Economics Commons^™

Measuring The Effect Of Conflict On Oil Production And Prices, Benjamin Skomsky

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper examines the degree to which armed conflict interrupts oil production, and the effects of these supply shocks on the region-specific oil prices. By measuring the effect of conflict on oil output, I aim to quantify one important and underexamined economic cost of conflict. By examining the effect on oil prices, I hope to provide new empirical evidence on the global demand curve for oil and the substitutability of demand across alternative oil types.

Sorting And Statistical Discrimination In Schools: An Analysis Using The National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Health, Anil Nathan

Economics Department Working Papers

The rigorous economic analysis of peer group formation is a burgeoning subject. Much has been written about how peers in uence an individual's behavior, and these effects are quite prevalent. However, less has been written on how exactly these peer groups begin and the resulting consequences of their formation. A reason for the dearth of knowledge on peer group formation is the lack of quality data sets that clearly define one's peers. To resolve this issue, this paper explores data which allows a peer group to be defined openly through self nominations. Using these nominations as well as characteristics of …

Essays On Knowledge, Technology, And Economic Growth, Sung-Min Kim

All Dissertations

This thesis is motivated by the question, how does computer-related technological change affect the individual's incentive to acquire specialized knowledge? Specifically, will the impact of technological change be homogeneous for all workers regardless of their idiosyncratic characteristics such as educational attainments or occupation? If not, then how do the heterogeneous effects from advances in computer-related technology change the labor market? Based on the related theoretical frameworks from the literature, Chapter 2 focuses on the empirical implementations of heterogeneous impacts of information and communication technology on between-occupation wage differentials and within-group wage differentials, and Chapter 3 examines the impact of computerization …

Essays In Public Choice: The Settings That Foster Increased Educational Quality, Interest Group Activity And Economic Development, Leslee Conaway

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
The following essays in public choice are concerned with two main subjects: changes in public educational quality due to competition from surrounding private schools and the settings that foster increased interest group activity and what impact that activity has on the relative economic development of US states. While these subjects may seem varied, they are both important in understanding differences in economic development.
Education has long been associated with economic expansion, so it is important to understand the impacts that private markets for education have on its public provision. In Chapter II, I look at whether there are competitive …

2008 Virginia Beach Tourism Economic Impact Study, Gilbert R. Yochum, Vinod Agarwal

Economics Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to estimate the total economic impact and the direct taxes and fees generated by the 2008 in-flow of visitors to the City of Virginia Beach's tourist industry. Total tourism economic impact is defined as the sum of direct, indirect and induced output, employment and earnings that result from visitor spending in Virginia Beach.

The Economics Of Fundamentalism, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Growing religious fundamentalism in Pakistan and other muslim countries has aroused a lot of anxiety particularly among the urban educated middle classes. Their lifestyles are at serious risk and the recent speculations that Taliban were about to take overPeshawarhad left a lot of chill in the spines of most of the people belonging to this class.

Why is fundamentalism despite its obscurantist and unreal view of Islam spreading so fast? Why did Hamas sweep the elections in Palestine? Why are other fringe religious organizations gaining popularity in other Muslim countries?

Most of the analyses explaining the resurgence of fundamentalism in …

What Do Consumers Really Pay On Their Checking And Credit Card Accounts? Explicit, Implicit, And Avoidable Costs, Victor Stango, Jonathan Zinman

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis Of International Reserves, Yin-Wong Cheung, Hiro Ito

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using data from more than 100 economies for the period of 1975 to 2005, we conduct an extensive empirical analysis of the determinants of international reserve holdings. Four groups of determinants, namely, traditional macro variables, financial variables, institutional variables, and dummy variables that control for individual economies’ characteristics are considered. We find that the relationship between international reserves and their determinants is significantly different between developed and developing economies and is not stable over time. The estimation results indicate that, especially during the recent period, a developed economy tends to hold a lower level of international reserves than a developing …

Three Essays On The Effects Of Reverting Capital Flows On U.S. Financial Markets, Rahames A. Lizardo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The United States has been running, for a long time now, an-increasing current account deficit. In fact, the U.S. has a current account deficit with most countries in the world. The implication is that Americans have been enjoying an ever-increasing standard of living by consuming way more than what they produce, not only manufactured goods, but also important commodities such as oil. In other words, a significant fraction of our prosperity is based on borrowing rather than increased production. These persistent deficits, which translate into additional indebtedness by the U.S. and an-ever increasing amount of dollars reserves by countries such …

The U.S. Economic Crisis: Another "Lost Decade"?, Paula Chungsathaporn

Honors College Theses

America is experiencing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression originating with problems from mortgage backed securities and seeping into every major sector in the economy. We have witnessed the downfall or government takeover of some of the most powerful companies in the country, contributing to the highest unemployment rate America has seen in decades. During the 1990s, Japan experienced what is commonly referred to as “the lost decade,” a period of prolonged stagnant growth. Many similarities can be drawn between the current U.S. crisis and the Japanese crisis of the late 90s. The macroeconomic conditions that caused the …

