Economics Commons^™

Volume I | Issue Iii | 2021, Dujpew Editorial Board

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

The Great Swedish Experiment, Xiaofan Gong, Michael Ratzkin

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

As COVID-19 spread across Europe, many countries chose to implement swift and stringent lockdown measures on their populations in March 2020 by shutting down businesses and banning large public and private gatherings. Sweden, however, chose to manage the pandemic by relying on its citizens to make the best decisions for themselves and their families. This paper places Sweden’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a political and economic context. The paper also analyzes the country’s response and effectiveness in implementing voluntary and stepwise actions. Research finds that although measures taken to slow transmission while accounting for efforts to preserve the …

The Cost Of Subway Delays: A Counterfactual Welfare Analysis Of Boston’S T, Adam Dean

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

Boston’s subway system, the T, is an important artery for transportation in and around the city. However, it is the oldest subway system in the United States, and, as a result, is in dire need of upgrades. This paper employs a welfare analysis to calculate the economic cost of the T’s lack of reliability, while also comparing the T’s reliability rate to other transit systems around the world. With a counterfactual estimate of a 95 percent reliability rate versus the pre-pandemic 88.47 percent reliability rate, the difference in welfare is found to be between $54 million and $163 million annually. …

What Do Higher Commodity Prices Mean For Cash Rent?, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

Anyone watching the corn and soybean prices of the last six months or so must be amazed at how fast and how high prices have gone. Just a year ago, cash prices for 2020 corn were bouncing around the $3.00 per bushel area. Now the cash price for 2020 corn delivered to an ethanol plant is nearly $7.00+ per bushel. What do, or what should, these change in prices do to cash rent?

Trade And Structural Change: Focusing On The Specifics, Andrew Greenland, John W. Lopresti

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Using a newly digitized database encompassing the universe of tariff lines across five US trade policy regimes between 1900 and 1940, we show that price dynamics combine with industry reliance on specific tariffs to generate large swings in average tariff levels. Intra-policy variation in tariffs is strongly predictive of import growth throughout our sample. Using linked Census data, we quantify the effects of imports on structural change in this era. We find that import growth decreases labor force participation and inhibits the transition into the expanding manufacturing and service sectors, especially among the young.

Police Union Contracts And Impediments To Accountability: A Case Study Analysis Of Ppa Bargaining Agreements, Elizabeth Ott

University Honors Theses

Despite a growing widespread recognition that police unions represent a major component of policing and have major influences on aspects of policing such as disciplinary procedures, day-to-day management, and police-community relations, they have until recently been largely ignored by police scholars. In light of significant gaps in knowledge regarding police unions and the impacts that they have on law enforcement behavior and police accountability, this paper utilizes a case study approach to analyze all existing union contracts between the Portland Police Association (PPA) and the City of Portland in order to explore the prevalence of particular contract provisions that critics …

Towards An Evolutionary-Institutional Analysis Of Landlordship, Jaye Balentine

University Honors Theses

This inquiry considers the social phenomena of landlordship and traces its evolutionary tendencies. Furthermore, this effort argues that since the 18^th century through the present, landlordship can be viewed as an institution that is caught in a Teufelskreis, a vicious cycle that is related to ever-increasing emphases upon pecuniary values, that comes with a related tendency for ever increasing impersonal relations between tenant and landlord. This inquiry relies upon an evolutionary approach, considering the institution of landlordship since the emergence of capitalist landlords in 18^th century England--that runs up through the present. Using an evolutionary-institutional approach drawing …

The Meghan Markle Effect: An Analysis Of A 21st Century Celebrity Through A Veblenian Perspective, Lucy Jensen

University Honors Theses

Following her engagement and subsequent marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle has emerged as a global figure and fashion icon. Her ability to influence fashion trends has been labelled the "Meghan effect" by the news media. This thesis research applies the theories of Thorstein Veblen, an economist and author of the extremely influential Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). The thesis has the aim of clarifying how Veblen’s thinking can be applied to Markle or comparable high-profile women. What this inquiry ultimately finds is that Veblen was indeed correct in his assumption that high-profile, wealthy people such as Markle can …

Vision Redux: Power And Policy In Saudi Arabia, Ross Douglas Kimm

Theses and Dissertations

The size and scope of the Vision 2030 modernization plan and the associated Saudi Aramco initial public offering are watershed events in the history of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, they are not outside the history of the country’s development. This thesis, tracing the roots of this latest development plan back to the founding of the current Saudi state, found that Vision 2030 shares many characteristics with previous efforts. Further, it also found precedence for powerful princes rising to power at times of tectonic change. Finally, while historical context is key to understanding this moment in the Kingdom, …

Disaggregating The Vegetables, Fruits And Nuts Sector To The Tariff Line In The Gtap-Hs Framework, Maksym Chepeliev, Alla Golub, Thomas Hertel, Wajiha Saeed, Jayson Beckman

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models provide valuable insights into economy-wide and aggregate sectoral impacts of trade policies. However, when it comes to the assessment of specific interventions, the level of aggregation in these models is often deemed too coarse to inform negotiations. For example, in the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Data Base, all vegetables, fruits and nuts - over hundred individual commodities - are represented under one sector. Analysis at the tariff line level is typically provided by partial equilibrium (PE) models, which cannot, however, capture economy-wide effects. In this paper, we contribute to the development of the GTAP-HS …

Group-Identity And Long-Run Cooperation: An Experiment, Gabriele Camera, Lukas Hohl

ESI Working Papers

We stress-test the limits of the power of group identity in the context of cooperation by constructing laboratory economies where participants confront an indefinitely repeated social dilemma as strangers. Group identity is artificially induced by random assignment to color-coded groups, and reinforced by an initial cooperation task played in-group and in fixed pairs. Subsequently subjects interact in-group and out-group in large economies, as strangers. Indefinite repetition guarantees full cooperation is an equilibrium. Decision-makers can discriminate based on group affiliation, but cannot observe past behaviors. We find no evidence of group biases. This suggests that group effects are less likely to …

The Extent To Which The Provision Of Water And Sanitation Services Affect The Individual’S Decision To Migrate: The Case Of Egypt, Sara Mohamed Soliman

Theses and Dissertations

Determinants of migration, although researched copiously shed little light on the importance of access to sustainable, basic water and sanitation utilities on an individual’s decision to migrate. This research reveals that individuals originating from rural Upper Egypt, rural and urban Lower Egypt, and rural and urban Alexandria and Suez Canal regions are more likely to migrate relative to those from the urban Greater Cairo region. Access to water has been deemed as insignificant while access to sanitation is a significant factor in determining migration patterns as do macro- economic differences in origin governorates, gender, educational background before migration, and employment …

Covid-19 Lockdowns And Air Quality In The United States, Ashlyn B. Cenicola

Economics Masters Project Research Papers

Using a difference-in-differences approach, I test whether the U.S. COVID-19 lockdowns influenced air pollution levels. I hypothesize that the halt in human mobility stemming from lockdowns caused transportation sector activity to decrease, leading to a reduction in related pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, and NO2. I investigate whether counties with strict lockdown policies experienced greater improvements in air pollution relative to before the lockdowns than counties with lenient lockdown policies. I use lockdown stringency data from the University of Oxford to identify strict versus lenient counties, and data from the Environmental Protection Agency to capture air pollution outcomes. The main …

The Healthcare Costs Of Overnutrition, Ryan Hodge

Honors Projects

Obesity is a growing problem globally and domestically. Obesity is related to several chronic and noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, and some cancers. Both obesity and its related diseases are forms of overnutrition, which is the excess intake of nutrients that causes increased body fat to the point of impaired health. Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) from 2008-2016, this paper is the first to estimate the causal effect of overnutrition on medical expenditure by examining the effect of overnutrition diseases on health care costs, correcting for the endogeneity bias of …

Do Conditional Cash Transfers Increase School Enrollment? Evidence From Brazil, Jeanette L. Silvernale

Master's Theses

Conditional cash transfer programs have been widely deployed across the globe. They seek to bolster human capital by providing benefits contingent upon a variety of actions such as school attendance and regular health checkups. Bolsa Familia is the most extensive conditional cash transfer program, serving 46 million Brazilian citizens. Despite its expansive size, there have been seldom large-scale micro evaluations of the program. Limited data has resulted in small sample sizes drawn from a single point in time. Our study diverges from the rest and utilizes a novel administrative dataset with an overall sample of nearly 60 million and a …

From Productivity To Firm Growth, James Bessen, Erich Denk

Faculty Scholarship

It is widely held that more productive firms grow faster, thus reallocating resources and raising aggregate productivity. Yet little empirical research identifies the features of the mechanisms affecting this process. This paper develops and tests a general model encompassing several mechanisms used to overcome informational frictions to growth. We find that firm size, productivity dispersion, and large firm investments in intangibles are all significantly related to changes in firm growth in response to productivity. These factors can account for much of the decline in the response to productivity since 2000 (Decker et al. 2020). Also, industry concentration is directly related …

American Rescue Plan Act For Local Communities, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law by President Biden. ARPA provides direct relief to all 19,000 cities, towns and villages across the United States affected by COVID-19. The purpose of ARPA is to support pandemic recovery efforts, replace public sector lost revenue, spur job growth, jump start economic growth through household and business stabilization and ad-dress systemic public health and economic challenges.

Creative Occupations And The Precipitating Factors Of Burnout, Natasha E. Koval

Honors Projects

Creativity is an intrinsic part of the human life; however, it is one of the most challenging concepts to be understood. In this paper, I am examining occupations driven by creativity, their economic significance, and how sustainable these occupations are for the creative employees. I will be particularly looking at burnout and its precipitating factors as a way to understand the wellness of the creative workforce. Creative occupations, if fostered properly, can lead to job growth, increased income, and potential for investment in vulnerable communities. This makes them valuable resources for urban economic development goals. Literature suggests that there is …

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Motives? Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Image-Fundraising, K. Pun Winichakul

Economics: Faculty Publications

Charitable giving can boost an individual’s image, and organizations can capitalize on this by engaging in “image-fundraising.” Public announcements of donations give individuals the opportunity to demonstrate their generosity and are found to increase giving. This paper evaluates whether generosity inferred from charitable giving is discounted when donations are made in response to image-fundraising. I show in an experimental study that others reward larger donations, and that image-fundraising increases giving. However, others account for the conditions under which donations are made and reduce rewards for giving in an image-fundraising environment. While image-fundraising benefits charitable organizations, individuals are not recompensed for …

Domestic Workers In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Saha Salahi, Katie M. Gilbertson, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr., Eshaan Vakil

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet explores the number of domestic workers employed in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), as originally reported in the Economic Policy Institute’s “Domestic Workers Chartbook.” Data for domestic worker median wages compared to the median wages of nondomestic workers are also included.

The 1malaysia Development Berhad (1mdb) Scandal: Exploring Malaysia's 2018 General Elections And The Case For Sovereign Wealth Funds, Chea-Mun Tan

Honors Projects

In 2015, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, was accused of corruption, embezzlement, and fraud of over $700 million USD. Low Taek Jho, the former financier of Malaysia, was also accused and dubbed the ‘mastermind’ of the 1MDB scandal. As one of the world’s largest financial scandals, this paper seeks to explore the political and economic implications of 1MDB through historical context and a critical assessment of governance. Specifically, it will examine the economic and political agendas of former Prime Ministers Najib Razak and Mahathir Mohamad. In 2018, after the crimes of those involved in the scandal were …

Regional Wage Inequality In Egypt: Relationships To Micro And Macro Indicators, Noha Mostafa

Theses and Dissertations

Addressing regional disparities in Egypt is of paramount importance for the country’s success in achieving the pillars of its 2030 strategy, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper focuses on examining regional disparities in wages, not only in relation to the micro level characteristics of workers such as their level of educational attainment and acquired experience, but also with regard to the overall economic conditions of the region where they work. The paper compiled a novel dataset of Egypt’s governorates macroeconomic indicators that includes the shares of public investment funds, poverty and unemployment rates and analyzed the …

Contested Landscapes, Disputed Realities: An Investigation Of Socio-Environmental Conflict From Mining In Northern Ecuador: An Honors Thesis, Ian F. Hirons

Student Works

For decades, Ecuador has been one of the preeminent petrostates in South America. However, in response to recent drops in global demand and pricing for oil products, the country has made serious commitments to further develop its mineral resources. By opening a new natural resource sector, Ecuador has firmly cemented itself as a primarily extractivist nation. In the process, the national government has frequently come into conflict with activist and community groups who protest the encroachment of extractive industry. This thesis explores the various dimensions of socio-environmental conflict created by large-scale mining projects in northern Ecuador with specific attention to …

Financial And Trade Relationships Between The Eurozone And China In The Age Of Resilience, Alessandro Del Ponte, Paolo Canofari, Audrey De Dominicis

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

How did the financial and trade ties between China and the Eurozone develop in the aftermath of the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis? We analyze these trends until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), we examine the financial and trade dynamics between the two currency areas and analyze the related risks and opportunities. The data point to several patterns. We find that financial volatility in China has been substantially greater than in the Eurozone. Even so, the largest and strongest Eurozone economies – France and Germany- …

The Economic Value Of America’S Estuaries: 2021 Report, Tracy Rouleau, Charles S. Colgan, Jefferey Adkins, Castelletto Anthony, Dirlam Patty, Shannon Lyons, Hilary Stevens

Publications

This study builds on the work completed in 2009, “The Economic and Market Value of Coasts and Estuaries: What’s At Stake?,” a report by NOAA in collaboration with the Center for the Blue Economy and the Ocean Foundation, at the request of Restore America’s Estuaries. Like the 2009 study, the 2021 update uses the same data sources (Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and NOAA), and looks in detail at the same five major sectors of the U.S. economy (fisheries, energy infrastructure, marine transportation, real estate, and recreation) from 2009-2018.

The 2021 update includes the economic …

Social Or Special Interests: How Unions Influence Spending, Devon Moffett

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Unions are in a decades long decline, heading for the point of non-relevance. To better understand what this change will entail, this paper asks: how does union strength affect state spending? Previous research on unions has exhausted the answers to national and congressional effects, so looking at spending on the state and local level will add more clarity to our understanding of union influence. Independent data will be used to test several areas of spending with multivariate regressions. Additionally, pairwise comparisons will test whether union influence differs across areas. It is found that unions have a positive influence on spending …

Law, Lawyers And Sustainable Development: Reflections Of A Fellow Traveler, Muna B. Ndulo

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

At the national level, the rule of law is necessary to create an environment for providing sustainable livelihoods and eradicating poverty. Poverty often stems from disempowerment, exclusion and discrimination. The rule of law fosters development through strengthening the voices of individuals and communities, by providing access to justice, ensuring due process and establishing remedies for the violation of rights. Security of livelihoods, shelter, tenure and contracts can enable and empower the poor to defend themselves against violations of their rights. Legal empowerment goes beyond the provision of legal remedies and supports better economic opportunities. In order for the rule of …

The Missing Middle In Product Price Distribution, Pao-Li Chang, Xin Yi, Haeyeon Yoon

SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series

The IO literature has typically studied the supply-side factors that determine the price structure of products/services competing in a market. This paper pro-poses that the demand-side demographics could play an important role in shaping the product price structure. In particular, we document a “missing middle” phe-nomenon in both the income and the product price distributions in the U.S., based on the IPUMS ACS dataset (2005–2017) and the Nielsen Retail Scanner Data (2006–2017), for a large set of goods sold in the U.S. at the national, state, or commuting-zone level. We show that the lagged population share of the middle-income class …

Improving Existing Methods For Calculating Embodied Carbon Emissions In Trade Through Feature Discovery: An Information Theoretic Approach, Sam Morton

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

The continued societal and ecological risks posed by climate change have spurred renewed interest in quantitative tools that can improve policy aimed at climate mitigation. In 2008, international trade accounted for up to 26\% of global anthropogenic emissions, and therefore trade has garnered increased attention from policymakers seeking carbon mitigation. The concept of embodied carbon emissions in trade (EET) quantifies overall carbon emitted in the production and transport of goods for the purposes of trade. EET in theory could prove an indispensable tool to climate-concerned policymakers, but current implementations and data availability limit EET calculation to annual snapshots that extend …

Towards Consumer-Oriented Mushroom-Based Product Development: An Exploratory Study In Rice-Based Farming Communities In Central Luzon, Philippines, Josefina F. Ballesteros, Rosaly V. Manaois, Amelia V. Morales, Riza Abilgos-Ramos

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

This study determined consumers’ awareness and interest towards mushroom and mushroom-based product ideas. A survey of 222 adults was conducted in rice-based farming communities in selected provinces, namely, Aurora,
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga. Results showed that taste, nutritional, and health benefits were the top attributes considered by both sexes whenever they buy food for household consumption. Most of the respondents (99%) liked eating mushroom because of its palatability (71%) and perceived healthiness (26%). However, the majority (76%) consumed mushrooms only once a month or seldom in a year due to its limited availability. Food supplements, coffee-like beverages, and snacks …