Economics Commons^™

Behavioral Economic Modeling Of The Effects Of Symptom, Severity, And Cost On Seeking Medical Care, Mark J. Rzeszutek

Dissertations

While the United States has some of the highest healthcare spending in the world, it has some of the worst health outcomes. For example, maternal mortality in the United States is almost five times as high as in other similarly wealthy countries. It also has the highest rates of avoidable deaths. One of the reasons for this may be the cost of accessing healthcare due to privatized insurance. For example, Americans may avoid important preventive medical visits and other health screeners due to cost. While lack of health insurance has been correlated with decreased health utilization, a precise understanding of …

The Response Of The Chinese Economy To The U.S.-China Trade War: 2018-2019, Pao-Li Chang, Kefang Yao, Fan Zheng

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we follow the micro-to-macro approach of Fajgelbaum et al. (2020) and analyze the impacts of the 2018–2019 U.S.-China trade war on the Chinese economy. We use highly disaggregated trade and tariff data with monthly frequency to identify the demand/supply elasticities of Chinese imports/exports, combined with a general equilibrium model for the Chinese economy (that takes into account input-output linkages, and regional heterogeneity in employment and sector specialization) to quantify the partial and general equilibrium effects of the tariff war at the product/sector/region/aggregate levels. This complements the studies that focus on the ex post response of the U.S. …

Business Cycles, Trend Elimination, And The Hp Filter, Peter C. B. Phillips, Sainan Jin

Research Collection School Of Economics

Trend elimination and business cycle estimation are analyzed by finite sample and asymptotic methods. An overview history is provided, operator theory is developed, limit theory as the sample size n → ∞ is derived, and filtered series properties are studied relative to smoothing parameter (λ) behavior. Simulations reveal that limit theory with λ =O(n4) delivers excellent approximations to the HP filter for common sample sizes but fails to remove stochastic trends, contrary to standard thinking in macroeconomics and thereby explaining ‘spurious cycle’ effects of the HP filter. The findings are related to the long run effects of the GFC.

Boosting: Why You Can Use The Hp Filter, Peter C. B. Phillips, Zhentao Shi

Research Collection School Of Economics

We propose a procedure of iterating the HP filter to produce a smarter smoothing device, called the boosted HP (bHP) filter, based on L2-boosting in machine learning. Limit theory shows that the bHP filter asymptotically recovers trend mechanisms that involve integrated processes, deterministic drifts, and structural breaks, covering the most common trends that appear in current modeling methodology. A stopping criterion automates the algorithm, giving a data-determined method for data-rich environments. The methodology is illustrated in simulations and with three real data examples that highlight the differences between simple HP filtering, the bHP filter, and an alternative autoregressive approach.

In-Fill Asymptotic Theory For Structural Break Point In Autoregression, Liang Jiang, Xiaohu Wang, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article obtains the exact distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator of structural break point in the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process when a continuous record is available. The exact distribution is asymmetric, trimodal, dependent on the initial condition. These three properties are also found in the finite sample distribution of the least squares (LS) estimator of structural break point in autoregressive (AR) models. Motivated by these observations, the article then develops an in-fill asymptotic theory for the LS estimator of structural break point in the AR(1) coefficient. The in-fill asymptotic distribution is also asymmetric, tri-modal, dependent on the initial condition, and delivers …

On Factor Models With Random Missing: Em Estimation, Inference, And Cross Validation, Sainan Jin, Ke Miao, Liangjun Su

Research Collection School Of Economics

We consider the estimation and inference in approximate factor models with random missing values. We show that with the low rank structure of the common component, we can estimate the factors and factor loadings consistently with the missing values replaced by zeros. We establish the asymptotic distributions of the resulting estimators and those based on the EM algorithm. We also propose a cross validation-based method to determine the number of factors in factor models with or without missing values and justify its consistency. Simulations demonstrate that our cross validation method is robust to fat tails in the error distribution and …

Does Affordability Guarantee Accessibility? Analyzing The Effect Of Subsidized Tuition On Diversity In University Demographics, Matthew Cole

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the 2020 presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden announced his initiative to make higher education free for any individual whose parents earn less than $125,000. This proposal was inspired by progressive representatives, such as Bernie Sanders, who have made a larger issue of American higher education costs (Berger). Although this initiative garnered little focus during the election – Biden has not addressed it since being elected and the proposal was even removed from his campaign website – his endorsement shows just how much the notion of “free” college has grown amongst Americans in recent years. This growing sentiment …

Economic Experiments On Conflict, Information Acquisition, And Public Goods, Jeffrey Braxton Gately

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains essays on economic experiments. The first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences,” focuses on the effects of information acquisition on social decision-making. The second chapter, “Paved With Good Intentions: Partial Willful Ignorance and Group Identity in Public Goods Games,” focuses on the effect of information acquisition on contributions to public goods. I also explore human conflict in the third chapter, “Risk Preferences and Reform Paths: Experimental Evidence.”

