Econometrics Commons^™

Hitting The Books: An Empirical Analysis Of The Effect Of Education Expenditure On Gdp Per Capita And Economic Growth, Matt Simmons

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the link between education spending in Mexico and Central American countries and illegal immigration to the United States. Despite challenges like poverty and governance issues, these nations experience significant migration to the U.S., underscoring the need for deeper insights. Analyzing economic motivations and migration costs, the study emphasizes education expenditure's role in economic growth. Through empirical analysis, it highlights the importance of addressing root causes and offers policy recommendations. Overall, this research contributes to understanding the intricate relationship between education, immigration, and economic development.

How Unsdgs Are Reflected In Folklore, Jacob Mann

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the relationship between the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals in a country and the prevalence of those goals in that country’s folklore. The study incorporates folklore collected into an aspect-based sentiment analyzer to examine the prevalence of, and attitude towards various aspects of the text. A combination of ConceptNet and the widely available Natural Language Toolkit is implemented to retrieve polarity scores related to key aspects of the texts. The results indicate that there are correlations between the attitude towards a theme in folklore, and the attitudes towards that theme in a country. JEL

Shifting The Ice: Analyzing The Impact Of The 2013 Nhl Cba To The Competitive Balance Of The League, Ryan Lacy

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates whether the 2013 National Hockey League (NHL) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which hardened the existing salary cap, increased team revenue sharing, and instituted additional restrictions on player contracts, results in a more competitively balanced league. The study incorporates an OLS regression and Quantile regression to examine the impact of the 2013 CBA on the competitive balance of the league. The results show that the changes allow for a dispersion of talent, specifically offensive talent, and demonstrated a positive relationship between spending and points obtained by teams in the top 25% of the league. Conversely, teams that did …

The Causes All Time High Chronic Homelessness: A Panel Analysis, Robert Knight

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates what economic indicators affect the rate of homelessness in the United States. By combining both the personal issues of the homeless people themselves along with economic structural issues in U.S. this study finds what the largest determinants of chronic homelessness. The study includes variables such as median house prices from the Case Shiller Index, the poverty rate, unemployment rate, health care expenditures per capita and demographics to find what causes a higher homeless rate. The data used to determine the conclusions will be pulled from twenty different major U.S. metropolitan cities to showcase how different economic variables …

Time Series Analysis Of The Impact Of Climate Change On The Rocky Mountain Ski Industry, Charlotte Christo

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the correlation between climate change and the ski industry. This study will incorporate the annual snowfall and mean temperature and annual visitations to American ski resorts. The model studied will investigate if the rising temperatures affect snow fall totals in popular ski areas as well the visitor amounts per season. This model will be used to run a multiple regression that will account for various controls including the distribution of snow fall throughout the season.

Does Money Really Buy Success? Empirical Analysis Of Money Spent Effect On English Premier League Team’S Performances/Success: A Panel Data Analysis, Barnaby Brandon

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the empirical relationship between the wages of English Premier League teams and their success. This study incorporates information from the league regarding each team’s spending and the performance of each of these teams every year. Each team has a specific spending structure based on the magnitude of the club and ability of the players. The research will look at all teams that have stayed in the premier league for the past 10 years as some teams come in and out of the Premier League with the relegation and promotion system. The results will show whether having higher …

The Role Of Institutional Quality Factors On Inequality In Upper-Middle Income Countries In Latin America, Alexia Brandao

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the influence that institutional quality factors have on the power or spread of inequality across low-income countries, as opposed to high income countries. As such, an empirical study and analysis will be conducted to measure the impact of the following institutional quality factors: control of corruption, government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, regulatory quality, rule of law, and voice and accountability. Specifically, cross-sectional or panel data from the World Bank will be utilized to look at upper-middle income nations in Latin America. The factors will be simultaneously measured against the Gini Coefficient. These countries include …

Beyond The Arc: Investigating The Impact Of 3-Point Shots On Nba Revenue: An Empirical Analysis, Cameron Bolduc

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the impact of Stephen Curry’s revolution of the three-point shot and its impact on NBA’s revenues. The study will incorporate the five years prior to Stephen Curry’s back-to-back MVP’s and the five years after those MVP’s. The model will examine three-point makes and percentage per game, along with a player’s effective field goal percentage, as well as playoff wins and attendance in home games. The study’s results showed that in the five years after Stephen Curry changed the game and won his MVPs, the three-point shot was a big driver in a team’s revenue. These results do …

Broken Asset Bubbles: The Factors Affect Japan's Economy From Prosperity To Decline, Mark Yang

