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Essays in International Macroeconomics and Finance
No full textThis dissertation is a study of deviations from covered interest rate parity (CIP) as imperfections in dollar funding markets and their macroeconomic implications. It explores how CIP deviations relate to key policy tools, monetary policy and central bank swap lines, which play a crucial role in supporting the international monetary and financial system. In particular, I analyze how CIP deviations affect the transmission of US monetary policy and determine the optimal central bank swap line policy for stabilizing CIP deviations.
In the first chapter, I empirically examine effects of US monetary policy on CIP deviations in the post-global financial crisis (GFC) period. For this purpose, I construct a panel dataset consisting of CIP deviations for G10 currencies and US monetary policy shocks identified using the high-frequency method. Currency fixed effect regressions reveal that a contractionary US monetary policy shock significantly widens CIP deviations in the post-GFC period. This suggests that the cost of synthetic dollar funding increases more than direct dollar funding, given that synthetic funding has generally been more expensive since the GFC. Furthermore, impulse response analysis, estimated using local projections with high-frequency monetary surprises as instrumental variables, shows that these effects are persistent over time.
The second chapter proposes a new transmission channel of US monetary policy through FX swap markets: the synthetic dollar funding channel. To explain this, I develop a two-country New Keynesian model with an FX swap market, where US banks supply synthetic dollar funding by arbitraging CIP deviations while non-US banks demand it for currency matching. CIP deviations arise since US banks face limits on arbitrage. The calibrated model shows that a contractionary US monetary policy shock widens CIP deviations by tightening these limits on arbitrage and increasing the shadow cost of balance sheet space. Compared to a counterfactual scenario where CIP holds, macroeconomic spillovers and spillbacks are amplified because the widening of CIP deviations functions as a financial accelerator. Finally, I show that central bank swap lines attenuate the synthetic dollar funding channel.
The final chapter studies the optimal central bank swap line policy. Due to a pecuniary externality, there is a trade-off between ex-ante and ex-post efficiency of the swap line policy. During financial crises, the swap line policy lowers CIP deviations and prevents fire sale of source currency assets, beneficial to both recipient and source country. However, it makes recipient banks to overborrow ex-ante, sowing the seeds of financial crises. From a global welfare point of view, the ex-post efficient policy is more lenient than the ex-ante efficient policy, which implies time inconsistency. The policy mix with macroprudential policies can correct the overborrowing problem and resolve time inconsistency. Moreover, policy coordination of a cooperative Ramsey problem obtains undersupply (oversupply) of source currency provision under a realistic condition when the source country has higher (lower) bargaining power
Assessing Estimation Bias and Generalizability with Snowball Samples: Insights from Simulation Studies
No full textSnowball sampling is a non-probability sampling technique that leverages existing participants' social networks to identify and recruit additional research subjects. It is particularly effective for accessing hard-to-reach populations and capturing social relations.
Early-stage researchers often adopt snowball sampling as a convenience sampling tool for quantitative studies via social media and online surveys. However, the fundamental methodological problems of non-representativeness and dependent observation in snowball samples are often overlooked.
The present research aims to conduct a thorough examination of snowball sampling by exploring how sampling designs and the underlying population network structures affect estimation bias and sample generalizability through two integrated simulation studies.
By systematically investigating the complex interactions between sampling strategies and population network properties, this research is meant to provide empirical insights into the methodological challenges of snowball sampling and to enable the development of nuanced recommendations for its appropriate application in social science research
Implementation of Consumer Wearable Devices as a Self-Management Tool in a Physical Activity Coaching Program for People with Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease: A Mixed Methods Study
No full textBackground.
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in both motor and non-motor impairments. While physical activity (PA) engagement is crucial for managing symptoms and disease progression, inactivity is common, and many people do not meet the recommended levels of weekly PA. Consumer wearable devices (CWDs) can monitor PA in real time and may support self-management strategies for this population.
Introduction & Purpose.
