Economics Commons^™

Enabling Electric Storage Participation In Wholesale Markets: An Analysis Of Ferc Order No. 841, Glenn A. Smith

Master of Science in Energy Systems Management

This study has been performed to understand the potential impact that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order No. 841 will have on the adoption of energy storage resources (ESR). This analysis looked at: (1) the Order’s requirements, (2) FERC’s exercise of its authorized jurisdiction within the Order, and (3) actions taken by the Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO), Independent System Operators (ISO) and FERC to demonstrate compliance with the Order’s requirements:

Order No. 841 utilizes a participation model to ensure ESR’s are able to participate in wholesale electricity markets to an extent that is reflective of a resource’s physical and …

Enabling Electric Storage Participation In Wholesale Markets: An Analysis Of Ferc Order No. 841, Glenn A. Smith

Master's Projects and Capstones

This study has been performed to understand the potential impact that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order No. 841 will have on the adoption of energy storage resources (ESR). This analysis looked at: (1) the Order’s requirements, (2) FERC’s exercise of its authorized jurisdiction within the Order, and (3) actions taken by the Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO), Independent System Operators (ISO) and FERC to demonstrate compliance with the Order’s requirements:

Order No. 841 utilizes a participation model to ensure ESR’s are able to participate in wholesale electricity markets to an extent that is reflective of a resource’s physical and …

The Long-Run Effects Of Tropical Cyclones On Infant Mortality, Isabel Miranda

Master's Theses

In the United States alone, each tropical cyclone causes an average of $14.6 billion worth of damages. In addition to the destruction of physical infrastructure, natural disasters also negatively impact human capital formation. These losses are often more difficult to observe, and therefore, are over looked when quantifying the true costs of natural disasters. One particular effect is an increase in infant mortality rates, an important indicator of a country’s general socioeconomic level. This paper utilizes a model created by Anttila-Hughes and Hsiang, that takes advantage of annual variation in tropical cyclones using annual spatial average maximum wind speeds and …

A Fishy Problem: Effects Of Atlantic Salmon Farming In The Pacific Ocean, Madeleine A. Griffith

Student Theses 2015-Present

In this report, I explore the historical, climatological, economic, and ethical issues created by the contemporary industrial salmon farming practices off Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. Chapter 1 utilizes a variety of sources from Stephen Hume’s A Stain upon the Sea to Miller’s Living in the Environment, to examine the integral part salmon plays in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the ecosystem services salmon contribute in wild and farmed settings, and the trends in salmon consumption around the world. Chapter 2 examines the historically relevant role salmon held among indigenous societies and how that role has changed …

Twitter And Disasters: A Social Resilience Fingerprint, Benjamin A. Rachunok, Jackson B. Bennett, Roshanak Nateghi

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Understanding the resilience of a community facing a crisis event is critical to improving its adaptive capacity. Community resilience has been conceptualized as a function of the resilience of components of a community such as ecological, infrastructure, economic, and social systems, etc. In this paper, we introduce the concept of a “resilience fingerprint” and propose a multi-dimensional method for analyzing components of community resilience by leveraging existing definitions of community resilience with data from the social network Twitter. Twitter data from 14 events are analyzed and their resulting resilience fingerprints computed. We compare the fingerprints between events and show that …

A Systematic Assessment Of Socio-Economic Impacts Of Prolonged Episodic Volcano Crises, Justin Peers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uncertainty surrounding volcanic activity can lead to socio-economic crises with or without an eruption as demonstrated by the post-1978 response to unrest of Long Valley Caldera (LVC), CA. Extensive research in physical sciences provides a foundation on which to assess direct impacts of hazards, but fewer resources have been dedicated towards understanding human responses to volcanic risk. To evaluate natural hazard risk issues at LVC, a multi-hazard, mail-based, household survey was conducted to compare perceptions of volcanic, seismic, and wildfire hazards. Impacts of volcanic activity on housing prices and businesses were examined at the county-level for three volcanoes with a …

Marxist Implementation Of Climate Change As A Geopolitical Fear Tactic, Katelyn Larossa

Senior Honors Theses

In recent years the climate change debate has shifted from the peripheries of international political discussions to center stage, manifesting in the Paris Agreement in November of 2016 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, the science behind the climate change debate is disputed and does not support the claims made by global leaders who continue to push for increasing environmental regulations and financial aid to those most adversely affected by the supposed climate change (underdeveloped and developing nations). Examining the geopolitical and economic implications of climate change actions reveals the underlying political philosophies guiding global leaders. …

Optimal Control Theory And Estimation Of Parameters In A Differential Equation Model For Patients With Lupus, Peter Agaba

