Economics Commons^™

Can State Tax Policies Be Used To Grow Small And Large Businesses?, Erin Borches, John Deskins, Amanda Ross

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

The existing literature studying the relationship between small business activity and U.S. state tax policy has focused primarily on a few measures of small business. We expand this literature by estimating the effect of state tax policy on small businesses by using a broader measures of small business activity using a longitudinal dataset for the U.S. states. We also estimate the relationship between state tax policy and large business activity. Results provide evidence that state tax policy can influence small business firm, establishment, payroll, and employment growth in important ways but provide limited evidence that such policy significantly influences large …

Environmental Risks, Policy Decisions In Large Multinational Companies And Policy Makers In Tunisia, Nathalie Hilmi, Alain Safa, Ihsen Ketata

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

In a world with local and global instability (economic, social and financial policies), an environmental disaster can have particularly devastating effects at the economic and human levels. We are also witnessing an increasing "legalization" of the causes and consequences of environmental degradation. The issue of prediction (anticipation and evaluation) of natural and anthropogenic risk is posed in terms of moral and sometimes criminal, political responsibility, as well as to the scientific community. In this context, researchers themselves might be tempted to "hedge" legal risks, by considering in their forecasts, the most "extreme" assumptions.

Sustainable Tourism In Some Mena Countries, Nathalie Hilmi, Alain Safa, Brice Teisserenc, Nicolas Peridy

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

According to UNWFTO, 20% of world tourism is concentrated in Mediterranean countries. The wealth in natural resources of the Mediterranean coastline (beautiful landscape, climate favorable for tourism, important biodiversity, etc…) makes it the first world touristic destination. The development of the tourism sector has permitted economics gains, especially for economies on the North side of the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless tourism also has harmful effects such as deterioration of the environment. According to the Plan Bleu, in 2000, 40% of the 46 000 Km of the Mediterranean coastline are artificial and urbanized. This situation is not sustainable because the increases in …

The Effects Of Discrimination In Public Goods Games, Melinda Maroto

Senior Honors Projects

This paper explores the effects of discrimination on people’s willingness to contribution to public goods. The experiment not only attempts to measure the significance of this partiality, but also attempts to shed light on how discrimination affects this willingness to contribute by testing both the feeling of discrimination and the possibility that discrimination leads to lower payouts. Beyond this, the study acts as an opportunity to further connect the thoughts, behaviors, and political tendencies of social groups to their fiscal decisions.

The experiment tests roughly 120 University of Rhode Island students' willingness to contribute to the construction of a public …

The Financial Lives Of Low-Income Rhode Islanders: Challenges And Opportunities, Keegan Glennon

Senior Honors Projects

Less fortunate Americans have historically been urged to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” implying that prosperity was essentially just a matter of willpower. Over time, however, it has become clear that there are more than a few problems with this conception of American society. If hard work and willpower aren’t all that lower class Americans need to reach prosperity, then what do they need? This has been an issue of much debate ever since the question was first posed. The truth is that that poor Americans face many obstacles in managing their financial lives, and many of these obstacles …

The Political Economy Of Going Global: Understanding The Determinants Of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment In The Middle East And Africa, Majid Shirali

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study seeks to explain the motivating factors behind Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) patterns to the Middle East and Africa through a quantitative framework that utilizes a pooled cross-sectional time-series data set that covers 57 countries from 2003-2010. Prior research on the issue has hypothesized that China attempts to use external FDI to developing areas to promote national interests and help sustain economic growth. However, there has been an almost exclusive focus on economic determinants while generally ignoring political variables. The approach in this project attempts to fill this scholarly void by employing a broad array of independent variables …

Analysis Of Portfolio Diversification And Risk Management Of Livestock Assets In The Borana Pastoral System Of Southern Ethiopia, Medhat Ibrahim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethiopia is one of the poorest and most populated countries in the world. It is also one of the largest receivers of foreign aid in the world. The Borana Plateau in the Oromia region is one of the poorest regions in southern Ethiopia. The local population in this region has relied on livestock for their livelihood for many generations. The growing number of humans and livestock on the Borana Plateau has caused the rangeland to be degraded. Coupled with more frequent and severe droughts, this growth can cause the loss of a large number of the livestock in this region …

Spatial Temperature Variation In Refrigerated Road Transport, Joseph D. Phoenix

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study evaluated the temperature variability that existed in refrigerated table grape consignments over a two-day journey from two suppliers in southern Spain, to client managed facilities in England. In order to inhibit senescence, perishable foods are transported in temperature-controlled transport to maximize shelf life. However, thermal dynamics suggests that uniform spatial temperature is not necessarily achieved despite a constant set point. As fruit exposed to suboptimal temperatures is more likely to exhibit undesirable quality issues, knowledge of spatial temperature can direct quality control team members to these potentially problematic pallets within an inbound shipment.

