Economics Commons^™

The Geopolitics Of Infrastructuralized Platforms: The Case Of Alibaba, Hong Shen, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Contemporary digital platforms have become increasingly infrastructuralized, and started to raise geopolitical tensions with their global expansion. Amidst the heightened geopolitical competition between the US and China, the growing power of Chinese infrastructuralized platforms has made them the center of recent geopolitical dynamics. Drawing from an exploratory case study, this paper discusses Alibaba, one of the most prominent Chinese Internet giants, as an infrastructuralized platform, and highlights its geopolitical struggles. Often perceived as an e-commerce company, Alibaba has become ‘infrastructuralized’: its now-massive digital empire has moved beyond e-commerce, expanding into almost every aspect of China’s and global digital economy such …

Theory Of Collective Action, Rohit J. Parikh

Publications and Research

Theory predicts that when people pursue their selfish aims then it leads to suboptimal outcomes for society or to the group they belong to. The prisoner's dilemma and the tragedy of the commons are classic examples. In her presidential lecture to the American Political Science Association Elinor Ostrom examined this fact and also noted that in practice people do not always follow the suboptimal strategy. What does she suggest? This document consists of slides I created giving an account of her paper. She had not won the Nobel when she gave this talk but it was conferred on her later.

Political Dynasties, Business, And Poverty In The Philippines, Ronald U. Mendoza, Jurel K. Yap, Gabrielle Ann S. Mendoza, Leonardo M. Jaminola Iii, Erica Celine Yu

Ateneo School of Government Publications

Despite studies finding a link between political dynasty prevalence and poverty; empirical evidence in the Philippines shows that the relationship between dynastic concentration and underdevelopment is not the same across regions. We argue that an independent economic elite and high levels of economic activity; typically found in Luzon; affect the poverty and development impact of political dynasties. Local socioeconomic contexts shape the opportunities for predatory behavior among politicians and their relationships with economic elites. Using novel survey data on business-government linkages as well as an extensive dataset on local government leadership in the Philippines spanning 2004 to 2016; we find …

Economic Interdependence And Conflict: An International Relations Theory Analysis, Sam M. Arkin

Glatfelter Gazette

Theories of International Relations are constructed to help make sense of how power is divided amongst international actors. Three prominent theories: Realism, Liberalism, and Neo-Marxism, interpret international phenomena differently based on their assumptions about structures of global power. Economic interdependence is seen by each theory to impact who has power and how that power is maintained. These theories diverge in interpreting how economic interdependence impacts forms of conflict. These pieces do not interpret which theory is correct but work to emphasize the contextual foundations and analytical framework for how each theory perceives the entanglement of economic interdependence and conflict.

State Capitalism’S Inability To Alter The Global Power Structure, Michael R. Woods

Student Publications

In the modern day, many nations have instituted State Capitalist policies to grow their economies and increase their international influence. To evaluate the efficacy of this strategy, this paper analyzes the historical impacts of State Capitalism, as well as its effects upon economic concepts, including competition and innovation. This work also analyzes the ways in which State Capitalist policies have negatively impacted the international reputations of nations such as Russia and China and explores the specific national characteristics and circumstances that are required to truly alter the global power structure. Ultimately, the work concludes that state capitalism is unlikely to …

Evolving Swiss Neutrality: Foreign Policy, Identity, And A Changing World, Dan A. Cohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the minds of many, both within Switzerland and abroad, when one thinks of Switzerland one thinks neutrality, and often when one thinks neutrality one thinks Switzerland. It is perhaps for this reason that when Switzerland chose to sanction Russia much of the world was caught by surprise. Sensationalist newspapers were quick to jump to the conclusion that the age of Swiss neutrality is over. The government insists that there isn’t a kernel of truth in the matter. However, as is always the case, the truth is much more nuanced than either extreme. Using previous publications, current and historical data …

Reviewing John Maynard Keynes: The Economic Consequences Of The Peace, John C. Daniel

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The 1919 Treaty of Versailles is one of the most impactful documents in world history. The treaty effectively ended World War I, decimated Germany, and laid the foundation for World War II. In his analysis The Economic Consequences of the Peace, John Maynard Keynes gives a first-hand account of the influence of world leaders President Woodrow Wilson, English Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and the roles they played during the Paris Peace Conference. Keynes explains the treaty from a geopolitical lens, argues against the treaty’s reparations clause, and advocates for alternative solutions. Almost …

