Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analyzing Colonial South Carolina's Trade Landscape Through The Ricardian Model, Dylan M. Peddemors

Senior Theses

The state of South Carolina existed as a British colony from its founding in 1663 until it declared independence in 1776. During this period, South Carolina operated as a plantation-based, cash-crop economy relying on two primary exports: rice and indigo. The colony displayed nearly complete specialization in its exports of these crops while importing different goods. The theory of comparative advantage in trade relationships crafted by British economist David Ricardo in the 18th century concludes that gains from trade emerge when trade partners specialize in the production and exportation of the goods of which they have the lowest opportunity cost. …

Accounting For The Gift: Theology And Ethics In Accounting, Daniel Sebastian

Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations

Accounting is often assumed to be a neutral presentation of the facts of economic activities and actions. Its double-entry system means that it is always in balance and comports to the rigor of mathematical formulas, and it is taken to be a matter of empirical counting that lends it certainty as well. The dissertation argues that this description of accounting is inadequate. Accounting is better seen as a political tool and technology for producing trust that can help resolve social conflicts. As such, accounting is not value-neutral but carries within it a particular sociality that has moral implications. These moral …

Game Changer: Mobile Apps Leveling Up Field Experiments, Lucie Schulz

Master's Theses

This study investigates the feasibility of digital financial education for microcredit borrowers with limited digital literacy in Eastern Uganda using a mobile game simulating real-world livestock investments. Analyzing 117,870 decisions made by 133 participants across five game sessions, we found a statistically significant increase in decision-making speed, with the speed more than doubling between the first and last game session, indicating growing familiarity with the game interface.

However, the overall error rate of participants increased significantly, possibly due to fatigue or the introduction of more complex financial concepts in higher levels. Additional analysis of the initial decisions at each level …

The Contribution Of The South Carolina Technical College System To Human Capital, Labor Force Participation, And Employment, Justin Land

Senior Theses

This thesis assesses the economic impact of the South Carolina Technical College System by applying a counterfactual analysis method to the study of human capital development and labor force growth from 2010-2019. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) are used to estimate the average years of schooling attained by a South Carolinian during the period and the counterfactual average were the Technical College System to not exist. This result is then combined with probit regression models of labor force participation and employment to estimate the Technical College System’s contribution to the labor …

Independent Study Project: The Impact Of Digitization And Payment On Community Health Promoter (Chp) Motivation And Effectiveness In A Peri-Urban Community In Kisumu, Kenya., Fiona Yohannes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Community Health Promoters (CHPs) in Kenya are the liaison between the community and higher levels of healthcare. As CHPs’ responsibility in the country has grown, stipends started being distributed, and digitization efforts have begun to support them. This ISP paper aims to investigate how recent digitization and payment of CHPs impact their motivation and effectiveness in a peri-urban community in Kisumu, Kenya. The project includes data analysis on CHP performance data from 2016 to 2021 and analyses of interviews with CHPs and CHAs in April of 2024. It was found that time was positively related to CHP performance. It was …

La Crisis Contemporánea Y Los Cuidados: Respuesta Gubernamental Al Trabajo De Cuidado Feminizado Y La Pandemia / The Contemporary Crisis And Care: Government Response To Feminized Care Work And The Pandemic, Iris Diez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto investiga cómo las respuestas gubernamentales al trabajo no remunerado de cuidado realizado por mujeres, durante la época de la crisis socioeconómica de la pandemia, impactan el uso del tiempo en trabajo no remunerado doméstico de cuidado por parte de mujeres en Argentina. Basándose en la teoría feminista y en las ideas de Verónica Gago, Lucí Cavallero y Tithi Bhattacharya, este proyecto busca crear una perspectiva critica de las interaciones entre genero, economia, deuda y el trabajo reproductivo. El método de análisis sigue descripciones de las respuestas gubernamentales con respecto del trabajo de cuidado y también presentaciones de datos …

Wild Bootstrap Inference For Instrumental Variables Regressions With Weak And Few Clusters, Wenjie Wang, Yichong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

