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Articles 181 - 210 of 388

Full-Text Articles in Economics

Gender And Labor Markets In Tunisia's Lagging Regions, Lucie Hanmer, Edinaldo Tebaldi, Dorte Verner Nov 2018

Gender And Labor Markets In Tunisia's Lagging Regions, Lucie Hanmer, Edinaldo Tebaldi, Dorte Verner

Economics Faculty Book Publications

No abstract provided.

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The Impacts Of El Niño And La Niña On Large Grain Producing Countries In Eca: Yield, Poverty And Policy Response, Edinaldo Tebaldi Aug 2018

The Impacts Of El Niño And La Niña On Large Grain Producing Countries In Eca: Yield, Poverty And Policy Response, Edinaldo Tebaldi

Economics Faculty Journal Articles

There is a need to further examine and enhance knowledge concerning the relationship among El Niño and La Niña cycles, drought events, and grain production in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (RUK) region, which accounts for more than one third of total wheat exports. This report contributes to close this knowledge gap. A data-driven analysis is utilized to gain a better understanding of (a) the potential impact on grain production of droughts linked to the El Niño/La Niña phenomenon in RUK, (b) RUK governments’ policy response to those events and how domestic and regional grain markets are affected, and …

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Romania -- Systematic Country Diagnostic: Background Note-Agriculture (English), Edinaldo Tebaldi, Anatol Gobjila Jun 2018

Romania -- Systematic Country Diagnostic: Background Note-Agriculture (English), Edinaldo Tebaldi, Anatol Gobjila

Economics Faculty Journal Articles

Agriculture plays a significant socio-economic role in Romania and its transformation to a modern, vibrant, and market-oriented sector is central to fighting poverty, promoting social inclusion, and reducing the urban/rural development divide. Most of Romania's poor live in rural areas and earn their living from agriculture or agriculture-related activities. In 2016, eight out of ten people who were at risk of poverty or social exclusion lived either in rural areas or in towns and suburbs that were predominately rural. Using microdata from the 2013 Household Budget Survey (HBS), this report finds that individuals living in rural areas are 16.5 percent …

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Hospital Cost Accounting: Saving Lives And Saving On Costs, Amanda Whitehouse May 2018

Hospital Cost Accounting: Saving Lives And Saving On Costs, Amanda Whitehouse

Honors Projects in Accounting

Within an industry constantly pursuing accuracy, a cost accounting system that addresses the ongoing concerns of saving money and increasing efficiency is a must. Now more than ever, hospitals require reliable information to combat the conflicting relationship between an increase in spending on new instruments and specialized staff, but a decrease in funding. This project explores potential avenues to find a successful cost accounting method using past research, analysis of hospitals’ current environments, and expert opinions from hospital and healthcare personnel. Each hospital is different based on their environment, surrounding population, type of services provided, and personal demands. This study …

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An Examination Of Sectoral Growth’S Impact On Income Inequality In The United States, Josh Paton Apr 2018

An Examination Of Sectoral Growth’S Impact On Income Inequality In The United States, Josh Paton

Honors Projects in Economics

This paper is threefold in purpose; it aims to explore the relationship between the growth of manufacturing and service sectors and income inequality, determine if GDP growth helps reduce income inequality, and establish the existence of the Kuznets Curve from 1967-2017. The data supports an inverse relationship between growth in the manufacturing sector and income inequality however is not sufficient enough to conclude growth in the manufacturing sector impacts income inequality. Growth of GDP is shown to decrease income inequality which supports the notion that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and makes everyone better off than before. The positive …

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Passion With Purpose A Case Study Of St. Jude Children’S Research Hospital, Allyson Favuzza Apr 2018

Passion With Purpose A Case Study Of St. Jude Children’S Research Hospital, Allyson Favuzza

Honors Projects in Management

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is “leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life threatening diseases” (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). Fifty-five years ago when St. Jude opened its doors, the overall childhood cancer survival rate was 20 percent; today, the overall childhood cancer survival rate exceeds 80 percent. Through research and discovery, St. Jude has played a pivotal role in increasing this survival rate. St. Jude, a non-profit organization and hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, operates primarily through donations. St. Jude-American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC) is the fundraising and awareness organization with the …

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Financial Literacy: Impact On Student Success, Alexandra Cummingham Apr 2018

Financial Literacy: Impact On Student Success, Alexandra Cummingham

Honors Projects in Accounting

Financial literacy has proven to be an essential skill for young adults to help in achieving success and reaching one’s potential. Many studies find that those with a stronger background in financial literacy are more likely to demonstrate positive behaviors, both financially and in other areas. This study will attempt to draw a link between Bryant University students’ background in financial literacy and benefits within the college classroom. Specifically, my study will look at whether having a stronger background in financial literacy leads to increased confidence in the classroom, decreased accounting anxiety, and superior academic performance. The study uses primary …

