Matching Items (61)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Economics
- Creators: Department of Economics
- Creators: School of International Letters and Cultures
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
- Status: Published
Description
This paper intends to analyze the National Football League (NFL) and the role stadiums play within it. The NFL, being the nation's largest professional sports league, has experienced a large amount of volatility over the past couple of decades. Teams have relocated a significant number of times and stadium projects have grown in size, cost, and frequency. Because of these observations, we chose to focus in on this particular sports league in order to answer our many questions surrounding the role of a professional sports stadium in the economics of a city. We seek to understand the economics these sports stadiums impact on the league and the cities they reside in. To do this, we compiled data of NFL franchise wins, average ticket prices, stadiums, and franchise values, while researching the stadium building process and referencing the opinions of leading sports economists across the nation. Next, we discussed the process of building a stadium, which entails the core steps of design, construction, cost, and funding. We discuss tax-exempt municipal bonds, and explain what an impact economic analysis is and how teams use them to get cities to support their projects. Moreover, we discuss the threats of relocation and how the NFL can exert pressure on stadium project decisions. Finally, we talk about the future of the NFL, with a new trend of empty stadiums and make predictions for upcoming relocation destinations. Based on these findings, we draw conclusions on the economics of sports stadiums and offer our opinion on the current state of the NFL.
ContributorsGuillen, Sergio (Co-author) / Willms, Jacob (Co-author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Research on California water markets has historically made two inaccurate assumptions regarding water rights: that water is a one-dimensional commodity, and that every water rights holder is in the market to sell. In reality, water is a bundled good that comprises varying attributes, and the decision to become a seller often has more to do with politics than price. This thesis analyzes the heterogeneous dimensions of a water right to explain the evolution of supply, demand, and price in California water markets. A dataset of 712 short-term surface water transfers in California from the period of 1990 through 2016 is analyzed to explain market trends and model the price of water. The data comes from a proprietary dataset of water transfers provided by WestWater Research, LLC (WestWater). Transfer data is distinguished based on variables such as buyer and seller experience, perennial crop plantings, seasonal timing of sale, buyer and seller region, water-year type, and end use. A variety of figures present summary statistics of the data. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is used to identify variables that are statistically significant in estimating the unit price of water in dollars per acre-foot ($/AF). The regression shows that State Water Bank (SWB) purchases, Environmental Water Account (EWA) purchases, environmental end use, North of Delta (NOD) seller location, the San Joaquin Valley Water-Year Index (San Joaquin Index), total perennial crop acreage, and purchases made by South Coast buyers were statistically significant at the 95% or 99% confidence interval. These variables were included in the final econometric model to estimate price.
ContributorsArnao, Audrey Louise (Author) / Hanemann, Michael (Thesis director) / Payne, Matthew (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionA look at current 3D printing capabilities, and exploring the potential for additive manufacturing to transform the economy in the future.
ContributorsBennewitz, Chase (Co-author) / Paul, John (Co-author) / Parker, Kerry (Co-author) / Maltz, Arnold (Thesis director) / McDowell, John (Committee member) / Fujinami, Chris (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Economists, political philosophers, and others have often characterized social preferences regarding inequality by imagining a hypothetical choice of distributions behind "a veil of ignorance". Recent behavioral economics work has shown that subjects care about equality of outcomes, and are willing to sacrifice, in experimental contexts, some amount of personal gain in order to achieve greater equality. We review some of this literature and then conduct an experiment of our own, comparing subjects' choices in two risky situations, one being a choice for a purely individualized lottery for themselves, and the other a choice among possible distributions to members of a randomly selected group. We find that choosing in the group situation makes subjects significantly more risk averse than when choosing an individual lottery. This supports the hypothesis that an additional preference for equality exists alongside ordinary risk aversion, and that in a hypothetical "veil of ignorance" scenario, such preferences may make subjects significantly more averse to unequal distributions of rewards than can be explained by risk aversion alone.
ContributorsTheisen, Alexander Scott (Co-author) / McMullin, Caitlin (Co-author) / Li, Marilyn (Co-author) / DeSerpa, Allan (Thesis director) / Schlee, Edward (Committee member) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In a season that spans 162 games over the course of six months, MLB teams that travel more face additional fatigue and jetlag from travel. This factor could negatively impact them on the field. To explore this issue, I tested the significance of different variables by creating four models, which compared travel with a team's ability to win games as well as its ability to hit home runs. Based on these models, it appears as though changing time zones does not affect the outcome of games. However, these results did indicate that visiting teams with a greater time zone advantage over their opponent are less likely to hit a home run in a game.
ContributorsAronson, Sean Matthew (Author) / MacFie, Brian (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Are there measurable differences between the human capital of the refugee children born inside and outside of the United States? If so, does the amount of time spent abroad before immigrating matter, and can we get an idea of what happens to this gap over time? Looking at the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) 1991-2006, I examine standardized test scores and other indicators of performance of young Indochinese refugees and immigrants. This study finds evidence for a negative correlation between being born abroad and performance in selected metrics at the time of early adolescence. This is extended into a negative relationship between the lengths of time abroad before coming to the United States (age of arrival) and those same metrics. However, this study finds signs that this gap in human capital is at least partly bridged by the time of early adulthood. It remains unclear though, whether this possible catch up is reflected in other early adult outcomes such as household income.
