International Economics Commons^™

Has The Franco-German Power Balance In The European Union Tipped In Favor Of Germany?, Stephanie C. Haffner

CMC Senior Theses

The power balance between France and Germany in the European Union has been one of great discussion and debate. Countless journalists and scholars have argued that Germany’s power has risen gradually against the seemingly perpetually stronger France over the past sixty years, and is now finally set to surpass France; but how true are these claims? How can power within the EU truly be measured? Through an analysis of Franco-German collaboration through unionization, a critique of the contemporary discourse on the relationship, and an examination of changing contributions to the EU budget, my paper argues that the Franco-German power balance …

The Impact Of A Conditional Cash Transfer Program On Credit Behavior In Colombia, Brittany Pineros

CMC Senior Theses

This paper investigates the impact of Familias en Acción, a conditional cash transfer program in Colombia, on participant credit behavior. The motivation of the research is derived from previous studies which indicate that conditional cash transfer programs have effects on households aside from those directly intentioned by the programs. While the direct impacts of Familias en Acción have been measured by the research team responsible for evaluating the program, potential indirect effects remain uninvestigated. My research specifically focuses on the impacts of the program on credit behavior. I compute estimates on the percent change in loan balance outstanding and …

The Economic Impact Of Oil Price Shocks On Emerging Markets, Aanchal Kapoor

CMC Senior Theses

Recent spikes in oil prices have thrown light on how economic activity in emerging markets may be impacted by oil price shocks. This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the effect of oil price shocks on emerging markets. It tests for the existence of an asymmetrical relationship between oil prices and economic activity using a model developed by James Hamilton. It also assesses the impact of structural shocks to the real price of oil on output as proposed by Lutz Kilian. While our models find no consistent pattern within emerging markets, they do suggest that oil price shocks have a …

Women In China, Between Confucius And The Market, Tonia Warnecke, Alain Blanchard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

La Metà Del Cielo Tra Confucio E Mercato, Tonia Warnecke, Alain Blanchard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Sectional Study Of Infant Mortality Rates Between Countries, Katelyn E. May

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The health status of nations has been and continues to be under debate. Although the variables that comprise such a status have not been solidified, one variable that is closely studied and is thought to have an effect on the idea of health status is infant mortality. A country’s Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is treated as an indicator of its health status as well as socioeconomic status. This research attempts to study the variables which are hypothesized to be significant in relation to IMR, and to find which ones truly have an effect. Data on eight independent variables were collected …

A Study On The Productivity And Efficiency Effects Of Enterprise Reforms In China, Song Gao

Dissertations

This dissertation studies the progress and impacts of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) reforms in China. The primary interests center on impacts of non-ownershipchange reforms and privatization on Chinese SOEs’ productivity and efficiency. The research comprises of three major sections.

Section one briefly reviews the history of SOEs’ reform in China and examines the changes in some selected performance indicators with help of a comprehensive dataset on 863 Chinese firms from 1995 to 2001. In addition, causes of Chinese SOEs’ privatization and determinants of firms’ inefficiency are also studied.

Section two examines the effects of privatization and non-ownership-change reforms on firms’ productivity …

A Clashing Viewpoint Concerning India: A Critique Of Goldman Sachs 2007 Report, Ashok K. Roy, Aniruddha Bagchi

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The centerpiece of the 2007 Report by Goldman Sachs is the prediction of India's phenomenal economic growth and power in the next few decades. In this article we critique the conceptual validity of that prognosis. In particular, we highlight several hard and soft infrastructure impediments to India's emergence as a major economic power.

Globalization And The Unending Frontier: An Overview, Olutayo C. Adesina

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The decisive events and the determining forces unleashed by globalization hold on the one hand, the potential for expanding the scope of political, social and economic processes, and on the other, erode people's connection to the way they live, the people they live with and the places they live in. They also intensify alienation and disengagement. The essays, themes, arguments and macro-level analysis in this volume try to make sense of the dynamics of globalization. They survey the potentials of the phenomenon and forces of globalization, and the capacity of these highly disruptive and contentious change processes to direct, affect …

Positive Economic Freedom: An Enabling Role For International Labor Standards In Developing Countries?, Tonia Warnecke, Alex De Ruyter

Faculty Publications

Approaches to economic development have overemphasized negative economic freedom for multinational corporations at the expense of a majority of the population in developing countries. An inevitable outcome has been the growth of informal sector and “vulnerable” employment in developing countries and entrenchment of existing inequalities. We argue that rather than an emphasis on negative freedom, an emphasis on using labor standards to facilitate positive economic freedom must occur. Labor standards do this not only through the “core” rights of union membership and collective bargaining, but also in addressing substantive (“non-core”) rights at work (wages, working-time, etc.), thereby facilitating positive freedom.

Renewed Growth And Poverty Reduction In Zambia, Arne Bigsten, Sven Tengstam

Zambia Social Science Journal

The Zambian economy has grown relatively fast over the last decade. This article discusses the challenge of using these growing resources effectively to improve the welfare of the population and reduce poverty. The poverty head count index is found to have declined between 1998 and 2004 by about 5.4 percentage points. This change can be decomposed into a 6.6 percentage point reduction due to growth and a 1.2 percentage point increase due to inequality change.

