Economic Theory Commons^™

Electric Commuter Rail Access In Residential Communities: A Hedonic Analysis Case Study Of Nonmarket Value Creation, Catherine A. Sunding

Scripps Senior Theses

This study quantifies the price impact on houses of a new electric commuter rail line outside of Denver, Colorado. I find a negative price impact corresponding to increased accessibility and proximity of homes to the rail stations due to the negative externalities associated with the track. I also discover an even larger negative price impact of the rail stations in the years before the stations opened to the public, indicating possible endogeneity in the location of the rail line. I attempt to account for this endogeneity using instrumental variable analysis due to a limitation of house pricing data before 2016.

The Paradox Of Value, David Enrique Guarnizo

Theses and Dissertations

The present thesis project examines how, in the United States, and especially in the state of Virginia, archetypes of "wealth," "value," and "identity" have been constructed in relation to land and territory. This analysis explores the tension between the inherent value of life on the land and the economic value that can be derived from it. This tension is exemplified by a theory known as the "paradox of value", also referred to as the "paradox of water and diamonds", which was developed by the renowned Scottish economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. This theoretical framework serves as a fundamental axis for …

The Game Of Going Public: Market Timing, Information Asymmetry, And The Signaling Effects Of Initial Public Offerings (Ipos) In The Technology Industry, Kiana Seva

Scripps Senior Theses

My thesis explores the game of going public in the technology industry, specifically the strategic decision-making process of issuing an initial public offering (IPO), the advantages a company may gain from its market timing, and the signaling effects of its IPO. Existing research on this subject is vast but fragmented into areas that focus on the decision to go public, game theoretical analysis of the advantages, analysis of the advantages using quantitative data, and signaling effects. To address this gap, I developed and analyzed three game theoretic models which account for all these factors that affect the success of an …

Digital Platform Transitions In The Finance Industry: Three Essays, Cheryll-Ann Wilson

2025

This three-paper dissertation is motivated by an emerging dichotomy in the financial sector: an increasing use of an open-source digital platform—the Python platform—in an industry that historically has been wedded to proprietary systems.

Chapter 1 is a qualitative pilot study to ascertain which factors are likely to motivate investment professionals to select Python versus other tools and/or technologies. I find that efficiency and access to industry-specific libraries—notably Pandas and NumPy—are significant motivators in their selection of Python over Excel. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the issues through a sequential, exploratory mixed methods approach.

Chapter 2—the qualitative field study—investigates how and …

Three Essays On Sustainability Economics, Hélène Flore Nguemgaing

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As global economies face increasing resource dependencies and supply chain challenges, it becomes essential to understand the vulnerabilities that threaten economic stability. This dissertation investigates three empirical issues in agribusiness and critical minerals using econometric models to estimate the following: 1) the impact of supply chain disruptions on stock market returns during COVID-19; 2) the extraction of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage treatment by investigating the impacts of ownership and legislation in West Virginia and Pennsylvania; 3) China-to�FOBb (Free-on-Board) price transmission in rare earth elements markets: a copula-based dynamic tail dependence analysis.

The first essay evaluates how events …

An Analysis Of Mental Health And Workplace Absenteeism, Kristin Marie Vrona

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of mental health on own health-related absenteeism among employed adults in the United States, using data from the 2010–2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). The MEPS uniquely differentiates between absences due to one’s own health and those due to another person’s health, enabling causal estimation of individual-level factors influencing absence decisions.

The analysis incorporates both mental and physical health measures, including diagnostic indicators and self-reported general well being, which are used as proxies for severity that may affect both diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals. Results reveal a consistent pattern: individuals experiencing high psychological distress but lacking …

The International Transracial Adoption Effect: Measuring The Well-Being Of Korean Adoptees Vs. Non-Adopted Korean Americans, Grace H. Jones

Honors Theses

In this study, I examine the differences in well-being and long-term outcomes between adopted and non-adopted Korean Americans. The vast majority of adopted Korean Americans are placed with white, heterosexual couples, positioning them in a unique position in American society. While they are raised in white families and often disconnected from Korean culture, they are still perceived and treated as Asian by society. Scholars refer to this tension as the transracial adoptee paradox. This study explores how that paradox affects both economic and non-economic outcomes. The analysis finds that adopted Koreans tend to earn higher incomes than their non-adopted peers, …

Essays On Technological Change And Scientific Research, Max Mayca

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The primary objective of economic science has long been to understand and promote growth, as it contributes to a more prosperous civilization and improves individual well-being. The core drivers of growth—capital accumulation, human capital development, and technological progress—are well-established. While capital deepening enables scaling of production, and human capital enhances labor productivity, technological and scientific advancements remain the most critical, as they continually redefine the efficiency frontier. Given this centrality, it is essential to understand how technological progress affects labor markets, how research resources should be allocated, and how technology relates to human capital formation.

