Public Economics Commons^™

The Economic Impact Of Medicaid Spending In Arkansas, Katherine A. Deck, Viktoria Riiman

Publications and Presentations

Arkansas Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides necessary medical services to needy and low-income persons that is administered through the Arkansas Division of Medical Services at the Arkansas Department of Human Services. The Medicaid program is designed to provide the baseline health outcomes that are necessary for the state’s economy to function. The expenditures that are made through the Arkansas Medicaid program significantly affect the Arkansas economy. This report details the economic impacts of the direct expenditures of the Medicaid program on the Arkansas economy.

Chinese Job Growth And Workers’ Injury Compensation In China, Ann O'Neill

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Over the past decade, the PRC has made dramatic changes to its labor contract laws, corporate laws, and social welfare system in an effort to improve workers' wellbeing and decrease the impact of rights violations on the public healthcare system and national budget. This paper seeks to determine the effect of changes in social welfare policy made in 2003 on workplace injuries and illness in light of the domestic job growth that took place at that time. In 2003, changes in marketplace behavior, corporate law, and enterprise management policy led to a trend break in employment, wages, and insurance coverage …

Estimation Of Bidder Valuations In An Fcc Spectrum Auction, Jungwon Yeo

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) uses auctions to allocate radio spectrum frequencies to wireless service providers. The innovation of the auction design is that it offers many heterogeneous licenses simultaneously in one ascending auction. This paper develops an empirical model and procedure to estimate bidder valuations. Given that the complex nature of the auction does not admit formal modeling in a general setting, I do not explore a particular model of equilibrium bidding. Instead, I propose two revealed preference inequalities which should hold in any reasonable model of these auctions. The first inequality requires that a bidder never bids on …

Assessing The Productive Efficiency Of Us Health Care: Comparison Of Analytical Methods, Amanda C. Clayton

Honors Projects

In 2006, the US spent approximately 15.8% of its GDP on health care, more than any other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country and considerably larger than the 9.1% average of the 23 other peer nations included in this study (OECD Health Data, 2009). The US also had the lowest female and male life expectancies at birth compared to the same 23 OECD nations (OECD Health Data, 2009). This raw and partial evidence suggests that the US health care system may be performing inefficiently. The purpose of my research is to assess the efficiency of the US health …

Distributive Politics And Electoral Cycles In The American Political System, 2004-2006, Travis Roline

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Each year, billions of dollars are distributed from the federal government to benefit state and local governments, individuals, and private and nonprofit corporations. These benefits are available in a variety of forms including: project, block, and formula grants. Are the amounts of federal funding manipulative based on the political party in charge of or in contest for the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives? Data for this project was obtained via multiple venues. The Federal Assistance Award Data System online was used for the collection of project, block, and formula grant data. House and Senate party control and representation …

Taking Money: The Politics Of Asset Forfeiture In The State Of Minnesota, Chad Hedman

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Is there a reason why a particular county might use asset forfeiture more than others? Asset forfeiture, in short, is law enforcement confiscating any items used in the act of committing a crime. As many governments face more budget crunches and deficits all means of revenue will become more vital to everyday operations. Everything gets reported back to the Minnesota State Auditor, where I was able to get complete data on every county. For variables such as education, race and others I drew from numerous government websites. I wanted to see if certain variables correlated with higher incidence of forfeiture. …

Determinants Of Housing Prices In Pittsylvania County, Jason Hall

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to determine the implicit factors influencing housing prices in Pittsylvania County, a rural county in Southside Virginia. Currently in Pittsylvania County there is a debate over whether or not to mine what is believed to be the largest deposit of uranium in the United States, containing approximately 119 million pounds of uranium ore at an estimated value of $7 billion to $10 billion. The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission issued its final approval for the National Academy of Sciences to study the debate from a socio-economic standpoint. The $1.2 million study is currently taking …

Monopoly, Regulation, And Innovation, Matt Bogard

Economics Faculty Publications

Recently the Justice department has started investigations into alleged anti-trust violations by Monsanto. This has helped fuel a lot of already hyped discontent with one of the world’s leaders in innovative solutions for sustainable agriculture. This article discusses how the regulatory environment could possibly have contributed to more concentration and power in the biotech industry. Increasing regulation would likely have the opposite effect of creating a level playing field in the agriculture industry. From AgWeb, March 27,2010 http://www.agweb.com/blog/Economic_Sense_190/Monopoly_Regulation__and_Innovation_10771/

Michigan Budget Reform: Why Reform Is Needed, And Key Ideas For Reform, Timothy J. Bartik

Testimonies

No abstract provided.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Roads: Leading Indicators Show Ramp-Up In Activity, Shishir Mathur, Kunal Katara

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Local Government Services And Regional Collaboration Grant Program: Advantage Sharing Program Feasibility Study, Wright State University Center For Urban And Public Affairs

Economic Development

The Advantage Sharing Program, or ASP, is a multi-county collaboration comprising Greene, Miami and Montgomery Counties. The program’s purpose is to provide additional dollars to economic and workforce projects that have been developed by local governments. The projects submitted by local governments address the needs of businesses that are locating, expanding or sustaining operations. ASP provides to local officials a source of additional funding to meet business needs. Local governments apply for funds after their best offer does not secure a development agreement. This funding does not replace incentives typically offered by local governments. Requests for funding are made to …

Economic Impact Analysis Of School Facility Construction, Wright State University, Center For Urban And Public Affairs

Economic Development

In 2009, Huber Heights City Schools contracted with the Center for Urban & Public Affairs (CUPA) to conduct the economic impact analysis of new school construction on the local economy. For this study, CUPA used IMPLAN, a tool for economic impact assessment to estimate the direct, indirect, and induced impacts of the $159.1 million1 school facility construction project on the local (zip code 45424) and the regional economy (Montgomery, Greene, and Miami counties). It should be noted that these impacts are estimated for the project as a whole and not estimated for each year of the 32‐month construction period.

Construction …

Site Value Tax, Tom Dunne

Articles

Tom Dunne discusses some of the issues surrounding property taxation in Ireland

China And Brazil: Potential Allies Or Just Brics In The Wall?, Anthony Petros Spanakos

Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Brazil is an increasingly important actor in global governance and for China specifically. Sino-Brazilian relations have deepened considerably but they remain concentrated in areas of trade and investment. There is also considerable overlap in interests between the two countries in other areas, such as diplomatic and political relations. At the same time, China must manage carefully important differences that exist over the enlargement of the UN and the potential challenge to the Brazilian industry.

Monetary Policies In A Small Open Economy Model With Labor Mobility And Remittances, Diana Rose Del Rosario

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This paper presents a model of a small open economy that allows for international labor mobility, thereby endogenizing migrant transfers or remittances. The resulting model is calibrated to the Philippine economy, of which labor migration and remittance inflows are key forces that drive the economy’s growth. The model’s impulse response functions illustrate that the presence of these features generates a different set of dynamics from the standard small open economy model (without labor mobility). Depending on the source of the shock, labor mobility and remittances can either exacerbate or cushion the impact of the shock on the economy. A temporary …

An Economic Impact Study Of The "Boom" Period Of Baseball Stadium Redevelopment, Emily Mcnab

CMC Senior Theses

The intention of this study is to analyze the economic impact of redeveloped Major League Baseball stadiums opened between 1991 and 2004. Using two empirical models, including an event study, this impact analysis captures the economic conditions of the cities during the opening year of the stadium, as well as the prior conditions leading up to the opening of the stadium, along with any lingering effects or gradual changes in conditions. The impact was measured in relation to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas corresponding to the 18 ballparks included, specifically looking at the impact on employment rates and per capita personal …

A False Sense Of Security: The Social Security Debate, Chris Shipman-Sercu

CMC Senior Theses

My motivation to write this thesis is based on the controversy surrounding the Social Security system that has recently infiltrated the media. Through my research, I have discovered the debate concerning Social Security is not a recent development but has existed since the 1930’s. Many sources are warning citizens to no longer count on Social Security as they most likely will not receive benefits until a extremely old age if they receive benefits at all. Current retirees are fearful of either a decrease in benefits or not receiving the money they contributed to the system through the years of employment …

Public School Choice And The Public-Private School Decision, Kylie Goggins

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a compilation of three studies related to public school choice issues. Chapter 2 examines whether access to public schools of choice influences a household’s decision to choose private school for their child. I employ a multistate, individual-level data-set on students and their families — for which I have been granted access to restricted geo-code information. I supplement these data by matching students with their respective school districts using geographic information systems (GIS); I then examine whether relative measures of public school choice (PSC) in a school district influence the household’s public-private school decision. I find slight evidence …

Three Essays On Foreign Aid, Poverty And Growth., Aberra Senbeta

Dissertations

This dissertation studies how foreign aid impacts poverty and economic growth and addresses three interrelated issues: whether aid reduces poverty, how aid affects economic growth, and whether the poverty mitigating role of aid depends on the levels of poverty.

The first essay, "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?" examines the direct effects of foreign aid on poverty in developing countries using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty reducing effect even after controlling for average income. The findings are robust to model specification and estimation techniques. The policy implication is that poverty reduction can be …

The Long Road To Recovery From The Recession Of 2007: December 2009 Update, Edward W. Hill

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Ned Hill, Dean of the Levin College at Cleveland State University, released his December update of macroeconomics conditions. This data-rich presentation covers the latest economic forecasts and the fiscal condition of the federal government. The presentation deck covers the performance of the following markets: currency, trade, labor, housing, commercial property, and auto. It also reports on the most current data on consumer sentiment and the investment sentiment of multinational CFOs.

