Economics Commons^™

Three Essays On Corruption And Collusion, Arlo Redwine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies corruption and collusion with data derived from a laboratory experiment and household data. In Chapter 1 I study experimental procurement auctions with bribery and a public reserve to test for the tacitly collusive equilibrium described by Compte et al. (2005). Three sellers compete for 40 periods to sell a single item to a computerized buyer who accepts bribes and determines ties in bids and bribes randomly. In the closing periods, only 13.5% of auctions display the collusive equilibrium, but 58.7% of selling prices are noncompetitive. In comparison with simulated predictions for auctions that are corrupt but competitive, …

The Impact Of Crime And Other Economic Forces On Mexico's Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Rene Cabral, Andre V. Mollick, Eduardo Saucedo

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This paper examines the effect of different crimes on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the 32 Mexican states. Using a state-quarter panel data for the period 2005 to 2015, we estimate alternative models of FDI, with fixed effects throughout a flexible lag-lengths methodology and System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) models in order to identify the determinants of FDI inflows into the country. The dependent variable in our model is the annual inflow of FDI and the independent variables are state level indicators (real wages and electricity consumption), and macroeconomic forces (the real exchange rate and interest rate). We …

Government Size And Openness: Evidence From The Commodity Boom In Latin America, Andre Vianna, Andre V. Mollick

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Does government size increase to compensate for the volatility that arises from openness? We evaluate this compensation hypothesis by focusing on Latin America, whose economic growth in the 2000s has been often attributed to the commodity boom. Panel data regressions show that during the 2003-2010 commodity boom terms of trade volatility has positive effects on government size compared to the earlier 1990-2002 period. This key finding supports the compensation hypothesis, a result robust to dynamic panels allowing for reverse causation from government size to the real economy. Policy implications include diversification of the production structure and strengthening of regulatory framework.

A Study On Fiscal Policy And Economic Growth From An Institutional Perspective, Thúy Ái Hồ

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

This dissertation studies the interrelationship between fiscal policy and institutions (property right protection and economic freedom, in particular) in affecting economic growth. The vast literature on economic growth examines institutions and fiscal policy as separate determinants of economic growth, and has not established a theoretical basis or empirical link on the interaction between them. This dissertation takes a unique approach to the growth literature by studying a channel that institutions affect growth – the fiscal policy channel.

Among the first ones who incorporate economic institutions into a growth model with fiscal policy, I construct a theoretical framework in Chapter 2 …

Slow-Fast Analysis Of A Multi-Group Asset Flow Model With Implications For The Dynamics Of Wealth, Mark Desantis, David Swigon

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The multi-group asset flow model is a nonlinear dynamical system originally developed as a tool for understanding the behavioral foundations of market phenomena such as flash crashes and price bubbles. In this paper we use a modification of this model to analyze the dynamics of a single-asset market in situations when the trading rates of investors (i.e., their desire to exchange stock for cash) are prescribed ahead of time and independent of the state of the market. Under the assumption of fast trading compared to the time-rate of change in the prescribed trading rates we decompose the dynamics of the …

Economic Base Analysis Of The City Of Commerce, Texas With Relation To Hunt County And Texas, Rebekah Cooper

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Do We Need More Futures Contracts In Commodity Markets?, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In the last couple of months, there has been news about a new futures contract for soybeans. The Financial Times and Reuters, among others, reported that the CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, is considering launching a futures contract based on Brazilian soybeans. The discussion seems to have started after trade issues between the United States and China resulted in a 25 percentage-point tariff on U.S. soybeans exported to China. As Chinese buyers try to avoid the tariff by purchasing grain from other suppliers, notably Brazil, a new price dynamics between U.S. and Brazilian soybeans could be emerging. This …

Analysis Of The Economic Development Of Statesboro, Georgia’S Blue Mile: A Structural Approach For Diversification, Cadence Dwyer

Honors College Theses

The Blue Mile has become a center for Statesboro’s Economic Development plan of business diversification and downtown revitalization. Downtown revitalization is important not only to existing businesses but also to expanding the property tax base. The gauging of revitalization and diversification in the field of community development has been overlooked in favor of qualitative generalizations. Burayidi’s Scorecard is used as a basis to establish a standard for the structural analysis tests conducted to measure business diversification.

