Economics Commons^™

The Case For Extending Patent Terms For Drugs That Treat Rare Diseases, Joanna Louise Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper seeks to determine if extended patent terms can positively effect the production of drugs that treat rare diseases. It reviews the structure of the modern pharmaceutical company and considers the regulatory history that lead to this structure. The paper applies historically significant economic research in the field of patents and considers patent alternatives to establish the best method for incentivizing the development of these drugs. The paper finds that while there are numerous pitfalls and issues with the patent method, there are no viable alternatives. It also concludes that extending patent terms for drugs that treat rare diseases …

The Pursuit Of Balanced Income: An Economic Perspective On Wealth, Calvin E. Pierce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to determine if households with moderate incomes have the opportunity to acquire pecuniary wealth. In an environment of increasing globalization, labor-eliminating technology, and an overburdened entitlement system, the position of wealth is necessary for households with a penchant for early retirement and particularly for those that will inevitably succumb to involuntary retirement. In these writings, qualitative and quantitative descriptions of wealth are offered; two microeconomic metrics are introduced to identify baseline wealth and to gauge proximity to this value; and strategies are devised to close the gap between these metrics.

The construct of the …

The Role Of Private International Financial Capital Flows In Support Of Development For Emerging Market Countries, Jason Victor Reuter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Economic growth and development are critical issues for emerging market economies as they seek increase their standards of living. Financial globalization, innovation and international financial capital flows are prominent factors influencing macroeconomic stability and the pace of growth and development around the globe. This dynamic has become even more pronounced since the Asian Financial Crisis at the end of the 1990s and the Global Financial Crisis starting in 2008. In the wake of these two global economic events, the need for reflection on the drivers of growth and development as well as impediments to these activities is warranted. This thesis …

Funding Public Services: Opinions Of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans, 2013 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, Eric Thompson

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans seem content with current levels of spending on many public services and activities. Over one-half propose no changes in the level of spending for most of the public services listed. Only one item, unemployment compensation, had a majority say they would like to see less spending for it. And, many rural Nebraskans would propose an increase in spending for education as well as roads and bridges.

Not surprising, many groups favor an increase in spending on items important to them. Younger persons are more likely than older persons to favor an increase in spending for education. Persons …

Keeping The Doctor Away: Experimental Evidence On Investment In Preventative Health Products, Jennifer Meredith, Jonathan Robinson, Sarah Walker, Bruce Wydick

Economics Faculty Publications

Household investment in preventative health products in developing countries is typically low even though the returns to such products are high. In this paper, we experimentally estimate demand curves for health products and test whether (1) information about health risk, (2) cash liquidity, (3) peer effects, and (4) intra-household differences in preferences affect demand. In our main experiment in Kenya involving children’s shoes - critical for preventing hookworm infection - price is by far the most important predictor of purchase. Providing liquidity and targeting women also increased demand. Information had no effect even though we find that genuine learning occurred. …

Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study Of Impacts On Adult Life Outcomes, Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, Laine Rutledge

Economics Faculty Publications

Child sponsorship is a leading form of direct aid from wealthy country households to children in developing countries. Over 9 million children are supported through international sponsorship organizations. Using data from six countries, we estimate impacts on several outcomes from sponsorship through Compassion International, a leading child sponsorship organization. To identify program effects, we utilize an age-eligibility rule implemented when programs began in new villages. We find large, statistically significant impacts on years of schooling; primary, secondary, and tertiary school completion; and the probability and quality of employment. Early evidence suggests that these impacts are due, in part, to increases …

Award-Winning Economists Speak On Contemporary Economic Issues 2013-14, Department Of Economics

Werner Sichel Lecture Series

“Award-Winning Economists Speak on Contemporary Economic Issues” Lectures will be held in 2028 Brown Hall from 3-4:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. This year’s Sichel Series is directed by Professor Jean Kimmel and is co-sponsored by WMU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Speakers: Erica Field “Making Microfinance Work”, Nancy Folbre “The Once (But No Longer) Golden Age of Human Capital”, Avner Greif “Economic Development from a Historical Perspective: The Origin and Nature of Good Institutions”, David Kreps “The Economics and Psychology of Worker Motivation”, Michael Piore “Efficient and Effective Economic …

