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- All Subjects: Economics
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
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Description
When an individual is conceived there is a metaphorical roll of the dice. A game of chance is played with their genetics to which they cannot consent. Unlucky players could have inherited mild conditions such as chronic allergies to terrible diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis or Tay-Sachs. Controlling the genetics of an individual through the use of gene editing technology could be the key to ending this cycle of genetic diseases. Once detrimental diseases are now being cured through direct applications of genetic engineering. Even as we see the uses of genetic engineering technologies change the world, the more “sci-fi” applications have yet to be fully realized or explored. Editing hereditary genes before birth may have the ability to eliminate diseases from entire genetic lines, reduce the possibility for certain cancers and diseases, and perhaps even modify phenotypes in humans to create enhanced humans. Although this scientific field shows promise, it does have its reservations. Like any other scientific field, its ability to benefit humanity depends on its use.
ContributorsSchuler, Jacob (Co-author) / Silva, Anthony (Co-author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Ross, Christian (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened".
- John F Kennedy
For over a century now, the United States has publicly professed a commitment to upholding human rights around the world, yet to this day economically supports numerous dictatorships and undemocratic regimes that flout human rights on a daily basis. The rhetoric of American politicians would imply that human rights and democracy are a priority in America's foreign policy, yet given US support for autocracies, both of these principles seem forgotten. If not respect for democracy and human rights, what is truly influencing America's relationship with these countries? I hypothesize that a country's resource availability will be the best predictive factor for its economic relationship with the US, followed by its military involvement with the US, and finally, human rights records will be the least predictive factor. The study found that a country's military cooperation with the US is the best predictive factor regarding our economic relationship, resource availability comes with a weak correlation, and human rights abuses very rarely substantively impact our economic relationships.
- John F Kennedy
For over a century now, the United States has publicly professed a commitment to upholding human rights around the world, yet to this day economically supports numerous dictatorships and undemocratic regimes that flout human rights on a daily basis. The rhetoric of American politicians would imply that human rights and democracy are a priority in America's foreign policy, yet given US support for autocracies, both of these principles seem forgotten. If not respect for democracy and human rights, what is truly influencing America's relationship with these countries? I hypothesize that a country's resource availability will be the best predictive factor for its economic relationship with the US, followed by its military involvement with the US, and finally, human rights records will be the least predictive factor. The study found that a country's military cooperation with the US is the best predictive factor regarding our economic relationship, resource availability comes with a weak correlation, and human rights abuses very rarely substantively impact our economic relationships.
ContributorsPlummer, Gage (Author) / Hanson, Margaret (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The esports scene has been constantly evolving ever since its inception in the early 1970s, growing from small arcade based tournaments to the multibillion dollar industry that can be observed today (Bountie Gaming, 2018). In fact, the term esports was not widely used until the early 2000s, decades after the first gaming tournaments had taken place. Decades prior, the earliest large-scale gaming tournament was hosted by Atari in 1980 for the game Space Invaders . While still primitive by today’s standards, games such as Space Invaders inspired fierce competition and effectively laid the foundation for what would grow into the booming industry that we see today (Edwards, 2013).
ContributorsCollins, Neil Andrew (Author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / Foster, William (Thesis director) / Pierce, John (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Economists, policy-makers, and various intellectuals have consistently debated the strongest way to support citizens. Lately, however, the simplest idea has managed to gain an unbelievable amount of traction. Maybe, rather than a complex policy solution targeted towards to certain demographics and with various work requirements we should simply give people money. The beauty of the idea is in its simplicity – and it is a key reason for its growing popularity. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a policy proposal that has been steadily gaining momentum throughout the United States and across the world. Recently, it has been viewed as a stimulus to the economy in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as well as a solution to labor-displacing technological advancements. Additionally, many economists, politicians, and various thought-leaders have portrayed basic income as a one-stop solution to many challenges facing the world. The idea behind UBI comes down to this idea – basic income will not solve all your problems – it makes your problems easier to solve. Many UBI advocates use that phrase to argue in favor for a basic income, but it is important to ensure that it doesn’t add to most people’s problems by discouraging work and encouraging seemingly unhealthy habits.