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Japan was in the most prosperous period of the economy in the 1980s, during which the GDP growth rate of Japan was high-speed, and the economic scale of Japan was second only to the United States in the world. Japan became the second largest economy in the world. But the boom was the unsustainable illusion of a bubble economy of rising house and stock prices. In the early 1990s, the collapse of Japanese real estate and stock market prices severely affected the Japanese economy, leaving many banks and companies heavily indebted. Japan's economy fell into a decade-long stagnation known as …

A Cross-Section Analysis Of Factors Affecting Interstate 11 Migration In The United States, Kasey Thomas

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the factors influencing interstate migration in the United States of America. This study incorporates political affiliations and income and property tax policy into an existing migration determinants model. This is done to examine the influence of policy or potential future policies on an individual’s decision-making in addition to household factors. The greatest factors influencing an individual's decision to move are the average January temperature, the income tax rate, and the number of hazardous waster sites in the state.

The Causal Nexus Between Government Expenditure On Education And Individual Savings Behavior In Argentina, Amanda Spielman

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the possibility of interdependence between education and savings by looking at the relationship between a country’s government expenditure on education and the saving rate. Public education expenditure has been studied as an explanatory variable for economic growth, but similar studies determining its impact on household savings behavior are lacking. This research looks to determine Granger Causality using the Vector Error Correction Model between this measure of the quality of education and savings rate for Argentina. The results show bidirectional causality between the savings rate and government expenditure on education, as well as unidirectional causality with government expenditure …

What Gives? Trust, Risk, Altruism, And Reciprocity Across 76 Countries, Sherwin Mosavat

Master's Theses

Abstract:

The decades-long literature pertaining to gender-specific preferences lies at the intersection of economics and psychology with a primary focus on the correlation between economic development and gender-specific preferences. Better understanding of this correlation has helped researchers understand how individuals make decisions for their education, finances, and occupation. Falk & Hermle (2018) assess the correlation between GDP and various gender-specific preferences including trust, risk, altruism, and reciprocity. In order to better understand the relationship between economic development and gender-specific preferences, I expand on the Falk & Hermle 2018 framework by introducing new macroeconomic, prosocial, and cultural variables as additional explanatory …

Analysis Of Inequality In Household Internet Utilization And Policy Implications, Shanisara Chamwong, Thoedsak Chomtohsuwan, Narissara Charoenphandhu

Journal of Demography

This research investigates the pervasive inequality in household internet access and use that contributes to the digital divide. As the internet becomes an integral part of daily life, variations in access and use carry significant implications for social and economic opportunities. A quantitative approach is applied, analyzing data from The National Statistical Office of Thailand to capture a comprehensive understanding of inequality in household internet access and use, as measured by the Gini coefficient. Five aspects of internet access and use are considered as the determinants of inequality, including internet connectivity, internet affordability, internet quality, device availability, and flexibility and …

To Burn Or Not To Burn: Causal Effect Of Farm Stubble Burning On Air Quality., Chaitanya Pasupala

Master's Theses

National Capital Region of India (NCR) experiences adverse air quality during winters with Air Quality Index (AQI) at hazardous levels. Though various factors like industrial and automobile emissions, biomass burning, and firecrackers during festive season contribute to NCR’s adverse air quality, farm stubble burning in neighbouring agricultural regions of Punjab and Haryana is considered a prominent one. The motivation and consequences of farm-stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana have been extensively studied but the causal effect of this burning on air quality of Delhi has neither been rigorously analyzed nor the effects quantified. This study aims to bridge this gap …

Exploring The Relationship Between Load Shedding And Crime In Gauteng, Bhavesh Ram

Master's Theses

This study investigates the impact of load shedding, a recurring power outage phenomenon in South Africa, on crime rates in the densely populated Gauteng province. Using a novel dataset that combines Eskom's load shedding schedules with detailed crime statistics from 2015 to 2022, a fixed-effects regression model is employed to examine the relationship between blackout hours and various crime categories. Findings reveal that while load shedding does not significantly affect overall crime rates, it significantly increases the incidence of contact crimes and sexual offenses, particularly during daylight hours. Additionally, our results provide evidence that load shedding diminishes the ability of …

Impact Of Temperature On Children’S Nutrition: A Comparative Study Of Three Ecological Regions Of Nepal, Prakriti Shakya

