Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Starting Early: Returns On Kindergarten Attendance In Indonesia, Daniel Posthumus

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Indonesia is a rapidly developing economy, having averaged 5.26% economic growth from 2000 to 2019; over the same time, it has achieved near-universal primary school attendance. However, there are concerns about the quality of Indonesian education, with no improvement in standardized test scores between 2012 and 2022. Early childhood interventions are a critical part of human capital accumulation and skills- building, and the efficacy of interventions such as kindergarten in developing countries like Indonesia is under-studied. Using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) and Village Potential Statistics (PODES), I examine the effects of kindergarten on educational outcomes in …

The Effects Of Snap’S Abawd Work Requirement On Food Security And Work Outcomes, Thomas Cronin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the leading anti-hunger government assistance program in the United States. Included in SNAP is an 80 hour per month work requirement on Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), designed to counteract the work disincentives that are inherent to the program’s means-tested nature. In this paper, I leverage a two-way fixed effects triple differences model and ample variation in the policy’s implementation from temporary waivers in high-unemployment areas to estimate the ABAWD work requirement’s effects on low-income ABAWDs’ food security and work outcomes. I find that the work requirement is associated with substantial increases in …

Fdi And Environmental Externalities In Southeast Asia, Kevin Bloodworth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this paper I explore the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and deforestation in Cambodia. Through an event study framework, I show that economic land concessions have a negative relationship with tree cover, over time, having stronger and stronger negative effects. This relationship is more pronounced in foreign economic land concessions when compared to domestic economic land concessions. Through the use of a difference in differences research design I examine the relationship between foreign and domestic concessions through the implementation of a ELC concession ban. The ban only led to worsening levels of deforestation within the borders of foreign …

Southeast Asia & The Hidden Green Revolution: A Study On Foreign Direct Investment In Eco-Investments In Asean, Ravi Chailertborisuth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper aims to find: To what extent foreign direct investment is fueling the renewable energy transition in ASEAN. The year 1966 saw the founding of ASEAN, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations. The five founding member nations were: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Over time, this group of nations grew to include nations such as: Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Myanmar. The IGO (inter-governmental organization) aims to foster “economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields” (ASEAN). The IGO is successful, allowing capital to flow cross-borders with more ease, and encourage economic corporation across all nations. Since …

Voting Rules And Properties, Zhuorong Mao

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis composes of two chapters. Chapter one considers the higher order of Borda Rules (Bp) and the Perron Rule (P) as extensions of the classic Borda Rule. We study the properties of those vector-valued voting rules and compare them with Simple Majority Voting (SMV). Using simulation, we found that SMV can yield different results from B1, B2, and P even when it is transitive. We also give a new condition that forces SMV to be transitive, and then quantify the frequency of transitivity when it fails.

In chapter two, we study the `protocol paradox' of approval voting. In approval …

Fentanyl In The Global Market: Examining The New Opioid Epidemic At An International Level, Katherine Rejer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Drug use and subsequent addiction is a major global health concern that transcends culture, borders, and generations. The production of synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, has exacerbated the worldwide opioid epidemic that is endangering public health, economic output, and national security. The ease of manufacture of synthetic opioids facilitates clandestine production and trafficking, while their higher potency leads to higher rates of overdose. This research seeks to analyze the dramatic increase in opioid overdoses around the world and explain the transnational variation of the epidemic. In particular, this study aims to compare the epidemic in the U.S and Estonia in contrast …

The Effect Of Subsidies On Small Exporting Sectors In Chile, Leah Damelin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper measures the impact of a widespread trade subsidy program on the exporting sectors in which Chile faces comparative disadvantages (i.e., small exporting sectors). More specifically, I analyze the effect of export subsidies on the changes in exports experienced by these sectors in Chile between 2002 and 2013. My regression analysis utilizes data on Chilean exports from Chile’s National Customs Service. It also uses information on the eligibility requirements for receiving the aforementioned subsidies — which are worth three percent of the value of an export — from the Chilean government. This information is provided by annual legal documents …

The Boys Are Back In School: Increased Chinese Import Exposure’S Effect On Community College Enrollments, Georgiana Reece

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I analyze how Chinese import competition impacts community college enrollments in US commuting zones by using the variation of import exposure across the United States. After controlling for broader changes in the US economy, the findings show that there is fairly large and positive effect on enrollments for men between the years 1990 and 2007. The results for female enrollments are small or negative. However, these results for both men and women are imprecisely estimated. The findings of this paper resemble previous findings in the literature, namely Greenland and Lopresti (2016), Ferriere et. al (2021), and Lee (2021) which demonstrate …

