Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Link Between Capital Structure And Product Market Competition: Theory And Evidence, Lee Greer

Doctoral Dissertations

The relationship between capital structure and product market competition is examined using a theoretical model and two econometric analyses. In an extension of Glazer (1994), a theoretical model is derived that allows a quantity leader and follower to issue debt and then twice play a sequential product market game, after which each firm must either repay its debt in full or go bankrupt. It is demonstrated that the follower maximizes operating profit irrespective of capital structure but that the levered quantity leader in every period produces more than the Stackelberg profit-maximizing level of output. As such, the industry characterized by …

Three Essays On Economic Reform: Effects On Human Development, Fertility, And Factor Shares, Khaled Ibrahim Abdel-Kader

Dissertations

This dissertation contains three essays on economic reform programs supported by the IMF and World Bank. Using appropriate theoretical and empirical models, we investigate the impact of reform on three aspects of economic development: (1) human development, (2) fertility, and (3) income shares of factors of production. In the first essay, we examine the long-run impact of reform on different measures o f human development and income. Empirical results show that reform has long-run positive impact on GDP per capita and measures of human development. However, worse initial macroeconomic conditions offset this impact. In the second essay, we examine the …

The Relationship Between Insurance Type And Health Care Costs, Use And Choice Of Outpatient Provider, Dan-Alexandru Balan

Dissertations

The impact of insurance type on health care is a very important topic in health economics. This dissertation examines the relationship between insurance type and health care cost, use and outpatient provider choice using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. I examine separately three types of services: emergency, nonemergency hospital care and outpatient because the effect of insurance type on use may depend on the type of health care service provided. The insurance types analyzed are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), private fee-for-service employer insurance, private fee-for-service non-employer insurance, government insurance and self insurance. For each service, individuals paying for health …

Poverty Reduction, Microcredit, And The Challenges Of Sustainability, Kiros Tadesse Beyene

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

金融中介和經濟發展 : 中國大陸為例, Zuxiang Zhang

Theses & Dissertations

本論文研究中國大陸的金融中介体 (包括銀行和股票市場) 与經濟增長相關性。所用數据是從1994 年到2001 年的季度時間序列數据。作者對各個時間序列數据都考慮了季節因素的影響并進行了穩定性檢驗。

回歸分析結果發現,從長期來看, 金融深度 (DEPTH) 和經濟增長有顯著的正相關關系, 國有商業銀行相對与銀行体系的規模的比例和經濟增長有不顯著的關系。這表明銀行的發展對經濟的增長是有促進作用。同時, 股票市場的相對于經濟總量的規模和經濟發展有顯著的正相關關系, 但是股票市場的流動性和經濟增長有不顯著的關系。這個表明中國大陸的股票市場從長遠來看其發展會促進經濟發展, 但是其流動性對經濟發展的作用並不大。

為了研究金融中介和經濟發展的短期關系, 本論文運用誤差校正模型來檢驗金融中介和經濟發展的相關性。結果表明衡量股票市場規模的變量CAPITALIZATION 和經濟 增長有顯著的負相關關系。這表明中國股票市場存在巨大的 “ 泡沫”, 大量的投机和其它不良的行為。對此, 政府應該重視和加強對股票市場的監控, 對一級市場的上市審批和二級市場的交易買賣都要進行引導, 使股票市場真正成為企業融資的好渠道。

Estimating Degree Of Market Power And Price-Response Strategies In A Product-Differentiated Oligopoly: The Case Of Canned Tuna Industry In A Local Market, Apichart Daloonpate

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation estimates the degree of market power and strategic-price responses among brands in the canned tuna industry in a local market. Weekly scanner data on the purchases of canned-tuna in Knoxville, Tennessee collected by Information Resources, Incorporated (IRI) were used for the estimation of the degree of market power and strategic-price responses. Four canned tuna brands were investigated including the three leading brands, Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, and Bumble Bee, and the competitive small-market share brands aggregated into Allother.