We study the wild bootstrap inference for instrumental variable regressions under an alternative asymptotic framework that the number of independent clusters is fixed, the size of each cluster diverges to infinity, and the within cluster dependence is sufficiently weak. We first show that the wild bootstrap Wald test controls size asymptotically up to a small error as long as the parameters of endogenous variables are strongly identified in at least one of the clusters. Second, we establish the conditions for the bootstrap tests to have power against local alternatives. We further develop a wild bootstrap Anderson–Rubin test for the full-vector …

Conflict In The Congo: A Critical Assessment Of Section 1502 Of The Dodd-Frank Act, Rodney Ford

Senior Honors Theses

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the poorest and most troubled nations in the world. With a convoluted and often tragic history, a significant cause of economic underdevelopment and political instability in the Congo has been the illicit expropriation of the country’s vast reserves of high-value minerals. In the early 2010s, Congress attempted to address the “conflict minerals” dilemma through the enactment of Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Act. The conflict minerals rule aimed to break the supposed link between the illegal exploitation of minerals and the perpetuation of violence. Drawing upon books, journal articles, research …

Three Essays On Fertility Rates In China, Lichun Cai

Dissertations

China is currently facing the issue of low fertility rates. In three chapters, I discuss the reasons for the low fertility rate in China from three different microeconomics perspectives, by using econometric methods including machine learning tools.

Chapter One considers the effects of income on fertility rate. There is a widely accepted view that the improvement of the education level has led to a decline in fertility. I critique this view and propose a new perspective: the childbirth choice of a family member is not only related to the education level, but also to the differences in education level between …

Skills, Majors, And Jobs: Does Higher Education Respond?, Johnathan G. Conzelmann, Steven W. Hemelt, Brad J. Hershbein, Shawn Martin, Andrew Simon, Kevin M. Stange

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

How does postsecondary human capital investment respond to changes in labor market skill demand? We quantify the magnitude and nature of this response in the U.S. 4-year sector. To do so, we develop a new measure of institution-major-specific labor demand, and corresponding shift-share instrument, that combines job ads with alumni locations. We find that postsecondary human capital investments meaningfully respond. We estimate elasticities for degrees and credits centered around 1.3, generally increasing with time horizon. We provide evidence that both student demand and institutional supply-side constraints matter. Our findings illuminate the nature of educational production in higher education.

“Njangi Never Dies”: The Social Impacts And Non-Financial Benefits Of Njangis In Batoufam And Yaoundé, Cameroon, Georgia Schaefer-Brown

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Rotating Credits and Savings Associations (ROSCAs) are present in much of the developing world and are incredibly common in Cameroon. The financial impacts of ROSCAs have been researched extensively, but there has been less research on the social impacts and non-financial benefits. This research aims to fill this gap and add to the discussion of ROSCAs in Cameroon (called njangis), as well as demonstrate how njangis are social institutions. This project is in the specific context of njangis in Batoufam and Yaoundé, Cameroon. Interviews and observations informed the conclusion that there are extensive social impacts and non-financial benefits within the …

“¡Que Se Vayan Todos!”: La Crisis Socioeconómica De Argentina En Diciembre De 2001 Y El Papel Del Fondo Monetario Internacional En Su Desarrollo / “Down With Them All!”: Argentina’S December 2001 Socioeconomic Crisis And The Role Of The International Monetary Fund In Its Development, Romita Chattaraj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Desde su inicio en 1944, el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) ha sido objeto de controversia por su participación en algunas de las peores crisis financieras de la historia económica global. La crisis socioeconómica de 2001 que experimentó Argentina tras décadas de apoyo del FMI es uno de sus casos más destacados. A pesar del crecimiento económico explosivo que experimentó Argentina a lo largo del siglo XIX y principios del XX, Argentina cayó víctima de la inestabilidad macroeconómica durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX y finalmente llegó a declarar lo que en ese momento fue el mayor incumplimiento soberano de …

Equality In Times Of Uncertainty: Economic Downturn And Body Image Messaging Toward Women, Ritsa Giannakas

Honors Theses

A vast body of literature indicates that the economy and the status of women are interlinked, with higher levels of economic well-being tending to correspond with advancements in women’s rights. However, little of this research has investigated the changes in the wellbeing of women as it pertains to their physical and mental health, especially as it pertains to exploring the impacts of economics on eating disorder rates and societal messaging toward women. This thesis investigates a novel theory linking economic uncertainty and downturn to the spread of pro-eating disorder content online, positing that economic uncertainty may coincide with a “conservative …

Housing Markets Since Shapley And Scarf, Mustafa Oguz Afacan, Gaoji Hu, Jiangtao Li

Research Collection School Of Economics

Shapley and Scarf (1974) appeared in the first issue of the Journal of Mathematical Economics, and is one of the journal’s most impactful publications. As we approach the remarkable milestone of the journal’s 50th anniversary (1974–2024), this article serves as a commemorative exploration of Shapley and Scarf (1974) and the extensive body of literature that follows it.

