Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2018, Spatially Integrated Social Science

This dissertation is concerned with the spatial dynamics of the U.S. economy. Spatial dynamics is a termcoined in this dissertation to define the geo-spatial aspects of an observed natural process, particularly changes in its spatial relations over time. Geographic inquiry considering spatial dynamics requires an unassuming examination of spatial panel data, an approach that facilitates the discovery of new regularities and tendencies in spatial data and necessitates the development of more flexible tools and methods tailored to the peculiarities of the observed natural process. This dissertation demonstrates the practicality of spatial dynamics as a promising framework with the discovery, description, and analysis of two spatial economic paradoxes, which impelled the creation of several new tools and methods. The dissertation is composed of three essays linked by the exploration and analysis of the spatial dynamics of the U.S. economy, specifically its metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The first essay develops two new statistics that quantify physical and human capital accumulation in MSAs. These statistics are used to calculate the classical production function and derive the percent contribution of physical and human capital to average establishment size and Gross Domestic Product by MSA (MGDP). The results conformtomacroeconomic expectations and are spatially distributed according to the familiar economic geography of the United States, rendering the statistics usefulfor spatial economic analysis. The second essay explores the observation that MGDP growth rates are spatially clustered and MGDP levels are uniformly distributed (i.e., exhibit no spatial correlation). This finding is paradoxical because the level of economic activity is the aggregation of previous growth patterns and, if economic growth in the spatial economy is persistently clustered, the location of economic activity should follow the same pattern. The essay seeks (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Oleg Smirnov Dr. (Committee Chair); Olugbenga Ajilore Dr. (Committee Member); Peter S. Lindquist Dr. (Committee Member); David J. Nemeth Dr. (Committee Member); Neil Reid Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Geography; Regional Studies; Statistics

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2009, Applied Mathematics

This paper models the economic growth of a developing country. An integrated approach incorporating, capital, technology, and human capital is used. The model is a Hamiltonian problem that maximizes utility by determining the amount of time that should be spent each day in production, investment in human capital, investment in health education, and leisure. Adding leisure time into the model is used to determine if this will allow economic growth of the country. Numerical solutions of the model are found and show that adding leisure increases productivity and technology, but results in a decrease to life expectancy. Stability analysis of the model shows that leisure provides multiple unstable paths for the country, although a trap stable fixed point can still occur.

Committee: Gerald Young PhD (Advisor); Curtis Clemons PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Mathematics

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2003, Arts and Sciences : Economics

Sub-Saharan Africa has been perceived as a very high-risk place for investment for diverse reasons, including incredible rules, systemic corruption, political instability and social unrest, lack of formal mechanism of contract enforcement and insecure property rights. Because of this perception, investors are reluctant to commit capital. Our case- studies in Mali and Burkina Faso, suggest that these beliefs are well - founded; the lack of contract discipline is real. Firms and businessmen prefer to rely on mechanisms of commercial enforcement based on personal recommendations, repeated interactions as they lack confidence in the legal system and the effectiveness of the judiciary. In the empirical cross- country analysis section, we attempt to build some link between this lack of formal mechanism of contract enforcement (or secure property rights) and investment and economic growth. The empirical section investigates the general proposition that insecure property rights lower growth by limiting capital accumulation. Variables that capture political violence and secure property right are introduced in the framework popularized by Barro and Sala-I-Martin for cross-country growth analysis to shed light on these relationships. Evidence from 48 Sub-Saharan African countries does not bring any support to our first claim that insecure property rights deter investment. However, the cross-country growth analysis shows a significant negative relationship between Gastil index and growth. In this study, Gastil index measures political freedom and civil liberties in a given country. The higher this index, the lower political freedom and civil liberties for the country. This negative relationship between Gastil index and growth confirms our hypothesis that insecure property rights reduce growth.

