International Economics Commons^™

Gaining A Better Understanding Of Higher Education: During And Post-Pandemic Scenario, Krati Sethi, Manas Roy

International Review of Business and Economics

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, faculty as well as the students have had to respond to “out of the ordinary” difficulty by quickly switching from traditional class - room education to online learning forms via “virtual classrooms”. Students facing challenges and continuing facing difficulties for various reasons required to adapt this modification in this delivery of curriculum becoming un attentive. Few solutions have been developed for students to assist them in freely transferring to virtual classrooms and maintaining proper online learning etiquette. A series of recommendations is offered in the present study to help students so that they can explore …

Convergence And Hegemony: The United States And China In The 21st Century, Daniel Wilcox

Honors Theses

The extreme economic growth of the Republic of China is neither a new phenomenon nor a topic that has not been extensively examined, however, how this convergence of economic power between the United States and rising China translates to potential political power is an important area of discussion. The US has been forced to face a tumultuous beginning to the 21^st century. Characterized by unprecedented terrorist attacks, subsequent wars that have brought economic and moralistic costs, increasing domestic partisan division, and a questioning of what it is to be an American, it is an unthinkable reality following the 1991 …

Essays In Macroeconomic Policy, Meng-Ting Chen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that cover topics on macroeconomic policies.

Chapter 1 - Markups, Labor Share, and Wage Dispersion.

Increasing market power has an impact on labor market behavior. This paper argues that the decline in the aggregate wage after 1980 comes from both increasing aggregate product markup and decreasing aggregate labor markdown. Most of the decline is driven by the sharp decline in lower wage percentiles, which also contributes to the increasing wage dispersion. Further, both firms’ monopoly and monopsony power play important roles in explaining the decline in the aggregate labor share. I build a heterogeneous …

Financial Openness And Economic Growth, Doo Kyun Wang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An ongoing controversy in economics relates to the effect of financial openness on economic growth. Despite their longstanding nature, these questions are not easily resolved. Theoretically, capital market liberalization can lower the cost of capital. Given perfect international capital mobility, this can cause factor price equalization and finally accelerate economic growth. In contrast with the strong theoretical argument, empirical studies on the effect financial openness have on growth are still inconclusive.

Given the diverse perspective, the goal of this paper is to further investigate the role and effect of financial openness on economic growth in different time periods and at …

Determinants Of The Withdrawal Of Foreign-Invested Enterprises: Evidence From China, Zhihao Wang

Major Papers

Based on the industry and commerce annual report data, the present study uses the continuous-time nonparametric, parametric, and semi-parametric estimation to investigate the determinants influencing the withdrawal behaviour of foreign-invested enterprises. Through the survival analysis of 3,858 foreign-invested enterprises located in China from 2013 to 2020, the study found that operation profit, enterprise size and enterprise age have significantly negative impacts on the probability of enterprise withdrawal. At the industry-level and region-level, the improvement of industry entry rate and regional business environment ranking can significantly increase the probability of enterprise survival. The rise of the regional GDP growth rate and …

Fentanyl In The Global Market: Examining The New Opioid Epidemic At An International Level, Katherine Rejer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Drug use and subsequent addiction is a major global health concern that transcends culture, borders, and generations. The production of synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, has exacerbated the worldwide opioid epidemic that is endangering public health, economic output, and national security. The ease of manufacture of synthetic opioids facilitates clandestine production and trafficking, while their higher potency leads to higher rates of overdose. This research seeks to analyze the dramatic increase in opioid overdoses around the world and explain the transnational variation of the epidemic. In particular, this study aims to compare the epidemic in the U.S and Estonia in contrast …

Degrowth And Catholic Social Thought: Rethinking Socio-Economics For A Planet In Crisis, Chad G. Baron

