Department of Economics

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These digital collections contain theses, dissertations, faculty publications including open educational resource materials, and datasets from the Department of Economics.

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Open Access
A county-level analysis of residential solar adoption in the United States
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Kerschen, Matthew, author; Kling, Robert, advisor; Zahran, Sammy, advisor; Bond, Craig, committee member
This thesis set out to achieve two major objectives, with a third objective added at the end. The first was the update and analysis of the zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model used by Zahran et al. (2008) in regards to its validity and robustness as a predictor of the count of solar using households in a county. The second objective was to use the model to provide an empirical measure of the effect financial and regulatory incentives have on the count of solar using households. The final objective was to explore and explain an unexpected decrease in the count of solar using households. This was done by using a ZINB regression to model the number of occupied housing units that use solar heating at the county level over the period from 2000 to 2009. In addition to analyzing the effects of the explanatory variables, geographic information systems (GIS) modeling was used to provide geographic mapping of the distribution of occupied housing units that use solar heating. The results indicate that Zahran et al.'s (2008) model is a robust and accurate predictor of the count of solar using households. Financial incentives were found to have an insignificant impact on the count of solar-using households, while regulatory incentives decreased the odds of a zero count in a county, but also decreased the expected count. A correlation was found between densely populated counties and the decrease in the count of solar using households.
Open Access
A history of interest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Palmer, Daniel Dwight, author; Bernasek, Alexandra, advisor; Vasudevan, Ramaa, committee member; McCulloch, Michael L., committee member
A History of Interest uses methods inspired by the work of Michel Foucault to uncover institutional aspects of credit and debt. It explores three hypotheses and covers the period 1290-1914. During this period, Anglo-American society went from a system of debt conscription and usury restrictions in the Middle Ages to a system of voluntary bankruptcy and credit reporting by the late 19th century. This thesis explains how that transition occurred. Situating these changes in Foucault's notion of disciplinary writing, it also suggests what that transition means for the modern world.
Open Access
Addressing the religious free-rider problem via religious consumption signaling and religious capital accumulation
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Simpson, Jason J., author; Bernasek, Alexandra, advisor; Zahran, Sammy, committee member; Dickinson, Greg, committee member
The aim of this paper is to investigate and illustrate the religious free-rider problem within church congregations while investigating religious consumption signaling patterns and the ability, or lack thereof, to form religious capital. From an institutional perspective, this paper will address stigma-screening processes via three economic models in an effort to understand and evaluate the overall effectiveness of institutional responses towards free-riding members. In addition, this paper will explore incentives behind perverse consumption signaling as a method of communicating membership, as well as the overall impact of restricting religious capital accumulation for both members and free-riders alike.
Open Access
Agricultural conservation networks in Iowa
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023-09) Luxton, India, author; Ellis, Elizabeth, author; Arnold, Parker, author; Shakya, Prasiddha, author; Lee, Juliet, author; Ravetta, Emilia, author; Toombs, Ted, author; Mook, Anne, author; Cross, Jeni, author
Iowa's farmlands, celebrated for their remarkable agricultural productivity, are facing pressing environmental challenges, including soil erosion, waterway nitrogen pollution, and vulnerability to extreme weather events. These issues imperil the state's agricultural sector's long-term sustainability and economic stability. Despite substantial investments from governmental and non-governmental entities to encourage conservation practice use, adoption rates remain persistently low. In this report, we use quantitative, qualitative, and social network analysis on a sample of 38 farmers to understand how social networks shape their adoption of conservation practices. We analyze data through a systems framework and compare counties with high- and low-adoption of conservation practices to assess influences from the individual farmer level to the broader societal context. We conclude with a discussion of strategic implications to promote conservation adoption.
