Other Economics Commons^™

Idaho Land Use/Regulation & Off Road Highway Vehicle Use, Johnny Whittemore, Raul Ramirez, Kellen Hill, David Welsh, Jeff Dee

College of Business and Economics Poster Presentations

In the last twenty-five years, Idaho has noticed a dramatic increase in the usage of motorized vehicles in Idaho’s backcountry. This land has mass appeal for its remote wilderness qualities that include hiking, fishing, hunting, and other recreational activities. To accommodate the increased amount of off-road vehicles, Idaho’s government agencies have found it difficult to designate cohesive usages of the land. With the expansion of ATV use in Idaho backcountry, ecological damages have progressively gotten worse. In order to address these damages, in 2005 travel management plans were implemented for future ATV usage. Because these restrictions were put in place, …

Fostering The Orphaned And Vulnerable Child: Exploring Identity Economics In Relation To Orphaned And Vulnerable Children In The Eastern Cape And Cape Town, South Africa, Khaliyah Yasmeen Washington

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

According to UNICEF, 3.7 million children are orphaned in South Africa (2010). Parliament enacted the Children’s Act on April 1, 2010 to grant and protect the rights orphaned or vulnerable children (OVC). The Children’s Act aims to promote the well being of children, prevent abuse or neglect, and increase options for the care of children found to be in need or care and protection (Jamieson, Mahery, and Scott 2011). Children not receiving care and protection from a parent or guardian are placed in one of three options of alternative care. One being child and youth care centers (CYCC); also known …

The Existence Of State Dependence And Switching Costs In The Transition From Myspace To Facebook, Taryn M. Ohashi

Scripps Senior Theses

In this paper, I examine the existence and roles of state dependence and switching costs in the mass transition from MySpace to Facebook during the 2007-2008 time period. Using a dataset that compiles individual browsing behavior and a discrete multinomial logit model, I find precise, yet extremely small amounts of state dependence for users of only MySpace, of only Facebook, and users of both MySpace and Facebook. Positive state dependence directly implies the existence of switching costs for each firm. While there is an abundance of literature regarding switching costs in the brick and mortar setting with tangible products and …

The Digital Divide: Broadband Accessibility In Northern New Hampshire, Nicole M. D'Alessio

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The New School Enrollment By Subject, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Agenda for an economics department meeting. (2013, January 28). [Unpublished agenda].

• Economics department class schedule. (2013, Fall). [Unpublished schedule].

• The New School enrollment by subject spring 2013 (201230). (2013, January 28). (pp. 8–10) [Excerpt from unpublished report].

• Economics department seminar series schedule. (2013, Spring). [Unpublished schedule].

• Economics department meetings schedule. (2013, Spring). [Unpublished schedule].

• Agenda for an economics department NSSR meeting. (2013, September 4). [Unpublished agenda with handwritten notes by Anwar Shaikh, PhD].

Why Risk It? The Effect Of Risk And Time Preferences On Microfinance Loan Default, Nike Start

Master's Theses

Microfinance is widely recognized as a powerful method for poverty

alleviation. However, little is known about the characteristics of those who

default on their loans. Understanding the behavior of borrowers is an important

component of mitigating adverse selection and the moral hazard of lending. Both

of these concepts embody some of the greatest challenges faced by microfinance

institutions, and they provide the major motivation for this study. Accordingly,

the main objective of this research is to investigate whether non-delinquent

borrowers and delinquent borrowers of a microfinance institution reveal any

difference in their level of risk preference and time preference. This …

Uniqueness And Symmetry In Bargaining Theories Of Justice, John Thrasher

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

For contractarians, justice is the result of a rational bargain. The goal is to show that the rules of justice are consistent with rationality. The two most important bargaining theories of justice are David Gauthier’s and those that use the Nash’s bargaining solution. I argue that both of these approaches are fatally undermined by their reliance on a symmetry condition. Symmetry is a substantive constraint, not an implication of rationality. I argue that using symmetry to generate uniqueness undermines the goal of bargaining theories of justice.

An Empirical Assessment Of The Performance And Competitive Effects Of Los Angeles County Charter Schools, Sam Trachtman

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper evaluates the performance of charter elementary schools in Los Angeles County in three ways. First, I compare charter school performance to public school performance, controlling for a number of key characteristics. Second, I study the characteristics that appear to influence charter school success as compared to public school success. Third, I study the “competitive effect” of charter schools, examining how geographical proximity to charter schools affects the performance of traditional public schools. I find evidence that, ceteris paribus, traditional public schools score higher than charter schools, except in majority African American schools. Further, I find that the opening …

Preventing Money Laundering: Key To A Better World, Brenda Martinez

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Money laundering has developed over recent decades and has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. Virtually every country in the world is affected by money laundering. The methodology of money laundering exists in every fraud scheme. It involves the concealed transfer of assets by masking them in the ordinary normalcy of financial transactions. Money laundering is a criminal enterprise, with the emphasis on the business aspect. The attraction of perpetrators into the money laundering business is profit with little perceived risks. This paper discusses money laundering, how to define it, its origins, the cycle, its effects, prevention methods, and what the …

Household Task Delegation Among High-Fertility Forager-Horticulturalists Of Lowland Bolivia, Jonathan Stieglitz, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan, Paul L. Hooper

