Economics Commons^™

Residual State Ownership, Foreign Ownership And Firms' Financing Patterns, Yu Liu, Jian Xu

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

Would different types of ownerships affect each other's effect on firm behavior? We investigate the effect of residual state ownership, foreign ownership, and the interaction between the two on firms' financing patterns, employing the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) dataset, which covers over 130 thousand firms in 139 economies from 2006 to 2017. We find that neither firms with residual state ownership only nor firms with foreign ownership only are positively related with external finance. In comparison, firms with both state and foreign ownerships are associated with higher external finance. The coefficient of the state-foreign interaction is both statistically and …

Essays In Macroeconomic Policy, Meng-Ting Chen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that cover topics on macroeconomic policies.

Chapter 1 - Markups, Labor Share, and Wage Dispersion.

Increasing market power has an impact on labor market behavior. This paper argues that the decline in the aggregate wage after 1980 comes from both increasing aggregate product markup and decreasing aggregate labor markdown. Most of the decline is driven by the sharp decline in lower wage percentiles, which also contributes to the increasing wage dispersion. Further, both firms’ monopoly and monopsony power play important roles in explaining the decline in the aggregate labor share. I build a heterogeneous …

Essays On Intergenerational Mobility In Education, Ercio A. Munoz Saavedra

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that investigate intergenerational mobility in education in Chile, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chapter 1: In this chapter, I estimate intergenerational mobility (IGM) in education using data from 91 censuses that span 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) over half a century. I measure upward mobility as the likelihood of obtaining at least a primary education for individuals whose parents did not finish primary school, whereas downward mobility as the likelihood of failing to complete primary education for individuals whose parents completed at least primary school. In addition, I …

Youth Entrepreneurship Dynamics In Benin: Was Access To Finance The Missing Piece For Opportunistic Self-Employment?, Modeste Melain Senou, Kolotioloman Soro

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Young people in developing countries and more especially in Sub-Saharan African countries are seeking employment opportunities in challenging economic and social environments. Entrepreneurship appears then as a key factor in reducing unemployment, grasping for a sustainable job and reducing poverty. Both national and international authorities are taking steps to facilitate youth entrepreneurship. In that context, this study aims at reexamining the effect of access to finance on the dynamics of entrepreneurship of young people in transition from School to work in Benin. Using a SURE Probit procedure on data from the International Labor Organization (ILO) we estimated jointly the predicted …

Representation Learning In Finance, Ajim Uddin

Dissertations

Finance studies often employ heterogeneous datasets from different sources with different structures and frequencies. Some data are noisy, sparse, and unbalanced with missing values; some are unstructured, containing text or networks. Traditional techniques often struggle to combine and effectively extract information from these datasets. This work explores representation learning as a proven machine learning technique in learning informative embedding from complex, noisy, and dynamic financial data. This dissertation proposes novel factorization algorithms and network modeling techniques to learn the local and global representation of data in two specific financial applications: analysts’ earnings forecasts and asset pricing.

Financial analysts’ earnings forecast …

Book Review Of Mind Over Money: The Psychology Of Money And How To Use It Better By Claudia Hammond, Stephen Molchan

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Mind Over Money: The Psychology of Money and How to Use It Better, by Claudia Hammond, explores research in psychology, neuroscience, biology, and behavioral economics related to how individuals interact with and manage money. Hammond is a broadcaster on the BBC, writer, and professor of psychology. In Mind Over Money: The Psychology of Money and How to Use It Better, Hammond uses captivating interviews, presents stories a broad audience can relate to, and cites multiple research studies to show the psychology of money. Throughout the book, Hammond not only presents readers with the research, 263 studies are mentioned, …

How To Break A Vicious Cycle : Part – I, Ishrat Husain Dr.

Faculty Research - Newspaper and Magazine Articles

A state of uncertainty, almost at the verge of panic, prevails today in Pakistan. Prophets of gloom and doom using social and electronic media are spreading all kinds of fake, negative, partial and partisan stories and numbers. Predictions of default, bankruptcy and similarity with Sri Lanka are jarring the equity, debt and currency markets and pushing the credit default rates on Pakistani bonds in international markets to unprecedented elevated yields, making it difficult to tap these markets. However, one should present the facts and data unvarnished and untarnished. Yes, we are facing a large current account deficit that is putting …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: May 25, 2022, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N rose by 1.85% during April 2022. The increase in the leading indicator, which is designed to predict economic activity six months in the future, signals that the Nebraska economy will continue to grow through the 4th quarter of 2022. The indicator improved for three primary reasons. First, there was a sharp increase in airline passenger enplanements in April as that industry continues to recover. Second, initial claims for unemployment insurance fell, signaling a strong Nebraska labor market. Third, respondents to the April Survey of Nebraska Business reported plans to increase sales and employment. There also was a modest …

Complying With Cecl – Applying The Scale Method To Nebraska Community Banks, Jeffrey Stokes, Jared Stauffer

Cornhusker Economics

Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) is a new expected credit loss accounting standard that was first introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 2016. This new method is meant to replace the current Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) standard. CECL requires the estimation of expected losses over the life of a loan, while ALLL is based on historic, or incurred, losses. This change largely affects banks, but other financial institutions that hold or trade securities can also be subject to the rule. Although CECL was introduced in 2016, the implementation of the rule has had a …

Fentanyl In The Global Market: Examining The New Opioid Epidemic At An International Level, Katherine Rejer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Drug use and subsequent addiction is a major global health concern that transcends culture, borders, and generations. The production of synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, has exacerbated the worldwide opioid epidemic that is endangering public health, economic output, and national security. The ease of manufacture of synthetic opioids facilitates clandestine production and trafficking, while their higher potency leads to higher rates of overdose. This research seeks to analyze the dramatic increase in opioid overdoses around the world and explain the transnational variation of the epidemic. In particular, this study aims to compare the epidemic in the U.S and Estonia in contrast …

The Modern-Day Effect Of Holc Redlining On Neighborhood Development, Liubov Ivashov

Master's Theses

Racial segregation, which happened more than one hundred years ago in the U.S., is a fundamental cause of economic inequality for people living in historically segregated neighborhoods today. Redlining was one form of federal policy that forced to separate communities by race even more after the Great Depression. The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps are widely used in economic research papers as one of the most comprehensive sources of data available to measure the effect of residential segregation. In this paper, using the Historical Redline Score (HRS) method, the author measured the association between modern-day population distribution, rent prices, …

Yearly Changes In Education Expenditure And Changes In Student Performance, Dale A. Manzo

Undergraduate Economic Review

Using data from the state of Florida in the 2000s, we dispute the findings of the Coleman report. We find that there is a positive relationship between changes in expenditure per pupil and changes in academic performance. This study takes advantage of changes in expenditure resulting from the Great Recession to formulate a quasi-experimental analysis of the relationship between expenditure per pupil and academic performance. Our conclusion is consistent with the theory of decreasing marginal returns to expenditure on education.

Convergence Of Gdp Per Capita Levels Within The Countries Of The European Union, Hayk Mardanyan

Undergraduate Economic Review

The process of economic convergence in the EU has been a hotly debated issue since the formation of this organization. In fact, one of the main “operational priorities” of the EU is to “[promote] sustained convergence of the economic performance” of its Member States. This paper examines how effective the EU has been in ensuring upward economic convergence among its member countries: more specifically, the paper uses linear regression analysis to check whether poorer EU member countries, concentrated in Eastern Europe, have been growing at faster rates than their richer counterparts, which are concentrated in Western and Southern Europe.

The Road To Reparations A Comparison Between The United States And South Africa, Ikonii Chiabi

Senior Theses

This thesis paper is designed to be an analysis of potential methods on how to achieve reparations in the United States and South Africa. Both nations’ Black demographics have been victims of white supremacy and enslavement, pushing the white masses to excel while the rest are left to parish. The oppression of these groups have been acknowledged and as opposed to a simple verbal apology, I will write on how compensation in the forms of money, education, and land can be used to undo the wrongdoings of the past. The point of this paper is to present my newfound perspective …

Interns And Institutions: Interactions Between Unpaid Interns And Public Policy, Hannah G. Waterman

Honors Projects

Political, and especially Congressional, internships are all but mandatory to launch a career in politics. This text examines the demographics of how these internships are dispersed, how they are paid, who is paid, and how this manifests in full-time Congressional staff demographics. Data shows that both paid and unpaid Congressional internships belong disproportionately to white students. Top staff in the House of Representatives is similarly disproportionately white. The text also examines the inherent danger of working in Congress and the broader case for paid internships.

Monitoring The Abundance Of Microplastics In Mussels And Marine Ecosystems May Indicate Human Health Risks., Puja Kaur Janda

Master's Projects and Capstones

The numerous scientific methodologies and procedures used in marine research on microplastic pollution restrict our present understanding of this severe environmental issue threatening marine organisms and human health. The abundance and bioaccumulation of microplastic in the food web is causing adverse implications for marine wildlife and potentially human health via seafood consumption. The absence of standardized methods for quantifying and characterizing microplastics is a major limiting factor in comparing current research. To evaluate the issue of monitoring microplastics in the marine environment, I conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis on mussels as a biomonitoring tool. Because mussels …

Does My Skin Tone Really Matter? A Socioeconomic Analysis In Nigeria., Mutiu O. Fakorede

Master's Theses

Abstract: Does my skin tone really matter? If it does, to what extent and direction does skin tone predict socioeconomic outcomes, especially amongst people of color who have experienced colonial rule with its white supremacy agenda? In this research, we examined if skin tone measured in individual typology angle (ITA) does not affect employability, income, partner selection, and political representativeness. With a focus on Nigeria, the most populous black nation, a former British colony, we addressed this broad question through a survey. Using the iterative capability of Qualtrics which randomly picks a set of three pictures with known ITA and …

Impact Of Climate Variability On Child Nutrition In Ethiopia, Juan S. Gomez

Master's Theses

Changes in precipitation and temperature due to climate change have caused a shortage in food productivity leading to an increase in malnutrition outcomes, especially among children in developing countries that are more susceptible to undernutrition outcomes. This study contributes to existing literature studying the impact of climate variability measured by temperature, precipitation, and vegetation index on wasting. Wasting is measured by the weight for height score during the main growing season (Meher) using Demographic and Health Surveys data for five different periods in Ethiopia. Results suggest that lower NDVI outcomes are associated with an increase in the risk of acute …

Using Machine Learning To Analyze Children’S Drawings As Indicators Of Mental Well-Being, Nicholas R. Lawrie

Master's Theses

Human figure drawings are a well-studied diagnostic tool for emotional distress in children. Cleft lip/palate is one of the most common birth defects in the world, and has been shown to negatively impact emotional well-being in childhood which can have negative economic consequences in adulthood. Utilizing a dataset of human figure drawings from children in India and survey data on mental health, this paper will assess the impact of corrective surgery on mental health outcomes, as well as assess the validity of the drawing emotional indicators themselves. The results indicate that while the emotional indicators may not be valid in …

Inaccessible Interpolated Imagery: How Coffee Farmers In The State Of Chiapas Might Access Political Economic Opportunity Through Representation, Paolo Fiann Bicchieri

Master's Theses

Here is a useful parable to boil down the idea of this project and set the tone: when one goes to the bar to tell a story about a fight at the bar, they would never venture to place themselves as the hero of the brawl, taking out three drunkards in a single punch, unless they were really in the bar, at that time, fighting a good fight. One would never do this as the bartender, locals, and regulars would all know if this were the case or not. Yet transnational corporations, governments, and even consumers do this all the …

Degrowth And Catholic Social Thought: Rethinking Socio-Economics For A Planet In Crisis, Chad G. Baron

Master's Theses

It is assumed within both degrowth literature and the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (CST) that socio-economic transitions and transformations are needed due to the failings of the dominant capitalist paradigm. Both bodies of thought engage with issues of socio-economic transitions by considering what constitutes globally just development, and by outlining key principles they espouse to be foundational to global justice. By highlighting these principles, and locating the affinities between the two, these theories of socio-economic development can benefit from engaging with the other’s promoted framework. What could follow is a more coherent and holistic approach to development, …

Butterfly Pattern: Innovative Exploration Of Scientific Research Paradigm In Era Of Big Science—Based On 15-Year Practice Of Integrated Development Of Science And Industry In Shenzhen Institute Of Advanced Technology (Siat), Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Jianping Fan

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the era of big science, the innovation chain and the industry chain are deeply integrated, promoting the continuous evolution of the underlying logic of the "linear model" and the "Pasteur's quadrant". The world scientific research is gradually evolving to the collaborative interaction of innovative subjects and the system integration of various elements. On the basis of in-depth exploration of the linear model and Pasteur's quadrant, SIAT focuses on creating a closed-loop ecology of the innovation chain and industrial chain. By integrating science and industry from design to advancing, SIAT has built a "butterfly pattern", which integrates and reconstructs the …

School Lunch Policy And Parental Working Trends, Sophia D. Paniagua

University Honors Theses

This paper studies the effects of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on school lunch uptake and parental working trends. Using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series' (IPUMS) Current Population Survey (CPS), an empirical analysis was conducted. The findings indicate that, after the policy's implementation, school lunch uptake increased for all individuals in the sample, but especially for low-income individuals. Working trends saw a decrease, virtually across the board. Low-income individuals decreased their hours per week by slightly more than half an hour.

