This Is ``What's In Your Wallet'' ... And Here's How You Use It, Tamás Briglevics, Scott Schuh

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Consumer wallets have more means of payment yet cash still is used most. We develop a dynamic structural model blending cash inventory management and payment instrument choice. For each expenditure, consumers endogenously pay with cash, debit card, or credit card with an option to withdraw cash beforehand. The model is estimated with transaction- level data from a daily consumer payment diary and reveals that utility from payment services exceed cash management costs. For payment card owners, optimal cash holdings are about $50 and jointly determined with the share of cash payments. Eliminating either cash or payment cards reduces consumer welfare …

Localization Economies And Firm Productivity: Evidence From Football Teams In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Brad Humphreys, Amir B. Neto

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Agglomeration economies affect urban economic outcomes. We analyze variation in sports team productivity and localization of teams across divisions and cities in Campeonato Paulista an annual football competition in São Paulo state, Brazil, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in localization generated by a promotion and relegation system in this league. Results show that both urbanization, proxied by population, and localization affects short and long run team productivity. These results provide new evidence on the importance of localization economies in the urban economy in developing countries and shed light on why sports teams in larger cities enjoy more success than those in …

The State And War On Poverty: British Welfare Development And Its Legacies For Malawi, 1930s-1983, Gift Wasambo Kayira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation documents the struggles and dilemmas that the Malawian state endured as it attempted to achieve its developmental goals from the 1930s to 1983. It contributes to histories of development by focusing on the interventions both the colonial and postcolonial states made to improve the living standards of African rural communities, the ideas which shaped state programs, and the behavior of the state which such interventions reveal. Scholars typically argue that state policy in Malawi was necessarily destructive and limited the economic progress of the local communities. The state deliberately pursued land, market, and other agricultural policies that constrained …

Topics In Cultural And Entertainment Economics, Justin W. Parker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During the first 60 years of television broadcasting, prime time programming was dominated by the "Big Three" networks--NBC, ABC, and CBS. Their dominance in the market functioned as an oligopoly, supported by longstanding regulatory structures. Beginning in the 1970s, a wave of deregulation and change from satellite technology swept the industry, making it easier for other firms to enter the market. In 1986, the premiere of FOX saw a viable fourth network break through to compete with the Big Three. This paper analyzes inefficiencies on both the cost and content production side of prime time television, using survival analysis to …

Three Essays On Energy Economics, Alexandre Ribeiro Scarcioffolo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three essays that explore empirical issues concerning energy prices in the United States. In particular, it analyzes the price transmission within and across different energy markets and their interactions with the overall economy. The first essay evaluates the dynamic spatial integration in the U.S. natural gas market and the relative importance of each location in the overall price discovery process. I show that the regional natural gas market is on average well-integrated in both the short- and long-runs, although market integration has declined over the past few years due to pipeline capacity constraints in an increasingly …

Microfinance In Latin America: Poverty Alleviation And The Impact Of Institutional Mimicry, Lindsay Jouben

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Microfinance has become a program of choice in the international development community. The World Bank has promoted microfinance programs under the idea that poverty alleviation can be accomplished by mainly providing credit. [1] As such, these policies are often replicated throughout the developing world. This replication is done through international organizations adopting a standard of best practices for the microfinance field. Best practices consist of a complex set of standard by which all banks must adhere if they receive funding from the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. These best practices, following neoliberal economics, lay out how microfinance should operate …

Three Essays In Law And Economics, Daniel Bonneau

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation investigates three relevant topics in law and economics literature. The first chapter explores the effectiveness of a crime prevention policy in Detroit, Project Green Light. This initiative began in 2016 and was aimed at reducing crime around high-risk businesses. Reductions in crime can be found in the business block that housed the green light, with a potential diffusion of benefits to their immediate neighbors. Using calls for service produces mixed results and suggest that there may be an increase in proactive policing within these areas. Lastly, response times do appear to decrease significantly. The second chapter empirically evaluates …

Three Essays In Public Economics, Perry Ferrell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation investigates policy-relevant topics in public economics and law and economics. The first chapter applies the transitional gains trap to legal land title enfranchisement in developing countries. The second chapter examines the role of US Forest Service avalanche forecasting operations in preventing human-involved backcountry avalanche accidents. The final chapter explores what extent local newspaper coverage has on traffic stop behavior by local law enforcement. In the first chapter “Titles For Me But Not For Thee: Transitional Gains Trap of Property Rights Extension in Colombia” I apply Tullock’s “transitional gains trap” to the formalization of property titles in Latin America …

Essays On The Political Economy Of Governance, Yang Zhou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation studies the governance structure and its economic impacts in the Chinese context. Specifically, I use a public choice framework to analyze how institutions influence economic and political activities of both public officials and private sectors. Chapter 1 employs the synthetic control method to investigate the effects of institutions to regional economic development. Chongqing Municipality, a province-level region in China, had a unique leader from late 2007 to early 2012 who conducted red ideology movements and legal intervention. The empirical results reveal that although the economic policies promoted the Chongqing economy, the Maoist political policies partially undermined its economic …