Financial Instability, Reserves, And Central Bank Swap Lines In The Panic Of 2008, Maurice Obstfeld, Jay C. Shambaugh, Alan M. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Contracting In The Pharmaceutical Industry: Predicting Payments In Strategic Alliances, Jonathan Altman

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
This paper empirically analyzes how circumstances affect the creation of strategic alliances in the pharmaceutical industry, and the form these alliances take. The models introduced in this paper use the cost of capital and monitoring costs to predict the timing of the deal, which in turn allows the prediction of the deal type. The deal type is then used to predict payment types used in the deal. Deals are characterized by five payment types; upfront, royalty, milestone, equity, and research payments. Deals are also characterized by one of five deal types; co-development, license, acquisition, outsource, and asset purchase. Each …

Measuring And Detecting Political Forces, Ann Zerkle

All Dissertations

The essays in my dissertation explore the impact of political action on everyday life by utilizing the modern theory of political economy and investigating the 'unintended' consequences of political behavior. Specifically, the first essay studies the impact on communities when the Army activates reservists and guardsmen. The second essay challenges traditional ways of measuring electoral data, helping in the understanding of election campaigns. The third essay demonstrates the new electoral measure to ask and answer, 'Did Bush bring home troops to bolster campaign support in 2004?'

Hype My Stock: Do Firms Really Want Biased Research?, Roger Loh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Analyst research is alleged to be biased because of conflicts of interest when analysts’ employers underwrite securities for the firms covered. I posit that affiliated analyst optimism should be the strongest for offering firms with a desire to over-inflate stock prices. I hypothesize that a firm’s corporate governance and its CEO incentives are related to the affiliation bias. Using stock recommendations data, I find evidence that the affiliation bias is indeed more pervasive for firms with high CEO wealth sensitivity to stock price (i.e., high CEO delta). The larger affiliation bias for high delta firms remains even after the introduction …

Theories Of Poverty/The Poverty Of Theory, Barbara Stark

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Coping With Dr-Cafta: Assessing The Impact Of The Agreement And Designing Adjustment Programs For Sensitive Agriculture In Honduras, Alvaro Durand-Morat

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Honduras has for almost two decades embraced economic integration as a way to achieve sustained economic growth. The DR-CAFTA agreement signed in 2004 represents another step towards economic openness. The agreement generated a heated debate about the benefits and costs to the Honduran economy. Previous assessments suggest that Honduras will have a marginal aggregate benefit from DR-CAFTA. The findings from this study suggest that the agreement might actually yield a marginal loss vis-à-vis the counterfactual. Previous studies also stress the potential for large losses resulting from the agreement, particularly for some traditional and sensitive agricultural sectors. The findings from this …

اسلامی بنیاد پرستی کی معاشی وجوہات, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

No abstract provided.

Structural Attributes Associated With The Prevalence Of Hate Groups: A State-Level Analysis, Paula Jean Kutneski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the number of hate groups increasing 54 percent since 2000, it is important to understand what is triggering these groups to form in geographical areas. The current study examined whether structural characteristics predicted the number of hate groups within a state. Using hate group listings from the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report and U. S. Census data from 2000, this study explored a state's racial and ethnic heterogeneity, economic disadvantage, and regional location to explain hate group existence within that state. Employing correlations, Chi-Square analyses, multiple and logistic regressions, and a conjunctive analysis, this study found that a …

Probing The Mechanics Of Environmental Kuznets Curve Theory, Jeremy Lynn Kidd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The theory of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) proposes to answer important questions regarding the connections between economic growth (development) and the environment. The theory postulates the environment need not always suffer as the economy develops, and it has generated strong support and opposition. Rather than attempting to defend or debunk EKC theory, this research challenges a practice engaged in by proponents and opponents alike. Simplifying assumptions are a necessary part of economic analysis, but this research shows that any assumptions may not be universally applicable. Utilizing, in turn, a simple one-good model and then a more complicated two-good model, …

Payroll Taxes, Wealth And Employment In Neoclassical Theory: Neutrality Or Non-Neutrality?, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

The theoretical proposition that temporarily below-normal tax rates on labor this year, when merged with the prospect of reversion to normal rates next year, will encourage households to squeeze more work into this year and to work less in future years is well-founded. This proposition was recently tested anew on Icelandic data and performed well empirically (Bianchi, Gudmundsson and Zoega (2001)). But would a permanent cut in tax rates on labor encourage more work permanently—with no diminution of effectiveness? Conversely, does a permanent increase in tax rates on labor cause a permanent decline in hours worked?

