Public Economics Commons^™

Immigrants, Medicaid, And The Deficit Reduction Act, Nicholas T. Fritsch

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study examines the effects of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) on immigrant Medicaid participation using data from the 2005 and 2007 March supplements of the Current Population Survey. The DRA made changes to Medicaid coverage laws by requiring proof of citizenship for eligibility rather than a sworn statement, as was the case prior to the DRA, thus reducing the non-citizen/non-legal permanent resident use of Medicaid. A difference-in-difference methodology is used, and the research finds that the laws were effective in decreasing non-citizen use of Medicaid relative to citizens, though there is a possibility of “chilling effects” on eligible non-citizens.

The Cupboard Is Full: Public Finances For Public Services In The Global South, Sarah T. Romano, Ronnie Lipschutz

All Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

What Factors Influence Consumers’ Decisions To Purchase Energy Star Appliances?, Rosamond Mate

Economics Honors Projects

This paper examines how differences in operating costs and market availability affect ownership of Energy Star dishwashers and clothes washers. I use logistic regressions and data from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey and the EPA’s Energy Star program to quantify these effects. Results indicate that controlling for temporal changes is very important; after doing so I find that differences in availability of efficient appliances do not affect ownership patterns. Overall, the frequency of appliance use does not increase the household’s responsiveness to electricity prices, which suggests that consumers do not fully value efficiency when choosing among appliances.

Is Elitism A Myth? A Study Of Nyc Specialized High Schools, Bonnie Kong

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In New York City, specialized high schools exist in the public school system to educate the city’s most gifted students. These schools are recognized nationally and have a strong focus on math, science, and technology. Benefits of attending these schools include a competitive peer group, challenging courses, and strong alumni networks. Admission to these schools is determined by individuals’ score on the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT).

This paper measures the impact of attending these specialized high schools on graduation and results on New York State Regents examinations. A regression discontinuity design was used to study seven of the …

The Effects Of Foreign Direct Investment On Sovereign Debt Sustainability In Latin America, Oriana I. Fuentes

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Sovereign debt has been a central political issue in Latin American nations for many years, especially considering the region’s long history of defaults and restructurings. Finding ways to grow sustainably at manageable levels of indebtedness has certainly been a challenge, especially with the large number of factors that play into how a nation finances itself and its growth. One of these factors, foreign direct investment (FDI), has attracted significant attention after countries became more politically stable and protective of investor interests in the early 1990s. As a result, inflows of FDI have grown at record levels reaching over $112 billion …

The Recession Of 2008: For Better Or For Worse, Kelsy Litchenburg

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

With nonstop discussion about the current recession in the government, news, classroom, social media, and any other type of communication outlet, there is seldom a minute that Americans are not impacted by our current economic condition. Constantly, we are faced with pitfalls of the recession, like job loss and a declining house market, but who is to say that the motion of our economy doesn't follow Newton's third law stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction? Meaning that for each negative this recession brings, might there also be a positive social effect as well? After …

Isolated Capital Cities, Accountability And Corruption: Evidence From Us States, Filipe R. Campante, Quoc-Anh Do

Research Collection School Of Economics

We show that isolated capital cities are robustly associated with greater levels of corruption across US states. In particular, this is the case when we use the variation induced by the exogenous location of a state’s centroid to instrument for the concentration of population around the capital city. We then show that different mechanisms for holding state politicians accountable are also affected by the spatial distribution of population: newspapers provide greater coverage of state politics when their audiences are more concentrated around the capital, and voter turnout in state elections is greater in places that are closer to the capital. …

Government Influence And The Failure Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, Aravind Mohan

Honors Theses

In 2008 two government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were placed into conservatorship due to insolvency. The financial bailout of the two publically traded corporations came at the expense of the American tax payer. This study investigates the relationship between direct and indirect government influence and the increasing risk taking of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the late 1990’s through their conservatorship in 2008. As government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have many special advantages that other publically traded companies did not possess. These advantages allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their profitability. Theoretical literature …

The Effects Of Political Institutions On Public Budgeting, Andrew Burnos

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Economics around the globe has been a growing issue of late due to the current economic crisis. This study focuses on political institutional factors that influence spending in a particular country. The variables used in this study include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Tax Revenue as Percent of GDP, and current account balance to name a few. This research looks at the relationship between proportional representation compared to majoritarian systems as well as presidential compared to parliamentary systems and how these relate to public budgeting. This research updates the analysis of Persson and Tabellini in their book The Economic Effects of …

Washington Park Main Street Plan, Benjamin Bergenholtz, Derek Dandurand, Valerie Fram, Tracy Jonsson, Kimberly Lindner, Carolyn Reid, D.J. Sevigny, Alexandra Skerry, Timothy Guimond, Brooke Kourafas, Elise Murphy, Matt Berry, Erik Butler, Kayla Nerone, Arnold Robinson, Jeremy Wells, Julie Coon, Joel Cooper

