Economics Commons^™

Monetary Policy In Tanzania: Accomplishments And The Road Ahead, P. J. Kessy, J. Nyella, Stephen A. O'Connell

Economics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Uncertainty And The Natural Gas Industry In The Us, Jasper W. Clarkberg

Honors Papers

The United States is in the midst of a natural gas boom, but it’s unclear how long this high level of extraction is sustainable given the regulatory trajectory around carbon emissions and climate change. This paper examines how natural gas firms perceive regulatory uncertainty as measured by their capital expenditure. Using rig count data as a proxy for natural gas capital investment, I explore different ways to measure the perceived threat of state-level regulation and differing firm responses. I find strong evidence that regulatory uncertainty decreases the capital investments of firms, although I find that the effect of proposed regulation …

The Real Estate And Stock Market During The Great Depression: Construction Permit Growth As A Leading Economic Indicator For Stock Returns, Will Cresap

CMC Senior Theses

The 1929 stock market crash on Black Thursday, followed by the subsequent four-year period of extreme economic downturn, signifies an extremely profound piece of U.S. history. During this time, global economic productivity – measured by GDP – decreased while the U.S. unemployment rate increased staggeringly. Leveraging construction permits as a forward-looking measure of economic activity, I empirically evaluate the effect of construction permits – specifically, the lagged growth rate of monthly construction permits – and lagged monthly stock returns on monthly Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) stock returns. Lagged construction permit returns and lagged stock returns provide early indications …

The Political Impact Of Rising Trade Exposure: Evidence From 2000 - 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections, Xiaoyang Qian

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper we analyze the impact of global imports on regional labor markets, and how such impact translates to changes in voting patterns in the U.S. Presidential elections from 2000 to 2016. We find that imports from different U.S. trading partners influence voting patterns in different ways. In particular, we observe an anti-incumbent effect caused by import competition from OECD countries. Such an effect cannot be observed for imports from low-income countries. There is also evidence that suggests high exposure to import competition tends to drive voters toward the Democratic candidate, who typically proposes better social welfare programs and …

Nudging Towards Social Change: The Application Of Psychology And Behavioral Economics In Promoting Responsible Consumption, Larissa Chern

CMC Senior Theses

With workplace disasters in developing countries increasingly in the news, a major question is how to encourage consumers to use corporate social responsibility as a criterion in purchasing. Distinct from environmental concerns, social responsibility is defined here with respect to the humanitarian aspects of corporate practice, including fair wages and working conditions, equitable treatment of the disadvantaged, and restriction of child labor. Although the idea of socially responsible consumption (SRC) was first identified over forty years ago, most recent research on changing consumption habits focuses specifically on environmentally responsible consumption (ERC). Combining the psychological concept of social norms with economic …

Testing For Nationality Discrimination In Major League Soccer, Matthew Swift

CMC Senior Theses

Using data from the 2014-2016 Major League Soccer (MLS) seasons, this paper finds evidence for nationality discrimination in the MLS. In particular, foreign players receive a wage premium of 15.97 percent, ceteris paribus. Foreign players also receive an additional bump in their salary based on performance. Finally, using an Oaxaca (1973) decomposition, I find that 22-26% of the differences in wages between foreign and domestic players is largely due to discrimination.

Quantifying The Trenches: Machine Learning Applied To Nfl Offensive Lineman Valuation, Sean Pyne

CMC Senior Theses

There are 32 teams in the National Football League all competing to be the best by creating the strongest roster possible. The problem of evaluating talent has created extreme competition between teams in the form of a rookie draft and a fiercely competitive veteran free agent market. The difficulty with player evaluation is due to the noise associated with measuring a particular player’s value. The intent of this paper is to create an algorithm for identifying the inefficiencies in pricing in these player markets. In particular, this paper focuses on the veteran free agent market for offensive linemen in the …

Pluralism Vs Eclecticism Notes, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

24-22_Distrbution of Labor Income in Turkey.pdf You said: as an archivist detailing a new entry, analyze the uploaded file and give an outline of the material with all dates standardized, all bullet-point item formatting, and sentence case for titles, and italics for all titles, 1.5 spacing between paragraphs, and expand the published items into full apa references with publisher details and journal information but without internet links, or any further description of the different items, standardize the handwritten notes, emails, and comments into full apa-style manuscript citations so they match the level of formality of the published papers, with all …

