http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/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 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:33:41 -0400 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:33:41 -0400 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/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/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/1705/theoretical-utilisation-of-biological-warfare-from-aquatic-invasive-species By Richard J. Neale - The Peruvian population became infected from eating shellfish that had ingested plankton, and from drinking or bathing in water supplies drawn directly out of the rivers which at best had only minimal processing. It worked its way inland, and was spread faster due to massive overcrowding, whilst the waters themselves spread along the coastline. The lack of water purification, chlorination protocols, insufficient infrastructure with regards to medical facilities and waste disposal, coupled with minimal international support lead to 4,000 deaths within a matter of weeks, with a further 393,000 contracting... Thu, 16 Nov 2017 11:42 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1705/theoretical-utilisation-of-biological-warfare-from-aquatic-invasive-species 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/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/1563/latin-americas-female-prisoner-problem-how-the-war-on-drugs-feminization-of-poverty-and-female-liberation-contribute-to-mass-incarceration-of-women By Gretchen Cloutier - According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the number of women in prisons in Latin America has almost doubled since the 1990s. Most women in prison are incarcerated for drug related crimes, and although women are still a minority within the prison population, the number of women behind bars is growing disproportionately in comparison to men. Simultaneously, Latin American states are implementing harsh drug criminalization policies in accordance with the global War on Drugs. Scholars have theorized that women commit crimes due to both societal liberation and out of economic necessity... Sat, 31 Dec 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1563/latin-americas-female-prisoner-problem-how-the-war-on-drugs-feminization-of-poverty-and-female-liberation-contribute-to-mass-incarceration-of-women 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/1575/neighborhood-violence-and-crime-do-public-institutions-reduce-crime-in-neighborhoods By Monica Floyd - This paper explores the role of public institutions in reducing or fostering neighborhood violence and crime. Understanding institutional density as a neighborhood effect, this paper examines how ten public institutions and structures influence crime rates in Chicago. Using multivariate regression analysis and geo-coded spatial models, the relationship between the institutions and four different crime statistics (homicide, assault, robbery, and burglary) are analyzed. The findings show that the public institutions have very little impact on crime. Publicly owned vacant lots, however, exhibit a... Tue, 31 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1575/neighborhood-violence-and-crime-do-public-institutions-reduce-crime-in-neighborhoods 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/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/1389/social-brokers-reinforcing-the-family-to-increase-social-mobility By Spencer Barr - Social and economic wellbeing are not simply determined by the choices one makes. Social class and poverty display consistent patterns across groups and generations making social mobility and economic success difficult in individual lives. But there are some who seem to defy the limitations of social class and become successful despite humble or difficult beginnings. In particular, social brokers like governmental organizations, charities and philanthropists have become common in trying to decrease the negative effects of social stratification and provide resources for future success stories in... Mon, 11 Apr 2016 08:20 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1389/social-brokers-reinforcing-the-family-to-increase-social-mobility http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1347/the-impact-of-medicaid-expansion-on-hiv-positive-men-and-women-in-the-southern-united-states By Sarah E. Rudasill - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 called upon states to expand Medicaid, a subsidized health insurance program, for individuals making up to effectively 138 percent of the federal poverty line. The rapidly growing HIV-positive community of the southern United States, a geographic region that has recently been named the new epicenter for HIV, is especially positioned to benefit from such an expansion. Projections of the number of HIV-positive individuals eligible for the Medicaid expansion reveal that a substantial proportion of the HIV-positive community will enjoy greater... Tue, 02 Feb 2016 10:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1347/the-impact-of-medicaid-expansion-on-hiv-positive-men-and-women-in-the-southern-united-states http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1578/pollinating-prices-estimating-the-relationship-between-honeybee-population-and-almond-prices By Seth Taylor - This paper examines the potential effect of decreasing honeybee population on crop prices by estimating the relationship between honeybee population and the price of almonds over time. As a declining honeybee population becomes an increasingly salient issue, the public must be aware of the potential impacts that honeybee population loss can have on