Rethinking The Connections Between Female Empowerment And Gender Bias In Child Births And Survival In Urban India, Sucharita Sinha Mukherjee

Economics Faculty Publications

Notwithstanding improvements in female work and educational achievements persistent and increasing female survival disadvantage is a feature of urban India’s demography. A temporal and cross sectional analysis of most recent available data from the Census of India while reaffirming the positive association between female work and the birth and survival of more female children, fails to reconfirm the oft emphasized positive connection between female education and increased survival of girl children. Relatively high levels of female education, by being indicative of household socioeconomic status may be associated with increased ability to discriminate especially in the presence of cultural biases resulting …

State Of The Northwest Arkansas Region 2013 Report, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report

The State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report is an annual publication that serves as a tool for evaluating the economic performance of the region in comparison with those peers that are most likely to compete with Northwest Arkansas by virtue of a similar industry mix or geographic proximity. As a player in the global economy, Northwest Arkansas has more to off er than superior performance in traditional economic development categories such as employment, unemployment, establishment growth, and income. This region showcases strengths in newer categories of economic development like the knowledge-based sectors, and quality of life indicators such as …

The Relationship Between Inequality And Economic Growth: Evidence From Latin America, Amanda Gallagher

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the complex relationship between income inequality and economic growth in the Latin American region. This study conducts an empirical analysis using economic growth as the dependent variable, to determine the impact inequality has on economic growth. This study uses panel data from countries in Latin America over the time period of 1994-2009. The empirical results show a negative relationship between inequality and economic growth in the Latin American region. In addition, the level of government expenditure and taxation in the countries impact economic growth.

Carbon Emissions And Economic Growth: A Granger Causality Analysis Across 18 Countries, Rohan Vakil

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

In this paper, an analysis of the relationship between Economic Growth and Carbon Emissions will be done using data from 9 Developed Countries, and 9 Less Developed Countries, as determined by the World Bank and United Nations. The countries analyzed will be Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America (9 Developed Countries); and India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa (9 Less Developed Countries). This research expands on the research done by Barassi and Spagnolo (2012), and Coondoo and Dinda (2003).

Determinants Of Fdi Inflows Into South America, Dario Castro

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This study provides a panel data analysis of the key determinants of FDI as determined by the market such as market size, economic stability, trade liberalization, population, growth prospects, and exchange rates. Additionally, other variables such as physical infrastructure, quality of institutions and central bank exchange rate regimes. This paper seeks to show the major policy implications of variables that can be influenced through government intervention. The empirical research is conducted with focus on South American FDI inflows over the last three decades, due to the great presence of natural resources and cheap labor in the region which have contributed …

State Government Revenue: The Effects Of Legalized Gambling, Nicholas S. Malz

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

When facing financial constrictions, legalized gambling is an attractive alternative for state governments. Most empirical evidence on this topic only examines a single industry in a particular state. This study involves a general analysis of three different forms of gambling across all 50 states. The data is comprised of the gambling volume and state government revenues for all 50 states from 2000 to 2010. From the research, lotteries and horse racing typically increase state revenues, while casinos tend to decrease state revenues.

The Causality Between Budget Deficits And Interest Rates In Asean Countries, Janhavi Nerurkar

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the correlation between budget deficits and interest rates across countries of varying income levels across Southeast Asia using the Granger-causality econometric model. It consists of a time series analysis of budget deficits (local currency unit) and real interest rates in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore from 1990 to 2011.This analysis concludes that budget deficits and interest rates do not cause one another in the countries under consideration.

The Effect Of Macroeconomic Variables On Domestic Homeownership Rates, Patrick Graydon

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates how various macroeconomic variables affect homeownership rates in the United States. Some of the variables explored in this study include interest rates, unemployment rate, average household income, inflation rate, GDP, population, and residential construction. The paper uses quarterly data from quarter one of 2000 to quarter three of 2012. The results show the economic indicators that are closely correlated with the rate of homeownership.

An Empirical Study Of Salary Discrimination In Professional Basketball, Joshua Reynolds

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the racial differences in salaries amongst professional basketball players during the 2011-2012 season. Prior studies from the 1980s and 1990s show that white and black players have earned a comparable mean salary, based on performance variables and other player characteristics. However these studies have shown, that taking race in as a factor when running regressions of the data, preference exists towards white player salaries. This paper looks to see if the recent shift in demographic makeup of the NBA prevalent during the late 1990s and 2000s has led to a more equitable distribution of salaries based on …

Education And Wellbeing Of A Country, Michael Arons

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines education, employment sectors and GDP per capita. The study examines which aspects of education math, reading, or science is more important to an economy, and how they affect different employment sectors. The model will attempt to show if educational subject scores have an impact in different sectors of the economy. The main function of this model is to decipher how education affects the wellbeing of a country. The results will attempt to discern whether education impacts employment in various sectors, and conversely GDP per capita.

The Relationship Between The Stock Market And Economic Indicators: Evidence From Singapore And Hong Kong, Kahini Dalal

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the relationship between the stock markets and economic variables of the selected countries: Singapore and Hong Kong. The quarterly data collected for Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Exchange Rates, Inflation and Current Account Balance, as well as Stock Prices ranges from January 2002 to December 2012. The analysis is focused on the results of the Cointegration and Granger Causality tests to estimate the relationship of the various economic indicators and the stock market indices. This estimation enables to assess whether the stock market index of the respective country is a good representation of the economic health of the …

Institutional Quality, Income Inequality, And Economic Growth In Latin American Countries, Courtney Pomer

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the possibility of the institutional quality of a country having an effect on income inequality and economic growth in Latin American Countries. The study incorporates the gini variable and growth rates of GDP in each country to examine the influence of corruption on the various countries throughout Latin America. Looking at previous research it has been found that corruption is positively correlated with income inequality and negatively correlated with economic growth. The variable for corruption in this study however measures the control of corruption in each country, so we will be looking at the institutional quality and …

Patterns Of Technology Transfer Among The Arab Gulf States: Opportunities And Challenges, Dean S. Elmuti, Ahmed Abou-Zaid

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the incentives, options, and obstacles to transfer technology to the Arab Gulf region.

Design/methodology/approach – A validated and reliable instrument was used to gather data from former expatriates who were employed by American-based multinational corporations.

Findings – The results indicate that the Arab Gulf States possess a wide range of resources and incentives offered to investors which contribute to the Gulf’s attractiveness. At the same time, however, industrialization efforts, including transfer of technology to the Gulf region, are hampered by lack of industrial management expertise and technical skills among the …

The U.S. Folklore, Proverbs, And Economic Behavior, Ahmed Abou-Zaid

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Social scientists strongly believe that the cultural values and norms motivate, guide, and influence the behavior of each and every society. However, studying the relationship between culture and behavior, notably economic behavior, is not very popular in the literature, mainly because of the vague and broad definition of the culture. Thereby this paper provides a narrow definition of the culture as “the set of beliefs and values that are often revealed in folklore of the country, where proverbs are the most concise form of the verbal folklore genres.” Using this definition, the paper attempts to relate several types of economic …

Poverty In Agrarian Developing Economies, Minh Dao

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This paper examines the determinants of poverty in agrarian developing economies. Based on data from the World Bank and a sample of thirty agrarian developing economies we find that the fraction of the population below the national poverty line is linearly dependent on urbanization as measured by the fraction of the total population living in urban areas, the maternal mortality ratio, the level of development as measured by purchasing power parity per capita gross national income, and the fraction of births attended by skilled health staff. We observe that the coefficient estimate of one explanatory variable, namely, the fraction of …

Gender Gaps In Human Capital And Economic Growth In Developing Countries, Minh Dao

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This paper examines the impact of gender gaps in human capital on economic growth in developing countries. Based on data from the World Bank for the 1990-2010 period and a sample of seventy-eight developing economies, we find that the growth rate of GDP per capita is dependent on gross capital formation, the changes in both male and female life expectancy, the change in the gap between male and female life expectancy, the change in the proportion of the population having access to improved sanitation services, population growth, and the GDP per capita in 2000. It is observed that the estimated …