Since poverty is most severe in the rural areas, it is important to make agriculture more efficient by expanding access to electricity and improving roads, …

A Time Series Analysis Of The Role Of Imports In India's Phenomenal Economic Growth, Peter J. Saunders

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This paper investigates the role of imports in India's impressive economic growth. Annual data ranging from 1970 to 2005 are used to investigate the impact of imports on economic growth that is measured by the real GDP. Johansen's ( 1988) cointegration tests indicate that these two variables are cointegrated. Therefore, a long run relationship between imports and the real GDP exists. A vector error correction (VEC) testing framework is used in a further data analysis. VEC tests indicate that imports have impacted positively India's economic growth in the short run. Therefore, imports may have played an important role in India's …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Rental Rates In Major Cities In The United States, Roy Ruivo

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The focus of this paper is to determine variables that contribute to rental rate pricing. Using U.S. Census data pertaining to all cities in the United States with populations over 100,000 in 2005, this paper furthers a study of inter-city rent determinants within New York City provided by Marco (2008) using additional variables provided by Gilderbloom and Pan (2002) in their inter-city study. This report studies the impact of variables, including vacancy rates, median family income, population growth rate, and average housing costs. The population variable will be manipulated so that it represents density, which provides an accurate representation of …

Determinants Of Hyperinflation: An Analysis Of Argentina, Eric Fudge

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the history of inflation rates in Argentina compared to other economic factors, including: GDP, national budget, money supply, exchange rate, and unemployment levels. Using data from the World Bank and Centre of International Economics this paper will give insight into some of the causes of high inflation levels that were evident in Argentina throughout the 1980s, peaking with hyperinflation in 1989 and 1990. Results from analyzing statistics pertaining to Argentina’s economy from 1980 to present suggest that perpetual budget deficits led the government to print money more rapidly, causing a significant decrease in currency valuation and thus …

Economic Growth And Emissions In China And India: A Comparison With The Other G5 Emerging Nations, David Niles

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the possibility of different modes of production affecting the emission levels of developing nations. China and India have experienced substantial economic growth of the past few decades. Past economists have found emission levels positively correlated with GDP growth. Nonetheless, China has significantly higher emission levels than India, given their respective growth in GDP. Whether a country bases their growth on agriculture, industry, manufacturing or services has an effect on their subsequent emission levels. Comparing these results with the other G5 nations indicate the relative importance of GDP level in comparison with economic structure. This paper finds that …

Central Bank Of Nigeria Annual Report And Statement Of Accounts For The Year Ended 31st December 2010, Central Bank Of Nigeria

CBN Annual Report

2010 annual report reviews the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and appraises the macroeconomic policies in 2010. the report is structured into two parts. Part 1 reviews the corporate operations of the bank, while the part 2 evaluates the performance of the economy against the challenges in both the thrust of monetary policy and other financial measures was to improve liquidity and enhance the efficiency and stability of the financial system without compromising the primary goal of monetary and price stability.

The Crime Rate In America: How Influential Is The Economy In Affecting The Level Of Crime?, Joseph Kuhar

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper explores the determinants of the crime rate, and whether or not the economy and its many indicators play a substantial role in affecting this rate. Many factors affect the crime rate in a given country/state/area including the number of police, the rate at which crime is reported, as well as the population. This paper will explore the following variables: the crime rate (dependent), number of police, conditions that affect the crime rate, the reported crime rate, and the reporting rate. It will also analyze the following economic conditions and whether or not they have a substantial effect on …

The Effect Of Education On Property Crime Across State, Wes Andrews

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the effects/importance of these independent variables (High School Graduation Rate, GDP growth Rate, GDP per capita, expenditures per capita in terms of police force, expenditures per capita in terms of the court system, employment rate, percentage of people with college degrees, and the average wage rate) on property crimes across the 50 states. The study will use OLS in order to examine the influence of these variables. Based on reviews of other similar studies it is expected that there is a negative correlation between the amount of schooling and property crime.

The Long-Run Relationship Between Inflation And Unemployment In Malaysia, Matthew Tremblay

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the long-run relationship between inflation and unemployment in the economy of Malaysia between 1972 and 2004. Basing my model off of an investigation by Fair (1997), this study will attempt to quantify the relationship between inflation rates, unemployment, wage rates, changes in production, and a measure of demand pressure. Using macro-level data from various sources, it is expected that the results will suggest periods of high inflation are directly related to high unemployment, decreased wage rates, lower production levels, and substantially weak demand pressures.

