Economics Commons^™

Research Report: Insights Into Community, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Mary Emery, Katelyn Larson, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Rebecca J. Vogt

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are more positive about the current change in their communities this year but are less positive about its future. Starting three years ago, the proportion believing their community changed for the worse was more than the proportion believing it had changed for the better (similar to what occurred in 2003 and 2009). However, last year that trend reversed back to the typical pattern and continued this year. This year, more people believe their community has changed for the better than has changed for the worse. When asked about what they expect ten years from now, this year more …

Adam Smith And Sympathetic Cosmopolitanism, Maria Pia Paganelli

Economics Faculty Research

Is cosmopolitanism something to explain or is it the lack of cosmopolitanism that needs explaining? Is cosmopolitanism natural or something we need to try to achieve? Is cosmopolitanism an end result or a starting point? The answer depends on the anthropological assumptions one makes. If human beings are assumed to be isolated individuals, then cosmopolitanism is something to explain, something to be taught, a possible end result. But if human beings are assumed to be intrinsically and naturally social, then cosmopolitanism may be a starting point and what needs to be explained is its absence.

I suggest that for Adam …

The Economic Impact Of The 2024 Lpga Dow Championship, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker

Other Faculty Publications

The 2024 Dow Championship is estimated to have generated or supported economic benefits for the Great Lakes Bay region in the following ways:

• A total economic impact of $16.8 million in economic activity, supporting 128 jobs, and contributing $8.9 million to the regional GDP.
• The increase in economic activity generated $150,000 in tax revenue for local municipalities, $225,000 for special districts, and $142,000 for the Great Lakes Bay counties.
• The event attracted 30,061 spectators and required the assistance of 4,389 staff members and 1,050 volunteers.

The Economic Impact Of The Grand Rapids Area Nonprofit Arts And Culture Sector, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker, Paul Isely

Other Faculty Publications

The Grand Rapids area nonprofit arts and culture sector (GRACS) is estimated to have generated or supported economic benefits for the city of Grand Rapids and Kent County in the following ways:

• The total economic impact of this industry is estimated at $298.7 million in economic output, supporting 2,529 jobs. Approximately $195 million in economic output is new to the area.
• The total annual fiscal impact (tax revenue) of all primary visitor spending and GRACS organizational spending is estimated at $821,000 for municipalities and $585,000 for Kent County.
• GRACS events attracted 2.67 million visitors, with 48% visiting from outside the …

Part 3: Virginia's Workforce: Understanding Apprentices, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

This chapter examines the state of apprenticeship programs in the United States and Virginia, assessing their role in the labor market. We begin with an overview of national apprenticeship policy, tracing major laws and initiatives that have influenced the system’s evolution and expansion. We then review trends in apprenticeship participation, highlighting the states that lead in registrations and program growth. The discussion pivots to Virginia, where we analyze current occupation, wage and demographic data, and regional apprenticeship examples that connect education and industry. Finally, we consider whether apprenticeships represent a sustainable and scalable solution to the Commonwealth’s workforce challenges.

Front Matter: 2025 State Of The Commonwealth Report, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

Cover, front matter, table of contents, sponsors, and other materials for the 2023 State of the Commonwealth Report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University,

Part 1: Virginia's Economy Slows As Challenges To Growth Rise, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Commonwealth Reports

As we near the end of 2025, we now have sufficient evidence that economic activity has slowed in Virginia. The civilian labor force and the number of individuals reporting they are at work has fallen in 2025. Weekly continued unemployment claims, which capture individuals who are unemployed, looking for work, but have not found work, have been higher for each week of 2025 when compared to 2024. Job growth has continued, but the economy is buffeted by tariffs and declines in federal employment.

Renewable Energy And Economic Growth: Evidence From A Global Panel Data Analysis Of Advanced And Emerging Economies, Ryan A. Campbell

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study assesses the impact of renewable energy consumption on economic growth using a global panel dataset of 136 advanced and emerging and developing economies. Drawing on classifications from the International Monetary Fund, it employs econometric modeling to analyze the long-term effects of renewable energy consumption on economic output and development, while also examining how returns differ based on a country's level of economic development. The results indicate that while renewable energy consumption initially incurs costs for all economies, emerging and developing economies generally experience more moderate returns compared to advanced economies, which ultimately realize greater economic benefits in the …

Front Matter: The State Of The Region, Hampton Roads 2025, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, Front Matter, Table of Contents, Sponsors, and other materials for the 2025 The State of the Region Report authored by the Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University.

Part 7: Hampton Roads' Collaborative Spirit Produces Regional Results, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, Drew Lumpkin

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

In this chapter, Drew Lumpkin, lead author, examines how collaboration has improved in Hampton Roads over the last two decades. He highlights specific examples of regional collaboration and how these efforts have changed the conversation in Hampton Roads.