ESI Publications

Human kin cooperation is universal, leading researchers to label humans as “cooperative breeders.” Despite widespread interest in human cooperation, there has been no systematic study of how household economic decision making occurs. We document age and sex profiles of task delegation by parents to children ages 4–18 among Bolivian forager-horticulturalists. We test for sex differences in the probability of delegation and examine whether tasks are more likely delegated as household labor demand increases. We also test whether food acquisition tasks are more likely delegated to higher producers.We find mixed support for the prediction that girls are more likely delegated domestic …

Physical Activity And Modernization Among Bolivian Amerindians, Michael Gurven, Adrian V. Jaeggi, Hillard Kaplan, Daniel Cummings

ESI Publications

Background: Physical inactivity is a growing public health problem, and the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Conversely, indigenous populations living traditional lifestyles reportedly engage in vigorous daily activity that is protective against non-communicable diseases. Here we analyze physical activity patterns among the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Bolivia with minimal heart disease and diabetes. We assess age patterns of adult activity among men and women, test whether modernization affects activity levels, and examine whether nascent obesity is associated with reduced activity.

Methods and Findings: A factorial method based on a large sample of behavioral observations was employed …

The Relationship Between Inequality And Economic Growth: Evidence From Latin America, Amanda Gallagher

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the complex relationship between income inequality and economic growth in the Latin American region. This study conducts an empirical analysis using economic growth as the dependent variable, to determine the impact inequality has on economic growth. This study uses panel data from countries in Latin America over the time period of 1994-2009. The empirical results show a negative relationship between inequality and economic growth in the Latin American region. In addition, the level of government expenditure and taxation in the countries impact economic growth.

Carbon Emissions And Economic Growth: A Granger Causality Analysis Across 18 Countries, Rohan Vakil

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

In this paper, an analysis of the relationship between Economic Growth and Carbon Emissions will be done using data from 9 Developed Countries, and 9 Less Developed Countries, as determined by the World Bank and United Nations. The countries analyzed will be Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea (South), Spain, United Kingdom, United States of America (9 Developed Countries); and India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, Brazil, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa (9 Less Developed Countries). This research expands on the research done by Barassi and Spagnolo (2012), and Coondoo and Dinda (2003).

Determinants Of Fdi Inflows Into South America, Dario Castro

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This study provides a panel data analysis of the key determinants of FDI as determined by the market such as market size, economic stability, trade liberalization, population, growth prospects, and exchange rates. Additionally, other variables such as physical infrastructure, quality of institutions and central bank exchange rate regimes. This paper seeks to show the major policy implications of variables that can be influenced through government intervention. The empirical research is conducted with focus on South American FDI inflows over the last three decades, due to the great presence of natural resources and cheap labor in the region which have contributed …

State Government Revenue: The Effects Of Legalized Gambling, Nicholas S. Malz

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

When facing financial constrictions, legalized gambling is an attractive alternative for state governments. Most empirical evidence on this topic only examines a single industry in a particular state. This study involves a general analysis of three different forms of gambling across all 50 states. The data is comprised of the gambling volume and state government revenues for all 50 states from 2000 to 2010. From the research, lotteries and horse racing typically increase state revenues, while casinos tend to decrease state revenues.

The Causality Between Budget Deficits And Interest Rates In Asean Countries, Janhavi Nerurkar

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the correlation between budget deficits and interest rates across countries of varying income levels across Southeast Asia using the Granger-causality econometric model. It consists of a time series analysis of budget deficits (local currency unit) and real interest rates in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore from 1990 to 2011.This analysis concludes that budget deficits and interest rates do not cause one another in the countries under consideration.

The Effect Of Macroeconomic Variables On Domestic Homeownership Rates, Patrick Graydon

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates how various macroeconomic variables affect homeownership rates in the United States. Some of the variables explored in this study include interest rates, unemployment rate, average household income, inflation rate, GDP, population, and residential construction. The paper uses quarterly data from quarter one of 2000 to quarter three of 2012. The results show the economic indicators that are closely correlated with the rate of homeownership.

An Empirical Study Of Salary Discrimination In Professional Basketball, Joshua Reynolds

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper investigates the racial differences in salaries amongst professional basketball players during the 2011-2012 season. Prior studies from the 1980s and 1990s show that white and black players have earned a comparable mean salary, based on performance variables and other player characteristics. However these studies have shown, that taking race in as a factor when running regressions of the data, preference exists towards white player salaries. This paper looks to see if the recent shift in demographic makeup of the NBA prevalent during the late 1990s and 2000s has led to a more equitable distribution of salaries based on …

Education And Wellbeing Of A Country, Michael Arons

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines education, employment sectors and GDP per capita. The study examines which aspects of education math, reading, or science is more important to an economy, and how they affect different employment sectors. The model will attempt to show if educational subject scores have an impact in different sectors of the economy. The main function of this model is to decipher how education affects the wellbeing of a country. The results will attempt to discern whether education impacts employment in various sectors, and conversely GDP per capita.

The Relationship Between The Stock Market And Economic Indicators: Evidence From Singapore And Hong Kong, Kahini Dalal

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

This paper examines the relationship between the stock markets and economic variables of the selected countries: Singapore and Hong Kong. The quarterly data collected for Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Exchange Rates, Inflation and Current Account Balance, as well as Stock Prices ranges from January 2002 to December 2012. The analysis is focused on the results of the Cointegration and Granger Causality tests to estimate the relationship of the various economic indicators and the stock market indices. This estimation enables to assess whether the stock market index of the respective country is a good representation of the economic health of the …