Department of Economics

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https://hdl.handle.net/10217/100399

These digital collections contain theses, dissertations, faculty publications including open educational resource materials, and datasets from the Department of Economics, and Center for Research on the Colorado Economy reports.

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Open Access
The welfare effects of a market allocation of an exhaustible resource
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1977) Ward, Frank A., author; McKean, John R., advisor
In recent years, cost-benefit theorists have developed “net benefit" measures of welfare change attributable to shifts in the allocation of flow resources. Presumably, such welfare-change measures have been developed as an attempt to minimize the wastage of resources on unsound projects. However, to the author's knowledge, no such welfare-change measure has been developed to rank alternative allocations of an exhaustible resource. This dissertation attempts to devise such a measure. The measure is developed in three steps. The first step (Chapter two) is an explanation of how a free market allocates the exhaustible resource over time. Inquiry is made as to how the time path of extraction is affected by changes in (1) production costs, (2) total known supply, (3) the costs of a substitute techno1ogy, and (4) the discount rate. Knowledge of the allocation explored in this step is important, because, once determined, the market outcome can be compared to some appropriately-defined efficiency norm. The second step (Chapter three) develops an efficiency norm as a basis for determining whether the market depletes the exhaustible resource too quickly, too slowly, or at the right rate. The third step (Chapter four) of this dissertation is an attempt to develop a measure which quantifies how well the market's time-use of the mineral approaches an efficient allocation. The methodology used is the development of a measure of welfare change. Specifically, this measure is designed to ascertain the net change in benefits attributable to changes in either of two generalized distortions relevant to the market for an exhaustible resource. At all three steps, this dissertation draws from and extends the theory of exhaustible resources. The first step is an extension and refinement of the comparative statics of competitive mining theory. At the second step, the optimality properties of a market allocation over time are examined. At the third step, the degree to which the market breaks down is the subject of concern. Specifically, an extension of currently-accepted welfare-loss theory is developed and made applicable to the exhaustible resources sector. The results of this dissertation are that, indeed, such a welfare-loss measure can be quantified. By incorporating (1) the effect of a change in a market distortion on the private profit-maximizing output path of each of n mining firms, and (2) the effect of these n output path changes on aggregate total discounted net benefits, a welfare-loss measure is developed. The measure can, in principle, rank alternative allocations of an exhaustible resource on the basis of the net size of two generalized distortions, the values of which would depend on the size of the policy variable under consideration.
Open Access
Determining the financial performance of private veterinary practices
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1981) Höglund, Donald Lee, author
Determining the financial performance of a private veterinary practice requires first and foremost that a private practice be considered as a business enterprise. Veterinarians, while facing a maze of normal business problems, have for the most part neglected any type of formal financial performance analysis. The collection and summarization of financial data in the veterinary practice is an essential prerequisite for analyzing financial performance. This collection and data summarization can be amassed conveniently and concisely in three commonly used financial statements: The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement, and The Statement of Changes in Financial Position. From here the actual analysis begins. Countless businesses in many industries utilize standard analytical techniques that provide business information for management decision making. Essentially, an analysis of the financial performance of the private veterinary practice is affected in three ways. First, the analyst calculates common-size percentages for all accounts on the balance sheet and income statement. Second, certain accounts are selected for an analysis of trend and growth rate, and third, a computation of certain relevant financial ratios is required for a comparison of accounts and account structure. Each of these three techniques can be performed for one instant in time and over several time frames thus allowing the veterinarian to compare his practice to other veterinary practices as well as to other similar industries. These analytical tools, while widespread in American business, are virtually non-existent in the veterinary industry. They should be computed and used for making managerial and financial decisions in the private veterinary practice.
Open Access
CRCE focus, May 2000
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2000-05) Phillips, Ronnie J., author; Ertle, Jokima, author; Kling, Robert, editor; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
CRCE update, July 2000
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2000-07) Hine, Sue, author; Garner, Elizabeth Hornbrook, author; Kling, Robert, editor; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
CRCE focus, March 2001
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2001-03) Kling, Robert, editor; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
CRCE focus, May 2001
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2001-05) Kling, Robert, editor; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
CRCE focus, December 2001
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2001-12) Loureiro, Maria, author; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
School spending and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2002-10-31) Revier, Charles F., author
Open Access
CRCE update, December 2002
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2002-12) Garner, Elizabeth, author; Eckert, Jerry, author; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
Do right-to-work laws matter? Explaining the variation in union density among states
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2003) Hogler, Raymond, author; Shulman, Steven, author; Weiler, Stephan, Weiler, author
Do right-to-work laws lower union density? This question is addressed with a cross-sectional model of the variation in union density among states. Control variables capture employer hostility to unions, social capital, and political ideology, so that the remaining effects of right-to-work laws are independent of state-to-state variations in social, cultural and political context. The study is unique in its use of state-level indices for employer hostility and social capital. The findings show that right-to-work laws exert a significant, negative effect on union density, with right-to-work states exhibiting union densities 6.6 percentage points lower than their otherwise identical counterparts.