The first part of this …

Perlakuan Akuntansi Terhadap Pendapatan Dari Kontrak Dengan Pelanggan Pada Pt Svt Berdasarkan Psak 115, Michelle A. Ronauli, Arthaingan H. Mutiha

Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis Terapan

This study aims to discuss the application of PSAK 115 in recognizing revenue from customer contracts at PT SVT, a company operating in the oil and gas industry. PT SVT's revenue is derived from contracts with customers, requiring the implementation of PSAK 115 in the preparation of its financial statements. PSAK 115 establishes five (5) steps in revenue recognition from contracts, including contract identification, performance obligation determination, transaction price allocation, allocation of price to performance obligations, and revenue recognition upon fulfillment of obligations. This research employs a qualitative method with a field study and literature review approach, using the 2023 …

Strategi Pemenuhan Pemeriksa Di Lembaga Internasional Pada Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan, Afrizal Afrizal

Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis Terapan

This research aims to analyze the factors that are considered in the selection of auditors in carrying out audit assignments in international institutions and formulate strategies for the fulfillment of employees for audits in international institutions at The Audit Board of The Republic of Indonesia. The research was carried out at the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia at the Human Resources Bureau. This research is intended to formulate more effective and efficient policies in human resource management, especially the management of auditors in The Audit Board of The Republic of Indonesia.

The author uses several theories related to …

Teaching Of Economics, Quratulain Shafique

CBER Conference

The research paper aims to analyze the trends in economics education, and its importance in developing knowledgeable citizens, good policymakers, and proficient professionals to meet the challenges of the contemporary economy. The introduction highlights the significance of economics education within society as it is aimed at preparing people for the conditions of globalization, modern technologies, and the transition to knowledge-based economies. It also meets the problem of educators implementing the transition from theoretical to applied economics and in considering differentiated learning needs. This entails assessing certain teaching delivery approaches applied in higher learning institutions and deciding the level of student …

The Importance Of The Safety Net Program For Informal Workers’ Food Security Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Rodhiah Umaroh, Amirusholihin Amirusholihin, Yuliawati Yuliawati

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This study examines the effects of social safety-net programs on food security among vulnerable groups, focusing on households with informal workers. Utilizing data from the High-Frequency Monitoring of the COVID-19 Impacts 2020 (HiFy) and estimates with the Longitudinal Propensity Score Matching (LPSM) method, the findings reveal that cash and food assistance significantly reduce food insecurity among informal workers’ households. The households receiving these safety net programs experienced an 8–11% lower probability of food insecurity compared to non-recipients, as indicated by the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) value. The study highlights the need for continued investment in inclusive and …

Striking A Balance: Market Shock & Responses In Automotive Components Manufacturing, Emma Lane Mcgahey

All Theses

This thesis examines the effects of extreme market shocks on supply chain dynamics within the automotive industry. Through an analysis of demand data from an automotive manufacturer to its component suppliers (January 2018 to May 2024), the study investigates the relationship between market shocks and supply chain responses, providing insights into how auto components inventory management handles downstream responses to market shocks. With supporting public data—from FRED, BLS, and the U.S. Census Bureau resources—we explore two primary relationships: the impact of market shocks on the Average Standard Deviation of Demand (SDO) and the effect of demand variability on expedited pricing …

On The Decomposability Of Fractional Allocations, Shurojit Chatterji, Peng Liu

Research Collection School Of Economics

A common practice in dealing with the allocation of indivisible objects is to treat them as infinitely divisible and specify a fractional allocation, which is then implemented as a lottery on integer allocations that are feasible. The question we study is whether an arbitrary fractional allocation can be decomposed as a lottery on an arbitrary set of feasible integer allocations. The main result is a characterization of decomposable fractional allocations, that is obtained by transforming the decomposability problem into a maximum flow problem. We also provide a separate necessary condition for decomposability.

