http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/topic/18/economics Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Tue, 07 Jul 2026 01:03:24 -0400 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 01:03:24 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1924/ethics-of-the-far-future-why-longtermism-does-not-imply-anti-capitalism By Nathaniel Peutherer - It has recently been argued that longtermism it at odds with capitalism. It is said that while longtermism places great emphasis on the value of far future benefits, capitalism neglects the future by favouring short-term gains. Therefore, those who are sympathetic to longtermism should support an anti-capitalist solution. In this article, I argue that after we make this claim more precise it becomes clear that anti-capitalism is not the only solution for longtermists. Instead, they can adopt Schwartz’s capitalist reforms centred around the legal basis for a corporation to act as an immortal... Tue, 30 Nov 2021 09:42 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1924/ethics-of-the-far-future-why-longtermism-does-not-imply-anti-capitalism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1915/performance-of-class-in-the-socioeconomic-institutions-of-early-medieval-ireland By Jack R.T. Corp - Early medieval Irish society operated on an elaborate power structure formalized by law, practiced through social interaction, and maintained by tacit exploitation of the lower orders. This paper investigates the materialization of class hierarchies through the lived experiences of rural communities and the transient classifications of authority between peasants and commoners enforced by elite groups. Early Ireland’s hierarchical system refers to rank, a “perceived” construct perpetuated through expressions of prestige and ritual performance, but not to political authority, which... Fri, 08 Oct 2021 10:58 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1915/performance-of-class-in-the-socioeconomic-institutions-of-early-medieval-ireland http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1909/grand-narrative-fragmented-reality-the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-heilongjiang-province By Gabriel Wagner - Most analysts agree that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is set to become a defining feature of the global economy of the 21st century. However, there is wide-ranging debate about how to understand the BRI. Is it a top-down “grand strategy” directed by Xi Jinping, or just an umbrella term for a wide range of fragmented individual projects? This paper examines the “Three Bridges One Island” (三桥一岛) initiative in Heilongjiang province to shed light on this question. The findings suggest that official policy narratives about the BRI are indeed dictated... Tue, 21 Sep 2021 07:21 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1909/grand-narrative-fragmented-reality-the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-heilongjiang-province http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1906/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-how-global-economic-institutions-can-use-covid-19-to-address-global-challenges By Nicolas Verbeek - The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated current global challenges. However, this article argues that this time of crisis can also be a unique opportunity for the existing global economic institutions - G20, WTO, IMF, and World Bank (WB) - to make the necessary improvements that are needed to effectively address the global challenges of our time. First and foremost, these challenges include the immediate health crisis, climate change, and global inequality. The opportunity has come to become effective altruists, that is, to do the best possible for people who are worse off at a moderate cost to oneself... Thu, 16 Sep 2021 08:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1906/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-how-global-economic-institutions-can-use-covid-19-to-address-global-challenges http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war By Mang Lu - Some scholars of American history suggest the institution of slavery was dying out on the eve of the Civil War, implying the Civil War was fought over more generic, philosophical states' rights principles rather than slavery itself. Economic evidence shows this conclusion is largely incorrect; the industrial slavocracy of the south was thriving—Southern aristocrats had every reason to fight the prospect of abolition, for the Southern economy and capital structure was almost exclusively on the ownership of Black men and women. After the war, repression continued through economic means, as... Tue, 25 May 2021 09:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1902/biologization-of-capital-and-capitalization-of-biopower-connecting-foucault-and-marx By Tianhao Hou - Foucault raised the concept of biopower in the first volume of The History of Sexuality and placed its emergence in the context of capitalism, but he did not fully tackle the relationship between biopower and capitalism. In this article, the author fills this gap through a careful reading of Foucault and Marx, arguing that perpetual spirals are formed between biopower and capitalism and their techniques intersected on the human body. The author first traces the definitions of each concept in order to show that they can be discussed and drawn connection with