In my first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences”, I investigate whether remaining partially …

Brain Drain In Mississippi, Clifford Adam Conner

Honors Theses

Brain drain is the out-migration of educated individuals from an area. It is a problem with which Mississippi is overly familiar. This thesis uses data gathered from a survey of 965 respondents to identify who is leaving the state and for what reasons. The data gathered suggest confirmation that brain drain is an issue for the state, with roughly two-thirds of respondents having left the state or seriously considering doing so. The impetus for this varies with each individual, but respondents underscore economic and societal factors within Mississippi as pushing them away from the state. Quality of life factors are …

Modeling The Us Beef Industry’S Response To Covid-19, Owen Michael Fleming

Undergraduate Economic Review

To understand the beef industry’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I proposed a three-sector model of the beef supply-chain and estimated it econometrically. Based on their definitions, it is found that panic, stay-at-home procedures, and expectations are not significant explanatory variables. However, there is strong evidence that COVID-19 spread in a set of counties with large meatpacking plants has the effect of increasing wholesale beef prices, while country-wide spread has the effect of reducing wholesale prices. The results further imply differences in competition across the market levels, with wholesalers responding as if they face less competition than retailers and farmers.

Analyzing And Decomposing South African Income Inequality By Income Source, Race, And Poverty Level For 2008 And 2014, Zia Saylor

Undergraduate Economic Review

In South Africa’s apartheid regime a white minority controlled the black African majority from 1948 until 1994, creating income and wealth inequalities between the different races that linger today. This paper uses data from the 2008 and 2014 National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS) to understand income inequalities within and between racial categories, to examine how different income sources contribute to overall income inequality, and to study how the interaction between race and poverty shapes the inequality between African households when decomposing into subgroups above and below the poverty line. For this study, I use Gini coefficients to measure inequality. My …

Parkersburg Area Economic Outlook: 2021-2025, Joseph Gutmann, Sarah Ihlenfeld, Sofia Nunez, Ryan Snyder

Bureau of Business & Economic Research

The Parkersburg Area economy has generally struggled over the past several years. Even though the region outperformed many other portions of West Virginia during the early- to mid-2010s, the five-county area has failed to gain much traction since 2015. Indeed, the Parkersburg Area lost nearly 4,000 jobs between early-2015 and mid-2017. The region did see a modest rebound in job growth during 2018 and 2019, due in large part to gains in manufacturing and construction activity.

The Effects Of The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program On Non-Targeted Interventions, Anna Kate Peterson

20th Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2021)

According to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, the rate of hospital readmissions for Medicare patients fell from 18.3 percent in 2010 to 17.1 percent in 2016. Still, since avoidable readmission within 30 days of discharge is a negative healthcare outcome and costly, whether the readmission is due to low-quality care or random complication, it captures the attention of healthcare cost-conscious policymakers. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), implemented in 2012, aims to decrease readmission following selected procedures. This research analyzes the effect of the HRRP on readmission rates that were not a part of the HRRP’s intended scope, referred …

Using Immersive Data Visualization To Highlight Changing Travel Patterns In Maine Due To Covid 19, Colleen Metcalf, Charlotte Aucoin

Thinking Matters Symposium

The impacts of COVID 19 are of top concern to tourism policy makers and stakeholders across Maine, as tourism plays a vital role in the state’s economy. This project shows the value of the Storymap to present, in an accessible and visually appealing way, the continuing research on how volunteered geographic information from social media can track changes in tourist’s movement and spending in Maine. The metadata from Flickr photos was used to examine where visitors spent time in the summer of 2020, revealing new patterns of tourism activity due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. In addition, we incorporate the results …

Identity For Development: India’S Biometric Id Program And Access To Public And Private Services, Meher Kaur

Honors Theses

Since its rollout in 2009, Aadhaar, India’s biometric identification system, has generated unique IDs for nearly 95% of India’s population. Since 2009, a variety of public and private services in India have been linked to Aadhaar. This linkage is intended to improve access to public welfare and private services for marginalized groups, such as third gender individuals and rurally located groups, who were historically left out of public welfare programs due to the absence of formal identification. However, there is a general lack of research on how effective Aadhaar is in linking individuals to state and private services and how …

Mapping The Cash Waqf Literature Based On Web Of Science And Vosviewer: A Bibliometric And Visualization, Sri Yayu Ninglasari

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study aims to systematically explore and cluster by mapping and visualizing the cash waqf research literature to serve basis for future research. A system mapping research (SMS) was employed with bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer based on Web of Science data from 1979 to April 2021. This study visualized patterns of the co-occurrence of keywords, co-citation relationships, and citations of documents. We show the literature's influential aspects, such as the number of publications per year, countries, institutions, journals, authors, and topics. The review of cash waqf research comprises 46 publications by 107 authors affiliated with 32 organizations in 9 countries, …

