Other Economics Commons^™

Evaluating College Students' Attitudes And Understanding Of Recycling, Taylor Shipley

Honors Program Theses

Individuals have different habits, beliefs, and knowledge regarding recycling. These can be due to a variety of reasons such as peers, upbringing, accessibility of recycling, or prior knowledge of what can be recycled. A school setting, in particular, can be influential to a student’s motivation to recycle; schools can provide an environment for students to learn about the importance of recycling and other various sustainability initiatives. Like most campuses, students’ recycling behaviors on the University of Northern Iowa’s (UNI) campus are likely to be affected to some degree by the reasons listed above as well as other life experiences.

Recycling …

Homeownership By Race: Factors That Explain The Homeownership Gap Between Blacks And Whites, Sarah Madsen

Honors Program Theses

A key source of wealth and a symbol of hard work, homeownership is at the heart of the American Dream. The disparity of homeownership between whites and blacks has existed for decades and has only increased. The homeownership rate gap is wider now than before the 1968 Fair Housing Act, with about a 30-percentage point gap. This paper investigates the reasons for the homeownership rate gap by discussing policies history, discriminatory practices, and other minority disadvantages.

English Proficiency And Earnings Of U.S. Immigrants, Toni F. Moeller

Honors Program Theses

Every year thousands of immigrants come to the United States and look to join the labor force. Most of these immigrants have a first language that is not English. This study analyzes how wage income, business and farm income, and investment income are affected by English proficiency in 2004, 2009, and 2014. I use data from the American Community Survey and a log-linear econometric model to explore this relationship. I conclude that wage income and business and farm income had a positive relationship with English proficiency in 2004, 2009, and 2014 whereas investment income only had a significant positive relationship …

The Effects Of Property Rights On Ocean Resources: Two Possible Solutions To The Tragedy Of The Commons, Nathan David Miller

Honors Program Theses

Property rights affect how people use resources. Enforcement regimes are able to set clear laws with well-defined property rights. Governments set laws for conservation and economic success. Ocean resources suffer from overuse. Industry and the environment both benefit from regulations that promote ocean conservation. This paper will analyze how the current state of ocean property rights leads to the depletion of ocean resources. Though there are many possible solutions to overfishing, I will analyze two potential solutions to overexploitation in the commercial fishing industry: marine protected areas (MP As) and individual transferable quotas (ITQs ). A synthesis of previous research …

Why Do Corporations Donate? An Analysis Of Factors Affecting Corporate Philanthropy, Patrick Luensmann

Honors Program Theses

The purpose is to determine the influence of measureable economic variables on corporate philanthropy among the top 30 American companies between 2007 and 2009. The significant variables in the model, with a 10% significance level, are Net Income, Assets, Financial Leverage, PE Ratio, and Profit Margin. The model can account for 87.41% of the change between the two years.

An Analysis Of Financial Leverage And The 2007-2009 Financial Crisis, Larissa A. French

Honors Program Theses

This thesis will analyze the recent financial crisis, attempting to find and explain sources that caused the crisis, which includes monetary excesses, mortgage-backed securities, the August 2007 bank panic, credit default swaps, and other causes. It will link together events and activities to provide a complete picture. Additionally, this thesis will compare financial leverage with Gross Domestic Product to determine if increases in financial leverage predate financial crises. Leverage, by itself, is not enough to cause a recession, as it exists at some level all the time. However, it may be possible that excessive amounts of leverage or increasing leverage …

Does Race Affect The Salaries Of Nfl Players?, Joshua Patrick Mahoney

Honors Program Theses

Previous studies of the National Football League (NFL) players' salaries have used different methods to evaluate the compensation of players in the League. Kahn [ 1991] finds a significant correlation between the race of an NFL player and the racial makeup of the metropolitan area in which he plays. In my study, I use a complete data set of players from the 2005 football season to determine whether race has a measurable impact on players' salaries. My results suggest that race is not a significant factor in determining an NFL player's compensation. Also, customer discrimination does not appear to affect …

Birthrate And Population Density As Predictors Of Quality Of Life, Jessica M. Young

Honors Program Theses

It is thought that economies can benefit from developing their members by providing more opportunities. Thus, when populations grow quickly or are large, quality of life may decrease due to fewer opportunities. To test this hypothesis, two studies were used to investigate correlations between population and quality of life variables. The first study considered U.S. states, while the second study examined countries. Population measures included birthrate and population density, as well as population growth rate for countries. State quality of life measures were: graduation rates, GDP, unemployment, poverty, violent crime rate, and income. Country measures were: life expectancy, literacy, GDP …

Who Should Own The Air?: A Closer Look At Smoking Bans, Stacy Mcmullen

Honors Program Theses

Smoking bans result from public health concerns. There are well over 70,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals that link smoking with various health problems [Chaloupka et al. 2004-2005, 2]. There are also a number of states currently debating statewide bans. Are statewide smoking bans the answer to the tobacco problem or are they simply an example of excessive paternalism? The purpose of this paper is to examine the two sides of the argument and determine whether policymakers should implement smoking bans. It will show that, in the end, nonsmokers should own the air, and smoking bans should be implemented to protect …

Adam Smith And Consumerism's Role In Happiness: Modern Society Reexamined, Michael Busch

Honors Program Theses

In modern America, consumerism has encouraged people to seek happiness through constantly expansion of their material standard of living. Consumerism has led to a growth of status consumption and .want-creation, both of which increase consumption without contributing to happiness. Adam Smith observed that lasting happiness is found in tranquility as opposed to consumption. In their quest for more consumption, people have forgotten about the three virtues Smith observed that best provide for a tranquil lifestyle and overall social well-being. Applying the virtues to modern society may decrease overall consumption but will lead to a more satisfied life.

Microcredit In Developing Countries: Evaluating Programs For Poverty Alleviation, Kelly Sue Nessa

Honors Program Theses

There is no question that poverty is a devastating problem in our world today; the UN estimates 34,000 children and 16,000 adults die each day from hunger or preventable diseases with poverty-related causes, totaling more than 18 million a year (Riddell, 2007). One way that poverty is exacerbated is through the inaccessibility of credit to the poor (Todaro, 2006). Microcredit/microfinance has become a popular way of addressing this problem, and this affects a great percentage of the world population that is impoverished. Therefore, a true evaluation of the benefits and downfalls of this economic tool should be addressed. The purpose …

The Private Rates Of Return To Undergraduate Education By Major, Nick Johnson

Honors Program Theses

The private returns to undergraduate education are important to understand for high school graduates trying to decide between the work force and college. The IRR method is the best measure of the private returns to education because it allows for important variables to be accounted for and includes the time value of money. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of 1972, there are large differences in the returns to college by major. This model allows the returns to college to vary by college selectivity and, through ability, within an individual major.

The Earned Income Tax Credit, Taxes, And Food Stamps: Their Effects On Minimum Wage Workers By State, Aaron William Popp

Honors Program Theses

The federal government spends billions of dollars annually on programs to lift low income workers out of poverty, but the money is not necessarily efficiently spent. If the benefits provided by the government provide a work incentive, then to increase the income of a worker by $1 requires more than $1 in government funds. Some programs, however, do provide an incentive for people to work. Given the complexity of the federal bureaucracy, few people have tried to compute the income that minimum wage workers would expect to earn given a set of government benefits that they receive and a number …