Master's Theses

It is assumed within both degrowth literature and the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (CST) that socio-economic transitions and transformations are needed due to the failings of the dominant capitalist paradigm. Both bodies of thought engage with issues of socio-economic transitions by considering what constitutes globally just development, and by outlining key principles they espouse to be foundational to global justice. By highlighting these principles, and locating the affinities between the two, these theories of socio-economic development can benefit from engaging with the other’s promoted framework. What could follow is a more coherent and holistic approach to development, …

Assessing The Impact Of Inequality On Political Activity And Class Consciousness, Matthew Prouty

Thinking Matters Symposium

Since 1980, the United States has experienced stagnating wages, higher levels of inequality, and intensifying political polarization. Despite this, U.S. domestic economic policy has not undergone the fundamental transformation needed to combat these systemic challenges. Why have these policies remained in place when they have a negative impact on the aggregate working class, and why has the working class not used American Democracy to change these policies? Could it be that the rising inequality has led to reduced political engagement with the remaining voters being more devout participants to their ideology than effective policy? Although there is an abundance of …

Feed-In Tariffs And Sustainable Energy: Why Different Oecd Governments Support Sustainable Energy At Different Rates Through Feed-In Tariffs, Joshua M. Grahame

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Why is it that different governments in the OECD support sustainable energy at different rates? In the effort to explain this difference, Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) will be closely examined to see if it can explain the significant portion of the variation among countries. This project serves as a continuation of previous scholars' works, to better understand the variation between countries in adopting renewable energy, even though all members of the OECD have pledged that by 2030 half of their energy will come from sustainable energy. Whereas previous research considered data ending in 2012 and looked at countries outside of the OECD, …

Why Renegotiation?: Renewal Of The South Korea-Chile Bilateral Free Trade Agreement, Montserrat Bugueno

International Studies (MA) Theses

This thesis project explores the motivations behind the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) renegotiation between Chile and South Korea. Existing studies have examined the reasons and outcomes of creating the initial Chile-South Korea FTA, but they have not focused on renegotiations between the two countries. A few investigations on renegotiations have focused on diversifying their exports and expanding their markets in each other's regions. However, most research lacks further exploration of both countries' market security concerns. By analyzing official government documents and conducting three semi-structured interviews with government officials and experts in the field, I argue that the current protectionist …

Biden’S Options: Policy Recommendations On The Us-China Trade War, Marley Taylor Belanger

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

As talks of unprecedented inflation and the long-term impact of the pandemic are on the rise in the United States, it is critical to understand how the foreign policy choices of the US Government ultimately impact its economy. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the economic tensions between the US and China as a result of the ongoing US-China Trade War. To examine the viability of proposed options, a cost-benefit analysis of Biden’s policy options is implemented based on a framework of escalation, de-escalation, or modification of the current US-China economic policy initiative. The analysis of these proposals …

Labor Market Participation, Income Distribution, And Welfare Gains From Trade, Pao-Li Chang, Yi-Fan Chen, Wen-Tai Hsu

Research Collection School Of Economics

We develop a general equilibrium trade model where households with skill heterogeneity choose between home production and working on the labor market. Unlike most of the trade literature, the labor supply is elastic and is heterogeneous across households. As a result, trade affects labor participation, income, and welfare differently across households. We show that, when market goods and home goods are substitutes, households with lower skill levels expe-rience higher proportional increase to their income, while households with higher skill levels experience higher proportional increase in welfare. We further show that elastic labor supply preserves the extensive margin of welfare gains …

Sino-Us Trade War, Erin Torgersen

Senior Honors Projects

China and the United States are unquestionably the two wealthiest economies in the world. These two countries alone account for almost half of the world’s wealth. As these nations battle to become the world's most powerful economy, it is no surprise high tensions have developed to complicate their relationship. China’s economy has been rapidly growing, especially in the last two decades as China is making its way towards the top of the list of strongest economies through its abundance of exports and manufacturing. Alternatively, as the U.S.’s economy has slowly decreased in the last few years, the gap between the …

U.S./Russia Export Relationship, Adam Nishino, Mohammad Saad Bin Shahzad, Yonathan Assefa, Trel Lakindanum

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Russia and the United States have a long history of trading as early as 1913. Over the years, Russia has become a notable player in US imports. By using the United States Census database and the Office of the United States Trade Representative database. In short, our research will discuss the trade relationship between Russia and the United States over the last century, through history and data analytics, and its effects on trade and politics to the rest of the world.