Part 2: Defense, The Port, And Tourism: The Pillars Of The Economy, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

There was (mostly) good news to report about the pillars of the Hampton Roads economy in 2024. More defense spending flowed into the region in 2024, and defense spending is likely to increase in 2025 and 2026. The Port of Virginia experienced gains in traffic in 2024, but tariffs has created headwinds in 2025. The hotel industry’s growth has slowed, and increasing uncertainty may undermine prospects for growth in 2025 and 2026.

Part 3: Heads Carolina, Tails Somewhere Else, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

From 2021 to 2024, Hampton Roads grew more quickly and created jobs at a faster pace than the previous decade. Even after accounting for the impacts of inflation, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), wages, and incomes were higher than 2019. The region’s economic performance relative to other metropolitan areas, however, has left much to be desired. One reflection of Hampton Roads economic performance has been the continued outmigration of residents to other locales in the Commonwealth and, in some cases, other states.

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2025, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, Vinod Agarwal, Josh Andrews, Andrea Barcenas, Leora Friedman, James V. Koch, Feng Lian, Anna Makhorkina, Melody Nguyen, Terry Parker, Mohamed Rahoui, Kara Sullivan, Jay Walker, Liam Ward, Robert Mcnab

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

This is Old Dominion University’s 26th annual State of the Region: Hampton Roads report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion University, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business, or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

This year’s report provides an opportunity to reflect on the region’s economic performance since the COVID-19 pandemic and ask how changes in federal trade, immigration, civilian employment, and …

Part 1: Change Is The Only Constant: The Economy Of Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

We discuss how the region’s economy performed in 2024 and provide an assessment of the prospects for growth in 2025 and beyond. Rapid and significant changes in trade, immigration, tax, and expenditure policies will impact the economy of the region, state, and the nation in the coming years in unforeseen ways. We can, however, leverage historical data and experience to make informed judgements about the state of the regional economy and how it may fare over the coming year.

Part 4: The Economic Impact Of Norfolk International Airport, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Airports such as Norfolk International Airport (ORF) serve as economic engines connecting cities and regions to other localities and generate economic activity that would not otherwise occur in their absence. ORF set a record for commercial service passengers in 2019 before witnessing a dramatic fall in traffic in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Arrivals and departures quickly recovered, and ORF set a new passenger traffic record in 2024. This chapter explores the economic impact of ORF on the economy of Virginia.

Part 5: Silver Tsunami For The Third Sector, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Affordable housing is only one of several societal stressors predicted to have nationwide impacts in conjunction with what has been dubbed the “Silver Tsunami,” a significant demographic shift occurring in the United States. According to Pew Research, every day, 10,000 members of the baby boomer generation—born between 1946 and 1964—reach retirement age. The implications of this demographic shift will impact every facet of life in Hampton Roads. This chapter explores how an aging population impacts nonprofits in Hampton Roads.

Part 6: Reflections On The State Of The Region Report, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, James V. Koch

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

In this chapter, Dr. James V. Koch, founding Director of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, reflects on the first 25 years of the State of the Region: Hampton Roads report. Dr. Koch provides insights on where the report has impacted the region. He also asks what the future may hold for the report.

Driving Sustainability: Tax Policy, Esg, And Electric Vehicle Incentives, Raquel Alexander, James G. Lawson, Curtis M. Nicholls, Vernan Rivera

Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Postsecondary Enrollment Demand-Gap Estimation Model: Projecting The Postsecondary Demand-Gap For California By 2035, Manish Ranjan Shrivastav

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The postsecondary education system in California has been under the pressure of expansion by the means of opening a new campus for several years. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has been recommending whether to open new campus or not as a part of its mandate. In 1990, it recommended opening up of one campus of CSU, however, its projections grossly underestimated the future demand. In 2017, the LAO in its report recommended that given the demand projections there is no need for a new campus. The study commissioned by the Chancellor’s office of California State University also made the same recommendation. …

Three Essays On Consumption And Information, Jin Xu

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation uses theoretical, empirical, and experimental methods to investigate how environmental constraints and psychological mechanisms shape individual consumption and information preference. Chapter 1 explores the impact of COVID-19 lockdown policies on alcohol and tobacco use in the United States. Using data from the 2020 wave of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and exploiting the exogenous variation in initial lockdown orders across states, we estimate the impact of stay-at-home orders on drinking and smoking behaviors for adults in the United States. Combining the propensity score matching method with the difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that, at least in …

The Us Unconventional Monetary Policy And International Capital Flows To Emerging Market Economies, Tianyuan Zhang

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the spillover effects of US monetary policy on international capital inflows to emerging market economies (EMEs) from 2003Q1 to 2019Q4, with a focus on quantitative easing (QE) and its normalization phases, including both tapering and quantitative tightening (QT). Using a panel data model with fixed effects, this dissertation finds that the spillover effects of US monetary policy during the QE period have a more pronounced effect on EME capital inflows than do those during the normalization period, where the effects are relatively muted. Second, decomposing the normalization phase into tapering and QT periods reveals that the impact …