Modeling Us Historical Time-Series Prices And Inflation Using Alternative Long-Memory Approaches, Giorgio Canarella, Luis A. Gil-Alana, Rangan Gupta, Stephen M. Miller

Molasky Family Department of Economics and Real Estate Faculty Research

We consider two important features of the historical US price data (1774–2015), namely the data’s persistence and cyclical structure. We first consider the persistence of the series and focus on standard long-memory models that incorporate a peak at the zero frequency. We examine different models with respect to the deterministic terms, including nonlinear deterministic trends of the Chebyshev form. Then, we investigate a more general model that includes both persistence and cyclicality of the series and, thus, includes two fractional integration parameters, one at the zero (long-run) frequency and the other at the nonzero (cyclical) frequency. We model the cyclical …

On Booms That Never Bust: Ambiguity In Experimental Asset Markets With Bubbles, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hernán-González, Praveen Kujal

ESI Working Papers

We study the effect of ambiguity on the formation of bubbles and on the occurrence of crashes in experimental asset markets à la Smith, Suchanek, and Williams (1988). We extend their framework to an environment where the fundamental value of the asset is ambiguous. We show that, when the fundamental value is ambiguous, asset prices tend to be lower than when it is risky although bubbles form in both the ambiguous and the risky environments. Additionally, bubbles do not crash in the ambiguous case whereas they do so in the risky one. These findings regarding depressed prices and the absence …

Price Discrimination And Focal Points For Tacit Collusion: Evidence From The Airline Industry, Diego Escobari, Nicholas G. Rupp, Joseph Meskey

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

We use unique data sets with round-the-clock posted fares and a regression discontinuity design to identify price discrimination in advance-purchase discounts. Price discrimination increases fares by 7.6% at 14 days to departure, and by 14% at 7 days to departure. While competition reduces price discrimination, it is unaffected by product variety for a multiproduct monopolist. The results show that the arbitrary thresholds of 7 and 14 days-in-advance serve as focal points for tacit collusion and to implement price discrimination in competitive markets. For round-trip tickets price discrimination depends on the days-in-advance for both the outbound and inbound flights.

Re-Evaluating Subsidies For Services That Carry No Positive Externalities: A Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Convenience Loop Busing Versus Walking, Anthony N. Russo, Kevin J. Egan

The Journal of Economics and Politics

This paper seeks to provide a benefit-cost analysis of continuous loop busing service offered by The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. The on-campus busing service is completely subsidized by the university through student fees and provided as a free service to students with less than one-quarter of students currently using the service. Using a contingent valuation survey, we estimate a lower bound mean willingness to pay (WTP) of about $6 per student user per semester. Multiplying by the student body population leads to a total WTP estimate of approximately $37,000 per semester. When compared solely to labor and fuel …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: November 21, 2018, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) rose by 0.51% during October of 2018. The increase in the LEI-N, which is designed to predict economic activity six months into the future, suggests moderate economic growth in Nebraska through the first quarter of 2019. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell in Nebraska during October, while building permits for single-family homes and business expectations improved. In particular, respondents to the October Survey of Nebraska Business reported plans to increase both sales and employment at their businesses over the next six months.

Toward Improving Export Diversification And Economic Growth In Small Island Developing States, Marlo B. Murphy-Braynen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to address the following research question: How does export diversification impact economic growth in Small Island Developing States? More specifically, this dissertation sheds light on the strength and nature of the relationship between export diversification and economic growth with a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Informed by prior literature and the empirical analysis in this dissertation, I propose a conceptual industry development model that aims to stimulate and promote export development, diversification, and growth within the context of Small Island Developing States in general and with a specific focus on The Bahamas. In accordance with …

Restoring Unemployment Insurance As Social Insurance, Christopher J. O'Leary

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Low Income Households Investment In Energy Efficient Appliances, Jieun Chang

Faculty Articles & Research

Introduction

•Does adopting energy efficient appliances reduce electricity consumption among low income households?

•Low income households: households below 150% of the federal poverty level

•Energy efficient appliances:

energy star refrigerators and energy star room air conditioners

Spending Too Little In Hard Times, Alessandro Del Ponte, Peter Descioli

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

People’s decisions to consume and save resources are critical to their wellbeing. Previous experiments find that people typically spend too much because of how they discount the future. We propose that people’s motive to preserve their savings can instead cause them to spend too little in hard times. We design an economic game in which participants can store resources for the future to survive in a harsh environment. A player’s income is uncertain and consumption yields diminishing returns within each day, creating tradeoffs between spending and saving. We compare participants’ decisions to a heuristic that performed best in simulations. We …

A New Approach To Model The Forward-Looking Monetary Policy Function, Hardik A. Marfatia

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Symposium

No abstract provided.

Public Interest In Banking Resolution Tools In The Eu And In The Us, Katarzyna Sokal

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Symposium

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Parking Fees On College Campuses, Hannah Huckeby

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The price of parking has recently been a hot topic around the Murray area, especially among the college students. Due to the drastic increase in parking pass prices there has been an abundant amount of discussion surrounding this idea of parking being a public good. Many individuals have been outraged which has brought up the questions of why there is a price tag on something that many people consider a public good. With that being said, this paper is going to take a deeper look into parking specifically pertaining to college campuses but also in the cities surrounding these institutions. …

Unobserved Heterogeneity And Labor Market Discrimination Against Homosexuals, Miguel Sarzosa

