Economics Commons^™

The Opm Data Breach: Lessons Learned, Michael Wheat

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In 2015 the federal government announced the largest data breach in United States government history. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked, and the personal information of more than 25 million American people was lost to foreign attackers. This incident has spawned concern and outrage about the security of government data in the emerging digital age.

Moving forward from the breach questions remain about how this event happened. It's clear that there were weaknesses that were taken advantage of by malicious threats abroad, and investigations into the attack have yielded surprising results. Not only was the security in place …

Competition, Cost Innovation, And X-Inefficiency In Experimental Markets, Andrew Smyth

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines the relationship between competition, cost innovation, and x-inefficiency in experimental markets. In the lab, oligopolists make closer-to-optimal cost innovation expenditures than do monopolists, which result in lower x-inefficiency in oligopoly than in monopoly. Oligopolies also increase total surplus relative to monopoly, and consumer surplus makes up a larger portion of total surplus in oligopoly than monopoly. The data illustrate how x-inefficiency affects surplus dynamically and suggest price as a mechanism by which competitive pressure increases cost efficiency.

Efficient Dynamic Mechanisms With Interdependent Valuations, Wei He, Jiangtao Li

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper considers a dynamic environment with interdependent valuations and evolving private information. Under the assumption of “independent types”, we construct an efficient, incentive-compatible mechanism that is also budget-balanced in every period of the game. Our mechanism works in environments where in each period, each agent observes her own realized outcome-decision payoff from the previous period. This extends the insight of Mezzetti (2004) to the dynamic setting.

Financial Development And The Oil Curse: Evidence From Algeria, Farah Elias Elhannani, Abou Bakr Boussalem, Mohamed Benbouziane

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Most of the empirical evidence has shown that the majority of oil dependent countries have the low level of financial development; thus, they are much more volatile and exposed to the oil shocks and the so named “oil curse”. This paper aims to investigate the impact of the Algerian financial system—as one of major oil economies—on the economic growth and escaping the oil curse. Over the past two decades, Algeria has courageously attempted to modernize its financial system despite social strife and challenges posed by the large hydrocarbon sector and an inefficient public sector. In fact, various reforms have been …

Sharia Law And The Transition Towards More Democracy And A Market Economy – Restrictions And Opportunities, Rahel Schomaker

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The main source of Islamic Law, the Sharia, provides not only spiritual leadership for human beings, or guidelines how to practice the religion of Islam properly, but also includes normative implications for the design of the political and economic sphere of a state. Beyond the sheer scientific interest, these implications of Islam became relevant (again) in the context of the recent transition processes in the Middle East and North Africa. Despite not being finished yet, the transformations will raise new challenges for their perspective economies and the political systems as many religion-based parties (e.g. Al Nahda in Tunisia) become important …

Functional Income Distribution Consequences Of Financial Crisis In Turkey, Senim Sefil

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the functional income distribution in Turkey by conducting a comparative analysis of various labor share measures using different data sources. Four different labor share measures in the total market income were calculated using micro data from the 2006 -2011 Income and Living Conditions Survey of Turkey. The results of microdata calculations indicated a substantial and permanent increase during the crisis due to the labor hoarding in the labor market, leading to an increase in skilled employees’ labor income share at the expense of unskilled …

An Experimental Investigation Of Procurement Auctions With Asymmetric Sellers, John Aloysius, Cary A. Deck, Li Hao, Ryan French

ESI Publications

Electronic reverse auctions are a commonly used procurement mechanism. Research to date has focused on suppliers who are ex ante symmetric in that their costs are drawn from a common distribution. However, in many cases a seller's range of potential costs depends on their own operations, location, or economies of scale and scope. Thus, understanding how different bidder types impact auction outcomes is key when designing an auction. This paper reports the results of the first controlled laboratory experiment designed to compare prices between first-price and second-price procurement auctions for homogeneous goods when seller cost types are asymmetric and the …

Entrepreneurs' Perceived Factors Of Success And Barriers-To-Entry For Small Business And Farm Operations In Rural Paraguay, Braden J. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both agriculture and nonagriculture activities are important for Paraguay's economy and its rural development plan. Ensuring opportunity for successful enterprise creation and expansion will facilitate new business entrance, while also growing rural economies. Past research has identified many factors that contribute highly to business and farm operation success, though little information exists about the perceptions of would-be entrepreneurs.