The Effects Of The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine On Exports To Italy, Stephen Johnson, Ryder Hankins, Nathan Carter

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Italy imported 122,000 tons of soft wheat from Ukraine and 72,000 from Russia. During the current events international food and feed prices have increased by 8 to 22% causing mass shortages around the world. On top of the ethical and moral dilemmas of continuing business with Russia, insurance premiums have jumped 400% for doing business with the invading country.

Exporting U.S. Cosmetics To China's Lower-Tier Cities, Kaitlynn Quach, Audrey Stephanie

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

What is the cosmetics market like in China's lower-tier cities for U.S. brands? In order to create market entry strategies, China has city-tier classifications that are commonly used in business. Classifications are based on GDP, political administration, and population. In 2020, Chinese consumers spent more than ¥340.0 Billion RMB ($53.46 Billion) on cosmetic products. This number increases from year to year and is especially affected by globalization. The United States is one of the top exporters of cosmetics brands.

Although popular, United States cosmetics brands face strong competition in China's first-tier cities. First-tier cities are considered the largest and wealthiest …

Platform Injustice: Material Imbalances And Epistemic Injustice On Digital Discursive Platforms, Sahaj Singh

Penn Journal of Philosophy, Politics & Economics

In this paper, I argue that the existence of material power imbalances in systems of discourse represents a novel concern in the literature on epistemic injustice. This epistemic injustice, which I call Platform Injustice, arises from the undue assertion of agency over the background features of a system of discourse, in order to manipulate, diminish, or magnify the vocalization and reception of speech-acts. First, I demonstrate the unprecedented nature of platform control as an epistemic wrong. Next, I identify case studies of platform injustice in modern social media. Then, I situate platform injustice within Dotson’s typology of epistemic injustices; …

Political Partisanship, Extreme Polarization And Youth Voter Turnout In 2020, Vinay Khosla

Penn Journal of Philosophy, Politics & Economics

The 2010s saw a rapid increase in political partisanship and subsequent extreme polarization in the United States and its political institutions and systems. Additionally, political apathy among young adult and teenage voters has long been beleaguered as a source of low voter turnout in the United States, at least comparatively when considering other developed democracies. Considering these points, this research paper seeks to identify whether rising political partisanship and extreme polarization affect the disillusionment of teenage voters in the political process of voting; do these phenomena discourage eligible teenagers from exercising their right to vote? Previous research on the effect …

Investigating Host Countries’ Refugee-Related Policies And Its Effect On Lived Experiences Of Rohingya Refugees, Nichanun Puapattanakajorn

Penn Journal of Philosophy, Politics & Economics

Rohingya refugees are one of the most discriminated against and vulnerable populations in the world. As a consequence of being persecuted in their homeland by the Myanmar government, many Rohingya have fled their homes to seek refuge in neighboring countries. However, the acceptance of Rohingya refugees has varied in different locations, resulting in the subpar treatment of the refugees. This paper explores how the host state government’s policy and stance on migrants and migrant protection within a country influences the level of violence faced by Rohingya refugees residing in their country. The host states chosen for the study include Bangladesh, …

For The Economy Or For Security? Using 5g To Explain Federal Intervention In Us-China Technological Competition, Will Matheson

Penn Journal of Philosophy, Politics & Economics

The United States under the Trump administration shifted federal policy toward greater state intervention in the technology innovation economy in response to perceived advances in this space by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This shift is noteworthy given the free-market orthodoxy that traditionally defines US politics and has persisted despite similar perceptions of competition from more state-driven economies in the past (e.g., Japan in the 1980s). This paper seeks to understand why this shift in American economic orthodoxy appears to be occurring now, in reaction to Chinese technological innovation. It does so by beginning to investigate the motivations for …