Challenges And Opportunities Of Health Care Supply Chain Management In The United States, Dean Elmuti, Grace Khoury, Omar Omran, Ahmed Abou-Zaid

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This article explores current supply chain management challenges and initiatives and identifies problems that affect supply chain management success in the U.S. health-care industry. In addition, it investigates the impact of health care supply chain management (SCM) initiatives on the overall organizational effectiveness. The attitudinal results, as well as the performance results presented in this study support the claim of health care proponents that the SCM allows organizations to reduce cost, improve quality, and reduce cycle time, and leads to high performance.

The U.S. Folklore, Proverbs, And Economic Behavior, Ahmed Abou-Zaid

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Social scientists strongly believe that the cultural values and norms motivate, guide, and influence the behavior of each and every society. However, studying the relationship between culture and behavior, notably economic behavior, is not very popular in the literature, mainly because of the vague and broad definition of the culture. Thereby this paper provides a narrow definition of the culture as “the set of beliefs and values that are often revealed in folklore of the country, where proverbs are the most concise form of the verbal folklore genres.” Using this definition, the paper attempts to relate several types of economic …

The Role Of Policy Fundamentals In Fostering Economic Growth In Developing Countries, Minh Dao

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This paper examines the role of policy fundamentals in fostering economic growth in developing countries. Based on data from the World Bank for the 2000-2011 period and a sample of sixty-two developing economies we find that the growth rate of per capita GDP is dependent on a country’s investments in human capital as measured by the share of the public sector in total health expenditure and by the relative size of public education in the government’s budget, on an enabling business environment as measured by two Doing Business indicators, namely the cost of starting a business as a percent of …

Poverty In Agrarian Developing Economies, Minh Dao

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This paper examines the determinants of poverty in agrarian developing economies. Based on data from the World Bank and a sample of thirty agrarian developing economies we find that the fraction of the population below the national poverty line is linearly dependent on urbanization as measured by the fraction of the total population living in urban areas, the maternal mortality ratio, the level of development as measured by purchasing power parity per capita gross national income, and the fraction of births attended by skilled health staff. We observe that the coefficient estimate of one explanatory variable, namely, the fraction of …

Patterns Of Technology Transfer Among The Arab Gulf States: Opportunities And Challenges, Dean Elmuti, Ahmed Abou-Zaid

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the incentives, options, and obstacles to transfer technology to the Arab Gulf region. Design/methodology/approach – A validated and reliable instrument was used to gather data from former expatriates who were employed by American-based multinational corporations. Findings – The results indicate that the Arab Gulf States possess a wide range of resources and incentives offered to investors which contribute to the Gulf’s attractiveness. At the same time, however, industrialization efforts, including transfer of technology to the Gulf region, are hampered by lack of industrial management expertise and technical skills among the …

Gender Gaps In Human Capital And Economic Growth In Developing Countries, Minh Dao

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This paper examines the impact of gender gaps in human capital on economic growth in developing countries. Based on data from the World Bank for the 1990-2010 period and a sample of seventy-eight developing economies, we find that the growth rate of GDP per capita is dependent on gross capital formation, the changes in both male and female life expectancy, the change in the gap between male and female life expectancy, the change in the proportion of the population having access to improved sanitation services, population growth, and the GDP per capita in 2000. It is observed that the estimated …

Decomposition Of Ireland’S Carbon Emissions From 1990-2010: An Extended Kaya Identity, Tadhg O'Mahony

Articles

In recent decades, Ireland has been an important example of a development pathway where rapid economic growth was accompanied by rising energy demand and increasing carbon emissions. Understanding the driving forces of carbon emissions is necessary for policy formulation and decomposition analysis is widely used for this purpose. This study uses an extended Kaya identity as the scheme and applies the log mean Divisia index (LMDI I) as the decomposition technique. Change in carbon emissions is decomposed from 1990 – 2010 and includes a measure of the effect of renewable energy penetration. Results illustrate that scale effects of affluence and …