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Full-Text Articles in Political Economy

‘Vox Populi?:’ Assessing Nato Popularity Relative To Political And Economic Indicators In Selected Member Nations, Zachary W. Cheek Apr 2022

‘Vox Populi?:’ Assessing Nato Popularity Relative To Political And Economic Indicators In Selected Member Nations, Zachary W. Cheek

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper seeks to identify the impact of political and economic conditions on a nation’s popularity/favorability ratings towards North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the world’s most powerful military alliance. It is found that in random-effect models there exists a significant positive relationship between a country’s democratic strength and favorability, as well as a negative relationship regarding unemployment. In fixed-effect models, however, there is slight evidence of a positive relationship with per-capita GDP, as well as negative relationships with the unemployment rate and the trade index. Overall, differences in member-nations largely account for whether democratic or macroeconomic conditions influence support.


Analyzing And Decomposing South African Income Inequality By Income Source, Race, And Poverty Level For 2008 And 2014, Zia Saylor Apr 2021

Analyzing And Decomposing South African Income Inequality By Income Source, Race, And Poverty Level For 2008 And 2014, Zia Saylor

Undergraduate Economic Review

In South Africa’s apartheid regime a white minority controlled the black African majority from 1948 until 1994, creating income and wealth inequalities between the different races that linger today. This paper uses data from the 2008 and 2014 National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS) to understand income inequalities within and between racial categories, to examine how different income sources contribute to overall income inequality, and to study how the interaction between race and poverty shapes the inequality between African households when decomposing into subgroups above and below the poverty line. For this study, I use Gini coefficients to measure inequality. My …


Sanctuary Cities And Their Respective Effect On Crime Rates, Adam R. Schutt May 2020

Sanctuary Cities And Their Respective Effect On Crime Rates, Adam R. Schutt

Undergraduate Economic Review

According to the U.S. Center for Immigration Studies (2017), cities or counties in twenty-four states declare themselves as a place of “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. This study addresses the following question: Do sanctuary cities experience higher crime rates than those cities that are not? Using publicly available data, this regression analysis investigates the relationship between crime rates in selected cities and independent variables which the research literature or the media has linked to criminal activity. Results of this research reveal that sanctuary cities do not experience higher violent or property crime rates than those cities that are not sanctuary cities.


Assessing The Determinants Of The Human Development Index In Oil-Dependent Nations, Adrian Fossaceca May 2020

Assessing The Determinants Of The Human Development Index In Oil-Dependent Nations, Adrian Fossaceca

Undergraduate Economic Review

Numerous rentier states from around the world derive all or a fundamental portion of their national revenues from the rent of natural resources. These revenues are essential for the policy-making strategies pertaining to social welfare programs and for the funding of development projects within the country. In order to determine the effectiveness of rentier states in terms of development promotion, this paper will utilize the Human Development Index (HDI) as a proxy variable for development levels. Regression analysis indicates that a substantial proportion of the variation of the Human Development Index in oil-dependent economies can be explained by the adolescent …


The Shifting Dynamics Of International Reserve Currencies, Robert J. Righi Oct 2019

The Shifting Dynamics Of International Reserve Currencies, Robert J. Righi

Undergraduate Economic Review

With the recognition by the IMF of the Chinese renminbi as an international reserve currency in 2015, it is important to understand the modern influence of reserve currencies. We use currency exchange rate data and apply modified workhorse regression models to assign each country’s gross domestic product at purchasing power parity to a reserve currency bloc in order to obtain a global sphere of influence for each reserve currency. We find that the United States retains its dominance but faces challenges from the renminbi and the euro in recent years as the international monetary system becomes tri-polar.


The Impact Of 2018 Tariffs On U.S. Trade Values Across Relevant Categories, Lydia Murray May 2019

The Impact Of 2018 Tariffs On U.S. Trade Values Across Relevant Categories, Lydia Murray

Undergraduate Economic Review

The Office of the United States Trade Representative, under the direction of President Donald Trump, has implemented protectionist tariffs to an extent not seen in the past several decades. This paper explores data from the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze how the values of U.S. imports and exports have differed from what would have been expected for 2018 in the absence of tariffs. This is done by using past years’ data to create a predictive curve for 2018 trade values across several different product categories, which have been subject to tariffs. The general finding of this paper is that the …


Belgium’S 2008 Recentralization Of Wage-Setting Mechanisms And The Decentralization-Unit Labor Costs-Net Exports Link: Chronicle Of A Death Foretold?, Ines Pedro Fernandes Mar 2019