A Paradox Of Inconsistent Parametric And Consistent Nonparametric Regression, Peter C. B. Phillips, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper explores a paradox discovered in recent work by Phillips and Su (2009). That paper gave an example in which nonparametric regression is consistent whereas parametric regression is inconsistent even when the true regression functional form is known and used in regression. This appears to be a paradox, as knowing the true functional form should not in general be detrimental in regression. In the present case, local regression methods turn out to have a distinct advantage because of endogeneity in the regressor. The paradox arises because additional correct information is not necessarily advantageous when information is incomplete. In the …

Using High-Frequency Transaction Data To Estimate The Probability Of Informed Trading, Anthony S. Tay, Christopher Ting, Yiu Kuen Tse, Mitchell Warachka

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper applies the asymmetric autoregressive conditional duration (AACD) model of Bauwens and Giot (2003) to estimate the probability of informed trading (PIN) using irregularly spaced transaction data. We model trade direction (buy versus sell orders) and the duration between trades jointly. Unlike the Easley, Hvidkjaer, and O'Hara (2002) approach, which uses the aggregate numbers of daily buy and sell orders to estimate PIN, our methodology allows for interactions between consecutive buy-sell orders and accounts for the duration between trades and the volume of trade. We extend the Easley–Hvidkjaer–O'Hara framework by allowing the probabilities of good news and bad news …

Nonparametric Structural Estimation Via Continuous Location Shifts In An Endogenous Regressor, Peter C. B. Phillips, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

Recent work by Wang and Phillips (2009b, c) has shown that ill posed inverse problems do not arise in nonstationary nonparametric regression and there is no need for nonparametric instrumental variable estimation. Instead, simple Nadaraya Watson nonparametric estimation of a (possibly nonlinear) cointegrating regression equation is consistent with a limiting (mixed) normal distribution irrespective of the endogeneity in the regressor, near integration as well as integration in the regressor, and serial dependence in the regression equation. The present paper shows that some closely related results apply in the case of structural nonparametric regression with independent data when there are continuous …

New Mexico Labor Market Review 04-30-2009, New Mexico Department Of Workforce Solutions

Historic Publications

The New Mexico Labor Market Review is a monthly publication presenting statistical data and analysis on labor market conditions throughout New Mexico. Issues examine statewide and regional trends in employment, unemployment, labor force estimates, industry activity, wages, occupational demand, and related economic conditions, often accompanied by feature articles on topics affecting the state’s economy. This issue covers March 2009.

Against The Tide: Household Structure, Opportunities, And Outcomes Among White And Minority Youth, Carolyn J. Hill, Harry J. Holzer, Henry Chen

Upjohn Press

The authors examine the effects of household structure on young adults and how these effects might have contributed to the negative trends in educational and employment outcomes observed for young minorities over time.

Stats Or Studs: Does It Pay To Be Good Looking? The Economic Impact Of Lookism, Lisle O'Neill

Business and Economics Honors Papers

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a phrase that exemplifies the subjectivity of attractiveness. In recent years, researchers in the fields of economics, sociology, and anaplasty have used symmetry analysis in an attempt to make beauty an objective issue. People characterized by greater facial symmetry, as defined by exhibiting balanced lateral proportions, are considered to be more attractive. Furthermore, labor economists, such as Hamermesh and Biddle (1994), suggest a wage premium for more attractive individuals, however, the measure of attractiveness was not based on symmetry. This study examines the effect of NFL quarterbacks' attractiveness on …

Do Bank Bailouts Work? The Effect Of Reconstruction Finance Corporation Aid During The Crisis Of 1933, Katherine Bobroff

Scripps Senior Theses

Do bank bailouts work? Government aid initiatives implemented to stem the current crisis raise important questions about the role of monetary policy in preventing bank failures. The scale of this bailout program defies comparison with any other aid package implemented in the post-World War II period. Fortunately, the operations of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) during the Great Depression provide a historical experiment to examine the effects of government rescue programs on financial institutions. This paper examines the effects of the RFC's loan and preferred stock programs on bank failure rates during the crisis of 1933. Using a new database …

Is There Country-Of-Origin Bias In The Video Game Market?, Keaton C. White

Economics Honors Projects

This paper tests for the existence of country-of-origin bias in the video game market. Using aggregate sales data from Japan and the US, I measure the effect of country-of-origin on video game sales in each respective country while controlling for genre, system, quality, and target age group, as well as domestically targeted games and superstar effects. I find that a significant country-of-origin bias exists in both game markets in favor of domestic titles.

A Bioeconomic Approach To Marriage And The Sexual Division Of Labor, Michael Gurven, Jeffrey Winking, Hillard Kaplan, Christopher Von Rueden, Lisa Mcallister

ESI Publications

Children may be viewed as public goods whereby both parents receive equal genetic benefits yet one parent often invests more heavily than the other.We introduce a microeconomic framework for understanding household investment decisions to address questions concerning conflicts of interest over types and amount of work effort among married men and women. Although gains and costs of marriage may not be spread equally among marriage partners, marriage is still a favorable, efficient outcome under a wide range of conditions. This bioeconomic framework subsumes both cooperative and conflictive views on the sexual division of labor. We test hypotheses concerning marriage markets, …

Social And Economic Indicators Typifying The Community's Health, George A. Erickcek, Bridget Timmeney, Brad R. Watts, Brian Pittelko

Reports

No abstract provided.