Department of Economics
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The effect of the ACA Medicaid expansions on mortality : evidence from state border counties.
(2021-04-20)This thesis examines the effects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Reform on adult mortality at the county level. This thesis uses a difference-in-difference (DD) causal inference research design to study the ... -
A social networks framework to study the influence of language on international trade in services.
(2021-04-23)Social network theory has been overlooked as a tool to examine relationships in economics whereas all economic interactions create networks, some more complex than others. Specifically, attempts to estimate drivers of ... -
A multi-level analysis of the spread of COVID-19.
(2021-04-23)This paper uses extensions of the traditional methods for evaluating panel data to evaluate the effect of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) on the spread of COVID-19. I utilize data from weather conditions, policy ... -
Health services research : how economics plays a role in public health for children in Somaliland and inmates in Texas.
(2021-04-26)Throughout this dissertation, I will assess three studies: (1) a cost-effectiveness analysis for pediatric surgery uptake for children in Somaliland with congenital conditions; (2) a survival analysis for time to suicidality ... -
Precursor to crime : an instrumental variable analysis of the effects of meth supply interdictions on crime.
(2021-03-30)In the late 1990s, the use of methamphetamines (meth) grew substantially. At the same time, crime fell prodigiously, seemingly at the same time as two governmental supply interdictions on two key chemical precursors of ... -
Economic impact of Ebola virus disease in Western African countries.
(2020-05-05)The Ebola outbreak in Western Africa from 2014 to 2016 infected 28600 people and claimed lives of 11325 people. It is the worst and the longest Ebola outbreak since the first recorded Ebola outbreak in 1976. The World bank ... -
A differences-in-differences approach to the UPP policy and crime displacement in the city neighborhoods and metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro.
(2020-04-27)This thesis uses differences-in-differences causal inference method to study the impact of the UPP policy in the surrounding neighborhoods of the city of Rio and also the spillover effects potentially caused by it. Five ... -
The effect of Ruiz v. Estelle on crime in Texas.
(2020-04-28)I examine the effects of a 1980 Texas District Court ruling that ruled the conditions in the Texas prison system unconstitutional. In particular, I analyze its effects on crime and incarceration. I use a difference-in-differences ... -
Baumol’s cost disease and physician shortages: an analysis of rising healthcare expenditures from the supply side.
(2019-04-09)Over the last two decades, the U.S. experienced a stagnant supply of physicians, as well as rapidly rising healthcare expenditures. Based on a novel version of Baumol’s unbalanced growth model, this paper addresses the ... -
Wisdom of crowds : the story behind customers’ online reviews and business success.
(2019-04-05)Using the data from Yelp as of December 2017, this thesis examines the impacts of the online customers’ reviews on the performances of servicing businesses (raw effect) as well as their neighboring establishments (spillover ... -
Mental health courts reduce crime rates.
(2019-04-04)This paper studies the effect of mental health courts on crime rates for violent and property crimes. Mental health courts are intended to help offenders with mental illnesses treat their illnesses and get them on the right ... -
A reassesment of minimum wage impacts with pooled synthetic control.
(2018-04-30)I analyze state minimum wage increases with pooled synthetic control. State minimum wages are deferentially binding depending on the level of the federal minimum wage. These results are consistent with but more robust than ... -
Does Medicare increase opioid drug usage? A regression discontinuity study.
(2018-04-22)Recently, the overuse of opioid medications in the United States has garnered national attention, spurring many leaders to declare it a national epidemic. Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage for various ... -
The impact of hiring chief diversity officers on college student diversity.
(2018-04-26)Diversity has become an increasingly important component of American education. In the past decade, many postsecondary educational institutions have established long-term goals to increase minority representation and ... -
How has the effect of the WTO on bilateral trade changed over time?
(2018-05-01)Using the most recent data set on bilateral trade from 1962 to 2015 and a Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator with and without country-pair fixed effects, this thesis shows the overall effect of WTO/GATT ... -
State-level political party effects on the war on drugs.
(2018-04-17)The United States' drug arrest rate and incarceration rates have been increasing steadily for over two decades. Additionally, there is a general perception that Republicans are "tougher on crime" than Democrats. This thesis ... -
Unintended consequences of well-intended regulation : the procyclical effects of the Basel I capital regulations on the U.S. banking industry.
(2018-04-20)Numerous solutions have been posed to address the risks that fractional reserve banking systems cause for depositors. The newest regulatory trend to combat these issues has been capital regulation. Many critics have accused ... -
Romneycare : a boon to employment.
(2017-11-28)Using Massachusetts Healthcare Reform passed in 2006 we explore the casual effect that universal insurance has on labor market outcomes in the healthcare care industry. Using aggregated data, we find an increase in employment ... -
Effects of debt relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative and the MDRI on developing countries using a time-shifted difference-in differences strategy.
(2017-06-28)The IMF and World Bank launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996 to alleviate the debt overhang problem in developing countries. They amended the program to the Enhanced HIPC Initiative in 1999 ... -
Payday bankruptcy.
(2017-07-19)Payday loans are short term small dollar amount loans that are easy to acquire. Using 1997-2015 U.S. Courts data from all 50 states and Washington D.C., I analyze the effect of payday lending bans on non-business personal ...
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