From Shocks To Solidarity And Superstition: Exploring The Foundations Of Faith, Aidin Hajikhameneh, Laurence R. Iannaccone

ESI Publications

Additive shocks can substantially increase cooperation in otherwise standard public goods game experiments. We study shocks that randomly adjust players’ earnings by a fixed positive or negative amount reported at the end of each round. These adjustments change neither the return to players’ contributions nor the information about other group members. We compare results across four treatments that employ the same group-level adjustment algorithm but frame it differently, with pre-play descriptions that range from omitting all useful information to accurately revealing its 50/50 random nature. In each treatment, overall contributions run about 50% higher than those obtained in the standard …

How To Discipline Financial Markets: Reputation Is Not Enough, Maria Bigoni, Gabriele Camera, Marco Casari

ESI Working Papers

Historically, shocks originating in the financial sector often spilled over into the real sector with dramatic consequences. We study in the lab how interventions targeting disclosure and capital requirements of financial intermediaries can reduce insolvencies or prevent their negative effects from propagating to the broader economy. In our two-sector economy, consumers and producers can fund financial intermediaries, who, in turn, provide them with liquidity to settle trades. However, intermediaries may undertake risky investments and become insolvent, which depresses real economic activity. In the experiment, insolvencies were frequent. As a consequence, consumers and producers often refused to fund intermediaries, which lowered …

Financialization And Price Volatility: An Empirical Analysis On Speculation In The Oil Market, Audry F. Oliveira Carnivale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Financialization has facilitated the trade of futures contracts because of deregulatory policies increasing speculation. Speculation has created a more fragile market inducing riskier investments and aggravating price volatility. Three post-Keynesian theories, the financial instability hypothesis, money manager capitalism and markup, explain how policy altering the banking structure has developed financialization from lax regulation. Previous research has emphasized supply and demand as the main determinants of oil price changes, but it’s important to consider how structural changes from policy stimulating a more financialized economy has impacted volatility. With Brent Crude oil price data and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) open interest and …

Subjective Well-Being Across The Life Course Among Non-Industrialized Populations, Michael Gurven, Yoann Buoro, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Katherine Sayre, Benjamin Trumble, Aili Pyhälä, Hillard Kaplan, Arild Angelsen, Jonathan Stieglitz, Victoria Reyes-Garcia

ESI Publications

Subjective well-being (SWB) is often described as being U-shaped over adulthood, declining to a midlife slump and then improving thereafter. Improved SWB in later adulthood has been considered a paradox given age-related declines in health and social losses. While SWB has mostly been studied in high-income countries, it remains largely unexplored in rural subsistence populations lacking formal institutions that reliably promote social welfare. Here, we evaluate the age profile of SWB among three small-scale subsistence societies (n = 468; study 1), forest users from 23 low-income countries (n = 6987; study 2), and Tsimane’ horticulturalists (n = …

Political Ideology, Emotion Response, And Confirmation Bias, David L. Dickinson

ESI Publications

Motivated reasoning can serve to help resolve emotional discomfort, which suggests emotion as a likely moderator of such reasoning. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by examining emotion and confirmation bias in the political domain. Results from two preregistered studies, which involved over 900 unique participants, document a confirmation bias across distinct dimensions of belief and preference formation. Also, ideologically dissonant information significantly worsens self-reported emotion. With some exceptions, the evidence generally supports the hypothesis that negative emotion moderates the strength of the bias, which highlights the importance of emotion response in understanding and potentially counteracting confirmation bias.

A Simple Higher-Order Rational Email-Game Bubble Model And Some Implications For Momentum, Feng Liu

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

We propose a simple higher-order rational greater-fool bubble model, where the period-1 information structure is motivated by an “information leakage” story, reminiscent of Rubinstein’s (1989) email game. Our nth-order bubble model requires only n + 2 states, and is thus simpler than that in Conlon (2004), which required n^2 + 5n + 5 states. Our model is also related to the two-agent-type case of the Araujo and Doblas-Madrid’s (2022) model, and we argue that our model might therefore not capture “momentum,” though simple extensions of it may be able to.