Trade Facilitation And Trade Participation: Are Sub-Saharan African Firms Different?☆, Abdoulaye Seck

Journal of African Trade

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where firms face the greatest hurdles when it comes to cross-border trading. This paper examines how these firms, relative to their counterparts in the developing world, would respond to changes in the trade environment as a result of trade facilitation reforms. Using data from World Bank's Enterprise Surveys, the paper suggests that improving customs clearance, government regulations, trade finance, and energy and telecommunication infrastructure contributes to increasing the probability of firms' entry into exporting and importing, as well as to the extent of their trade. The results also indicate that African firms tend to respond …

Infrastructure, Trade Facilitation, And Network Connectivity In Sub-Saharan Africa☆,☆☆, Ben Shepherd

Journal of African Trade

This paper uses new measures of value added in exports in two sectors (textiles and clothing, and agriculture) to examine the linkages between trade facilitation and infrastructure on the one hand, and value chain participation on the other. It applies network analysis methods to derive a summary measure of value chain connectivity for 189 countries, including 44 in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is a statistically significant association between this measure and summary indicators of infrastructure development and trade facilitation performance. Moreover, it is not only a country's own performance that matters, but also that of its neighbors. The regional dimension of …

Trade And Economic Growth In Developing Countries: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa, Pam Zahonogo

Journal of African Trade

This study investigates how trade openness affects economic growth in developing countries, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We use a dynamic growth model with data from 42 SSA countries covering 1980 to 2012. We employ the Pooled Mean Group estimation technique, which is appropriate for drawing conclusions from dynamic heterogeneous panels by considering long-run equilibrium relations. The empirical evidence indicates that a trade threshold exists below which greater trade openness has beneficial effects on economic growth and above which the trade effect on growth declines. The evidence also indicates an inverted U-curve (Laffer Curve of Trade) response, robust …

The Relationship Between Income And Food Intake In China, Xinfang Li

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study investigated the effect of food intake, which is considered a form of health investment, on income in China, accounting also for socioeconomic factors. It used the 2011 wave of the China Health and Nutrition survey, including 42,870 observations in the analysis. Six dependent variables, each representing a different measure of income, were explored. The main explanatory variables included a 3-day total food consumption (grams), a 3-day average intake of energy (kilocalories), a 3-day average intake of carbohydrate (grams), a 3-day average intake of protein (grams) and a 3-day average intake of fat (grams). Personal, household, and area characteristics …

Supplementary Studies In Rio Grande Valley History, Milo Kearney, Anthony K. Knopp, Antonio Zavaleta, Thomas Daniel Knight

Studies in Rio Grande Valley Regional History Series

Corrupted, a poem / Tom Emrick -- Primal Matamoros : ancient refuge among the Estuaries of the Rio Bravo / Craig H. Roell -- U.S.-Mexico relations during the establishment of the American Consulate in Matamoros : 1826-1842 / Melisa C. Galvan -- Captain King’s Cotton : the Civil War blockade-running adventures of Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy / Walter E. Wilson -- The sad saga of John V. Singer / Norman Rozeff -- Ulster and the Texas-Mexico Border : John McAllen and his family / Thomas Daniel Knight -- Joseph Kleiber and his letter press book / Anthony K. Knopp …

To Work More Or Less? The Impact Of Taxes And Life Satisfaction On The Motivation To Work In Continental And Eastern Europe, Orkhan Nadirov, Khatai Aliyev, Bruce Dehning

Accounting Faculty Articles and Research

Using country-level data from 2000-2013, we test the relationship between life satisfaction (measured as how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings) and the motivation to work (measured as aggregate hours of work). Our hypothesis is that even after controlling for average labor income tax rates in countries with high and low average hours worked, there is a significant negative association between the motivation to work and life satisfaction. The main findings of this paper are that the increase in the motivation to work per employee comes at the expense of life satisfaction, and differences …

How Mobile Phones Can Spark An Entrepreneurial Revolution, Alison Choe

Scripps Senior Theses

In the last decade, there has been an exponential rise in mobile phones in both developed and developed countries. In light of that, this paper investigates whether the expansion of such mobile networks leads to increased entrepreneurial activity. By conducting panel regressions, I find the degree to which various stages of entrepreneurial activity is affected by increased mobile phone subscription rates. I use data from 80 countries from 2007 to 2015 and parse out the different effects between developing and developed countries, and between males and females. I find that larger mobile networks encourage entrepreneurship, particularly in the early stages, …

Order Execution Quality In Equity Options Markets, Todd Gardner Griffith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Part 1, we examine the effects of an order cancellation fee on limit order behavior and execution quality on the NASDAQ OMX PHLX. We find that the cancellation fee is effective in reducing the rate at which limit orders are submitted and subsequently deleted. Order volume declines, however, the remaining displayed orders appear to constitute more genuine liquidity, as the duration of canceled orders lengthens. The reduction in order cancellation activity is associated with lower effective spreads and higher order fill rates. We also find that differences in trading venues and option characteristics are important determinants of order cancellations …

Social Health Insurance Coverage And Financial Protection Among Rural-To-Urban Internal Migrants In China: Evidence From A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study, Wen Chen, Qi Zhang, Andre M. N. Renzaho, Fangjing Zhou, Hui Zhang, Li Ling

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Migrants are a vulnerable population and could experience various challenges and barriers to accessing health insurance. Health insurance coverage protects migrants from financial loss related to illness and death. We assessed social health insurance (SHI) coverage and its financial protection effect among rural-to-urban internal migrants (IMs) in China.

METHODS: Data from the '2014 National Internal Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey' were used. We categorised 170 904 rural-to-urban IMs according to their SHI status, namely uninsured by SHI, insured by the rural SHI scheme (new rural cooperative medical scheme (NCMS)) or the urban SHI schemes (urban employee-based basic medical insurance (UEBMI)/urban …

How Does The Million Baht Village Fund Impact Fertility In Thailand?, Kaci Felstet

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study evaluates the impact of Thailand’s Million Baht Village Fund program on household fertility decisions. Thailand’s fertility rates are alarmingly low and it is imperative to recognize the unintended consequences a microfinance program may have on fertility choices within Thailand. Using panel data from pre- and post-program years, this research identifies the change in number of babies in a household associated with getting a microloan from the Village Fund program. The quasi-experimental nature of the program and an instrumental variable model with fixed effects identifies a negative relationship between the number of babies within families and participation in the …

Impact Of Local Government Revenue And Spending During Oil And Gas Booms In The Rocky Mountain States, Tina Cummins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Health Capital Investment And Time Spent On Health Related Activities, Juan Du, Takeshi Yagihashi

Economics Faculty Publications

One key component in the health capital investment model in (Grossman, M. Journal of Political Economy, 80: 223–255, 1972) is time spent on improving health. However, few empirical studies have examined how time spent on health investment is determined. In this paper, we fill this void in the literature by investigating how people allocate their time for different types of health-related activities in response to economic variables. Using the American Time Use Survey, we distinguish health-enhancing and health-deteriorating leisure activities, with the rationale that these activities may respond differently to socioeconomic environment. We find that health-enhancing and health-deteriorating time respond …

An Overlapping-Generations Model Of Firm Heterogeneity In Economic Development, Yu Chen, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

We study firm heterogeneity in economic development in an overlapping-generations general equilibrium model in which manufacturing firms engage in oligopolistic competition. Individuals differ in their productivities in the manufacturing sector and choose to become entrepreneurs or workers. The model is surprisingly tractable. In the steady state, an increase in the entry barrier in the manufacturing sector or an increase in the percentage of income spent on the agricultural good decreases the wage rate, but the level of output in the manufacturing sector does not necessarily decrease. An increase in the degree of patience of an individual increases the steady state …

Ginning Up Economic Growth? Evaluating The Effects Of County-Level Alcohol Sales, Nathan Smith

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The academic literature on the topic of legal alcohol sales is vast; from the effects on crime to population health outcomes. The economic development impact of alcohol sales, however, remains relatively unexplored. This research examines county-level data from the State of Arkansas between the years 2009 and 2014 in a cross-sectional time-series regression analysis to determine whether economic development benefits exist that can be attributed either directly or indirectly to legal alcohol sales. Ultimately, this study finds that alcohol sales are positively and significantly related with food service and accommodation employment as well as higher per capita personal income.

