17504 research outputs found
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From Platforms to People: An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Peer-to-Peer Lending on Financial Inclusion
No full textPeer-to-peer lending and its potential to promote financial inclusion by expanding credit has been an increased topic of interest. The theory of financial inclusion suggests P2P lending platforms may alleviate information asymmetry and improve the accessibility of financial services to a wider ranger of borrowers (Balyuk, 2023; Maskara, Kuvvet, & Chen, 2021). The consumer credit market, signaling theory, and lender’s risk function suggest that P2P lending platforms may offer lower interest rates to credit-constrained individuals, substituting payday and pawnshop loans and complementing banks. Based on these theories, this project proposes the following hypothesis: P2P lending expands access to credit for underbanked individuals.To test this hypothesis, this thesis uses Iowa’s 2011 legislative change that prevented its constituents from utilizing the most popular P2P lending platforms (Prosper and LendingClub) to estimate difference-in-differences and synthetic control models. The results show that, after Iowa’s restriction of P2P lending, Iowans experienced an increase in the use of payday and pawnshop loans and a decrease in fully banked status compared to other states with similar socio-economic characteristics. As P2P lenders serve as substitutes for these alternative forms of credit, an increase in payday and pawnshop loans after the restriction of P2P lending implies that P2P lenders enabled individuals to avoid high-cost alternative financial services before the2011 regulatory change. Thus, this thesis finds that P2P lending expands access to credit to underbanked individuals by complementing banks and substituting payday and pawnshop loans, which is further corroborated by existing literature (Maskara et al., 2021; Balyuk, 2023
Crossing the Rubicon: Brazilian Water Access from Public Provision to Privatization
No full textThis thesis focuses on the impact privatization has on water access between two cities in Brazil. The goal of this research is to determine if privatization impacts access to water which could help states address water scarcity and access issues in the future. I hypothesize that an increase in privatization will increase water access for higher income individuals but will have little impact on lower income individuals. This hypothesis is tested by utilizing a comparative case study approach which will allow me to compare one state that has partially privatized, Campo Grande, and one state that has not privatized, Goiânia. In order to contextualize this research, I engaged in an examination of historical literature surrounding the topics of land and water access in Brazil before turning to a primary source analysis which studied rhetoric surrounding privatization in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Data was gathered by analyzing government records, on the ground interviews, legal documents, scientific studies, NGO research, and news archives. My findings indicate that the private company, AG in Campo Grande, provide better access to water than Saneago in Goiânia on three of the four criteria studied, with little difference noted on the fourth, quantity, criterion. This research should prove beneficial for scholars and governments questioning the impacts of privatization and provides a framework to study water access
Coups d’État and Foreign Policy Change: A Multiple Streams Approach
No full textThis Independent Study addresses the following research question: Under what conditions do coups d’État — or sudden and dramatic changes in government — promote the convergence of policy streams affecting a country’s foreign policy? Coups have become increasingly prevalent in recent years and while many studies have focused on how they impact citizens of the state, their effects on foreign policy making are understudied. Building on recent scholarship applying public policy theories in Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), I employ the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) in answering this question. I attempt to extend the framework’s application by identifying a moment when three streams — political, problem, and policy — converge for foreign policy change following a coup d’État. In doing so, I hypothesize that a coup will result in a shift to the state’s foreign policy orientation if the new government builds consensus in favor of this change. To test this hypothesis, I use a most-similar systems qualitative case study comparing Dahomey’s — known as Benin since 1975 — and Algeria’s foreign policies following their coups in 1972 and 1965 respectively (Ronen 1984, 2). I analyze speeches given in the French language by each country’s president and foreign minister to understand their roles in the foreign policy making process. I also draw on French- and English-language primary and secondary sources to identify whether the states changed its foreign policy orientation after the coup d’État. I find support for the hypothesis, indicating a need for several new avenues of future research — including refining the MSF and extending its application to FPA
The Catalysts of Prosperity: An Exploration of the Impact of Financial Development on Economic Growth in Nepal
No full textThe importance of financial development on the economic growth of a given country has been highly debated among various economists since the origin of the finance-growth nexus. The supply leading hypothesis asserts that an efficient and burgeoning financial system enables the diffusion of economic growth (Bagehot, 1873; Schumpeter, 1911; McKinnon, 1973; Levine & Zervos, 1998), while the demand leading hypothesis argues that finance responds passively to economic growth (Robinson, 1952; Lucas, 1988). The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which financial development impacts the economic growth of Nepal. I conduct adynamic estimation of the impacts of financial development using an Error Correction Model (ECM), drawing on the theoretical framework and empirical techniques from Levine & Zervos (1998), Gautam (2015), Paudel & Acharya (2020). The findings of this study suggest that financial development has a positive impact on economic growth in the long-run, supporting the supply led hypothesis that financial development is a driver of economic growth, and suggesting that financial development is a long-term process (Christopoulos & Tsionas, 2004). Assuch, while this study centers exclusively on Nepal, it works to additionally provide a guideline for how similar time series analysis can be conducted across other developing countries to assess whether financial development is a catalyst for economic growth. Given the central bank’s recent initiative to reduce the number of financial institutions in Nepal, this study recommends Nepalese policymakers to carefully examine whether financial sector consolidation is conducive for future economic growth
Repost and Share to Make a Difference: Political Engagement and Media Fatigue in Online Spaces
No full textSocial networking sites (SNSs) are becoming an increasingly interesting and necessary area of study as the internet grows and more and more people are using it. Research has been done on both the effects of SNS use on mental health and in-person political engagement, but very few studies have analyzed online political engagement and what might motivate people to politically engage on online spaces like SNSs. In the current study, I used the Big Five personality trait as a measure of media fatigue and treated it as a mediator for the relationship between online content exposure and online political engagement. My analysis found no significant correlations between the variables, but may provide a direction for future research to improve the study of online political engagement
Elucidating the Nicotinic Acid Degradation Pathway in Bacillus Niacini: Investigating the Catabolic Function of a Flavin Monooxygenase (FMO), Domain of Unknown Function (DUF), and Hypothetical Protein (HP)
No full textAssessing Sediment Contamination Effects on CYP1A Expression in Bottom-Feeding Fishes in Northeast Ohio
No full textThe Effect of Titanium on Catecholamine Enzyme; Tyrosine Hydroxylase Relationship Between Titanium Sources and Parkinson’s Disease
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