There are two empirical parts. The first part focuses on estimation of the degrees of market power and strategic-price …

Wage Growth Differentials Between White And Non-White Males By Industry, Stephen Ransom Barnes

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Role Of Venture Capital Financing In Inflating The Technology Stock Market Bubble, Jessica Rosenbloom

Honors Theses

Comprising nearly one-third of the nation's gross domestic product from 1995 to 1999, the growth of the Information Technology industry took a backseat to dot.com mania. Its companies, however, were just as influential in creating the stock market bubble. Characterized by high technology, high research and development, high profits, and high risk, the Information Technology industry had always been attractive to venture capital investors. This study will find that a Telecommunications Deregulation Act passed in 1996, in conjunction with an eight percent capital gains tax cut in 1997, flooded venture capitalists with business plans pertaining to the Information Technology industry. …

Asymmetric Wealth Effect : American Consumption And The Stock Market, Jonathan Greene

Honors Theses

Conventional estimates of the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) out of changes in net worth average about 4 cents on the dollar. If this is true, the $14 trillion rise in household net worth between 1995 and 2000 created an additional $567 billion in household consumption. This increase in net worth was driven almost entirely by the rising values of security prices in the contemporary bull market. This study presents evidence that this "wealth effect" is in fact asymmetrical and that this asymmetry reversed some time during the 1970's or 1980's. Prior to this reversal point positive changes in slock …

Suits Or Pajamas: An Economic Analysis Of The Causes And Consequences Of Telecommuting, Jonathan Marlow

Honors Theses

While the concept is not new, the popularity of telecommuting has increased with the expansion in telecommunications and technology througb the last twenty years. Telecommuting, or the ability to work away from one's regular office site, is now easier than ever to do with the advancements in reliable telephone systems, personal computers, and internet access that allow one to go to the office virtually rather than physically. This concept has gained the attention of policymakers and public planners because of its potential to address various issues, possibly leading to a better quality of life, increased productivity, and improved air quality. …

Integrated Test For Exploitation And Discrimination In The National Basketball Association, Kathleen Carney

Honors Theses

Over the past thirty years, economists have become increasingly interested in the labor market for professional sports. These studies have focused primarily on exploitation, the difference between marginal revenue product and salary, or discrimination, salary differentials based on race, or ethnic background. This paper attempts to combine both areas of research, that is, to explain the systematic deviation of marginal revenue product from salary as a function of race, or ethnic background. Using NBA data collected over three seasons 1995-98, we specify a three-equation model, an enhancement of the Scully two-step method presented in 1976. We then ask if players …

Analysis Of The Colby Quarterly Econometric Model Of The U.S. Economy Using The Economic Effects Of September 11th, Alison Culpen

Honors Theses

The economic repercussions of September 11th are unique in that never before have economists needed to forecast and examine the impact of an event of such magnitude. This paper explains many of the economic effects of September l Ith, from the initial aftermath to recent developments. These effects are used to analyze the Colby Quarterly Econometric Model of the U.S. economy by simulating the model with actions taken by the government, such as an increase in spending, as well as other economic consequences resulting from September 11th. These simulations are then examined in more detail through multipliers that ultimately reveal …

Per Mile Emissions Taxes And Lump Sum Emissions Taxes: A Comparative Study Using A Mathematical Approach To Demand Estimation, Robert Paul Culp

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to compare two common emissions based taxes by implementing a mathematical approach to consumer demand estimation for new vehicles. The model developed allows the researcher to derive demand from observed firm output and market prices using assumptions about firm and consumer behavior, and market structure. The advantage of this revealed demand approach is that it does not require the specification of the consumer’s utility function or any firm’s production function. In addition, the own price and cross price elasticities of vehicle demand are determined without statistical regression.

The model developed in this paper …

The Efficient-Market Hypothesis During A Recession, Jill Marie Williams

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The phrase, "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" may make a portfolio manager shudder. I first learned about this theory while reading a book of the same name by Burton G. Malkiel. I saw the last four years crashing down around me as I read about the competition I would be facing upon graduation–a blindfolded chimpanzee.

