Economics Commons^™

The Political Economy Of Environmental Justice: A Comparative Study Of New Delhi And Los Angeles, Ratik Asokan

CMC Senior Theses

Though mainstream environmentalism, both in the U.S. and India, was initially rooted in social justice, it has, over time, moved away from this focus. The Environmental Justice Movement consequently arose to reunite social and environmental activism. In this thesis, I trace the historical relationship between the mainstream environmentalism, the Environmental Justice Movement, and marginalized communities. After providing this general overview, I examine two case studies – in Los Angeles and New Delhi respectively – where marginalized communities have been involved in Environmental Justice activities. My analysis reveals that marginalized communities often act in an ‘environmentalist’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ manner, without …

Against The Grain: The Imf, Bread Riots, And Altered State Development In The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan, David M. Leathers

CMC Senior Theses

Since the end of World War II, and especially over the past three decades, there has been a dramatic increase of interactions between international financial institutions (IFIs) and states. This paper will explore these interactions by examining the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This paper rests on the assumption that the complex implications of these interactions are not yet comprehensively understood and will move towards that goal by setting forth a collection of new approaches to further understand IFI-state interaction. It will discuss Jordan’s economic and political history, structural adjustment policies implemented by the IMF, …

Examining Tanzania's Development Landscape, Jenna Hussein

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis will examine Tanzania’s development landscape through Amartya Sen’s perspective, as per his conception of development that is put forth in Development as Freedom. Applying Sen’s conception of development to the case of Tanzania reinforces his view that development is an intricate process that is dependent on the expansion of various freedoms. It also yields unique insights about the most pressing issues that are currently impeding progress in the country. I will first clarify Sen’s framework and provide an explanation of development that corresponds with his ideals. Next, I will assess Tanzania’s state of affairs in terms of …

Promoting Bold Investment In Renewable Energy Research And Development, Melanie C. Paty

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the potential for private investment to fund ambitious renewable energy research and development to help mitigate climate change. I begin by discussing the threat of global warming and a brief history of renewable energy development in the United States. Next, I discuss existing avenues for private investment in renewable energy, potential methods of increasing corporate participation, and the belief that businesses must maximize only financial profits. Then I perform an in-depth case study of pension funds that have incorporated a social or environmental mission, existing environmentally focused mutual funds, and liquidated clean energy mutual funds. Finally, I …

Feasibility Analysis And Strategic Measures For Promoting Viable New Urban Development, Elizabeth J. Farr

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis demonstrates that New Urbanism is both an advisable and feasible method for reducing carbon emissions to mitigate global climate change. New Urban areas commonly generate lower carbon emissions compared to conventional suburban development due to lower car use and higher levels of walking and use of other forms of transportation. Economic and political feasibility of New Urban development is determined by analyzing case studies, housing price premia, financing, and fiscal impact. The many contexts and perspectives involved in the planning process are analyzed to determine if New Urbanism is advisable in the larger setting in which developers, advocates, …

A Study On The Effect Of Marijuana Laws On Recidivism, Joseph L. Romano

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines the effects of more lenient marijuana policy on recidivism rates. Using data of prisoners by state it examined the effect that more lenient drug laws by state on that state's recidivism rates.

Musical Missteps: The Severity Of The Sophomore Slump In The Music Industry, Shane M. Zackery

Scripps Senior Theses

This study looks at alternative models of follow-up album success in order to determine if there is a relationship between the decrease in Metascore ratings (assigned by Metacritic.com) between the first and second album for a musician or band and the 1) music genre or 2) the number of years between the first and second album release. The results support the dominant thought, which suggests that neither belonging to a certain genre of music nor waiting more or less time to drop the second album makes an artist more susceptible to the Sophomore Slump. This finding is important because it …