Three Essays On “Production And Technical Efficiency”, Douglas Mugabe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines production and or technical efficiencies in agricultural and energy systems. The first essay examines production capabilities of smallholder corn farmers following Zimbabwe’s fast track land reform program of 2000. This paper accounts for semi-parametric production frontier to provide more reliable efficiency estimates than can be obtained using traditional parametric methods. The second essay examines efficiency and state level fuel substitution in the US electricity generation sector. I apply the recent fixed effects stochastic frontier estimation to understand the implications of changes in inter-fuel substitution for technical efficiency. The third essay examines the role of drilled but uncompleted …

Essays In Development Economics, Zachary Rodriguez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My dissertation focuses on several fields of study within economics. The common lens through which I ask all my questions is development economics. I employ health and public economics to aide in the interpretation and discussion of my analyses. Separately, my chapters explore issues related positive spillovers from overcompetition in contests, demand for financial services among low-income households, and the empowerment of women through access to guaranteed employment. Collectively, my dissertation offers evidence and insight regarding how we analyze and improve development initiatives that aim to change the lives of people who are poor or ill.

Three Essays On Health Economics And Policy Evaluation, Shishir Shakya

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation consists of three essays on the U.S. Health care policy. Each paragraph below refers to the three abstracts for the three chapters in this dissertation, respectively. I provide quantitative evidence on how much Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) affects the retail opioid prescribing behaviors. Using the American Community Survey (ACS), I retrieve county-level high dimensional panel data set from 2010 to 2017. I employ three separate identification strategies: difference-in-difference, double selection post-LASSO, and spatial difference-in-difference. I compare how the retail opioid prescribing behaviors of counties, that are mandatory for prescribers to check the PDMP before prescribing controlled substances …

A Contemporary Tale Of Two Countries - State Of Children In India And Pakistan, Arijit Ray

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Some common economic problems of the Indian subcontinent are its low per-capita income, major dependence on agriculture, heavy population pressure, chronic unemployment, slow capital formation, limited opportunity for human capital development, rising pollution, and heavy inequality in the wealth distribution. Each of these problems affects its children in its unique way, both directly and indirectly. However, some problems are human-made which directly affect its own existence. I focus on two countries in the Indian subcontinent: India and Pakistan, where such problems exist. In both societies, female children are valued less than male children, a common theme across many other countries …

Essays On Employment Growth, Wage Discrimination, And Marijuana Legalization, Candon Johnson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The opening chapter covers the impact of the Olympic Games on employment growth. The Olympics Games stand as the largest sporting event in the world. The Games include approximately 200 countries during the Summer Olympic Games and 90 countries competing in the Winter Games, each occurring once every four years. Potential host cities fiercely compete to host the games under the guise of economic prosperity. Event promoters claim substantial economic benefits, such as employment growth, to be had from hosting these costly games. This paper examines the impacts of the Olympic Games on employment growth rates using a synthetic control …

Three Essays In Applied Econometrics: Understanding Population Changes, Samuel P. Taylor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This body of work consists of three research projects developed around a central theme – what might cause a person to leave the place where they live? As a native and resident of West Virginia, this question is not a purely academic one. My region has long struggled with how to retain our “best and brightest” in the face of challenging socio-economic conditions. Looking at the question differently, understanding what negative influences may exist to cause a person that might otherwise have remained in a place to leave, could provide large influences on policy and strategy for retention of residents …

Wheeling Area Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Wheeling Area has experienced significant economic volatility over the past several years, with the region’s economy swinging back to strong growth in 2018 thanks to surging natural gas production and massive levels of pipeline construction activity. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the Wheeling Area economy along with our forecast for regional economic conditions for the next five years.

The New River Gorge Area Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The New River Gorge Area enjoyed its second calendar year of growth in 2018 but despite recent growth in coal production and construction activity, the region’s economy continues to struggle in some ways with the lingering effects of a deep economic downturn that occurred between 2012 and 2016. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the New River Gorge Area’s recent economic performance along with our forecast for the likely path of economic activity over the next five years.

The Eastern Panhandle Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Eastern Panhandle (EPH) has been West Virginia’s strongest economic region for much of the past decade. Numerous economic indicators point to broad strength in the area’s economy and the region’s performance tends to stack up well against national-level economic measures. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of the current state of the EPH economy along with our forecast for the likely path of economic activity over the next five years.

