Economics Commons^™

Essays On Academic Achievement And Student Behavior In Public Schools, Wael Soheil Moussa

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation examines the student academic achievement through various mechanisms, put in place by the public school district, classroom student behavior, and negative external shocks to the students' living environment. I examine the impacts of various treatments on student short and long run academic outcomes such as math and English test scores, grade retention, special education diagnoses, as well as high school graduation. Each essay will be presented as a chapter of the dissertation.

The first essay uses student-level administrative data from New York City Public Schools to examine the impacts of school entry age on student academic outcomes (including …

Essays On Agglomeration, Homeownership, And Labor Market Outcomes, Jie Dai

Economics - Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays on the labor market impact of agglomeration economies and that of homeownership. The empirical analyses use different U.S. data and econometric techniques to examine the impact on different labor market outcomes such as volatility of hours worked and men's employment.

The first essay is motivated by the labor market pooling model from Krugman (1991). The paper adds to a small but important literature that provides evidence on the microeconomic foundation of agglomeration economies. Using various years of data from the American Community Survey and the County Business Patterns survey, I show that the agglomeration …

Should Gambling Markets Be Privatized? An Examination Of State Lotteries In The United States, Kent Grote, Victor Matheson

Economics Department Working Papers

State lotteries currently operate in 43 states across the US. Recently, three states have privatized their lottery operations, handing over the management of their lotteries to private companies in hopes of generating greater revenues for the state governments. Questions arise regarding the economic rationale for this decision and an economic model is presented to determine whether one state, Illinois, has been successful at generating more state transfer revenues as a result of privatization in its first year of results. The issue of lottery privatization is also examined

Modeling Loan Losses A Macroeconomic Approach, Jeremy Hughes

HIM 1990-2015

A sound banking system is essential to a well-functioning economy. With the financial crisis beginning in 2007, a renewed interest in the safety of financial institutions has dominated both the political and financial landscape. Mounting loan losses in real estate lending led to the failing of over 460 banks from 2008 to 2012. This crisis is not unique; in fact, the Savings & Loan Crisis of the 1980's to early 1990's led to the closure of 700 savings institutions. Both instances created a panic in financial markets and heavy losses to deposit insurance funds. These losses are ultimately borne by …

A Global Strategic Financial Analysis Of The Luxury Retail Industry, Lauren Lavan

HIM 1990-2015

A global strategic financial analysis of the luxury retail industry was conducted. The research entailed comprehensive analyses and forecasts of the global economy, the luxury retail industry and four of the most prominent, multi-national luxury goods firms in the world. These companies included: Coach, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co., and LVMH Moet Hennessy, whom market among the world's finest personal luxury goods from handbags, clothing and accessories to diamonds, jewelry, watches, fragrances, cosmetics and wines. The macroeconomic analysis focused on factors pertinent to the luxury goods industry such as: (1) the lasting effects of the global financial crisis, our gradual …

Gdp Growth Differences And Financial Contagion: Evidence From The 2008-2009 Subprime Crisis, Jose Marquez

HIM 1990-2015

Trend and panel data analyses are used to determine the role of financial variables in GDP growth differences during the last global recession. Real variables are implemented in order to absorb real shocks and give a better (less biased) estimation of the effects of those nominal (financial) shocks. Results indicate an important role of Stock Market correlations.

Explaning The Effects Of Unionization On Unemployment At The State Level, Matthew Robin

HIM 1990-2015

Many researchers have attempted to find a concrete link between unionization and unemployment. I use panel data regression and simultaneous equation regressions to determine the relationship between unionization and unemployment. Regressions were run on equations which featured private sector and public sector unionization. A separate regression featured public sector unionization but replaced private sector unionization with unionization in the construction industry and manufacturing industry. In all sets of the equation, the unionization variable was also accompanied by a corresponding location quotient, which measures industrial concentration. Both sets of equations also contain and interaction term which test the interaction between unionization …

Beauty And Wages: The Effect Of Physical Attractiveness On Income Using Longitudinal Data, Vesna Gvozdenodic

Honors College Theses

This paper focuses on the effect physical attractiveness has on an individual's yearly income. Unlike previous studies on beauty and the labor market, this study employs longitudinal data obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, 1994-2008), which contains interviewers' ratings of the respondent's physical attractiveness and personality attractiveness. This data is used to regress yearly income on a variety of variables that can also influence an individual's income, such as gender, age, race, BMI, personality attractiveness, education, and physical health. These factors are used to adjust for the income differentials related to looks. Results confirmed that …