Belgium’S 2008 Recentralization Of Wage-Setting Mechanisms And The Decentralization-Unit Labor Costs-Net Exports Link: Chronicle Of A Death Foretold?, Ines Pedro Fernandes

Undergraduate Economic Review

Anchored on scholarly literature on international competitiveness and the classical definition of competitiveness as net exports, policy making institutions support decentralized wage-setting mechanisms. The rationale is that decentralized wage-setting systems lower wages and unit labor costs (ULC) and, therefore, increase net exports. This paper contains a literature review on the wage-setting–ULC–net exports link and challenges conventional rationales by examining the co-evolution of Belgium’s real wages and net exports across wage percentiles and sectors. Belgium is a case in point, since the country experienced both increasing real wages and increasing net exports after recentralizing wage-setting mechanisms in 2008.


Foreign Capital Inflows And Economic Well-Being: A Statistical Analysis Of 46 Sub-Saharan African Countries From 1995-2015, Alexander M. Csanadi Oct 2018

Foreign Capital Inflows And Economic Well-Being: A Statistical Analysis Of 46 Sub-Saharan African Countries From 1995-2015, Alexander M. Csanadi

Undergraduate Economic Review

Variation in the economic well-being among sub-Saharan African countries is among the highest of any region in the world. This paper attempts to address this disparity by exploring the role of foreign capital inflows. This project extends the concept of well-being beyond GDP growth, to include measures of poverty and inequality. A multivariate regression analysis finds that the observed capital inflows have significant effects on all three measurements of well-being. Findings suggest that the level of affluence of the domestic population has significant effects on the ability of those populations to translate diaspora remittances into improvements in well-being.


Evaluating Ethiopia’S Development Progress, Sambath Jayapregasham, Matthäus Schuster, Ruben Tjon-A-Meeuw Oct 2018

Evaluating Ethiopia’S Development Progress, Sambath Jayapregasham, Matthäus Schuster, Ruben Tjon-A-Meeuw

Undergraduate Economic Review

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most-populated nation is well on its way to becoming one of its wealthiest nations as it charges forward on its path to development. The big question is whether this growth is sustainable. To tackle this question, we will discuss its development strategy using a popular comparison to that of China. We will then offer an appraisal of the current state of the country. Finally, we will evaluate the future of Ethiopia, as it continues its current path – evaluating the potential upsides and risks it faces moving forward.


Measuring Health Outcomes Of Uncovered Employment: A Study Of Income, Social Mobility, Equality, And Health Indicators In An Under-Looked Segment Of The Labor Force, Zakariya Kmir Feb 2018

Measuring Health Outcomes Of Uncovered Employment: A Study Of Income, Social Mobility, Equality, And Health Indicators In An Under-Looked Segment Of The Labor Force, Zakariya Kmir

Undergraduate Economic Review

Economists have strongly supported the idea that unemployment causes many undesirable health outcomes. However, how does belonging to a different sector of employment tied closely to changes in minimum wage and inflation relate to overall health? To properly understand the numerical significance of health disparities in the uncovered sector of employment, this research is targeted at quantifying the relationship between the insured and non-insured within the uncovered sector. By substantiating the existence of severe health disparities as a function of the labor force dynamic, this research subsequently estimates the amount of inefficiency and negative health outcomes in the US economy …


Modelling Public-Education Spending Vs. Allocation As Independent Factors Of Educational Outcomes, Kevin Tasley Apr 2017

Modelling Public-Education Spending Vs. Allocation As Independent Factors Of Educational Outcomes, Kevin Tasley

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper explores and expands upon the work of Hanushek and Wößmann (2007) whose accumulated findings propose increased educational spending provides only marginal returns in terms of student’s cognitive outcomes. This study constructs an OLS regression model to explore the significance of U.S. state education spending and financial allocations as independent factors of state-level average ACT scores over a 10-year time series. The model additionally accounts for self-selection and socio-economic status. The results of this study support Hanushek and Wößmann’s conclusions while also demonstrating evidence that shifts in allocations towards instructional spending, as opposed to increasing total expenditures, could have …


The Impact Of Culture, Institutions, And The Euro On Trade Flows In Europe, James Aylward Nov 2016

The Impact Of Culture, Institutions, And The Euro On Trade Flows In Europe, James Aylward

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper sets out to study the role of cultural and institutional differences across European countries in explaining patterns of bilateral trade within Europe by using a gravity model approach on panel data for 24 European countries, covering the years 2002 through 2006. It may be expected that cultural and institutional “distance” between Eurozone countries would have a comparatively smaller impact on bilateral trade flows by virtue of the countries’ shared currency relative to the impact of such determinants on bilateral trade flows between two countries that do not share a currency. Alternatively, such determinants could have a significant impact …


