Economics Commons^™

Is The Affordable Care Act's Individual Mandate A Certified Job-Killer?, Cory Stern

Economics Honors Projects

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act argue that its individual mandate component is a "certified job-killer." In this paper, I develop a Real Business Cycle model with a search-based labor market to test the validity of these concerns. I integrate the individual mandate into the model and conduct a general equilibrium analysis of its effects. The simulated results show that the imposition of the individual mandate regime should result in higher levels of aggregate employment and output.

Crossroads: How Race, Class, And Gender Affect Views Of Poverty, Heather Webb

Honors Projects

The existence of poverty in the United States is paradoxical and how people view poverty is complicated. This research provides details about the history of poverty, what causes it, how it is measured, and current statistics. It also provides a condensed history, including relevant types of welfare, of social policies, as well as an overview of social-policy making and current statistics. Secondly, this research analyzes how race, class, and gender affect how we view poverty and policies to amend it. It also uses intersectionality to analyze how intersections between identities contribute to changing these views. The goal of this research …

Hurricanes And Long-Term Gdp Growth: The Role Of Institutional Quality, Kyoko Sakai

Economics Honors Projects

This paper compares the long-term effects on real per-capita GDP of two hurricanes in 1992, hurricane Andrew in Florida and hurricane Iniki in Hawaii. The literature suggests that the long-term effect on GDP of a natural disaster for a region with good pre-disaster institutional quality may be positive (i.e., GDP levels exceed those which would have materialized without the disaster) because the destruction of capital induces firms to investment in more technologically advanced structures and machines. In contrast, a region with bad pre-disaster institutional quality should experience a negative impact because it face severe limits in the amount it can …

Determining Household Health Care Spending: An Analysis Of The Massachusetts Health Care Reform, Caroline Johns

Economics Honors Projects

This study aims to determine the effect of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform on household health care expenditures. I follow the consumer choice theoretical framework, which says that a change in the price of health care will cause households to adjust their consumption choices based on their preferences. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, I apply a difference-in-difference technique to isolate the effect of the reform on spending on health care, prescription drugs, and health insurance as a share of total household expenditures. The results are not statistically significant. However, using a difference-in-difference-in-differences estimation to determine the effect of …

Geopolitics Of The 2016 Australian Defense White Paper And Its Predecessors, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Australia released the newest edition of its Defense White Paper, describing Canberra’s current and emerging national security priorities, on February 25, 2016. This continues a tradition of issuing defense white papers since 1976. This work will examine and analyze the contents of this document as well as previous Australian defense white papers, scholarly literature, and political statements assessing their geopolitical significance. It will also examine public input into Australian defense white papers and the emerging role of social media in this public involvement. It concludes by evaluating whether Australia has the political will and economic resources necessary to fulfill its …

Measuring Progress To Comprehensive Public Health Systems, National Preparedness, And A Culture Of Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

This update describes recent progress on two national health measurement initiatives: The National Health Security Preparedness Index and the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems. These longitudinal data sources offer valuable perspectives on how health security practices and public health delivery systems are changing across the U.S.

Courts And Sovereigns In The Pari Passu Goldmines, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

U.S. federal court rulings against Argentina since 2012 have turned the pari passu clause in sovereign bond contracts into the most promising debt collection tool against immune governments since the days of gunboat diplomacy. The large literature on pari passu (“equal step” in Latin) assumes that the clause had not been used for enforcement before the late 1990s, and that it was first construed by a Belgian court in a case against Peru in the year 2000. The Belgian decision was criticized for wrongly concluding that pari passu promised ratable payment to all holders of Peru’s external debt. A decade …

Considerations For States Planning Personal Reemployment Accounts, Randall W. Eberts, Christopher J. O'Leary

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Health Insurance On Out Of Pocket Expenditure, Andrew M. Bean

Theses and Dissertations

The dependent care provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect September 2010. This change in insurance policy can be used as a natural experiment to examine the effect of health insurance on healthcare expenditures using a control function two-part model to address endogeneity.

The Relationship Between Obesity And Use Of Electronics For Individuals Under The Age Of 21, Zeeshan Haque

Honors College Theses

Today, obesity is one of the largest health problems in America. There are several factors that contribute to obesity – but one problem that has been rising in this generation is the issues of children deciding to play video games, watch television, or spend time on the computer instead of healthier alternatives such as exercising or playing sports. One factor that could attribute to this is the large advancements in technology over the last few decades. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between electronics and obesity by analyzing data provided by the NHANES codebook. In this …

Ez Timeout: The Business Plan, Simbarashe Chirara

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

International Online Retailing Of Ikea Products: An Analysis Of The Law Of One Price And Pass-Through, Yuzhu Quinnie Xiang

Economics Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Can The Working Industry Tell About Your Chance Of Getting Health Insurance? A Study On The Health Insurance Coverage Of Working Adults In The U.S., Ngocgiao Nguyen, Robert Leekley, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Poster presentation abstract.

Second Generation Immigrants: The Effect Of Parental Nativity Status On Earnings, Karen Silverman, Michael Seeborg, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Poster presentation abstract.

Foreign Direct Investment And Sovereign Debt In The European Monetary Union, Joseph Bakke, Ilaria Ossella-Durbal, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

The Long-Term Economic Impact Of Juvenile Criminal Activity, Eric Hyla, Michael Seeborg, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

The Effect Of China’S One-Child Policy On Male And Female Chinese Immigrant Earnings: Does It Pay To Be An Only Child?, Stephanie Mcatee, Michael Seeborg, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

Economic Impact And Audience Patronage Studies Of The Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Tyler Stacey, Diego Mendez-Carbajo, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Oral presentation abstract.