This study analyzes perceptions and characteristics of young, would-be entrepreneurs and agriculture producers in rural Paraguay to better understand their views of business/farm success and hurdle factors. Results suggest that increased experience, education and business exposure will decrease perceptions of many barrier …

Three Essays On Big-Box Retailers And Regional Economics, Denis Peralta

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Throughout the years, big-box retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Target have become the focus of many studies researching their impacts on local economic outcomes (i.e. employment, wages, poverty level, food prices, etc.) within specific regions, states, counties and localities in the U.S. This dissertation covers three closely related topics in regional science: (i) the dynamic interrelationship among the presence of the big-box stores, retail wage, and employment, (ii) the impact of the big-box retailers on personal income growth, and (iii) the dynamic interrelationship between the presence of the big-box retailers and personal income growth. The research draws important insights …

How Good Intentions Backfire: Failures And Negative Consequences Of Federal Environmental Policies, Jordan K. Lofthouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is meant to dispel the myths that surround federal environmental policies. The research object of this project is to show that the formation of environmental policies is not altruistic, and the outcomes of these policies often have negative side effects that policymakers and the general public should recognize.

During my time as an undergraduate, I studied environmental geography, which also included environmental policies. We would research environmental problems, but the solution to these problems always seemed to be another government policy. I began to wonder why environmental problems never seemed to actually get better. Once I began my …

The Market Potential For Food And Agricultural Tourism In Utah, Miranda Bradshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tourism is one of the largest and most economically important industries in Utah. Local businesses and government agencies may increase their tourism-related profits through targeted marketing and product development. As tourists may differ from one another in terms of trip planning, party size, the activities they participate in, and more, it is important to understand who tourists are. The primary research purpose of this study was to explore and better understand the different types of tourists who visit Utah.

Data on tourists were collected through an in-person survey. This data was then used to place tourists into groups according to …

Fear-Based Policymaking: How Government Agencies Exploit Mortality Risk Perceptions, Alecia M. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this thesis is to explore how government policymakers use distorted Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) calculations for their personal benefit. The VSL estimates how much a large group of citizens would jointly pay to save the life a one random person from a fatal disease. The VSL is used by government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Agencies use the VSL in benefit-cost analyses to help determine potentially favorable life-saving policy from wasteful policy. Despite the well-intentioned objectiveness and decisiveness of the VSL, the political framework incentivizes miscalculated and exaggerated VSL estimates. Public choice theory addresses …

Political Parties And Direct Democracy: An Analysis Of The 2015 Greek Referendum, Megan E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On July 5, 2015, Greek voters were asked to vote on whether the country should accept the terms of austerity offered by the European Union for bailout from the country’s financial crisis. With a turnout rate of 62.5% overall, 61.3% of Greeks voted “no.” While a majority of voters in every district opposed the bailout’s terms, the margin against the proposed austerity measures ranged from 51.2% in Lakonias to 73.8% in Chanion. This paper explores whether political parties influenced Greek voters’ decisions to accept or reject the EU's budgetary reforms. We first review the literature relevant to that question, focusing …

The Effects Of Federal, State, And Private Oil And Gas Ownerships On County Wages In The Intermountain West, Benjamin A. Crabb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Advances in drilling technology and resource prices contributed to a boom in oil and natural gas production in the Western U.S. in the first decade of the 2000s. Following the boom, a strain of state-level legislation emerged calling for the transfer of federal lands to the states. A justification for the proposed transfers is the claim that state management will increase oil and gas production, resulting in improved economic outcomes. However, a substantial literature indicates that dependence on mineral wealth can be a problematic development strategy which may result in slower economic growth and other undesirable socioeconomic outcomes. The role …

Three Essays On Us Agricultural Insurance, Taehoo Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Agricultural insurance programs such as crop insurance and Dairy Margin Protection program (MPP-Dairy) are managed by United State Department of Agriculture (USDA). The objective of these programs is to help farmers manage their financial risk. Agricultural insurance programs have played an important role for farmers in terms of maintaining farm profitability. There are several potential problems with insurance programs, such as moral hazard and adverse selection, which make them inefficient.

