Matching Items (43)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Economics
- Creators: School of Politics and Global Studies
- Creators: Department of Finance
- Creators: School of International Letters and Cultures
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
This paper explores the history of sovereign debt default in developing economies and attempts to highlight the mistakes and accomplishments toward achieving debt sustainability. In the past century, developing economies have received considerable investment due to higher returns and a degree of disregard for the risks accompanying these investments. As the former Citibank chairman, Walter Wriston articulated, "Countries don't go bust" (This Time is Different, 51). Still, unexpected negative externalities have shattered this idea as the majority of developing economies follow a cyclical pattern of default. As coined by Reinhart and Rogoff, sovereign governments that fall into this continuous cycle have become known as serial defaulters. Most developed markets have not defaulted since World War II, thus escaping this persistent trap. Still, there have been developing economies that have been able to transition out of serial defaulting. These economies are able to leverage debt to compound growth without incurring the protracted consequences of a default. Although the cases are few, we argue that developing markets such as Chile, Mexico, Russia, and Uruguay have been able to escape this vicious cycle. Thus, our research indicates that collaborative debt restructurings coupled with long term economic policies are imperative to transitioning out of debt intolerance and into a sustainable debt position. Successful economies are able to leverage debt to create strong foundational growth rather than gambling with debt in the hopes of achieving rapid catch- up growth.
ContributorsPitt, Ryan (Co-author) / Martinez, Nick (Co-author) / Choueiri, Robert (Co-author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Silverman, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
A growing number of jobs in the US require a college degree or technical education, and the wage difference between jobs requiring a high school diploma and a college education has increased to over $17,000 per year. Enrollment levels in postsecondary education have been rising for at least the past decade, and this paper attempts to tease out how much of the increasing enrollment is due to changes in the demand by companies for workers. A Bartik Instrument, which is a measure of local area labor demand, for each county in the US was constructed from 2007 to 2014, and using multivariate linear regression the effect of changing labor demand on local postsecondary education enrollment rates was examined. A small positive effect was found, but the effect size in relation to the total change in enrollment levels was diminutive. From the start to the end of the recession (2007 to 2010), Bartik Instrument calculated unemployment increased from 5.3% nationally to 8.2%. This level of labor demand contraction would lead to a 0.42% increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2011. The true enrollment increase over this period was 7.6%, so the model calculated 5.5% of the enrollment increase was based on the changes in labor demand.
ContributorsHerder, Daniel Steven (Author) / Dillon, Eleanor (Thesis director) / Schoellman, Todd (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This paper explores how marginalist economics defines and inevitably constrains Victorian sensation fiction's content and composition. I argue that economic intuition implies that sensationalist heroes and antagonists, writers and readers all pursued a fundamental, "rational" aim: the attainment of pleasure. So although "sensationalism" took on connotations of moral impropriety in the Victorian age, sensation fiction primarily involves experiences of pain on the page that excite the reader's pleasure. As such, sensationalism as a whole can be seen as a conformist product, one which mirrors the effects of all commodities on the market, rather than as a rebellious one. Indeed, contrary to modern and contemporary critics' assumptions, sensation fiction may not be as scandalous as it seems.
ContributorsFischer, Brett Andrew (Author) / Bivona, Daniel (Thesis director) / Looser, Devoney (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-12
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
An integral part of the financial system, the evolutionary history of commercial banking remains largely uncharted and is often grouped into banking development as a whole. Previous research on banking has primarily relied on economic analysis or has placed banking in a larger social context. This work aims to bridge the two by classifying commercial banking growth into four cycles of expansion, application, and decline. Drawing from historical accounts and growth cycle theory, this framework for classification is developed to better synthesize its progress and the fundamental innovations that changed the banking system. Beginning in 1150 with the foundation for deposit banking, the next three cycles of 1500, 1750, and 1933 mark periods of great innovation and a push toward the regulatory environment, technology, and globalization that define modern commercial banking. Paralleling the economic, financial, and political development of the Western World, its evolution is guided by three themes: the increased accumulation and flow of capital, regulation, and market expansion.
ContributorsSinger, Andrea Cayli (Author) / Licon, Wendell (Thesis director) / Hoffmeister, Ron (Committee member) / Brooks, Dan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The situation in the Euro-Zone is fluctuating daily with various efforts to curb the contagion of certain Euro-Zone member states. In the effort to focus on the greater macroeconomic and social impact of the Euro-Zone, this paper concentrates on the history of the Euro-Zone, the causes of the crisis, outlines potential solutions, discusses individual perspectives on the issue, and describes a prediction for the future of the Euro-Zone.
ContributorsTom, Bryan (Co-author) / Smith, Kelley (Co-author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / Datta, Manjira (Committee member) / Roberts, Nancy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Entrepreneurs represent the engine for economic change in the nation. By interviewing and studying student entrepreneurs, I could explore the inspiration creating the changes seen in the environment around us and characterize the student entrepreneur. Specifically, by studying the similarities and differences among student entrepreneurs at ASU, I could identify traits that made entrepreneurs unique from each other. After in-depth interviews and surveys, I found that entrepreneurs could be categorized into one of four primary motivations and further distinguished by perceptions of money, responsibility and family environment. At the end of this paper, I conclude that student entrepreneurs can be empowered by the insights taken from this research. With further understanding, the survey may have practical applications to existing ventures and entrepreneurial college students.
ContributorsMcclure, Bethany Lee (Author) / DeSerpa, Allan (Thesis director) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Committee member) / Petroff, Chris (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The U.S. Automobile industry was once the crown jewel of America's industrial empire, nothing symbolized American industrial might like the auto plants of Detroit and the millions of cars it put on the road. However, after a spectacular rise in power and wealth after the Second World War, the Big 3 of the automotive industry, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, have declined to the point of needing a government bailout to continue operation. This paper examines this decline by examining two narratives that describe its fall, and examines the theoretical and empirical evidence for both stories.
ContributorsHartman, Alexander Ray (Author) / Lagakos, David (Thesis director) / DeSerpa, Allan (Committee member) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor)
Created2013-05
DescriptionIn this study, the first two novels of Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam Trilogy are discussed in their global context as social commentary on the current system of global economics. The study focuses on the novels' depiction of the commodification of women's bodies and the bodies of animals as consumable products.
ContributorsManning, Devan Marie (Author) / Sadowski-Smith, Claudia (Thesis director) / Voaden, Rosalynn (Committee member) / Mallot, Edward (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2013-05