Corruption And Assortative Matching Of Partners In International Trade, Arusha Cooray, Chandan Kumar Jha, Bibhudutta Panda

Economics & Management Publications

Although the effects of corruption on bilateral trade are well-documented, its impact on the composition of trading partners remains unexplored. In this paper, we argue that corruption in a country imposes asymmetric costs on its trading partners depending on their characteristics. Consequently, as the level of corruption in a country changes, its trade flows from some of its trading partners change more than others, depending on their characteristics, changing the composition of its trading partners. We focus on two characteristics of trading partners: (1) the level of corruption and (2) membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Convention …

Stereotypic Beliefs Contribute To Gender Disparities In The Field Of Economics, Stefanie Simon, Crystal L. Hoyt, Stephanie Fattorusso

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Why are women under-represented in the field of economics relative to men? We propose that stereotypes associated with economists contribute to women’s interest in the field. We test the predictions that economists are stereotypically associated with low levels of communion and high levels of agency and that this type of stereotype content is associated with women’s lower interest in the field. In Study 1 (N = 883), stereotypes associated with people in the field of economics were masculine, characterized with low levels of communion and high levels of agency. In Study 2 (N = 182), undergraduate women were …

The Political Economy Of Global Private Currencies, Girish Sreevatsan Nandakumar

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines regulatory responses to global private currencies (GPCs). Through detailed analyses of the history and evolution of private digital currencies, and through case studies of the United States, the European Union, and China, this dissertation identifies five factors that condition regulatory responses: (1) compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws, (2) compliance with systems built for fiat currencies, (3) degree of transparency in operations, (4) culture of sovereignty within the nation, and (5) great power competition with other nations. Throughout the dissertation, various political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental (PESTLE) characteristics of GPCs are highlighted. This dissertation also …

Masthead 2022, Dujpew Editorial Board

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor 2022, Dujpew Editorial Board

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Volume I | Issue Iv | 2022, Dujpew Editorial Board

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Triple (Identity) Threat: Multi-Layered National Identity Appeals In Republican Political Narratives During The 2016 And 2020 Presidential Elections, Brita Mackey

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

National identity, as a broadly constituted social identity category, has been shown to hold power both as a source of political mobilization and as an enforcer of democratic stability. In recent years, Republican voters have reported stronger national attachments than Democrats, perhaps due to national identity’s longstanding implicit associations with white racial identity – and the rising prominence of multiculturalist and globalist ideologies in recent decades. In light of such findings, I propose that the rhetoric of Republican political elites may function to further exacerbate a stronger sense of national identity among their base by appealing to conjoined national and …

Econometric Analysis Of The Relationship Between Domestic Economic Growth And Levels Of Inflow Of Remittances In Developing Countries, Mihail Naskovski

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

The international global migration has produced an exponential growth of remittances, which can be defined as the transfer of funds from one country to another. This study will inspect the macroeconomic impact of remittance inflow on economic growth using panel regression, covering the period from 1981 to 2020 and focusing on a sample of 152 countries, then filtered by 4 geographical regions for additional analysis. Like many studies before, a consensus about an overall effect of the flows on global level could not be reached from his study following the analysis of the general sample. However, on a more specific …

Identifying Potential Pork-Barrel Legislation Using Machine Learning: A Preliminary Analysis, Sunil Green

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

Pork-barrel legislation has been criticized by some as an excessive and potentially corrupt use of Congressional appropriations. The task of finding the specific parts of legislation that have been “pork-barreled”, however, requires many hours of labor by policy researchers. Using data from government watchdogs and machine learning algorithms, the research explores the idea of creating a model to flag specific line items of appropriations bills for policy researchers to further explore as potential pork-barrel legislation. The model constructed uses data from the Earmark Database by Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the Congressional Pig Book by Citizens Against Government Waste to …

Conservatism, Collaboration, And Capacity: Political Explanations For Canada’S Shift In Immigrant Admissions Logic, Jaidyn Appel