Warmer temperatures were identified on …

Risk Misperception And Selection In Insurance Markets: An Application To Demand For Cancer Insurance, David S. Hales

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Spinnewijn (2013) posits that optimism about risk and the efficacy of risk-reducing effort could cause selection in insurance markets. We test for this using a survey of 474 subjects’ demand for hypothetical cancer insurance. We elicit perceptions of baseline cancer risk and control efficacy and combine these with subject-specific cancer risks predicted by the Harvard Cancer Risk Index to develop measures of baseline and control optimism. We find that only 23 percent of our subjects would purchase a fair insurance contract aligned to their true risk type. Of these subjects, 94 percent also overinvest in prevention, leading to advantageous selection.

Diamonds, The Kimberley Process, And Civil War In Sub-Saharan Africa, Haley Anne Mccormick

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Africa is a region of the world that has been plagued by conflict for decades. Specific civil wars in the 1990s gained worldwide attention due to the perceived source of funding for rebel groups to continue the bloodshed: diamonds. As civil society organizations and journalists exposed the role of diamonds and the diamond industry, a link between diamonds and conflict also emerged in the scholarly literature regarding the “resource curse.” In response, policymakers created the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an institution designed to address the problem of conflict diamonds and to clean up the diamond industry. While many critics have …

The Economic Impact Of The Mpaa Rating System On Types Of Films Made From 2004-2014, Kaitlin Peck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis will examine the economic impact of the MPAA film rating system on the types of films made from 2004 to 2014. The research in this study will examine the violent and sexual content of films. For this research the Motion Picture Association of America rating system is the independent variable, and its financial or economic impact on films made in the last ten years is the dependent variable. An extensive review of previous literature will also help inform the direction of the current study. However, this topic is still relevant because the previous research has appeared to be …

Transforming For The Future: The New Economic Driver For The Las Vegas Tourism Industry, Kwangbok Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Tourism transformation has recently become a key strategy in today's competitive business environment, as continued rejuvenation is required for a tourism destination to succeed over time. However, transformation can prove problematic for many emerging tourism destinations, which suffer from a lack of long-term decision-making tools and leadership from institutions at a local level. Therefore, this paper aims to use the theoretical framework of transformation theory—particularly the institution dimension— to demonstrate that Las Vegas’ ongoing transformative shift over the last 80 years from a mining town to a gaming destination, and then, to a multi-dimensional tourist attraction, has been largely successful …

The Economic And Social Effects Of Casino Development In Macau, Christopher Benton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explores the economic impacts that took place in Macau after the gaming monopoly ended in 2002, as well as the resulting social effects to the local region. The broader research on casino gaming was analyzed, and was then compared to the social and economic impacts that took place in Macau. Specifically, economic indicators such as employment and GDP were evaluated, along with social issues such as problem gambling, crime, and educational attainment. Many countries, specifically Asian countries, are now entertaining the idea of introducing casinos to their local communities in an effort to try and replicate the type …

The Effects Of Gaming Taxation On Capital Investment In Gaming Businesses, Jeremy Pollock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microeconomic theory generally supports the idea of an inverse relationship between taxes and capital investment. The gaming industry however does not operate on a free market equilibrium of supply and demand. Regulation and taxation of this industry can distort competitive forces and, as a result, investment decisions. Forces are described herein which either strengthen or weaken this inverse relationship, as well as how they affect the value of the limited number of casino operating licenses which states grant. Higher tax rates are generally shown to result in small-scale properties, which cater to a narrow base of consumers. In contrast, low …

