Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

A Study Of The Determinants Influencing The Legislative Success Of A Government-Proposed Bill In Korea, Byung Jun Ahn

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

As there is a widespread perception of legislative gridlock and subsequent failure in addressing national problems in Korea, this study examines what factors influence the legislative success and legislative time of a government-proposed bill in Korea. This study uses government-proposed bills from 1988 to 2016 to estimate the effect of explanatory variables such as divided government, the year of presidential term (one to five year), the presidential approval rate, the unemployment rate, filibusters, jurisdictional area of a bill, and the ratio of members’ bills to government-proposed bills.

The results of regression analyses show that there is no evidence divided government …

The Impact Of E-Government On Corruption Control, Eunhee Lee

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines while each country has proceeded E-government, how E-government influences on corruption control by using national level panel data. After analyzing the result, both E-government development index and E-participation index showed positive effects on corruption control. However, the comparison analysis of OECD and non-OECD countries on corruption control through E-government shows that it has a great impact on not OECD countries but only non-OECD countries.

This results show that the various goals pursued by E-government have a positive effect on corruption control. However, this research presents that the influence of E-government corruption control on OECD countries, which have …

An Examination Of Nonprofit Lobbying Expenditures, Danielle Middleton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Nonprofit organizations are characterized by both their programmatic and advocacy activity. Nonprofits are called on not only to provide essential services for many citizens, but also to advocate on the behalf of the issues impacting the populations they serve. An important advocacy activity engaged in by nonprofits is lobbying which is defined as communication directed at a legislative body with the intent to influence a legislative outcome (Raffa, 2000). Nonprofit lobbying is regulated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which ensures that lobbying does not constitute a substantial part of a nonprofit’s budget. Statistics show that few nonprofits report lobbying …

A Study On The Impact Of Demographic Change On Housing Price In South Korea, Jungman Moon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In recent years, the demographic structure of South Korea as been changing. Although the total population is still growing, the population growth rate is shrinking due to the rapid decline in the birth rate and the aging population. On the other hand, the growth rate of the total number of households is decreasing, but the rate of one-person or two-person households is steadily increasing. Data by region from 2003 to 2016 are used to analyze how these changes in the size and composition of population and households affect housing prices. Since the patterns of changes in the housing price and …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Factors On Voter Turnout In The Republic Of Korea: Empirical Research For The Results Of 18Th And 19Th Presidential Elections, Hee Yup Yoon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines the relationship between socioeconomic factors and voter turnout in South Korea. In particular, the determinants of the turnout in the 2012 and 2017 presidential elections in the Republic of Korea are analyzed by using the aggregated data in terms of municipal-level divisions. The findings partially support previous studies. The education level and the percentage of primary industry workers in the district have a significantly positive impact on turnout. Holding the other variables constant, as the proportion of the population over higher education in the district increases, voter turnout grows. Likewise, as the ratio of primary industry workers …

A Study On Change And Determinants Of South Koreans' Perceptions Of Unification, Seong Koo Ham

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

South Koreans’ interest in and aspirations for unification have decreased recently. This decrease of desires for unification is one of the obstacles to achieve unification. This study analyzes the change of South Koreans’ perceptions of unification and examines various factors that affect those perceptions toward unification. I use unification perceptions survey data from 2007 to 2014 collected by the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies Seoul National University.

The dependent variables of this study are perceptions of the necessity of unification and the possibility of unification. Independent variables are classified into four types. They are expected benefit factors, the political …

The Effects Of Land Use Deregulations In The Capitol Region On Gross Regional Domestic Product In South Korea, Youngchul Kim

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

South Korea has implemented strong land use regulations controlling the growth of the capitol region (Seoul, and around areas) in order to encourage balanced regional development between the capitol area and the non-capitol area. However, there are ongoing debates about the relationship between the regulatory policies and the balanced regional development.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the effect that the land use deregulation in the capitol region has on growth of both regions. To address this question, I use a difference-in-differences model to empirically analyze how the land use deregulation in the capitol region …

Assessment Of The Current Reporting Requirements Of The Kentucky Immunization Registry, Lindsey Lewis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Immunizations are essential to societal health and wellbeing. Throughout one’s lifespan, immunizations are to be administered incrementally to decrease the prevalence of preventable diseases. Despite this, there are disparities in the rates of vaccinations across the country. Numerous guidelines and regulations have been published regarding the administration and scheduling of vaccines. Certain vaccinations are mandatory in order to be able to attend school or hold certain occupational positions and normally proof of administration is required.

