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Sector-Specific Volatility Management: Evidence from U.S. Equity Industry Portfolios
Get PDFWithin this paper I examine the performance of volatility management across ten U.S. equity industry portfolios. This research is motivated by Moreira and Muir’s (2017) findings, which show that scaling exposure inversely with realized volatility increases Sharpe ratios. I evaluate four distinct volatility-management techniques: one-month realized variance, one-month realized volatility, six-month exponentially weighted moving average of realized volatility (EWMA), and GARCH forecasted one-month volatility. I find that volatility-managed industry portfolios statistically and economically increase Sharpe and Sortino ratios in direct comparison to their unmanaged counterparts. The EWMA strategy provides the most robust performance after accounting for practical transaction costs and leverage constraints. Industries that exhibit the strongest benefits from volatility management include technology, telecom, and utilities. I also find strategy performance varies across subperiods, as negative skewness and kurtosis may disrupt traditional volatility patterns. An analysis of utility confirms that volatility management increases the welfare of both mean-variance and benchmark-aware investors, with the technology portfolio emerging as the most favorable sector for implementation of volatility-management strategies
The Impact of Job Loss on Health-Related Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFIn this paper, I explore the effects of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic on self-reported general and mental health conditions and health insurance coverage. Using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from 2018-2022, I evaluate the effects of job loss on these health-related outcomes by conducting a year-over-year analysis. I also examine changes in job loss effects during the pandemic by performing a difference-in-differences analysis. Overall, I find that job loss is associated with a higher likelihood of having fair or poor general and mental health, a higher likelihood to have Medicaid/SCHIP, and a lower likelihood to have private insurance. These findings are consistent with existing literature. When isolating job losses that occurred during the pandemic, I do not observe any statistically significant differences. I attribute this, in part, to government interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic whose goal was to alleviate the financial and health-related burdens of job loss. These measures include the distribution of stimulus payments and the implementation of programs designed to help people maintain health insurance coverage despite unemployment. My findings highlight the critical role of government intervention in mitigating the negative health-related impacts of job loss during periods of economic downturn. While job loss remains associated with poorer health outcomes and shifts in insurance coverage, the lack of additional adverse effects during the pandemic suggests timely policy responses can play a protective role. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of adaptive public health and economic policies to support vulnerable populations during future economic crises
The Uncertain Promise of Foreign Bank Entry: Institutional Quality Effects on the Foreign Bank–Financial Inclusion Nexus
Get PDFDespite the precipitous rise in foreign bank presence due to ever increasing financial globalization, the literature on the nexus between foreign banks and financial inclusion remains critically underdeveloped. This paper revisits the relationship between foreign bank presence and financial inclusion in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs), extending the methodology of Gopalan and Rajan (2018) by integrating updated ownership data from Panizza (2024) and introducing institutional quality as a moderating variable. Employing both fixed effects and system generalized method of moments on a panel dataset of 128 EMDEs, this study finds that foreign bank presence has a far more ambiguous effect on the outreach and usage dimensions of financial inclusion than previously assumed. Foreign banks only enhance financial inclusion when interacted with measures of banking-sector institutional quality, highlighting the crucial role of institutional credibility in enabling inclusive financial intermediation. While partial replication confirms their findings under original conditions, results diverge substantially from Gopalan and Rajan (2018) when using the Panizza (2024) dataset and excluding the Global Financial Crisis period. This study recommends that foreign bank entry liberalization efforts be accompanied by targeted improvements in banking sector governance to strengthen the absorptive capacity of domestic financial systems