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Explaining Excess Stock Return Through Options Market Sentiment, Michael Gough Apr 2018

Explaining Excess Stock Return Through Options Market Sentiment, Michael Gough

Honors Projects in Finance

Option markets are a fascinating area of study and in recent years research has indicated that information obtained from the options market can be used to explain price returns in the underlying stock market. Building on existing asset pricing models such as the Fama-French Three Factor, Carhart Four Factor, and Fama-French Five Factor Models, this research tests if the put to call ratio can be used as an additional factor in explaining excess returns. Ordinary least squares models are run on all Dow Jones 30 stocks using more than ten years of data and the model results are compared. The …

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The Effects Of Varied Income And Education Levels On Divorce In The United States, Elizabeth Willmonton Jan 2018

The Effects Of Varied Income And Education Levels On Divorce In The United States, Elizabeth Willmonton

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

In the past decade in the United States we have witnessed a surge in the divorce through the 21st century. Within the past decade these numbers have been slowing, leaving many asking for what the original increase was caused by. This paper looks into the possible driving variables for divorce in couples in the United States from the early 1970s to present. Using data from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, our model will focus on dependent variable divorce and how factors such as income of wife and husband, age married, and education level; possibly impact divorce in couples. …

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What Contributes To Winning Gold? A Cross-Section Analysis Of Olympic Success, Shannon Gay Jan 2018

What Contributes To Winning Gold? A Cross-Section Analysis Of Olympic Success, Shannon Gay

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the relationship between Olympic success and economic factors, does it take more than just athleticism to win a medal at the Summer Olympic Games? This study is a cross-section analysis of eighty-three countries at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics who won at least one medal, using share of medals won at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games as the dependent variable and factors including gross domestic product, country population, life expectancy, HDI, host country status, political environment, and past Olympic performance as the independent variables. The results show that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between …

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Impact Of Behavioral Finance/Economics On Investment Decisions, Vidur Relan Jan 2018

Impact Of Behavioral Finance/Economics On Investment Decisions, Vidur Relan

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the impact of certain behavioral and psychological factors on financial investment decisions. The study of behavioral finance underlines the impact of psychological elements on financial markets progression. This paper will further explain how certain cognitive and emotional factors influence irrational decision making by people. Generally financial investors have very limited number of deviations from rational behavior. They lay emphasis on taking rational decisions which are focused on achieving the maximum amount of returns from their investments with a certain degree of bearable risk involvement. The behavioral finance paradigm suggests that financial decisions are largely influenced by emotional …

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A Data Analysis Of Fdi Inflows And Poverty Rates In Central America, Scott Jarrett Jan 2018

A Data Analysis Of Fdi Inflows And Poverty Rates In Central America, Scott Jarrett

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the impact of Foreign Direct Investment on poverty rates in Central America. The study incorporates a data analysis to discover whether FDI improves (lowers) poverty rates in Central American countries. this paper found that FDI Inflows did have significant and positive impacts on life expectancy and household consumption while having no impact on infant mortality rate.

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Effect Of Climate Change On Economic Growth In At Risk African Nations, Bryan Gilbert Jan 2018

Effect Of Climate Change On Economic Growth In At Risk African Nations, Bryan Gilbert

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper looks at the possible negative effects climate change could create on the growth of at risk African Nations. This study takes known climate change metrics and puts them into an economic growth model to shine light on environmental issues becoming more prevalent in our world today. Climate change indicators will be modelled alongside economic growth indicators to paint a picture of the positive or negative effect that could slow African Nations’ Economies now and into the future. The results of this regression are predicted to be that the climate change indicators will have a negative effect on economic …

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Official Development Assistance And Social Capitals Impact On Economic Growth, Thomas D. Hanley Jan 2018

Official Development Assistance And Social Capitals Impact On Economic Growth, Thomas D. Hanley

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This study intends to increase the understanding of the impact social capital has on economic growth in countries that receive official development assistance. By analyzing these relationships further, it may be possible to develop strategies to increase economic growth and prosperity in these regions. The results show that economic growth is not contingent upon high levels of trust but trust rich environments conditions the effectiveness of oda in stimulating growth.

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Does Night Skiing Save Ski Areas? A Survival Analysis, Andrew Krom Jan 2018

Does Night Skiing Save Ski Areas? A Survival Analysis, Andrew Krom

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper conducts a survival analysis on New England ski areas to examine the factors that cause a ski area to exit the industry. The main variable of interest in this case was whether or not the mountain conducted night time operations. Very specific criteria was used for the areas included in the study. This paper also suggests improvements that could be made to future studies on the subject.