Periodontal Parameters And Anti-Cardiolipin Antibodies Following Periodontal Therapy In Chronic Periodontitis, Wan Majdiah Wan Mohamad, Noor Rashidah Saad, Siti Lailatul Akmar Zainuddin, Haslina Taib

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Anti-cardiolipin (anti-CL) antibodies are autoantibodies which are directed against cell membrane phospholipids. A significant number of periodontitis patients showed positive for anti-CL antibody. Objective: This study aimed to determine the periodontal parameters and anti-CL antibodies levels before and after non-surgical periodontal therapy in chronic periodontitis. Methods: This cross-sectional study had been carried out at Periodontal Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. Thirty five chronic periodontitis (CP) and 39 non-periodontitis (NP) patients underwent clinical periodontal examination at baseline. Plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were measured. Scaling …

Assessment Of Gingival Status And Gingival Overgrowth Among Immunosuppressed Patients In Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Wan Majdiah Wan Mohamad, Syamimi Izzati Mat Zaid, Haslina Taib

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Drug-induced gingival overgrowth (DIGO) is defined as an abnormal growth of the gingiva due to adverse effect of some drugs such as immunosuppressant, calcium channel blocker, and anticonvulsant. Immunosuppressive drugs play an important role in controlling organ transplant rejection and were widely used to treat different diseases. Objective: Immunosuppressive drugs are used for prevention of transplant rejection and management of autoimmune disease. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth (GO) is abnormal growth of gingiva due to adverse effect of these drugs. This study aimed to assess the gingival status, the prevalence of gingival overgrowth and its associated factors among immunosuppressed patients. Methods …

The Role Of Peer Influence On Oral Health Knowledge And Behaviors Among Adolescents, Maryam Sadeghipour Roudsari, Seyed Peyman Shariatpanahi, Mahshid Namdari, Mohammad Hossein Khoshnevisan, Mahsa Malek-Mohammadi, Mohammad Hadi Foroughmand

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Although many researchers, in different social sciences fields, are being attracted to the new potential promotional phenomenon, the influence of peer connections, the literature in dental public health is very poor. Objective: This article investigates the role of peer influence on individuals’ oral health knowledge and behavior among adolescents. Methods: The purpose of the study was to explore the correlation between secondary school students’ oral health u and knowledge within friendship groups. A valid and reliable questionnaire was developed. A total of 421 students (228 boys and 193 girls) aged between 12-13 years old participated in the study. …

Multiple Oral Ulcerations In A Seizure Patient With Undiagnosed Brain Arteriovenous Malformation, Ambar Kusuma Astuti, Febrina Rahmayanti

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Multiple ulcerations are rarely caused by a traumatic event, but seizures can induce repeated injury to the oral mucosa. A patient with a seizure history possesses a challenge in their dental management. Objective: In order to describe a case of multiple oral ulceration in a post-seizure patient with undiagnosed arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the left parietal lobe and provide short guidelines for dentists in managing patient with a seizure history. Case report: A 23-years old female had multiple oral ulceration in the right and left buccal mucosa and her tongue. She reported having a seizure attack six days before. …

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …

Normalizing Community Mask-Wearing: A Cluster Randomized Trial In Bangladesh, Jason Abaluck, Laura H. Kwong, Ashley Styczynski, Ashraful Haque, Md. Alamgir Kabir, Ellen Bates-Jeffries, Emily Crawford, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Salim Benhachmi, Shabib Raihan, Shadman Rahman, Neeti Zaman, Peter J. Winch, Md. Maqsud Hossain, Hasan Mahmud Reza, Stephen P. Luby, Ahmed Musfiq Mobarak

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Background: A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that face masks can slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, but mask usage remains low across many parts of the world, and strategies to increase mask usage remain untested and unclear. Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized trial of community-level mask promotion in rural Bangladesh involving 341,830 adults in 600 villages. We employed a series of strategies to promote mask usage, including free household distribution of surgical or cloth masks, distribution and promotion at markets and mosques, mask advocacy by Imams during Friday prayers, role modeling by local leaders, promoters …

The Impact Of Community Masking On Covid-19: A Cluster Randomized Trial In Bangladesh, Jason Abaluck, Laura H. Kwong, Ashley Styczynski, Ashraful Haque, Md. Alamgir Kabir, Ellen Bates-Jeffries, Emily Crawford, Jade Benjamin-Chung, Shabib Raihan, Shadman Rahman, Salim Benhachmi, Neeti Zaman, Peter J. Winch, Md. Maqsud Hossain, Hasan Mahmud Reza, Abdullah All Jaber, Shawkee Gulshan Momen, Faika Laz Bani, Aura Rahman, Tahrima Saiha Huq, Stephen P. Luby, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Background: Mask usage remains low across many parts of the world during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and strategies to increase mask-wearing remain untested. Our objectives were to identify strategies that can persistently increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of increasing mask-wearing on symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized trial of community-level mask promotion in rural Bangladesh from November 2020 to April 2021 (N=600 villages, N=342,126 adults). We cross-randomized mask promotion strategies at the village and household level, including cloth vs. surgical masks. All intervention arms received free masks, information on the importance of masking, role modeling by community …