ContributorsRamesh, Neel (Author) / Hill, Alexander (Thesis director, Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This project was organized to analyze a multitude of data in order to determine the economic impact of a professional sports team starting in a particular location, or “market”. The thesis group (“group”) collected historical data on professional sports teams from 1975 to present, state economic data as applicable, and data indicating sports fan preferences and behavior. This data was collected, cleaned, and analyzed in order to understand trends and impacts of sports teams in local economies. The group looked at a number of statistical factors including team performance, championships, state GDP and employment, and digital trends regarding the sports teams. Using economic models and statistics, the group was able to derive insights on the factors that cause sports teams to influence the economy they are located in. Additionally, the group analyzed reporting on teams in particular markets, as well as the financing surrounding stadiums to provide a diverse perspective on the topic. At a high level, starting a professional sports team in a new market does not have a significant impact on the economy: the data did not demonstrate statistical significance and qualitative analysis proved that the impact of a new team is negligible. The following serves as documentation and explanation of the group’s analysis on this topic.
ContributorsFriedman, Jared Davidson (Co-author) / Conner, Joshua (Co-author) / McClain, Jacob (Co-author) / Foster, William (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper, titled “Factors of Economic Development and Implications for the Future” focuses on identifying historical factors that have impacted economic development and analyzing what changes may be important for the future. It uses studies done across the world in energy economics, economic development, economic policy, and more to identify important considerations for evaluating historical growth, as well as concerns for the future, particularly given the threat of climate change. Historically important papers, as well as newer insights both feature heavily. This literary review resulted in the finding that education, energy, trade, policy, institutions, endowments, and culture are all important factors for economic development. Endowments and institutions that arise from them are found to be the most important factor in explaining historical development. The paper also analyzes policy that the existing literature suggests could be beneficial for growth. Next, an analysis of factors that the literature identified as important for growth is carried out to assess which countries may have the highest potentials for future growth. The countries are ranked based upon a composite scoring system created from those factors. Countries in Central Asia feature heavily in the top ten entries, while many African countries narrowly miss out on the top ten but still rank relatively high. Together, the findings of both sections are used to discuss how economies have historically developed as well as possible policies to encourage future sustainable development. Both the literature and statistical findings suggest that for future growth promotion of strong institutions that promote property rights and economic growth will be important. They also suggest that coordinated energy policy to increase green technologies and decouple growth from emissions will be essential.
ContributorsJohnson, Evan Reeve (Author) / Hill, John (Thesis director) / Fried, Stephie (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The main purpose of this investigation is to determine the intensity, economic costs, and potential solutions to HIV/AIDS stigma in the United States and Tanzania. In order to accomplish this goal, a literature review was conducted, and an economic model was created to determine how HIV/AIDS treatment deterrence manifests and affects these countries. The results of the economic model suggested that Tanzania suffers greater economic loss due to HIV treatment deterrence than the United States, however, both countries lose a significant portion of GDP due to HIV treatment deterrence. Stigma materializes differently in each country based on a variety of sociocultural factors. These include the demographic groups most affected, the perception of those living with HIV, and how sexually transmitted infections are perceived within communities. The solutions to HIV stigma must be tailored to the country, culture, and context that it arises for interventions to be effective. To further prevent HIV/AIDS stigma and its economic consequences, the etiology of stigma and how it presents in different communities must be understood.
ContributorsSangha, Pooja (Co-author) / Hopewell, Sophia (Co-author) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The purpose of this analysis is to determine the economic impact that the distribution of the SolarSPELL digital library system to Peace Corps volunteers in Vanuatu will have on the citizens of Vanuatu by quantifying the potential for SolarSPELL and its health education content to reduce rates of certain illnesses and thereby reduce the demands on the Vanuatu healthcare system. The research was carried out by researching the most prominent non-communicable diseases in Vanuatu that could be affected by lifestyle changes as a result of exposure to the health education content on the SolarSPELL and determining the expected changes in rates of each non-communicable disease as well as the expected changes in the individual and hospital costs, the loss of income due to missed work, transport costs within Vanuatu, and international medical evacuation costs. Ultimately, these costs were collectively reduced by approximately 2.046% due to SolarSPELL intervention, a reduction of approximately $7,000. However, given the limited scope of available information within the healthcare system of Vanuatu, it can be inferred that the impact of the distribution of the SolarSPELL is likely significantly larger. Consequently, it is recommended that the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, the SolarSPELL team, and the Peace Corps implement policies to increase the volume of healthcare data collected in Vanuatu in order to assist in future analyses of the healthcare system.
