Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Federal Minimum Wage: The Effects Of The Minimum Wage On The Youth Employment And School Enrollment, Nurlan Kussainov

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The minimum wage has been a prominent topic of discussion among labor economists. According to Neumark and Wascher, the minimum wage has been a core element of public policy for several decades. The effects of minimum wage were brought back to light during the State of the Union address by President Obama, in which he proposed increasing the minimum wage to $9.00, a 24% increase.

This capstone project contributes to the discussion in determining the effects of the change in minimum wage on the youth population. The study uses aggregate data spanning nineteen years, from 1985 and 1990 to 2007. …

Unrelated Business Income's Impact On Direct Public Support In The Nonprofit Sector, Kelsey Lewis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Nonprofits today are losing their traditional funding sources for a variety of reasons and are turning to nontraditional ways of finding resources to make sure their organization is able to sustain itself while still meeting its mission. One common non-traditional approach is engaging in unrelated business income activities. Since these activities are not related to a nonprofit’s mission they are subject to taxation. Some question whether these activities help a nonprofit organization meet its mission.

A nonprofit seen not fulfilling its mission can be detrimental to that organization especially where its donors are concerned. If a donor does not support …

Coups D'État And Democracy: Implications For Development Aid, Theresa Simcic

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Coups d’état are a type of political instability that involves a sitting ruler being overthrown by his or her own military or other elite within the state apparatus. Coups are commonly viewed as a threat to democracy. Policy makers in donor countries have taken action in line with this belief by implementing foreign aid suspension policies in regard to states that recently experienced a coup. More recent research, however, shows that coups may actually promote democracy; particularly in long-standing autocratic states. In these circumstances, the new democracies may benefit more from an increase in aid, as opposed to suspension of …

Institutional Lending Models, Mission Drift, And Microfinance Institutions, Bethany L. Paris

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Microfinance is a development tool used to reduce poverty among extremely poor households. Impoverished households can access lines of credit through microfinance institutions (MFIs), in order to create a new business, smooth household consumption, fund medical emergencies, etc. Many authors postulate that MFIs are drifting from a welfarist to an institutionalist approach to lending.

Using MIXMarket data on specific MFIs in 118 countries between 1995 and 2011, the average loan balance of these organizations will be regressed against measure of outreach and sustainability of these institutions by charter type through a series of four, fixed effects models. The main research …

Three Essays On Local Government Debt, Robert Greer

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

The local government tax-exempt debt market is a growing, and complex, sector of public finance. As local governments turn to debt financing the factors that contribute to interest costs of that debt have become important considerations for local government officials and politicians. Governance at the local level involves a network of overlapping governments some of which share a tax base. This system of overlapping governments that share a tax base are subject to externalities that arise from taxation, expenditures, and debt. These externalities are usually analyzed in terms of tax or expenditure reactions, but there are implications for local government …

Three Essays On Fiscal Stress And Financial Stability In State Government Finance, James B. Gibson

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

State government finance is a substantial endeavor in the United States. The management of a multitude of revenues and expenditures often involves some level of fiscal stress. In an age of increased public scrutiny, policymakers must be mindful of possible causes of fiscal stress, and the policy options available to mitigate fiscal stress and increase financial stability. This dissertation contains three essays that examine different elements of fiscal stress, and in some cases, the applicable policy responses.

Chapter two examines rainy day funds and their countercyclical goal of reducing recessionary fiscal stress. This essay takes a different approach from much …

Disaster Response And Individuals With Disabilities: An Examination Of Kentucky's Red Cross Shelters, Kandace Bright

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Emergency management consists of four phases—mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Sheltering is an aspect of the response phase. Response involves activities from many different organizations—local, volunteer, state, and federal. The initial response to a disaster is from local emergency management organizations. The American Red Cross, as chartered by the federal government, is primarily responsible for providing initial shelter and food to the affected population during a disaster.

Planning shelter capacity for individuals with disabilities has been historically problematic. It continues to be an issue as claims of inaccessible shelters occur with each new major disaster. Shelters can be accessible or …

Communication At Superfund Sites And The Reification Of Division: Toward A Convergence-Building Model Of Risk Communication, Anna G. Hoover

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This case study evaluates government communication practices at Superfund sites. I describe agency communication practices in Superfund communities, paying particular attention to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's

Seven Cardinal Rules of Risk Communication and its role as a model for federal agencies engaged at these sites. Situating the study within a theoretical milieu that includes sensemaking and symbolic interactionism, I examine whether current practices deepen divisions among stakeholders, reducing the possibility for communicative convergence.

