effects of microcredit programs have found mixed results as to the success of these loans. This study attempts to determine the impact that the presence of microfinance institutions in a country has on education participation rates, specifically examining country- level World Bank data over a 10-year period. Regression results for this data suggest positive effects of microfinance penetration on secondary education …

The Economic Impacts Of Cross-Border Retailing, Daniel Edgel

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An economic impact estimation of cross-border shopping from British Columbia to Whatcom County and forecast of the impact of future changes in retail shopping trends.

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Cause To Treatment, Tavleen Aulakh

Occam's Razor

Imagine two individuals, both suffering from severe liver damage. With excess fat molecules concentrated in the hepatic cells, their livers are inflamed and scarred. These deteriorating livers are also supplementing the development of chronic obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and hyperlipidemia. While one of these individuals is a middle-aged male with a long history of alcohol addiction and abuse, the other is only thirteen years old and has never consumed alcohol. This adolescent is suffering from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Occam's Razor Vol. 6 - Full (2016)

Occam's Razor

No abstract provided.

Land-Based Freight Flows Between The Us And Its Nafta Neighbors, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

This Brief provides an overview of the flow of goods between the U.S. and its two NAFTA neighbors, Canada and Mexico. For the U.S., the value and composition of freight that flows between its northern and southern borders varies significantly by port and region, and this variety inevitably has implications for border management policies and infrastructure investment needs. By providing an overview of the economic geography of the U.S.’s land-based trade with its NAFTA partners, this Brief seeks to inform decisions about border management and infrastructure investment, while also illustrating the value of cross-border trade to the U.S. economy.

Passenger Preclearance In The Pacific Northwest, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

On March 16, 2015, the U.S. and Canada signed a Preclearance Agreement. The Agreement gives both countries the authority to implement passenger preclearance beyond the air mode (see sidebar) and expand to the land, rail, and marine modes of transportation. In addition, the Agreement enables Canada to request the U.S. to regularize existing U.S. immigration pre-inspection sites, namely at cruise, rail, and ferry terminals in British Columbia. This Border Policy Brief highlights rail and marine locations in the Pacific Northwest that will be affected by the Preclearance Agreement, and monetizes some of the benefits accrued to both travelers and operators …

Exchange Rates, Border Crossings, And Retail Sales In The Cascade Gateway, Border Policy Research Institute

Border Policy Research Institute Publications

One year ago, BPRI published a Border Brief analyzing the relationship between the Canada – U.S. exchange rate and crossing volumes in the Cascade Gateway (see Winter 2015 Border Brief). At that time, the decline in the value of the Canadian Dollar (CAD), which began significantly in mid-2013, had already influenced the volume of cross-border travel in the region and has continued to do so since. This Border Brief updates our previous analysis, and goes beyond crossing volumes to consider the economic impacts associated with the continued drop in Canadian cross-border travelers.

Directionally Bounded Utility And The Executive Pay Puzzle, Edoh Y. Amiran, Daniel Andreas Hagen

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The pay of CEOs and other top executives has risen disproportionately relative to other earnings. We provide a supply-side explanation based on utility theory using directionally bounded utility functions. As overall income levels have grown, the amount of compensation required to induce top executives to sacrifice a quiet life has risen. We show that directionally bounded utility functions predict a general rise in compensation for stress. More importantly, such utility functions can be used to explain why the CEO pay ratio has risen at an increasing rate, something which other approaches have difficulty explaining.

Predicting Consumer Demand Responses To Carbon Labels, Sharon Shewmake, Abigail Okrent, Lanka Thabrew, Michael Vandenbergh

Sharon Shewmake

Providing carbon footprint labels for all food products is a daunting and potentially infeasible project. Knowing how consumers substitute away from high carbon goods and what they choose as substitutes is essential for understanding which goods are likely to result in meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. This paper proposes a model to systematically estimate how consumers will respond to information from a carbon footprint label. Our model uses consumers’ value of their individual carbon footprint with own- and cross-price elasticities of demand data on carbon emissions from life cycle analysis to simulate shifts in consumer demand for 42 food products …