Open Access
CRCE focus, June 2003
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2003-06) Eckert, Jerry, author; Garner, Elizabeth, author; Center for Research on the Colorado Economy, publisher
Open Access
Women's labor supply: a cross-country study
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Altarawneh, Yaseen Mamdouh, author; Fan, Chuen-Mei, advisor
This study aims at analyzing the cross-country variations in women's participation rates (WPRs) and the gender-gap in economic activity. It covers 45 countries over 1970-2002, 15 countries from each group: low income countries (LICs), middle income countries (MICs), and high income countries (HICs). The study employs the Seemingly Unrelated Regression Model in conjunction with the Fixed Effects Model to guarantee the individuality of each country and to control for spatial autocorrelation. Several factors such as GDP growth, GDP/capita, education, fertility, urbanization, government's role, and cultural factors are used as explanatory variables.
Open Access
Impulsive consumers and optimal social security
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Findley, Thomas Scott, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor
Unfunded social security programs are primarily justified on grounds that individuals have specific behavioral tendencies that lead to inadequate saving for retirement. To date, very little has been pursued in the way of theory to analyze this justification. I design a new model of consumer behavior that is consistent with many of the salient features of evidence on impulsive consumption behavior. In my model, "impulsive consumers" optimally formulate long-term plans, but often deviate from these consumption programs upon experiencing a psychological impulse to uncontrollably consume above and beyond. In order to examine how impulsive consumers fare in an unfunded social security program, I calibrate my model to match specific empirical features of aggregate life-cycle consumption. After calibrating the model, I employ dynamic welfare measures and find: (i) a significant welfare cost to consuming impulsively; (ii) a social security program (calibrated to the current U.S. program) does not generally improve the welfare of impulsive consumers; (iii) social security almost never improves the welfare of impulsive consumers under future demographics; and, (iv) the optimal social security tax rate is drastically smaller than the current U.S. rate.
Open Access
Income tax evasion: theoretical modeling and empirical evidence
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Gahramanov, Emin F., author; Fan, Chueh-Mei, advisor
Income tax evasion is a very important problem faced by most of the countries around the world. The phenomenon interferes with economic efficiency, socially desirable income distribution, long-run economic growth, and might even negatively affect the price stability. The intent of this study is to contribute to the economic theory of income tax evasion by demonstrating the ways to resolve the paradoxical relationship between the tax rate and compliance and to conduct various cross-model and cross-country comparisons, relying both on the theoretical and applied analysis. The study considers the intergenerational welfare implications of the recent dramatic decline in the income tax audit rate in the United States, which has been a source of big concern for many politicians, economists, and general public. It has been demonstrated that the wide-spread evasion can worsen the welfare of the generation working during the fall in the audit rate. Other issues, such as tax compliance costs and revenue-maximizing taxation have also been analyzed.
Open Access
Northern Colorado's economy: recent trends and the outlook for 2007
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Shields, Martin, author; Keyser, David, author
Open Access
Stock prices and the predictive power of macroeconomic variables: the case of the Saudi Stock Market
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Alkhudairy, Khalid S., author; Fan, Liang-Shing, advisor
A literature review of the relationship between stock market prices and fundamental economic activities showed that there is a disagreement among economists about this relationship. Some studies show that there is a relationship between stock prices and fundamental economic activities, while others do not support this relationship.
Open Access
Empirical examination of the determinants of corruption: cross-sectional and panel analysis
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) El-Bahnasawy, Nasr Galal El-Din, author; Revier, Charles F., advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, advisor
This study explores the determinants of corruption, using cross-sectional, panel random-effects, and dynamic panel analysis to check the robustness of the results to alternative specifications and estimation methods. The study uses two different indexes of perceived corruption, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and the Control of Corruption measure (CC), to check the robustness of the results with alternative corruption measures. The study also uses a large array of explanatory variables that may influence corruption, including a large set of economic variables, a set of political variables, and a group of sociocultural variables. The first interesting result indicates that the rule of law strongly impacts corruption and that a better quality of law enforcement is correlated with lower corruption. Moreover, rich countries are perceived to have lower corruption than poor countries. This work highlights the importance of the rule of law and per capita GDP in the battle against corruption. Furthermore, this study finds the following. Lagged corruption impacts current level of corruption. Larger countries seem to have higher perceived corruption. A larger percentage of the population that is rural is associated with higher perceived corruption. Higher proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament is associated with lower corruption. Political stability, regulatory quality, ethnic fractionalization, and natural resource abundance do not impact corruption in my analysis. This study also examined the impact of some other factors on corruption such as voice and accountability, government effectiveness, the cost of business start-up procedures, the ratio of average government wage to per capita GDP, the degree of openness to international trade, membership in various religions, the level of economic development, and the legal system origin.
