Economics
Recent Submissions
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The Role of Chieftaincy in Financial Inclusion: A Case Study of Eight Rural Communities in the Northern Region of Ghana
(2011-07-01)Misunderstood customary political and social institutions can jeopardize attempts at introducing microfinance into rural villages. This paper examines how microfinance institutions approach the chieftaincy system in Ghana. ... -
Impact of Academic Experience in Economics on Risk Preferences and Rationality: An Empirical Investigation
(2010-04-01)When we model human choices under risk, the standard is to apply a rational choice model such as Expected Utility Theory (EUT). However, humans are not always rational, and Kahneman and Tversky developed Prospect Theory ... -
Fostering Credit: Financial Innovation and the Development of the Raiffeisen Credit Cooperatives
(2010-04-01)Over the last two decades, the rise of microcredit has cast new light on the age-old question of how to provide credit to the poor. The attention paid to microcredit organizations however, tends to ignore the deeper ... -
Unwrapping the Hot-Toy Problem: An Analysis of Peak Demand and Price Dispersion in the Holiday Market for Zhu Zhu Pets
(2010-04-01)The sold out toy is a recurring theme during the holiday season, so why donÕt manufacturers and retailers increase the price of these holiday season sellout products? This work considers whether a larger shortage implies ... -
Are Ethanol Policies Affecting Crop Prices? An Empirical Analysis of US Ethanol Policies
(2010-04-01)Ethanol has been characterized as the alternate energy solution to the United States gasoline gluttony. There are many benefits that come with the consumption of ethanol, but there are costs that are often overlooked. ... -
Improving Health Insurance in America: A Comparative Analysis of Swiss and U.S. Insurance Markets
(2010-04-01)Comparisons of health systems worldwide have commonly been used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of certain health systems. The consumer-driven model of SwitzerlandÕs health insurance market, however, has not been ... -
En Garde! Tournament Asymmetry and Disincentive Effects in International Fencing Competitions
(2010-04-20)In this paper I test the predictions of tournament theory using panel data from international fencing competitions. The theory predicts that for a given level of prize spread, agentsÕ effort incentives are reduced due to ... -
Poverty Reduction, Power Struggles, and the Issue of Commitment
(2005-01-01)Struggling countries that need financial resources but lack the credibility to access them usually turn to the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) for help. The IFIs respond by providing Structural Adjustment Loans ... -
The Currency Board in Bulgaria: Is It the Best Solution?
(2004-01-01)Currency boards have always been a subject of debate. While they may significantly improve the quality of the national currency, they block discretionary monetary power and may cause severe economic problems. Currency Board ... -
Baseball Economics: An Economic Analysis of the Present Situation in the Major League Baseball Players Market
(2000-01-01)As the current collective bargaining agreement for Major League Baseball is drawing to a close, the Commissioner, Bud Selig, is seeking reforms to prevent another work stoppage like the strike in 1994.The economic structure ... -
Fan Attendance in Major League Baseball
(2005-01-01)What attracts fans to Major League Baseball games? In sports economics this is an essential question to answer since fan behavior often has significant effects on the different aspects of the baseball business. The current ... -
The Economics of Liberal Arts Education
(2005-01-01)For the past couple of decades, college tuition prices have risen consistently and substantially. Leading this trend are the national liberal arts colleges, which tend to depend largely on their students? tuition payments ... -
What is Holding Back Mexican Immigrant Entrepreneurs?
(2008-01-01)My study focuses on the reasons Mexican immigrant entrepreneurs perform worse than native-born whites when self employed. The Mexican immigrant population is the largest in the United States, making up 29.6 percent of the ... -
What makes a Mexican-American entrepreneur successful?
(2009-01-01)Latinos are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the country (50% between 1990 and 2000) and their business ownership increased 31% from 1997 to 2000. However their earnings are much lower than those of white business ... -
Financial Fiasco
(2010-01-01)The financial crisis that shocked our nation at the end of 2007 is one of the most compelling and complex disasters of our time. It is not only very intriguing and interesting to economists but also to the everyday consumer. ... -
Probit Model for Trans-State Theatre-Ticket Sales
(2007-01-01)Do ticket-scalping laws affect the sales of tickets resold online? Currently, many states have laws regarding ticket resale while no federal law exists governing the resale of tickets across states. Due to the spread of ... -
Profit from (and with) Your Neighbor: The Case of a German Credit Cooperative
(2009-01-01)Over the last two decades, the rise of microcredit has cast new light on the age-old question of how to provide credit to the poor. The attention paid to microcredit organizations however, tends to ignore the deeper ... -
Analysis of the Mechanics of Internet Advertising
(2009-01-01)Internet advertising is an extremely lucrative industry and a chief revenue stream for search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Excluding video content, internet advertisements are divided into two chief categories: display ... -
The Great Disconnect: Laws versus Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in China
(2009-01-01)This paper explores the benefits of intellectual property rights in China, but lacks a metric to test variables against IPR protection strength. Instead the author looks at China?s past attitude in IPR trade relations, the ... -
The End of the Hukou System in China and its Implications for Rural-Urban Migration Carl Edwards and Rohan Shah
(2005-01-01)In the early 1950?s a universal registration system called the Hukou system was established in China. Although its original purpose was to simply study demographics and mobility in the country, the classification of ...