Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Specter Of Caste, Kabir Raj Khanna

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Motivations And Effects Of The Nba Salary Cap, Jeffrey M. Goldrosen

Senior Projects Spring 2018

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) use of a salary cap to restrict player salaries and team payrolls is commonly seen in other professional sports leagues throughout the world, but it is unique in many ways which affect its efficiency in achieving its alleged purposes. Introduced in 1984, the salary cap was supposed to help the league restore competitive balance, as it theoretically would have prevented wealthier teams from overspending and dominating the less wealthy teams. As time has passed, it has become evident that competitive balance was not achieved following the adoption of the salary cap, and it has been …

The Oppressive Nexus Of Socioeconomic Status And Gender In Egyptian Society: A Marxist Exposition, Stephanie Attar

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

The main purpose of this paper is to argue that women from lower socioeconomic status (SES) position are, on the whole, subjected to higher rates of exploitation within the household. This is done by exploring the implications and flaws within traditional neoclassical economic models of the household, and offering a Marxian model of domestic production as an alternative. I argue that incidence of lower SES exacerbates the rate of exploitation by lowering women’s bargaining power within the household. Two forms of bargaining power are posited to be particularly important: (1) the bargaining process over the distribution of resources within the …

'Once Were Warriors', Now We're Unemployed: A Solution For New Zealand's Persistent Unemployment, Jack Eammon English

Senior Projects Fall 2018

The economic policies of New Zealand have tended to reflect the economic orthodoxies of academia at any given time. Given that adherence to economic ‘truth’ as espoused by neoclassical economics is supposed to engender allocative efficiency and general equilibrium, this paper takes just one variable - unemployment - and explores why its market has continually failed to clear. Both demand and supply side factors are explored through a survey of the literature on employment determination, and a theoretically robust solution is proposed in the tradition of Modern Money Theory.

Shanghai Made: The Trade Off Between Global Transformation And Social Equity In A Chinese City., Nikhil Amar Inalsingh

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Understanding The Shifting U.S Retail Environment: A Theoretical Economic Cause And Affect Analysis (1996-2018), John P. Palermo

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

In this paper is a theoretical analysis that provides rationalization to identifying and understanding the main determinants that have led to a shifting retail environment. Effectively over the last 20 years the traditional retail industry has had to modify its traditional ways of businesses strategy to better accommodate the latest behavioral pattern shifts of consumer spending in retail environments and non-retail environment externalities. Some of the major factorial determinants that have and are producing retail shifts are; the developments of new technology being introduced into the retail environment, …

Perón And The Argentine Paradox: An Investigation Into An Economic Mystery, Antonio Luis Gansley-Ortiz

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Evaluating The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Its Effects On Reducing Poverty, 2012–16, Rhett J. Maiorana

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

This study is based on the continuing effort to broaden and improve our understanding of the antipoverty effects of SNAP. The purpose of has been to provide estimates of the lower and upper bound effects of accounting for SNAP benefits on the poverty headcount, gap, and severity indices from 2012 to 2016, thereby (1) extending previous research by Tiehen, Jolliffe, and Smeeding (2016), providing the most recent update to their work, and (2) contributing to the growing literature on the impact of SNAP on poverty under full participation, illustrating the full range of the program’s potential to reduce poverty. At …

On The Consequences Of Having A Central Bank With An Open Market-Policy Transmission Mechanism When A Financial Crisis Hits. The Case Of The Federal Reserve And A Minskian Call For A Return To The Discount Window As The Primary Tool Of Monetary Policy, Domenico Viola

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

This thesis analyzes the case of the Federal Reserve and highlights the negative consequences of having a Central Bank that normally prefers the open market rather than the discount window as the primary tool for the provisions of legal reserves to member financial institutions when usual private short-term credit markets get frozen. The two main negative consequences identified are from both a financial-economic efficiency point of view of the Central Bank’s lender of last resort primary responsibilities, and from a juridical-legal point of view with respect to the interpretative problems concerning the emergency liquidity Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve …

Girls' Education: A Behavioral Analysis, Syeda Zahra Ahmed

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Universal education has been an international development goal for a very long time, and gaps still exist in gender parity in developing countries. This project aims to address the fact that while the provision of affordable and accessible education in- stitutions have seen great successes in the past, perhaps the way forward now is to analyze the demand side issues. Due to cultural norms, demand for girls’ education in developing countries is lacking. The first part of the paper explores the psychological constraints of present bias, role model effect and stereotype threat in the context of girls’ educational demands. The …

The Opportunity Cost Of Violence: An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Foreign Aid And Terrorism In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brendan T. Byrne

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Zambian Consensus, Stefan Jan Briggs

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

"By Gifts One Makes Slaves": Long-Term Effects Of Denmark's Colonization Of Greenland, Sofia Stærmose Hardt

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Greenland was colonized by Denmark in 1721. Although Denmark’s colonization had elements of racism and economic exploitation, it was not violent. This project explores the long-term effects of a paternalistic colonization on the establishment of extractive institutions and on social well-being and cohesion. I examine ways in which Danish colonial policy, from 1721-1953, on the one hand sought to “civilize” and modernize Greenlandic society and, on the other hand, attempted to maintain traditional hunting practices for economic gain. These complex and sometimes contradictory social engineering techniques of governance have been linked to long-term problems of Greenlandic identity. Greenland was officially …

