Economics Commons^™

Parallel Sessions (Consumer Behavior & Culture): The Emerging Middle Class In Pakistan: How It Consumes, Earns, And Saves, Jawaid Abdul Ghani

International Conference on Marketing

During the first decade of the twenty first century, and for the first time in the history of Pakistan, over half of the households in the country belonged to the middle class (M-class). During this period (2002-2011) the M-class, defined as households with daily per capita expenditures of $2-$10 in 2005 purchasing power parity dollars1 , grew from 32 percent to 55 percent of all households in the country, and the number of people in this class doubled from 38 million to 84 million. Real aggregate national consumption increased by about $60 billion, of which $55 billion was accounted for …

Parallel Sessions (Consumer Behavior & Culture): An Investigation Of The Selection Criteria Of Islamic Banking In Pakistan: Customers’ Perspective, Zargham Ullah Khan

International Conference on Marketing

Banking system was firstly introduce in the era of Jews where large bankers use to do financial practices in the open market. In the past few decades‟ capitalistic economy gained momentum. Islamic banking was firstly introduced in Malaysia with the establishment of Islamic banks laid on the basis of SHARIAH compliance, during 1970-90 (Henry & Wilson, 2004; Iqbal &Mirakhor, 2007; Dusuki& Abdullah, 2007). Banking is as old as civilization found its way from barter economies towards market economy and price mechanism. At present the banks have an immense role in deciding the economic fate of any state. Strong banking system …

Argentina's 2001 Default: Foreign Policy Considerations And Consequences, Joshua K. Alley

Celebration

Argentina’s 2001 default was at the time the largest in history, with the Peronist government of Adolfo Rodriguez Saa declaring a cessation of payments on over 80 billion dollars in government bonds. Historically, the political science and economics literatures have emphasized the economic considerations surrounding the decision to default. Recent literature has explored the political motivations for default, but there has been little scholarship on the possible political consequences of default. Some authors have emphasized that default can have important audience costs for leaders, but other issues have been left unexplored. However, it is clear that Argentina’s 2001 default had …

The Business Of Beds: An Exploration Of Hotel And Hostel Business Strategy, Robert B. Bunda

Honors Scholar Theses

At their cores, hotels and hostels are similar in that they provide a place for travelers to stay. Despite this core similarity, the structures of the two industries are radically different. The hotel industry began in the Middle Ages and has given rise to massive multinational companies, many managing more than four thousand hotels. In stark contrast, the hostel industry began in 1909 and is mostly comprised of independently owned and operated guesthouses, with the largest global chain comprising of less than twenty properties. This study first defines the hotel and hostel industries and examines the different experiences they offer …

Investment In Technology & Voluntary Simplicity: Exploring Opportunities For Energy-Efficiency In The Us Residential Sector, Elaine Charlebois

Honors Scholar Theses

This work examines alternative approaches for middle-class Americans to make lifestyle changes to promote energy efficiency. The US residential sector poses a significant opportunity for improvement in efficiency which will lead to electricity and carbon savings, further leading to long-term cost savings for each household.

A way to think about energy savings is by considering two radically different approaches: voluntary simplicity or investment in technology. Investments in technology include retrofits for existing homes and building new homes more efficiently, both focusing on aspects such as heating and cooling, insulation, water use and water heating, lighting, and appliances. Voluntary simplicity is …

Municipal Recycling In Waterville: A Choice Experiment, Alexander Finigan, Katharine Eddy

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The Waterville, Maine community has experienced many struggles with establishing an economically and socially beneficial method for collecting recyclables from residents. In 2006, the town made the choice to terminate its curbside recycling pickup and open the Skills facility, where residents were able to transport there recyclables and dispose of them at the facility. This proved to also not be economically beneficial and the town ended this option for residents in 2012. The motivation behind establishing a new recycling program in Waterville is making Waterville more environmentally friendly, the creation of jobs for residents in the trash collecting business, moral …