Immunization registries were created to monitor and record patient-specific data about administered vaccines. These confidential reporting systems were developed to improve population health by allowing …

Comparative Storage And Utilization Analysis Of Insulin Across Inpatient Hospital Settings, Tristan A. Moorman

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Insulin is the primary medication used by health systems across the nation to provide glucose control to those patients who need it. As this medication is generally available in a multi-dose vial, proper administration techniques should be used to minimize waste and optimize the cost effectiveness of the drug. Even though dosing guidelines for hospital use of insulin exist each institution has the opportunity to choose their administration technique. In this paper I will to identify administration characteristics utilized by four different hospitals in the central Kentucky area, compare and contrast those techniques through data collection, and analyze the findings …

The Effects Of Overcrowding On Student Academic Performance In Kentucky High Schools, Maura Shirley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Overcrowding in schools has been a popular topic reported by local newspapers across the state of Kentucky. Concerned parents often write letters to the editor, pleading their case for new school construction to alleviate the overcrowding that their students are facing. Approximately 27 percent of Kentucky high schools have experienced overcrowding for three consecutive years between 2002 and 2015. The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2005 that only 18 percent of schools reported that they were overcrowded, a decrease from the 1999 study when 22 percent reported overcrowding. Overall, the problem of overcrowding is trending downward, but for …

Ginning Up Economic Growth? Evaluating The Effects Of County-Level Alcohol Sales, Nathan Smith

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The academic literature on the topic of legal alcohol sales is vast; from the effects on crime to population health outcomes. The economic development impact of alcohol sales, however, remains relatively unexplored. This research examines county-level data from the State of Arkansas between the years 2009 and 2014 in a cross-sectional time-series regression analysis to determine whether economic development benefits exist that can be attributed either directly or indirectly to legal alcohol sales. Ultimately, this study finds that alcohol sales are positively and significantly related with food service and accommodation employment as well as higher per capita personal income.

Effect Of The Relocation Policy Of Public Agencies In South Korea, Chan Ho Kim

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2005, the government announced the relocation policy of public agencies to non-capital regions. The main purpose of the policy was to decentralize population in the SMA (Seoul Metropolitan Area) through building regional competitiveness. The transfer of 98% of the public institutions was completed in April 2017 (MOLIT 2017). However, unlike the blueprint for the initial plan for the relocation of the agencies, there may be an increase in social cost and insufficient contribution to the regional economic development.

This study empirically examines effectiveness of the policy and its impact on regional economic growth and on how differently the policy …

The Effect Of The Housing Support Policy For The Disabled And Factors Affecting Policy Satisfaction In South Korea, Hee Bum Lee

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Korean government has recently recognized the importance of residential environment for the disabled, and has begun to establish various housing support policies as a social safety net. In this context, the Korean government has enacted the Housing Support Act for the Underprivileged (HSAU) which includes the disabled in 2012. The goal of this legislative action is to strengthen the Housing Support Policy for the Disabled (HSPD) and establish a legal basis for HSPD (NLIC, 2017). The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the introduction of HSAU has a positive effect on the policy satisfaction for the disabled. …

State Retirement Systems: Examining The Impact Of Partisan Political Control Of State Government Institutions On The Funded Ratio, Jared Gray

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since the Financial Crisis of 2008, pension plans in the United States have sunk into a crisis that there seems to be no escape from. While all 50 states have at least one retirement system for employees, several of these systems have been repeatedly hit by massive problems involving funding for future benefits and paying out current obligations. Taken as a collective whole, public retirement systems in this country have been estimated to be underfunded anywhere from $934 billion to $3.2 trillion. Several states barely have half the money needed to meet all obligations promised. While several studies have been …

Measuring The Effect Of Electric Utility Deregulation On Residential Retail Prices In A Midwestern State, Sam Owens

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The deregulation of the electric utility industry is one of the largest deregulation efforts in U.S. history. Proponents argue that getting rid of the outdated utility model of regulated monopolies and introducing competitive markets will lower prices, increase efficiency, and result in a net benefit for the nation. Opponents, on the other hand, believe that both the tumultuous history of the electric utility industry and experiments with deregulation have shown that competitive markets for electricity are too open to manipulation and will result in increased prices for consumers and dangerous volatility in the provision of electricity. This paper will attempt …