Mapping Renewal: How An Unexpected Interdisciplinary Collaboration Transformed A Digital Humanities Project, Elise Tanner, Geoffrey Joseph

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Funded by a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Foundations Grant, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture’s “Mapping Renewal” pilot project focused on creating access to and providing spatial context to archival materials related to racial segregation and urban renewal in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954-1989. An unplanned interdisciplinary collaboration with the UA Little Rock Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) has proven to be an invaluable partnership. One team member from each department will demonstrate the Mapping Renewal website and discuss how the collaborative process has changed and shaped …

The Power Of Information: Information, Leak Notices, And Water Conservation In Edina, Mn, Federico Chung

Economics Honors Projects

This paper provides evidence on the effects of information provision on households’ water use. I use quarterly household consumption data from a utility in Minnesota to test the effect of a new residential water billing system on households’ water consumption. The updated billing format was possible as the utility transitioned to an automated meter reading (AMR) system. I also study impacts of another source of improved information provision from AMR adoption, faster high-water consumption notices. I find mixed evidence of the impact of personalized information on households’ water use. Households respond to high-consumption notices by significantly reducing consumption, even relative …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: April 28, 2021, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N rose by 1.49% during March 2021. The indicator has risen during each of the last six months, suggesting that the Nebraska economy will expand at a robust pace through the summer of 2021. In March, the leading indicator primarily rose due to strong business expectations and rising airline activity. The pace of recovery in airline passenger enplanements improved during March. In addition, March respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business reported plans to increase sales and employment over the next six months. Manufacturing hours worked also rose in March while there was a small decline in initial claims …

Is Nebraska Farmland A Good Investment?, Jeff Stokes, Jim Jansen, Jared Stauffer

Cornhusker Economics

Economists analyze the performance of financial in-vestments in a variety of ways. Probably the most significant analysis undertaken is the quantification of the tradeoff between risk and return. While individuals are generally thought to prefer investments offering higher returns, they also prefer to not be exposed to excessive risk. And because higher returns are generally associated with higher risk, investors tend to choose investments that are consistent with their specific risk/return goals. In this article, Nebraska farm-land (dryland, irrigated, and grazing) is analyzed from the perspective of its investment potential by quantifying the risk/return tradeoff.

Darkness Falls Upon America’S Backyard: An Evaluation Of Central Appalachia’S Past Economic Woes And A Blueprint For The Region’S Future Economic Development, Jack Bergantino

Honors Scholar Theses

The United States prides itself as a nation that offers equity and opportunity to its citizens. However, in recent decades, regions of relative wealth and poverty have come to define the American landscape. Coastal communities have fared well with consistently declining rates of unemployment and increasing rates of college graduation. In contrast, Central Appalachia, which comprises parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, continues to falter with diverging employment and income levels relative to other areas of the country.

This report discusses the economic history of the Appalachian region and considers three case studies, concentrated in McDowell, Harrison, and …

Extension-Led Demonstration: Grameen Microfinance Methods And Capital Access For Low-Income Female Entrepreneurs, Mark A. Edelman

Journal of Extension

A nonprofit community development financial institution and Extension collaborated to conduct a demonstration project to evaluate efficacy of Grameen peer-group microfinance methodology in addressing barriers faced by low-income women entrepreneurs in a small metro area. Program performance metrics achieved by 284 culturally diverse, low-income entrepreneurs (almost all women) over 5 years included a program loan repayment rate of 99%, increased average client income, bank savings accumulation, and increased opportunities for improved credit scores. Client survey responses indicated program methods developed confidence and skills in finances, leadership, and teamwork. Extension professionals may play various roles in such endeavors.

Asylum Policy In France: A Case Study Of Governing Party Incentives & Seine Saint-Denis : Une Étude De Cas Sur L’Impact Des Partis Au Pouvoir Sur La Politique D’Asile, Jacob Kang

International Relations Honors Papers

Following an increase in displaced persons globally in the 2000s and 2010s, governments around the world have been required to adjust their response to the growing need for refuge. Even internally within countries, there was variation in how the governing political party revised asylum policy. This thesis seeks to explain that variation in asylum policy in France between 2007 and 2019 under three different parties in power. Its explanations focus on the ideology and electoral incentives of governing parties and it focuses on the general economic status of the country. Based on literature and historical context, three factors are primarily …