On The Impact Of Social Spending On Long-Term Economic Performance In The Usa, Jiayong Lu

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the dynamics of social spending and long-term economic performance in the United States from 1949-2019 using vector autoregression models. It breaks down social spending into six disaggregate programs to identify if different social programs have similar effects on the economy. Overall, the study finds that social spending increases private savings and the unemployment rate. Due to its dominant distortionary effects on the labor market, social spending decreases GDP. These effects are mostly short-term effects. The economic effects of the different social spending programs on the economy are similar in direction but different in magnitude. The effects of …

True Price Of A Pack: Tobacco Expenditure And Height-For-Age In Indonesia, Madeline Helfer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

While the negative impact of tobacco on the health of smokers is well known, the ways in which smoking impacts the health of the smoker’s children is less understood. This study explores whether tobacco expenditure increases the risk of stunting among children under the age of five in Indonesia, where smoking and stunting rates are among the highest in Southeast Asia. Given the severe income constraints faced by poor Indonesian households, large tobacco expenditure potentially “crowds-out” spending on nutrition, worsening the nutritional health of children in smoking households. To examine this relationship, I use a sample of children under the …

Economic Impact Of The Western Africa Ebola Outbreak--A Holistic Approach, Xufeng Liu

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The 2014 Western Africa Ebola Epidemic was one of the most severe epidemics in the region’s history, creating considerable health and economic burdens on the affected countries. The first part of this paper relies on several macroeconomic databases from 2009 to 2019 to evaluate the aggregate economic impact of Ebola both in the short- and medium-run. We also use household surveys to assess the microeconomic effects of Ebola on employment and household non-farm enterprises (HNFE) at different phases of the outbreak in Sierra Leone. Our primary estimation method is the Difference-in-Differences approach with the canonical specification where we compare outcome …

The Role Of Homeownership In Taiwan's Low Fertility Story, William Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With one of the lowest fertility rates on record, Taiwan is at the forefront of the global lowest-low fertility phenomenon. Policymakers in Taiwan and researchers around the world have a considerable interest in the reasons driving Taiwan’s depressed fertility and possible ways to alleviate the associated economic concerns. Properties of the housing market represent one suggested factor that may be contributing to this trend. Using individual panel data from Taiwan’s Panel Study of Family Dynamics, I test the correlation between homeownership and fertility outcomes. I find that other variables, such as marriage, age, generation, and socioeconomic status, can explain much …

Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Costs And Undesirable Healthcare Expenditures, Cody Sanford Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Healthcare costs in the U.S. have risen over recent decades, and this issue was a focal point of the last several national election cycles. I investigate the relationship between out-of-pocket healthcare costs and incidences of catastrophic and impoverishing healthcare expenditure. I also explore whether other important factors, such as demographic, personal health, and those related to the healthcare system change the likelihood of such healthcare expenditures. Lastly, I use a difference in means method and logistic regressions to analyze the probability of incurring undesirable healthcare expenses and the impacts of relevant factors for certain subsections of the U.S. population. I …

Examining Labor Market Recovery During The Covid-19 Pandemic Using Occupational Lousiness Indicators, Wm. Brennan Merone

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically disrupted the United States labor market, and many commentators have interpreted the ongoing labor dynamics as evidence of a "Great Resignation", emphasizing workers' dissatisfaction with their employment situation as a significant instigator of labor market uncertainty. In this paper, I develop an indexed "lousiness" score for a given occupation based on occupational survey data. I then track the rebound in employment and labor force participation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic for workers within "lousy" and "non-lousy" occupations, revealing a sizable gap between their respective rates of return throughout 2020 and 2021. I then …

The Effect Of Mobile Voting Units On Voter Turnout: An Ada County, Idaho Case Study, Tayzlie T. Haack, Tayzlie Tripple Haack

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Counties across the United States are struggling to find solutions that decrease the costs of voting while increasing voter turnout across varying demographics. In particular, because of transportation and information costs, voting is costly for low-income citizens. Ada County, Idaho attempted to mitigate these costs through introducing a mobile voting unit. This mobile voting unit is used during early voting periods and targets precincts that do not have a permanent voting location. Using voter registration data from 2006 to 2020, I attempt to identify a treatment effect of the mobile voting unit on voter turnout in general elections. My paper …