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Sexual minorities have historically been subject to many kinds of discrimination. Prejudicial treatment in the labor market could arguably be one of them. Despite that, economic literature has remained mostly silent on the topic. This paper fills that void by leveraging on a novel longitudinal data set that collects detailed information on sexual orientation. I develop an empirical strategy that exploits the fact that sexuality is not a dichotomous trait but rather a wide assortment of sexual preferences. I use empirical models that rely on the identification of unobserved heterogeneity, in the forms of skills and sexual orientation, to allow …

Honoring Veterans Means Funding Suicide Prevention, Brendan Cushing-Daniels, Christopher R. Fee

Economics Faculty Publications

Many Americans may not know that it was Dwight D. Eisenhower who in 1954 issued the official proclamation celebrating the service of all veterans by designating Nov. 11, formerly known as Armistice Day, in honor of our vets. Eisenhower, of course, was supreme commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and commander in chief as the 34th president of the United States.

In Ike’s words, “on that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, …

Agricultural Production From The High Plains Aquifer Is Worth Over $3 Billion Per Year, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Federico Garcia

Cornhusker Economics

Recent research (Garcia, Fulginiti and Perrin, 2018) has shown the that the extra agricultural production from irrigation across the High Plains Aquifer (HPA) was worth about $3.5 billion in 2007, $2 billion of which was produced in Nebraska. The aquifer water is valuable!

Nebraska Business And Consumer Confidence Indexes: November 9, 2018, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Nebraska consumer and business confidence improved during October 2018. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (BCI-N) rose to 117.3 in October from 110.6 in September. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) rose to 108.3 in October after a sub-par level of 97.0 during September. Both business and consumer confidence were well above the neutral level of 100.0. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, 29 percent of respondents chose the availability and quality of labor while 27 mentioned customer demand and 15 percent mentioned competition from other businesses. This is the first time that labor availability …

Conditional Independence In A Binary Choice Experiment, Nathaniel Wilcox

ESI Working Papers

Experimental and behavioral economists, as well as psychologists, commonly assume conditional independence of choices when constructing likelihood functions for structural estimation. I test this assumption using data from a new experiment designed for this purpose. Within the limits of the experiment’s identifying restriction and designed power to detect deviations from conditional independence, conditional independence is not rejected. In naturally occurring data, concerns about violations of conditional independence are certainly proper and well-taken (for well-known reasons). However, when an experimenter employs contemporary state-of-the-art experimental mechanisms and designs, the current evidence suggests that conditional independence is an acceptable assumption for analyzing data …

Future And Value: The Library As Strategic Partner, Antje Mays

Library Presentations

Broader economic trends spawn budget pressures for education and libraries, prompting a plethora of studies on the value and relevance of libraries. Numerous reports on economic decline in libraries and studies with mixed pronouncements on the value of libraries have led to a negative self-image within the library profession. Yet libraries' leadership in connecting learners to knowledge is at the heart of producing many of the key skills sorely needed in robust societies and economies. Librarianship has many untapped opportunities for positioning itself as a prominent strategic partner. This paper outlines current research on the economic and societal context for …

Hydroelectric Management On The Rio Chama: Balancing Competing Ecological Priorities, Suzanne Stradling

Shared Knowledge Conference

Management of dammed river systems is a complex problem. Spatial and temporal impacts result in complex system trade-offs, and shareholders have competing objectives. Dynamic modeling can provide improved information as decision-makers attempt to optimize the value of river flows. This research models the direct and indirect economic impacts of a small reservoir-dam-river system and applies this framework to an existing Bureau of Reclamation dam and generator in the upper Rio Grande basin. Over past decades, concerns for river habitat preservation have reduced the production of peak-demand energy from hydroelectric plants. Over the same period, as U.S. power markets incorporate solar …

Hydroelectric Management On The Rio Chama: Balancing Competing Ecological Priorities Through Non-Consumptive Flow Management Between The El Vado And Abiquiu Reservoirs, Suzanne Stradling

Shared Knowledge Conference

Management of dammed river systems is a complex problem. Spatial and temporal impacts result in complex system trade-offs, and shareholders have competing objectives. Dynamic modeling can provide improved information as decision-makers attempt to optimize the value of river flows. This paper models the direct and indirect economic impacts of a small reservoir-dam-river system and applies this framework to an existing Bureau of Reclamation dam and generator in the upper Rio Grande basin. Over past decades, concerns for river habitat preservation have reduced the production of peak-demand energy from hydroelectric plants. Over the same period, as U.S. power markets incorporate solar …

The Effects Rebuilding The Century Link Stadium On Residential Property Values In King County Washington, Michael Hensley

Shared Knowledge Conference

The price tags associated with building sports centers have been ever increasing over the twentieth century, and with increases in those prices come increases in the public funding and subsidies required to fund them. Sports centers have been credited with having the potential of increasing tourism, employment, and public pride in metropolitan areas. However, the research has mostly shown negligible or adverse effects. We use a hedonic difference in difference approach to determine the effect of building the Century Link Field, a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington. We find that the building of the stadium was associated with an increase …

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …