Other Economics Commons^™

Inflammation And Infection Do Not Promote Arterial Aging And Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Lean Horticulturalists, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Jeffrey Winking, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Sarinnapha Vasunilashorn, Jung Ki Kim, Caleb Finch, Eileen M. Crimmins

ESI Publications

Background: Arterial aging is well characterized in industrial populations, but scantly described in populations with little access to modern medicine. Here we characterize health and aging among the Tsimane, Amazonian forager-horticulturalists with short life expectancy, high infectious loads and inflammation, but low adiposity and robust physical fitness. Inflammation has been implicated in all stages of arterial aging, atherogenesis and hypertension, and so we test whether greater inflammation associates with atherosclerosis and CVD risk. In contrast, moderate to vigorous daily activity, minimal obesity, and low fat intake predict minimal CVD risk among older Tsimane.

Methods and Findings: Peripheral arterial …

Teaching Ecological And Feminist Economics In The Principles Course, Julie A. Nelson, Neva Goodwin

Economics Faculty Publication Series

It can be difficult to incorporate ecological and feminist concerns into introductory courses, when one is also obliged to teach neoclassical analysis. In this essay we briefly describe how one might extend existing “multi-paradigmatic” approaches to feminist and ecological concerns, and then present an new alternative approach that may be more suitable for some students. This “broader questions and bigger toolbox” approach can be applied in both microeconomics and macroeconomics introductory classrooms.

Does Unemployment Decrease Cancer Mortality?, Benjamin Torres Galick

Economics Honors Projects

Recent research indicates that healthier lifestyles during recessions decrease the most common U.S. mortalities, but not cancer. However, they combine specific cancer mortalities with different progressions into one, possibly obscuring cancer’s link to unemployment. This paper estimates a fixed-effects regression model on unemployment and the nine most prevalent cancers between 1988 and 2002 using state-level panel data. Five cancers and total cancer are procyclical, and suggest that unemployment affects both incidence and gestation for some cancers. Consistent with the medical literature, this paper contradicts previous economic research and suggests that behavioral factors significantly impact cancer mortality.

Measuring The Effect Of Conflict On Oil Production And Prices, Benjamin Skomsky

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This paper examines the degree to which armed conflict interrupts oil production, and the effects of these supply shocks on the region-specific oil prices. By measuring the effect of conflict on oil output, I aim to quantify one important and underexamined economic cost of conflict. By examining the effect on oil prices, I hope to provide new empirical evidence on the global demand curve for oil and the substitutability of demand across alternative oil types.

Is There Country-Of-Origin Bias In The Video Game Market?, Keaton C. White

Economics Honors Projects

This paper tests for the existence of country-of-origin bias in the video game market. Using aggregate sales data from Japan and the US, I measure the effect of country-of-origin on video game sales in each respective country while controlling for genre, system, quality, and target age group, as well as domestically targeted games and superstar effects. I find that a significant country-of-origin bias exists in both game markets in favor of domestic titles.

A Bioeconomic Approach To Marriage And The Sexual Division Of Labor, Michael Gurven, Jeffrey Winking, Hillard Kaplan, Christopher Von Rueden, Lisa Mcallister

ESI Publications

Children may be viewed as public goods whereby both parents receive equal genetic benefits yet one parent often invests more heavily than the other.We introduce a microeconomic framework for understanding household investment decisions to address questions concerning conflicts of interest over types and amount of work effort among married men and women. Although gains and costs of marriage may not be spread equally among marriage partners, marriage is still a favorable, efficient outcome under a wide range of conditions. This bioeconomic framework subsumes both cooperative and conflictive views on the sexual division of labor. We test hypotheses concerning marriage markets, …

Educational Vouchers And Academic Performance, Nicole Kvidera

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Every time our elected representatives are looking at budget, or election time rolls around, or a family is considering moving, the topic of education is in the thoughts and on the minds of many. Over the years there have been many different education reforms and proposed ideas. This presentation will go in-depth into one such educational reform idea. Educational vouchers have been studied in various ways over the years; the data for this study comes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and gathered over the course of years. The data gathered allows one to compare students in Milwaukee Public Schools and students that …

