Behavioral Economics Commons^™

Industrial Ecology Analysis Of The Potential For An Eastern Nebraska Industrial Symbiosis Network (Enisn): A Comparative Study, Bradley A. Behne

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The area of Eastern Nebraska north of Omaha, including the municipality of Blair is host to a collection of unique companies and industries. These industries, driven by the agricultural and urban economy of the area, as well as the geographic proximity to each other, make it an advantageous area to study the potential for a network where individual entities utilize the concept of industrial symbiosis. This potential network is referred to as the Eastern Nebraska Industrial Symbiosis Network (ENISN). Industrial symbiosis, a sub-set of industrial ecology, engages separate industries in a collaborative and collective approach, concerning itself with the flow …

The Importance Of Funding Channels For Microfinance Performance, Roman Fedorak

Global Honors Theses

This paper studies the importance of microfinance funding channels by analyzing how for-profit and non-profit microfinance institutions’ performances differ in practice. Generally all MFIs seek financial sustainability in order to avoid reliance on external funding and increase efficiency. However, for-profit MFIs tend to rely more heavily on standard economic assumptions established by the neoclassical economics model, shifting the priority away from the social and economic development process among poor communities to the final product of loan repayment enjoyed by such institutions. By contrast, non-profit MFIs attracting donors contributions tend to focus more closely on shifts in social dynamics within communities …

Development Of Utility Theory And Utility Paradoxes, Timothy E. Dahlstrom

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Since the pioneering work of von Neumann and Morgenstern in 1944 there have been many developments in Expected Utility theory. In order to explain decision making behavior economists have created increasingly broad and complex models of utility theory. This paper seeks to describe various utility models, how they model choices among ambiguous and lottery type situations, and how they respond to the Ellsberg and Allais paradoxes. This paper also attempts to communicate the historical development of utility models and provide a fresh perspective on the development of utility models.

Effect Of Non-Monetary Incentives On Women's Competitive Inclination: Experimental Evidence From Ancona, Italy, Kalkidan Shebi

Master's Theses

This study investigates how monetary incentives versus non-monetary incentives affect women’s decision to enter a competitive environment. This study was conducted in Ancona Italy, in a controlled laboratory experiment with a total of 60 participants; of which 29 were male and 31 were female. Participants were given mathematical addition problems to solve under alternative incentives. How they received these incentives differed based on their preference to enter or withdraw from the competition. The study also included components that assessed risk preferences and willingness to pay for the non-monetary incentive in the experiment. Results show no significant difference in performance scores …

The Taper Tantrum Of 2013: Momentum-Driven Or A Return To Fundamentals?, Colette L. Terhune

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explores the driving force behind the Taper Tantrum of 2013. Following the Fed’s announcements of potential QE tapering, investors poured of the bond market, causing yields to rise sharply. This analysis seeks to determine whether this was a momentum-driven reaction or a return to fundamental values. Throughout this paper, fundamental determinants of bond prices and investor returns are combined with trading volume and bid-ask spread data to determine the motivating market force. The findings suggest that the Taper Tantrum was a return to fundamental bond prices following an asset bubble burst, likely due to momentum trading.

Identifying Irrationality And Fear-Driven Reactions To Financial Market Shocks & Terrorism, Kimberly M. Roland

Honors Scholar Theses

Economic research on post 9-11 terrorism lacks a distinction between fear-based reactions and rational financial market behavior in its analysis surrounding terror strikes. The purpose of this paper is to expose and interpret the fear triggered by terrorism in financial markets, and to separate rational market responses from irrational, fear-driven investor reactions. A rational market response follows the efficient market theory (Wang 1993) in which investors alter their behavior based on changes in fundamental values. Becker and Rubinstein (2011) define terror-triggered fear as the magnitude with which subjective beliefs about danger hinder objective risk assessment. I apply this definition to …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

Can Nba Teams Benefit From Losing?, Ryan P. Hallisey

Honors Scholar Theses

It has been speculated that franchises in the NBA (national basketball association) lose on purpose because of the benefits that coincide with a team having a poor overall record. Teams that perform the worst are given the highest draft selections in the following season's rookie player draft, thus theoretically improving their chances of becoming a more winning team. Previous economists have used various methodology to prove that NBA teams do in fact lose on purpose; or tank. This paper builds upon this previous methodology to examine the direct impact, negative or positive, that losing on purpose has had on various …

The Golden Straightjacket Is Out Of Style, Lacey Germana

Best Integrated Writing

Germana’s review of Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree provides careful summary and critique of Friedman’s argument and passionately calls for a balance between increased standards of living and careful stewardship of the earth.