Optimization & Simplification of Design Control Quality Management Systems
No full textThe Optimization & Simplification of Design Control Quality Management Systems (QMS) is a Team Master’s Project, completed on behalf of Mozarc Medical (MM), through the facilitation of Keck Graduate Institute. The project was completed by a team of two undergraduate students—Megan Birenbaum and Alvin Villarosa—three graduate students—Devon Cooper, Amritta Balaji, and Anabel Likoskendaj—and advised by Dr. Nazia Rashid, TMP Faculty Advisor. The project was sponsored by Emir Osmanagic, Mozarc Medical R&D Sr. Engineering Director, and conducted alongside our corporate liaison, Barbara Lancini, Mozarc Medical Sr. Manager Quality Engineering. The optimization and simplification of QMS is a component of MM’s transition into a separate entity from one of their founding companies, Medtronic. The project aimed to explore the efficacy of utilizing AI for quality document analysis and comparison, prioritizing security, consistency, and repeatability. Our work validated the effectiveness of Co-Pilot as an AI tool in completing MM’s QMS transformation. Our work has contributed to the overall objective of modifying, reducing, improving, and transforming (TRIM) quality management documentation in support of MM’s goal of improving productivity as an independent entity. Analyzed documents were transformed through manual reformatting and merging, submitted to subject matter experts within MM for review. This project will allow MM to be more flexible, efficient, and create more streamlined workflows within their QMS. These streamlined processes enhance MM’s agility and improve efficiency by reducing redundancies and clarifying necessary methodologies. We successfully TRIM-ed 75+ documents across numerous domains, screened 50+ documents for obsolescence, translated all documents into the software JAMA, and created visualizations for every domain through Microsoft Visio
The Mathematics of Musical Creation: Euclidean Rhythms and Triadic Group Actions
No full textMathematics and music have long shared an underlying affinity for pattern, symmetry, and precision. This paper explores two powerful mathematical frameworks— Euclidean rhythms and group actions on consonant triads—and examines their applications to musical structure and composition. Beginning with a historical overview of the interplay between mathematics and music, this paper reviews fundamental music theory concepts, introduces the construction of Euclidean rhythms and the operation of the T/I and PLR groups, and ends in an original composition synthesizing these ideas. Through this paper, we will reflect on the creative potential and practical limitations of employing mathematical techniques as generative tools in music-making
Optimization and Simplification of Mozarc Medical Design Control QMS
No full textIn the wake of corporate restructuring, Mozarc Medical (MM), a leading medical technology company specializing in kidney care undertook a comprehensive initiative to modernize its Quality Management System (QMS). A critical first step involved optimizing its inherited documentation landscape, consisting of policies, procedures, and work instructions that are not efficient for MM’s current employee management architecture—through artificial intelligence (AI)-driven strategies. Our team found novel ways to incorporate AI into developing MM’s QMS framework and manipulating with quality documentation systems to integrate them into MM’s current architecture. The first two deliverables of a year-long Team Master’s Project involved using AI to consolidate the quality documents inherited: (1) leveraging Microsoft CoPilot to conduct document gap analyses and (2) consolidating overlapping documentation into concise, standardized work instructions. Microsoft CoPilot, was employed to identify redundancies, inconsistencies, and obsolescence within QMS documents. A step-by-step methodology was developed to guide users through document upload, AI-assisted comparison, and synthesis. CoPilot’s AI capabilities reduced manual comparison time from over six hours to approximately 13 minutes per document pair. Based on CoPilot outputs, the team successfully merged a policy and procedure into a streamlined 20-page work instruction using a standardized template.