I implement textual analysis and narrative inquiry to examine written and spoken communication about the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant National Priorities List Superfund site. Through …

Education Policies And Migration Realities: Utilizing A State Longitudinal Data System To Understand The Dynamics Of Migration Choices For College Graduates From Appalachian Kentucky, Charles E. Mcgrew

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Census data indicates people with higher levels of education are leaving Appalachian Kentucky as they do in other rural areas. Aside from anecdotal information and primarily qualitative community studies, there is little quantitative evidence of the factors which may influence these migration decisions. State policies and regional efforts to increase educational attainment of people in the region have focused on producing more college degrees however may be contributing to the out-migration of those with higher levels of education. The study incorporates community level data with demographic, academic, and employment data from a cohort of 2005-06 college graduates from Appalachian Kentucky. …

Psychotropic Medication Utilization In Care Home Residents Age 65 Or Older Compared With The Equivalent General Population In Scotland, Tyler P. Stewart

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Purpose: In Scotland, care homes provide assisted living and medical services. Psychotropic medications (antipsychotics, anxiolytics, and hypnotics) may be over utilized in these facilities. This study compared psychotropic medication utilization in elderly care home residents to the equivalent population of non-care home residents. It is hypothesized that patients in care homes utilize psychotropic medications more than non-care home residents.

Methods: Demographic and prescription information for all patients aged 65 years and older on January 1, 2011 who received at least one prescription for a psychotropic medication during 2011 was retrieved from the national Prescribing Information System (PIS). Patients were grouped …

Change In Discharge Errors: Introduction Of A Consultant Led Error Feedback Session To Junior Physicians, Elise Albro

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

A previous study, EQUIP 2009, found the rate of in-hospital prescription errors in 19 hospitals across Manchester, England, to be nearly nine percent. Prescription errors have been shown to contribute to adverse drug events, prolonged hospital stay, increased morbidity and mortality, and increased cost. The aim of this pilot study is to determine if constructive feedback by consultants (senior physicians) to junior physicians on their prescribing errors changes their attitudes toward prescribing safety. The hope is that feedback sessions will help solidify a deeper understanding of both the situation and individual actions on errors and more effectively impact future actions. …

Teacher Characteristics On Student Achievement: An Examination Of High Schools In Ohio, Angela H. Rockstroh

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Teachers are the most important school-based factor in affecting student achievement levels. Knowing what teacher characteristics influence student achievement and whether or not schools in different locations have dissimilar student achievement levels will help administrators prioritize who to hire, retain, and assign to classes. The purpose of this paper is to answer two questions. The first question is whether teacher characteristics are related to student achievement; the second is whether there are differences in student achievement based on school location. A review of teacher quality, teacher incentives, teacher background, the ability of a school to attract teachers, and differences in …

An Analysis Of The Effect A State's Special Education Funding Formula Has On The Percent Of A State's Students Enrolled In Special Education From 2000-2009, Scott Tremoulis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Introduction:

The recent recession has placed greater hardships on the states in financing special education. The three reasons states struggle to finance special needs students are: the higher per – student cost of special needs students, an increase in the number of students being identified as special needs, and an increased commitment on states and local governments for financing special needs students. One of the ways in which states approach this question is through their use of special education funding formulas. However, research in understanding the effects of state special education funding formulas is lacking.