Three Essays On Panel Data Estimation, Alexander Houser

Dissertations

This work discusses various aspects of panel data estimation. In chapter one, an algorithm for semiparametric random effects estimation is proposed. The performance of bootstrap-based confidence intervals for the proposed estimators are examined and found reasonable. The algorithm is also applied to a set of U.S. state level medical expenditure data to estimate the medical Engel curve. In the second chapter, the predictive performance of various parametric and semiparametric panel data estimators is compared on the same dataset of U.S. state level medical expenditures as well as out of sample forecast performance and bootstrap bias-corrected mean square errors of the …

Three Essays On Racial Wage Differentials In South Africa, Ochas Kashinge Pupwe

Dissertations

Wage gaps amongst the different racial groups in South Africa, have remained high post-apartheid. With the enactment and implementation of several empowerment programs aiming at reversing racial marginalization, it is puzzling to see the persistent wage gaps between the white minority and non-white majority. This dissertation seeks to ascertain factors that may account for the persistent wage gap.

The first essay tests for the presence of over-education and its effects on wage determination amongst South Africa’s racial demographic groups. The results indicate that whites were over-educated whilst marginalized populations exhibited significant levels of under-education in 1991 and 2011 and hence …

Specification Test For Panel Data Models With Interactive Fixed Effects, Liangjun Su, Sainan Jin, Yonghui Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we propose a consistent nonparametric test for linearity in panel data models with interactive fixed effects. To construct the test statistic, we need to estimate the model under the null hypothesis of linearity and then obtain the restricted residuals. We show that after being appropriately centered and standardized, the test statistic is asymptotically normally distributed both under the null hypothesis and a sequence of Pitman local alternatives. To improve the finite sample performance, we propose a bootstrap procedure to obtain the bootstrap p-values. A small set of Monte Carlo simulations illustrates that our test performs well in …

E-Learning In Higher Education For Adult Learners In Singapore, Guan Chong, Ding Ding, Kong Weng Ho

Research Collection School Of Economics

Countries across the world have witnessed tremendous expansion of adult education and dramatic growth of adult learners. Moreover, with the growing importance of life-long learning, online learning has become a popular tool which is well received by adult learners. In order to enhance adult learners’ learning experience, we have conducted an exploratory research on online learning for adult learners to understand the challenges faced by them in their pursuit of higher education. The results suggest that technical trainings or preparations are needed prior to e-learning and infrastructure needs to be improved. The findings also emphasize on the importance of using …

Modified Qml Estimation Of Spatial Autoregressive Models With Unknown Heteroskedasticity And Nonnormality, Shew Fan Liu, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

In the presence of heteroskedasticity, Lin and Lee (2010) show that the quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) estimator of the spatial autoregressive (SAR) model can be inconsistent as a ‘necessary’ condition for consistency can be violated, and thus propose robust GMM estimators for the model. In this paper, we first show that this condition may hold in certain situations and when it does the regular QML estimator can still be consistent. In cases where this condition is violated, we propose a simple modified QML estimation method robust against unknown heteroskedasticity. In both cases, asymptotic distributions of the estimators are derived, and methods …

Expropriation Risk And Competition With The Military, Madhav S. Aney, Giovanni Ko

Research Collection School Of Economics

How can agents in the military, who control the means of coercion, commit not to expropriate from producers? In this paper we propose competition within the military as one of the mechanisms that can deter predation and consequently create commitment. In our model, even if agents within the military could expropriate all output costlessly, it is attractive to protect producers from predating military units. This is because there is a marginal defensive advantage and consequently defense is an effective way to potentially eliminate other military units, reducing competition and leading to higher future payoffs. Our model predicts that greater internal …

Asymptotic Distribution And Finite-Sample Bias Correction Of Qml Estimators For Spatial Dependence Model, Shew Fan Liu, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

In studying the asymptotic and finite sample properties of quasi-maximum likelihood (QML) estimators for the spatial linear regression models, much attention has been paid to the spatial lag dependence (SLD) model; little has been given to its companion, the spatial error dependence (SED) model. In particular, the effect of spatial dependence on the convergence rate of the QML estimators has not been formally studied, and methods for correcting finite sample bias of the QML estimators have not been given. This paper fills in these gaps. Of the two, bias correction is particularly important to the applications of this model, as …

Limit Theory For Vars With Mixed Roots Near Unity, Peter C. B. Phillips, Ji Hyung Lee

Research Collection School Of Economics

Limit theory is developed for nonstationary vector autoregression (VAR) with mixed roots in the vicinity of unity involving persistent and explosive components. Statistical tests for common roots are examined and model selection approaches for discriminating roots are explored. The results are useful in empirical testing for multiple manifestations of nonstationarity - in particular for distinguishing mildly explosive roots from roots that are local to unity and for testing commonality in persistence.

