Matching Items (6)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Trade
- Creators: Department of Economics
- Creators: Ackroyd, William
Description
Government and news outlets everywhere preach that trade is hurting their domestic economy. However, trade is supposed to be beneficial to all theoretically. So where is the disconnect? This thesis was created to gather understanding about trade in the real world and how it can be accurately portrayed. First, I looked at the basics of bilateral and multilateral trade to show that trade imbalances will always exist and show that this idea that countries have that trade surpluses are best is incorrect. Second, I compared the accuracies of the two measures of trade that exist: balance of trade and current account measures. I conducted this research to show that the common measure of trade (balance of trade) is inaccurate and the stronger, more accurate measure is the current account measure. After coming to this conclusion, I began to see what factors in countries affect their current account balance. I looked at five categories: demographics, investment climate, level of economic development, existence of a technology boom, and current trade policy, and looked at theoretical explanations for how each one affects the current account. In the end, I was able to create a theory based on these five factors to predict the current account balance in any country and describe its trade health. In conclusion, I found that the issue of trade misconceptions lies in which measurement someone uses, and this simple misunderstanding can lead to things such as trade wars and global economic degradation.
ContributorsBuch, Saager Rajesh (Author) / Hill, John (Thesis director) / Mendez, Jose (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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
This thesis looks at the theory and empirical evidence that surrounds the debate between environmentalists and economists regarding the link between trade liberalization and environmental degradation. The main points of the theory are the scale, composition, and technique effects which, when aggregated, are ambiguous as the harm or benefit of trade's effect on the environment. The empirical evidence studied ranges in time periods from the early 1990s to 2011 and mainly focuses on the existence or absence of an environmental Kuznets curve for certain pollutant. However, the data still proves to be inconclusive. The debate about the possible link between trade and the environment is as important as ever, especially in regards to carbon dioxide emissions. Going forward, it is extremely important that international cooperation regarding emissions targets and abatement goals increases. Trade will prove to be an invaluable tool in this endeavor as it provides a mechanism for the spread of green technology as well as can be used as a method of environmental policy enforcement.
ContributorsCotterell, Emily Claire (Author) / Mendez, Jose (Thesis director) / McDaniel, Cara (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is one of the latest developments in the world of African politics. It influences several key policy arenas, including the focus of this paper: developmental policy. The AfCFTA hopes to integrate the intra-African trading system, as well as implement several measures to integrate their entire economies. This paper examines the intersection between the AfCFTA and developmental policy defining how it helps and hinders African development goals. This thesis intends to give a clear picture of how this agreement coincides with developmental policy through both economic and political research. The goal of this paper is to provide readers with a detailed report on how this economic agreement could be shaping the developmental policy of the African world.
ContributorsZeleny, Dylan Peter (Author) / Wong, Kelvin (Thesis director) / Hill, Alexander (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The North American Free Trade Agreement was passed by the U.S. Congress in November 1993. The United States had decided that a regional trade approach would be more beneficial than bilateral trade with its neighbors. This move accepted Mexico as an equal economic partner with the United States and Canada despite their economic deficiencies. The NAFTA agreement came into effect on January 1, 1994. Canada, Mexico, and the United States agreed to eliminate tariffs on roughly ninety-nine percent of internationally traded goods by the end of 2004. The agreement was also significant because the three nations took a big step in further liberalizing Foreign Direct Investment policies. NAFTA resulted in what is today a $19 trillion regional market with over 470 million consumers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that six million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Mexico and another eight million jobs depend on trade with Canada. As seen, economic interests clearly dominated the NAFTA debate on all fronts. There still were other domestic political interests that further pushed the United States to seek regional integration with Canada and Mexico. Drugs, energy, pollution, and the threat of American jobs as a result of Mexico’s low wages were all major issues considered in the United States at the time. The issues noted above can be closely linked to the United States’ national security interests. Policy-makers and treaty negotiators constantly connected the passage of this agreement to the long-term interests of the United States. For NAFTA to have a chance in the first place, all operational concerns had to have been resolved first. The governing structure for management of the activities that fall under NAFTA’s umbrella was a huge prerequisite. Additionally, separate side agreements with Canada and Mexico had to be negotiated so that the they would offset any future problems NAFTA might create for the United States. Although a challenge, it all came together perfectly and the passage was successfully implemented. Taking everything into consideration, the United States should stray way from its’ isolationist ways and pursue a regional agreement like NAFTA for the betterment of all North Americans.
ContributorsIvanov, Martin (Author) / Ackroyd, William (Thesis director) / Rivero, Tony (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This study attempts to reconcile the gap in literature between the abundant research in the social consequences of sanctions but a consistent lack of information regarding its economic effectiveness. I apply a modified neoclassical growth model to analyze the extent that sanctions imposed by the US and UN impact real per capita GDP growth rate. Using the original data, I modify the model employed in the Neuenkirch and Neumeier (2015) study by replacing a fixed effect model with time trends. The results are more aligned with previous economic research on sanctions where sanctions imposed by the US have a moderate but significant 1.5 percent decline effect on GDP growth rate. On the other hand, sanctions imposed by the UN are similarly negative, imposing about a .9 percent decline in GDP growth, however are not statistically significant. While I cannot reject the conclusion by the original authors, I feel that this model provides a more fitting analysis of the impact sanctions impose on GDP growth.
ContributorsHendricks-Costello, Caitlyn (Author) / Silverman, Daniel (Thesis director) / Mendez, Jose (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05