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

The Efficacy Of Mathematics Education, Eric Geimer

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Evidence supports the notion that mathematics education in the United States is inadequate. There is also evidence that mathematics education deficiencies extend internationally. The worldwide mathematics education deficit appears large enough that improving student performance in this educational problem area could yield great economic benefit. To improve the efficacy of mathematics education, education’s root problems must first be understood. Often supposed educational root problems are considered and contrasted against potential deficiencies of mathematics methodologies and curricula that are based on mainstream educational philosophies. The educational philosophies utilized to form early-grade mathematics methodologies and related curricula are judged to be the …

Game Theory Meets The Humanities And Both Win Or Book Review: Game Theory And The Humanities: Bridging Two Worlds, By Steven J. Brams, Karl-Dieter Crisman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This review discusses Brams' wide-ranging book Game Theory and the Humanities and gives some basic examples of the methodology and style, including how the Theory of Moves contributes to understanding such games.

Religiosity And Its Impact On Individual Support For Welfare Spending Over Time, John P. Adams Ii

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In this paper, I will argue that individual preferences toward religion have a significant relationship with an individual’s level of support for welfare spending. Specifically, this research finds that as religiosity increases support for welfare spending decreases. This assessment is reached through Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions using the World Values Survey (WVS). Furthermore it looks to address the potential for a temporal pattern that results from these preferences. The objective of this work is to not only establish the relationship between these two individual preferences but to also illustrate the implication they may have on federal policy toward welfare …

European Integration And Anti-Money Laundering Cooperation, Allison Blauvelt

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper compares European Union anti-money laundering (AML) efforts with international efforts in scope and intensity through an analysis of the timeline of AML cooperation in Europe from 1980 to 2012, showing the creation or adoption date for relevant organizations and legislation, referred to as actions. The actors include United Nations bodies, the Financial Action Task Force, the Council of Europe, and European Union bodies. This paper also comments on the utility of different European Union (EU) integration theories in explaining the patterns in cooperation. The key finding of this paper is that international AML cooperation operates in waves, with …

The Politics And Future Of Carbon Cap-And-Trade: Lessons From The European Union, Alice H. Chang

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Economists and policy analysts recognize a well-designed cap-and-trade scheme as the premier approach to effectively reduce carbon emissions. However, politics is bound to play a major role in the policymaking process—more so with carbon dioxide emissions than other pollutants like sulfur dioxide. This paper examines the political climate in which the major trading scheme in the European Union was proposed in order to explore how politics affects the programs’ environmental integrity and ultimate policy outcome. Based on an analysis of the EU’s program, many pieces need to align within the political landscape for a cap-and-trade system to pass the policymaking …

The Political Hindrances In Solving The European Sovereign Debt Crisis, C. Cole Fairbanks

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Once revered as a progressive supranational success story, the European Union now faces excessive public debt, unemployment, and stagnation partly due to its flawed institutional design. This has become apparent in southern Eurozone countries like Portugal and Greece, which continue to suffer from strict austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund, European Commission, and European Central Bank (Troika). This report examines the politics behind the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, including the rise of Eurosceptic populist parties. Furthermore, it analyzes austerity in southern Europe, the ‘moral hazard’ argument, and the German government’s reluctance to lead Europe out the crisis. This …

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel: Ideological And Systematic Causes Of Spain's Economic Paralysis, Taylor S. Shippen

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Since 2008, Spain’s economy has suffered from an unemployment crisis. In response, voters elevated the Partido Popular (PP) to power in 2011 after becoming frustrated with the Partido Socialista Obrero Español’s (PSOE) lack of effective action. However, since the election of 2011, very little has changed in Spain’s stagnant economy. Unemployment remains high despite initially promising reforms in Spain’s labor market and a bailout for Spain’s larger banks in 2012 has done little to bring foreign investment back into the country. In this paper, I contend that the PP’s timid response to the unemployment crisis is the result of a …

Constructing Fortress Europe: Third Country Nationals As Unwelcome Guests, Robertus Anders

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Ever since the introduction of the EU’s four freedoms, EU citizens have been promised the freedom to move freely within the confines of the EU. As the EU’s population expanded through enlargement, in conjunction with growing pressure on labor market, wages and employment, European public attitudes toward immigration seem to become more polarized. Thus, immigration, especially that of the admittance of non-EU third-country nationals, may be rendered as a highly contested issue within Europe’s two-level systems. However, what is happening inside the EU, in terms of intra-EU immigration, is rarely considered within such contestation. This paper plans to address this …