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

System Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that affects many parts of the body including skin, joints, kidneys, brains and other organs. Lupus Nephritis (LN) is a disease caused by SLE. Given the complexity of LN, we establish an optimal treatment strategy based on a previously developed mathematical model.For our thesis work, the model variables are: Immune Complexes (I), Pro-inflammatory mediators (P), Damaged tissue (D), and Anti-inflammatory mediators (A). The analysis in this research project focuses on analyzing therapeutic strategies to control damage using both parameter estimation techniques (integration of data to quantify any uncertainties associated with …

Río Muchacho: La Interacción Entre Agricultura Orgánica, Educación Ambiental Y Ecoturismo, Tatum Contreras

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El enfoque principal de mi proyecto fue crear un documental sobre cómo Río Muchacho combinada lo orgánico, el ecoturismo y la educación ambiental. Hice mi proyecto en la provincia de Manabí cerca del pueblo Canoa. Documenté y entrevisté a todas las personas involucradas en Río muchacho- de los dueños, a los visitantes. Empecé mi proyecto el 8 de abril y terminé con la filmación y las entrevistas el 26 de abril. En la primera semana trabajé en la finca orgánica de 7 de la mañana hasta las 4 de la tarde. Las dos otras semanas trabajé de 7 a la …

Ecological Determinants Of Respiratory Health: Examining Associations Between Asthma Emergency Department Visits, Diesel Particulate Matter, And Public Parks And Open Space In Los Angeles, California, Jason A. Douglas, Reginald S. Archer, Serena E. Alexander

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Los Angeles County (LAC) low-income communities of color experience uneven asthma rates, evidenced by asthma emergency department visits (AEDV). This has partly been attributed to inequitable exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM). Promisingly, public parks and open space (PPOS) contribute to DPM mitigation. However, low-income communities of color with limited access to PPOS may be deprived of associated public health benefits. Therefore, this novel study investigates the AEDV, DPM, PPOS nexus to address this public health dilemma and inform public policy in at-risk communities. Optimized Hotspot Analysis was used to examine geographic clustering of AEDVs, DPM, and PPOS at the …

Budget Magic: The Gathering For Beginners, Todd W. Neller

Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this talk, Neller overviewed budget-friendly entry points to playing Magic: The Gathering (M:TG) after its first quarter-century of success. Noting the ways in which M:TG players have applied head-designer Mark Rosewater’s “restrictions breed creativity” lesson, he celebrated their creative formats that push back against expensive “pay to win” dynamics.

Estimation Of Multivariate Asset Models With Jumps, Angela Loregian, Laura Ballotta, Gianluca Gianluca Fusai, Marcos Fabricio Perez

Business Faculty Publications

We propose a consistent and computationally efficient two-step methodology for the estimation of multidimensional non-Gaussian asset models built using Levy processes. The proposed framework allows for dependence between assets and different tail behaviors and jump structures for each asset. Our procedure can be applied to portfolios with a large number of assets as it is immune to estimation dimensionality problems. Simulations show good finite sample properties and significant efficiency gains. This method is especially relevant for risk management purposes such as, for example, the computation of portfolio Value at Risk and intra-horizon Value at Risk, as we show in detail …

Step Away From Stepwise, Gary N. Smith

Pomona Economics

Stepwise regression is a popular data-mining tool that uses statistical significance to select the explanatory variables to be used in a multiple-regression model. A fundamental problem with stepwise regression is that some real explanatory variables that have causal effects on the dependent variable may happen to not be statistically significant, while nuisance variables may be coincidentally significant. As a result, the model may fit the data well in-sample, but do poorly out-of-sample. Many Big-Data researchers believe that, the larger the number of possible explanatory variables, the more useful is stepwise regression for selecting explanatory variables. The reality is that stepwise …

Use Of Symmetries In Economics: An Overview, Vladik Kreinovich, Olga Kosheleva, Nguyen N. Thach, Nguyen Duc Trung

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In this paper, we show that many semi-heuristic econometric formulas can be derived from the natural symmetry requirements. The list of such formulas includes many famous formulas provided by Nobel-prize winners, such as Hurwicz optimism-pessimism criterion for decision making under uncertainty, McFadden's formula for probabilistic decision making, Nash's formula for bargaining solution -- as well as Cobb-Douglas formula for production, gravity model for trade, etc.

Be Wary Of Black-Box Trading Algorithms, Gary N. Smith

Pomona Economics

Black-box algorithms now account for nearly a third of all U. S. stock trades. It is a mistake to think that these algorithms possess superhuman intelligence. In reality, computers do not have the common sense and wisdom that humans have accumulated by living. Trading algorithms are particularly dangerous because they are so efficient at discovering statistical patterns—but so utterly useless in judging whether the discovered patterns are meaningful.