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Exploring Investor Attention In Financial Models, Anna Rodier May 2017

Exploring Investor Attention In Financial Models, Anna Rodier

Honors Projects in Finance

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether stock prices are influenced by investor attention and how this, in turn, can be used to better advise the financial decisions of the everyday investor. Using weekly adjusted close data, weekly traded volumes, and weekly company searches using Google Trends, I tested my hypothesis that including the frequency of company searches, found through consumers using Google, in financial models will help better predict stock returns. Using S&P 500 company data from February 2012 to February 2017, frequency is a better predictor of price in comparison to trading volumes. But, to maximize …

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Weather Variability And The Tourism Industry: A Panel Data Analysis, Carmela Coppola Apr 2017

Weather Variability And The Tourism Industry: A Panel Data Analysis, Carmela Coppola

Honors Projects in Economics

Increasing weather variability around the world has led to many researchers examining the impacts of weather variability on vulnerable industries. For example, the tourism industry can make up a large portion of an economy’s growth, with some of the most dependent countries relying on tourism for over 40% of GDP (World Travel & Tourism Council 2014). In an attempt to better understand the relationship between weather variability and the tourism industry at the country level, this study employs a series of fixed effects panel regression models to analyze the impact of rainfall and temperature on tourism levels and growth rates …

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Determinants Of Health Expenditures In Oecd Countries, Giang Phi Apr 2017

Determinants Of Health Expenditures In Oecd Countries, Giang Phi

Honors Projects in Economics

Around the world, governments are coping with spiraling health care spending. This spurs the need for further insight in the determinants of such expenditures. This study investigates the determinants of health care expenditures for a sample of thirty five countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from 2000 to 2013 in order to understand the impact of different factors on health care spending growth. Besides Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the study accounts for many different driving forces such as demographics, medical progress, health system characteristics, public financing, and other non-medical determinants of health spending such as alcohol …

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Facing Racial Discrimination In The Labor Environment, Ya Xu Apr 2017

Facing Racial Discrimination In The Labor Environment, Ya Xu

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Almost 50 years after the signing of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, and over 150 years after the official end of slavery in the US, the labor market is still far from equal. Minorities, especially those who racially identify as black and Latino, still face higher unemployment rates, lower median salaries (Wilson, 2015), and higher difficulty in obtaining interview opportunities (Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2004). The overarching question for my Capstone is as follows: How does perceived racial discrimination affect a person in the labor environment1? To investigate this question, I conducted a survey for Bryant University alumni which asked the …

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Ex-Dividend Price Behavior In Spanish Speaking Markets: Do Stocks Behave Differently In Spain, Mexico, And Chile?, Kayla E. Nikosey Apr 2017

Ex-Dividend Price Behavior In Spanish Speaking Markets: Do Stocks Behave Differently In Spain, Mexico, And Chile?, Kayla E. Nikosey

Honors Projects in Finance

The main focus of this thesis is to analyze the behavior of stock price on ex-dividend day of ADRs in Spain, Mexico, and Chile. Announcement date, and ex-dividend date for each ADR is collected to be analyzed against the other ADRs. One would expect different behaviors in the different markets because of different tax treatments in Chile, Mexico, and Spain. Traditional event testing is being used to analyze the stock price behavior on and around ex-dividend days. The event test measures the impact of regulatory events and allows for abnormal changes in stock prices that occur in conjunction with dividend …

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Social Media Influence: Metrics Matter, Juliana Houldcroft Apr 2017

Social Media Influence: Metrics Matter, Juliana Houldcroft

Honors Projects in Marketing

It is imperative for companies to engage in social media marketing as consumers are often dependent on online information and electronic word-of-mouth. Past literature claims that consumers evaluate the influence of communications differently on social media than they would in a traditional environment because of the nature of the internet. This study aims to analyze user’s perceptions of social media marketing influence and determines if user’s perception of influence changes based on the number of social media metrics (likes, comments, and shares) that accompany a Facebook post. The study also investigates if perceptions of influence vary depending on a user’s …

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Does Economic Freedom Promote Standard Of Living Across Countries With Different Income Levels?, George Ossei Jan 2017

Does Economic Freedom Promote Standard Of Living Across Countries With Different Income Levels?, George Ossei

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the possibility of a relationship between economic freedom and standard of living across countries with different income classifications. The study incorporates population with access to improved water supply sources, sanitation facilities, electricity and the internet, as well as foreign aid into the Kosack model of aid effectiveness. This is done in order to examine their effects on HDI.