This mixed methods study explored the implementation of CWDs within a 16-week PA behavior change coaching program for individuals in early-stage PD. The purpose of the study was to understand how PA patterns change during a PA behavior change intervention as tracked by CWDs, and to explore how people with PD (PwP) integrate these devices into their daily PA routines.
Methods.
Twenty-one participants in early-stage PD received six virtual occupational therapy sessions involving PA education, personalized goal setting, and guidance in using CWDs for PA tracking. Wear time was recorded in average minutes per day. Quantitative data from CWDs (step count and PA from heart rate (HR) intensity) were analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs). Participants were categorized as exercisers or non-exercisers based on self-reported prior activity habits to assess group effects. Post-intervention questionnaires and interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.
Results.
Participants demonstrated high wear time of their CWDs across the 16-week intervention. While LMMs revealed no significant changes in PA over time, non-exercisers spent significantly more time in the 60-70% and 70-85% HR range and had higher average step counts than exercisers, while exercisers spent significantly more time in the 80-85% HR range. Step count and HR tracking were the most used and valued device features. Five themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) adapting to technology, (2) perceived importance of CWDs and self-monitoring, (3) role in behavior change, (4) integrating therapist guidance and support with CWDs, and (5) CWDs impact on the self-management of PwP.
Conclusions.
CWDs can be successfully implemented in remotely-delivered PA coaching programs for people in early-stage PD, and are both feasible and acceptable. Although no significant improvements in PA were observed, participants sustained levels of moderate-to-high intensity PA throughout the 16-week intervention. With structured support, CWDs may enhance self-efficacy, autonomy, and PA engagement in PwP. Clinicians should consider integrating CWDs into rehabilitation programs alongside personalized behavioral coaching, structured goal setting, and PA engagement. CWDs may be used as self-management tools to help PwP manage their PA routines and empower them to take an active role in managing their condition
Strategies of Fragmental Preservation Among Displaced Armenian Communities
No full textThroughout history and in current times, Armenians and Armenian heritage have been threatened by deliberate destruction, mainly through the hands of Turkey and Azerbaijan. From the Armenian Genocide in 1915 to the current forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians, the Armenian community has been displaced numerous times, with their culture, identity, and heritage being at risk.
This thesis will focus on how destruction leads to displacement, and how the Armenian community has resisted this oppression while preserving their memories and destruction, through intangible fragments. The research will include looking back at history, including the Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey, as well as the exodus of Artsakh, where the same tactics were used by Azerbaijan with the help of Turkey, but its main goal will focus on collecting and presenting information on the preservation initiatives throughout the diaspora; in Artsakh, Syria, Lebanon, America, and Armenia. It is crucial to revisit the past efforts of erasure and emphasize the Armenian community's resilience from the past to the present. It is because of history that the Armenian community finds strategies within themselves to preserve, as difficult as it is to prepare for what can happen.
Fragments have been commonly used in preservation to identify and link loss, destruction, and history. This thesis focuses on fragmental preservation as a methodology, but it will be viewed as a more community-based and unidentified approach. It will define how fragments are used as powerful objects to recognize existence and resilience and re-create memories and spaces that are no longer accessible. The Armenian community kept fragments of destruction, forming connections to draw back memories, and to identify their displaced locations. Fragments are used to create a roadmap of displacement, tracing the movement of the community, from one place to the next, telling difficult histories.
As our world is so accustomed to viewing fragments in public, fragments are also used in secrecy. This thesis also researches how displaced Armenian communities commemorate the intangible and preserve their identity through fragmental preservation, as well as the role of preservationists in this matter, where fragmental preservation is done in secrecy.