Open Access
An option value analysis of hydraulic fracturing
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Hess, Joshua H., author; Iverson, Terrence, advisor; Cutler, Harvey, committee member; Weiler, Stephan, committee member; Manning, Dale, committee member
Many uncertain public policy decisions with sunk costs can be optimally timed leading policymakers to delay implementing a policy despite positive expected net present value. One salient example of this is hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a recently developed oil and gas extraction technology, that has increased fossil fuel reserves in the US. However, many municipalities have seen fit to ban its use despite seemingly positive expected net benefits. We hypothesize that an option value framework that values the ability to delay and learn about an uncertain project may explain fracking bans in practice where the neoclassical net present value rule does not. We test this by developing a stochastic dynamic learning model parameterized with a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that calculates the value of learning about uncertainty over damages and uncertainty over benefits. Applying the model to a representative Colorado municipality, we quantify the quasi-option values (QOV), which create an additional incentive to ban fracking temporarily in order to learn. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to quantify an economy-wide QOV associated with a local environmental policy decision. In Chapter 1 we argue that a numerical, option value approach is the appropriate way to examine uncertain public policy issues involving sunk costs. This method allows for an optimal timing of the public project rather than the 'now or never' approach of the ubiquitous net present value rule. We present local fracking policy as an excellent application for an option value approach as has positive expected net benefits but has been subject to local bans seemingly despite the net present value rule. We also defend our use of a CGE model to estimate the local economic benefits of fracking. Chapter 2 presents the option value model associated with epistemological uncertainty over environmental damages. Also, this chapter presents damage values parameterized to the City of Fort Collins for application in this and the subsequent chapter. With this in hand, we solve the model and demonstrate the results. Chapter 3 has a similar structure to Chapter 2. First, it discusses the literature on stochastic oil movements, then it presents the option value model associated with stochastic uncertainty over local benefits. Then, assuming the same parameterized expected damage as in Chapter 2, we solve the model and display the results.
Open Access
Banking efficiency in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: an empirical analysis using data envelopment analysis approach
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Alsarhan, Abdulwahab, author; Phillips, Ronnie, advisor
Measurement and analysis of banking efficiency has received increasing attention in applied economics in recent years due to the rapid globalization of the financial industry and consequently, increasing competitiveness in international financial markets. Efficiency in a general term in economics describes how well a system performs in generating the maximum output for given inputs. Efficiency in banking industry terms is measured as the difference between the bank's position and its best production frontier. There are two main techniques that are used to evaluate banking efficiency, parametric methods and non parametric methods. The debate on which approach is more convenient for analyzing the efficiency of the banking industry is still open and has been the subject of many applied works (Luciano and Regis 2007).
Open Access
Bitcoin price formation: an empirical investigation
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Light, Aric, author; Tavani, Daniele, advisor; Pena, Anita, committee member; Kroll, Stephan, committee member
Created in 2008 and rising to prominence in 2017, Bitcoin continues to generate controversy as to whether it is a speculative asset or the harbinger of a future of global, decentralized commerce. The focus of this paper is to investigate the properties of Bitcoin and its market by assessing asset specific factors (users, hash rate, etc.) and traditional market factors (market risk, currency risk, etc.). The objective is to quantify the impacts of these forces as drivers of Bitcoin returns and to develop a risk measurement framework with the potential to inform future use cases. The analysis is broken out into two parts. The first seeks to quantify the impact of asset specific "supply and demand" factors with respect to Bitcoin's daily price return and volatility and to determine the relative efficiency of the nascent Bitcoin market. To do this a GARCH model is specified which enables the measurement of return impacts and volatility within a single model. A back test and forecast are then conducted to determine if the conditional value at risk and expected shortfall can be accurately captured by the model. We determine the Bitcoin market is weakly efficient, returns are highly impacted by supply and demand factors and that the specified value at risk model accurately describes the exceptional volatility. The second part incorporates a set of macro-financial variables into the model to determine Bitcoin's exposure to traditional sources of risk; such as stock and currency market returns. The results show that Bitcoin is largely unimpacted by broad macro-financial variables once supply and demand variables are properly accounted for. This suggests that although Bitcoin is a weakly efficient market it is generally disconnected from worldwide capital and currencies market. This further suggests that Bitcoin may have currently limited "real world" use cases which is an important consideration for investors.