Effect Of The Relocation Policy Of Public Agencies In South Korea, Chan Ho Kim

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2005, the government announced the relocation policy of public agencies to non-capital regions. The main purpose of the policy was to decentralize population in the SMA (Seoul Metropolitan Area) through building regional competitiveness. The transfer of 98% of the public institutions was completed in April 2017 (MOLIT 2017). However, unlike the blueprint for the initial plan for the relocation of the agencies, there may be an increase in social cost and insufficient contribution to the regional economic development.

This study empirically examines effectiveness of the policy and its impact on regional economic growth and on how differently the policy …

Politics And Local Economic Growth: Evidence From India, Sam Asher, Paul Novosad

Dartmouth Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Effect Of State Aid Transfers On Local Government Expenditures, John Perrin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper seeks to determine the effects of state budget changes on local government expenditures; particularly, how changes in state funding provided to local governments affects local government expenditures. The hypothesis tested is that state funding is a significant factor on local government expenditure. To evaluate this, two levels of analysis were conducted. The first was a paneled fixed effects regression analysis of data for all fifty states from the years 2000 to 2013, in which changes to local expenditure were measured by the effects of multiple fiscal and socioeconomic variables. The second level of analysis evaluated the same effects …

Meat Consumption And Health Outcomes: The Economic Risk Factors Of Non-Communicable Disease, Alley Bellack

Scripps Senior Theses

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the most prominent cause of adult mortality, killing 38 million people each year and on the rise^[1]. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are responsible for 82% of NCD-related illness and death. These four diseases, along with mental illness, are estimated to cost the developing world $21 trillion over the next two decades.^[2]

Given the substantial health and economic detriments of NCDs, policy makers, government officials, and enterprises around the globe have begun to focus efforts on better understanding and preventing the proliferation of these diseases. Lifestyle factors, including increased inactivity, …

Does Increased Access To The Arts In High Schools In The Los Angeles Unified School District Affect Graduation Rates?, Elizabeth K. Gile

Scripps Senior Theses

Determining whether the arts are beneficial to a student’s education is a widely, and hotly debated topic every year in the United States, with many studies published each year demonstrating the impact that the arts have on various educational outcomes, from increased test scores to higher graduation rates. This paper examines previous research on the efficacy of incentives and how students’ participation in extracurricular activities, from sports to the arts, could impact graduation rates. It also develops a model for analyzing the present value of a high school education to a student using a discounted present value analysis and conducts …

Robert Parker’S Wine Advocate And The Consequential Pricing Of Provençal Wines, Gweneth Marter

Scripps Senior Theses

Robert Parker is an esteemed, somewhat controversial wine-critic. Since 1978, Parker has assigned every wine he tastes a score between 50 and 100. He uses this method to communicate to both consumers and producers his opinion of the quality, taste, and aging potential of the wine. Between the years 2005 and 2015, Robert Parker graded 115 wines from the French region of Provence. The goal of this thesis is to determine whether and to what extent Robert Parker’s grades affect the price of wine. Through descriptive statistics and regression analysis of Robert Parker’s grade and year of production on the …

Climate Change Crisis: Prescribing Alternative Economic Policy Using An Austrian Framework, Elina N. Mcgill

Honors Program Theses

This paper reviews the literature surrounding climate change adaptation and mitigation to assess the possible contributions and limitations of heterodox economics to climate change policy. Through interdisciplinary research between economics and environmental issues, this paper aims to stress the importance of utilizing heterodox schools of economics to create more pragmatic and dynamic policy. The secondary aim is to use Austrian frameworks to contribute to the construction of feasible, efficient, and equitable climate change policy. This paper used qualitative and textual analysis of the Austrian schools of economics conceptualize possible policy responses to climate change. Research found that the Austrian prescription …

Why Did China Do This? An Analysis On China's New Gasoline "Price Floor" Policy, Youhan Ding

Scripps Senior Theses

Why did China choose certain policy over others that would achieve similar impact? Because China has a significant presence in the modern international community, it is difficult yet critical to understand the policy implications of the Chinese government under its unique political and socioeconomic context. This thesis shows the impact of a specific “price floor” policy China chose to employ in its oil and gasoline market, and identifies the factors concerning the Chinese regime that it took into consideration in the decision making process, through analysing data and official statements released by the government. After different parties affected by this …