Theses and Dissertations

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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
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
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).
Open Access
Historic registers and neighborhood change: do historic registers promote gentrification?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Alley, Robert Sean, author; Kling, Bob, advisor
This paper examines the link between historic designation and neighborhood change using data from Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado and a Simultaneous Equation Model (SEM) framework. Contrary to previous studies in Texas, the Colorado cities display a statistically significant link between historic registers and neighborhood demographics. Therefore, historic designations may have a role in tipping models of neighborhood transition. The importance of legal context and initial economic conditions are emphasized.
Open Access
The impact and optimization of the urban industrial mix
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Burnett, Perry A., author; Cutler, Harvey, advisor
The industrial mix is a relevant issue facing urban economies as the modern economy transitions from an industrial to a post-industrial service-based. The first essay estimates the changes and effects of density that result from relative variations in urban industrial composition. This essay demonstrates that identical increases in aggregate metropolitan employment originating from growth in individual productive sectors result in different average urban density measures. The results suggest that certain urban characteristics are important in determining density's relationship to productivity and that city finances are strained as cities lose manufacturing and gain service sectors.
Open Access
Does trade cause growth across trading blocs?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Marturana, Michael A., author; Braunstein, Elissa, advisor; Cutler, Harvey Stephen, committee member; Davies, Stephen (Stephen P.), committee member
Does international trade influence the growth rate of income per capita across trading blocs? Many empirical studies have been conducted to analyze the effect of international trade on economic growth. This paper investigates the growth effects from trade, on income per capita, across the four trading blocs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Southern Common Market from 1970 through 2004. Using an autoregressive process of one lag, the model yielded results consistent with economic theory—exports positively influence the growth rate of income per capita while imports reduce said rate. Furthermore, these variables are statistically significant at standard levels. The model also controls for membership in a particular trading bloc and finds intra-bloc economic growth rates to differ substantially. Other variable estimates from the model however, are not consistent with theory which implies some degree of model misspecification and suggests further research is needed.
Open Access
Export-led growth and crowding-out effect case study: a cointegration approach
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Ngo, Trung Quang, author; Cutler, Harvey, advisor
During last three decades, development policies have major shifted from what is known as import-substitution to export-led growth in which many developing countries have focused on reducing their dependence on primary commodity export and increasing their manufactured exports. The important motivation supports for export-led growth policy is the vision of growing market which lead to increase specialization and division of labor. Developing countries can move up to the development ladder by specializing in exporting low-technology products to industrialized countries. In addition, with abundance of cheap and unskilled labor, developing countries will gain from international trade. These gains would allow them to graduate to the rank of middle or higher income countries by exporting more technologically sophisticated, skill-intensive products. While, export-led growth has been increasingly applied around the world, the deterioration in economic still occurred and created a new challenge for export-led growth model. In facts, it faces a fallacy of composition where exporters rely on growth of demand in export markets. Developing countries sell most of their export manufactured to industrialized countries markets. However, export markets demand does not grow fast enough to support the growth of export expansion of all developing country exporters. As a result, trade barriers and macroeconomic policies will be applied. If consider developing countries as a group, the problem of export-led growth can be described as export displacement or crowding-out effect. This means when one country tries to increase its export; it may displace the export shares of another. This study analyzes whether export-led growth exists in Vietnam and the crowding-out effect occurs among ASEAN countries. The approach in this study is the use of cointegration in a multi-equations model which allows us to examine the long-run relationship between exports and economic growth in Vietnam and the connection within ASEAN countries for export manufactured goods. The results lead to policy recommendation for Vietnam's export in particular and ASEAN's export in general to improve their economic growth and export benefits.
Open Access
The value added tax: annual vs. lifetime perspective evidence from Tanzania household data
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Mushi, Delphina Prosper, author; Fan, Chuen-Mei, advisor
The study compares the annual vs the lifetime perspective of the Value Added Tax (VAT) using the Tanzania Household Budget Survey of 2000/2001. The impact of exemptions on both government revenue and distribution of the tax burden is examined. The "distributional characteristics approach" is used to find whether exemptions are justifiable on distributional grounds. Finally the study examines changes in vertical equity of moving from the previous sales tax to the VAT. Results show that when annual income is used to measure well being, the VAT looks very regressive, while using "lifetime income" makes the VAT proportional. With lifetime income as a measure of ability to pay, incorporating exemptions into the analysis makes the VAT slightly progressive while several alternatives to exemptions could make the VAT more progressive and improve revenue performance. The distributional characteristics of exempted items show that unprocessed food, public transport and petroleum products are mostly consumed by the relatively poor. On the other hand, the rich consumes postal supplies, books, newspapers, and others. Comparing VAT and the previous sales tax shows VAT to be less progressive, even though it is not regressive.