The Effect Of Domestic Investment, Economic Growth And Human Development On Foreign Direct Investment Into China, Mike Paolino

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the relationship between foreign direct investment, domestic investment, human development, and economic growth, and uses the ordinary least squared technique, and a time series analysis using data for the period 1977-2007. The analysis seeks to answer the fundamental question of what impact Chinese domestic investment, economic growth, and human development has on foreign direct investment into the country. Research regarding foreign direct investment and its fundamental correlation with economic growth and domestic investment has produced varied results. This paper examines those variables, with the addition of human development variables, where research is partial. This paper seeks to …

The Effect Of Aid Dependency And Quality Of Institution In Alleviating Poverty In Ida Countries, Mahah Mirza

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Poverty alleviation has been a topic of much discussion ever since the Millennium Development Goals were set by World Bank in the 1990s. This paper examines to what extent aid dependency and quality of institution affect 31 IDA countries in achieving the first of eight MDG. The study provides evidence that although these IDA countries experience a decrease in poverty, it may not be enough to meet MDGs by 2015. Aid dependency increases the poverty level whereas some Quality of Institution indicators such as control of corruption, rule of law and regulatory quality have greater impact in reducing poverty than …

The Impact Of Military Forts On Agricultural Investments On The Great Plains In 1880, Christopher Decker, David T. Flynn

Economics Faculty Publications

We empirically investigate the relationship between agricultural development and proximity to military forts in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado in 1880. Agricultural investments are substantially higher in counties where a military fort is present, suggesting that military forts stimulated agricultural development on the Great Plains. However, the reverse is not true; there is no statistical support for the notion that forts necessarily located in counties where substantial development was already occurring. Moreover, we found that while the presence of a military fort has the effect of increasing agricultural development, there is no evidence that such a presence sustained agricultural development.

The Effect Of Aging Populations On Inflation, Andrew Stone

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This research uses panel data of 66 high and middle income countries to examine the inflation effects of demographics. The primary objective of this research is to show that consumer prices change based on the amount of retired persons in a nation. The double log model used in this paper also includes interest rates and uses data from 1991-2007 in order to demonstrate the most recent demographic shifts. The results showing inflationary pressure coming from young retirees compliment the Modigliani life-cycle hypothesis that this age group consists of net consumers, while the deflationary pressures provided by the working aged population …

Effects Of Globalization On Income Inequality In High Income Countries, Craig Bradford

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the relationship between technology, trade liberalization, and financial globalization in incomes inequality, focusing on high income countries. We find that technological progress has a smaller effect on income inequality in high income countries than in middle and low income countries. It is also found that increases in the percentage of workers in the services industry decreases Income Inequality by a significant amount. The GINI index is used to measure the level of income inequality, and the Chinn-Ito index is used to measure the level of openness to capital investment.

The Relationship Between Housing Prices And Macroeconomic Factors In Spain, Garrett Fitzgerald

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the effects of certain macroeconomic variables (i.e mortgages, inflation, and employment) on the price of houses in Spain. An error correction vector autoregressive (ECVAR) model is used to model the impact of the macroeconomic variables on real housing prices. Variance decompositions will be analyzed to determine the extent to which these variables have an effect on housing prices in Spain.

State Level Comparison Of Factors Contributing To Rising Inpatient Hospital Costs, Jeff Fontaine

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

No abstract provided.