Hiv Estimation Using Population Based Surveys With Non-Response: A Partial Identification Approach, Oyelola A Adegboye, Tomoki Fujii, Denis H. Y. Leung, Siyu Li

Research Collection School Of Economics

HIV estimation using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) is lim-ited by the presence of non-response and test refusals. Conventional adjustments such as imputation require the data to be missing at random. Methods that use instrumental variables allow the possibility that prevalence is different between the respondents and non-respondents, but their performance depends critically on the validity of the instru-ment. Using Manski’s partial identification approach, we form instrumental variable bounds for HIV prevalence from a pool of candidate instruments. Our method does not require all candidate instruments to be valid. We use a simulation study to evaluate and …

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 8, Number 4, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton, Zifeng Feng

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 27, Number 2, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Did Covid-19 Disrupt The Stock Market Return And Volatility? A Meta-Analytic Approach, Masagus M. Ridhwan, Solikin M. Juhro, Affandi Ismail, Peter Nijkamp, Kelvin Ramadhan Hidayat

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

We provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature utilizing meta-regression analysis on the measurable effect of the combined health and economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic on stock market returns and volatility. This study is conducted based on 104 studies published during the period 2020 to 2022. We find strong evidence of a negative publication bias for COVID-19 impacts on stock market returns and a positive bias on volatility. We document that COVID-19 has a moderate negative effect on stock market returns. Estimates based on intraday stock returns show a greater effect compared to those using daily returns, whereas …

Capital Expenditure Dynamics In Asean: Unveiling Determinants And The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Non-Financial Corporations, Solikin M. Juhro, Dhaha Praviandi Kuantan, Charvin Lim

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study investigates the intricate determinants influencing the capital expenditure behavior of Non-Financial Corporations (NFCs) in major ASEAN countries over the past decade. Employing a fixed effect panel analysis encompassing 1,488 NFCs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, our study unveils a robust and statistically significant relationship between corporate financial performance and capital expenditure. Notably, indicators such as profitability, market value, and cash flow rate demonstrate a positive association with heightened capital expenditure. Furthermore, macroeconomic conditions and policy-related variables emerge as influential factors affecting capital expenditure decisions. Stringent financial conditions tend to hamper firm investment decisions, whilst interest rate …

The Influence Of Women In The Workforce On Birth Rates, Jess Kirchhoff, Anna Brull, Samuel Schreyer

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

The birth rate of a country is one of the main determinants of population growth. Population growth, a critical component, influences the environment, healthcare system, education system, and overall economy of a country. The following study attempts to identify specific factors that contribute to a country’s birth rate. Within this research, it is found that a higher percentage of women in the workforce will have a significant influence and lead to a lower birth rate.

Truth By Consensus: A Theoretical And Empirical Investigation, Gabriele Camera, Rod Garratt, Cyril Monnet

ESI Working Papers

Truthful reporting about publicly observed events cannot be guaranteed by a consensus process. This fact, which we establish theoretically and verify empirically, holds true even if some individuals are compelled to tell the truth, regardless of economic incentives. In an experiment, subjects routinely misreported a commonly known event when they could monetarily gain from it. Relying on majority consensus did not help uncover the truth, especially if complying with the majority granted small personal monetary gains. This highlights the difficulties in relying on shared consensus protocols to agree on specific events, and the importance of institutions with trusted, impartial observers.

