Public Policy Commons^™

Building For Culture: How Municipal Ownership Of Cultural Facilities Influences Annual Arts Funding In American Cities, Adam M. Sachs

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores how local government support for arts and culture varies across 24 American cities. It has proven to be challenging for researchers to accurately measure municipal arts support. Research on cultural policy has also often focused on the federal level, despite total city expenditures far exceeding national or state government support. This thesis attempts to take an accurate pulse of city expenditures in 2017 and correlates those spending levels to the variation in city ownership of arts facilities. Rooted in the historical perspectives of the ‘new institutionalism’ and path-dependency, this paper argues that past decisions about taking ownership …

Early Voting Versus Election Day Voting: Identifying Individual Indicators Of Election Stage Participation In Louisiana Elections, 2015-2016, Anthony Licciardi Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Does early voting advance the democratic process in achieving political equality? Does it create more equity in the representativeness of an electorate? According to rational choice and economic theory, the expanded opportunity to vote should reduce an individual’s cost to vote, thus resulting in higher voter turnouts where traditionally marginalized voters will take advantage of early voting opportunities.

This research conducts an individual-level analysis of more than five-million voter cases over four consecutive Louisiana statewide elections of all individuals who voted in each of the elections from 2015 to 2016. These elections include the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a …

Congressional Committee Resources On Space Policy During The 115th Congress (2017-2018): Providing Context And Insight Into Us Government Space Policy, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Article 1 of the US Constitution assigns the US Congress numerous responsibilities. These include creating new laws, revising existing laws, funding government programs, and conducting oversight of these programs' performance. Oversight of US Government agency space policy programs is executed by various congressional space policy committees including the House and Senate Science Committees, Armed Services, and Appropriations Committees. These committees conduct many public hearings on space policy, which invite expert witnesses to testify on US space policy programs and feature debate on the strengths and weaknesses of these programs. Documentation produced by these committees is widely available to the public, …

“[Don’T] Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor...” A Study On The Trump Administration’S Unprecedented Reforms To The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program And Their Implications, Savannah Day

Honors Theses

From 2017 to 2020, the Trump administration cut United States refugee admissions tenfold. These reforms come unprecedented to the 40-year-old resettlement program (USRAP). By critically reviewing literature on this topic as well as conducting eight original interviews with five national nonprofits contracted by the Department of State to do refugee resettlement casework, this study sought to identify the implications of the Trump administration’s reforms to the program. Once implications were identified, I used the applied frameworks of program model as well as Michael Worth’s sociological and political science theories of American nonprofit-government relations to better inform and guide the study. …

A Study Of The Social Credit Score System And The Implications It May Have In Chinese Society, Glennis Mcwilliams

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the social credit score (SCS) system of China and the implications that it may have in Chinese society. The SCS is a revolutionary accountability system that is touted to ascertain a person’s trustworthiness of a person. An individualized score is produced by a complex algorithm which takes into account both social and financial behaviors. My research, comprised primarily from secondary qualitative data, discusses the SCS system and analyzes the political, social, and economic implications that the SCS may have on Chinese society. Conflict theory is utilized to help contextualize my findings and explain the increase in authoritative …

Smoke And Mirrors: Policy Solutions For Deterring Adolescent Use Of Nicotine Electronic Cigarettes, Austin Davis Fiala

Honors Theses

In recent years, there has been a dramatic spike in the number of adolescents that regularly use nicotine electronic cigarettes. As recently as 2019, a large outbreak of e- cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injuries was observed in adolescents, leading many to question the safety of these devices, particularly when use by adolescents. By way of a literature review, this thesis will examine the history of nicotine and electronic cigarettes in the United States, as well as existing data on the nature of nicotine electronic cigarettes and the ways in which they are marketed.

From these findings, it is …

Agglomeration Economies: How “Y’Allywood” Became The New Hollywood, Joseph Dugan Walker

Honors Theses

Agglomeration economies have gained special attention in recent decades. With the increasing connectivity of our world, specialized regional economies are stronger now than ever before. A specific agglomeration economy that has developed in recent years is the Georgia Film Industry. This region surpassed Hollywood as the premier filming location for the first time since the early 1900s when New York was number one. This thesis analyzes the reasons why Georgia was so successful in attracting the film industry and encouraging its development by comparing infrastructure, film tax incentives, population, and labor development to that of competing states like New York, …

Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis

Honors Theses

Women are underrepresented in mayor’s offices and on city councils across Latin America. In this paper, I examine gender-based differences in individual opinions toward running for office in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as conduct a twenty-six country analysis on factors related to female representation in municipal government. Based on these analyses, I make three main conclusions about female local representation in Latin America. The first conclusion is that women in Latin America are significantly less likely to want to run or feel qualified to run for office. The second conclusion is that cross-national variation in the percentage of female …