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

Canada is often regarded as the United States’ friendlier neighbor to the north, but how welcoming is it really? A critical analysis of immigration and citizenship policy throughout Canadian history reveals that Canada may not be the inclusive member of the world community it is often conceptualized as. This paper examines some of the recent key changes in Canadian immigration policy and their broader contexts, while benchmarking the policies against two leading scholars' thoughts on how the relative presence of certain political ideologies in a country drives its immigration policies to the left or right of the political spectrum. As …

Studying The Economic Impact Of The Demonetization Across Indian Districts, Arnav Joshi

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

This thesis studies the economic impact of the Indian demonetization which was a unique monetary event that made 86.9 percent of the total currency in circulation illegal tender overnight. The decision to demonetize high-value currency notes was taken by the Indian government on November 8th, 2016, leading to a severe shortage of cash. This thesis tries to analyze how the impact of the demonetization differed across districts in India and how the characteristics of those districts pertaining to education, electricity and tap water access, employment, and technology access can help explain these differences. The thesis uses satellite data on human-generated …

Bias In The Jury Box: The Sociological Determinants Of Jury Selection For Capital Cases In North Carolina, Alessandra Quattrocchi

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

An evaluation of four Wake County capital cases from 2014-2018 reveals the disparate effects that the jury selection process had on Black and female potential jurors and especially on Black female potential jurors. The requirement that capital jurors be willing and able to sentence death systematically excluded Blacks and females, with Black females excused for this reason at a rate over three times higher than White males. Black potential jurors not struck for death qualification were disproportionately excluded by prosecutorial peremptory strikes at a rate nearly two times greater than Whites. Final analyses conclude that Black females had significantly lower …

Early Childhood Intervention And Income Inequality: An Analysis On The Intergenerational Mobility Of Head Start Participants, Paul Hinton

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

The Head Start program is an early childhood intervention program funded by the federal government. Designed for low-income families, it promotes school readiness among its participants. In my research, I examine the effects of Head Start on the intergenerational mobility of its participants. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the NLSY Child and Young Adult Supplement (CNLSY), I measure the degree of earnings persistence between parents and their children for students in preschool and Head Start. I find that participation in Head Start is associated with an increase in mobility, which remains true after controlling …

“Pure People” And “Corrupt Elites:” Corruption Talk In The 2020 Election, Milan Loewer

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

The word “corruption” has two separate but interrelated meanings. The first kind of corruption refers specifically to an abuse of public office for private gain; the second is broader and indicates a disjunction between a political reality and the ideal to which that reality ought to conform. This paper explores the role of various forms of “corruption talk” in the 2020 presidential election. The first part of the paper examines the “supply side,” looking at the kinds of “corruption narratives” that politicians offered in 2020. Using natural language processing, I analyze how Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders spoke …

The Religious Seculars: How Does Yom Kippur Impact Electoral Turnout?, Gall Sigler

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

Does Yom Kippur impact electoral turnout in religious and secular Jewish communities in Israel? By collecting data on electoral behavior in elections to local councils from 1983 to 2018 in Jewish-secular, Jewish-religious and non-Jewish municipalities, this research attempts to elucidate the relationship between the communal Yom Kippur experience and electoral turnout. This research finds that the Yom Kippur experience appears to decrease turnout in secular municipalities, while no statistically significant impact was observed in religious municipalities. Research on the psychological significance of novelty and religious events, as well as ethnographic analysis of Israel, suggests that the Yom Kippur experience undermines …

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations In North America: Achievements, Opportunities, And Challenges”, Coppell, Texas, Usa July 2022, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The forum “Nepali Diaspora Organizations in North America: Achievements, Opportunities and Challenges” was held at the annual convention of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA) in Coppell, TX, USA on July 2, 2022. Nepalese Society of Texas (NST) hosted the convention and forum. As studies related to diaspora have become important topics in the fields of development, community culture, sociology and anthropology, ANA decided to include this topic in the forums organized at the national convention.