Delayed Complementarity: How Schengen Area Membership Influenced German And Austrian Investment In Central And Eastern Europe, Romy L. Franks

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper considers the mutually beneficial relationship of German and Austrian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) between 2004 and 2007, and the impact that the CEE states' belated membership in the Schengen Area had on further economic integration. It analyzes how excluding CEE member states from immediate membership in the Schengen Area upon their accession to the EU in 2004 and 2007 affected the economies of Germany, Austria, and the CEE member states. The paper argues that, in reviewing actual FDI and migration numbers following EU enlargements, fears over the potentially negative effects of labor …

The Sharing Economy: Exploring The Intersection Of Collaborative Consumption And Capitalism, Ellyn E. Erving

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores how the sharing economy in America combines Collaborative Consumption ideas and social values with capitalist business models to make a profit. I discuss definitions of terms associated with the sharing economy, economic anthropological theories and case studies, as well as company and consumer motivations in sharing economy companies.

Trade Liberalization In Mexico: An Analysis Of The Anti-Export Bias, Daniel J. Serra

CMC Senior Theses

Modern trade theory suggests that protectionist policies hinder exports by altering domestic prices and production incentives. This paper examines the effect of import tariffs on Mexican non-oil exports through a comprehensive analysis of the Mexican trade sector, including a breakdown of the most important free trade agreements for the Mexican economy, information on Mexican resource mobility and factor endowment, and analysis on Mexico’s tariff structure. The paper finds that import tariffs on both intermediate and final goods have a direct and significant effect on exports, alluding to the existence of an anti-export bias, and argues that free trade is the …

Empirical Analysis Of Causes Of Income Inequality: A Level Playing Field For Children At The Start Of School Career, Ei P. Theint

Scripps Senior Theses

Numerous and countless factors have been theorized to be causes of inequality. This paper started with identifying the most important determinants of income inequality through theoretical research. Among the various theories of causes of inequality, I hypothesized creating a level playing for children at the very start of their career as students as an important determinant. In order to test the hypothesis that a level playing field is important to help fight inequality, a regression tailored for this question is created. I develop a regression model using the variable public expenditure on primary education as the variable to be tested …

Quantitative Easing's Effect On Shadow Banking: Have Federal Reserve Purchases Caused A Collateral Shortage In The Repurchase Agreement Market?, Amanda A. Schaible

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the start of the financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve has been engaging in quantitative easing. Quantitative easing is a form of open market operation in which the Federal Reserve buys long-term U.S. government and other securities, versus traditional open market operations that occur through the short-term Treasury bill market. At the same time, the shadow bank system, which is a system of financial intermediaries that perform unregulated credit intermediation outside of traditional banks, has contracted significantly. Some argue that this contraction is due to a collateral crunch induced by quantitative easing in the shadow bank system—a crunch …

Correlation Between Crime, Oxytocin, And Generosity, Alexa R. Clark

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between the type of crime of which an inmate is convicted, the change in oxytocin level, and the level of generosity of that inmate. The level of generosity is measured using a behavioral economics task called the Ultimatum Game. Studies of oxytocin have demonstrated that it is connected to generosity so it is illuminating to study it in conjunction with the generosity measure obtained in the Ultimatum Game. The results of the experiment indicate that there is no correlation between the type of crime of which an inmate is convicted and his generosity level.

