Economics Commons^™

Essays In International Macroeconomics, Arjun Sondhi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Financial crisis of 2007 provides a renewed interest in financial market linkages and their effect on macro variables. In an open-economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model setting, two things are investigated in this paper. First, what role do financial linkages play in propagating asymmetric cross-country dynamics. Specifically, the impact of a productivity shock in home country leads to a more synchronous behavior in consumption and investment in recessions than in expansions. Secondly, a new source of shock is included, one in the financial sector itself. Cross-country asset prices and fixed assets move identically in this scenario implying perfect risk-sharing.

Accounting For Locational, Temporal, And Physical Similarity Of Residential Sales In Mass Appraisal Modeling: The Development And Application Of Geographically, Temporally, And Characteristically Weighted Regression, Paul E. Bidanset, Michael Mccord, John R. Lombard, Peadar Davis, William J. Mccluskey

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) has been recognized in the assessment community as a viable automated valuation model (AVM) to help overcome, at least in part, modeling hurdles associated with location, such as spatial heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation of error terms. Although previous researchers have adjusted the GWR weights matrix to also weight by time of sale or by structural similarity of properties in AVMs, the research described in this paper is the first that has done so by all three dimensions (i.e., location, structural similarity, and time of sale) simultaneously. Using 24 years of single-family residential sales in Fairfax, Virginia, …

Disasters In The United States : Frequency, Costs, And Compensation, Vera Brusentsev, Wayne Vroman

Upjohn Press

Disasters are increasing in both frequency and financial costs. Analysis presented here deals with what we know about disasters in the United States including their increasing frequency of occurrence and associated financial costs, compensation available to survivors, where particular types of disasters are most likely to occur, and how disasters can be mitigated.

Extending Work Life: Can Employers Adapt When Employees Want To Delay Retirement?, Robert L. Clark, Melinda Sandler Morrill

Upjohn Press

Aging men and women are increasingly remaining in the labor force. Most often the reason for this is that they need to work additional years in order to be able to support an increasing number of years in retirement. This leaves employers scrambling for ways to adapt to a growing number of retirement-aged workers. Clark and Morrill provide a thorough assessment of the costs and benefits of accommodating later retirement ages, and they describe options employers may use to create some new form of employment contract with aging workers.

The most prominent issues employers with aging workers face are declining …

How Did Employee Ownership Firms Weather The Last Two Recessions?: Employee Ownership, Employment Stability, And Firm Survival In The United States: 1999-2011, Fidan Ana Kurtulus, Douglas L. Kruse

Upjohn Press

Employee ownership firms offer workers the opportunity to own a stake in the firms where they work. This affords them the ability to share in profits and have a voice in firm-related decision-making. In this comprehensive new book, Kurtulus and Kruse provide new evidence on whether employee ownership firms are better equipped to survive recessions. In particular, they focus on broad-based employee ownership, which includes ownership at all levels in the firm’s hierarchy.

Lessons Learned From Public Workforce Program Experiments, Stephen A. Wandner Editor

Upjohn Press

This book chronicles many of the most important experiments and the key lessons derived from the evaluations of both existing large-scale public workforce programs and the development of new interventions—including low-cost experiments based on behavioral science methods.

The Impact Of Emerging Information Technologies On The Employment Relationship: New Gigs For Labor And Employment Law, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The technology of production has always shaped the employment relationship and the issues that are important in labor and employment law. Since at least the late 1970s the American economy has adopted information technology that promises to change the employment relationship in ways at least as profound as those wrought by the other revolutions in general production technology, such as the adoption of steam power, electricity, or methods of mass production. The global network of programmable machines of the information age allows us to communicate and process much more information, much more quickly than ever previously imagined. This increased informational …

Has Capitalism Lost Its Puritan Spirit? What Do Recent Wvs Data Say About Religiosity And Work Values?, Veysel Bozkurt, Birol A. Yeşilada

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper tests the arguments of social theorists about the changing spirit of capitalism in countries with different levels of economic development using the recent World Values Survey (WVS). Max Weber claimed that the Protestant Ethic was the spirit of capitalism for salvation and improved economic development in Europe. During the last 40 years, sociologists, such as Bell and Bauman, have claimed that capitalism has started to lose its puritan spirit and a new secular/hedonist personality type has emerged as the new characteristic of post-industrial/ consumer capitalism. The data show that religiosity and work values decline but leisure and self-expression …

Inequality In Access To Dental And Vision Care : Examining The Role Of Income And Insurance, Wahida Ferdousi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores inequality in access to dental and vision care. It includes three chapters.