Pseudoephedrine Scheduling And Violent Crime, Alexander Morris, Quinn Ziegler, Lily Tilton

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

In this paper we seek to explore the relationship between methamphetamine usage and violent crime in the United States. As a drug produced from readily available ingredients, methamphetamines presence is felt across the country, and it is often anecdotally linked with both violent crime and property crime. Through the analysis of state-level data, we hope to determine whether or not methamphetamine availability is a useful predictor of crime. Methamphetamine usage is difficult to measure, as its production and consumption is not reliably tracked by virtue of its illicit nature. However, we can approximate methamphetamine usage by state using other metrics, …

The Color And Value Of Art, Leilani S C Pao

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

There has been research in psychology, marketing and economics about the impact of color on peoples behavior, in particular peoples consumer behavior. My project examines the relationship between the value of art and color. I am interested to find out whether the solid background a painting is placed on, its environmental color, has an influence on the amount a person values the painting. My experimental survey to the Colby College community and visitors of the Colby College Museum of Art consists of two parts. In the first part of the survey, I ask the participants to come up with the …

Individuals Willingness To Pay For Health And Wellness Improvements Within The Built Environment, Max Pollinger

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Improving biological sustainability through health and wellness improvements in the built environment is currently being applied to high-end real estate development in both the residential and commercial environment in the United States. However, the market for health and wellness extends well beyond the top income bracket. This study adopts a choice experiment (CE) approach to investigate individuals willingness to pay for health and wellness improvements within their homes. The results suggest that individuals value health as an inelastic good independent of income, and they are willing to pay significant premiums to ensure biological sustainability within their homes. In addition, individuals …

Financial Crisis And Its Impact On Institutional College Financial Aid, Salome Giorgadze, Lillian Liang

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The 2008 financial crisis impacted almost everyone in the world, particularly US households that have lost on average in income. A common problem that currently plagues the minds of college students is the cost of education. Households are still recovering from the monetary impacts of the financial crisis. We recognize that college grants and scholarships are important to students who wish to pursue higher education, and so do the colleges. Majority of the colleges have carefully designed institutional financial aid options, which usually consist of institutional grants, scholarships, work studies, and loans. Around 75% of full-time undergraduate students in the …

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Grade Inflation V. Grade Compression At Colby College, Emma Murphy, Ilanna Fricks, Yana Mayayeva

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Grade point averages are supposed markers of our collegiate intellectual ability and drive for success. But as an "A" increasingly becomes a stand-in for "average," the credibility of our GPAs may be in question in the professional world. The goal of this paper is to assess whether grading at Colby College has fallen in line with the national trend toward inflation. Our regression analyses examine whether GPAs have risen at Colby over the past 15 years across a variety of disciplines and indicators such as gender, athlete status, and international student status. This study also considers whether grade compression, rather …

The Effects Of Marijuana Decriminalization On Alcohol Consumption: Compliments Or Substitutes?, Alex Sisto, Hib Schenck, Fabrice Charles, Zach Padula

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

What is the effect of decriminalization of marijuana on alcohol consumption in the United States? We hypothesize that consumption of alcohol and marijuana are substitute goods. More specifically, we hypothesize that decriminalization will be negatively correlated with alcohol consumption, meaning that demand for alcohol will fall in the years following decriminalization.

Do Public Libraries Reduce Crime Rate Among Juveniles?, Chen Li, Jingyan Guo, Jozef Moffat

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Juvenile arrest rates have been at their lowest since 1980 in the United States after peaking around 1994. There are many factors that affect the juvenile crime rate and our aim is to determine the impact of those factors on the crime rate. For example, the environment that the juveniles live in and the income of their parents could influence their behavioral patterns. Cities build libraries to provide recreational services to the public, especially the youth, where they can spend their spare time usefully, in hope that they could avoid delinquent activities.