The random walk theorizes that the stock market is so efficient that a blindfolded chimpanzee can throw darts at the Wall Street Journal to select a portfolio of stocks that will perform equally as well as those managed by the experts. Unfortunately for the …

Better Revenue Forecasting: Is Fiscal Stress A Stimulant? A Look At Nevada Local Governments, Richard A. Derrick

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Revenue forecasting is one of the most critical and often difficult tasks in governmental budgeting. It is critical because it determines the parameters upon which the budget is based. It is difficult because many outside influences can impact revenue results and cause variances with the forecast. If revenue is under projected, valuable services may not be provided during the fiscal year and an unexpected surplus may be created at year-end. By the time it becomes apparent that surpluses are developing, the damage to on-going programs and services, which may require consistency and budget stability for efficient delivery, may be done. …

Efficiency And Performance Of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits): An Empirical Examination, Can Topuz

Doctoral Dissertations

This study has a threefold purpose. Its first objective is to investigate input and output efficiencies in the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry. Its second objective is to understand the impact of size, property share, loan production, debt ratio, property and geographic diversification, control and governance variables, overall risk, capital risk, growth rate, and management type on a number of efficiency measures, including profit, cost, allocative, technical, pure technical and scale efficiency. The third objective is to assess the impact of structural and regulatory changes in the industry on REITs' productivity, technology, and efficiency changes.

I have estimated the …

Financial Performance Of Insurance Companies Following Initial Public Offerings, Kulkanya Napompech

Doctoral Dissertations

The quality of insurance companies is a very significant societal issue. Policyholders pay premiums assuming indemnity of their potential losses. It is essential that an insurer be able to meet its contractual obligations when a loss occurs. An initial public offering provides an infusion of capital and an expansion of resources available to a firm. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the financial and operating impacts of initial public offerings during 1980–2000 on insurance companies.

Chapter 2 examines changes in operating performance of property/casualty insurance companies following initial public offerings. I find that following initial public offerings, …

Asp -Pricing: A Black -Scholes Option Pricing Formulation, Chaitanya Singh

Doctoral Dissertations

The Applications Service Provider (ASP) arrangement has engendered a revolution in the area of corporate information technology (IT) by transforming software from a packaged off-the-shelf product to an on-line virtual service.

The focus of this study is to establish a sound mathematical foundation for evaluating software rental agreements (embedding exit flexibility) by incorporating a real options framework (based upon the Black-Scholes approach) into the traditional capital budgeting technique. The static discounted cash flow or net present value analysis may not adequately serve as a ‘barometer’ of outsourcing value due to its inherent weaknesses. On the other hand, the options approach …

Leadership: The Missing Variable In The Economic Development Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Osei K. Bonsu

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Contemporary economic theories, modernization and dependency, have overlooked the fact that the development process depends on the interaction of social factors. Specifically, the theories have ignored the role of leadership in analyzing economic development. This dissertation seeks to incorporate the importance of leadership into the analysis of development. It argues that sub-Saharan African countries have not developed economically because leaders in the region have been less than successful in establishing a culture conducive to industrialization. African leaders have failed to establish the high moral and scientific cultures necessary to promote economic progress. In place of those cultural attributes, the leaders …

Marital Happiness And Family Economics, Bryan Eldon Engelhardt

Honors Papers

Economics has long been the study of maximizing production, minimizing cost, and analyzing distributions, but it was not until recently that the field of economics added the social institution of the family and subjective well being to its list. What is being expounded upon within this discussion is how marital happiness affects family economics. The question begins with how marriage affects the basic micro model of economics: utility, and in turn how marital happiness affects economic decisions made by the family, such as the amount of leisure and goods to consume.

Economic issues already analyzed within the family include joint …

Study Of Area Deprivation In Connecticut And Maine, Jonathan H. Ryder

Honors Theses

This paper accounts the development of an area deprivation index for two New England states, Connecticut and Maine. The index incorporates data from the 1990 U.S. Census. By applying methodology used in previous projects that created similar indices for area in Britain, an area deprivation index is created at the 5-digit zip code level for these two states in the year 1990. This project provides an example of how such a study can be applied to and completed in the United States. Foremost, it is an attempt to evaluate the relative merits of examining a comprehensive measure of area deprivation, …

Above And Beyond The Rim: An Examination Of Customer Discrimination In The National Basketball Association, Carl E. Tugberk