Fragments and fragmental preservation suggest not only the preservation of tactile destroyed elements alone, but rather how the pieces rely heavily on community involvement, through collection and protection. Fragments indicate culture, history, pain, fear, joy, loss, hope, resilience, and resistance. These collections are formed to represent a sense of continuity, and the Armenian community has held onto this constant perception for over a century. Facing deliberate destruction from Turkey and Azerbaijan, the Armenian community did not get much protection for their cultural heritage, which led to their hope of resilience through fragmental preservation, by whatever means they could
Systematizing the Campus Planning Process: A Model for University Spatial Decision Making
No full textThis thesis presents a novel, replicable, standardized model for understanding how universities approach campus planning initiatives. The model accounts for a range of internal decision-making factors, including academic priorities, spatial demand pressures, and institutional strategy, and it aims to systematize the spatial decision-making process across higher education.
Rather than focusing exclusively on a single project, the study uses Columbia University’s Manhattanville expansion as an illustrative case to test and iterate the proposed framework. The project draws from qualitative interviews with experts directly involved with the field of campus planning including but not limited to: campus planners, real estate professionals, architects, and facilities managers to understand how universities negotiate long-term growth considerate to a variety of external market forces and internal institutional demands.
The Manhattanville case serves as a lens through which the thesis examines how a major urban university integrates real estate acquisition, programmatic planning, and architectural implementation within a constrained and politically sensitive environment. The goal is not to evaluate the outcomes of the expansion, but to use it to better understand the conditions and considerations that shape university development patterns. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a transferable planning model that illustrates the typical sequencing, inputs, and feedback loops involved in campus expansion and redevelopment
The Cost of Exclusion: How Local law 97 Shapes Energy Inequities in NYC Communities
No full textLocal law 97 (LL97) of 2019, a cornerstone of New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act, mandates significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions for large buildings (over 25,000 square feet), aiming for a 40% reduction by 2030, and 80% by 2050. While this policy is pivotal in advancing urban decarbonization, its design and implementation have raised concerns about exacerbating existing inequities across the city.
The thesis investigates how LL97 shapes energy disparities by analyzing its socio-spatial impacts on disadvantaged communities excluded from compliance mandates. Using a quantitative approach, the study uses geospatial analysis of census tract level emissions data with socio-economic indicators with greater access to resources for compliance while perpetuating systemic inequities in historically marginalized areas. Exemptions for rent-regulated buildings and limited support for retrofitting older housing stock exacerbates energy burdens in low-income communities. The research highlights the emergence of new forms of spatial injustice, where environmental and economic benefits of decarbonization are unevenly distributed.
This study argues for a reimagined policy framework that integrates targeted investments in disadvantaged neighborhoods, enhancing financial support for retrofitting projects, and community-driven planning processes to ensure inclusive participation in the energy transition. By addressing these gaps, New York City can achieve a more equitable low-carbon future while mitigating unintended consequences of climate policies. These findings contribute to broader discussions of energy justice and the need for spatially inclusive approaches to urban sustainability
Modeling Margins: Disability-led Housing as Planning Precedent
No full textThe intersection of housing, disability justice, and comprehensive neighborhood planning is a critical yet underexplored area in urban planning. This thesis argues that for adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD), housing and care are inseparable infrastructures and that separating them in planning and policy perpetuates exclusion. Focusing on a site in Cincinnati’s Westwood neighborhood, this research explores how integrating inclusive housing and community-based care into local planning frameworks can promote long-term individual stability and communal interdependence. Through spatial analysis, comparative case studies, and policy critique, the thesis identifies the structural barriers that prevent IDD-inclusive development and proposes concrete planning recommendations.
Using a comparative case study approach, this thesis analyzes three housing models that center developmental dis/ability and intergenerational living: Cass Housing (Fort Wayne, IN), Noah Homes (San Diego, CA), and Cathedral Park Cohousing (Portland, OR). These cases are examined through qualitative methods, including policy analysis and stakeholder interviews, alongside spatial analysis using GIS to assess the built environments of each city. Subsequently, this analysis informs recommendations for Westwood and the broader Cincinnati context, framed through critical urban theory, spatial justice, and dis/ability justice to examine how neoliberal planning structures shape the current housing crisis for IDD populations.
