Public Economics Commons^™

Between A Rock And A Hard Place: A Closer Look At Cliff Effects In Massachusetts, Randy Albelda, Michael Carr

Center for Social Policy Publications

This report shows that universal free education and child care would substantially increase family net resources and alleviate cliff effects.

Measurement Of The Ocean Economy From National Income Accounts To The Sustainable Blue Economy, Charles S. Colgan

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

The widespread efforts to incorporate the economic values of oceans into national income accounts have reached a stage where coordination of national efforts is desirable. A symposium held in 2015 began this process by bringing together representatives from ten countries. The symposium concluded that a definition of core ocean industries was possible but beyond that core the definition of ocean industries is in flux. Better coordination of ocean income accounts will require addressing issues of aggregation, geography, partial ocean industries, confidential, and imputation is also needed. Beyond the standard national income accounts, a need to incorporate environmental resource and ecosystem …

Lowering Regional Inflation? Improve Budget Absorption, Vid Adrison

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The subnational government spending in Indonesia exhibit a highly skewed distribution, i.e., it is very low in the first two-quarters and then increases significantly in the last two-quarters. Such explosive pattern poses two disadvantages. First, the regional output will fall below its optimal level as the low government capital expenditure leads to a fewer provision of public goods. Second, a significant increase in government spending in the later quarter pushes the short run aggregate demand to the northeast and creates an inflationary pressure in the following quarters. In this study, we analyze the effect of quarterly regional government expenditure growth …

Portfolio Flows Into Indonesia: Push Or Pull?, Chaikal Nuryakin

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This paper focuses on the dynamic of the portfolio flows into Indonesia. The result of Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model reveals that push factors is more dominant than pull factors in explaining portfolio flows into Indonesia. Portfolio flows into Indonesia are positively correlated with regionals stock market performance and negatively correlated to the federal funds rate. On the pull factors, domestic risk (the Credit Default Swap spread) is more dominant than domestic return (the BI rate) in explaining the flows. Thus, it is important for authorities to have more focus on domestic risk relative to rate of return in managing …

The Influence Of The Electric Supply Industry On Economic Growth In Less Developed Countries, Edward Richard Bee

Dissertations

This study measures the impact that electrical outages have on manufacturing production in 135 less developed countries using stochastic frontier analysis and data from World Bank’s Investment Climate surveys. Outages of electricity, for firms with and without backup power sources, are the most frequently cited constraint on manufacturing growth in these surveys.

Outages are shown to reduce output below the production frontier by almost five percent in Africa and by a lower percentage in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Production response to outages is quadratic in form. Outages also increase labor cost, reduce exports …

Indebtedness And Subjective Financial Wellbeing Of Households In Indonesia, Dwini Handayani

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

Indebtedness is an element to foresee household financial wellbeing. This vulnerability could be determined objectively and subjectively. Objective financial vulnerability is the objective ability to make ends meet that is analyzed using household income and characteristics. Measurement in subjective welbeing is determined by household perceptions in their ability to make ends meet. Household behavior with different perceptions will behave differently. Indebtedness is analyzed using the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 5 with the Ordinary Least Square method. The inferential shows that both objective and subjective financial wellbeing influence household indebtedness. Kedalaman hutang merupakan elemen untuk mengetahui kesejahteraan finansial rumah tangga. …

Aspirational Planning: A Statistical Model Of Hawthorne Bridge And Tilikum Crossing Bicycle Ride Counts, Robert Mccullough, Ramon Cabauatan, Jacob Gellman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Portland city planners have routinely planned for an increase in bicycle commutership and a decrease in automobile commutership. This paper discusses the latest data on Portland car and bicycle use. Portland and Multnomah County are observing an increase in single occupancy vehicle commuters, car ownership, and gasoline consumption. Bicycle use in Portland is found to have followed a logistic curve pattern since the early 1990s. The authors present an ordinary least squares model to explain bicycle ridership on the Hawthorne Bridge and the recently constructed Tilikum Crossing. When controlling for other factors such as weather and daylight, the Tilikum Crossing …