Historic Preservation

There is an immense variety of privately owned businesses. They will be stakeholders because their businesses are located there, but they will also be assets in themselves in drawing people to the area. There is basically everything anyone could possible want or need in this area. There are two gas stations, a Family Dollar, a liquor store, a few sit down restaurants, numerous places where one can get a quick bite to eat, a frame shop, a clothing store, a pawn shop, a store with fresh produce (which is hard to find in urban areas), a store that sells sports …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 6, Spring 2012

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

State Of The Northwest Arkansas Region 2012 Report, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report

The State of the Northwest Arkansas Region Report is an annual publication that serves as a tool for evaluating the economic performance of the region in comparison with those peers that are most likely to compete with Northwest Arkansas by virtue of a similar industry mix or geographic proximity. As a player in the global economy, Northwest Arkansas has more to off er than superior performance in traditional economic development categories such as employment, unemployment, establishment growth, and income. This region showcases strengths in newer categories of economic development like the knowledge-based sectors and quality of life indicators such as …

Technology Generators In The Dayton Region: Leveraging Regional Assets For Economic Recovery, Kim Frazier, Jane Dockery

Economic Development

The Dayton Region shows tremendous promise in becoming an area known for its technology and innovation with a strong concentration of research and development and a capacity for innovative manufacturing. Yet to become an innovative leader, the Dayton Region must transform its culture and realign investments that will promote its technology capability and strengthen the economy. The old ways of doing business and training the workforce are no longer sufficient to become a player in the global economy. This report compares the Dayton Region to other regions across the country, points out gaps in various innovation and economic indicators, and …

A Decision-Support Framework For Using Value Capture To Fund Public Transit: Lessons From Project-Specific Analyses, Shishir Mathur, Adam Smith

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

Tax Facts, Tom Dunne

Articles

Tom Dunne Clarifies the issues surrounding different forms of property tax

Open Textbooks And Provincial Government Policy: A Look At The Issues, Lisa Di Valentino

FIMS Publications

In 2012, the British Columbia government announced a plan to fund a program that will result in the creation of open access textbooks for 40 lower-year university courses — the first such program in any of the provinces. This paper will argue that Ontario should follow British Columbia’s lead and invest in the development of a project to create and promote the use of open textbooks. The introduction will discuss the concept of open textbooks and the various initiatives and legislation that have been introduced in the United States, and British Columbia’s plan will be described in more detail. The …

Impact Of Work Values And Individual Attributes On Citizenship And Task Performance: A Test In A Developing Country Context, Anil Chadrakumara

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This study examined the impact of work values and individual characteristics on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance (TP). Based on the arguments of Social Capital Theory, a theoretical foundation was developed to use work values as antecedents of OCB. Analyzing 416 responses from Sri Lankan manufacturing sector employees, it was found that gender and employment category were related to citizenship performance, while level of education was related to task performance. More importantly, the impact of work values (work norms, work ethics, and intrinsic values) on OCB was found to be more significant than that of demographic factors. Overall, …

Technology And The Export Behavior Of Small, Locally- Owned Firms: New Insight, Densil A. Williams

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This paper investigates the relationship between technology and the export performance of small, locally-owned firms in the Jamaican economy. The literature argues that technology is an important variable in influencing the export performance of small firms given its technological ability to generate competitive advantage for the firm. However, the results from empirical studies are not always consistent. To investigate this issue, the paper uses survey data collected through face-to-face interviews of 92 exporters and non-exporters to estimate a logistic regression model of the firm’s export behavior. The results revealed that firm size, is the most critical factor that determines export …

Measuring Water Poverty Index In Urban Areas Of Punjab, Kanwal Zahra, Syed Hussain Haider, Afzal Mahmood, Sami Ullah

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The urban population of Punjab is growing rapidly. It is projected that there will be a 25 to 30 percent increase in urban population by 2020. This rapid population increase is causing major problems in the efficient provision of urban services in these cities. To evaluate the effect of this population increase, this paper tries to produce an integrated assessment of water stress and scarcity, linking physical estimates of water availability with socioeconomic variables that reflect poverty, i.e., a Water Poverty Index. It is understood that poor households face the problem of the accessibility of potable water, and this results …

Supply Response, Exchange Rate And Domestic Price In Nigeria, Emmanuel C. Ani, Samson Adeniyi Aladejare

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of exchange rate and domestic price on export trade in Nigeria. Firstly, based on the literature review and findings of the study in the area, the paper aligned itself within the premise of the traditionalist view which concludes that non-oil export trade in Nigeria is predicated by currency depreciation via lower export prices. Secondly, the introduction of domestic prices, alongside naira rate of exchange as major determinants of non–oil exports in Nigeria, has the implication of showing that currency devaluation could be used to improve the balance of payment …