The National-Level Economic Impact Of The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Mep): Estimates For Fiscal Year 2023, Brian Pittelko, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams, Gunnar Ingle, Sasha Kolomensky, Kyle Crane

Reports

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Thinking About The Future Of Japanese Society In The Face Of Declining Fertility And Population, Hirotaka Nagaishi

Japanese Society and Culture

Japanese society is facing declining birthrates and a shrinking population. According to Yoshinori Hiroi, what is indispensable for promoting regional and urban revitalization and seeking sustainability in this situation is the selection of values and concepts for a desirable society rooted in community. This society will ultimately be realized through policy integration/comprehensive policies.

Therefore, we must envisage a desirable future society, taking the current social situation as the starting point. Robert and Edward Skidelsky see the current capitalist society as a “rich enough, poor enough society,” while Hiroi sees the future society as a “post-capitalist/post-industrial society” and considers it as …

The History Of Water Utility Management In Japan And The Recent Introduction Of Public-Private Partnerships: An Analysis Based On The Transaction Cost Concept, Akira Hachisu

Japanese Society and Culture

Japan’s water utility management is facing severe business challenges. During these circumstances, laws and systems are being developed to restructure the waterworks industry. Water utilities, as local public corporations, need to simultaneously pursue public interest and efficiency through public-private partnerships with private operators (public-private partnerships) and wide-area partnerships with neighboring operators.

The management foundations of Japan's water utilities have weakened, because they focus only on the effectiveness of accounting cost reductions. Specifically, the emphasis has been on the effect of reducing public sector finances, such as value for money. Outsourcing has been considered only by comparing accounting costs, such as …

Does Childcare Support Stimulate Women’S Employment?, Masako Kamada, Kazuyasu Kawasaki

Japanese Society and Culture

A childcare support policy was implemented as part of gender equality and countermeasures to the falling birthrate in Japan. One of the childcare support policies was provided preschool service free of charge in October 2019.

In this paper, we analyze whether this childcare cost reduction policy was effective or not. Especially, we focus on whether this childcare support policy contribute to accelerate female labor force participation or not. As a result of our analysis, we show childcare cost reduction policy is ineffective of female labor force participation.

The Legal Order In East Asian Family Law, Sai Sasaki

Japanese Society and Culture

No abstract provided.

Coal In Modern Japanese History, Tomoki Shimanishi

Japanese Society and Culture

This study investigates the relationship between coal and the modern Japanese economy from a historical perspective. Because Japan has utilized coal since the dawn of industrialization, we focus on various aspects, such as a primary energy source, a trade good, and a substance of environmental burden.

(1) Coal was not only an export good but also the most important primary energy source for Japan’s industrialization. However, coal imports grew after WWI. After all, the amount of imported coal surpassed domestic coal production in the late 1960s. (2) In the end of the 19th century, major coal mines abandoned the butty …

Environmental Policy And Audit Pricing, Monika K. Rabarison, Ibrajim Siraj, Bin Wang

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines the effect of environmental policy stringency (EPS) on audit pricing. By exploiting the exogenous variation in environmental policies across 26 countries, we find that firms in countries with more stringent environmental policies incur lower audit fees. The inverse association is more pronounced in common law countries, in countries with a higher level of public enforcement of regulations and in countries with more investor protection. The lower audit fees are also more prominent for firms that are followed by more analysts and firms that have a greater institutional ownership. Furthermore, we find that firms in countries with strong …

Estimating The Stability Of Okun's Law, Xinrui (Crystal) Wang, Samuel Schreyer

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This study focuses on employing the gap version of Okun's Law, conducting regression analysis between the output gap and the unemployment gap to assess their effectiveness and long-term stability, and also estimates the significant relationship between the output gap and the unemployment gap. This study also compares the output gap dynamics during economic contractions and expansions.

Does The Budget Of A Movie Have An Impact On Income?, Luciana Mendoza, Fiorella Mendez, Samuel Schreyer

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Numerous sources in the field have discussed the positive correlation between movie budgets and the box office income of movies. This research paper aims to examine further the effects budget has on the income success of movies. To achieve this objective, we have extracted data on the most popular movies globally from the International Movie Database (IMDb). The data utilizes information between the years 2019 to 2022. The dependent variable, INCOME, is controlling for various independent variables, which are BUDGET (in millions of dollars), RATING (on a scale of 1-10), and RUNTIME (in minutes). Furthermore, our categorical variables are MONTH …