Who Do You Know & Who Knows You? Networks, Labor Markets, And Exclusion, Tabias J. Wimby

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This thesis takes an in depth look at one of the characteristics of the labor market that is frequently used but is not often discussed, social networks. The paper explains the way social networks are defined and built on an individual level, and how those networks are specifically utilized by agents of the market. This leads to the investigation into the exclusion of minorities in the market. This paper discusses the reasons that minorities are excluded from either the labor market or from better labor market opportunities, mainly because of cultural differences among groups. The final analysis of this paper …

Does Financial Liberalization Increase Corruption?: Evidence From A Panel Analysis, Pranjal Sudhir Ghate

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project investigates whether financial liberalization increases corruption on a global level. Arguments put forward by international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF claim that financial globalization will reduce corruption. However, the experience of India suggests that opening up financial markets might have increased corruption. This project tests whether this experience is generalizable worldwide. I find evidence for the conjecture that financial liberalization increased corruption in a panel analysis using random effects and lagged independent variable.

A Historical Comparison, And Speculative Analysis Of The Technological Revolution: Winners, Losers, And Technological Capabilities, Caleb Larosa

Senior Projects Spring 2018

Technological innovation began long ago, and if we start at its origin, and slowly breakdown its progression to present day, a significant role, and purpose begins to emerge. However, technology is now smarter than ever, and despite being able to refer to the past, there are countless uncertainties regarding the current capabilities, and the predetermined path of automation and computerisation. Moreover, there is much to be discovered surrounding the role of technology within income inequality. How much of the inequality and progression of trends can we attribute to technology? Will technology displace the majority of human labor hours? It is …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Federal Reserve’S Quantitative Easing Policy In Lowering Long-Term Interest Rates, Lee Philip Perry

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This project looks at the effectiveness of Quantitative Easing on lowering long-term interest rates. To come up with an answer I look through three separate channels in which QE works to lower long-term rates: the speculation channel, inflations expectation channel, and portfolio balance channel. In examining these channels and their respective effects, I combine relative channel and general economic theory with data relative to each channel such as long-term yields, inflation expectation data, public holdings of federal debt, and much more in order to understand whether QE was at the forefront of the reduction in yields. Through these channels, we …

Finally Putting It Back Into The Pockets Of Brazil’S Bottom 50%: An Analysis Of The “Neo(Capital)” Flows On Income Inequality, Meghann Trago

Senior Projects Spring 2018

A common belief of the global community is that Income inequality in Brazil has decreased. This paper analyses the composition of income inequality in Brazil through the effects of neoliberal policies on the relationship between capital flows and income inequality from the 1980s to 2015. The neoliberal policy that will be the focus of this paper, is the Washington Consensus which was introduced in the early 1990s. The historical analysis situates the Consensus in the context of Brazil. Hyman P. Minsky’s theory of financial instability applied to Brazil reveals the flaws within standard neoclassical trade theories underlying the Consensus, i.e. …

Labor Market Immigrant Integration And Employment: An Analysis Of Eu Countries, Iro Gkrimpizi

Senior Projects Spring 2018

This Senior Project advances the immigrant integration debate, examining the effect of labor market immigrant integration policies on the European labor force. Building on an existing body of literature that examines the migration and immigrant integration debate, this paper assesses the relationship between immigrant integration policies in the EU and the employment rate of the total, non-EU, low-skilled, young, old, and female labour force, by using panel data at the EU level to answer the question, “Can the labor market integration of immigrants lead to positive labor market outcomes as expressed by the employment rate?”. The relationship between labor market …

The Arts In The United States: Can The Arts Become A Public Good?, Alexander Van Der Veen

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Marketization In North Korea Is Corrupting The Corrupted, Joseph Kim

Senior Projects Fall 2018

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

The Economic Case For Housing First, Athullya Biju Gopi

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

The federal government’s entry into regulating the US housing sector began with reforms initiated during the New Deal. Given the effects of the Great Depression, the New Deal was the perfect opportunity to implement housing policies that would have ensured a more equitable distribution of housing to all households, especially those which are on the lower end of the income distribution. However, as we shall see, federal housing policy has historically followed a path that focuses purely on demand-side measures. This is not by accident; the housing sector has long been seen as a macro-stabilizer that can be used to …

Is More Money The Answer? The Effect Of Educational Funding On High Stakes Exams In New York City, Megan L. Brodzik

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

In the cases which make up the Campaign for Fiscal Equity et al. (CFE) v. The State of New York et al. the court system found that the state of New York was not fulfilling its obligation to provide all students with the opportunity to obtain a sound basic education. The state was ordered to increase funding to New York City schools by $1.93 billion. It is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of education finance reform, especially court-order reform, as a tool for policy. This paper examines the effects of New York City primary school spending on student’s educational achievement …

The Effect Of Oil Crises On Economies Of Comecon/Cmea Member Countries, A Five-Country Study: Cssr, Gdr, Hungary, Poland, And Ussr, Cosku Mihci

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

Economic problems in COMECON/CMEA member countries started to grow in the second half of the 1970s, which lead to radical economic and political reforms in the second half of the 1980s and resulted in demise of the economic and political system in these countries. The main aim of this thesis is to investigate whether growing economic problems in East European planned economies, or in CMEA member countries, were initially triggered by oil crises, through international trade and level of indebtedness channels, or not. Countries examined in this thesis were the CSSR, the GDR, Hungary, Poland, and the USSR; the time …