Entrepreneurship, Education And Credit: The Golden Triangle, Roberto M. Samaniego, Juliana Yu Sun

Research Collection School Of Economics

We develop a model to evaluate the impact of college education finance on welfare, inequality and aggregate outcomes. Our model captures the stylized fact that entrepreneurs with college are more common and more profitable. Our calibration to US data suggests this is mainly because higher labor earnings allow college educated agents to ameliorate credit constraints when they become entrepreneurs. The welfare benefits of subsidizing education are greater than those of eliminating financing constraints on education because subsidies ameliorate the impact of financing constraints on would-be entrepreneurs.

A Unified Model Of Adaptive Learning In Normal Form Games, Naoki Funai

Naoki Funai

We investigate an adaptive learning model which nests several existing learning models such as payoff assessment learning, valuation learning, stochastic fictitious play learning, experience-weighted attraction learning and delta learning with indirect payoff information in normal form games. In this paper, we consider adaptive players each of whom (i) assigns payoff assessments to his own actions, (ii) chooses an action which has the highest assessment with some perturbations, and (iii) updates the assessments using observed payoffs, which may include payoffs from unchosen actions, in each period. Utilising the asynchronous stochastic approximation method introduced by Tsitsiklis (1994), we provide conditions under which …

Exploring Economic And Social Factors That Increase Economic And Well-Being Measurements Of Developing And Developed Countries, Kofi D. Boadu

Undergraduate Economic Review

The historical growth paths of developed and developing countries reveal the challenges that developing countries face in traveling the road from poverty to prosperity. Based on economic development literature, economic theory, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression method, this research considers whether or not, and to what extent globalization characteristics, foreign direct investment levels (FDI), secondary school enrollment rates, information communication technology (ICT) as a percentage of trade imports, and happiness levels of 103 developing and developed countries, impact their GDP per capita levels. This paper will also take a look at alternative ways of viewing and measuring economic success.

Informational Efficiency And The Reaction To Terrorism: A Financial Perspective, Nicholas Roland

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study is to measure the message terror organizations hope to convey using the financial markets as a proxy of measurement to determine patterns within the marketplace and the effects on the terrorists’ ability to deliver a desired message due to the increased use of digital devices and access to instantaneous news, seen over the past decade. Using death count, geographic location, and event type, this study identified 109 attacks between 1985 and 2015 to be analyzed against 5 market indices and 5 securities. Measuring the effects within a 10-day sample window from the time of the …

A Sustainability-Based Project Selection Algorithm: Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection (Steps) Algorithm, Bharathi Bhattu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Multi-dimensional aspects play a vital role in the task of project-decision making. Environmental effects are to be considered in addition to other technical and non-technical aspects in order to avoid undue environmental damage. This current work introduces a new decision-making algorithm (Socio-Technical-Economic Project Selection or STEPS) that is demonstrated with the use of RCA (recycled concrete aggregate) as riprap for slope stabilization and erosion control which leaches chemical arsenic when in contact with water. Arsenic has long been recognized for its lethal properties. The main intention of introducing this new algorithm is to use sustainability concepts of social, technical, and …

American Obesity: Rooted In Uncertainty, Institutions And Public Policy, James Woodward

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Despite the efforts of policymakers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders, obesity and related health problems show no signs of receding from their record-high rates. Public policy has largely taken the form of consumer advice, (e.g., USDA’s Dietary Guidelines). Since consumers bear most of the costs associated with their obesity, the goal of obesity prevention appears to be incentive-compatible, prima facie. That is, there is no a priori case for much further policy intervention unless existing advice is deficient or consumers’ exhibit systematically poor decision-making.

My review of the literature shows that scholars have long conveyed a consistent narrative regarding …

Everything’S Bigger In Texas: Except The Medmal Settlements, Tom Baker, Eric Helland, Jonathan Klick

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent work using Texas closed claim data finds that physicians are rarely required to use personal assets in medical malpractice settlements even when plaintiffs secure judgments above the physician's insurance limits. In equilibrium, this should lead physicians to purchase less insurance. Qualitative research on the behavior of plaintiffs suggests that there is a norm under which plaintiffs agree not to pursue personal assets as long as defendants are not grossly underinsured. This norm operates as a soft constraint on physicians. All other things equal, while physicians want to lower their coverage, they do not want to violate the norm and …

The Effects Of The One-Child Policy On Household Financial Decisions, Sylvia M. Xu

Honors Theses

The Chinese One-Child Policy, enacted in 1979, was an attempt to decrease the population growth rate following a period of massive social and political confusion and uncertainty. While the policy was beneficial to curbing the population growth in China, it also introduced unintentional consequences, including sex imbalance, and other demographic differences. The goal of this paper is to examine the economic behavior and financial decisions of son-families and daughter-families across different provinces and regions of China, which have varying levels of sex imbalance, as a result of a cultural preference for sons. These financial decisions include the household saving rate, …

Opec, The Seven Sisters, And Oil Market Dominance: An Evolutionary Game Theory And Agent-Based Modeling Approach, Aaron Wood, Charles F. Mason, David C. Finnoff

Charles F Mason

No abstract provided.