The Economics Of Crime: Exploring The Impact Of Psychedelics, Gun Liability Insurance, And Zero-Bail Policies On Crime, Victor Olu Kilanko

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the intersection of public health and criminal justice by empirically evaluating the effects of three distinct policy reforms: psychedelic decriminalization, firearm liability mandates, and zero cash bail, on crime outcomes in California. It aims to inform evidence-based policymaking by leveraging quasi-experimental methods to identify the causal impact of each intervention. A growing number of U.S. jurisdictions have decriminalized psychedelic substances, and there are attendant theoretical expectations that such reforms could promote desistance from crime through the rehabilitative potential of psychedelics. This study examines the causal impact of psychedelic decriminalization on violent and property crime rates using monthly …

A Proposal For One “Super” Independent Accountability Mechanism, Daniel D. Bradlow

Perspectives

This essay will discuss how the MDBs- for example, the World Bank Group, the African, Asian, and Inter-American Development Banks, and more recently the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the New Development Bank – are dealing with the issue of accountability. It will argue that, although the MDBs have been leaders in promoting international organizational accountability, their mechanisms of accountability are not keeping up with the evolution in their operations. In the interests of promoting new and creative thinking about these issues, it will also make an ambitious proposal for how the MDBs jointly …

Making Finance Relevant By Applying Corporate Finance To Personal Finance: The Case Of Leverage

Journal of Economics and Finance Education

This paper is based on the idea that Finance can be made more relevant to students by applying lessons learned in Corporate Finance to the Personal Finance of students. To demonstrate this, the paper introduces a unique example of Operating Leverage and Financial Leverage; and provides examples in which these Corporate Finance concepts are applied to the Personal Finance of students. The basic premise of this paper is that students learn better if the abstract concepts are made relevant to them, i.e., if the instructor relates the abstract concepts to the personal experience of students. This paper implies that there …

Truth, Reconciliation, And Neoliberalism: Remembering And Forgetting Pinochet’S Chile, Aimee Leigh Gallagher

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay………………..................4

III. Primary Documents and Headnotes.....26

IV. Textbook Critique……………….............36

V. Textbook Entry…………………………....42

Behavioral Finance: The Influence Cognitive Dissonance Has On Investors, Noah A. Adams

A with Honors Projects

The aim of this literature review is to understand the relation between the Cognitive Dissonance Theory and investor decision-making. Under the Investor Rationality Theory, investors are perceived to act in their best interest financially after gathering all available information on their investment. Behavioral Finance on the other hand is the study of psychological biases and emotions and how they influence investors, causing them to act rather irrationally and consequentially creating an irrational market.

How Auditor Competence Shapes Independence Of Thought, Tom J. Frye, Eddie Thomas

Academic Affairs

Our study aims to identify how the impact that the voluntary transmission of information between independent parties has on each person's ability to perform a task. We construct a simple laboratory experiment that tasks human subjects to estimate answers to a series of puzzles, earning compensation based on their accuracy. Before the final fourth repetition, there is a brief period where subjects are randomly matched with an anonymous discussion partner and may discuss their estimation procedures. We also vary the ability of subjects to see immediate feedback on their results between sessions. We find that subjects who rated the quality …

Rethinking Retained Earnings In The Additional Funds Needed Formula, James E. Larsen

Finance and Financial Services Faculty Publication

This paper critically re-evaluates the traditional application of the Additional Funds Needed formula by analyzing alternate interpretations of retained earnings. It illustrates how definitional shifts influence capital forecasts with a more nuanced approach to financial modeling in growth scenarios. The approach emphasizes numerical clarity, policy realism, and adaptability for financial planning. The paper challenges conventional AFN usage by embedding definitional flexibility and temporal awareness, offering decision-makers clearer visibility into funding sensitivity. It reframes AFN as a dynamic planning tool rather than a static formula, with implications for forecasting, policy-setting, and strategic finance.

Introducing Justice And Rights To Students Of Economics, Mark D. White

Publications and Research

Most economics instruction is focused on outcomes, whether evaluated in terms of individual or collective welfare or well-being. This is consistent with economics’ roots in classical utilitarianism, and no consideration is usually given to the process by which these results obtain, which is a deontological concern of right and wrong. This can seem odd to economics students, especially in the context of trade-offs in which one party is benefited at the expense of another, or aggregate welfare is maximized while some individuals are harmed, with no consideration in either of rights, desert, or justice. This chapter argues for the importance …

The Causes And Impact Of Evictions In Southern Nevada, Mohit Pande

Student Research

As the Southern Nevada region continues to quickly grow, evictions have become a structural feature of the region’s rental market. The region has one of the highest eviction filing rates in the country and this trend has continued to increase in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper examines the availability of market-rate affordable housing and the expansion of subsidized affordable housing to understand how the local housing conditions contribute to the number of evictions in Southern Nevada. Additionally, the paper studies local legal processes, such as the summary eviction system and habitability procedures, to understand the relationship between …