Honors Theses

I present a study of customer discrimination in the NBA by examining total annual attendance for all 29 teams for the five-season period from 1996 to 2001. Several previous studies have been conducted on this issue and seldom have found evidence of discrimination by measuring the racial composition of a team as the percentage of _white players on the roster. However, using this measure and several alternative measures of racial composition, I find that fans do discriminate against black players, and this discrimination occurs in a variety of ways. Specifically, spectators alter their decisions to attend games based on the …

Profitability Determinants In South Dakota's Beef Cow/Calf Enterprise, Amy N. Singrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South Dakota beef cow/calf producers who had completed a 2000 Standardized Performance Analysis were surveyed and interviewed to gain a better understanding of what personal characteristics and management factors may help determine profitability. Low, medium and high profitability categories were defined by calculating one standard deviation above or below a mean ROA. Producers were unaware of their profitability category at the time of the interview. Statistically significant differences were found in reference to the involvement of the operator in physical labor and management functions, and in the percentage of other family members involved in the management functions in the enterprise. …

The Effects Of A Token Economy System In Comparison To Social Praise On The Manifest Behaviors Of Elementary Learning Disabled Students, Kimberly Waggy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a token economy system in comparison to social praise on the manifest behaviors of learning disabled students at an elementary school in West Virginia. The null hypothesis of this study was that there would be no significant difference between a token economy system in comparison to social praise on the manifest behaviors of learning disabled students. The following research question was examined in this study: What are the effects of a token economy system in comparison to social praise on the manifest behaviors of learning disabled students?

Literature relevant …

Asset-Base: New Reserve Requirements For A New Banking Industry, James Robert Bryans

Masters Theses

This paper discusses a regulatory plan known as asset-based reserve requirements. By examining the history of reserve requirements in the United States and of current regulatory proposals and practices, I argue that a system of asset-based reserve requirements may provide a useful, though not often considered alternative to the current structures of liability based reserve requirements and capital requirements. Required reserves based on assets provide the Federal Reserve with a powerful, versatile, and adaptable policy tool for monetary policy. Additionally, they ensure risk-assessment, reduce the moral hazard problem associated with deposit insurance, and when applied to all fmancial institutions create …

Essays On International Trade And Bayesian Forecasting, Dennis S. Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Economic theory is subject to continual analysis. While theories themselves are sometimes widely accepted, nuances of theory are persistently scrutinized. Researchers have not isolated this debate from a simply theoretic standpoint. Empirical methods in microeconomics also provide a forum for disagreement. This dissertation studies two topics of microeconomic theory that are constantly in debate: integration and cost function estimation. From the standpoint of theoretical integration models in international trade theory, the concept of foreign direct investment is studied in both a horizontal and vertical setting. With respect to horizontal integration, this dissertation modifies the Brander-Krugman reciprocal dumping model to evaluate …

Essays On The Bayesian Inequality Restricted Estimation, Asli K. Ogunc

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Bayesian estimation has gained ground after Markov Chain Monte Carlo process made it possible to sample from exact posterior distributions. This research aims at contributing to the ongoing debate about the relative virtues of the Frequentist and Bayesian theories by concentrating on the qualitative dependent variable models. Two Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have been used throughout this dissertation to facilitate Bayesian estimation, namely Gibbs (1984) sampling and the Metropolis (1953, 1970) Algorithm. In this research, several Monte Carlo experiments have been carried out to better understand the finite sample properties of Bayesian estimator and its relative performance to …

Improving The Function Of Vessel Traffic Services In China Through Costs And Benefits Analysis, Dan Yang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Interorganizational Town-Gown Relationships And Property Taxes: A Case Study, Cynthia Felix Burns

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study examined the relationship between a college and its local government organizations in a community that engaged in property tax or voluntary contribution deliberations with nonprofit organizations to determine the extent to which these interactions altered the preceding town-gown relationship. Interorganizational relationship theory and social interaction theory provided a theoretical framework for data collection while cooperative interorganizational relationship (CIOR) theory was utilized in describing the findings.;A qualitative, single, embedded, descriptive case study was employed to investigate the town-gown relationship between Mercyhurst College and the City, County and Public School District of Erie, Pennsylvania to determine if and how the …

A Study Of Transition In Plantation Economy: George Washington's Whiskey Distillery, 1799, Anna Catherine Borden Anderson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.