The Paradox Of Big Data, Gary N. Smith

Pomona Economics

Data-mining is often used to discover patterns in Big Data. It is tempting believe that because an unearthed pattern is unusual it must be meaningful, but patterns are inevitable in Big Data and usually meaningless. The paradox of Big Data is that data mining is most seductive when there are a large number of variables, but a large number of variables exacerbates the perils of data mining.

A Review Of Reasons For Failure In Applying Machine Learning To Financial Trading And An Experiment Investigating Combinatorial Purged Cross Validation’S Merit In Preventing The Most Prominent Of These Reasons, Multiple Testing Bias, Colin Fritz

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The interest in applying machine learning to financial trading in the hedge fund industry has exploded in the last five years due to the massive success of a handful of ‘quantitative’ investment firms like Renaissance Technologies who has pioneered the use of machine learning techniques in investment since the 1980s. The failure rate of such firms attempting to deploy financial machine learning strategies is very high. This thesis reviews many of the causes for failure such as harmful correlations between examples in the dataset, redundant observations, improper data sampling paradigm, and multiple testing bias. Of these, multiple testing bias is …

The Economic And Social Values Associated With Small South Dakota Lakes, Aaron Patrick Sundmark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The valuation of small fishing lakes is a vital component in understanding the importance of fishing and of recreational resources, in general. Knowing the values associated with such lakes is essential when prioritizing management activities. The overall value of a lake as a resource for human benefit is estimated as the summation of both instrumental and non-instrumental values. Instrumental values consist of economic and utilitarian values, as well as the values that a lake provides from ecosystem services. Non-instrumental values consider what the lake is worth as a good of its own, such as aesthetic, moral, and spiritual values gained …

On Cluster Robust Models, José Bayoán Santiago Calderón

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Cluster robust models are a kind of statistical models that attempt to estimate parameters considering potential heterogeneity in treatment effects. Absent heterogeneity in treatment effects, the partial and average treatment effect are the same. When heterogeneity in treatment effects occurs, the average treatment effect is a function of the various partial treatment effects and the composition of the population of interest. The first chapter explores the performance of common estimators as a function of the presence of heterogeneity in treatment effects and other characteristics that may influence their performance for estimating average treatment effects. The second chapter examines various approaches …

The Impact Of College Athletic Success On Donations And Applicant Quality, Benjamin Baumer, Andrew Zimbalist

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

For the 65 colleges and universities that participate in the Power Five athletic conferences (Pac 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, and Big 12), the football and men’s basketball teams are highly visible. While these programs generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually, very few of them turn an operating “profit.” Their existence is thus justified by the claim that athletic success leads to ancillary benefits for the academic institution, in terms of both quantity (e.g., more applications, donations, and state funding) and quality (e.g., stronger applicants, lower acceptance rates, higher yields). Previous studies provide only weak support for …

Canadian Hockey Leagues Game-To-Game Performance, Nick R. Riccardi

Sport Management - All Scholarship

This study examines game-to-game performance of players across the three Canadian Hockey Leagues (Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) for the 2017-2018 season. It tests the importance of factors such as rest, travel, weather conditions, and more. Data for this study were collected from each of the three CHL websites and from www.weatherunderground.com. The null hypotheses of different factors affecting performance were tested through regression models using Ordinary Least Squares. The dependent variables, used across different specifications, were on-ice performance variables such as points, goals, and penalty minutes on a per-game basis.

Through The Eyes Of Locals: A Changing Climate In Bolivia, Jacob D. Rex

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Deforestation and Agricultural Land-Use Change in Bolivia as a Function of Socio-Economic Realities.

This research combines semi-structured interviews of key informants and local participants, as well as field observations, which were conducted between January and April of 2019 in the Departments of Santa Cruz & Chuquisaca.

Sustainable Development Economy: Macroeconomic Policy And Microeconomic Impact Of Public Private Partnerships, Richard Berkshire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of public private partnership (PPP) on Dallas, Texas economic development activities is debated through many forms of academic studies. The purpose of this study was to bridge the research gap in PPP impact on sustainable economic development from the perspectives of PPP practitioners. The central research question focused on the PPP executives' perspective on the evaluation of PPP programs within a 5-year period (2005 - 2010) in Dallas, Texas. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the policy feedback theory. A qualitative case study design was the case study approach and purposeful sampling interviews were the …

Less Is More: Beating The Market With Recurrent Reinforcement Learning, Louis Kurt Bernhard Steinmeister