Affordable Homeownership Policy: Implications For Housing Markets, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Affordable homeownership is a policy that is often accorded a great deal of policy attention by governments of many countries. In this paper, we examine the market implications of setting a housing price to income ratio target for a market segment by the government. The policy requires active intervention by the government with regard to the targeted sector. We use a simple model of the housing market with a homeownership affordability target to derive the market implications of such targets. In the presence of uncertainty and resource constraints, the objective of homeownership affordability is achieved for the targeted group at …

Transformation Of The Urban Rail Sector Through Ppp, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

The recent proliferation of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in numerous cities has transformed the urban rail sector. The enthusiasm for PPPs can be explained by improved understanding of efficiency gains and risks of bundling and unbundling tasks as well as availability and lower cost of private sector finance. The four main PPP approaches identified are: (i) development of new systems through DBFOs (Design- Build-Finance-Operate); (ii) concessioning of rail and subway services; (iii) sale of stateowned operators through share issue privatisation; and (iv) PPPs for infrastructure maintenance and upgrading. This paper examines examples of successes and failures to better understand …

Origins And Resolution Of Financial Crises: Lessons From The Current And Northern European Crises, Finn Ostrup, Lars Oxelheim, Clas Wihlborg

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Since July 2007, the world economy has experienced a severe financial crisis that originated in the U.S. housing market. Subsequently, the crisis has spread to financial sectors in European and Asian economies and led to a severe worldwide recession. The existing literature on financial crises rarely distinguishes between factors that create the original strain on the financial sector and factors that explain why these strains lead to system-wide contagion and a possible credit crunch. Most of the literature on financial crises refers to factors that cause an original disruption in the financial system. We argue that a financial crisis with …

Spanning Policy Silos In Urban Development And Environmental Management: When Global Cities Are Coastal Cities Too, Herman L. Boschken

Faculty Publications, School of Management

No abstract provided.

Subnational Credit Rating: A Comparative Review, Lili Liu, Kim Song Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper surveys methodological issues in subnational credit ratings and highlights key challenges for developing countries. Subnational borrowing from capital markets has been on the rise owing to fiscal decentralization and demand for infrastructure investments. A prerequisite for accessing capital markets, subnational credit ratings have also emerged as a part of broader reform for fiscal sustainability. They facilitate a more transparent budgetary and financial management system. The global financial crisis makes subnational credit ratings more relevant, as they contribute to fiscal risk evaluations and fiscal adjustment. In addition to subnationals’ own credit strength, the creditworthiness of the sovereign and the …

Are Credit Unions In Ecuador Achieving Economies Of Scale?, Nick A. Marchio

Economics Honors Projects

This study tests the assertion that membership growth in credit unions is constrained by their unique structural features, such as their non-profit mission and member-based ownership. Although these features enhance inclusiveness, existing theory suggest that they work against efficiency when membership grows too diffuse. To address this issue, this study uses a model that takes into account existing theory on constrained-optimization in credit unions and theory on the adverse effects of diffuse ownership. Using data on 36 public credit unions in Ecuador, the empirical analysis finds evidence that credit unions can achieve economies of scale despite their problematic structural features. …

Competition Law And The International Transport Sectors, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article charts the evolving regulation of cooperation and coordination between international transport firms, in particular those operating within the liner shipping and international air transport sectors. There has been a long history of exemption of these sectors from the rules and regulations of antitrust or competition law. In the past three decades, regulatory reforms and privatization have, however, subjected these sectors to competitive forces that have transformed these industries. With the introduction of competition law in many jurisdictions, the justifications for their continued exemption have come under intense scrutiny. In the late 19705, the US initiated deregulation of its …

Technology, Unilateral Commitments And Cumulative Emissions Reduction, Shurojit Chatterji, Sayantan Ghosal

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this article, we argue that weak property rights over transnational pollution and the limited threat of retaliatory punishments blunts the effectiveness of a broad-based multilateral agreement to deliver the emission reductions required to mitigate climate change. Instead, we propose a policy framework that builds on unilateral commitments, endogenous innovation and technology transfer that could lead to cumulative emissions reduction by altering the participation constraints of nations over time.

Gresham's Law In The 21St Century, Joshua Finnell

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Research indicates that most people today satisfy their information needs through the Internet. As we move deeper into the information age, librarians must embrace the role of inculcating information literacy skills lest Gresham’s Law of economics becomes a reality in our information economy. This article discusses the probabilistic nature of the Internet against the backdrop of Gresham’s Law.