Determinants of Percent Change of Endangered Mammal Species:
A Cross Sectional Study
By: Shaylyn Allen
sra001@maritta.edu
A Senior Capstone Paper Submitted to:
Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani
ECON 421: Empirical Research
Marietta College
December 2013
ABSTRACT:
This study was designed to find the determinants of the percentage change in
endangerment of mammal species, in hopes to decrease biodiversity loss. The semilog equation was estimated using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method of
regression. With a sample of 75 countries in the year of 2008, six independent
variables that were included were found to be statistically affecting the percentage
change in endangered mammal species. The elasticity of endangered mammal species
with respect to gross domestic product growth rate and carbon dioxide emissions was
found to be positive and significant. The precipitation, temperature, interaction
between both precipitation and temperature, and the percent of mammal species
endemic to a country were found to significantly increasing the percent change of
endangered mammals, while the percent of land protected was found to be
significantly decreasing the percentage change of endangered mammal species.
Variables that were included and not found to be significantly affecting the dependent
were the percent of urban land, the logs of human population density, species richness
and invasive species.
Key words: Endangered Species, Regression, Gross Domestic Product, Pollution,
Mammals
JEL Codes: Q20, Q28, Q57
DETERMINANTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN EUROPE: DID
THE EURO HAVE AN EFFECT?
By: Tyler Blume
Tjb006@marietta.edu
A senior capstone paper submitted to
Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani
Econ 421: Empirical Research
Marietta College
December 2013
Abstract
This paper develops and estimates a model on the determinants of economic growth
in Europe using short run aggregate supply and aggregate demand theory. The
question of interest is: did the induction of the Euro and the continued move towards
converging currencies spur economic growth? The sample of this study consists of
31of the 47 members of the Council of Europe in the years 2000 and 2004
respectively. The dependent variable is percentage change in real GDP in country i
during year t. The major result of this study is that the convergence to the Euro did
not have a significant effect on percentage change in real GDP. Other findings
include a significant positive correlation between the year dummy and the dependent
variable as well as a significant negative correlation between the price for a liter of oil
and the dependent variable.
Keywords: GDP growth, Euro, Regression
JEL: C21, F43, F36
Towards a More Liberal International Order: Factors Leading to the
Creation of Bilateral Free Trade Agreements
By: Eric A Miranda
eam004@marietta.edu
A Capstone Paper,
Submitted to Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani,
ECON 421: Empirical Research,
Marietta College
December 2013
Abstract:
The liberal economic order being advocated first by the United Kingdom in the nineteenth
century and by the United States in the twentieth and twenty first centuries has caused Free
Trade Agreements (FTAs) to grow in popularity, and their rate of formation has accelerated
since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper seeks to explain the
determinants of bilateral FTA formation. The paper will do this using a probit estimation
model which analyzes 87 observations (bilateral pairs of countries) randomly selected from
the population of polities. The paper finds that a common language, distance, and
diplomatic relations all have a tremendous impact on FTA formation.
Keywords: Bilateral Free Trade Agreement, Probit Model, Political Factors
Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes: F14, F15, F55
DETERMINANTS OF INWARD FOREIGN DIRECT
INVESTMENT IN LATIN AMERICA 2008-2011: AN EMPIRICAL
ANALYSIS
By: Sean O. Kuhn
sok001@marietta.edu
A senior capstone paper
Submitted to Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani
Econ 421: Empirical Research
Marietta College
December 2013
Abstract
Since 2000 wherein the UN’s Millennium Development Goals enumerated foreign
direct investment as a targeted method of ending absolute poverty, the size of FDI
inflows into the developing world have markedly increased. Empirical analyses
thereon generally fall into one of two separate but inherently related camps—whereas
the first set examines the factors which influence the size of FDI inflows, the second
set attempts to quantify the relationship between these inflows and host-state
development. This study employs three variations on a yearly fixed-effect OLS
methodology in an attempt to answer the former question framed with respect to a
sample of twenty developing nations in Latin America between 2008 and 2011. To
supplement the canonical dependent variable definition of FDI as a percentage of
GDP, novel analysis is introduced by also defining FDI inflows in terms of their
elasticity and as a per capita measurement. Across all dependent variable
operationalizations, host states’ business climates and export barriers are found to be
significantly correlated with FDI [positively and negatively, respectively]. Freedom
from corruption, democracy, natural resource endowment, corporate profit tax rates,
and population are also found to be positively and significantly correlated with FDI in
at least one equation.
Key Words:
Foreign Direct Investment, Latin America, Regression
JEL Codes:
F230, F590
THE EFFECTS OF GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION:
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
By: Tristine Toves
tst003@marietta.edu
A Senior Capstone Paper
Submitted to Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani
ECON 421: Empirical Research
Marietta College
December 2013
Abstract
This study uses a sample of the 50 U.S. states during 1998 and the OLS method to
estimate three regression equations in order to determine the effect of gun control
legislation, among other control variables, on the violent crime rate, the murder and
non-negligent manslaughter rate, and the percent of murders committed by firearm in
a state. The degree of gun control legislation in place during 1998, as measured by
the Open Society Institute’s index, was not found to have a statistically significant
impact on the violent crime rate, non-negligent manslaughter rate, or the percent of
murders committed by firearm. However, I found that the degree of urbanization and
the percentage of a state’s population that was African-American were significant
predictors of various measures of crime rates. I also found that the availability of
firearms, measured by the number of federal firearms licensees (FFLs) that were
either dealers or pawnbrokers per 100,000 people in a state did not have a significant
effect on the percent of murders committed by firearm in a state. My findings suggest
that future efforts to control crime rates should not focus on tightening gun control
legislation, but on other factors affecting crime rates.
Keywords: Gun Control, Crime Rates, Regression
K00, Z18, K30, K39
Determinants of the Female Labor Force Participation Rate in the
United States: A State-Level Cross Sectional Study in 2000 & 2010
By: Xiaoyan Liu
xl007@marietta.edu
A senior capstone paper submitted to
Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani
Econ 421: Empirical Research
Marietta College
December 2013
ABSTRACT
The overall female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLPR) has declined in the US in
recent years. In some states, however, this rate has increased. What are the causes of
the overall decline in FLFPR and what are the factors that account for the differences
in the FLFPR across the fifty states and the District of Columbia? To find the answers
to these two questions, this study uses the OLS method, a cross-sectional state level
data set in the U.S. in years 2000 & 2010 to estimate a regression equation in which
the dependent variable is the FLFPR. The major findings of this study are that the
variables controlling for education, eligibility for welfare payments, having young
children, and median age of female population positively and significantly correlated
with the FLFPR. While the variables controlling for the percentage of female
disabled, the existence of diversion program, the average household size, the male and
female unemployment rates, the female median age squared, and a dummy taking a
value of 1 in 2010 were factors that negatively and significantly correlated with the
FLFPR.
Key Words: Female Labor Force Participation Rate; Empirical Analysis; Regression
Journal of Economic Literature classification codes: D13, E24, J20, J4