The Impact Of Socioeconomic And Environmental Factors On Infant Mortality In The U.S., Tai Abukasis

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines socioeconomic and environmental agents that may affect infant mortality rates among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics in the United States. Data was collected at the state level from both federal and private databases. Three separate ordinary least squares regressions were taken for each of the aforementioned demographics. The correlations between the independent variables and infant mortality were examined from a racially-based perspective to further evaluate potential underlying causes regarding geographic, financial, and environmental constituents. Analysis of the regressions revealed that particular variables affect the rate of infant deaths among races differently and that racial disparity continues to exist …

The Impact Of An Economic Recession On Etf Sectors: Which Etf Sectors Are Most Recession-Proof?, Salvatore Galbo

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates which ETF sectors are most recession-proof by focusing on sector performance and finding the possibility of a positive or negative correlation between specific sectors and the overall market performance during such recessionary times. The study compares the percentage gain or loss by each ETF sector with regression analysis to determine which sectors perform better than the overall market performance during an economic downturn. The study incorporates the most recent recession and the recession during 2001, when the technology bubble burst occurred, to find any relevance and/or consistency in my study. The results show that out of all …

Labor Productivity, Inflation, And Unemployment's Relationship With Wage Formation In The United States, Peter Longhi

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper discusses unemployment, labor productivity and inflation’s effect on wage formation in the United States. This paper looks at a very well researched topic of wage formations relation to unemployment and labor productivity to see if there is a long term homogenous relationship between the wage levels and the dependent variables. By using quarterly data from 1996 to 2009, I will attempt to observe if wages are following the classical theoretical relationship in the United States. The specified time period will allow us to observe a distinct boom and bust in the economy. I expect to find a long …

What Drives The United States Housing Starts, Myles Ojala

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the determinants of new housing starts within the United States. Using recent monthly data, this study will consider factors such as residential building permits, long and short-term mortgage rates, savings rates, and mortgage availability, to show how each of these variables influence the U.S housing market in the form of residential housing starts. Using a VAR model, this paper will show the impact that the vector variables have on each other, and especially, housing starts. By using a split set of data, this paper will also show the impact of the vector variables on housing starts during …

Factors Effecting Gdp Growth In Member States Of The European Union, Kris Mortimer

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the GDP growth in member states of the European Union from 1978 until 2007. As most people are well aware of, GDP is calculated by the sum of consumption, government expenditure, investment, and net exports. The research conducted for this paper intends to discover what other variables have affected GDP growth in the past 30 years. The variables used in this paper include the public expenditure on education, total population, inflation, percentage of population who are adolescents (0-14), adults (15-64), or elderly (65+). Today there are twenty-seven member states in the Union from which I have compiled …

An Analysis Of Gender Based Wage Differential Among Teachers In The United States, Kendal Glen Cehanowicz

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Do teachers with similar experience and age but different genders earn the same income? This study investigates the income of teachers relative to their age, education, experience, race and gender. Studies have shown that inequality in the gender wage gap is a trend which closed for almost two decades, but has recently widened again. This study identifies a specific line of work where injustice can be seen and aims to bring this knowledge to light. The Current Population Survey (CPS) data set from 2005-2009 will be used for this study. This study finds empirical evidence that gender differences do in …

Determinants Of Savings In Latin American Countries, Jamie Walker

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the determinants of the Savings per capita in Latin American Countries during the years 2002 to 2005 and their significance. Using these years provides a look at how the Latin American Countries emerged from an inflation prone society in the 1990’s to a diverse economic body according to Hernan Buchi the former finance minister of Chile. The study takes several models and applies them towards the Latin American Countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The study will use macro-level data to determine which of …

The Correlation Of Monetary Policy, Inflation And Stock Returns During Periods Of Inflation And Deflation, Jason Megaro

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the debated issue of the existence of a relationship between a country’s monetary policy and the relative stock market and stock returns. Specifically, the paper examines the affect and correlation of overnight interest rate (known as federal funds rate in U.S.), inflationary rate and stock returns on and with each other, respectively, during periods of inflation and deflation. The deflationary period investigated is the period of deflation in Japan and the inflationary period examined is over the last decade in the United States. The analysis is performed using multivariate VAR/VEC co-integrating specifications to supplement the results from …

Determinants Of Teen Pregnancy: An Empirical Assessment Of Oecd Countries, Maxine Pamela Outerbridge

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This research paper investigates the determinants of teen pregnancy to uncover potential correlations among several social and economic factors. The study incorporates empirical data into a multivariate linear regression model to examine the impact of various socioeconomic variables such as education, income, health expenditure, abortion rates, and derive a comparison of the status of teen pregnancies among OECD countries. This study expands earlier research that concentrated on several of the most developed nations by emphasizing the socioeconomic status of women throughout the OECD members and uncovering the significance of governmental initiatives to improve such status. This study also aims to …

The Determinants Of Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence From Latin America And The Caribbean, Nicholas Colongeli

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the impact of determinants on the inflows of FDI to the Latin American and Caribbean region. The study incorporates cross-country information to describe incentives influencing flows of FDI into the region from 1992 - 2008. Factors are modeled using a least-squared regression model and are determined as significant. The results from the research and tests performed emphasize the correlation between specific economic indicators and flows of FDI. Using macro – level data from various sources, the results generally suggest that factors such as degree of openness and market size have a positive correlation with FDI flows; whereas, …