Other Economics Commons^™

The Relationship Between Poverty And Crime: A Cross Section Analysis, Luke Fleming

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper compares the crime rates, poverty rates, and other economic statistics to determine if there is a relationship amongst the variables. The highest crime rates per capita in the world exist in developing countries; these countries also have very high rates of poverty. Is it a coincidence, or is there actually some substance to these facts? Crime is a complicated issue, and other variables like education, healthcare, and housing have to be taken into consideration. The results indicate that there is a relationship between certain types of crime and poverty, and that income inequality is significant to all types …

The Importance Of Good Governance In Achieving Economic Growth For Developing Nations: An Analysis Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Karl Turner

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper aims to expand on the idea that good governance is essential in sustaining growth in developing countries. I have chosen variables that are specific to determining the effect of good governance on sustained growth in several Sub-Saharan African nations. These variables will take into account the increased levels of corruption and manipulation that takes place in many of these regions. By analyzing different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, I will be able to account for different economic and political conditions. My results show that although these countries differ in various aspects of macroeconomic policy, stable governance has been the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Development: Foreign Direct Investment And Remittances In Latin America, Jeffrey Denault

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Economic growth in developing countries has long been thought to come from a variety of different economic factors. One of the most prevalent theories has been providing a country with high levels of foreign direct investment, encouraging the country to industrialize. Whilst there are obviously many other factors either inhibiting or encouraging a developing country’s growth, foreign direct investment has long been seen as the prime inflow of capital. However, in recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the transfer of funds to developing countries from migrant workers through remittances. This study explores the aggregate impact remittances have …

Foreign Aid And Growth In Select African Countries, Thomas Strong

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper analyzes the effects of foreign aid on economic growth in a set of African countries. This paper differs from previous literature in several ways; this paper analyzes a small sample set of aid-receiving African countries of varying distances from the equator. This paper also uses the most up-to-date data available, which will provide an insight into the 21st century conditions. Previewing the empirical results, this paper determines that aid, in the form of technical cooperation grants, has a significant, positive impact on growth.

Determinants Of A Country's Happiness, Timothy Caradonio

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the relationship between several macroeconomic factors and the relative happiness of a country’s citizens. Inflation, GDP growth, real interest rate, and unemployment rate were selected as independent variables. Data on the dependent variable, the degree of happiness, was not available from other studies. Therefore, life satisfaction was used as the dependent variable which was obtained from the Happy Planet Index. This study was conducted using cross sectional data and the least squared method to determine if any of the independent variables are statistically significant to the happiness of a country.

Sexual Orientation Wage Differentials, Gian Spicuzza

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Most early works find that homosexual and bisexual men suffer from a wage disadvantage and that lesbian and bisexual women earn a substantial wage premium compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Almost all earlier works use 1980-1990 General Social Survey data and Census 1990 data. This economic analysis uses more recent 2010 GSS data and finds statistically insignificant results that that both homosexual and bisexual men and women earn a wage differential. This is most likely attributed to the new terminology included in the 2010 GSS. For the first time, the GSS records the sexual orientation of the respondent whereas past …

Analysis Of Employer Of Last Resort In The United States: Implications Of Educational Attainments And Wage Rates, Benjamin Dionne

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the feasibility and impact of an Employer of Last Resort (ELR) program in the United States. ELR could provide the US with a new policy direction in curbing poverty and creating growth. An ELR growth program would be run by the government to employ millions of unemployed and underemployed people in skilled and unskilled positions. This study aims to show that a well developed and administered ELR program could address the important issues facing the American economy and could lead to a significant economic impact. Using an ordinary least squared model the study establishes factors affecting the …

Responses To The Assurance Game In Monkeys, Apes, And Humans Using Equivalent Procedures, Sarah F. Brosnan, Audrey E. Parrish, Michael J. Beran, Timothy Flemming, Lisa Heimbauer, Catherine F. Talbot, Susan P. Lambeth, Steven J. Schapiro, Bart J. Wilson

ESI Publications

There is great interest in the evolution of economic behavior. In typical studies, species are asked to play one of a series of economic games, derived from game theory, and their responses are compared. The advantage of this approach is the relative level of consistency and control that emerges from the games themselves; however, in the typical experiment, procedures and conditions differ widely, particularly between humans and other species. Thus, in the current study, we investigated how three primate species, capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans, played the Assurance (or Stag Hunt) game using procedures that were, to the best of …

A Theory Of Entangled Political Economy, With Application To Tarp And Nra, Adam Smith

Economics Department Faculty Publications & Research

The recent financial crisis has provoked a raft of contending claims as to whether the cause of the crisis is better attributed to market failure or political failure. Such claims are predicated on a presumption that markets and polities are meaningfully separate entities. To the contrary, we argue that contemporary arrangements create an entangled political economy that renders theorizing based on separation often misleading. Within this alternative framework of entangled political economy, we illuminate both the recent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration (NRA).