Open Access
Brain drain and reverse brain drain: individual decision making and implications for economic growth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Hua, Kuo-Ting, author; Fan, Chuen-Mei, advisor; Cutler, Harvey, committee member; Kling, Robert W., committee member; Loomis, John B., committee member
In two models, this dissertation explores two different but related topics in the international migration of skilled individuals, namely, the possibility of beneficial brain drain arises from the out-migration of skilled individuals and the potentially economic incentives for the emigrants to return to their homeland. The first model is a R&D and human capital accumulation hybrid endogenous growth model with a modified human capital accumulation behavior. It shows that an individual learns from previous innovations and that human capital accumulation fuels improvement in the quality of goods to promote economic growth. Since the ability of an individual is the key to the formation of human capital, the economic growth rate is tied to the representative individual's ability. It also shows that, with the presence of uncertainty about the opportunity of migration, the sending country could benefit from brain drain even without the scale effect. The second model is a two-period overlapping generation human capital growth model with a common self-selection fashion. Each individual optimally chooses his human capital level and the location he works. It shows that an increase in the probability of migration induces human capital accumulation in the sending country resulting from more individuals becoming potential returnees, and each potential emigrant or returnee acquiring more education. It also shows that the domestic investment opportunity could further increase human capital acquisition for an potential returnee while the wage premium couldn't.
Open Access
Building equity in addiction: is there potential for higher returns from stocks with products and services associated with addiction?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Tully, Sean Patrick, author; Vasudevan, Ramaa, advisor; Turtle, Harry, committee member; Mushinski, David, committee member
Industries associated with addiction have long been some of the most profitable businesses on the planet. In both good times and bad, human beings seem to be drawn to activities – whether having a drink, smoking a cigarette, or venturing to the local casino – that fall into the category of vice and have a history of being associated with addiction. An individual going through tough times may be sitting in their apartment drinking the same scotch as persons celebrating a colleagues' promotion in the pub across the street. Merriam-Webster defines vice as 'a moral depravity or corruption, a moral fault or failing, or a habitual and usually trivial defect or shortcoming' (Merriam-Webster, 2020). As societal norms become more relaxed with time, some activities previously considered to be controversial, reflective of bad habits, or provided with the risk of developing a dependency are becoming more tolerated. In some cases, even previously illegal products are becoming legalized. This gives some companies with products and services considered potentially addictive in nature the opportunity to enter new markets and yield potentially higher returns for investors, albeit at the cost of promoting and providing the means to participate in socially harmful activities. What level of possible investment returns can investors taking equity in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and cannabis companies expect? As far back as 2001, a report commissioned by Credit Suisse First Boston found that vice as a market sector outperformed the market as a whole and held up particularly well during past recession periods. If investing in companies associated with addiction and vice has produced attractive market returns for investors in the past, will a portfolio of investments in stocks specifically offering potentially addictive products and services produce similar results? Can investors taking equity in companies associated with potentially addictive products such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and cannabis expect higher returns versus investing in the S&P500 market index? The goal of this thesis is to explore whether investors can expect higher returns from investments associated with potentially addictive products and human vices when compared with returns of the broader market represented by the S&P500 index. We will construct an investment portfolio of stocks based on addictive products, and study how individual stocks in the portfolio correlate to overall market performance (betas vs benchmarks) by completing both equally weighted and market value-based analysis. We also perform regressions with the CAPM, Fama-French three-factor, and several control variable augmented models to analyze return performance of the addiction portfolio as compared to the S&P500.
Open Access
Closing the growth gap: regional entrepreneurship growth in different regions of Vietnam
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Pham, Chi L., author; Weiler, Stephan, advisor; Mushinski, David, committee member; Suter, Jordan, committee member
This paper examines the effect of provincial growth factors on regional entrepreneurship growth in Vietnam by combining theoretical and empirical models. Separate regressions are run for 63 provinces of Vietnam across the time period of 2005 to 2013. The key findings are that the growth gap between the rich and the poor regions still exists, and the strongest growth factor affecting provincial entrepreneurship growth is the market growth. There is evidence of spillover effects which implies that new firms and/or the development of a province's factors may generate new entrepreneurial opportunities not only for the province itself but also for the neighboring regions.