Quality Child Care In Missouri: The Intersections Of Policy And Teachers' Perceptions Of Quality Child Care, Catherine Slade

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A child’s health and well-being is supported by the environment in which they learn and develop. For an average of 36,000 children in Missouri, their environment includes an out-of-home child care program. Child care regulations are designed to protect the health and safety of children in child care. Using a constant comparative method, this study examined the extent to which the child care licensing regulations in Missouri align with the 13 Indicators of Quality Child Care published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This study also examined how effective teachers working in child care programs felt …

Addressing Urban Income Inequality Through Education: A Case Study In Atlanta, Garrett Bronn

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

For decades, the income inequality gap between the rich and poor has continued to expand dramatically, with criticism of existing education systems often at the heart of the issue. Large urban cities are commonly at the forefront of the issue, given the plethora of teacher strikes in recent years. Events such as the 11-day Chicago teacher’s strike in October of 2019 that idled academics and college prep for 350,000 students, have highlighted many current education issues (Hauck, 2019). With underfunded and poorly equipped middle and high schools, students in poor and minority neighborhoods in cities are less prepared academically, ill …

Creating Accessory Dwelling Units (Adus) During The California Housing Shortage: Benchmarking Adu Programs Within Selected Bay Area City And County Jurisdictions Against The City Of The Santa Cruz And The County Of Santa Cruz, Ivo Niko Basor

Master's Projects

The State of California is currently in a housing crisis, which many researchers believe stems from a foundational issue with the supply and demand for housing (Tanner, Garcia, Buhayar, 2019). More specifically, California has seen a steady population increase for several decades; however, the growing demand for housing has not kept up with supply. The influx of new people coming to California, and birth rates exceeding death rates, have been defining factors in the growing demand for housing (Public Policy Institute of California, 2018). As high paying jobs are created and bring in top wage earners, and the cost of …

Working To Prevent Gun Violence In The United States: The Role Of Policy & Advocacy, Allison Popovits

Political Science & International Studies | Senior Theses

There are several laws in place regarding the legal purchase and possession of firearms in the United States (Giffords Law Center, 2020). There are also laws regarding the prohibited purchase and possession of firearms (Giffords Law Center, 2020). Yet, prohibited persons purchase and possess firearms regularly (Giffords Law Center, 2020). This happens because there are loopholes in the law (Brady United, 2020). For example, federal law requires background checks for gun purchases from licensed firearm dealers, but not at gun shows where sellers may not be licensed. This means that a felon (prohibited purchaser and possessor) buying a gun from …

Operational Procedures For Releasing Police Records: A Process Evaluation Of California Law Enforcement Agencies’ Implementation Of Senate Bill 1421, Bianca Madrid

Master's Projects

This research intends to explain how law enforcement agencies in California have implemented operational procedures to comply with the CPRA pursuant to SB 1421 requirements. Because SB 1421 vastly expanded the CPRA, demand for law enforcement record requests has significantly increased in volume. Also, due to key components of SB 1421 which lack clarity in defining specific terminology, each law enforcement agency had to develop its own interpretation of how to implement requirements set forth by the statute. Law enforcement agencies have implemented new requirements to reflect the changes in SB 1421 by establishing working protocols for compliance, developing standard …

Purchasing For A Better Future: Sustainable Procurement In The County Of Santa Clara, Mariah Teal Lindberg

Master's Projects

In brief, this study aims to address sustainable procurement in SCC and its Procurement Department (PRC). A multi-varied analysis and discussion of market industries and the vendor community, present SCC policies and programs, and the overarching feasibility and environmental impact of sustainable procurement is provided to assist SCC in meeting its vision of sustainability. Procurement is a dynamic process, and for that reason, requires transformation and "strategic decision-making about how to best pursue and achieve long-term sustainability aims and goals" through SCC's purchasing vehicles (SCC OOS, 2018c, para. 4). Today, SCC, like many other governments, is grappling with the problems …

A City On The Front Lines Of An Epidemic: The Opioid Crisis In Las Vegas, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Undergraduate Winner

While addiction to opioids kills more Americans every year, the purpose of this report is to assess the extent of the problem in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and to propound ways in which local policy can help. A geospatial analysis of opioid demand nationally, regionally, and locally explains how the epidemic is diffusing, where divides exist in terms of access to treatment, and the differential effects of opioids driving this crisis. By tracking opioid-related prescriptions, hospital admissions, and deaths, the results show that opioid demand in the Las Vegas metro has decreased but remains well above …