Essays On The Role Of Uncertainty In The Economy, Amalia Sarah Jerison

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I study how uncertainty interacts with firm dynamics to affect aggregate economic variables. The first chapter proposes a measure of uncertainty based on forecaster surveys and compares it with another measure developed by Jurado, Ludvigson and Ng (2015). This chapter first investigates whether fluctuations in survey composition make the survey uncertainty measure too dependent on the identity of participating forecasters. An extension of the Breusch and Pagan (1979) test due to Breitung, Roling and Salish (2016) rejects constancy of parameters in regressions of GDP growth on survey uncertainty as the subsets of the forecasters differ. However, the …

Three Essays On Electricity Pricing, Congestion, And Market Efficiency, Yu Zou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the first chapter, I analyze the price variations among zones in the electricity forward market of New York State, and how electricity forward prices react to the economic risks in the market. It applies a VAR model with monthly/holiday dummies and weather data to forecast the three components of electricity prices--energy price, marginal cost of congestion and losses. The GARCH estimates of the conditional variance of the VAR residuals are treated as risks. We find that participants will bid higher price in the forward market when they expect higher risks. Particularly, the risk of congestion has a larger effect …

Essays On Health Disparities And Income-Related Health Inequality In Sub-Saharan Africa, Marshall Makate

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation comprises of five empirical essays. Essay one assesses the impact of prenatal care quality and its components on child mortality using nationwide data from the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys (ZDHS), 1999-11. Results indicate that increasing prenatal care quality by one unit improves neonatal, infant and under-five survival by about 42.33, 30.86, and 28.65%, respectively and all statically significant at the 1% level.

Impact Of Employment Barriers On Individuals With Criminal Records : An Econometric Evaluation Of Criminal Background Checks In New York, Garima Siwach

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Individuals with criminal records face significant barriers to employment, -- a concern which has become stronger in an era of widespread criminal background checks. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently drawn attention to the need to balance employers' concerns about the potential risk of hiring such individuals, with increasing employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records, particularly if they are low risk. Despite a large number of individuals with criminal records in the United States working age population, there has been no research to demonstrate the implications of such background checks used for employment determination. This dissertation consists …

How Do The Trans-Pacific Economies Affect The Usa? An Industrial Sector Approach, Takeshi Yagihashi, David D. Selover

Economics Faculty Publications

This paper studies how the Trans-Pacific region affects the US economy in terms of business cycle transmission. We use a large data set consisting of disaggregated sectoral industrial production indexes from selected countries in the region and employ a factor-augmented vector autoregression (FAVAR) approach to analyze the transmission of shocks in different industries. We find that a positive output shock in the entire Trans-Pacific region has positive effects on the majority of US manufacturing sectors. We also find that sectoral shocks in five sectors of the Trans-Pacific region have a large impact on the overall US economy. Three of the …

Refugees In The United States: Are They Worse Off?, Lily Chang

Mark A. Israel '91 Endowed Summer Research Fund in Economics

This paper aims to investigate how refugees perform in the US labor market in relation to economic immigrants and natives. Drawing from conclusions from human capital and discrimination theories, I hypothesize that compared to economic immigrants and natives, refugees are more likely to be disadvantaged in the US upon their arrival. For example, refugees often have less time and fewer resources to acquire desirable US-specific labor skills prior to their entry and may face taste-based and statistical discrimination from employers after they arrive. However, over time assimilation would occur for refugees as they obtain more US-specific human capital, such as …

Politics Below The Surface: A Political Ecology Of Mineral Rights And Land Tenure Struggles In Appalachia And The Andes, Lindsay Shade