Do Nba Fans Discriminate Against Race Or Nationality?, Peter Meyer

CMC Senior Theses

Previous work found evidence that the racial composition of NBA teams was positively correlated with the racial composition of their metropolitan market areas during the 1990s. This paper finds continued evidence of this relationship in the 2000s, with an accompanying attendance boost from the incorporation of white players on teams located in whiter areas. There is also evidence that white players receive a salary premium relative to black players of equal performance quality. An examination of player performance indicates that demand for foreign players with the skill set of a forward or center is higher than demand for players of …

Keeping Nuclear Programs From Becoming Nuclear Weapons: A Game Theoretic And Econometric Analysis, Benjamin Guy Ogden

Honors Theses

There are currently only nine countries which possess nuclear weapons, but twenty-four countries have pursued the requisite technology. The question remains as to why nations ceased their programs, and whether the policies of the international community had anything to do with that decision. This paper uses both a game theoretic and a probit model with limited assumptions to attempt to uncover: a) what are the determinants of a country shuttering their nuclear weapon program, b) when "sticks and carrots" can be credible (subgame perfect), and c) how large of a role they play in the potential nuclear country's decision-making. I …

Sweet Diversity: Colonial Goods And The Welfare Gains From Trade After 1492, Jonathan Hersh, Hans-Joachim Voth

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

When did overseas trade start to matter for living standards? Traditional real-wage indices suggest that living standards in Europe stagnated before 1800. In this paper, we argue that welfare rose substantially, but surreptitiously, because of an influx of new goods as a result of overseas trade. Colonial luxuries such as tea, coffee, and sugar transformed European diets after the discovery of America and the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope. These goods became household items in many countries by the end of the 18th century. We use three different methods to calculate welfare gains based on price data and …

Special Education, Poverty, And The Limits Of Private Enforcement, Eloise Pasachoff

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article examines the appropriate balance between public and private enforcement of statutes seeking to distribute resources or social services to a socioeconomically diverse set of beneficiaries through a case study of the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It focuses particularly on the extent to which the Act’s enforcement regime sufficiently enforces the law for the poor. The Article responds to the frequent contention that private enforcement of statutory regimes is necessary to compensate for the shortcomings of public enforcement. Public enforcement, the story goes, is inefficient and relies on underfunded, captured, or impotent …

Vmi, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Amr notes by Anwar Shaikh
• New VMI talk by Anwar Shaikh
• Why 80%? Structure of VMI paper by Anwar Shaikh
• Inequality notes by Anwar Shaikh
• An international comparison of the incomes of the vast majority by Anwar Shaikh and Amr Ragab
• Income distribution notation VMI paper by Anwar Shaikh
• Correspondence regarding submission of revised manuscript ID CJE-2009-175 by Anwar Shaikh and Amr Ragab
• Email correspondence regarding question on Sen's welfare function by Anwar Shaikh
• UN talk notes by Anwar Shaikh
• VMI: Vast majority income presentation by Anwar Shaikh
• Notes on the effect of repeated income values on …

Inet Ii Bretton Woods, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• INET Event Office. (2011, March 11). Inet 2011 conference confirmation (Email) (23-10_INET... p. 9).
• INET Event Office. (2011, April 4). Inet logistics (Email) (23-10_INET... p. 2).
• Amtrak. (2011, April 4). Reservation confirmation - this is not a ticket (Email) (23-10_INET... p. 12).
• Fetko, M. (2011, April 4). Re: lodging at bretton woods for anwar shaikh (Email) (23-10_INET... p. 6).

