Matching Items (11)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Economics
- Creators: Hill, John
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
Description
The European Union has increasingly integrated since World War II to the point where most European countries now share a currency and have freedom of movement for travelers and workers. This has created asymmetries in the European economy because of reports and studies that have found a low labor mobility, which is a requirement of a common currency area. This paper uses an econometric model and the theory of optimum currency areas to look at whether what language grouping a migrant is from affects his or her migration decision. The paper also looks at what an inflexible labor market may mean for European Central Bank policymakers and the macroeconomic outlook of the eurozone.
ContributorsHagler, Andrew Jon (Author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study examines the economic impact of the opioid crisis in the United States. Primarily testing the years 2007-2018, I gathered data from the Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control, and Kaiser Family Foundation in order to examine the relative impact of a one dollar increase in GDP per Capita on the death rates caused by opioids. By implementing a fixed-effects panel data design, I regressed deaths on GDP per Capita while holding the following constant: population, U.S. retail opioid prescriptions per 100 people, annual average unemployment rate, percent of the population that is Caucasian, and percent of the population that is male. I found that GDP per Capita and opioid related deaths are negatively correlated, meaning that with every additional person dying from opioids, GDP per capita decreases. The finding of this research is important because opioid overdose is harmful to society, as U.S. life expectancy is consistently dropping as opioid death rates rise. Increasing awareness on this topic can help prevent misuse and the overall reduction in opioid related deaths.
ContributorsRavi, Ritika Lisa (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Existing research into the health benefits of insurance fall into two major categories \u2014 observational and experimental. Observational studies have centered on data sets from before 2000 and focus on the mortality differences between the privately insured and the uninsured. Experimental studies began with Massachusetts' 2006 health reform and continued after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. These studies measure the effects of public insurance among the coverage expansion populations. These two bodies of literature come to ambiguous and contradictory conclusions to the mortality effects and health value of insurance. This study extends the observational methodologies to the publicly insured in samples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in both the 1988-1994 survey and the 2001-2002 survey. Using the Cox Proportional Hazard model, this study estimates the hazard ratios faced by the privately and publicly insured compared to the uninsured. This study finds the publicly insured face hazards 1.5 times those of the uninsured (p<.001), while the privately insured do not face hazards significantly different from those of the uninsured. Literature suggests that some unobserved characteristic of the publicly insured are influencing their mortality. Interacting with participants health reveals that these differences across groups shrink as health declines. Experimental literature suggests that public insurance lowers the uninsured risk from "healthcare amenable" conditions. Treatment of these conditions may explain the hazard reductions among the uninsured in non-excellent health. The high risk of the publicly insured in excellent health defies explanation.
ContributorsMorita, Aidan James Donnelly (Author) / Veramendi, Gregory (Thesis director) / Zafar, Basit (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In this paper I seek to understand how consumers value music today by investigating what consumers are willing to pay for digitally downloaded songs (such as the ones available on the iTunes or Amazon music stores) and the variety of factors that influence their willingness to pay. I conducted a survey and received over 500 responses regarding willingness to pay for single-song downloads, consumer sentiment on whether music should be free, streaming service use, and other information pertaining to music consumption behavior. Through this research I found that paid-streamers are willing to pay more for songs than those who do not pay to stream, all else being equal. Further, Free-streamers are not willing to pay significantly more or less than non-streamers. This finding is additional information to other research that suggests streaming acts as a substitute for sales. I also found that most consumers are in the middle when it comes to the debate for whether music should always be free or always be purchased. Where someone aligns on the spectrum is a statistically significant contributing factor to what that person is willing to pay for a song. My findings also suggest that consumer preferences distinguish between benefit derived from music ownership and benefit derived from the ability to listen to music. This information sheds more light on the reason behind the declining digital download market.