The Impact Of Intellectual Property On Provincial Unemployment Rates In South Korea, Soon Ho Shin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Intellectual property is drawing attention as an important policy tool to lower the unemployment rate in low-growth economies. The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) provides services that facilitate companies to effectively create intellectual property by operating local intellectual property support centers in connection with local governments. In this context, this research examine how the differences of intellectual property registration affect provincial unemployment rates by analyzing 10 years (2006-2015) of panel data with a fixed-effects regression model. According to my estimation results, intellectual property registrations have a statistically significant impact on provincial unemployment rates in South Korea. Since the reduction of …

An Analysis Of The Effect Of State Aid Transfers On Local Government Expenditures, John Perrin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper seeks to determine the effects of state budget changes on local government expenditures; particularly, how changes in state funding provided to local governments affects local government expenditures. The hypothesis tested is that state funding is a significant factor on local government expenditure. To evaluate this, two levels of analysis were conducted. The first was a paneled fixed effects regression analysis of data for all fifty states from the years 2000 to 2013, in which changes to local expenditure were measured by the effects of multiple fiscal and socioeconomic variables. The second level of analysis evaluated the same effects …

The Effect Of 'Drowsy Shelters' In Preventing Traffic Accidents In South Korea, Hye Jin Chun

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Korean government has paid attention to drowsy driving, because drowsy driving accounts for a high percentage of traffic accidents, and the government thought that it could address this problem with facility improvements. The Korean Government beg an installing simple rest spots, called ‘Drowsy Shelters’, on the highway for drivers who feel tired, in 2011. In this study, I figured out that the distance between rest areas is related to the number of drowsy diving accidents. When the distance between rest areas increases by 1 km, drowsy diving accidents increase. Therefore, this policy seems to be effective in terms of …

Effective Traffic Noise Policy Of Urban Development Projects In South Korea, Jaechang Jo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 1980, South Korean government built a large scale apartment complex in the Seoul metropolitan area because of consecutive urbanization and rapid industrialization. However, in late 1980, as the housing market surged rapidly, the government constructed several huge new towns. These new towns and urban development projects contributed to stabilizing the housing market, but residents in new towns began to suffer from traffic noise and this became social problems.

Traffic noise is caused by tire friction and also influenced by various factors such as vehicle volume and traffic speed. There are two primary measures to mitigate the traffic noise; reducing …

Assessing Student Performance In Written Communication: An Evaluation Of The University Of Kentucky's Quality Enhancement Plan, Abigail Stockwell

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

University of Kentucky assessment findings reveal that UK undergraduate students are not meeting expectations in the area of written communication. More specifically, compared to other four-year institutions, UK students are not achieving expected levels of value-added from their junior to senior year in analytic writing tasks. In response to these findings, UK launched the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Presentation U – a multimodal communication training initiative. One of the initiative’s core components is the Faculty Fellows Program. Faculty members who choose to participate in the program receive training in oral, written, and visual communication instruction. UK has invested a great …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Organizational Effectiveness Of Three Korea Land And Housing Corporation Construction Field Groups, Jachoon Koo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to propose a performance evaluation method (organizational effectiveness value) that is most suitable for LH field organizations and to suggest an improvement plan by comparing and analyzing the results from organizational perspective.

I compared and contrasted three LH construction fields. The following is my research findings: First, the main factors which determine successful or unsuccessful field are organizational cohesion and inter-organizational communication. Mutual communication of field groups affects the quality more, if the field conditions are difficult. Second, if field groups fail to cohere and communicate, it is likely to lead to low performance …

The Impact Of Increased Cigarette Prices On Cigarette Consumption, Bohyun Yoo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The objective of this study examines whether the way to raise cigarette prices drastically and discontinuously is effective in reducing cigarette consumption. We use monthly data for cigarette consumption to measure the price elasticity of cigarettes’ demand and adopt real cigarette prices, real individual income, education level, and unemployment rate as independent variables. We consider how consumers adjust their consumption practices in response to the increased prices. After examining the result of regression, we conclude that cigarette real price has a significant association with the reduction in cigarette consumption. If we divide the last twelve years into periods when prices …

Fitting Square Pegs Into Round Holes: Atlantic Coast Conference Member Institutional Responses To Ncaa Sanctions, 1986-2016, Matt Arant