Open Access
The battle over broadcast regulation: can the free press survive a free market approach?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Jackson, Pamela Taylor, author; Stanfield, J. Ron, advisor
This dissertation examines the 100-year-old political economic evolution of broadcast regulation in the U.S., primarily focusing on the shift toward a free market approach to FCC policy decisions and the consequences for a free press in democratic society. Deregulation and concentration of media ownership trends have cast doubt on the independence of the press, and raised questions regarding the vitality and viability of American democracy. This research is premised on the belief that an effective democracy cannot exist without an informed public, and voters rely on the news media for the knowledge they need to make accurate social valuations in the political process. Evidence suggests the important mission of a free press to keep the citizenry informed is being derailed by institutional and market failures. Immediate institutional and regulatory reforms are recommended to insulate the press from the predatory expansion of a free market system that permeates every aspect of social life, including broadcast regulation and policy. The profit values of a market system clash and interfere with the moral agency of a free press, and the two are inherently incompatible. In addition, this study concludes that the growing Internet-based grassroots media reform movement in the U.S. is the last best hope for driving a corrective response to reverse the damage already done to the institution of news and to reinstate the news media's role as public interest advocates in a democracy. A multi-disciplinary approach is adopted to chart the evolution of broadcast regulation since the early 1900s and the fallout for a free press in democratic society. A broad spectrum survey of economics, political science, and mass communications literature allows for a synthesis of otherwise divergent theoretical perspectives in examining the free press-free market paradox. The theories addressed include institutional change, comparative economic systems as applied to changing budget constraints for network news divisions, commodification theory, regulatory capture, political ideology, democratic thought, market-driven journalism, and the propaganda model of news production. In particular, this research offers an unprecedented application of commodification theory and economic transition theory to the problem of the sustainability of a free press.
Open Access
The development of a multisectoral model for the Thai economy (MUTE)
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Suebpongsakorn, Auttapol, author; Fan, Chuen-Mei, advisor
The MUTE model is a multisectoral model developed for the Thai economy. The structure of the MUTE model resembles 1NFORUM type models consisting of 3 main modules, namely, (1) the real side which estimates 7 components of the final demand, (2) the price - income side which calculates the 5 value added components, and (3) the accountant which includes the identity equations and some important behavioral equation in order to link both the real side and the price - income side. The major difference of the MUTE model from the INFORUM models, especially a Thai Interindustry Dynamic Model (TIDY) is the inclusion of a dummy variable representing the event of the political disorder, which is widely believed as one of the non-economic factors affecting the performances of the economy. Moreover, the use of the time-series technique called AICc to forecast some series (when the explanatory variables are non-stationary and the cointegration test reports the nonexistence of the cointegrating vector), the use of the RAS technique instead of Across the Row method in estimating the direct input requirement matrices, and the application of the ADF and the cointegration tests for all equations are among the new contributions aimed at improving the model reliability. Finally, the model is employed to forecast the performances of the Thai economy from 2005 to 2020 under the impacts of the Baht appreciation and the political disorder. The results show that these two impacts will adversely cause the growth rate of GDP to slowdown. The Baht appreciation against U.S. dollar worsens the net export, while the political disorder causes both consumers and producers to lose their confidences in the Thai economy, which results in the reduction in the personal consumption expenditure and the gross fixed capital formation. However, both impacts do not affect the income and output structures of the Thai economy. The Thai economy still moves toward the industrialized country by reckoning on manufacturing and service sectors as the main sources for generating income and employment with or without the presence of these two impacts.
Open Access
Banking efficiency in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: an empirical analysis using data envelopment analysis approach
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Alsarhan, Abdulwahab, author; Phillips, Ronnie, advisor
Measurement and analysis of banking efficiency has received increasing attention in applied economics in recent years due to the rapid globalization of the financial industry and consequently, increasing competitiveness in international financial markets. Efficiency in a general term in economics describes how well a system performs in generating the maximum output for given inputs. Efficiency in banking industry terms is measured as the difference between the bank's position and its best production frontier. There are two main techniques that are used to evaluate banking efficiency, parametric methods and non parametric methods. The debate on which approach is more convenient for analyzing the efficiency of the banking industry is still open and has been the subject of many applied works (Luciano and Regis 2007).