West Virginia Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins, Eric Bowen, Christiadi, Dallas Mullett, Aidan Farnum, Shaun Gilyard, Danielle Kaminski, William Wagstaff

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

West Virginia registered its strongest year of economic growth in more than a decade during 2018, marking the state’s second year of recovery after a protracted economic downturn that lasted for much of the period between 2012 and 2016. The energy sector has driven most of West Virginia’s economic rebound, particularly the abundance of natural gas pipeline construction activity occurring throughout the state. Most of the state’s economic regions have seen conditions improve over the past couple of years but gains in jobs and output remain concentrated from a geographic perspective as a several counties account for have accounted for …

North Central West Virginia Economic Outlook: 2020-2024, Brian Lego, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

North Central West Virginia has remained one of the state’s healthiest economic regions and continued to post solid job growth over the past couple of years. Even with some recent job losses by at one of the area’s largest employers and protracted stoppages to natural gas pipeline projects, the area has recorded solid gains in income and employment and all four of the region’s counties have shown varying degrees of improvement across a range of labor market indicators. In this report, we present a detailed discussion of North Central West Virginia’s economy along with our forecast for regional conditions for …

Economic Impact Of The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve On West Virginia, Christiadi, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

No abstract provided.

Better Understanding Human Capital In West Virginia, Christiadi, John Deskins

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

No abstract provided.

Natural Gas Investment In West Virginia, 2010-2016, Eric Bowen

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

West Virginia’s natural gas boom began in 2010 as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques began to be applied to the state’s shale formations. Since then, West Virginia has become the nation’s ninth-largest natural gas producer in 2017, with gross withdrawals of more than 1.6 trillion cubic feet. Since the gas boom started, the natural gas industry has made considerable investments in the state to pay for well drilling, mineral royalties, and pipeline infrastructure, among other investment costs. In this report, we estimate these investments in two key areas: upstream costs and midstream infrastructure.

Parkersburg Area Economic Outlook 2019-2024, Danielle Kaminski, Patrick Opitz, Ian Wylie, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Parkersburg Area economy has generally struggled over the past several years. The five-county region avoided the economic downturn that plagued several regions in West Virginia between 2012 and 2015, as payrolls increased nearly 2,000 during this period of time. In more recent years, however, the Parkersburg Area economy has struggled significantly, with payrolls falling by more than 3,700 by mid-2018. The region’s economy does appear to have stabilized thanks to some recent growth in natural gas output and pipeline infrastructure as well as continued development of the Hino manufacturing facility, economic recovery remains tenuous due to structural issues that …

Huntington Area Economic Outlook 2019-2024, Emily Frasa, Will Mccleery, Tucker Miller, Trip Patterson, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

No abstract provided.

The Weirton Area Economic Outlook 2019-2024, Sarah Alway, Garrett Cathell, William Wagstaff, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

No abstract provided.

The Greenbrier Valley Economic Outlook 2019-2024, Henry Barkey-Bircann, Patrick Klaas, John Maltby, John Deskins, Brian Lego

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Ethanol Plant Location On Corn Revenues For U.S. Farmers, Ani L. Katchova, Ana Claudia Sant'anna

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

settings Open AccessArticle

Impact of Ethanol Plant Location on Corn Revenues for U.S. Farmers

by Ani L. Katchova 1,* andAna Claudia Sant’Anna 2 1 Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA 2 Division of Resource Economics and Management, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Sustainability 2019, 11(22), 6512; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226512 Received: 22 October 2019 / Revised: 11 November 2019 / Accepted: 15 November 2019 / Published: 19 November 2019 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Green, Closed Loop, Circular Bio-Economy) …

Willingness To Pay For Wind Versus Natural Gas Generation Of Electricity, Kofi Nkansah, Alan R. Collins

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In 2009, West Virginia enacted an Alternative and Renewable Portfolio Act (APRA) to broaden its energy use for electricity beyond coal. A choice experiment survey was conducted to assess West Virginians’ willingness to pay (WTP) for 10 percent of electricity generated from wind energy versus natural gas. Results showed that residential consumers preferred electricity generated from wind, with annual per-capita WTP averaging from $19.25 to $26.75. Given the subsequent repeal of the APRA in 2015, we propose implementation of a voluntary green pricing program as an alternative policy to increase the share of renewable energy in West Virginia's energy portfolio.

Air Quality And Asthma Hospitalization: Evidence Of Pm2.5 Concentrations In Pennsylvania Counties, Elham Erfanian, Alan R. Collins

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

According to the World Health Organization, 235 million people around the world currently suffer from asthma, which includes approximately 25 million in the United States. There is substantial epidemiological evidence indicating linkages between outdoor air pollution and asthma symptoms, more specifically between concentrations of particulate matter and asthma. Using county level data for 2001-2014, a spatial panel framework is imposed based upon prevailing wind patterns to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of PM2.5 concentration levels on asthma hospitalization in Pennsylvania. This model controls for population density, precipitation, smoking rate, and population demographic variables. Results show that PM2.5 concentrations as …