ContributorsWatterson, Christen Brock (Author) / Schoellman, Todd (Thesis director) / Leiva Bertran, Fernando (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In this work we analyze just what makes the topic of third party voting so intriguing to voters and why it is different than voting for one of the major parties in American politics. First, we will discuss briefly the history of politics in America and what makes it exciting. Next, we will outline some of the works by other political and economic professionals such as Hotelling, Lichtman and Rietz. Finally, using the framework described beforehand this paper will analyze the different stances that voters, candidates, and others involved in the political process of voting have regarding the topic of third party voting.
ContributorsMcElroy, Elizabeth (Co-author) / Beardsley, James (Co-author) / Foster, William (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Today, statistical analysis can be used for a variety of different reasons. In sports, more particularly baseball, there is an increasing necessity to have better up to date analysis of players and their performance as they attempt to make it to the Major League. Athletes are constantly moving around within one or more organizations. Since they are moving around so often, clubs spend an ample amount of time determining whether or not it is for their benefit and betterment of the organization as a whole. The objective of this thesis is to utilize previous baseball statistics in StataSE to determine performance levels of players who played at the major league level. From these, regression-based performance models will be used to predict whether or not Major League Baseball organizations effectively and efficiently move players around from their farm systems to the big leagues. From this, teams will be able to see whether or not they in fact make the right decisions during the season. Several tasks were accomplished to achieve this outcome: 1. First, data was obtained from the Baseball-Reference statistics database and sorted in google sheets in order for me to perform analysis anywhere. 2. Next, all 1,354 players that entered the major leagues in the year 2016, were assessed as to whether or not they started in a given league and stayed, got promoted from the minor leagues to the majors, or demoted from the majors to the minor leagues. 3. Based off of prior baseball knowledge and offensive performance quantifications only, players' abilities were evaluated and only those who were called up or sent down were included in the overall analysis. 4. The statistical analysis software application, StataSE, was used to create a further analyze if any of the four major regression assumptions were violated. It was determined that logistic regression models would produce better results than that of a standard, linear OLS model. After testing multiple models, and slightly refining my hypothesis, the adjustments made developed a more accurate analysis of whether organizations were making an efficient move sending a player down to promote another player up. After producing the model, I decided to investigate at what level a player was deemed to be no longer able to perform at a Major League Baseball level.
ContributorsHayes, Andrew Joseph (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Marburger, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The NBA operates under a unique system with both forms of the salary cap. The league has a team salary cap that sets a limit that teams can spend on their entire roster. The NBA has a soft cap and a luxury tax system, meaning if teams spend over a determined amount, they are taxed for the salaries in excess. The league also has a player salary cap. The 1999 NBA collective bargaining agreement first introduced the individual player salary cap in the league. This cap sets a limit on what the best players can earn, otherwise known as the maximum contract. In an economic system with a soft team cap, the introduction of the player salary cap has important implications. The stated outcome of such a salary cap is to improve competitive balance and better distribute star players throughout the league. This study evaluated the 1990-2015 regular seasons to measure the impact of the player salary cap on competitive balance, the distribution of team payrolls, and the dispersion of star players. In accordance with the Rottenberg's invariance hypothesis, the player salary cap has hurt the players and benefited the owners by redistributing income from one party to the other, without impacting the distribution of talent in the league. The rule change has not affected competitive balance, while team payrolls have converged and star players have become more dispersed throughout the league. These changes hurt the league overall, preventing the maximization of revenues. Despite this inefficiency, the chance of the league moving to eliminate the player salary cap is low.
ContributorsWelu, Brian Andrew (Author) / Marburger, Daniel (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This paper analyzes modern day Cuba and draws conclusions about the most likely future political and economic events that will take place. Because of Cuba's troubled economy, leadership change and the world's continued shift towards democratization, Cuba is in a position where drastic changes in its government and economic structure may occur. This paper investigates Cuba's history, politics, economy, and the general quality of life of its citizens, which are used to help predict what may happen to the Cuban government in the near future. The paper also analyzes options for foreign nations' policy towards Cuba and summarizes what actions they may take to increase the likelihood of an economic and political transition. Cuba's economic structure needs drastic reform, the reluctant privatization only increases wealth disparity, trust in the government continues to get weaker as more information and its human rights violations are causes of huge concern. There are four possible outcomes for Cuba's future: stagnation, adopting the mixed economic model, a peaceful transition to a democratic model, and rebellion. There is evidence that Cuba will not make drastic policy changes in favor of liberalization in the immediate future, however, if the economic conditions are not improved and an economic crisis ensues, this paper asserts that another revolution or coup will likely occur. The resulting government may be a new autocratic leader that fills the vacuum of leadership, or a democratic regime depending on the nature of the rebellion. The exact future of Cuba is uncertain, but one thing is clear, change is on the horizon.
ContributorsBeem, Christian D. (Author) / Anthony, Charles (Thesis director) / Bonfiglio, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05