ContributorsRodriguez, Stefan Daniel (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Veramendi, Gregory (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This paper entitled "An Analysis of Wage Stagnation and Inequality over the Past Half Century" is a literature review that examines and analyzes three main studies by Robert Lawrence, David Card and John DiNardo, and the Economic Policy Institute, and uses other works by a variety of economists to supplement that analysis. The paper aims to understand and precisely define the issue of wage stagnation and inequality and distinguish between the two. To do this, the paper looks at which groups are primarily affected, the different types of inequality that exist, in which time periods those types of inequality operate, any potential causes of the issue, and any potential solutions. The studies all agree that wage stagnation and inequality exist and each looks at middle earners \u2014 one looks at blue-collar workers and the other two choose the median earner \u2014 either way, the focus of the studies are those earners in the middle of the earnings distribution. Each study varies in its focus of the potential causes and solutions to the issue. Robert Lawrence, an international trade theorist, looks at the problem of wage stagnation and inequality through the lens of globalization and specifically if free trade is a key contributor. David Card, a labor economist, and John DiNardo look at the issue through the lens of technology change, specifically the Skills-Biased-Technological Change (SBTC) Hypothesis and question if technological advances are what caused this stagnation and inequality. The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, look at this issue through the lens of policy and question if poor policy regimes over the past half century have allowed wage stagnation and inequality to thrive. Overall, the three studies examined are similar enough in time period and subject studied, yet different enough in the lens through which the issue is viewed to provide a well-rounded summary and analysis of current literature by prominent economists on wage stagnation and inequality.
ContributorsFeldman, Rachel Erin (Author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
ContributorsFishman, Jacob (Author) / DeSerpa, Allan (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
Upon hiring a new college graduate, employers are left with limited information about the true productivity of the individual, mainly based on the information provided via resume and other related documents. Based on the information, which may include (and is not limited to) education years, grade point average(s), the institution one attended, majors, etc., employers attempt to differentiate between the candidates. Existing employer learning literature, such as Altonji and Pierret (2001) and Peter Arcidiacono, Patrick Bayer, and Aurel Hizmo (2010), have found that employers statistically discriminate upon hiring and estimate wages based on expected productivity conditional to observable characteristics--specifically education. As one's work experience accumulates, the wages are adjusted to the newly learned characteristics correlated with productivity. Thus, college graduates are more appealing as job candidates than high school graduates, with little learning done with experience in the labor market as employers have a more accurate depiction on productivity with more education years. With rising demands for high-skilled labor, there is a growing interest on what employers learn about from the name of the college listed on one's resume, as varying ability students sort into varying quality colleges. I include a one-dimensional index of college quality, as similarly constructed by Eleanor Dillon and Jeffrey Smith (2015), to measure the effects of attending a highly-selective institution in predicting individual ability. This paper provides additional support for the employer learning model on college graduates, with an emphasis on the direct role that college quality has at the start of one's career. Although college quality appears to be influential in providing employers additional information on one's productivity, unlike education, the weight placed on it by employers does not change with experience in the labor market. I further investigate within the college market and provide possible explanations behind learning on the basis of college quality, including: the possibility of information explained by quality unrelated to one's ability and the effects of attending a highly selective college.
ContributorsNam, Jimin (Author) / Veramendi, Gregory (Thesis director) / Dillon, Eleanor (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Agent based models allow for complex results from simple parameters. The mobile agents in my model, the firms, are allocated an amount of capital, while the static agents, the workers, are allocated a range of wages. The firms are then allowed to move around and compete until they match with a worker that maximizes their production. It was found from the simulation that as competition increases so do wages. It was also found that when firms stay in the environment for longer that a higher wage is possible as a result of a larger window for drawn out competition. The different parameters result in a range of equilibriums that take variable amounts of time to reach. These results are interesting because they demonstrate that the mean wage is strongly dependent upon the window of time that firms are able to compete within. This type of model was useful because it demonstrated that there is a variation in the time dependence of the equilibrium. It also demonstrated that when there is very little entry and exiting of the market, that wage levels out at an equilibrium that is the same, regardless of the ratio between the number of firms and the number of workers. Further work to be done on this model includes the addition of a Matching Function so that firms and workers have a more fair agreement. I will also be adding parameters that allow for firms to see the workers around them so that firms are able to interact with multiple workers at the same time. Both of these alteration should improve the overall accuracy of the model.
ContributorsElledge, Jacob Morris (Author) / Veramendi, Gregory (Thesis director) / Murphy, Alvin (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
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
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