Testing Additive Separability Of Error Term In Nonparametric Structural Models, Liangjun Su, Yundong Tu, Aman Ullah

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper considers testing additive error structure in nonparametric structural models, against the alternative hypothesis that the random error term enters the nonparametric model non-additively. We propose a test statistic under a set of identification conditions considered by Hoderlein, Su and White (2012), which require the existence of a control variable such that the regressor is independent of the error term given the control variable. The test statistic is motivated from the observation that, under the additive error structure, the partial derivative of the nonparametric structural function with respect to the error term is one under identification. The asymptotic distribution …

A General Method For Third-Order Bias And Variance Corrections On A Nonlinear Estimator, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Motivated by a recent study of Bao and Ullah (2007a) on finite sample properties of MLE in the pure SAR (spatial autoregressive) model, a general method for third-order bias and variance corrections on a nonlinear estimator is proposed based on stochastic expansion and bootstrap. Working with concentrated estimating equation simplifies greatly the high-order expansions for bias and variance; a simple bootstrap procedure overcomes a major difficulty in analytically evaluating expectations of various quantities in the expansions. The method is then studied in detail using a more general SAR model, with its effectiveness in correcting bias and improving inference fully demonstrated …

On Time-Varying Factor Models: Estimation And Testing, Liangjun Su, Xia Wang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Conventional factor models assume that factor loadings are fixed over a long horizon of time, which appears overly restrictive and unrealistic in applications. In this paper, we introduce a time-varying factor model where factor loadings are allowed to change smoothly over time. We propose a local version of the principal component method to estimate the latent factors and time-varying factor loadings simultaneously. We establish the limiting distributions of the estimated factors and factor loadings in the standard large N and large T framework. We also propose a BIC-type information criterion to determine the number of factors, which can be used …

A Bayesian Specification Test, Yong Li, Tao Zeng, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

A Bayesian test statistic is proposed to assess the model specification after the model is estimated by Bayesian MCMC methods. The proposed approach does not require an alternative model to be specified and is applicable to a variety of models, including latent variable models, structural dynamic choice models, and dynamics stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models, for which frequentist methods are difficult to use. The properties of the test statistic are established and its implementation is discussed. The test is easy to use and the test statistic can be calculated from MCMC outputs even when there are latent variables. The method …

Employment Duration And Match Quality Over The Business Cycle, Ismail Baydur, Toshihiko Mukoyama

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the cyclical behavior of employment duration using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort. We estimate a proportional hazard model with competing risks, distinguishing different types of separations. A higher unemployment rate at the start of an employment relationship increases the probability that the worker quits to take or look for another job, but it decreases the probability that the firm fires the worker. The net effect of these opposing forces on the overall duration of the employment is negative, but small, implying that match quality is weakly pro-cyclical. We also build a simple …

Atlas Of Maine: Piping Plover And Least Tern Habitat, Jeffrey Vaz

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This map highlights the locations of essential habitat for Piping Plovers and Least Terns, both of which are endangered in the state of Maine. Essential habitat is defined as areas that both species use for nesting, feeding, and brood-rearing. Conserved areas in Maine are also highlighted on the map.

Innovation And Productivity: Evidence From China, Jingying Xu

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This paper investigates a lesser-known effect of innovation on the productivity of manufacturing firms in China. Innovation is a powerful vehicle for new firms to enter the market and compete with established firms. Innovation plays a key role in the productivity of firms and it matters for all types of firms, new as well as established. The ratio of new product output to the firms total outputs is used to measure innovation ability in this paper. A higher ratio is expected to have a positive impact on a firms productivity since new products are likely to be more differentiated than …

Optimal Land Conservation By State In Terms Of Gdp, Carolyn Fuwa, Robert Mccormick

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Our research analyzes and compares the different levels of conservation in terms of acres and invested dollars between states and how these different approaches to conservation effects each states production over time.