Masters Theses

"Multiple recurrent reinforcement learners were implemented to make trading decisions based on real and freely available macro-economic data. The learning algorithm and different reinforcement functions (the Differential Sharpe Ratio, Differential Downside Deviation Ratio and Returns) were revised and the performances were compared while transaction costs were taken into account. (This is important for practical implementations even though many publications ignore this consideration.) It was assumed that the traders make long-short decisions in the S&P500 with complementary 3-month treasury bill investments. Leveraged positions in the S&P500 were disallowed. Notably, the Differential Sharpe Ratio and the Differential Downside Deviation Ratio are risk …

Advances Of Standard And Nonstandard Neutrosophic Theories, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this book, we approach different topics related to neutrosophics, such as: Neutrosophic Set, Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set, Inconsistent Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set, Picture Fuzzy Set, Ternary Fuzzy Set, Pythagorean Fuzzy Set, Atanassov’s Intuitionistic Fuzzy Set of second type, Spherical Fuzzy Set, n-HyperSpherical Neutrosophic Set, q-Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Set, truth-membership, indeterminacy-membership, falsehood-nonmembership, Regret Theory, Grey System Theory, ThreeWays Decision, n-Ways Decision, Neutrosophy, Neutrosophication, Neutrosophic Probability, Refined Neutrosophy, Refined Neutrosophication, Nonstandard Analysis; Extended Nonstandard Analysis; Open and Closed Monads to the Left/Right; Pierced and Unpierced Binads; MoBiNad Set; infinitesimals; infinities; nonstandard reals; standard reals; Nonstandard Neutrosophic Lattices of First Type (as poset) and …

On Soft Rough Topology With Multi-Attribute Group Decision Making, Florentin Smarandache, Muhammad Riaz, Atiqa Firdous, Atiqa Fakhar

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Rough set approaches encounter uncertainty by means of boundary regions instead of membership values. In this paper, we develop the topological structure on soft rough set (SR-set) by using pairwise SR-approximations. We define SR-open set, SR-closed sets, SR-closure, SR-interior,SR-neighborhood,SR-bases, product topology onSR-sets, continuous mapping, and compactness in soft rough topological space (SRTS). The developments of the theory onSR-set and SR-topology exhibit not only an important theoretical value but also represent significant applications ofSR-sets. We applied an algorithm based onSR-set to multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) to deal with uncertainty.

Natural Resources Governance Employing Blockchain-Based Decision-Making, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour, Adrian Gheorghe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Natural resources are essential structures of socio-economic systems which shape the well-being of humanity, environment, and the economy. Human actions have become the critical responsibility for environmental changes and pressuring many planetary boundaries. Having a systematic approach can provide a governance platform including the inherent characteristics of the resource, the historically established form of use, and transaction costs. A natural resource governance framework is developed by applying Blockchain technology as the primary goal of this study to regulate and manage the extraction and trades. Blockchain technology provides a distributed concurrency monitoring system for sustainable resource management. Persistent and pervasive cooperation …

Decision Making Under Uncertainty With Applications To Geosciences And Finance, Laxman Bokati

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many practical situations, we need to make a decision. In engineering, we need to decide on the best design of a system, and, for existing systems â?? on the best control strategy. In financial applications, we need to decide what is the best way to invest money. In geosciences, we need to decide whether we should explore a possible mineral deposit â?? or whether we should perform more experiments and measurements (and what exactly). In some cases, we can compute the exact consequences of each decision - e.g., if we are controlling a satellite. However, in many other cases, …

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Livelihood, Environmental And Health Benefits Of A Large Scale, Christina K. Barstow, Randall Bluffstone, Kyle Silon, Karl Linden, Evan Thomas

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Public health interventions targeting contaminated drinking water and indoor air pollution may help to reduce two of the leading causes of death among children under 5 in Rwanda - diarrhea and pneumonia. These interventions also have the potential to provide economic benefits, including reduction in expenditures on fuelwood and time spent on fuelwood collection, environmental benefits through reductions in deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, and additional economic benefits attributable to health impacts. We evaluate one such large scale intervention, the Tubeho Neza program in Western Rwanda using a cost-benefit analysis. This paper estimates monetized program benefits related to fuelwood savings, …

Factors Affecting Superfund Hazardous Waste Site Cleanups, Leili Solatyavari

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

My dissertation focuses on assessing environmental equity in neighborhoods hosting hazardous waste lands known as Superfund sites. I define environmental equity as equal and timely removal of Superfund sites regardless of the demographic profile of hosting communities. In the first chapter, I introduce the Superfund program and various steps that need to be taken by the EPA in order to remove a hazardous site from a neighborhood. The second chapter discusses theoretical frameworks that motivate the empirical analysis by visualizing the Superfund enforcement and cleanup process.

The third chapter objectives are twofold. First, I investigate the factors that may affect …