"This paper examines the effect of accumulated human capital, and particularly occupational human capital, on the earnings losses of displaced workers. Unlike most of the previous studies of job displacement, this paper uses a continuous measure of occupational skills transferability to measure...

Neoclassical theory of consumer behavior posits a static framework for utility maximization from micro perspectives. The consumer is assumed to behave as if he maximizes a utility function subject to a set of non-stochastic restrictions like exogenous prices and predetermined income. Gary Becker...

As the financial health of institutions of higher education become uncertain, a need exists to assess an institution's short and long-term viability. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a model developed by Leslie and Fretwell (1996) could have predicted the fiscal health for a...

Financial theory offers an array of explanations for corporate hedging. However, financial economists have not reached any definitive conclusions regarding whether corporations' hedging policies are consistent with theory. To examine this question, this study uses a database of the risk...

A computable general equilibrium model analyzes the tax effects of simultaneously reducing property taxes by 44 percent and increasing the rate of sales taxation from four to six percent in Michigan in 1994. The dissertation fills the void in the literature for empirical regional computable...

About 80% of the world's children live in developing countries. Their well-being as adults depends heavily on the education they receive. School enrollment rates have increased dramatically in developing counties since 1960, but many children still leave school at a young age and often learn...

The costs of state and local pension plans have been a source of fiscal stress in many states and communities. This has led legislatures to consider major changes in these plans. In order to assess the fiscal and staffing consequences of plan changes it is important to develop reliable...