Committee: Dr. Mayer Wolfgang (Advisor) Subjects: Economics, General

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Economics

This dissertation investigates the relation between investment-specific technical change and long-run economic growth. The first essay points out the discrepancy between the steady state growth theorem and recent economic growth driven by information technology. Previous study finds that investment-specific technological progress accounts for 58% of economic growth in the U.S. However, their result hinges on the assumption of the Cobb-Douglas production function. This paper employs the CES production function to investigate the effect of investment-specific technological progress on long-run economic growth. In the steady state, quality improvement in each vintage is directed to expand more functions in one machine, resulting in contraction in the types of capital. The offsetting effect between quality and variety implies that the relative capital income share is constant in the steady state. Empirical tests for the U.S. data show that investment-specific technological progress does not generate long-run economic growth. The elasticity of substitution is significantly less than one, and that there is an offsetting effect to investment-specific technological progress. The second essay investigates the quality changes in capital and labor inputs across 46 industries from 1968 to 2001. We incorporate a time-varying quality measure to the efficiency units of capital. The result indicates that the average quality of capital assets over time has improved 46 percent in the cross industry average. The quality improvement effect accounts for 30 percent in the total growth of the efficiency units of capital. Although the net quantity effect is still the largest component in the growth of the efficiency units of capital, there is significant substitution among different vintages and asset types as well. The average quality growth in the efficiency units of labor is 17 percent. The third essay investigates unbalanced growth facts and their implications for existing growth theor (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Evans (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2005, International Studies - Latin America

This paper is concerned with the impacts of various growth determinants on the per capita growth rate in Latin America. The choice of explanatory variables is based on the framework proposed by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1999). Panel data technique is used to estimate the growth regression using data on seventeen Latin American countries from 1952 to 2000. The regression results show evidence of conditional convergence among the countries studied, pointing to the need for an upward shift in the steady-state level of the region. The results indicate that per capita growth in Latin America increases with an increase of the life expectancy, openness and investment. On the other hand, the initial level of GDP per capita, government spending and the polity score are found to be negatively related to the per capita growth rate. A puzzling finding is that schooling is not a significant determinant for growth in Latin America.

Committee: Julia Paxton (Advisor) Subjects: Economics, General

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Management

With a new wave of policy reforms taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa to render the investment environment more favorable and lure investors, whether investors are responding to the changes and investing in the different sectors of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rather than predominantly in natural resources is uncertain. The investment environment is critical to investors while making decisions on FDI in SSA. While most developing countries depend heavily on FDI as a source of financing, FDI in the critical sectors providing greater value-added and enhancing productivity remain negligible in SSA. The findings from a mixed-methods study suggest that despite the endeavor of SSA to improve the investment environment, FDI in certain sectors is not responding properly to the specific changes in policy reforms concerning investment security, a conducive environment, or economic integration, although an increase in overall FDI is recorded during later periods of higher reforms (2005–2018) than during earlier periods of lower reforms (1998–2004). This dissertation consists of three studies integrated as a mixed-methods study. In Study 1, we conducted a qualitative analysis of 25 MNEs and governmental and non-governmental agencies to investigate how foreign investors are navigating SSA as a host for FDI, considering the current changes in the investment environment of SSA. This assessment provides an understanding of the shift in the inflow of FDI. The findings suggest that the tendencies of potential investors in Sub-Saharan African countries are drawn to make investment decisions based on various factors such as investment security, a conducive environment, and the role of economic integration in strengthening the investment environment in SSA. In Study 2, we set out to investigate the role of economic integration and its effects on investment security and a conducive environment in attracting the inflow of FDI. The analysis consisted of examining secondary data on tot (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bo Carlsson (Committee Member); Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Chair); Philip Cola (Committee Member); Yunmei Wang (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Management; Public Policy

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ohio University, 2023, Business Administration

This study explores the effects that financial inclusion (the access to the financial system and financial penetration within a country) and government effectiveness play in the income levels of 130 countries over four years. Stemming from macroeconomic growth literature, two fixed effects models that incorporate government effectiveness and financial inclusion are estimated using Ordinary Least Squares. The models control for World Bank income level, and countries are placed into one of two categories: developed or developing. Results of these two models reveal that both financial inclusion and government effectiveness are associated with increased economic growth over time. Model 1 finds that an increase of one percent in the population over the age of fifteen reporting either an individual or joint account at a financial institution is associated with a $141.37 increase in GDP per capita for that country. Additionally, an increase of one in a country's government effectiveness score is associated with an $8955.40 increase in that country's GDP per capita. Moreover, when these two variables interact with each other, this study reveals dual causality between savings account ownership and government effectiveness. These insights reveal that policies oriented towards improving institutions and financial access can lead to economic growth.

Committee: Julia Paxton (Advisor); Daniel Karney (Advisor); Raymond Frost (Advisor) Subjects: Economics

Master of Arts in Financial Economics, Youngstown State University, 2021, Lariccia School of Accounting and Finance

Substantial research has been conducted on the effects of IMF conditional loans on the economic and political aspects within a borrowing country; however, little is known about the effect of these loans on gender equality. In this paper, it is suggested that austerity measures imposed by IMF conditionality has negative effects on gender equality in the recipient countries. In order to bring an empirical proof, data from the IMF programs on 99 low-medium income countries from 2010-2018 has been gathered and combined together. The results from the study suggest that the increase in the number of economic conditions of an IMF loan most likely results in a decrease of gender equality levels. The major implication from this paper is that the IMF should consider closing the gap between genders when imposing its conditions because this will not only protect women's right but also will stimulate economic growth.