With respect to these problems, three research gaps are identified: i) moral hazard in prevented planting (PP), ii) choice of PP and planting a second crop, and iii) selecting margin …

Harmful Transparency In Teams, Parimal Bag, Nona Pepito

Research Collection School Of Economics

In a two-player team project with efforts over two rounds, we demonstrate that observability of peer efforts can be strictly harmful if preferences are utilitarian. This contrasts with Mohnen et al. (2000) who show in a similar setting that observability of interim efforts induces more efforts, if team members are inequity-averse.

Competition And Gains From Trade: A Quantitative Analysis Of China Between 1995 And 2004, Wen-Tai Hsu, Yi Lu, Guiying Laura Wu

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper provides a quantitative analysis of gains from trade for China over the period of 1995-2004, which was when China's openness drastically improved. We decompose gains from trade in two ways. First, we disentangle pro-competitive effects from a traditional Ricardian effect. Second, we separate the effect due to tariff reductions from that due to reductions in non-tariff trade costs. Our quantitative analysis shows that the pro-competitive effects account for 25.4% of the total welfare gains from trade, whereas the allocative effciency alone accounts for 22.3%. We also find that tariff reductions account for about 31.6% of reductions of overall …

A Characterization Of Single‐Peaked Preferences Via Random Social Choice Functions, Shurojit Chatterji, Arunava Sen, Huaxia Zeng

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper proves the following result: every path-connected domain of preferences that admits a strategy-proof, unanimous, tops-only random social choice function satisfying a compromise property is single-peaked. Conversely, every single-peaked domain admits a random social choice function satisfying these properties. Single-peakedness is defined with respect to arbitrary trees. The paper provides a justification of the salience of single-peaked preferences and evidence in favor of the Gul conjecture (Barber\303\240 2010).

Energy Price Shocks And External Balances, Bao Tan Huynh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the impact of a wide set of energy price shocks on exter- nal balances using a two-country framework comprising multiple sectors and en- dogenous energy production with convex costs. The paper disentangles different demand and supply shocks in the energy market through their distinct impact on external balances. It provides a theoretical confirmation of Kilian et al. (2009) and a theoretical foundation to the determining role of the non-energy trade balance in the transmission of energy price shocks. The presence of durables also highlights the immediate channel through which energy prices impact the non-energy trade balance.

Financial Integration In Asean-5, Laura Grace Gabriella, Revathy Suryanarayana, Vania Esady

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The financial integration in South East Asia has varied over time. This paper focuses on three periods: before, during, and after the global financial crisis in 2008. This paper finds that ASEAN-5 countries have indeed taken a step towards financial integration. While we do not observe any (cointegrating) long-run relationships between the ASEAN-5 countries, we find that there has been a significant increase in the volatility spillovers between them. This is particularly true in the recovery period following the global financial crisis.

Determination Of Competition Conventional Bank In Banking Industry In Indonesia, Ciplis Gema Qori'ah

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The aim of this study is to determine the level of concentration and competition behavior of conventional commercial banks in the national banking industry. This study focuses on descriptive analysis and quantitative analysis using panel data regression for 9 conventional commercial banks during 2003-2014. Results of eclectic analysis are supposed that behavior of banks is less competitive due to high levels of concentration in the banking industry. While the results of panel data regression show that the variables of bank interest expense, operating expense, other operating incomes and variable of loanable funds significantly affect the income of conventional banks.