Nevada’S Secret Killer: Opioid Deaths, Vanessa Marie Booth

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Emerging Scholars Winner

Presented in this study is an analysis of the Nevada opioid crisis and how a viable solution can impact its severity. It does so in a public policy environment while synthesizing outside sources to support the presented claims. The scope of this study is to present a problem, cause, solution scenario on how to solve this policy problem. This study also takes into consideration Nevada’s current economic state amid the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, this analysis also addresses the history behind the opioid epidemic across the United States and how it is impacting Nevada in present times. …

Guarantees And Capital Infusions In Response To Financial Crises C: U.S. 2009 Stress Test, Chase P. Ross, June Rhee, Andrew Metrick

Journal of Financial Crises

When President Obama took office in 2009, the Treasury focused on restarting bank lending and repairing the ability of the banking system as a whole to perform the role of credit intermediation. In order to do so, the Treasury needed to raise public confidence that banks had sufficient buffers to withstand even a very adverse economic scenario, especially given heightened uncertainty surrounding the outlook of the U.S. economy and potential losses in the banking system. The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program (SCAP)—the so-called “stress tests”—sought to rigorously measure the resilience of the largest bank holding companies. Those found to have insufficient …

Guarantees And Capital Infusions In Response To Financial Crises B: U.S. Guarantees During The Global Financial Crisis, June Rhee, Andrew Metrick

Journal of Financial Crises

During 2008-09, the federal government extended multiple guarantee programs in an effort to restore the financial market and contain the panic and crisis in the market. For example, the Treasury provided a temporary guarantee program for the money market funds, the FDIC decided to stand behind certain debts and non-interest-bearing transaction accounts, and the Treasury, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve agreed to share losses in certain assets belonging to Citigroup. This case reviews these guarantee programs implemented during the global financial crisis by the government and explores the different rationale that shaped certain design features of each program.

Guarantees And Capital Infusions In Response To Financial Crises A: Haircuts And Resolutions, June Rhee, Andrew Metrick

Journal of Financial Crises

After the mortgage market meltdown in mid-2007 and during the financial crisis in 2008, major financial institutions around the world were on the verge of collapsing one after another. Faced with these troubles, the government had to respond quickly to contain the crisis as efficiently as possible. It was, however, limited in resources, time, and experience. To make matters worse, the complexity and opaqueness of the financial market and these institutions greatly affected the government’s ability to design an efficient and consistent method to contain the crisis. Shortly after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, American International …

Australian National Audit Office: Evaluating Australian Army Program Performance, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) evaluates the management and financial performance of Australian government programs for the Australian Parliament, Australian government agencies, Australian taxpayers, and individuals interested in the performance of these programs globally. This article examines how ANAO has examined the performance of Australian Army programs and strengths and weaknesses found in these programs while recommending changes to improve program performance. It also examines how government agencies and corporations which have been the subject of ANAO analyses have reacted to ANAO findings. This assessment also examines how Plan B (the possibility that Australia might have to rely less …

How Does The World Bank Influence The Development Policy Priorities Of Low-Income And Lower-Middle Income Countries?, Stephen Knack, Bradley C. Parks, Ani Harutyunyan, Matthew Dilorenzo

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This study investigates the World Bank’s use of lending and non-lending instruments to affect the policy priorities of developing countries. In a typical year, the World Bank lends more than $30 billion to its client countries. It also spends approximately $200 million on the provision of analytical and advisory products each year. However, insufficiently granular data on the nature, timing, and distribution of these analytical and advisory products and the policy priorities of client countries has made it difficult for policymakers and scholars to understand which World Bank instruments are most useful for effectuating change in the direction of government …

Do Public Program Benefits Crowd Out Private Transfers In Developing Countries? A Critical Review Of Recent Evidence, Plamen Nikolov, Matthew Bonci

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Precipitated by rapid globalization, rising inequality, population growth, and longevity gains, social protection programs have been on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the last three decades. However, the introduction of public benefits could displace informal mechanisms for risk-protection, which are especially prevalent in LMICs. If the displacement of private transfers is considerably large, the expansion of social protection programs could even lead to social welfare loss. In this paper, we critically survey the recent empirical literature on crowd-out effects in response to public policies, specifically in the context of LMICs. We review and synthesize patterns from …

Public Perception Towards Conservation Of Heritage Buildings In Berlin And Kuala Lumpur, Shaharuddin Shahariah Norain