The Economic Impact Of The North Central West Virginia Airport Expansion, Eric Bowen

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The North Central West Virginia (NCWV) Airport in Clarksburg/Bridgeport has experienced rapid growth over the last decade. The number of airline passengers through the airport increased nearly four-fold between 2010 and 2019. The airport was also chosen as the primary US hub for the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries airplane refurbishment facility, which services airplanes from most major airlines.

Because of this rapid growth, the NCWV Airport has begun construction on a new terminal building in order to handle the increased traffic through the area. In this report, we provide an economic impact estimate of the terminal’s expansion and associated growth in …

The Kalamazoo Promise “Sweet 16," Summary Study Results: 16 Key Findings From 16 Years Studying The Kalamazoo Promise, Kathleen Bolter, Isabel Mcmullen

Reports

No abstract provided.

Can Social Support Ameliorate Burnout?, Timothy Finney

Master's Theses

Mental health provides different areas of interest compared to physical health when looking at general health. Social support decreases the negative impacts of burnout while positively influencing productive components of the economy. Social sciences other than economics such as sociology and psychology take notice of the impact of social support on burnout. Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’ Urgenza Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria in Parma, Italy provides high quality health care services before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while anticipating continuing to administer care well into the future. Here we show social support effecting workers in the health care industry. Work colleagues influencing …

Transit Equity In Southeast Brooklyn, Noam J. Gal

Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, planners have considered numerous proposals to expand the subway system further into Southeast Brooklyn including the Utica Avenue Line and the Interborough Express. It remains to be seen whether any of these megaprojects will come to fruition. This honors thesis analyzes the equity impact that Brooklyn’s largest transit desert has had upon its inhabitants. I use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to explain why the subway does not extend into the focus area, how residents have adapted to the status quo, and what policymakers can do to improve transit equity in Southeast …

The Voluntary Carbon Market: Managing The Private Provision Of Public Goods, Atticus Maloney

Gettysburg College Headquarters

While much work has examined the large-scale compliance-based carbon offset programs associated with the Kyoto Protocol and Clean Development Mechanism, there has been far less focus on the voluntary purchasing of carbon offsets. This critical literature review will look at the formation and management of the demand for voluntary carbon offsets within the United States. It will frame carbon offsets as impure public goods and review possible explanations as to why private provision has been so active in the U.S. market. The paper will then survey the efficiency gains and other benefits associated with the voluntary market. It will highlight …

How Federal Pandemic Relief Helped Replenish State Unemployment Reserves, Christopher J. O'Leary, Kenneth J. Kline

Upjohn Institute Policy Papers

Unemployment insurance (UI) is a joint federal-state program that pays temporary partial earnings replacement to involuntarily unemployed workers while they seek reemployment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, UI claims surged and became a primary source for income replacement for workers who lost their jobs. However, despite previous federal incentives for states to shore up their UI funding reserves, the scale of claims during the pandemic was unprecedented, and the federal government needed to step in to help pay not only for direct, expanded benefits but for additional assistance to states themselves. Although this effort helped backstop the successful operation of states’ …

On The Impact Of Imf Loans And Conditions: A Gender Lens, Reem Ahmed Kamal

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper attempts to examine the impact of IMF programs and subsequent policy conditions from a gender lens. We argue that the IMF’s orthodox adjustment policies deteriorate the development outcomes of women disproportionately, mainly due to undermining recipient states’ expenditure capacity on female-dominated work and service sectors. Consequently, women face hardships in managing their dual roles -in both the market and the domestic spheres- which affects the efficiency of society's productive and reproductive sectors. First, we detect the main macro and political-economic determinants of IMF participation using a probit estimation. Second, we use the predicted probabilities in stage one to …