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Factors That Influence Economic Growth In Brics Member Countries And Oecd Developed Countries: A Panel Data Analysis, Xuran Zhang Jan 2017

Factors That Influence Economic Growth In Brics Member Countries And Oecd Developed Countries: A Panel Data Analysis, Xuran Zhang

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the factors that affect economic growth in developed nations, such as the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and others. It also includes developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). This study incorporates several independent variables to examine their influence on economic growth in these two groups of nations. The study looks at contributing factors for economic growth, such as life expectancy, primary education, secondary education, expected import, expected export, population growth rate, FDI level, and public expenditure, using macro-level data from two sources: the World Bank and the Organization of …

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Education Spending And The Lottery In The Western United States: A Panel Data Analysis, Erica Vendituoli Jan 2017

Education Spending And The Lottery In The Western United States: A Panel Data Analysis, Erica Vendituoli

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the relationship between the existence of a state lottery and state education spending. When consumers participate in the lottery, it is often with the assumption that even if they lose, their money will be contributed to state funded programs like education. This study looks at ten states in the west that have a variety of lottery circumstances. Both education expenditure as a percent of total state expenditure and per pupil aid are used to measure education funding. This research also incorporates multiple independent variables to fully capture the determinants of education spending. The results of this study …

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Effects Of Globalization On Inequality In Latin America, Andrew T. Kebalka Jan 2017

Effects Of Globalization On Inequality In Latin America, Andrew T. Kebalka

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper explores the relationship between globalization and inequality in Latin American countries. The study uses a number of different globalization indicators in conjunction with the globalization index developed by Dreher (2006). The study works to identify whether globalization has effect income equality and whether specific components of globalization have a greater magnitude of impact on inequality over others within the region. The conclusion of the study is that GDP per capita, foreign direct investment, and trade intensity have the greatest effects on income inequality.

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Banking Subsector Output And Real Gdp Growth In The United States: A Time Series Analysis, Alexander Ellwanger Jan 2017

Banking Subsector Output And Real Gdp Growth In The United States: A Time Series Analysis, Alexander Ellwanger

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This study investigates which variables in the banking subsector in the United States may have a statistically significant relationship with Real GDP. Taking into consideration the Bureau of Economic Analysis method of calculating banking output from 2004, this study carefully evaluates key variables that contribute to the banking sector and whether these key variables are statistically significant in any way that can help guide investors, policymakers, and the government in the growing challenge to maintain economic stability in the United States. This study found that there was a statistically significant relationship between Tier 1 Risk Based Capital and Real GDP …

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Corruption’S Impact On Government Health And Education Expenditures, Shaun Rolph Jan 2017

Corruption’S Impact On Government Health And Education Expenditures, Shaun Rolph

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The purpose of this paper it to identify how corruption can impact government expenditures, specifically education as a percentage of GDP, educational as a percentage of total government expenditures, health as a percentage of GDP, and health as a percentage of total government expenditures. The independent variables in which will be used for this model are: Corruption Perception Index, Worldwide Governance Indicators, and Polity IV. Through the time period of 2005 to 2014, this research is a global panel study that looks at income group and regional analysis. Comparisons will be made from the correlation of the variables between country …

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Income Inequality In Latin America And The Caribbean: Inefficient Labor Markets And Remnants Of Racism, Vivian Tejada Jan 2017

Income Inequality In Latin America And The Caribbean: Inefficient Labor Markets And Remnants Of Racism, Vivian Tejada

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper aims to explore the key reasons as to why income inequality in Latin America is so vast. The study will investigate the various manners in which labor markets operate throughout Latin America and attempt to draw a connection between labor market inefficiency and income inequality keeping in mind the regions tumulus history with racism. Factors considered in this assessment are rate of income levels, unemployment, GDP p/capita, educational attainment, and age of labor force. The factors are accounted for in a regression model to examine the level of influence labor markets and race have on income inequality.

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Effects Of Drought Conditions On Agricultural Productivity In Central And Western Tennessee, Sean Erwin Jan 2017

Effects Of Drought Conditions On Agricultural Productivity In Central And Western Tennessee, Sean Erwin

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper analyzes the relationship between agricultural productivity of farms in drought conditions. The variables used in this research include fertilizer expense, precipitation totals, and average temperature. The model integrates all of the mentioned variables and finds the connection between the land value of farms and the variables. The outcomes show that both fertilizer expense and precipitation have negative relationships to land values for farms, while average temperature has a positive relationship.

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Fdi And Income Inequality In Latin America, Terese Coulon Jan 2017

Fdi And Income Inequality In Latin America, Terese Coulon

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The main purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between FDI and income inequality in Latin America after Operation Condor. This study uses economic panel data from seven different Latin American countries over a sixteen year time period. This study takes place from 1982 to 1997. Other variables have been included in this study to achieve the most accurate results possible. The results from this study show that FDI is significant to income inequality at the 5% significance level in Latin America during this time period. Also, the results indicate that FDI has a positive effect on income …

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