Public Dollar Private Owners; Tax Subsidies For New Stadiums In Professional Sports, Grant J. Bunnage

CMC Senior Theses

The growing popularity of North American professional sports over the last twenty years directly coincides with the recent trend of urban communities using tax dollars to publically subsidize professional football, baseball, and basketball stadiums. Communities across North America invest substantial amount of public tax dollars in private facilities in light of a consensus among policy analysts that the economic impact of the new stadium is greatly exaggerated. The economic impact of new stadiums has been extensively researched, the focus  of this paper rather, is to examine the impact publically subsidized facilities built in the last twenty years have on the …

Tie The Knot Or You Tighten The Noose? The Current Effect Of Pre-Marital Cohabitation On Marriage Survival Rates, Matthew D. Beienburg

CMC Senior Theses

Pre-marital cohabitation has become a mainstream practice among couples in the United States, yet initial empirical evidence demonstrated significant correlations between cohabitation and subsequent marital instability. Later studies disputed a causal relation and have attempted to show a weakened connection over time, but have themselves suffered from the use of exclusively older and/or unreliable data. This paper uses figures from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997-08) and the National Survey of Family Growth (2006-08) to provide an updated analysis of cohabitation’s effect on marriage over the past decade. Using proportional hazard and competing risk models, this paper confirms a …

Energy Efficiency Technologies For Buildings: Potential For Energy, Cost, And Carbon Emission Savings, Bukola S. Jimoh

CMC Senior Theses

Buildings are a significant energy consumer and are responsible for an increasingly large percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, currently between 30 and 40 percent. Energy efficiency presents unique opportunities for building owners to reduce their environmental footprint and add value through cost savings, tax deductions, and increased market value. An analysis of 183 samples of efficiency measures in seven technology categories found that 74% of efficiency investments had a positive net present value. Building automation system and chiller plant improvements had the highest mean energy and carbon dioxide savings per square foot. Additionally, building automation systems had, on average …

Blood Money: A Study Of The Effect Of Fighting On Player Salaries In The National Hockey League, Matthew G. Morton

CMC Senior Theses

Fighting has been a centerpiece of the National Hockey League since it was formed in 1917. Although rules have been introduced regulating the physicality of play in the NHL, fighting is demanded—and encouraged—by fans and players alike. Fans have long been attracted to the violence of professional hockey; previous studies have documented that professional hockey is a “blood sport” that generates revenues with violence. This research investigates the effect of fighting on player salaries in the NHL, examining the way in which fighting has become a strategic element of the game, describing the way players enforce their own “Code” of …

Winning Off The Field: The Determinants Of Mlb Franchise Value, David F. Ulrich

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the underlying drivers of MLB franchise value. Using panel data for MLB teams from 2000-2010, I find that a team’s ballpark and metro-area market are significant determinants, yet revenues truly drive value. Further, I find that incremental increases in winning percentage by a particular team has an insignificant effect on total revenues and has no marginal impact on the value of the team, particularly if the team recognizes consistent revenue streams every year. Finally, I show that the modern sabermetric approach to player management negatively impacts firm value, suggesting that although small market teams have been successful …

Vmi, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• VMI (file folder). Anwar Shaikh, PhD and Amr Ragab, manuscript in progress, 2011.
• AMR (handwritten notes). Anwar Shaikh, PhD, July 27, 2011.
• New VMI Talk (file folder). Anwar Shaikh, PhD, July 08, 2011.
• Structure of VMI Paper (manuscript outline). Anwar Shaikh, PhD and Amr Ragab, February 10, 2011.
• Inequality Notes (handwritten notes). Anwar Shaikh, PhD, January 29, 2007, revised February 11, 2011.
• Growth, inequality and welfare measures. Carola Gruen and Stephan Klasen, International Income Inequality, 2008, Palgrave Macmillan.
• An International Comparison of the Incomes of the Vast Majority (unpublished manuscript). Anwar Shaikh, PhD and Amr Ragab, …

Strategic Behavior In Schelling Dynamics: A New Result And Experimental Evidence, Juan Miguel Benito, Pablo Brañas-Garza, Penélope Hern´Andez, Juan A. Sanchis

ESI Working Papers

In this paper we experimentally test Schelling’s (1971) segregation model and confirm the striking result of segregation. In addition, we extend Schelling’s model theoretically by adding strategic behavior and moving costs. We obtain a unique subgame perfect equilibrium in which rational agents facing moving costs may find it optimal not to move (anticipating other participants’ movements). This equilibrium is far for full segregation. We run experiments for this extended Schelling model. We find that the percentage of strategic players dramatically increases with the cost of moving and that the degree of segregation depends on the distribution of rational subjects.