each other. After that, he expands upon... Tue, 25 May 2021 09:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1902/biologization-of-capital-and-capitalization-of-biopower-connecting-foucault-and-marx http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1869/a-barrier-to-prosperity-analyzing-the-impact-of-israeli-security-policy-on-palestinian-manufacturing-productivity By Zachary T. Fesen - Israel has increased the nation’s security presence around the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Here, the research project analyzes how transaction costs resulting from Israeli security policy impact the output of manufacturing activities in the Palestinian territories. The study examines transaction costs in the form of import restrictions and items Israel restricts from entering the Palestinian territories in the form of the dual-use goods list. Existing research outlines trade restrictions from Israeli security policy but does not explain how the restrictions impact Palestinian manufacturing... Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:15 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1869/a-barrier-to-prosperity-analyzing-the-impact-of-israeli-security-policy-on-palestinian-manufacturing-productivity http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1843/a-postcolonial-theory-of-value-broadening-economic-scholarship-through-disciplinary-mimetic-valuation By David L. Myers - This work aims to integrate postcolonial scholarship into some basic theoretical foundations of a mainstream economic curriculum. Noting the insufficiencies of neoclassical economics to deal with problems of cultural difference and priority, the work offers a basic critique of economics and its aspirations for universal applicability. It does this by building upon existing postcolonial critiques of economics as a social science and focuses specifically on economic notions of value. Using postcolonial and anthropological scholarship, it sketches out a broader, more inclusive theory of value than... Tue, 24 Nov 2020 10:49 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1843/a-postcolonial-theory-of-value-broadening-economic-scholarship-through-disciplinary-mimetic-valuation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1794/the-impact-of-economic-complexity-on-productive-structure-and-income-inequality-in-indonesia-and-venezuela By Osama Siddiq - Recent work with the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) has shown that a country’s productive structure constrains its level of economic growth and income inequality. Building on previous research that identified an increasing gap between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with that of China and other High Performing East Asian Economies (HPEA), this paper compares how the diverging productive structures of the Venezuelan and Indonesian economies have impacted the generation and distribution of income in each country. I use time-series regression analysis to show the impact of economic complexity... Wed, 09 Sep 2020 12:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1794/the-impact-of-economic-complexity-on-productive-structure-and-income-inequality-in-indonesia-and-venezuela http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1743/can-the-value-proposition-work-in-health-care By Frederick J. White - The value proposition in the commercial setting is the functional relationship of quality and price. It is held to be a utility maximizing function of the relationship between buyer and seller. Its proponents assert that translation of the value proposition into the health care system of the United States is a necessary and perhaps indispensable solution to the current structural difficulties of health services delivery in our nation. But the application of the value proposition to health care delivery in the United States will meet with difficulty for a myriad of reasons. Some of these are inherent... Wed, 24 Oct 2018 08:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1743/can-the-value-proposition-work-in-health-care http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1729/japan-at-work-in-the-21st-century-an-analysis-of-developing-labor-practices-in-japan-and-institutional-barriers-to-reform By Gregory A. Fedorov - Devastated by an economic collapse at the end of the 20th century, Japan’s economy entered a decade long period of stagnation. Now, Japan has found stable leadership, but attempts at new economic growth have fallen through. A combination of public desire for economic security through lifetime employment, reliance on “economic bureaucracy” of large corporations and pressure from international powers have left Prime Minister Shinzo Abe few options for fulfilling his “Abenomics” dream. Japanese leaders have continuously attempted to restructure the economy in an effort... Thu, 08 Mar 2018 09:44 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1729/japan-at-work-in-the-21st-century-an-analysis-of-developing-labor-practices-in-japan-and-institutional-barriers-to-reform http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1724/mnc-decision-making-under-sanctions-south-africa-and-rhodesia By Yuichiro Kakutani - By using an incentives/disincentives model to map the divergent behaviors of multinational corporations (MNCs) confronted by a sanctioned economy, I explain why some economic sanctions work better than others at achieving their desired political