"Sea Water Fish In A Freshwater Pond:" An Institutional Approach To Understanding Cooperative Scarcity In The United States, Caroline E. Malone

Scripps Senior Theses

There is remarkable cooperative organization scarcity in the United States. Particularly in the credit union and worker cooperative sectors, this scarcity is not satisfactorily explained by neo-classical economic models that assume competitive conditions and profit-maximizing organizations. This paper supplements the conventional economic understandings of credit union and worker cooperative scarcity with an institutional analysis. Mechanisms of coercive, mimetic, and normative institutional isomorphism developed in DiMaggio and Powell’s theory of organizational isomorphism are applied to provide greater understanding of credit union and worker cooperative scarcity in the US. It appears that these forces of isomorphism work in conjunction with one another, …

Energy Storage In The Golden State: An Analysis Of The Regulatory And Economic Landscape., Ryan H. Higgins

Pomona Senior Theses

On October 1st, 2013, a mandate was adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) requiring that 1.325 GW of energy storage capability be installed on the California electricity grid by 2024, through the actions of the state’s three investor-owned utilities. While this is a bold first step towards mandated energy storage in the United States, it may be only the beginning for an energy storage industry in this state. It has been well established that energy storage would prove to be a useful asset on the California electrical grid, but the development of storage capacity past the requirements of …

Africa Rising: Corruption & Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Kunaal A. Chande

CMC Senior Theses

Using a panel data set spanning from 2005 to 2012 and drawn from 35 Sub-Saharan

African countries, this paper examines the relative impact of corruption on the

inflow of foreign direct investment. This study is motivated by the recent influx of

political and media attention on the African continent that is poised to receive

billions of dollars in investment over the coming years. It is argued in this paper that

there is no significant link between the two variables. There did appear to be a

negative skew meaning higher levels of perceived corruption resulted in less FDI

inflows, while few …

The Effect Of Natural Disasters On Volunteerism, Alexander P. Kalish

CMC Senior Theses

The power of natural disasters to significantly and drastically alter the lives of the people they touch is vast, and the response rate of the provided aid can be the difference between a successful recovery and not. This study examines the relationship between natural disasters and volunteerism. The analysis makes use of panel data measurements on volunteer rate and volunteer hours per resident as well as FEMA measurements of major natural disasters from 2005 – 2012. I find that states that experience a natural disaster in the current year experience a significant and positive increase in volunteer rate in the …

The Rise Of Private Equity In China: A Case Study Of Successful And Failed Foreign Private Equity Investments, June Kim

CMC Senior Theses

China's transition from a planned economy to a market economy has brought about remarkably rapid economic growth. Year after year, China boasted of double-digit growth rates since the early 1990s. Attracted by China's so-called "economic miracle," foreign investors began entering the Chinese market hoping to benefit from the country's vast array of financial opportunities. Private equity, particularly a leveraged buyout, was an unfamiliar concept in China until late 1990s. Now China has become the most attractive destination among emerging markets for private equity investment. Global private equity firms are currently raising billions of dollars for funds focusing on China because …

The Impact Of Fitness Technology On Health Outcomes, Megan C. Kelley

CMC Senior Theses

Using 2014 data compiled from a sample of Claremont McKenna undergraduate students, I examine the effect that fitness technology (i.e., mobile and wearable technology) has on users' health outcomes. Specifically, I find no effect of mobile or wearable use on self-reported health. However, I do find some evidence of mobile use on weight but not wearable. Applying a basic OLS regression analysis, I show that mobile users tend to be heavier than non-mobile users irrespective of gender. Furthermore, I find that contemporaneous health on prior mobile use show higher weight levels compared to non- mobile prior users. Such findings provide …

Can The Chinese Economy Affect The Us Stock Market? The Case Of The 2008 Chinese Stimulus Package, Jacqueline M. Lee

CMC Senior Theses

The Chinese stimulus package of 2008 was a response by the government to rebound the second largest economy from the effects of the Global Financial Crisis. The package was one of the largest, and arguably one of the most successful, in boosting demand and spurring growth through targeting infrastructure projects and consumer spending. This paper investigates whether the package had any spillover effects on the US industrial and consumption companies with large markets in China through the time series multiple regression technique. This paper found that Chinese net exports had some explanatory power over the consumption companies, and the US …

Developing An Efficient High-Trust Model Within Audit Teams, Julian James L. Laguisma

CMC Senior Theses

An examination into dyadic trust relationships within an audit engagement team and development of a model to efficiently optimize trust.