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation examines how confusion and lack of access to information about subsurface property rights facilitates the rapid acquisition of mineral rights by mining interests, leaving those who live 'above the surface' to contend with complicated corporate and bureaucratic apparatuses. The research focuses on the first proposed state-run large scale mining project in Ecuador, believed to contain copper ores, and on the natural gas hydrofracking industry in three counties in north central West Virginia. Qualitative and visual methods, including mapping, are employed to determine (i.) how the geography of subsurface ownership patterns is changing, (ii.) links between changes in subsurface …

Remittance Securitization As An Alternative Source Of Finance For Cuba, Oscar Valdes Viera Ms

Theses - Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy

In this paper we propose to leverage remittances as an alternative source of finance for the Cuban economy through one particular financial innovation—remittance securitization. This instrument has been successfully used in a number of developing countries to mitigate the risks associated with lending to a developing nation. We show how the structure of the remittance securitization for the particular case of Cuba would also mitigate those risks and could potentially allow Cuba to access capital markets at lower costs and longer terms than its sovereign credit rating would otherwise allow.

Adaptation To Climate Change: Historical Evidence From The Indian Monsoon, Vis Taraz

Economics: Faculty Publications

Estimating the potential impacts of climate change requires understanding the ability of agents to adapt to changes in their climate. This paper uses panel data from India spanning from 1956 to 1999 to investigate the ability of farmers to adapt. To identify adaptation, the author exploits persistent, multidecadal monsoon regimes during which droughts or floods are more common. These regimes generate medium-run variation in average rainfall, and there is spatial variation in the timing of the regimes. Using a fixed-effects strategy, she tests whether farmers have adapted to the medium-run rainfall variation induced by the monsoon regimes. The author finds …

Taxes, Transfers, And Women's Labor Supply In The United States, Melanie Guldi, Lucie Schmidt

Economics: Faculty Publications

The US tax and transfer system generates revenue and provides safety net programs that move millions out of poverty. Since women are more likely to live in poverty, they are more likely to qualify for means-tested transfers. The structure of taxation in the United States often penalizes secondary earners, who are usually women. These programs alter work incentives and consequently may affect labor supply decisions. In this chapter, we examine the empirical evidence on the effects of taxes and transfers on the labor supply of women in the United States. We show that much has changed since 1990, with the …

Historiography Of Ba`Thi Iraq Post-2003: Faust’S Ba`Thification In Comparative Perspective, Karen Pfeifer

Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How China Is Preparing For An Ai-Powered Future, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) may be challenged by China’s recent and centralized policy planning aimed at rapidly developing AI-related technologies. The Chinese government supports AI as a strategic area supported by high-level policies with ambitious and quantifiable targets, inter-ministry coordination, government funding for research and development, support for workforce development, and suggestions for international collaboration and expansion. Still, as a relative latecomer in the global AI race, China faces numerous challenges to implement its policy planning, including short-term skills gap and long-term institutional constraints.

Monitoring The Philippine Economy Year-End Report For 2016, Mitzie Irene P. Conchada, Regina S. Villasor

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Philippine economic growth topped regional performance for 2016. In line with election-year market expectations, annual growth accelerated to 6.9 percent from 6.0 percent in 2015, surpassing China (6.7%) and Vietnam (6.2%). Despite the global economic slowdown, Philippine growth has continuously improved since 2015, showing resilience to external shocks with manufacturing expansion. On the demand side, household consumption and investments flourished with modest inflation and strong imports. On the supply side, the industry sector led as the service sector slowed down. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector continues to contract with the onslaught of weather disruptions like typhoons Karen and Lawin.

Explaining The Rise Of Isis, Anas Alqaed

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In this paper I study the circumstances that led to the rise the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/Daesh) and its economic power. I use articles, testimonies before US House of Representatives and analyze economic data to generate facts and draw conclusions. All references rely on primary source documents that were not released in an official capacity by ISIS. These are documents that have been released online by pro or anti-ISIS activists or information that was gathered and analyzed by research centers and international organizations. It is worth noting that non-officially released documents were very helpful in shedding more …

Teaching Size And Power Properties Of Hypothesis Tests Through Simulations, Suleyman Taspinar, Osman Dogan