Essays On The Economics Of Health And Risky Behavior, Markus Gehrsitz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As Forrest Gump has ever eloquently pointed out: stupid is as stupid does. It turns out that most people engage in behavior that could reasonably be considered stupid, or at least risky. People overeat, chain-smoke cigarettes, drink excessively, consume harmful drugs, and drive too fast; if worst comes to worst they do some of these things simultaneously. This work evaluates three policy measures that are designed to promote health and less risky behavior: I evaluate the effects of penalties for speeding transgressions on future driving behavior, the effects of low emission zones on infant health and air pollution, and the …

The Cost Of Earmarks, Nicholis John Zappia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Finding revenue is a challenge that faces many municipalities in the United States. As the tax base continues to decline and demand for government services increases, local governments are forced to make hard choices. Low on the list of priorities for local governments is the maintenance, and construction of infrastructure. Traditionally there have been several ways for local governments to fund long-term infrastructure projects including, federal-aid through the process of earmarking. The practice of earmarking has been around since the first congress, but hit its peak between 2003 and 2007. The earmarking process is controversial for several reasons; earmarking bypasses …

Testing Ostrom: An Analysis Of Water User Committees In Uganda, Emily Mcpartlon

Master's Theses

In 2009 Elinor Ostrom received the Nobel Prize for her analysis of economic governance of the commons. Specifically, by challenging the conventional wisdom at the time, demonstrating how communities can successfully manage the common resources without any regulation by central authorities or privatization. Ostrom proposed eight design principles that identify the underlying criterion of institutions that have successfully maintained CPRs over time. I examine whether Ostrom’s Eight Design Principles affect the long-run functionality of borehole wells in Uganda using quantitative methods. I find that the one of the principles, clearly defined boundaries, is significant in all four estimations, and remains …

Does Infant Formula Availability Reduce Breastfeeding?, Ingvild Madsen Lampe

Master's Theses

Abstract: Several key studies highlight the importance of breastfeeding and there is a broad consensus that it plays a crucial role for a child's health and cognitive development. This is especially true for the poor in developing countries, where vulnerable infants' access to proper nutrition is vital. We investigate the effect of introducing infant formula into a market on changes in breastfeeding patterns. Using the Demographic Health Surveys and annual reports from the baby food industry between 1981 and 2002 in 11 tropical countries, we find evidence that import of infant formula significantly reduces breastfeeding duration. The effects are stronger …

Plastic Pollution And The Global Throwaway Culture: Environmental Injustices Of Single-Use Plastic, Kristin L. Mcdermott

ENV 434 Environmental Justice

The global throwaway culture has created a cross-ecosystem plastic pollution injustice. The first to suffer this injustice will be the most vulnerable. Our oceans have become our dumpsters. The throwaway culture has created a disrespect of material goods that has turned the earth’s resources into rubbish after a single use. Eighty percent of the yearly 8 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean is single use plastic, such as plastic bottles, plastic shopping bags, or cigarette lighters.[1] Plastic has destroyed ecosystems, robbing impoverished communities of natural resources and of a healthy and safe living environment. First to suffer …

Estimating Potential Visitorship And Expenditures From The Proposed Whitewater Park Near Siloam Springs, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

Publications and Presentations

The proposed whitewater and mountain biking park at the old Lake Frances dam site will prove to be an important recreational amenity for the City of Siloam Springs and the Northwest Arkansas region. While it is not possible to effectively calculate the true value of the park as a regional amenity, this study provides estimates of the potential numbers of visitors to the park and their associated spending in Siloam Springs. These numbers will allow leaders at the City of Siloam Springs and the Walton Family Foundation to make informed decisions about the operations of such a park.