This foundational work established a scalable workflow for future documentation reform and demonstrated how AI can effectively reduce labor, improve clarity, and support regulatory compliance. The resulting process documentation—including CoPilot work instructions and formatting guides—will serve as key resources for ongoing internal transformation. Future phases of the project will involve completing additional document consolidations, evaluating alternative AI platforms with broader capacity, and integrating finalized documentation into enterprise systems such as Jama and Windchill. This work represents an important step in aligning operational efficiency with the company’s broader digital transformation strategy, ultimately enabling faster innovation, reduced risk, and improved usability of quality systems across the organization
Airline Deregulation and Its Discontents: How Political Ambition, Economic Ideals, and a Re-Concentrated Industry Led to Unintended Consequences
No full textThis thesis examines the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and the often-unintended consequences on the American aviation industry and the United States. Originally championed by Senator Ted Kennedy, economist Alfred Kahn, and future Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, deregulation aimed to lower fares, increase competition, and improve consumer choice. While it initially expanded air travel access and reduced fares, deregulation also triggered rapid industry consolidation, monopolistic practices, service losses to small and mid-sized communities, and long-term financial instability. Major carriers used hub-and-spoke models and mergers to dominate key airports, marginalize competitors, and drive up prices. Deregulation further exacerbated regional inequalities, reduced consumer protections, and contributed to labor market disruptions. This thesis explores these developments through historical analysis, case studies, and economic theory, ultimately arguing that while deregulation opened the skies to millions of Americans, it also created an oligopolistic system dependent on government bailouts. The work connects policy ambitions to their outcomes, highlighting lessons for the future of aviation policy in the United States
A Theory of Familial Justice
No full textThis thesis answers the question: how should we assess whether a family is just or not? I begin by challenging the claim that the traditional family model is a biological inevitability. I provide a brief historical account of family structures from the 1500s through the mid-twentieth century to demonstrate that prevailing notions of the family are social constructions, rather than natural facts. This preliminary analysis sets the stage for the main philosophical project of this thesis: the development of a contractualist framework for assessing familial justice. Building on the work of John Rawls, Susan Moller Okin, T.M. Scanlon, and Jean Hampton, I modify their approaches to fit the unique structure of family life and propose a revised contractualist framework.
From this framework, I derive a set of principles of familial justice, aimed at de-gendering parenting roles, prioritizing children\u27s rights, and fairly distributing the burdens and benefits of caregiving. The thesis concludes with preliminary proposals for implementing these principles through policy reforms, cultural shifts, and practices within everyday life. Reconceptualizing the family as a site subject to principles of justice, rather than as a natural or purely private association, allows for a vision of family structures that are more equitable, supportive, and capable of breaking persistent cycles of inequality
“Houston, We Have a [Legal] Problem:” Militarization, Resource Extraction, and the Law of Outer Space
No full textThe Space Treaty of 1967 has formed the bedrock of the international law governing outer space for nearly six decades. The legal regime it formed, however, now faces new challenges as both military and commercial activity in outer space continue to increase. States have identified outer space as a critical domain for national security, as space-based assets—most notably, satellites—enable military operations, communications, and economic activity. Moreover, technological advancements and renewed interest in the final frontier are engendering discussions about potential commercial resource extraction and the burgeoning space economy. The extent to which the Space Treaty regulates the use of outer space for military purposes and resource extraction is not only relevant, but also a subject of debate. Some scholars view the current legal regime—i.e., the lex lata—as fundamentally restrictive, while others advance a permissive construction. In light of this debate, I attempt to offer clarity by articulating arguments in favor of a permissive reading of the Space Treaty, as well as by defending the existence of a customary international right for states to use outer space for any non-aggressive military purpose. After demonstrating the permissive nature of the lex lata of outer space, this thesis promotes a vision of what the law ought to look like—i.e., the lex ferenda of outer space—in relation to impending militarization and commercial resource extraction
Isegoria in Crisis: Hong Kong\u27s Innovation System and Articulating the Right to be Heard Using Deliberative Democratic Theory
Get PDFI argue that Hong Kong maintains democratic deliberation through its innovation policy apparatus despite lacking traditional democratic processes. Using deliberative democratic theory and the concept of isegoria (speech of equals before equals), I demonstrate how Hong Kong\u27s innovation governance sustains meaningful consensus outside conventional democratic frameworks.
My analysis shows that while Hong Kong lacks free elections, democratic deliberation persists through alternative channels within science and technology governance. Innovation policy functions as a vehicle for justice-advancing deliberation despite institutional constraints, as deliberative bodies operate within limited time, authority, and resources.
I trace how Hong Kong\u27s innovation policy apparatus developed through the 1997 sovereignty transition, revealing how complex wicked problems created political space for consensus-building mechanisms that expanded state functions while maintaining market-oriented global governance norms. Hong Kong serves as a knowledge intermediary in supranational deliberation on innovation policy.
This case demonstrates democratic resilience through nontraditional deliberative devices, raising important questions about justice and isegoria in systems undergoing political transition