Committee: Jeremy Schwartz PhD (Advisor); Ou Hu PhD (Committee Member); Ebenge Usip PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Finance; Gender

Honors Theses, Ohio Dominican University, 2020, Honors Theses

This study adds updated research to the study of corruption and growth. A simple linear regression analysis replicates findings of previous research that corruption is a deterrent, not a catalyst, to growth in economies across the globe. The results of this study show that as corruption levels decrease, growth, as measured by GDP per capita, begins to rise. More specifically, if a country improves its corruption perception score by 0.8, its GDP per capita will rise by approximately $1000. How corruption affects growth is also analyzed and is followed by policy implications for countries to reduce the spread of corruption.

Committee: Douglas Ruml D.B.A. (Advisor); Daniel Martin M.F.E. (Committee Member); Janet Antwi Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Marazita Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Economics

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2020, Geography

Bangladesh, one of the five fastest-growing economies of the world achieved remarkable economic growth over the last two decades and now considered as the next Asian tiger despite so many obstacles like frequent natural disasters, corruption, and political unrest. Although it achieves strong economic growth, all the economic sectors are not performing well. Again, the growth is not evenly happened throughout the country and all the regions are not performing at the same pace. Regional inequality is a hindrance to social justice and equity and the persistence of regional disparities impedes the ability of a country to promote economic growth and social integration. This research was aimed to study the influential sectors and determinant factors that drive the economy of Bangladesh towards such growth. The study identified the important sectors and prominent determinant factors using regression and correlation analysis, and spatial regression techniques. The study has explored the regional variation and spatial pattern in these sectors and factors using the 64 administrative districts as the spatial unit of analysis. Regional variation has been assessed using the mapping technique while the spatial pattern has been identified using spatial autocorrelation technique: Global Moran's I, General G Statistics, and LISA. The study has clearly delineated the lagging regions in terms of the performance of these sectors and factors. Those regions should be prioritized in any future economic development plan. In addition, the ever-increasing trend of income inequality should be addressed. Otherwise, a large section of the population cannot be benefited from this economic growth due to unequal growth of income.

Committee: Bhuiyan Alam (Committee Chair); Sujata Shetty (Committee Member); Dwight Haase (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, East Asian Languages and Literatures

Some branches of neoclassical economics claim that no matter when a government interferes with the economy and attempts to spur economic growth, ultimately it will result in market distortions and failure. However, the Chinese economic miracle and China's rising standing in the world have attracted the attention of the world, proving that developing countries can following another path. Justin Yifu Lin's New Structural economics provides us with new concepts, such as industrial upgrading, transaction costs and strategic industries, that can form a new theoretical base with which to analyze the economic problems of developing countries. Through the perspective of New Structural Economics, this paper analyzes the Chinese state-owned economic system, specifically that of the telecommunications industry. This paper utilizes two to answer two important questions: 1) In order to explore whether the Chinese telecommunication industry's central enterprises are competitive, this paper takes a micro perspective by 8 years of data from these central enterprises' annual reports and analyzing efficiency, profitability, and other measures of performance. Afterward, the author compares this data with the other BRICS member states to further the analysis; 2) in order to prove whether economic growth and growth in mobile teledensity are causally related, this paper uses data from the Chinese Bureau of Statistics in order to build a dynamic panel dataset and then uses the Dumitresu and Hurlin (2012) granger non-causality test to explore the relationship between the two variables.

Committee: Xiaobin Jian (Committee Member); Jianqi Wang (Committee Member); Galal Walker (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; Economics

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2020, African Studies (International Studies)

Women play an important role in the fisheries and aquaculture sub-sector in Kenya. They constitute between 45% and 60% of the farmers in the broader agricultural sector. Through this paper I examine the role that small-scale women fish farmers play in ensuring self-reliance and socioeconomic growth. The research data were collected in the form of interviews, participatory observations, and archival materials as my method. The target population was Central and Western Kenya, specifically Kakamega, Kisii, Nairobi, Kiambu, and Nyeri counties. I argue that while women play a pivotal role in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, they are often neglected as participants in the decision-making process of the policies aimed at its development. Through the research, I found that women played a role in each aspect of the sector, but were more inclined to the value addition, processing, and marketing of fish, while men were more involved in production, particularly site selection, pond construction, and how capital would be used. Women's participation in the sector was limited by various factors, with limited land ownership and difficulties in accessing finance as the main factors affecting them. Likewise, I found that there exist gender biases when it comes to cultural, religious, dietary practice, and gender dynamics. Women in the research areas also integrated fish farming with diversified livelihood strategies in an attempt to increase their income and self-reliance. I make three policy recommendations: increased dialogue between the key stakeholders to influence policy reforms about gender bias and disparity; an equitable access to resources; and an increase in support from the government and other NGOs to AAK and other similar organizations that can help improve their capability.