ContributorsErspamer, Brett Thomas (Author) / Ross, Heather (Thesis director) / Silverman, Daniel (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Minimum wage legislation has always been a controversial topic within the fields of politics and economics. There are those who support it under the belief that those affected will be better off, seeing increased wages, greater efficiency, and overall economic prosperity, whereas its opponents argue against it under the belief that it could lead to negative effects such as decreased employment, higher prices, and loss of productivity. This is something that has recently come up in Arizona after the enactment of Proposition 206 (Prop.206), a law which is set to raise the state minimum wage from $8.05 in 2016 to $12.00 by 2020. In this paper, rather than taking a political stance, however, we seek to find answers about the real effects that this minimum wage law has had on wage earners through the manner in which it has affected the state’s wage distribution, meaning the percentage of earners making a certain hourly rate, or between a certain wage range (i.e. $10.00 to $10.50). We begin this search by looking at May Wage Estimates offered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). From that data, we created wage distributions for the state of Arizona for the years 2011-2018. These showed us what percentage of workers in the state are making a certain hourly rate based on the total number of employees in Arizona. By summarizing this through tables and histograms, we can also visually see the way in which AZ wage distributions have changed over time. However, we also sought to visually compare the AZ wage distributions with that of nearby states, so we also used wage distribution data from Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. Finally, we also wanted to quantify the fixed effects of enacting the legislation in the state of AZ. To do so we ran a difference-in-differences analysis that gave us an actual value measuring how recent minimum wage increases have affected the percentage of total wage earning less than $11.40 per hour. We discovered that our results, although not extremely significant (due to available data), do strongly indicate that the recent minimum wage legislation in AZ has increased the percentage of workers earning more than that amount per hour. Following that, we also give recommendations that could improve the results found in this report.
ContributorsPerez Noyola, Manuel A. (Author) / Silverman, Daniel (Thesis director) / Cordova, Luis (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This paper intends to examine topics related to Chinese financial policy and
institutions mainly in the early 21st century. China has gone through enormous changes in the late 20th century and early 21st century, and financial policy reforms and adjustments have been at times instrumental to aiding that growth, and at other times have served as impediments to the country’s success. As China’s clout has grown both economically and politically in the wider world, it has become evermore important to understand the Chinese financial system, particularly as other authoritarian regimes may seek to emulate it in the perhaps recent future. The paper will examine the institutional elements of Chinese finance, including the broader structure of the party state apparatus and the role of legislative and executive authorities in determining financial policy. Next, the paper will go through both the legal-regulatory environment of the country and the structure of the preeminent Chinese banks. Finally, issues in Chinese monetary policy, particularly exchange rate system reforms, and the developing stock and bond markets will be addressed.
institutions mainly in the early 21st century. China has gone through enormous changes in the late 20th century and early 21st century, and financial policy reforms and adjustments have been at times instrumental to aiding that growth, and at other times have served as impediments to the country’s success. As China’s clout has grown both economically and politically in the wider world, it has become evermore important to understand the Chinese financial system, particularly as other authoritarian regimes may seek to emulate it in the perhaps recent future. The paper will examine the institutional elements of Chinese finance, including the broader structure of the party state apparatus and the role of legislative and executive authorities in determining financial policy. Next, the paper will go through both the legal-regulatory environment of the country and the structure of the preeminent Chinese banks. Finally, issues in Chinese monetary policy, particularly exchange rate system reforms, and the developing stock and bond markets will be addressed.
ContributorsFeatherston, Ryan (Author) / Hill, John (Thesis director) / Mendez, Jose (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05