Testing For Factor Price Equality With Unobserved Differences In Factor Quality Or Productivity, Andrew B. Bernard, Stephen J. Redding, Peter K. Schott

Dartmouth Scholarship

We develop a method for identifying departures from relative factor price equality that is robust to unobserved variation in factor productivity. We implement this method using data on the relative wage bills of nonproduction and production workers across 170 local labor markets comprising the continental United States for 1972, 1992, and 2007. We find evidence of statistically significant differences in relative wages in all three years. These differences increase in magnitude over time and are related to industry structure in a manner that is consistent with neoclassical models of production. (JEL J31, J61, R23)

Growth Beyond The Debt Thresholds, Sine Kontbay

All Dissertations

This empirical study has two objectives both of which are directly related to nonlinear effects of debt on growth: The main objective is to assess the levels of public debt-to-GDP and total external debt-to-GDP ratios above which economic growth is impaired. The second objective is to examine the debt overhang effects on the sources of growth. A large panel data set of developed and developing countries over the period of 1970-2009 is employed to estimate the threshold levels for public and total external debt. The dynamic panel threshold method developed by Kremer et. al (2010) is applied to debt-growth nexus …

Heteroskedasticity And Non-Normality Robust Lm Tests For Spatial Dependence, Badi H. Baltagi, Zhenlin Yang

Center for Policy Research

The standard LM tests for spatial dependence in linear and panel regressions are derived under the normality and homoskedasticity assumptions of the regression disturbances. Hence, they may not be robust against non-normality or heteroskedasticity of the disturbances. Following Born and Breitung (2011), we introduce general methods to modify the standard LM tests so that they become robust against heteroskedasticity and non-normality. The idea behind the robustification is to decompose the concentrated score function into a sum of uncorrelated terms so that the outer product of gradient (OPG) can be used to estimate its variance. We also provide methods for improving …

The Effects Of Sex Offenders On Housing Sales Prices, Benjamin Walter Hatch

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I measure the impact of sex offenders on housing sales prices by combining data from the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry with data on housing sales from December 2004 through December 2008 in Mecklenburg County, NC. Using time-series and cross-sectional analysis, I estimate that the arrival of a sex offender into a neighborhood decreases housing sales prices within 0.1 of the miles of a sex offender by approximately 6%, while all other nearby housing sales prices are unaffected. I then apply this finding to examine sex offender residency restrictions passed in North Carolina in 2006. I find that houses located …

Baseball And Thoughts On Pay Dispersion In Teams, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

The author really likes thinking about compensation, and he really likes thinking about baseball. He loves it when he can watch baseball and think about compensation. Some baseball teams pay relatively evenly across the team and others have wide dispersion (some players are paid at the league minimum and others are earning "superstar" rewards). There is research on whether teams with one of those strategies is relatively better off (in terms of, say, wins or profits) than the other, even after controlling for total payroll, players' quality and the like. A great virtue of studying baseball -- and perhaps one …

Managing Social Security Disability & Other Public Benefits: Development Of A Guide For Consumers And Providers, Stephanie L. Derochers

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

One in five Americans has a disability, making it the largest minority group in the U.S. (Soffer, McDonald, & Blanck, 2010). In 2011, 13.4 million working-aged adults received a disability cash benefit from the Social Security Administration (Kregel, 2012).

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the federal agency responsible for managing, executing and overseeing retirement, survivor, old-age and disability benefits. There are over 1,500 Social Security offices and over 65,000 employees nationwide (SSA, 2013). SSA manages at least five disability benefit programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Disabled Widow(er) Benefit (DWB), Childhood Disability Benefit (CDB), though …

A Policymaker's Guide To Feed-In Tariffs: Encouraging A Responsible Transition To Renewable Electricity In California, Roland P. Thayer

Pomona Senior Theses

The feed-in tariff is a flexible, yet effective mechanism in promoting the proliferation of renewable electricity in California. The tariff creates a stable investment environment that protects both the utilities and the renewable electricity generators. Not only does the system foster capacity growth, but also technological advancement to the point where renewable electricity can compete in the market without assistance. From an environmental standpoint, the feed-in tariff contributes significantly towards achieving the emissions reduction goals set forth by AB32 without causing harmful increases to electricity prices.