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The current state of college athletics is a popular debate topic among many Americans. Matters of athlete compensation and how large-scale commercialization has undermined traditional notions of academic integrity and genuine amateurism are the most common topics covered, but I decided to shift the conversation from the NCAA as a whole to the individual institutions and conferences that grapple with the same issues. Using the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from 1986-2016 as a sample, I wanted to both comprehend how specific institutions respond to NCAA sanctions and the way the conference treats previously non-compliant programs when it undergoes expansion efforts. …

The Impact Of Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (Bos) Program: School Operational Assistance To The Household Expenditures In Education: A Case Study Of Indonesia, Anton Abdul Fatah

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Bantuan Operasional Sekolah (BOS) Program was launched in 2005 as a grant directly from the government to each school’s bank account based on the number of the students. The main goal of BOS is to cover school tuition in the public schools, lighten operational expenses in the private schools, and to provide free education for poor students, both in public and private schools. Since the BOS Program has been implemented nationally and the funding is granted based on the number of students, this study hypothesizes that the BOS Program will have an impact on the household expenditure in education. …

An Implementation Analysis Of Needle Exchange Programs In Kentucky: Implementation Barriers And Facilitators Identified By Stakeholders, Samantha Jane Harris

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky law authorizes county health departments to implement harm reduction needle exchange programs given that the county receives approval from all governing authorities including the local and/or district boards of health, the county government, and the city government in the jurisdiction in which the exchange is intended to operate. As of April 2016, five county health departments operate needle exchange programs and around 20 other county health departments are seeking approval from their governing authorities or beginning to discuss engaging in this process.

I conducted qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the implementation process to determine the facilitators and barriers …

In Search Of "Real" Migrants: The Effects Of County Level Factors On Enrollment In The Migrant Education Program In Kentucky, Thomas Hatton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Migrant laborers and their families have historically faced, and continue to face, major barriers in their education. The migrant population is, according to Dr. Michael Romanowski, “the most undereducated major subgroup in the United States” (Romanowski, 2003). The lack of educational attainment among migrant families can be attributed to numerous factors: above all, the disruptive migratory lifestyle of seasonal agricultural workers (Rosenthal & Banz-Spall, 2003), but also to socioeconomic burdens, mental and physical health issues, and more recently, linguistic and cultural barriers.

The Migrant Education Program is a supplemental federal program that was created under Title 1 Part C of …

The Determinants Of Childbirth Grants Of Local Governments In South Korea, Gi-Jung Kim

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Declining fertility is one of the top policy issues in South Korea. To increase the birth rate, the government of South Korea has been enacting several fertility encouragement polices. Although almost all of the birth encouragement policies have been led by the central government, a childbirth grant program was developed by primary local governments themselves. The grant levels vary significantly between local governments.

I examine what explains the differences in the childbirth grant level by analyzing twelve years (2004-2015) of panel data with a fixed-effects model. Prior studies indicate that the extent of demand for a policy and the availability …

A Study Of The Effects Of County Characteristics On College Enrollment, Patrick La Mar

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

For the past 100 years, policy analysts studied college enrollment at the individual level. Yet little research has been performed on whether the surrounding community characteristics contribute to enrollment rates. This is in part due to seeing college attendance as an individual choice whereas K-12 enrollment is typically predetermined by place of residence. However, this ignores the potential impact economic and social characteristics a community has on students while growing up. This paper attempts to add to the literature by testing county level variables with a panel regression with high school fixed effects.

The results show higher averages of KEES …

Factors Associated With Intervention By Bystanders In Sexual Violence Crimes, Kathy Chang Liu

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kitty Genovese’s case in 1964 remains the classic example in discussions of bystander intervention. In recent years, people heard similar cases where bystanders act indifferently or are slow to report the crime. This made me ask the research question of this Capstone: What factors are associated with intervention by bystanders?

The data set I used here is the incident data file from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data, which covers the years 1992-2013. I pulled out 11 explanatory variables including victim characteristics, offender characteristics, and external/environmental factors. I used a regression model with robust standard errors to examine the …

Financial Implications Of The Medicaid Expansion For Academic Medical Centers, Madeleine Oritt

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), with the goal of reforming the United States health care system and providing insurance for millions of uninsured citizens and residents. One component of the legislation was the expansion of Medicaid eligibility, which would extend to include all individuals “under age 65 whose family income is at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty guidelines ($14,484 for an individual and $29,726 for a family of four in 2011)” (NCSL, 2015). This provision was challenged in the United States Supreme Court, which ruled …