Do Medical Malpractice Reforms Affect Health Care Costs and Outcomes?
By Matt Johnson The impact of medical malpractice reforms on the cost and quality of health care is of great interest to policy makers. This study examines national data on malpractice reforms implemented and health care provided to Medicare beneficiaries between 1995 and 2004. State-level reforms’ effect on health care expenditures and outcomes is determined […]
Testing the Relationship between Oil Equities and Oil Futures with High-Frequency Data: A Look at Returns, Jumps, and Volatility
By Brian Jansen This paper looks at simultaneous returns, jumps, and volatilities of oil futures, oil equities, and other equities in the S&P 100 using high-frequency data. Through this method, a market factor is found to affect the overall level of returns across the equities and the likelihood that two given equities to jump simultaneously. […]
Is Public Expenditure on Primary Education Effective? Evidence from Districts Across India
By Tara Iyer Against the background of international commitment to the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) for the universalization of primary education, this paper investigates the effectiveness of public spending on primary education outcomes in 115 districts across three states in India – Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Controlling for factors including per capita income, […]
The Miscommunications and Misunderstandings of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen
By Samuel Iglesias If there is any takeaway from 1971’s The Entropy Law and the Economic Process, it’s this: beneath every intersection of the supply and demand curve, there’s a slow, but steady, process of environmental degradation. Try as you will to recycle waste materials, the book argues—this process cannot be reversed. A formulation of […]
Cell Phones and Cattle: The Impact of Mobile Telephony on Agricultural Productivity in Developing Nations
By Daniel Houghton This paper examines the impact of mobile telephony on productivity in developing nations. Previous studies have suggested that mobile phones have real impacts on economic outcomes in these countries. Using micro-data from Swaziland, Cambodia, and Honduras, this study looks to identify the effects of mobile phone ownership on household productive outcomes in […]
The Significance of Higher Education on the Racial Gap in Marriage Rates
By Kristin Hamb In this paper, I examine the effect higher education has on the age of marriage and how this differs between black and white women. Becker’s theory of positive assortative mating in marriage markets lead me to predict higher levels of education would decrease the probability of being married by 30 and 40 […]
Oil, Population Growth, and the Resource Curse
By Tim Gu I find indications that an increase in a country’s oil endowment results in an increase in its population growth rate, an increase in its fertility and birth rates, and a decrease in its mortality rate. To explain these results, I conjecture that an increase in oil endowment results in reduced female labor […]
The Effect of Exchange Rates on the Performance of Professional Sports Franchises in International Competition
By Nick Elliott Exchange rates are a very important factor for businesses that operate internationally, especially when franchises are in international competition for the same talent pool. As an international league, this paper seeks to analyze how teams’ performance in the NHL is affected vis-à-vis a fluctuating value of currency. This analysis is extended to […]