Master's Theses

Nutrition obtained during the growth period of childhood significantly influences long-term well-being and overall productivity, ultimately contributing to the economy of a society. However, weather shocks can wreak havoc by damaging crops, changing yields of important crops and disrupting market access, which directly impacts the food intake of both adults and children. When these adverse events occur during childhood, short term and long term inadequacy in nutrition as well as disease incidence can cause malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive impairment that may persist into adulthood, affecting the labor market and increasing health expenditure. To address this issue, we …

The Impact Of Female Political Leadership On Intimate Partner Violence In India, Khushboo Patel

Master's Theses

Abstract:

This study employs an instrumental variable approach to examine the impact of female political leadership on women’s experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). It finds that in rural areas with more female leaders, incidents of sexual and psychological IPV increase. The analysis investigates the drivers behind this impact, revealing that entrenched gender norms and expectations, such as a husband’s preference for more sons, may exacerbate IPV. Additionally, despite the increase in female leaders, attitudes toward violence remain largely unchanged. These findings highlight the need for research and policy initiatives that not only encourage female political participation but also specifically …

The Impact Of Refractive Error Correction On Harvest Productivity In The Guatemalan Coffee Sector, Bryce C. Everett

Master's Theses

Providing refractive error correction has the potential to bolster productivity within developing countries. Current literature is in agreement that interventions targeting those with uncorrected visual impairment can realize benefits in various sectors, with particular regard to agriculture. The design of this experiment attempts to derive the intent-to-treat (ITT) effect stemming from the provision of glasses to coffee harvesters in Guatemala. Methodology incorporates two distinct approaches: an ANCOVA model with basic controls and a fixed effects model with a control for farm-specific harvest trends. With daily harvest weight observations serving as a proxy for productivity, and a sample of 321 participants …

The Impact Of Index Based Livestock Insurance (Ibli) On Child Nutrition In Marsabit County, Kenya, Jackson Kadyampakeni

Master's Theses

The study uses six rounds of Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) panel surveys (2009 – 2015) for Northern Kenya’s Marsabit county to investigate the impact of IBLI on child nutrition and household food security. We employ Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Instrumental Variable (IV) regressions to account for potential endogeneity in IBLI uptake. The results indicate that while IBLI uptake significantly improves the intake of key nutrients such as Vitamin A, protein, iron, and fruits and vegetables, it does not translate into significant improvements in child nutrition status, as measured by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) z-scores. Significant negative effects of age …

What The Stork Brought: Endogenous Fertility Preferences, Lucas Fortier Borden

Master's Theses

Where most existing literature on fertility preferences has described how fertility preferences shape outcomes, this paper provides insight into how the sex of a recent birth affects a mother’s fertility preferences. Utilizing data from the Demographic Health Survey from 1985-2020 in 81 countries containing 309,238 mothers who gave birth in the past 12 months and who have equal to or fewer than three children, I employ OLS with two-way fixed effects as my primary specification, examining the effects of the plausibly exogenous sex of a recent birth on sibship sex composition preferences. Results show that a recent daughter birth increases …

Leveling Up Financial Literacy: Evidence From Game-Based Intervention With Aspiration Treatment Amongst Rural Women In India, Akash Shaji

Master's Theses

In India, rural women exhibit notably low financial literacy levels, necessitating effective and scalable educational interventions. Our randomized controlled trial evaluated a novel approach, combining game-based financial literacy education with a video documentary-based aspirations intervention, targeting women in self-help groups in Karnataka. The study included 348 participants and employed an ANCOVA model adjusted for clustering to analyze the effects. The results demonstrate significant improvements in financial literacy and aspirations, particularly when interventions are combined. The game-based intervention alone significantly enhanced digital literacy, financial confidence, and behavioral indices such as agency, pathways, and aspirations. The aspirations intervention also independently affected financial …

Matrilineal Ethnic Affiliation And Female Empowerment: Investigating Attitudes Towards Female Autonomy And Health In Ivorian Households, Martine Hind Stølan

Master's Theses

Kinship structure is a fundamental aspect of anthropology, however, there is still a gap in literature on its impact on economic research, particularly regarding female autonomy and health. This study aims to address this gap by examining the influence of matrilineal ethnic affiliation on attitudes towards female autonomy and health within Ivorian households. Using data from the 2011 IPUMS Demographic and Health Survey for the Ivory Coast, using female responses, this study investigates the complex dynamics shaping attitudes towards female autonomy and access to health care. Analysis on these aspects is done using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic estimations. …

Assessing The Economic Consequences Of Sewage Overflows On California Housing Values, Nathalie M. Nyanga

Master's Projects and Capstones

Sewage overflows (SSOs) represent a critical environmental challenge in California, and the impact of SSOs on housing prices is a vital issue. The study aims to determine how the frequency of sewage overflow events affects housing price fluctuations and conduct an event study. Employing linear, lasso, ridge, and random forest regression analyses, the study predicts the severity of overflow. Notably, lasso regression emerges as the most effective model for predicting housing prices in the event of an SSO occurrence. Additionally, the event study analysis provides insights into the factors influencing housing prices.