Committee: Elizabeth Wangui PhD (Committee Chair); Risa Whitson PhD (Committee Member); Geoffrey Dabelko PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Aquaculture; Environmental Studies; Fish Production; Food Science; Gender Studies; Sub Saharan Africa Studies; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

This research examines specific impacts of the Great Recession on local and regional economies across the United States. This recession was the worst economic downturn in the last sixty years, and the first of its kind since modern datasets are available to explore more localized effects. The following essays explore patterns in labor markets that affect wages, regional employment, and firm growth. My first chapter explores how a region's endowment of natural amenities affects labor market outcomes during an economic downturn. Using national wage and employment data from the Census Bureau and the USDA's Natural Amenities Scale, I examine how the recession influenced local wage levels across high and low amenity areas. I find the preexisting wage gap between low and high amenity areas that represents the capitalized value of these amenities disappeared during the recession. These results combined with evidence of larger declines in employment in the high amenity areas point towards a relative reduction in labor supply, not increased labor demand, consistent with the results expected from a decrease in the demand for natural amenities. My second chapter examines shifts in the balance of agglomeration and competition among restaurants and retail firms during the recession. For these firms, location choice represents a trade-off between the forces of local spatial competition that push similar firms apart, and the benefits from clustering in the form of shopping externalities. Shopping externalities arise because consumers prefer destinations with a wide variety of goods that minimize their shopping costs. I hypothesize that the recession reduces these shopping externalities through increased competition and income effects on consumers' budgets. Using spatial concentration of firms in the same industry as a signal of higher competition, I classify the level of competition in each firm's local environment based on the number of other firms in the same 6-digit (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elena Irwin (Advisor); Mark Partridge (Committee Member); Brian Roe (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Regional Studies

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2018, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

This three-essay dissertation seeks to resolve some of the unanswered questions that exist about high-growth firms (HGFs). Paper I identifies the antecedents and outcomes of HGFs to better inform economic development policy. In explaining the theoretical and operational constructs of these concepts, a model of the situation of high-growth firms is developed, dubbed the Model of High Growth Firm Antecedents and Outputs. Antecedents to HGFs include an entrepreneurial mindset, firm strategic resources, and firm structural characteristics, while outputs of HGFs include regional innovation outcomes and regional economic outcomes. Paper II investigated the quantitative association between antecedents and outputs of HGFs. This paper used path analysis to test hypotheses within the Regional High-Growth Firm Antecedents and Outcomes Framework, and finds a strong positive association between most antecedents (human capital, startup capital, and business costs) and HGFs, a positive relationship between most antecedents and outcomes (employment and per capita income), and an association between HGFs and employment. Paper III establishes a typology of HGFs using cluster-discriminate analysis. Using a sample of 26,104 firms in the state of Ohio from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, this paper finds that only a small portion of HGFs display high-growth characteristics described in the literature.

Committee: Edward Hill (Committee Chair); Rajshekhar Javalgi (Committee Member); Haifeng Qian (Committee Member) Subjects: Regional Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Wright State University, 2018, International and Comparative Politics

How do authoritarian states prioritize between economic growth and territorial integrity? China, as an authoritarian state, is growing in political and economic capacity. By examining challenges to China's territorial integrity, this study examines Chinese responses to visits by the Dalai Lama with government officials in Germany and Austria, as well as official visits by Uyghur dissidents to Germany and Turkey. Analyzing quarterly trade data and specific trade sectors with author created rating schema, patterns emerge. Employing a hybrid framework introduced by Sverdrup-Thygeson (2015), this study analyzes Chinese actions against perceived offending states. This study finds that levels of threshold are present in Chinese responses to perceived dissident threats. The conclusions of this study help answer how China prioritize responses to individuals bringing international attention to domestic issues and challenging Chinese state authority, these findings help indicate thresholds for actions taken by other authoritarian states.