outcomes. When presented with the opportunity to "run the blockade," MNCs are incentivized to sanction bust by the allure of higher profit through rent extraction. At the same time, MNCs are disincentivized to sanction bust by the penalties for breaking the sanction, but only if MNCs believe sanction busting operations is inconspicuous enough to avoid... Thu, 30 Nov 2017 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1724/mnc-decision-making-under-sanctions-south-africa-and-rhodesia http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1653/commercialization-and-discontent-on-the-american-farm-the-farmers-movements-of-the-late-19th-and-early-20th-centuries By Zachary D. Blizard - Nevertheless, the Agrarian Revolt puzzles economic historians because several of the supposed primary causes fail to align with the historical facts. This has prompted some economic historians to delve deeper into the fundamental source of the farmers’ unhappiness, which has resulted in findings that suggest the influence of commercialization was at the heart of the real issue (Mayhew, 1972, pp. 469-475). The causes of the farmers’ despondency in the 1920s undoubtedly differs and yet resembles the Agrarian Revolt in various superficial details; nonetheless, the ultimate cause of the... Tue, 10 Oct 2017 08:42 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1653/commercialization-and-discontent-on-the-american-farm-the-farmers-movements-of-the-late-19th-and-early-20th-centuries http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1633/how-have-corruption-scandals-and-president-roussefs-impeachment-in-brazil-impacted-its-economy By Flvia Bedicks - In 2009, Brazil was in the path to become a superpower. Immune to the economic crises of 2008, the country's economy benefitted from the commodity boom, achieving a growth rate of 7.5 per cent in 2010, when Rousseff was elected. A few years later, nonetheless, Brazil's boom turned into an economic bust. In 2014, the largest corruption scandal in its history denounced the involvement of major politicians, including then-President Rousseff, in schemes of money laundering. In this essay, I analyze the impacts of such scandals and Rousseff's impeachment on the Brazilian economy. I argue that these... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1633/how-have-corruption-scandals-and-president-roussefs-impeachment-in-brazil-impacted-its-economy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1602/obama-and-the-economic-recovery-keynesian-policies-gridlock-and-the-new-global-economy By Ayodele Aruleba - The Obama presidency will largely be defined by the administration’s ability to respond to the unique and historic challenge facing the country at the time of his inauguration: the Great Recession. This paper evaluates the president’s success throughout both of his terms in enacting an economic policy, which was largely defined by an embrace of Keynesian economics and more stringent regulations on the financial services industry, but simultaneously highlights the institutional limitations facing the president on influencing the economy. By assessing the administration’s efforts... Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:01 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1602/obama-and-the-economic-recovery-keynesian-policies-gridlock-and-the-new-global-economy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1526/the-effect-of-dodd-frank-on-the-profitability-of-community-banks-an-econometric-model By Alexandra R. Larch - This study examines the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act on community banks in the Northeastern region of the United States. Using annual financial data from years 2010 to 2014 gathered on 82 banks, a regression equation is estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique described by Arellano and Bover (1995). The dependent variables are return on equity, return on assets, and net interest margin. The independent variables can be placed into the three categories: regulation determinants, profitability variables, and macroeconomic indicators. The results indicate regulations have... Fri, 03 Feb 2017 10:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1526/the-effect-of-dodd-frank-on-the-profitability-of-community-banks-an-econometric-model http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1517/navigating-the-leftist-spectrum-in-argentina-an-economic-classification-of-the-kirchner-era By Matt Finkel - Argentina’s economic policies under Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were hugely impactful in the country’s recovery and general development, yet the Kirchner administrations are often painted with the same broad leftist brush often used to categorize Latin American governments. This kind of blanketed cataloguing obscures the economic nuances of important features of Argentina’s governance like social safety nets, market openness, and property rights. This report will classify Kirchnerism in a more appropriate context, measured against economic policy... Sun, 08 Jan 2017 03:10 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1517/navigating-the-leftist-spectrum-in-argentina-an-economic-classification-of-the-kirchner-era http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1509/commercialization-of-biochar-and-the-benefits-for-climate-change-and-agriculture By Nate D. Van Beilen - Biochar is biomass that has been converted into charcoal through the