Corporate Responsibility In Peace Building, Conflict Prevention And Development: The Role Of The Mining Sector In Ghana, Abdul Karim Issifu

Journal of Interdisciplinary Conflict Science

This article seeks to explore the role of the mining sector in peace building, conflict prevention and community development in Ghana. After thoroughly reviewing secondary data, including articles, books, journals, newspapers, etc., via critical document review and qualitative research approaches the research found that, there is no legal document on CSR in Ghana, yet mining companies in a free will, have executed CSR programs laying down for peace, security and development in the country. More so, this article provides a theoretical support for the Integrative theory of CSR on the basis that, the socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental needs of …

Exchange Patterns And Relations In Collaborative Governance., Charles Wharton Kaye-Essien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative governance has received considerable attention in recent years. From environmental resource management to public safety, collaborative governance continues to play a vital role in regional problem solving. In spite of this increasing popularity previous attempts to model the political, economic, and demographic determinants of collaboration have in most cases produced inconsistent results, thereby undermining the ability to generalize from such findings. Additionally, our understanding of the relational patterns that emanate from collaborative agreements remains fairly rudimentary. The main objective of this research is to address some of the gaps in the literature and improve our understanding of collaborative governance …

What Citizens Want To Know About Their Government’S Finances: Closing The Information Gap, Meagan Jordan, Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf, Martin Mayer, Kaitrin Mahar

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

There is an information gap between citizens and their governments when it comes to government finances. The inherent complexity of fiscal policy makes it exceedingly difficult for effective public participation. Effective public participation in fiscal decision making must address informing or educating the citizenry with accurate and meaningful government financial data. Better understanding citizen wants and perceptions is critical to closing the information gap between users and providers of financial information. This study uses information gathered from focus groups with residents of Norfolk, Virginia that asks what government financial information they want and how to make that information useful. Results …

Financial Integration In Asean-5, Laura Grace Gabriella, Revathy Suryanarayana, Vania Esady

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The financial integration in South East Asia has varied over time. This paper focuses on three periods: before, during, and after the global financial crisis in 2008. This paper finds that ASEAN-5 countries have indeed taken a step towards financial integration. While we do not observe any (cointegrating) long-run relationships between the ASEAN-5 countries, we find that there has been a significant increase in the volatility spillovers between them. This is particularly true in the recovery period following the global financial crisis.

Determination Of Competition Conventional Bank In Banking Industry In Indonesia, Ciplis Gema Qori'ah

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

The aim of this study is to determine the level of concentration and competition behavior of conventional commercial banks in the national banking industry. This study focuses on descriptive analysis and quantitative analysis using panel data regression for 9 conventional commercial banks during 2003-2014. Results of eclectic analysis are supposed that behavior of banks is less competitive due to high levels of concentration in the banking industry. While the results of panel data regression show that the variables of bank interest expense, operating expense, other operating incomes and variable of loanable funds significantly affect the income of conventional banks.

What Are The Challenges In Designing An Effective Personal Income Tax System?, Raeni Raeni

Economics and Finance in Indonesia

This article aims to examine the challenges of designing individual's income tax systems in general and particularly to observe taxpayers behaviour in developing countries. This study used case study approach to gain in depth understanding type of taxpayers attitude towards personal income tax systems. Based on the analyses, tax behaviour, which comprises the perception of fairness and motivation to comply, attracts urgent challenges in designing effective tax on personal income in every country and mainly underdeveloped countries. Every human being in each country has their social pattern towards tax policy. When the individual perception of fairness is significant, it will …

Geopolitics Of The 2016 Australian Defense White Paper And Its Predecessors, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Australia released the newest edition of its Defense White Paper, describing Canberra’s current and emerging national security priorities, on February 25, 2016. This continues a tradition of issuing defense white papers since 1976. This work will examine and analyze the contents of this document as well as previous Australian defense white papers, scholarly literature, and political statements assessing their geopolitical significance. It will also examine public input into Australian defense white papers and the emerging role of social media in this public involvement. It concludes by evaluating whether Australia has the political will and economic resources necessary to fulfill its …