Economic Analysis: Sustainable Seafood Choice Experiment, Dylan Cowley, Jesse Coulon

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The sustainable seafood choice experiment is a co-discipline study run by Tierney Dodge (Environmental Studies), along with Jesse Coulon and Dylan Cowly (Economics). The purpose of the study is to better understand how sustainable seafood labeling is correlated with accepting higher prices at restaurants. Specifically, we are looking at how much people are willing to pay for dishes that have certified seafood labeling, such as Marine Stewardship Counsel Certified, compared to the simple label of sustainable seafood, which is a more arbitrary term with no outside body of regulation. We will then focus our study to see how these results …

Wind Energy Choice Experiment, William Scott, Carlton Reed

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Many surveys have shown that public acceptance of wind energy is high in general; however there always seems to be concerns at the local level during the siting and permitting process. This shows that people understand that clean wind energy is an essential need, however people do not normally want to have turbines in their own community. The goal of this choice experiment is to see which benefits people prefer and which trade-offs people are willing to make in order to host a wind farm in their community.We will analyze the effectiveness of several attributes, and their ability to rid …

How Effectively Do Law Enforcement And Socioeconomic Improvements Aid To Deter Violent Crimes And Property Crimes In The Usa?, Papa Loum, Chowdhury Farabee

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

According to a government survey released in October 2013, violent crime in the United States increased by 15 percent last year, and property crime was up by 12 percent. If violent crime keeps increasing at this rate, it will approximately double in just six years. To effectively allocate resources (money, police, courts, prisons), specialists in the economics of crime should fully understand the most pivotal determinants of each type of crime. Our study finds the extent to which some socioeconomic factors and regulatory measures (high school dropout rate, median income, unemployment rates, imprisonment rate, number of police officers, and the …

Effects Of Maternal Depression On Family Food Insecurity, Kelly Noonan, Hope Corman, Nancy E. Reichman

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Theory suggests that adverse life events—such as unemployment or health shocks—can result in food insecurity, which has increased substantially in the U.S. over the past decade alongside the obesity epidemic. We test this proposition by estimating the effects of a specific and salient mental health event—maternal depression during the postpartum year—on child and family food insecurity. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort, we estimate the effects of maternal depression on food insecurity using both single- and twostage models, and explore potential buffering effects of relevant public assistance programs and supports. We find that moderate to severe maternal …

The World Economy In 2014, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The U.S., European Union, and China have their own battles to fight

Rhode Island Current Conditions Index -- May 2014, Leonard Lardaro

The Rhode Island Current Conditions Index

No abstract provided.

Project Finance Investors: Solution To Populismo, Jenny Small

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Heterogeneity Of Emergency Department Use And Cost: Evidence From The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, Colby Russell Kearl

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In 2008, Oregon was given permission by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand the State’s Medicaid program (Oregon Health Plan Standard) by lottery (Allen, et al. 2010). This allowed for a randomized control study focused on the effect of Medicaid coverage on various factors. The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment (OHIE) was conducted to capitalize on this rare event (Allen, et al. 2010, Finkelstein, et al. 2012, Taubman, et al. 2014).

A Study In The Urbanization Effect On The Honduran Pricing Mechanism, Sharik L. Peck Ii

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The effect of the Honduran capital city Tegucigalpa on prices is tested through a series of comparative regressions of the prices of similar goods between the capital and outlying cities and towns. Goods that have many brands or production centers are found to have prices that vary more significantly between locations. The effect of the size of packaging of goods in some significant cases runs counterintuitive to traditional economic reasoning showing no effect or even in certain circumstances obtaining a premium for large packaging not proportional to the contents. The Honduran market also allows for an examination of the effect …

An Experimental Study Of Complex-Offer Auctions From Wholesale Energy Markets, Rimvydas Baltaduonis