The Effect Of Economic Shocks On Religious Freedom Violations: Evidence From Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, And Sudan, Rachel Miner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, global religious freedom violations are on the rise, especially against religious minorities, as government leaders have used the pandemic as a mechanism to increase oppression (USCIRF 2021). The first week of February 2022, the international community recognized the one-year mark since the Myanmar government launched a coup and genocide campaign against Rohingya Muslims (Paddock 2022). As the Winter Olympics unfolds on the world stage, there is increased attention surrounding the nearly two million Uighur Muslims currently held in concentration camps in China (Abbas 2022). And even with growing headline reports, uncertainty surrounding how …

Impact Of Care For Life- Mozambique's Cyclone Recovery Program, Anna Osguthorpe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

My research is primarily an impact evaluation of the cyclone recovery efforts of the non- profit organization Care For Life, based in Beira, Mozambique. I determine the causal effects of this program on business creation and several inputs to health (serious sickness, improved latrines, meals per day, and access to a vegetable garden). The treatment intervention consists of Care For Life workers providing mosquito nets, water purification, and soap, improving available latrines, and providing gardening materials (seeds, fertilizer, hoes, and watering cans). I analyze the effect of this treatment on five different outcome variables chosen because they are deeply affected …

Examining The Current Role Of Out-Of-State Buyers In The Tri-Cities Within The Confines Of Residential Real Estate, Paul Arrowood

Undergraduate Honors Theses

We are seeing an influx of out-of-state buyers into Tennessee, and the Tri-Cities area specifically. As a major emerging housing market in the US, the Tri-Cities is being inundated by people from all states and walks of life seeking a better life in Appalachia. Although the reasons vary by person, many agree that political alignment, taxation levels, and the quietness of this area lends itself to population growth. While most members of the housing industry have noticed this uptick in out-of-state buyers, few have taken the time to analyze their own records or review the empirical evidence that is present …

The U.S.-Mexico Border And Housing Prices: Understanding The Impact Of Border Fencing On Property Values, Mary Jane Macarthur

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Building a barrier on the US-Mexico border has been a hot-button issue for a couple of decades. Not only do people disagree on the effectiveness of walls and fences, but there has also been debate on whether they generate positive or negative externalities on localities. Using data on construction of the US-Mexico border fence, as well as housing data for Yuma County, Arizona, I attempt to identify the treatment effect of fence construction on nearby housing prices, which may serve as an indicator of some of the external impacts of walls and fences. Mine is the first study to quantify …

The Happiness Study: Identifying Social And Economic That Make The U.S. Happier, Tatum Garrison

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As happiness is essential to overall well-being, understanding factors that affect it will inform policies designed to maximize people’s happiness within each state. This will have broad implications for economic research and policy. The wealth and general population income of a state determines an initial level of individual happiness. However, once a level of wealth is achieved, individual happiness does not increase proportionally. This paper examines the relationship of a state’s happiness, measured by computing a score based on an individual's health, wellbeing, and work environment, with economic factors such as GDP and median household income, and social factors including …

International Trade And Revenue-Based Total Factor Productivity: A Firm-Level Analysis, Dongyang Wang

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Economists concur that international trade is conducive to economic growth. However, at the firm level, variation exists. In this article, my goal is to conduct economic analysis on firm- level data and study the productivity effects of trade. With the comprehensive World Bank Enterprise Surveys data, I first explore trade patterns across different firms, controlling for industry, firm size, and the legal status of the firm. I then conduct regression analysis to identify characteristics of firms that participate in trade. Finally, I use an instrumental variable regression to study the causal relationship between a firm’s productivity and its participation in …

The Catalytic Effect And The Imf: The Relationship Between Capital Inflows And Imf Program Characteristics, Matthew Levinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interventions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are believed to impact external capital inflows to recipient countries, which has the potential to amplify the overall effectiveness of IMF programs. However, the true extent of this catalytic effect remains debated. While previous studies have examined the catalytic effect of the IMF at the aggregate level, this research isolates specific types of IMF programs and analyzes their relationship with specific types of financial inflows for a better understanding of the heterogeneity in program effectiveness with respect to the catalytic effect. I find that program type plays a significant role in the strength …

Concentration And Nurse Staffing Outcomes In The Healthcare Labor Market, Lizzy Crotty

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I investigate impacts to the nursing occupation from a perspective of market concentration. I measure the concentration of healthcare employment opportunities across the U.S. with a Herfindahl-Hirshman Index, finding moderate levels of concentration that vary greatly in markets with different population sizes and different locations. I use a Weighted Least Squares model to investigate how changing market concentration is affecting nurse employment. Analysis across different regions and different levels of urbanicity finds statistically insignificant heterogeneous effects with noisy zero estimates. The results are inconclusive evidence against monopsony presence in the nursing labor market.