The Economic Benefits Of Education As A Return To Gdp Per Capita, Jonathan Brown

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines many different factors of education, including the levels of education received, the expenditures per student as well as for each level of education, and the measurement of unemployed with said levels of education as to how it affects the levels of GDP per capita. What is consistent across each regression is that in fact, the average years of education received by the population will most closely have a beneficial effect on the levels of GDP per capita. What these regressions also show are tendencies to look more towards the future rather than the past. When considering unemployment, …

Are Educated Women Less Likely To Get Married?, Qian Jiang

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

In the past, there are some research indicate that highly educated women marry less. Because women tend to face the success penalty, however, a new analysis of U.S. census data indicates that--despite cultural messages to the contrary--the success gap, in which better educated women marry less, is actually shrinking. Using 2008 Current Population Survey, this paper utilized Probit regression to analyze how increase of women's educational attainment can influenced marriage and other aspects such as financial well-being. In addition, this study tries to estimate the best levels of education for women to be more likely to married.

The Effect Of Tax-Burdens On Foreign Direct Investment: A Cross-Sectional Look At Developing Economies, Kevin Hauver

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the effect that certain aspects of the tax burden have on foreign direct investment in developing economies. Using data from 35 select countries, the paper uses an OLS regression model to determine the impact that various taxes, both on individuals and corporations, can have on FDI. The paper concludes that corporate tax rates are not a statistically significant factor for determining FDI inflows into a host country, but that indirect tax rates are. This is likely due to the use of ‘enterprise zones’, which offer favorable indirect tax rates to companies that choose to operate in a …

The Impacts Of Energy Efficiency And Consumption On Gdp In The Euro Area, Justin T. Getts

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper analyzes the aggregate data of the Euro Area to determine how GDP per unit of energy is affected by the use of common energy sources. Time series data from 1980 to 2005 is used to show the change in how energy is used compared to the growth of GDP. It is revealed in this paper that the consumption of efficient forms of energy is highly correlated to GDP growth and the use of inefficient energy sources leads to less growth.

The Effect Of Crime Rates On Home Prices: A Hedonic Study, John Paul Goncalves

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The hedonic regression model in this study is from a Florida based study that has been applied on a national level. The results of this research will indicate the most significant variables which support the overall effect on the price of a home. The emphasis of this study is to examine the overall impact of crime rates on average home prices in America’s state capitals.

An Empirical Analysis Of The Impact Of Home Foreclosure On The Crime Rate: Evidence In Atlanta, Ga, Luis G. Acevedo

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

Over the past 28 years the United States has seen its share of prosperity and hard times. At times there have been significant increases in the number of subprime mortgages issued in the United States. Studies have shown that the number of foreclosures is highly correlated to the number of subprime loans issued. Another main issue that seems to occur with the abundance of loans and the spike in foreclosures is that crime rates tend to also increase during these times. The two major crimes that will be taken into account are violent crime and property crimes. I use foreclosure, …

Public Spending On Education And The Incentives For Student Achievement, William Blankenau, Gabriele Camera

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We build a model where homogeneous workers can accumulate human capital by investing in education. Schools combine public resources and individual effort to generate productive skills. If skills are imperfectly compensated, then in equilibrium students may under-invest in effort. We examine the effect on human capital accumulation of three basic education finance policies. Increased tuition subsidies may not be beneficial because they increase enrollment but they may lower the incentives for student achievement, hence the skill level. Policies directed at enhancing the productivity of education or making degrees more informative are more successful at improving educational outcomes.

Can Non-State Certification Systems Bolster State-Centered Efforts To Promote Sustainable Development Through The Clean Development Mechanism, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Kelly Levin, Benjamin Cashore

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Increasing economic globalization has coincided with the emergence and escalating influence of non-state actors and organizations in domestic and international policymaking, from shaping policy agendas to promoting private authority. The latter phenomenon has arisen, at least in part, from a critique of states' failures to adopt effective and enduring environmental policies. Rather than contest "command and control" institutions, non-state strategies embrace market approaches built around incentives and price mechanisms. Several forms of non-state authority have emerged, including corporate social responsibility, provision of information through labeling, and self-reporting.