What Are The Challenges In Designing An Effective Personal Income Tax System?, Raeni Raeni

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This article aims to examine the challenges of designing individual's income tax systems in general and particularly to observe taxpayers behaviour in developing countries. This study used case study approach to gain in depth understanding type of taxpayers attitude towards personal income tax systems. Based on the analyses, tax behaviour, which comprises the perception of fairness and motivation to comply, attracts urgent challenges in designing effective tax on personal income in every country and mainly underdeveloped countries. Every human being in each country has their social pattern towards tax policy. When the individual perception of fairness is significant, it will …

No Frills = No Thrills? An Econometric Study Of The Effects Of Airline Baggage Fee Charges, Hao You

Undergraduate Craft of Research Prize Papers

No abstract provided.

The Economic Determinants Of Domestic Terrorism In The United States, Sarah Anne Van Giezen

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper studies the economic determinants of domestic terrorism in the United States using a panel dataset of the fifty states and the District of Columbia from 1980 to 2005. The results suggest that individual economic wellbeing factors and predictive economic variables are significant economic determinants. However, economic variables are not major determinants of domestic terrorism.

Can Nba Teams Benefit From Losing?, Ryan P. Hallisey

Honors Scholar Theses

It has been speculated that franchises in the NBA (national basketball association) lose on purpose because of the benefits that coincide with a team having a poor overall record. Teams that perform the worst are given the highest draft selections in the following season's rookie player draft, thus theoretically improving their chances of becoming a more winning team. Previous economists have used various methodology to prove that NBA teams do in fact lose on purpose; or tank. This paper builds upon this previous methodology to examine the direct impact, negative or positive, that losing on purpose has had on various …

Salience, Framing, And Decisions Under Risk, Uncertainty, And Time, Jonathan W. Leland, Mark Schneider

ESI Working Papers

We propose a comparative model of decision making under risk, uncertainty, and time, in which large differences in payoffs and probabilities or dates of receipt are perceived as salient and overweighted in the evaluation process. The predictions of the model depend on what differences are compared across alternatives which, in turn, depends on how the choice is framed. We formalize a class of matrix-based frames which applies to decisions under risk, uncertainty, and time, and we specify two important types of frames within this class: minimal frames which provide the simplest representation of choice alternatives, and transparent frames which make …

State Dependent Price Setting Rules Under Implicit Thresholds: An Experiment, Justin Deloy Leblanc, Andrea Civelli, Cary A. Deck, Klajdi Bregu

ESI Publications

How firms make their pricing decisions is a fundamental question of macroeconomics. We use a laboratory experiment to examine individual choices in a price updating task that provide insight into how well state dependent models reflect behavior. We find that in general subjects behave as if they recognize the importance of a state dependent pricing strategy, but they are unable to ascertain this threshold with precision and they also exhibit a substantial degree of time dependence. As a result, they update prices too frequently, and perform statistically significantly fewer real effort profit-generating tasks than theoretically optimal under full state dependence, …

Barber Licensure And The Supply Of Barber Shops: Evidence From Us States, Joshua C. Hall, Shree B. Pokharel

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

Occupational licensure is on the rise. According to Kleiner (2014), over 29 percent of the U.S. workforce required some form of license. While a number of studies estimate the wage effects of occupational licensure, few studies look at the impact of licensure on entry into new business formation. In this paper we focus on the impact on barber shops, since many barber shops are sole proprietorships. Using state-level data on the occupational licensure of barbers from the Institute for Justice, we find that the number of exams required to become a barber is negatively related to the number of barber …

Encouragement Emails Increase Participation In Reemployment Services, Matthew Darling, Christopher J. O'Leary, Irma L. Perez-Johnson, Jaclyn Lefkowitz, Kenneth J. Kline, Ben Damerow, Randall W. Eberts

External Papers and Reports

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Vacationer Spending Segments, Kara Grau, Norma P. Nickerson

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

The purpose of this study was to compare characteristics of vacationers segmented into three groups: high-spenders, mid-range spenders, and low-spenders. This report contains information comparing the similarities and differences between these three groups of vacation travelers in Montana during 2015.