Open Access
Gender, race, and credit rationing of small businesses: empirical evidence from the 2003 Survey of Small Business Finances
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Mijid, Naranchimeg, author; Bernasek, Alexandra, advisor
Rapid rates of growth of small business ownership among women and minorities have motivated research on issues related to small business performance. The importance of access to credit for the success of small businesses, as well as evidence that women and minorities have less access to credit than male and white business owners has led researchers to explore the reason for this. The purpose of this study is to determine whether credit rationing in the small business credit market is different based on gender and/or race of the business owner. This study examines two types of credit rationing and uses a comprehensive measure that includes discouraged borrowers. In addition, we examine how loan amounts are determined. We utilize three different types of methodologies to analyze data from the 2003 Survey of Small Business Finances. Our results are consistent with previous studies that have found higher loan denial rates and lower loan application rates among women and minority business owners. Testing the robustness of the results, we find an asymmetry in the response of women business owners compared with minorities. The results suggest that women tend to ration themselves in the credit market, whereas minorities are rationed by banks through what appear to be prejudicial lending practices. The results for discouraged borrowers that estimate joint decisions of lenders and borrowers suggest that among those who apply for a loan, minority-owners have a higher chance of approval. This indicates that only higher quality firms apply for a loan, confirming the discouraging effect of banks' probabilistic offers. We also find that women and minority owners are more likely to be given a smaller loan than they request (type 1 rationing) than men and white owners. In addition, women-owned firms receive significantly smaller loan amounts than men-owned firms. There is no difference, however, in the approved loan amount between minority and white-owned firms.
Open Access
Welfare reform, child care considerations, and migration decisions
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Kepner, Valerie K., author; Mushinski, David, advisor
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), passed in 1996, instituted a new welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), with an emphasis on working for one's benefits and a five-year lifetime limit on benefits whereby benefits are withdrawn no matter one's financial or employment circumstances-thereby putting an end to the "enabling" aspect of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Given the changes to the welfare system, the research conducted here is done in an attempt to determine the migration effects (both the welfare magnet effect and the effect of social capital on migration) of the new work incentives arising out of PRWORA. Regarding the welfare magnet effect, the empirical results suggest that more aggressive state TANF programs effectively deter migration. In one way, this implies that states need only toughen their stance on welfare benefits and work requirements to stop the flow of potential welfare recipients into their states. On the other hand, the results also suggest that welfare recipients already living within the more aggressive states are not moving to find employment and, therefore, may not be behaving in ways that would make available sufficient employment opportunities. Regarding the effect of social capital on migration patterns, the empirical results suggest that some welfare-receiving mothers are not responding to TANF incentives by moving. More specifically, if welfare-susceptible mothers reported using their access to social capital (i.e., relatives) to provide care for their children, they were less likely to have moved recently. It may then be proposed that many single mothers are not poor because they choose to be but because their choice sets (at least in their eyes) are such that self-sufficiency is unattainable and financial and emotional help is a necessity, whether it comes from the government or friends and family.
Open Access
Financing the U.S. deficit: adjustment mechanics between the U.S. and Japan
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Qian, Shenglin, author; Vasudevan, Ramaa, advisor; Koontz, Stephen R., committee member; Braunstein, Elissa, committee member
Japan has run a large trade surplus with the U.S. and has financed the U.S. deficit for a long time, so the adjustment mechanism of financial flows between the U.S. and Japan is an important issue. In this paper, in order to investigate the capital flow between Japan and the U.S, I build a VAR model to study the fluctuations of interest rate spread between the U.S. and Japan and international reserve of Japan. The analysis of the Impulse Response Function suggests that the dynamic response to an event, such as the rise of the deficit of the U.S. is such that movements in the international reserve of Japan and the interest rate spread tend to restore equilibrium. To support my conclusion, I use the subset of the sample data to simulate and forecast the real event. The work shows that the model can accurately explain the adjustment process.
Open Access
Entrepreneurship, information, and economic growth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Bunten, Devin, author; Weiler, Stephan, advisor; Phillips, Ronnie J., 1951-, committee member; Zahran, Sammy J., committee member
This thesis analyzes the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth across US cities within a formal production function approach. Like previous analyses of economic growth--but unlike many studies of entrepreneurship--economic growth is measured in personal income per worker. The production function features three traditional inputs with a novel fourth: entrepreneurial capital. Entrepreneurship is a process of information revelation which produces a dynamic externality providing marketplace information to potential future market entrants, outside firms, lenders and others. Entrepreneurial capital measures the contribution of this information to economic growth. Multiple measurements of entrepreneurial capital are used, each emphasizing different aspects of the entrepreneurial environment. The statistical results support the views that entrepreneurship is a causal input to local economic growth, that the effects of entrepreneurship are geographically localized, and that the thicker markets of large cities.
Open Access
The creative destruction of the "winner-take-all" society? Property rights and the economics of the long tail in the music industry
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Strachan, Ian Clark, author; Phillips, Ronnie J., 1951-, advisor; Graff, Gregory D., committee member; Jianakoplos, Nancy A., 1951-, committee member; Mushinski, David W., committee member
Technological change has always impacted the music industry, which is now absorbing the destructive effects of the digital revolution. The Internet and MP3s have allowed for illegal downloading and file sharing. For producers, revenue streams have run dry because consumers can get their music for free. The old property rights regime has been eroded for incumbents and a market failure is imminent. But the digital revolution also has the potential to create opportunity for entrepreneurial artists and firms who are able to utilize new technology for disseminating their content. This dissertation utilizes a random sample of recorded music unit sales for 2,051 artists from 2004 to 2008. The data is used to test if the digital revolution has created a 'long tail effect' where less popular and nascent artists enjoy more sales, or a 'superstar effect' where a small number of top artists take the lion's share of sales. I find that the market is characterized by an extremely skewed sales distribution profile which reaches a peak in both sales and inequality in 2006 while sales and inequality decline thereafter. I also find a superstar effect in digital formats and a long tail effect in non-digital formats across all five years. The 'middle class' of artists also declines steadily. For property rights, these changes in the sales distribution profile highlight the importance of retaining excludability through bundling content together. Bundling can still be facilitated by copyright collectives and intermediaries.