Crafting Chaos: The Classification Of Unilateral Transfers Under The Current Account At Bretton Woods And Its Impact On Remittances To The Indian State Of Kerala, Anish Gawande Nov 2016

Crafting Chaos: The Classification Of Unilateral Transfers Under The Current Account At Bretton Woods And Its Impact On Remittances To The Indian State Of Kerala, Anish Gawande

Undergraduate Economic Review

This essay aims to analyse the classification of unilateral transfers under the current account at Bretton Woods despite significant opposition from larger delegations of major Allied powers, bringing to the forefront the global liquidity of remittances in the post-War years permitted by their fully currency convertible nature. Using the example of the Indian State of Kerala, this paper charts the relevance of their sustained uninterrupted flow to their subsequent exponential growth in the last three decades, using the case study as a pivot to argue for better policy measures that maximise their multiplier effect.


The Determinants Of Gasoline And Diesel Fuel Excise Tax Rates, Nicholas R. Jenkins May 2015

The Determinants Of Gasoline And Diesel Fuel Excise Tax Rates, Nicholas R. Jenkins

Undergraduate Economic Review

As Goel and Nelson (1999) show, fluctuations in fuel prices prompt politicians to alter fuel taxation policies. The goal of this paper was to examine the determinants of both gasoline and diesel fuel excise taxes. The diesel model builds on the work of Decker and Wohar (2006) and is extended to construct a model for gasoline fuel excise taxes. In addition to replicating results of prior research, the results suggest that states with colder weather have higher fuel tax rates. Additionally, findings demonstrated that increased funding from the Highway Trust Fund is associated with lower fuel tax rates.


State Failure And Political Instability: The Impact Of Educational Attainment In Africa, Jesse D. Neugarten Jan 2015

State Failure And Political Instability: The Impact Of Educational Attainment In Africa, Jesse D. Neugarten

Undergraduate Economic Review

I investigate the role of educational attainment on state failure and political stability across the African continent. For the empirical analysis, I estimate a Linear Probability Model (LPM) for State Failure by Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). I hypothesize that differences in educational attainment in Africa can explain differences in political stability and state failure. Furthermore, I believe that this effect has persisted over time and that early educational attainment in the late colonial and early independence era is a significant determinant of state affairs in more recent times. I find that early secondary educational attainment explains higher state stability, while …


Of Hawks And Doves: Monetary Policy By Heterogeneous Committees, Gregor Schubert Oct 2013

Of Hawks And Doves: Monetary Policy By Heterogeneous Committees, Gregor Schubert

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper develops an institutional explanation based on strategic, heterogeneous committee members for the phenomenon of inertia in monetary policy rates, by exploring variations of a game-theoretic two-period, two-player bargaining model with an endogenous status quo. The results show that inertial policy-making can arise from heterogeneity in preferences and that gridlock and policy inefficiency can become more likely due to variability in agenda-setting power, or decreases in uncertainty over the future. These conclusions are shown to accord with the empirical evidence on monetary policy setting by committees at major central banks over the last decade.


Shanghai As An International Financial Center - Aspiration, Reality And Implication, Raph Luo Mar 2012

Shanghai As An International Financial Center - Aspiration, Reality And Implication, Raph Luo

Undergraduate Economic Review

China’s rapid economic development, especially in the financial sector, has ignited the discussion of the re-emergence of Shanghai as a leading international financial center (IFC). Much still remains to be done for Shanghai to catch up with established centers such as New York and London, including deepening its capital markets and opening itself up to cross-border capital flows. While Shanghai’s current financial development has been made possible largely by China’s past economic conditions and policies, recent reforms are also likely to guarantee Shanghai the position as a world-class onshore IFC in the near future. The rise of Shanghai will likely …


Does The Economy Determine The President? A Regression Model For Predicting Us Presidential Elections, Roy K. Roth Feb 2012

Does The Economy Determine The President? A Regression Model For Predicting Us Presidential Elections, Roy K. Roth

Undergraduate Economic Review

There is a prevalent belief that the economy determines the President. If the economy is good, the President keeps his job, if it is bad, he is out. A large body of econometric literature has been published on this topic. This paper takes a new approach. I look not at how the popular vote changes with economic conditions, but how the electoral vote changes. I further examine how these changes affect the probability that the incumbent party stays in office. I find that economic conditions may not be as important as they have been purported to be.