Effects Of Actual And Perceived Air Pollution On U.S. Twitter Sentiment, George R. Garcia Iii

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Objective

This study examines the associations between actual and perceived air pollution (PM_2.5, AQI, and ground visibility), weather information, and expressed sentiment via US Twitter. Heterogeneity in the associations across date and county characteristics are also explored.

Methods

A sentiment index was constructed using 27,827,828 geotagged U.S. tweets posted between May 31 and November 30, 2015. Associations between AQI category changes and the sentiment index were estimated using multi-cutoff regression discontinuity models. Associations between same-day and lagged PM_2.5, ground visibility, and the sentiment index were estimated using weighted linear regression models. Models include weather variables and …

Group Gender Composition: A Field-Experiment Evaluating Individual Levels Of Group Satisfaction And Perceived Group Effectiveness, Jacob Davis

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Group collaboration is commonly used in educational and professional settings. This paper will identify whether female-majority groups are more likely to see positive group dynamics than female-minority groups. Group dynamics in this project will be measured as individual levels of group satisfaction and group effectiveness. I use data from a field experiment where university students who took a weekly study group class had their experience evaluated with monthly surveys. My results find no statistically significant relationship between female-majority group conditions and perceptions of group satisfaction or group effectiveness.

The Exploitation Or Protection Of Communities And Exploited Persons?, Spencer Boldt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study was intended to dissect the inner workings of the newly implemented Bill C-36 in Canada, The Protection of Communities and Exploited Peoples Act through a mixed methods approach. This was done through comparing statistical research (demographics, crime data, and overall economic state) within Regina to interviews conducted with those individually involved in prostitution and the community of the city. This study was meant to draw out the differences between what the statistics depict, a growth in the overall safety of Regina, versus the perspectives gained from multiple interviewees. With this mixed method approach I have deduced that Bill …

Differences In Immigrant Education By Destination Country: An Analysis Of Turkish Immigrants' Perception Of And Performance In Math And Science, Lisa Turley Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines how the country to which Turkish immigrant students immigrate affects their educational outcomes – specifically, math and science test scores and four constructed variables that measure how much students enjoy math and science and their self-rated confidence in the subjects. I use data from the 2003, 2006, 2012, and 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams. I examine Turkish immigrant students living in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.

My findings are consistent with prior research showing that immigrant student test scores vary by destination country. I also find that Turkish immigrant students’ perceptions of math …

Wind Turbines And Housing Prices: Valuing The Impact Of Wind Farms On Transactions, Nathan Guzman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As the number of wind farms worldwide increases, more and more homeowners will live near them. Some homeowners have found these wind turbines generate noise, obstruct views, and cast shadows on their property. Using data from 10 years of transactions in McLean County, Illinois, I investigate if a wind farm near a neighborhood impacts housing prices. After estimating a simple difference-in-differences model, I find that wind farms may have had a negative effect on home prices. I then discuss how this paper fits in with existing literature and provide suggestions about how further research could proceed.

Learning Outlines And Teacher Training: A Difference-In-Differences Evaluation Of Pratham Government Partnerships In India, Victoria Beecroft

Undergraduate Honors Theses

India is working to improve learning in primary schools. In this paper, I evaluate the impact of partnerships between Pratham, an education-centered NGO, and Indian government schools. Using a difference-in-differences design to examine the impact of the partnership in Uttar Pradesh, I find a positive short-run effect (a 7% increase in test scores) using state-wide ASER data, and I find inconclusive effects using data restricted to government schools. Considering channels through which the partnerships may impact student learning, I conclude that the program shows potential to have positive, longer-term effects.

Stadium Apartments: A Mixed-Use Development Proposal, Connor Lee Wen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Stadium Apartments is a proposed class-A mixed-use development located on 4.3 acres of land at 88 W 1300 S, Salt Lake City UT. The single parcel is currently owned by Salt Lake City and is being operated as a parking lot. Salt Lake City hopes to develop the parcel in order to provide stable income to maintain the Smith’s Ballpark across the street. A detailed market and financial feasibility analysis has determined that a development consisting of 448 dwelling units (319,176 rentable square feet) and 3,750 square feet of retail space will both meet the goals of the city and …