Committee: Laura Luehrmann Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Pramod Kantha Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kathryn Meyer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; International Relations; Political Science

Master of Financial Economics, Ohio University, 2018, Economics (Arts and Sciences)

Economic Problems in Saudi Arabia: a Study on Determinants of Economic Growth and Youth Unemployment. The current thesis analyzes the economic problems in Saudi Arabia with a special focus on economic growth and youth unemployment. The economic growth of Saudi Arabia is measured in terms of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP), which are considered as two dependent variables in the research. Additionally, various economic factors such as Gross Capital Formation (GCF), Labor Force (LF), Human Component (HC), Oil price, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are used as independent variables for identifying the reasons behind slow economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The research also includes a discussion on proposed models, choosing one under the basis of regression analysis. The current research indicates that the GDP of Saudi Arabia depends significantly on the rate of youth unemployment and the FDI. Therefore, it is evident that the economic issues in Saudi Arabia can be mitigated by reducing the rate of unemployment and increasing the FDI.

Committee: Roy Boyd Ph.D. (Advisor); Khosrow Doroodian Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Finance

BA, Oberlin College, 2016, Politics

Private sector investment has become one of the most essential sources of international capital flows to developing countries. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as one type of private sector investment has the potential to drive economic growth and development. Understanding the factors that motivate or deter foreign investors from investing in a developing country therefore is crucial. This thesis examines the particular case of Pakistan and analyzes internal and external factors that have affected the inclines and declines in inflows of FDI to the country between 2000 and 2014. By performing a comparative sectoral analysis, this thesis examines the effects of government efficacy, national security, and global levels of FDI inflows on FDI inflows on three distinct sectors in Pakistan: Energy, Telecommunications, and Financial Services. The thesis argues that a rapidly deteriorating domestic situation post-2008 due to weakened governance and limited security provision within the country has increased the perceived levels of risk and uncertainty associated with investing in Pakistan. This has resulted in a sharp decline in FDI inflows to the country.

Committee: Eve Sandberg (Advisor) Subjects: Political Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1955, Geography

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Committee: Eugene Van Cleef (Advisor) Subjects: Geography

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2015, Latin American Studies (International Studies)

For the last ten years, Brazilian commodity share in its exports has grown due to the commodity boom in the 2000s. Nowadays, Brazil is one of the biggest producers of commodities in the world. However, the growth of the commodity sector in the economy has not been followed by the industrial sector, suggesting that the decrease of industrial production might be caused by a deindustrialization happening in Brazil. This thesis aims to study the interrelationship between these sectors using the variables: industrial production, petroleum export value, iron ore export value, coffee export value and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil. The econometric model was used and it confirmed the interrelationship of the variables, however with surprise results. Commodity export do affect industrial production, but in a positive manner and GDP also, however mainly in a negative way.

Committee: Roberto Duncan (Committee Chair); Mariana Dantas (Committee Member); Nukhet Sandal (Committee Member); Ariaster Chimeli (Advisor) Subjects: Economics; International Relations; Latin American Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Economics

In the first essay, I study the marginal product of capital (MPK) across countries and showed that the MPK is significantly higher in poor countries than in rich countries. The counter-factual equalization of the MPK across countries through capital re-allocation shows that output loss due to the sub-optimal allocation of capital is significant. These findings contrast with the results of Caselli and Feyrer (2007), who find that the MPKs are equalized across countries by comparing the MPK of the reproducible capital across countries. In the second essay, I analyze Restuccia and Rogerson (2008) model showing that policies disturbing efficient allocation of resources can have sizable negative effect on aggregate output and productivity. Based on Restuccia and Rogerson (2008) and other recent works (e.g. Hsieh and Klenow, 2009), one of the key premises of the misallocation literature is that the low income countries are likely to have high degree of distortionary policies. Then question of interest is to what extent the misallocation created by distortionary policies can explain the very large differences in per capita income across countries? I seek answer to this question by applying simple measures derived from within the model of Restuccia and Rogerson (2008) to data from 86 developing countries collected by World Bank, and find that there is no relation between the extent of distortion and cross-country income differences. In the third essay, I analyze effects of closing gender gap in tertiary education on aggregate human capital and income per capita. Opportunity of obtaining high education had historically been privileges granted predominately to men. As recently as 1950, on average only 19% of the people with tertiary education were women in today's OECD countries. This number increased to 49.5% in 2010. How does empowerment of women allowing them to obtain higher education affect aggregate human capital and economic growth? I seek an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Hajime Miyazaki (Advisor) Subjects: Economics