society, including rising crop prices. Understanding the economic impact that honeybee loss can have on consumers and industry is critical to limiting the severity of that impact over time. Using data on honeybee population and almond prices from the... Thu, 31 Dec 2015 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1578/pollinating-prices-estimating-the-relationship-between-honeybee-population-and-almond-prices http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1316/foodservice-experience-and-tipping-behavior-further-evidence-of-wage-inequality-between-tipped-and-non-tipped-workers By Katherine S. Fisher - This study focuses on the relationship between prior foodservice experience and a person’s tipping behavior. Using data from a survey of 500 University of Maryland undergraduate students, an analysis is completed by regressing restaurant experience and waiting experience on perceived average tip percentage while controlling for gender and ethnicity. A positive, significant relationship is found between the two independent variables regarding work experience and the dependent variable. This research is an attempt to illustrate the wage-inequality between tipped workers and non-tipped workers... Wed, 02 Dec 2015 10:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1316/foodservice-experience-and-tipping-behavior-further-evidence-of-wage-inequality-between-tipped-and-non-tipped-workers http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/978/exchanging-oil-sands-expansion-for-renewable-energy-growth-in-canada By Scott Sutherland - An important pipeline, called the Keystone Export Limited (XL) pipeline, connecting Alberta oil sands to refineries on the Texas gulf cost would hasten this process. It is estimated that between 2010 and 2025, more than $379 billion will be invested in oil sands development.[1] As a result, oil production is expected to more than double, to roughly 3.7 million barrels a day by 2021.[2] With the current debate surrounding the oil sands, this doubling of production will have major implications for Canada and the world. Based on a thorough analysis, I will demonstrate that further oil sands development... Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:14 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/978/exchanging-oil-sands-expansion-for-renewable-energy-growth-in-canada http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/919/the-value-of-a-graduate-degree-changing-returns-to-postgraduate-qualifications-in-the-uk By Sven Hoeling, Lewis JF. Gudgeon, And Felix Hagemeister - Higher education in the UK has experienced radical change over the last two decades. As a result of the increased supply of university graduates, bachelor’s degrees no longer function as a good signal to employers and more individuals are therefore pursuing postgraduate study to make themselves more competitive in the job market (Katz and Murphy, 1992; Lindley and Machin 2011, p. 1). Today, about 11% of working people aged 26-40 hold a postgraduate qualification compared to just 4% in 1996 (Lindley and Machin 2013a, p. 3). In part this increase may be attributable to the economic uncertainty... Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/919/the-value-of-a-graduate-degree-changing-returns-to-postgraduate-qualifications-in-the-uk http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/918/the-high-cost-of-living-in-saudi-arabia-growth-and-inflation-in-a-macroeconomic-perspective By Hammad S. Alhamad - Over the past decade Saudi Arabia witnessed high growth rates. In nominal terms, its growth from 2004 to 2013 was 13.4%, but in real terms the growth rate was 6.3%. By definition the difference between nominal and real value is inflation, because the real value of GDP is holding the GDP to a base year, and nominal value is the GDP in current terms. This implies high inflation in the economy because of the big difference between the nominal and real figures for Saudi Arabia. Morovere, almost half of the current growth reflects inflationary factors. In Figure 1 we can see the difference between... Wed, 24 Sep 2014 12:45 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/918/the-high-cost-of-living-in-saudi-arabia-growth-and-inflation-in-a-macroeconomic-perspective http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/905/the-labor-market-in-saudi-arabia-foreign-workers-unemployment-and-minimum-wage By Hammad S. Alhamad - On the other hand, Saudi nationals have witnessed high levels of unemployment for the past decade. Unemployment peaked in 2011 at 12.4% (Saudi Ministry of Labor, 2012); this was due mainly to structural problems such as competition from lower paid foreign workers. In addition to the problem of the many unskilled Saudi workers who need training in order to be integrated into the labor market, there is a demographic issue: the largest age group is the youth between 20 and 34. The labor market needs to accommodate this large number of workers every year, estimated to be around 300,000 (Fakieh, 2013... Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:12 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/905/the-labor-market-in-saudi-arabia-foreign-workers-unemployment-and-minimum-wage http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1592/prospect-theory-in-international-relations By Ozzie Chung - Prospect theory, a behavioral economic theory first proposed by David Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1979, has evolved into a seminal theory on risk decision-making applicable in a wide range of fields. Yet in both political science and international relations, prospect theory remains controversial, in part due to its laboratory origins as an economic theory. This study seeks to examine prospect theory's explanatory power in 78 cases of interstate conflict. Through a bivariate logistic regression of risk determinants leading up to interstate conflict, the study determines that prospect theory does... Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1592/prospect-theory-in-international-relations http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/678/seeking-sustainability-adopting-sustainable-and-renewable-energy-sources-to-create-a-maintable-world By Kelton T. Busby - While this is a broad concept for one word to contain, it is an excellent representation of how we refer to sustainability. The next important concept is the difference between energy and power. There is a simple way to think about the difference between the two as long as one has a basic understanding of the concept of work, which is a force that displaces an object over a distance. With that in mind, energy is the ability to do work, whereas power is work over a specific time. Another important concept is that of a primary energy source. All of the energy we use comes from primary energy sources... Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/678/seeking-sustainability-adopting-sustainable-and-renewable-energy-sources-to-create-a-maintable-world http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/667/are-we-all-keynesians-now-political-ideology-and-state-deficit-spending-in-the-great-recession By Brian D. Blankenship - The “Great Recession” of 2008 resulted in unprecedented levels of state deficit spending.[1] However, even though deficits are partly the result of economic forces beyond the control of state governments—and are at the same time often considered the result of “failures” of policy innovation—one cannot exclude the possibility that states’ fiscal readjustments are in large part determined by the political ideology of their citizens. Indeed, this paper explores the relationship between citizen ideology and states’ levels of deficit or surplus in the... Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/667/are-we-all-keynesians-now-political-ideology-and-state-deficit-spending-in-the-great-recession http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars By John Biberman - The recent International Criminal Court arraignment of former president Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity marks the culmination of a decade of conflict in Côte d'Ivoire--, one of the most protracted periods of strife in West African history. Following the 1993 death of longtime leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny, or "Le Vieux," the country gradually descended into a largely broken state, divided by two civil wars. The conflict has caused Côte d'Ivoire, whose economic capital Abidjan was once called "the Paris of Africa", to lose its designation as one of Africa... Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/510/john-rawls-robert-nozick-and-the-difference-principle-finding-common-ground By Colin R. Fraser - A large portion of Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, The State and Utopia is dedicated to refuting the theories of John Rawls. Specifically, Nozick takes issue with Rawls’ conception of distributive justice as it pertains to economic inequalities. Rawls wrote that economic inequalities should only be permitted if they are to the benefit of society, and especially if they are to the benefit of its least advantaged members; this has come to be known as “the difference principle”. Nozick believed that no one had any business “permitting” economic inequalities at all. To... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:59 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/510/john-rawls-robert-nozick-and-the-difference-principle-finding-common-ground http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/297/reconsidering-constitutional-theory-in-the-global-age-structure-finance-and-representation By Kevin M. Bell - We live in a time today similar to the beginning of the 20th century; then, industrial forces were rapidly changing (as seen in the industrial revolution and the rise of the Western nation-state) in ways that parallel our current state of economic transformation. Every day we witness the world shrink as these changes have enabled the imminent globalization of our economic markets – and necessarily the emergence of our global society. Reason concludes and history shows that agency structures, legislated in 1913 and intended to combat similar economic changes from a century ago, cannot apply... Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/297/reconsidering-constitutional-theory-in-the-global-age-structure-finance-and-representation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1689/race-class-and-oppression-solutions-for-active-learning-and-literacy-in-the-classroom By Steven A. Carbone II - Oppression tends to exist in compartmentalized, clearly labeled categories of race, social class, gender, or sexual preference. While these rigidly defined categories may have been applied to allow for rational discussion of problems and solutions, the truth is that they are inherently oppressive themselves. Hatt-Echeverria and Urrieta (2003) indicate that the oppression of class and race tend to intersect, creating a grey area of overlapping categorizations. They further assert that this “compartmentalization of oppression arises from imperialistic and institutionalized motivation to quantify... Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:01 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1689/race-class-and-oppression-solutions-for-active-learning-and-literacy-in-the-classroom