Economics Faculty Publications

A Payment Cost Minimization auction has been proposed as an alternative to the Offer Cost Minimization auction for use in wholesale electric power markets with an intention to lower procurement cost of electricity. Efficiency concerns have been raised for this proposal while assuming that the true production costs would be revealed to the auctioneer in a competitive market. Using an experimental approach, the study compares the performance of these two complex-offer auctions, controlling for the level of unilateral market power. The analysis finds that neither auction results in allocations that correspond to the true cost revelation. Two auctions perform similarly …

Geographic Variation Of Health Care Spending On Heart Failure In Metropolitan Areas, Kevin Mcmillan

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The costs of healthcare have long been a concern in the United States. It is well known that these costs vary geographically, but attempts to explain this variation have been met with limited and varied success. This is partly attributable to the fact that data available have restricted analyses to assessing the issue to using Medicare cost per beneficiary. In June, 2013, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new Medicare data that detailed the charges and payments made to hospitals throughout the United States in 2011. In this thesis, this new dataset was used to examine costs …

Persistence Of Ex-Ante Volatility And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Prodosh Simlai

Economics & Finance Faculty Publications

We suggest a new measure of total ex-ante volatility () in stock returns, which includes traditional non-market (or idiosyncratic) risk and the unexpected component of market return. We find that the portfolio-level measure exhibits strong predictive power for the cross-section of average returns during the post-1963 period. We demonstrate that (1) the persistence of gives rise to economically significant spread in returns between value and growth stocks, and (2) the cross-sectional dispersion in stock returns is positively related to the estimated value of . The benefit of the measure is that it is countercyclical and contains relevant information about the …

Economic Development And Industrial Pollution In The Mediterranean Region: A Panel Data Analysis, Sevil Acar, Mahmut Tekce

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

This paper aims to analyse the determinants of industrial pollution in selected Mediterranean countries. As carbon dioxide (CO2) emerges as the main pollutant in the industrial sector, per capita CO2 emissions from manufacturing industries and construction has been taken as a proxy for industrial pollution. The study uses data from the World Development Indicators for the period 1971-2010. The results from the panel data model estimations indicate the existence of an inverse U-shaped relation between GDP per capita and industrial pollution in selected Mediterranean countries, which validates the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis. In addition, the share of industry, per capita …

Poverty In Secular And Islamic Economics; Conceptualization And Poverty Alleviation Policy, With Reference To Egypt, Karima Korayem, Neamat Mashhour

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

No abstract provided.

Middle Class And Pro-Poor Growth In Egypt: The Missing Connection, Abeer Rashdan

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Assessing whether distributional changes are “pro-poor” has become increasingly widespread in academic and policy circles. Based on the methodology of Ravallion and Chen (2003), Kakwani and Pernia (2000) and Kakwani, Khandker, and Son (2003) using grouped data, the paper generates three indices to test whether distributional changes were indeed pro-poor during the period (1990-2008). Another issue is whether pro-poor judgments should be correlative with the size of the middle class. The paper presents the evolution of middle class in Egypt using different thresholds. The middle class in Egypt has followed the path of bulging in size under a certain threshold …

Did Market Quality Change After The Introduction Of Leveraged Etf's, Prem Shashi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETFs were introduced in the summer of 2006 and have been becoming popular ever since. They became extremely popular during the nancial crisis of 2008 and that made them the obvious scapegoat taking the blame for the increase in volatility during that period. This paper examines how the S & P 500 market quality dened in terms of liquidity, volatility and eciency was aected after the introduction of 2x and 3x leveraged and inverse leveraged ETFs. I nd that after the introduction of the 2x leveraged and inverse leveraged ETFs, the market volatility decreased while the …

Teaching Students To “Do” Public Choice In An Undergraduate Public Sector Course, Joshua C. Hall, Kaitlyn R. Harger

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper discusses one approach to using writing assignments in an undergraduate public economics to get students actively involved in doing public choice. Our goal is to provide an overview of the course and its writing assignments with an emphasis on how the scaffolding of assignments helps contribute to the development of interesting and publishable ideas in public choice. A course in public economics provides a good opportunity for an instructor to develop student interest in applied public choice.