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...

We study human capital accumulation in an environment of competitive search. Given that unemployed workers can default on their education loans, skilled individuals with a larger debt burden prefer riskier but better paid careers than is socially desirable. A higher level of employment risk in...

The following dissertation is a collection of four stand-alone research papers. The focus of my research is on the interplay of immigration, native human-capital investment and the resulting consequences for the labour market outcome of natives and necessary implications for the immigration...

The education systems of EE/CIS countries have undergone negative changes during the past 16 years. My paper examines these changes, identifies their causes and proposes solutions for improvement. I find that improved educational quality is the key for raising students’ enrolment and...

Die Arbeit stellt eine quantitative Untersuchung der regionalen Spillover-Effekte f?r einen sowohl sachlich als auch regional abgegrenzten Bereich - n?mlich die Gymnasien am Beispiel der Region Augsburg - dar. Dieses Ph?nomen spielt in der ?konomischen Theorie des F?deralismus und der damit...

This paper reassesses the debate over the role of education in farm production in Bangladesh using a large dataset on rice producing households from 141 villages. Average and stochastic production frontier functions are estimated to ascertain the effect of education on productivity and...