pyrolysis process. Biochar is applied into soils for carbon sequestration or for improving soil fertility. The carbon bonds in biochar are very stable and do not break down easily which makes biochar a long term carbon storage solution. The physical structure of biochar improves soil fertility by decreasing soil tensile strength and bulk density. Biochar also acts as a soil aggregate which provides habitat for microorganisms. Additionally, the porosity of biochar improves nutrient and water retention in soils thereby improving... Wed, 21 Dec 2016 11:58 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1509/commercialization-of-biochar-and-the-benefits-for-climate-change-and-agriculture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1512/the-asean-experience-northeast-asia-and-beyond-free-trade-and-economic-integration By Aik Seng Tan - Economic regionalism has been an observable phenomenon worldwide. Many countries around the world pursue some degree of economic integration with neighbouring countries, in the hopes of capitalizing on the benefits of such an arrangement. At the turn of the 21st century, there already existed various regional economic institutions, including the highly integrated Eurozone in Europe and the East African Community (EAC) for continental Africa. This is in addition to a proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between countries, which can be regional or cross regional in nature. Many... Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1512/the-asean-experience-northeast-asia-and-beyond-free-trade-and-economic-integration http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1515/child-care-policy-and-female-labor-force-participation-a-comparison-of-germany-and-sweden By Analia Cuevas-Ferreras - Labor markets have traditionally been regarded as the product of a demand and supply of labor.2 In Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, political economists Peter A. Hall and David Soskice put forth two types of economies whose variant organization and structures lead them to experience distinct hiring incentives, which can impact the configuration of a country's labor market leading to gendered hiring practices. On the one hand, there are Liberal Market Economies (LMEs), which are free market economies "characterized by a relatively decentralized system... Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1515/child-care-policy-and-female-labor-force-participation-a-comparison-of-germany-and-sweden http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1479/models-of-internet-monetization By David Perell - Predicting the future of the news industry begins with understanding the history of newspapers and the current news delivery landscape. Because the Internet has brought fundamental shifts to news distribution, successful organizations of the future will capitalize on the digital world's economics and scale. This study documents the recent adjustments in American newspaper distribution and predicts the business models required for news organizations to survive. This research found that the Internet will foster the development of both scale dependent and ad-supported publications and niche organizations... Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:56 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1479/models-of-internet-monetization http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1451/rethinking-microcredit-in-bangladesh-does-grameen-bank-serve-the-neoliberal-agenda By Mehran Shamit - Grameen Bank, translated as "rural bank" in the Bangla language, is a grassroots microcredit organization founded in 1983 by Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus to provide new financial opportunities to the poor. Grameen Bank and Muhammad Yunus were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their development efforts through microcredit. As of October 2011, Grameen Bank has over 8 million borrowers, 97% of whom are women (Grameen Bank, n.d.). The Bank provides services to more than 97% of villages in Bangladesh with 2,565 branches across the country and is especially well known around... Tue, 20 Sep 2016 09:07 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1451/rethinking-microcredit-in-bangladesh-does-grameen-bank-serve-the-neoliberal-agenda http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1446/the-burrito-behemoth-chipotle-mexican-grill-and-its-model-for-success By Nealay Vasavda - Chipotle Mexican Grill has revolutionized the fast food industry. In a short time, the brand has served as inspiration for the growing "fast casual" segment of the food industry and has become an American cultural phenomenon. Through its use of social media and corporate social responsibility marketing strategies, the brand has adapted to a growing segment of the consumer market and has taken the United States by storm. Today, Chipotle has turned its focus to its presence as an international brand. This paper analyzes Chipotle's marketing tactics, how they were applied to its London branches as... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1446/the-burrito-behemoth-chipotle-mexican-grill-and-its-model-for-success http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1405/does-trade-liberalization-lead-to-declining-fish-stock-health-analyzing-the-causality By Erin K. Glenn - ... Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1405/does-trade-liberalization-lead-to-declining-fish-stock-health-analyzing-the-causality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1404/the-effect-of-a-311-vacant-building-call-on-crime-rates By Bharat Chandar - Abandoned and vacant properties have long been a source of economic and political debate in the United States. Historically, property abandonment has been considered a symptom of urban disinvestment and not a cause. However in recent years, many studies have investigated whether there is a casual link between vacant buildings and the crime rate in the surrounding areas. Since these spaces offer an area of low supervision, they can act as a haven to individuals with criminal intent. Consequently, these buildings if left unsecured often evidence acts of prostitution, drug use, and gang-related activities... Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1404/the-effect-of-a-311-vacant-building-call-on-crime-rates http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1403/how-does-medical-marijuana-legalization-affect-the-number-of-marijuana-users-an-inclusion-and-examination-of-different-age-groups By Anthony Duong - This paper studies the effect of medical marijuana legalization on the number of marijuana users in a given state's general population. To measure the number of marijuana users in each state, I used survey data that covers multiple years. Given this data, I used a differences-in-differences model to see if the changes in marijuana use over time in legalized states are signi ficantly different from those in non-legalized states. While my initial results showed that legalization significantly increases the percentage of marijuana users in the general population, this was no longer the case when... Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1403/how-does-medical-marijuana-legalization-affect-the-number-of-marijuana-users-an-inclusion-and-examination-of-different-age-groups http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1407/an-econometric-analysis-of-the-major-choice-of-first-generation-college-students By Sam Trejo - Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I estimate a multinomial logit choice model for the college major decisions of first-generation college students|students who are the first in the families to attend college|and non-first-generation students. The model controls for other factors such as sex, race, ability, and family income to isolate the effect of first-generation status on major choice for two otherwise identical students. I find that first-generation college students do make statistically different college major selections than otherwise identical students. I then... Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1407/an-econometric-analysis-of-the-major-choice-of-first-generation-college-students http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1406/executive-compensation-at-credit-unions By Daniel Koslovsky - This study is the first to examine credit union executive pay using compensation information from IRS Form 990. Using OLS, logistic, and tobit regression analysis to identify the determinants of base and bonus compensation of chief executive officers (CEOs), this paper finds evidence of misaligned incentives between CEOs and the institutions' member-owners{ although caution is needed when trying to reach firm conclusions because of the limits of the study. Higher fees and lower dividend payments are costly to the credit union members, and yet are correlated with higher compensation for executives... Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1406/executive-compensation-at-credit-unions http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1397/china-and-india-in-africa-implications-of-new-private-sector-actors-on-bribe-paying-incidence By Sankalp Gowda - This paper seeks to address one of the most common critiques of Asian firms doing business in Africa: that low levels of corporate governance and poor managerial practices have undermined anti-corruption efforts throughout the continent. The paper first details and analyzes the managerial practices of Indian and Chinese firms to distinguish what factors might make these firms more likely to pay bribes. Next, it uses data from the 2006-2014 World Bank Enterprise Surveys to empirically test the claim that the presence of Indian and Chinese firms has increased bribe-paying incidence in African countries... Mon, 25 Apr 2016 08:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1397/china-and-india-in-africa-implications-of-new-private-sector-actors-on-bribe-paying-incidence http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1396/the-implausibility-of-the-barter-narrative-and-credit-money-in-ancient-babylon By R. D. Baker - Whereas the standard economics textbook literature motivates the emergence of money by pointing to the inefficiencies of barter economies, there is virtually no historical evidence that this is how money actually came about. Due to the lack of evidence for the existence of barter economies, an attempt is made therefore to hypothesize an origin of money which is more compatible with the organization of early societies. This alternative story is explained with the help of a model of four trading merchants, in which barter is shown to be dominated by credit simply on the basis of bargaining power... Thu, 14 Apr 2016 08:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1396/the-implausibility-of-the-barter-narrative-and-credit-money-in-ancient-babylon