Publications and Research

In this study, we review the graphical methods suggested in Davidson and MacKinnon (Davidson, Russell, and James G. MacKinnon. 1998. “Graphical Methods for Investigating the Size and Power of Hypothesis Tests.” The Manchester School 66 (1): 1–26.) that can be used to investigate size and power properties of hypothesis tests for undergraduate and graduate econometrics courses. These methods can be used to assess finite sample properties of various hypothesis tests through simulation studies. In addition, these methods can be effectively used in classrooms to reinforce students’ understanding of basic hypothesis testing concepts such as Type I error, Type II error, …

دور لجان التدقيق في الحد من ممارسات إدارة الارباح وأثرها على جودة التقارير المالية المنشورة للشركات المساهمة العامة العراقية (دراسة تطبيقية على عينه من شركات التأمين المدرجة في سوق العراق للأوراق المالية), علاء حسن كريم الشرع

Muthanna Journal of Administrative and Economics Sciences

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على دور لجان التدقيق في الحد من ممارسات إدارة الارباح وأثرها علـى جودة التقارير المالية المنشورة لشركات التأمين العراقية المدرجة فـي سوق العراق للأوراق المالية. لتحقيق أهداف هذه الدارسة تم تصميم استبانة وزعت على المدققين الداخليين والمحاسبين العاملين في شركات التأمين العراقية العامة بلغ عددها 110 استبانة تم استرداد 100 استبانة وتمت المعالجة الاحصائية المناسبة في التحليل باستخدام البرنامج الاحصائي SPSSوقد توصل البحث الى مجموعة من النتائج نذكر من اهمها أن إعداد تقارير تخص لجان التدقيق وبصفة دورية مرفقة مع التقارير المالية الدورية وبكل صدق وأمانة يمثل دعماً للجان التدقيق لغرض الارتقاء بمستوى جودة التقارير …

Behavioral Economics, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes: 

• Shaikh, A. (2017, May 4). Thank-you card from students [Handwritten greeting card]. The New School for Social Research. Unpublished. Signed by multiple students expressing gratitude for instruction in behavioral economics.
• Shaikh, A. (2017). Behavioral economics: Course outline [Handwritten lecture notes, partial draft]. The New School for Social Research. Unpublished. 
• Shaikh, A. (2017). Annotations on Richard Thaler and nudging [Handwritten sticky note and marginalia on printed article]. The New School for Social Research. Unpublished. 
• Shaikh, A. (2017, December 5). Behavioral economics: Class discussion notes [Handwritten lecture notes]. The New School for Social Research. Unpublished. T
• [Author unknown]. (n.d.). …

Dual Enrollment Participation In The United States: Findings From The High School Longitudinal Study Of 2009, Luis Eduardo Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Today, dual enrollment programs are ubiquitous in the United States' secondary educational system. As a form of accelerated coursework, policy makers and school districts push dual enrollment as a means to improve college readiness and attainment. This paper studies the composition and characteristics of dual enrollment participants in the United States. Employing the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 restricted dataset, three discrete logistic models are created to estimate the probability of a high school student participating in any dual enrollment coursework across the United States. The results from these models suggest that gender, prior academic achievement, and family socioeconomic …

The Ethical And Economic Concerns Of Physician Assisted Suicide, Wade M. Smith

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource, Regional Growth, And Human Capital Accumulation, Na Zuo

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The dissertation research will comprise three essays on the topic of the resource curse hypothesis and its mechanisms. The phenomenon of low economic growth in resource-rich regions is recognized as the “resource curse”. These essays will contribute to an understanding of the regional resource-growth relation within a nation.

Essay one tests the resource curse hypothesis at the U.S. state level. With a system of equations model, I decompose the overall resource effect to account for the two leading explanations — crowding-out and institution effects, thus investigate whether the institutions mediate the crowding-out effects. I did not find evidence of an …

Agricultural Input Intensification, Productivity Growth, And The Transformation Of African Agriculture, Didier Y. Alia

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation studies agricultural input intensification, defined as the increased use of modern inputs such as hybrid seeds, mineral fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide in African agriculture. It also analyses the potential of this intensification to accelerate productivity growth and tests the effectiveness of two policies, input subsidies and land reforms, in promoting it and consequently in increasing crop yield. In the first essay, we argue that to create the conditions for the emergence of a green revolution in Africa, modern agricultural technologies have to be adopted as a package, not in a piecemeal fashion. This argument is consistent with a …