Income Mobility Through Education In The United States, Maxwell Leonard, Robert Leekley, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Poster presentation abstract.

Income Inequality, Incarceration, And Black-White Poverty Rate Differentials, Conor B. Stanhope

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This paper attempts to analyze and isolate the effects of income inequality on the difference between poverty rates amongst the Black and White population by state in 2010, using each state’s GINI coefficient estimate as the inequality measurement. In addition, the author proposes an alternative income distribution measurement to try and further interpret the effects of a particular state’s income allocation on its poverty rate differential. This paper will also discuss, and attempt to quantify, other factors that could affect disparity in poverty rates between Black and White Americans, such as incarceration rates. The author finds that there is some …

Monopoly Power With A Short Selling Constraint, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, David L. Fuller

Economics Department Working Papers

We show if a speculator can benefit from reducing a monopoly’s rents through short selling, then a speculator may take a short position in a monopoly, overcome the barriers to entry, and compete with the monopoly. The competition drives down the monopoly’s rents, and as a result, the short position becomes profitable and covers the cost of entry. If entry is impossible, then the speculator may coordinate and pay the firm’s counter-parties to stop trading with the monopoly rather than entering. Either way, increasing a speculator’s ability to short a firm’s rents results in a constraint on the monopoly and …

High Performance Bayesian Applications In Medical, Economics And Climate Sciences, Ahmed Almulihi

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

We apply high performance numerical integration to problems in Bayesian statistics. These are applied to data arising in the analysis of problems in such areas as medical statistics (birth weight data, heart transplant data, photocarcinogen data, radio therapy data), climate (global weather, tornado data), and general statistics applications (multivariate logistic distribution, multivariate normal, nonlinear regression). We compute Bayesian moment integrals using the ParInt integration software that runs efficiently on computer clusters. We compare our results to those in the literature and show excellent performance with respect to accuracy and execution time.

The Disaggregation Of Value-Added Test Scores To Assess Learning Outcomes In Economics Courses, William B. Walstad, Jamie Wagner

Economics Faculty Publications

This study disaggregates posttest, pretest, and value-added or difference scores in economics into four types of economic learning: positive, retained, negative, and zero. The types are derived from patterns of student responses to individual items on a multiple-choice test. The micro and macro data from the Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE) are used to show how aggregate scores can be reinterpreted based on their learning components. The regression analysis shows the relative contribution from learning components to aggregate scores. A value-added or difference score has a potential problem because it is a mixture of positive and negative learning. …

Do Gender-Variant Preferences For Competition Persist In The Absence Of Performance?, John Ifcher, Homa Zarghamee

Economics

The well-established gender gap in preferences for competition has been attributed to gender-variant feelings about performing in competitive environments. Using a novel task with agency, in which subjects experience competition but cannot perform, we find evidence that performing may be sufficient but not necessary to generate gender-variant preferences for competition. This suggests that the gender-gap cannot be eliminated by correcting beliefs alone; that eliminating performance—for example, routinizing tasks—may not eliminate the gender gap; and that there may be heretofore unidentified determinants of preferences for competition—for example, men may prefer payment schemes that are based on social comparison. (JEL J16, C91, …

Philanthropic Marginal Analysis, Michael Hemesath

Administration Publications

No abstract provided.

The Growth Of The Broadband Internet Access Market In California: Deployment, Competition, Adoption, And Challenges For Policy, James E. Prieger

School of Public Policy Working Papers

This report examines the great progress made in availability and adoption in the broadband market over the past few decades and shows how Californian residents and businesses have come to use broadband widely. The policy issues involved with continuing the tremendous strides already made are discussed, along with recommendations for policy-makers.

The report begins by documenting the rapid growth of Internet usage in the U.S. and California. There is a review of the current state of competition in voice and broadband markets, discussing the decline of traditional telephone service, which is rapidly approaching irrelevance, and the rise of wireless and …

Understanding The Value Of Multi-Sector Partnerships To Improve Population Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

We review recent research concerning multi-sectoral partnerships aimed at improving health status on a population-wide basis, with a particular focus on implementation strategies and on health and economic impact. While still preliminary and emerging, research indicates that large health benefits are possible through collective actions that engage the medical, public health, and social sectors. Mechanisms for aligning incentives, dividing responsibilities equitably, and measuring progress regularly appear critical to success.

New York Camp Econometrics Xi Program, Center For Policy Research

Camp Econometrics-Programs

No abstract provided.

Assessing Property Value Impacts Of Access To Bus Rapid Transit (Brt): Case Study Of The Cleveland Healthline, Victoria A. Perk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The nation’s economy depends heavily on mobility of goods and people. As communities look to improve mobility, many options can be considered, including roadway improvements, congestion-pricing options such as dynamic tolling and toll lanes, and public transit. Investment in public transit services can come in the form of increased and enhanced bus services, including bus rapid transit (BRT), as well as rail transit investments. As BRT continues to grow in popularity in the United States, a better understanding of the mode’s impacts on land uses and economic development is needed. One method of assessing the mode’s impacts is by examining …

The Golden Straightjacket Is Out Of Style, Lacey Germana

Best Integrated Writing

Germana’s review of Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree provides careful summary and critique of Friedman’s argument and passionately calls for a balance between increased standards of living and careful stewardship of the earth.