Research Question:

While research has …

Funding Defined Benefit State Pension Plans: An Empirical Evaluation, Cezar Brian C. Mamaril

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Defined Benefit (DB) state pension trust funds are an integral component of state finances and play a major role in the country’s labor and capital markets. The last decade though has seen a substantial growth in unfunded pension obligations and a seeming inability by states to make the contributions needed to cover funding shortfalls. When coupled with even larger unfunded retirement health benefits, the looming threat of insolvent state retirement systems pose both current and long-term fiscal challenges to state governments already struggling with the ongoing economic downturn and billions of dollars in budget deficits. The convergence of these factors …

Homogeneity, Sorting, And Social Capital: Differences In Rural And Urban School Peer Effects, Tosha Kurzynske Fraley

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Rural America contributes greatly to the American Community, yet this population is often overlooked and underrepresented in most types of education literature. Choices about residence shape America’s public school system through the formation of school districts and schools associated with these local jurisdictions. Communities with different population densities may have different overall population composition and, therefore, may sort differently into schools. This paper examines the effect that population density, local jurisdictional sorting, homogeneity, peer characteristics, and community social capital may have on student achievement.

The first part of this dissertation outlines the importance of rural research and the impact of …

Intergenerational Dynamics And Political Outcomes, Joshua J. Poulette

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This dissertation explores the relationship between intergenerational dynamics and politics outcomes in several distinct contexts. It is motivated by the remarkable demographic shifts exhibited by people in advanced countries over the past several decades. Individuals on average have longer lives and fewer children than ever before. Combining these shifts with the large intergenerational public policies that exist in many such states (education, old-age social welfare, healthcare) provokes several distinct yet related research questions addressed in the chapters below. First, do political traits matter for fertility behavior? If so, could the presence of differential fertility behavior across political groups lead to …

Social Construction And Political Decision Making In The American Prison System(S), Jeremiah Olson

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

With over two million inmates, the United States’ prison population is the largest in the world. Nearly one in one hundred Americans are behind bars, either in prisons or pre-trial detention facilities. The rapid growth in incarceration is well-documented. However, social science explanations often stop at the prison gates, with little work on treatment inside prisons. This black box approach ignores important bureaucratic decisions, including the provision of rehabilitative services and the application of punishment.

This dissertation offers a systematic analysis of treatment decisions inside the American prisons. I use a mixed methods approach, combining multiple quantitative datasets with environmental …

Homeland Security Grant Program: An Analysis Of The Determinants Of Federal Homeland Security Funding To States, Michaela Miles

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Ever since the devastating attacks of 9/11, America has made terrorism prevention a top priority, and the Department of Homeland Security has transferred billions of dollars to states in Domestic Preparedness and Anti-Terrorism programs. However, there has been much debate on how these funds are allocated, many speculating that some states receive more funding than others as “pork.”

Basing an analysis of funding on a variety of determinants, it can be concluded that this speculation might very well be the case. An analysis of allocation of federal Homeland Security funds to states was conducted, hypothesizing the following variables were determinants …

Relationship Between Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures And Burns In Kentucky, David A. Wittmer

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that is synthetically produced using equipment and chemicals available in the community. Its burden to society may be determined through a number of mechanisms, including the imposed strain on healthcare systems. The evolution of methamphetamine use and production methods has led to reports of increased methamphetamine related burn admissions among hospital burn units[1-3] . Current literature identifies an increase in injury severity, comorbid complications, and cost of care associated with methamphetamine related burn injuries[1-5]. The intent of this study is to identify burn injuries in Kentucky and assess whether a statistically significant association exists …

Choosing Home: International Pushes And Pulls For Malaysian Alumni Of U.S. Graduate Programs, Pauline Chhooi

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Malaysians’ journeys to pursue graduate education in the U.S. generate more than just degree attainment. This dissertation looks at how experiences in the U.S., both in graduate school and in the workplace, influenced highly educated Malaysians, especially in their exploration of push and pull factors that influence their decisions to remain in the U.S. or to return to Malaysia. This study focuses on twenty-two participants comprised of those who have returned to Malaysia, those who are working in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas, those who became Permanent Residents and those who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

The first major finding demonstrates …

Veterinary Specialty Certification: Analyzing The Value Of Certification Through The American Board Of Veterinary Practitioners, Jeff Allen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

When it comes to professional certification a number of potential benefits can be cited by the organizations that offer them. Self-improvement, recognition by peers, public benefit and enhanced career opportunities are just a few of the frequently mentioned values associated with certification programs. This study was conducted to identify the primary benefits of certification for the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) by recording and analyzing the perceived value of ABVP certification within the veterinary community. An online survey was developed to collect data from ABVP certified and non-certified veterinarians, relying heavily on the Perceived Value of Certification Tool (PVCT). …

Developing A Best Practice Model For Forecasting Annual Franchise Fee Revenue: The Case Of The Lexington-Fayette Urban-County Government, Ian K. Banta

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The LFUCG currently forecasts their revenues internally and has their forecasts validated by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Kentucky. However, it does not have a well-developed method of forecasting franchise fee revenue. They are not alone, as the literature on revenue forecasting that finds that between 50 and 75 percent of local governments rely on informal, judgmental approaches to forecast revenue instead of more formal, quantitative techniques. However, the literature also indicates that these judgmental approaches are less accurate.