A Neuroeconomic Theory Of The Decision Process, John Dickhaut, Aldo Rustichini, Vernon L. Smith

ESI Publications

We develop a neuronal theory of the choice process (NTCP), which takes a subject from the moment in which two options are presented to the selection of one of the two. The theory is based on an optimal signal detection, which generalizes the signal detection theory by adding the choice of effort as optimal choice for a given informational value of the signal for every effort level and a cost of effort. NTCP predicts the choice made as a stochastic choice: That is, as a probability distribution over two options in a set, the level of effort provided, the error …

Anarchy, Groups, And Conflict: An Experiment On The Emergence Of Protective Associations, Adam Smith

Economics Department Faculty Publications & Research

In this paper, we investigate the implications of the philosophical considerations presented in Nozick‘s Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by examining group formation in a laboratory setting where subjects engage in both cooperative and conflictual interactions. We endow participants with a commodity used to generate earnings, plunder others, or protect against plunder. In our primary treatment, we allow participants to form groups to pool their resources. We conduct a baseline comparison treatment that does not allow group formation. We find that allowing subjects to organize themselves into groups does not lead to more cooperation and may in fact exacerbate tendencies towards …

Asymptotic Properties Of Equilibrium In Discriminatory And Uniform Price Ipv Multi-Unit Auctions, Brett E. Katzman

Faculty Articles

This paper confronts the tractability problems that accompany IPV auction models with multi-unit bidder demands. Utilizing a first order approach, the asymptotic properties of symmetric equilibria in discriminatory and uniform price auctions are derived. It is shown that as the number of bidders increases, equilibrium bids converge to valuations in both discriminatory auctions and uniform price auctions where the price paid is determined by the lowest winning bid, thus indicating that the limiting case of these auctions correspond to price taking as in neoclassical models of consumer behavior. However, when the uniform price paid is tied to the highest losing …

Central Bank Iceland Postcard, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Þorgeirsson, Þ. (2009, December). Letter to anwar shaikh (Correspondence).

Recordkeeping Alters Economic History By Promoting Reciprocity, Sudipta Basu, John Dickhaut, Gary Hecht, Kristy Towry, Gregory Waymire

ESI Publications

We experimentally demonstrate a causal link between recordkeeping and reciprocal exchange. Recordkeeping improves memory of past interactions in a complex exchange environment, which promotes reputation formation and decision coordination. Economies with recordkeeping exhibit a beneficially altered economic history where the risks of exchanging with strangers are substantially lessened. Our findings are consistent with prior assertions that complex and extensive reciprocity requires sophisticated memory to store information on past transactions. We offer insights on this research by scientifically demonstrating that reciprocity can be facilitated by information storage external to the brain. This is consistent with the archaeological record, which suggests that …

Radio Spectrum And The Disruptive Clarity Of Ronald Coase, Thomas W. Hazlett, David Porter, Vernon Smith

ESI Working Papers

In the Federal Communications Commission, Ronald Coase exposed deep foundations via normative argument buttressed by astute historical observation. The government controlled scarce frequencies, issuing sharply limited use rights. Spillovers were said to be otherwise endemic. Coase saw that Government limited conflicts by restricting uses; property owners perform an analogous function via the “price system.” The government solution was inefficient unless the net benefits of the alternative property regime were lower. Coase augured that the price system would outperform. His spectrum auction proposal was mocked by communications policy experts, opposed by industry interests, and ridiculed by policy makers. Hence, it took …

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 …

Go West Young Man: Self-Selection And Endogenous Property Rights, Taylor Jaworski, Bart J. Wilson

ESI Working Papers

If, as Hume argues, property is a self-referring custom of a group of people, then property rights depend on how that group forms and orders itself. In this paper we investigate how people construct a convention for property in an experiment in which groups of self-selected individuals can migrate between three geographically separate regions. We find that the absence of property rights clearly decreases wealth in our environment and that interest in establishing property rights is a key determinant of the decision to migrate to a new region. Theft is nearly eliminated among migrants, resulting in strong growth, and non-migrants …