The Effects Of Pre-Abortion Restrictions On Women's Well-Being, Reesa Sooklall

Theses and Dissertations

Eleven states require women seeking abortions to undergo mandated ultrasounds prior to the procedure while twenty-four states require women to wait either 24, 48 or 72 hours between receiving state mandated counseling and the procedure. I examine the effects of abortion restrictions on health behaviors and health care of women. I apply staggered difference-in-differences to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to estimate the causal effects of the two-trip mandatory waiting period (MWP) law and mandatory ultrasounds (MUS) law on women’s mental health, use of alcohol and tobacco, and whether women are obtaining routine mammograms and pap smears. The …

Effects Of The Automatic Enrollment Provision Of The Pension Protection Act Of 2006 On Labor Market Outcomes Of Older Americans, Yannis Giannoulakis

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 is to protect pension plans, reinforce individual savings and prepare Americans for retirement. A provision of the act strengthens the 1998-2000 IRS ruling that allows firms to automatically enroll their employees in 401(k) plans by superseding state written permission requirements. Prior to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, several states required written permission from employees to authorize wage deductions and 401(k) enrollments. Single-event difference-in-difference regressions estimate the effects of the Pension Protection Act of 2006’s auto-enrollment provision on labor market outcomes in states that had written permission requirements in the years …

Specifying And Estimating Vector Autoregressions Using Their Eigensystem Representation, Leo Krippner

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

This article introduces the principles and mechanics of the eigensystem vector autoregression (EVAR) framework, where a VAR may be specified and estimated directly via its eigenvalue and eigenvector parameters. Using explicit constraints on the eigensystem permits control of a VAR ís allowable dynamics, which is illustrated empirically with standard and time-varying VAR estimations specified to be always non-explosive.

Llms Can’T Be Trusted For Financial Advice, Gary N. Smith

Pomona Economics

ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) do not understand the text they input and output. When three prominent LLMs were tested with 11 financial-decision prompts, the LLM responses were seemingly authoritative but riddled with arithmetic and critical-thinking mistakes. Financial planners are unlikely to be replaced by LLMs anytime soon.

Essays On High-Frequency Financial Econometric, Qiyuan Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation consists of three papers contributing to the theory of estimation and inference of high-frequency financial data. In the second chapter, a general framework is introduced for optimal nonparametric spot volatility estimation based on intraday range data, comprised of the first, highest, lowest, and last prices over a given time interval. Employing a decisiontheoretic approach together with a coupling-type argument, the form of the nonparametric estimator is directly tailored to the specific volatility measure of interest and the relevant loss function. The resulting new optimal estimators offer substantial efficiency gains compared to existing commonly used range-based procedures. The third …

Essays On Weak Identification, Dennis Guo Wei Lim

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation presents a comprehensive examination of inference techniques for weak instrumental variable (IV) models, crucial in addressing endogeneity and bias in econometric analyses. Comprising two interconnected chapters, the research explores innovative methodologies to enhance the reliability and robustness of IV regression estimations. Chapter 1 is concerned with maximizing the power of tests in the many weak IVs setting. This is done by introducing a novel approach that considers a linear combination of jackknife Anderson-Rubin (AR), jackknife Lagrangian multiplier (LM), and orthogonalized jackknife
LM tests for inference in IV regressions with many weak instruments and heteroskedasticity. Following I. Andrews (2016), …

The Demotechnic Index Of Nations (1980 - 2018) And Its Correlation With The Human Development Index (1990 – 2021), Camden Rainwater

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Demotechnic Index (DI) and the Human Development Index (HDI) are both useful metrics for assessing the development of nations, with each providing unique insights about a country’s standard of living. The DI, which uses energy consumption as a gauge, excels in capturing the impact of conflicts and economic disruptions. Additionally, its ability to be calculated based on different energy sources allows for evaluation of a nation's progress towards sustainable consumption patterns. Conversely, the HDI combines healthcare, education, and income dimensions, and uses them as a proxy that highlights human health crises, educational improvements, and economic growth, albeit with less …