The global Nepali diaspora population in 2022 is estimated at 800,000. Although no authoritative statistics is available, the Nepali diaspora in North …

Hybrid U-Net: Semantic Segmentation Of High-Resolution Satellite Images To Detect War Destruction, Shima Nabiee, Matthew Harding, Jonathan Hersh, Nader Bagherzadeh

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Destruction caused by violent conflicts play a big role in understanding the dynamics and consequences of conflicts, which is now the focus of a large body of ongoing literature in economics and political science. However, existing data on conflict largely come from news or eyewitness reports, which makes it incomplete, potentially unreliable, and biased for ongoing conflicts. Using satellite images and deep learning techniques, we can automatically extract objective information on violent events. To automate this process, we created a dataset of high-resolution satellite images of Syria and manually annotated the destroyed areas pixel-wise. Then, we used this dataset to …

Chinese-Backed Fintech Lending Boom: How Did Indonesia Respond?, Angela Tritto, Yujia He, Victoria Amanda Junaedi

Diplomacy and International Commerce Reports

Peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending has the potential to boost innovation and financial inclusion in emerging markets, yet it can also incur investment and borrower-related risks, such as privacy breaches.

Driven by regulation control in China, Chinese investments flocked to Indonesia, causing a rapid expansion of online lending platforms.

Similar to what happened in China prior to the regulatory crackdown, the P2P lending boom in Indonesia saw a rise in unethical and illegal business practices. The government responded by creating new regulations and institutions to mitigate risks without stifling the potential for financial inclusion.

A proactive approach towards monitoring and regulating …

Urban Utopia Or Pipe Dream? Examining Chinese-Invested Smart City Development In Southeast Asia, Yujia He, Angela Tritto

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

With increasing public–private partnership and international cooperation in smart city development across the Global South, Chinese firms are poised to take advantage of growing business opportunities, a situation that few studies have examined. This empirical case study of the Forest City, a Chinese-invested greenfield smart city project in Iskandar Malaysia, begins to fill that gap. This megaproject represents the coming together of overlapping economic development interests of the local authorities and the profit motivations of the Chinese investor. However, the project’s use of the ‘smart city’ discourse contrasts with the reality of limited technology adoption. Its visibility and considerable socio-economic …

Impact And Enlightenment Of Eu’S “Industry 5.0” To High-Quality Development Of China’S Manufacturing—Research On Application Of Think Tank Double Helix Methodology, Lu Zhao, Dawei Song, Feng Zhang, Jiaofeng Pan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The world is experiencing a great change with the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the post-epidemic era, the world's major economies have begun to plan their strategic adjustments, economic revival and transformation. Industry 5.0, as the EU's new strategy to plan the "New Industrial Revolution" and promote industrial transformation in Europe, has raised wide attentions in the world and has become a hotspot of think tank research. Guided by the think tank double helix methodology, this study constructed a cognitive framework to study industrial strategy and its related complex system issues such as international relations, science and technology …

Best Cities For Affordable Homeownership In The Mountain West, Kelliann Beavers, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Housing & Real Estate

This fact sheet highlights data on the best cities for affordable homeownership in the Mountain West, based on the SmartAsset report, “Best Cities to Buy an Affordable Family Home – 2021 Edition.” The report is SmartAsset’s second annual study, following the 2020 report, and includes data on 100 of the largest cities in the United States. This fact sheet highlights the rank, index, down payment-to-income ratio, housing costs as a percent of income, and four-year change in homeownership rate within each of the 15 Mountain West cities included in the original report.

Perceptions Of Economic Vulnerability And Public Opinion In The United States: A Theoretical, Historical, And Quantitative Approach, Cody R. Melcher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation combines three related essays that analyze the effect of the perception of economic vulnerability on the social and political attitudes of Americans. Through a heterodox reading of W.E.B. Du Bois’s intellectual work and political career in the latter half of his life, the first essay develops the theoretical thrust of the dissertation. It is argued that Du Bois primarily grounds white supremacy in an elementary feature of capitalism: the fact that survival under capitalism presumes the successful engagement, either directly or indirectly, with the labor market. Due to the historical legacy of slavery, however, labor market competition in …

Interns And Institutions: Interactions Between Unpaid Interns And Public Policy, Hannah G. Waterman

Honors Projects

Political, and especially Congressional, internships are all but mandatory to launch a career in politics. This text examines the demographics of how these internships are dispersed, how they are paid, who is paid, and how this manifests in full-time Congressional staff demographics. Data shows that both paid and unpaid Congressional internships belong disproportionately to white students. Top staff in the House of Representatives is similarly disproportionately white. The text also examines the inherent danger of working in Congress and the broader case for paid internships.