The feed-in tariff model has been used in countries all over the world and …

Identification Of The Common Salient Characteristics Of Successful Intergovernmental Cooperation And Consolidation Of Governmental Services In Kent County, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

Agency Decision-Making For Climate Change: Cost-Benefit Analysis, The Precautionary Principle, And The Bounds Of Rationality, Laura Carr

Pomona Senior Theses

Climate change tests the limits of human understanding of complexity and uncertainty. It challenges assumptions about our presumed power of control over this planet. This paper examines the theory of how governmental executive branch agencies make regulation decisions about climate change using the decision-making methodologies of cost-benefit analysis and the precautionary principle, and as influenced by perceptions of the bounds of human rationality and ability to deal with risk and uncertainty.

Social Entrepreneurship: The Ideal Business For Humanity And The Economy, Maya D. Horgan

Pomona Senior Theses

This essay argues that social entrepreneurship is the most efficient means to generate lasting social change and permanently reduce poverty. Using the support of scholarly research, interviews with experts in the field, and my own qualitative observations, I conclude that traditional aid models that are economically dependent on outside funding, as well as those that simply provide monetary and product contributions in order to sustain the poor or marginalized communities they serve are inherently structured in a way that prevents them from resolving social ills. Despite the influx of aid organizations over past decades, chronic poverty and other serious social …

Essays On Health Trends And Health Care Efficiency, Richard Gearhart

All Dissertations

This dissertation encompasses three papers. The first paper explores health outcomes in the United States, measured by the obesity rate and the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, which have been worsening over calendar time. I extend the model by Grossman (1972a, 1972b) to derive how the demand for preventive and reactive medical care is changing over calendar time and the impacts these changes will have on the health of an individual. Assuming that reactive medical technology's effectiveness in curing individuals of illness has increased over time, I find results that are consistent with observed health trends in America. Based on …

Fair Trade An Analysis Of The Effects On Poverty Alleviation And Empowerment For Women In Developing Countries, Maribel Concepcion Lora

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis approaches the economic development model of Fair Trade with a critical analysis on determining its success in alleviating poverty and empowering women of the developing world. Because international labor regulations are not consistently enforced in all producer countries, the Fair Trade model has established labor standards that ensure above all, a fair wage and safe working conditions for producers participating in the international market. As a recent strategy of economic development, Fair Trade has made great strides to empower poor producers in impoverished countries; however there has been limited analysis focused on its impact for improving the quality …

Land Management, U.S. Bureau Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and current assessment of the role played by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management in its ownership of federal lands in western states and its efforts to balance economic development of natural resources and conservation of these resources on these lands.

Energy, U.S. Department Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides information about the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies and how DOE influences federal energy policy and scientific research in the western U.S.

Army Corps Of Engineers, U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has influenced historical and contemporary economic, environmental, and political developments in the American West.

Defense, U.S. Department Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of U.S. Department of Defense activities in the western U.S. including the military's increasing emphasis on Asia-Pacific strategic trends and developments.

Conservatism, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of late 20th and early 21st century conservatism and its impact on western U.S. politics and national politics. Stresses the roles played by individuals such as Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan,and George W. Bush and their influence on western conservatism. Analyzes how conservatism has been influenced by policy research institutions and advocacy groups such as the Claremont Institute and Focus on the Family. Reviews areas of collaboration and contention in western conservatism between economic, national security, and social conservatives and more libertarian elements. Examines the rise of the Tea Party movement in response to Obama Administration policies and …

Agriculture, U.S. Department Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a succinct organizational history of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its impact on the American West.

Colorado River Compact (1922), Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of the 1922 Colorado River Compact seeking to fairly distribute Colorado River water to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming and their increasing populations.

Hydroelectric Power, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and contemporary analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of federal government support for hydroelectric power in the American West.

Oil Industry, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of the historical and contemporary development of the American oil industry and how it has impacted U.S. natural resources policies in the American west.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and contemporary analysis of the energy policymaking role played by the Energy Department's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC responsibilities include regulating the prices and interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. Its responsibilities also include reviewing proposals to build and locate natural gas terminals, interstate natural gas pipelines, licensing hydropower projects, and regulating relevant mergers and securities acquisitions in these areas.