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study examines the local public perception towards the intention to conserve the heritage buildings and sites in the city area. The need for an effective public interest and integrated heritage conservation in the city is vital which resolve the issues on the demolition of historic buildings. The objective of this study is to investigate the perception of attitudes, subject norms and perceived behavior control of the local public that influence the behavior towards the intention to conserve the heritage building in the city area. This study also investigates the behavior of local public from the opinion of stakeholders towards …

Health Care Use And Access Among Rural And Urban Nonelderly Adult Medicare Beneficiaries, Erika C. Ziller Phd, Amanda Burgess Mppm, Deborah Thayer Mba

Access / Insurance

Little is known about the characteristics and health care use of rural residents with disabilities. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (2009-2013), we compared access to and use of health services among rural and urban nonelderly Medicare beneficiaries with a disability, and examined their health and functional status along with sociodemographic characteristics. We found that the characteristics of nonelderly Medicare beneficiaries with a disability reflected the differences observed between rural and urban populations overall: rural recipients were more likely than their urban peers to be older, non-Hispanic white, and have a lower level of educational attainment. Although self-reported access to …

Incorporating Macroprudential Financial Regulation Into Monetary Policy, Aaron Klein

Journal of Financial Crises

This paper proposes two insights into financial regulation and monetary policy. The first enhances understanding the relationship between them, building on the automobile metaphor that describes monetary policy: when to accelerate or brake for curves miles ahead. Enhancing the metaphor, financial markets are the transmission. In a financial crisis, markets cease to function, equivalent to a transmission shifting into neutral. This explains both monetary policy’s diminished effectiveness in stimulating the economy and why the financial crisis shock to real economic output greatly exceeded central bank forecasts.

The second insight is that both excess leverage and fundamental mispricing of asset values …

Judicial Elections, Public Opinion, And Their Impact On State Criminal Justice Policy, Travis N. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation explores whether and how the re-election prospects faced by trial court judges in many American states influence criminal justice policy, specifically, state levels of incarceration, as well as the disparity in rates of incarceration for Whites and Blacks. Do states where trial court judges must worry about facing reelection tend to encourage judicial behavior that results in higher incarceration rates? And are levels of incarceration and racial disparities in the states influenced by the proportion of the state publics who want more punitive policies? These are clearly important questions because they speak directly to several normative and empirical …

Using Input From Landlords Participating In The Dothan Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher Program (Hcvp) To Streamline Operations And Increase Retention, Michael C. Threatt

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) is a public-private partnership between a landlord, voucher holder, and a Public Housing Authority (PHA). However, this public-private partnership appears to be a two-sided partnership instead of a three-way partnership as the HCVP was designed. Over 110,000 landlords have withdrawn from the HCVP since 2009, which has negatively affected housing choices for voucher holders. This phenomenon of landlords leaving the HCVP is a catastrophe problem for the rental housing crisis that is a part of the larger affordable housing crisis. The perception of institutional bureaucracy for landlords is their reality, and the unintended consequence …

What Happens When Cross-Sector Partnerships Are Mandated? Analyzing Trust Through A Transaction Cost Approach, Vanessa Hubbard Rastberger Dr

Theses and Dissertations

Cross-sector partnerships that combine the perspectives and needs of public, private, and nonprofit sectors have been used to address public policy challenges. Research has shown that trust and reputation among partners play an important role in the performance of partnerships. Trust has been positively associated with the reduction of transaction costs of partnerships, and therefore, this study used a Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) approach as the theoretical framework.

Some partnerships are volitional while others are the results of legal or other mandates. Does this volitional or non-volitional (mandated) status affect how collaboration is perceived? For instance, will collaboration and trust …

Towards A Resilient Future: Federal Policies For Adapting The U.S. Coasts To Climate Change, Samuel Horowitz

Pitzer Senior Theses

Climate change is projected to have a devastating impact on the American coast, yet coastal communities and states have largely failed to prepare for projected impacts. This is in large part due to a lack of resources. This thesis analyzes innovative federal policy mechanisms that will address the current gap between actions and forecasted impacts, and will make U.S. coastal communities more resilient in the face of climate change.

Move Or Improve? Place, Policy, And Educator Labor Markets, Cory Curl

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

What is the role of place and policy in shaping educator labor markets during the decade following the Great Recession of 2008? This research leverages data on Kentucky students, educators, schools, and school districts from 2009 to 2018, with a focus on the rural, isolated Appalachian region. Many counties in the region have long struggled with poverty, low rates of labor force participation, lower educational attainment, and dependence on public transfers (Ziliak, 2019). Despite these challenges, the people of Appalachia demonstrate a strong attachment to the region. With this research, I enhance understanding of contexts and conditions, such as unique …