Findings indicate that three case study housing organizations all lack comprehensive planning input awareness in their counties and cities. Additionally, zoning classes and land uses do not align with the little engagement efforts these plans presented to the community. This research culminates in planning recommendations for Westwood’s comprehensive plan, a policy framework for disability-inclusive housing, and an outreach guide for planners engaging with IDD residents. By embedding disability justice theory into urban planning, this thesis argues for a fundamental shift toward equity, interdependence, and truly inclusive urban development
Engineered In Vitro Models for the Study of the Synovium, its Role in Joint Homeostasis, and its Vascularization
No full textOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common, degenerative joint disease that affected nearly 600 million people worldwide in 2020 and was a major source of economic burden, costing an estimate $80 billion in health-care spending in the United States in 2016 alone. While approximately 12% of OA cases can be explained by previous injury, the vast majority of cases are primary or idiopathic OA and have no known cause. Despite its prevalence, the etiology of primary OA is poorly understood
Determinants of sleep quality among women living in informal settlements in Kenya
No full textBackground
Sleep plays a critical role in overall health and well-being. While most sleep research focuses on high-income countries, there is limited knowledge about sleep quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), especially among women living in urban informal settlements. Many factors, including physical, psychological, cultural, and environmental influences, can affect sleep quality. This study, which uses Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, aims to explore the prevalence of sleep disturbances and self-reported factors associated with poor sleep quality among a representative sample of 800 women living in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.
Methods
The data, collected in September 2022, are from the baseline assessment of an 18-month longitudinal cohort study examining mental health and climate change among women living in two informal settlements in Nairobi–Mathare and Kibera. Items from the Brief Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (B-PSQI) were collected to examine women’s sleep habits and quality. Quality of sleep scores were calculated. We used t-tests, bivariate regressions, and ANOVAs to assess the bivariate associations between key predictors of poor sleep with the Brief Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (B-PSQI) score. We also conducted a cross-sectional multivariable regression analysis to explore the factors influencing sleep disturbances. Open-ended questions were asked about factors contributing to sleep disturbance, and a thematic analysis was conducted to summarize the findings.
Findings
29% of women (N = 229) met the criteria for poor-quality sleep. Open-ended findings identify stress as the main factor affecting sleep. Childcare, financial instability, physical health, climate, grief, and loss also impacted women’s sleep. Significant quantitative predictors of poor sleep quality among women included the severity of disability, depression, and food insecurity. Anxiety also showed a trend toward significance, underscoring the complex interplay of physical, mental, and socioeconomic factors on sleep.
Interpretation
This study underscores the need for further research on sleep quality among women in SSA’s informal settlements. By enhancing understanding and awareness of sleep’s health impacts, policymakers and interventionists can develop more effective interventions tailored to the unique challenges faced by this population. Our findings contribute to the knowledge base, supporting the creation of targeted policies and practices that address and improve sleep quality for women in these communities
Optimally Graded Cellular Materials To Mitigate Impact Loading
No full textCellular materials are increasingly utilized for impact protection due to their exceptional energy absorption and resistance to impact forces. Introducing density gradation enhances their performance by optimizing energy dissipation and crashworthiness. This research explores the influence of density gradation in cellular materials subjected to shock and impact loading through a comprehensive integration of analytical, numerical, and experimental methodologies.
An analytical model based on classical shock theory is developed to characterize the dynamic compaction of these materials. Numerical simulations, using cell-based finite element models and Voronoi tessellation, capture deformation at the mesostructural level, while experimental studies leverage high-speed imaging and digital image correlation to analyze their behavior. Advanced resin-based additive manufacturing is employed to fabricate density-graded specimens precisely.
The findings reveal that density gradation significantly affects deformation patterns and impact resistance. Functional gradation allows for tailoring mechanical responses, enabling optimized stress distribution and energy absorption. The study identifies an optimal density gradient configuration that maximizes impact resistance, offering valuable insights for designing high-performance cellular materials across various engineering applications