Inspired by a study of St. Petersburg, Florida by Gianakis et al., and in …

Analyzing The Impacts Of The 2010 World Equestrian Games On The Kentucky Horse Park, Pamela Henderson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

There has been a growing trend in the United States for governments to invest in infrastructure specifically for sporting events. Proponents believe that arenas and large scale events will lead to economic development in an area. Contrary to this expectation, there is a large body of literature that contends that the economic impact expected from these projects does not generally come to fruition.

Lexington, Kentucky hosted the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2010. WEG is an international competition that features equestrian events and is held every four years in between the Summer Olympic Games. In order to prepare for the …

Evaluation Of The Live Release Rate Formula & Implementation: Example Analysis Of The Effects Of Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws On Intake At Shelters Within Dallas, Tx, Amanda Laskoe

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

It is estimated that shelters spend $1 billion annually dealing with unwanted animals (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2007). Approximately six to eight million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters each year, and three to four million of these animals are then euthanized (HSUS, 2009). These are staggering statistics, yet in the early nineties, euthanasia estimates ranged from seven to seventeen million dogs/cats annually (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2011). Such improvements have resulted from a greater understanding of, and resources being dedicated to, the issue. Unfortunately, the rate of decline for euthanasia has slowed because programs have not been accurately targeted toward animal …

Kentucky Pharmacist Opinions Of The Potential Reclassification Of Pseudophedrine As A Legend Drug, Kathleen E. Monson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Methamphetamine is a drug of abuse, which is often produced in clandestine laboratories. Recent efforts to curb methamphetamine abuse are aimed at controlling access to precursors, including pseudoephedrine (PSE), used in illicit methamphetamine production. Currently, access to PSE is controlled in Kentucky by placement behind pharmacy counters, retail quantity limitations and electronic tracking. Recent legislation proposed in Kentucky to change PSE from non-prescription to a legend medication was unsuccessful and highly controversial. The objective of this project is to collect and analyze pharmacists’ opinions on the effectiveness of current precursor controls, proposed legislation to make PSE a legend drug and …

Influential Determinants On The Time Of Adoption Of State-Based Healthcare Insurance Exchanges, Chris Record

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 consists of several provisions designed to promote the obtainment of affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans. In order to facilitate access to information on available prices and policies for this coverage, the law requires states to decide whether to operate their own healthcare insurance exchange or join a partnership or federal exchange. While many states proceeded with the implementation of state-based exchanges despite a challenge to the law in the Supreme Court, other states did not. This paper explores the influence that certain and health market characteristics may have had …

Could The Money Saved Through Uncompensated Hospital Care Be Enough To Justify Medicaid Expansion In The State Of Kentucky?, Matthew Rudacille

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper examines the proposed Medicaid Expansion detailed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and whether it would be fiscally responsible for the state of Kentucky to move forward with the expansion. While the federal government plans on covering a majority of the expense for the expansion, each state will be responsible for a portion of the costs incrementally increasing from 5% in 2017 to 10% in 2020 and beyond. Analysts and think tanks have examined the healthcare act’s expansion and determined the individual states have a lot to gain financially for accepting the federal government’s proposition. …

State Public Retirement Systems: An Examination Of Factors Affecting The Funded Ratio, Jenna M. Skop

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Each of the fifty states oversees at least one public retirement system for employees. This study examines which factors affect the funded ratio of these systems. The intent of this paper is not to solve the problems facing public retirement systems, but to give decision makers and policy leaders a better understanding of what affects the funding levels of these systems. Understanding the various factors that affect the funded ratio will help decision makers determine which changes should be made to public retirement systems.

The funded ratio is one of the main methods used to determine how well funded these …