Double Bubbles In Assets Markets With Multiple Generations, Cary Deck, David Porter, Vernon Smith

ESI Working Papers

We construct an asset market in a finite horizon overlapping-generations environment. Subjects are tested for comprehension of their fundamental value exchange environment, and then reminded during each of 25 periods of its declining new value. We observe price bubbles forming when new generations enter the market with additional liquidity and bursting as old generations exit the market and withdrawing cash. The entry and exit of traders in the market creates an M shaped double bubble price path over the life of the traded asset. This finding is significant in documenting that bubbles can reoccur within one extended trading horizon and, …

Cognitive Effort In The Beauty Contest Game, Pablo Brañas-Garza, Teresa García-Muñoz

ESI Working Papers

This paper analyzes cognitive effort in 6 different one-shot p-beauty games. We use both Raven and Cognitive Reáection tests to identify subjects' abilities. We find that the Raven test does not provide any insight on beauty contest game playing but CRT does: subjects with higher scores on this test are more prone to play dominant strategies.

Don’T Ask Me If You Will Not Listen: The Dilemma Of Participative Decision Making, Brice Corgnet, Roberto Hérnan-Gonzalez

ESI Working Papers

We study the effect of participative decision making in an experimental principalagent game, where the principal can consult the agent’s preferred option regarding the task to be undertaken in the final stage of the game. We show that consulting the agent was beneficial to principals as long as they followed the agent’s choice. Ignoring the agent’s choice was detrimental to the principal as it engendered negative emotions and low levels of transfers. Nevertheless, the majority of principals were reluctant to change their mind and adopt the agent’s proposal. Our results suggest that the ability to change one’s own mind is …

Transparency, Efficiency And The Distribution Of Economic Welfare In Pass-Through Investment Trust Games, Thomas A. Rietz, Roman M. Sheremeta, Timothy W. Shields, Vernon Smith

ESI Working Papers

We design an experiment to examine welfare and behavior in a multi-level trust game representing a pass through investment in an intermediated market. In a repeated game, an Investor invests via an Intermediary who lends to a Borrower. A pre-experiment one-shot version of the game serves as a baseline and to type each subject. We alter the transparency of exchanges between non-adjacent parties. We find transparency of the exchanges between the investor and intermediary does not significantly affect welfare. However, transparency regarding exchanges between the intermediary and borrower promotes trust on the part of the investor, increasing welfare. Further, this …

Turkey: Another $1 Trillion Emerging Economy?, Murat Doral

Faculty Articles

The strategic location of Turkey makes it a very important country in terms of geopolitics as well as economics. Turkey is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. It is where East meets West without clashing with each other but merging with each other. Even though, industry, trade, and finance are all dominated by the expansive and crowded Istanbul, other cities and towns in Anatolia –the Anatolian Tigers- are industrializing rapidly and now participating in the global economy. Today, Turkey has the largest economy in the greater Middle East. Depending of the source, Turkey …

Blood Lipids, Infection, And Inflammatory Markers In The Tsimane Of Bolivia, Sarinnapha Vasunilashorn, Eileen M. Crimmins, Jung Ki Kim, Jeff Winking, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Caleb Finch

ESI Publications

Objectives—Little is known about blood cholesterol (blood-C) levels under conditions of infection and limited diet. This study examines blood-C and markers of infection and inflammation in the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon, indigenous forager farmers living in conditions that model preindustrial European populations by their short life expectancy, high load of infections and inflammation, and limited diets.

Methods—We use multivariate models to determine the relationships between lipid levels and markers of infection and inflammation. Adult Tsimane (N = 418, age 20–84) were characterized for blood lipids, cells, and inflammatory markers in relation to individual loads of parasites and …

Are Residents Who Are Displaced By Gentrification Better Or Worse Off After Relocating?, Alice M. Anigacz

Economics Honors Projects

This honors thesis examines how individuals displaced by gentrification fare after relocation, with changes in wage and income as the primary measures of well-being. Geo-coded Panel Study of Income Dynamics data is used in conjunction with decennial census tract-level neighborhood data to evaluate nationwide occurrences of gentrification and their effects on the displaced between 1990 and 1995, with a focus on whether changing neighborhood effects can account for the change in well-being. Standard OLS regressions not accounting for neighborhood effects find that compared to a nationwide sample, a sample of movers, and a sample of displaced residents, residents displaced specifically …

The Influence Of New Medications On Prescribing Behavior By Practice Type: A Regression Analysis, Rita M. Pattarini

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Objective: To determine whether the type of practice to which physicians belong influences the types of medications they prescribe

Methods: The study used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) to conduct a series of regressions for two pairs of medications. The first pair was for the treatment of high cholesterol. Advicor was the new medication and Lovastatin was the competitor. The second pair was for the treatment of arthritis. Humira was the new medication and Remicade was the competitor. For each pair, there were two sets of regressions that consisted of an unrestricted regression with all patients …