Open Access
The costs and benefits of adjunct justice: a critique of Brennan and Magness
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-03-21) Shulman, Steven, author; SpringerLink, publisher
In their controversial 2016 paper, Brennan and Magness argue that fair pay for part-time, adjunct faculty would be unaffordable for most colleges and universities and would harm students as well as many adjunct faculty members. In this critique, I show that their cost estimates fail to take account of the potential benefits of fair pay for adjunct faculty and are based on implausible assumptions. I propose that pay per course for new adjunct faculty members should be tied to pay per course for new full-time non-tenure track instructors or to pay per course for new assistant professors. That framework for adjunct faculty justice yields an aggregate cost range of $18.5 billion to $27.9 billion, one-third to one-half lower than the range computed by Brennan and Magness. Its opportunity cost would not be borne by students since students and faculty are complements, not substitutes, in the educational process. Instead it could be financed by reducing spending on non-educational purposes. Current adjunct faculty members would be protected from job displacement in this justice framework. The real obstacle to achieving justice for adjunct faculty is the priorities of university administrators, not budget constraints or opportunity costs.
Open Access
Dataset for "De-unionization and the wages of essential workers"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Walke, Adam
A definition of essential industries based on recent federal government guidelines is used to trace out the trajectory of wages for essential and nonessential sectors over time in the United States. This retrospective approach is justified by the fact that the included industries provide goods and services that are essential to health and safety whether or not emergency conditions exist. Union density has been consistently higher in essential industries, but the percentage of nonunionized workers has also increased more rapidly in those industries. The data show that real wages in essential industries have declined relative to nonessential industries since 1983 and that essential industries have consistently had lower levels of wage inequality than their nonessential counterparts. Regression analyses suggest that uneven de-unionization can explain part of the decline in relative wages. Furthermore, higher rates of union coverage in essential industries likely contribute to their comparatively low levels of wage inequality.
Open Access
Determinants of small business lending
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Kravchenko, Nataliia, author; Weiler, Stephan, advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Villupuram, Sriram, committee member
The aim of this paper is to determine the factors that drive banks' decisions to provide loans to small informationally opaque enterprises. This paper combines three important aspects related to small business lending - asymmetry of information, bank efficiency, and regional economic performance - and hopes to establish the complex ties between them and understand how banks can use the information available for the benefit of SMEs, and ultimately regional growth.
Open Access
Determining the financial performance of private veterinary practices
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1981) Höglund, Donald Lee, author
Determining the financial performance of a private veterinary practice requires first and foremost that a private practice be considered as a business enterprise. Veterinarians, while facing a maze of normal business problems, have for the most part neglected any type of formal financial performance analysis. The collection and summarization of financial data in the veterinary practice is an essential prerequisite for analyzing financial performance. This collection and data summarization can be amassed conveniently and concisely in three commonly used financial statements: The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement, and The Statement of Changes in Financial Position. From here the actual analysis begins. Countless businesses in many industries utilize standard analytical techniques that provide business information for management decision making. Essentially, an analysis of the financial performance of the private veterinary practice is affected in three ways. First, the analyst calculates common-size percentages for all accounts on the balance sheet and income statement. Second, certain accounts are selected for an analysis of trend and growth rate, and third, a computation of certain relevant financial ratios is required for a comparison of accounts and account structure. Each of these three techniques can be performed for one instant in time and over several time frames thus allowing the veterinarian to compare his practice to other veterinary practices as well as to other similar industries. These analytical tools, while widespread in American business, are virtually non-existent in the veterinary industry. They should be computed and used for making managerial and financial decisions in the private veterinary practice.
Open Access
Do minimum wage laws affect those who are not covered? Evidence from agricultural and non-agricultural workers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019-10-02) Fan, Maoyong, author; Pena, Anita Alves, author; PLOS ONE, publisher
Some employers are not obligated to pay at least minimum wages to all employees. U.S. farm employers comprise one of these groups. Employees of large farms and H-2A workers (lawfully admitted, nonimmigrant workers performing temporary or seasonal agricultural work) are protected by minimum wage legislation, while some migrant workers (often those paid piece rates) are exempt. U.S. agriculture also is characterized by a large percentage of unauthorized workers who may or may not earn above minimum wage. Following insights from dual labor market theory and from theories of the signaling capacity of the minimum wage, we compare labor market outcomes in the agricultural sector (where minimum wage coverage is limited) to low wage/skill non-agricultural sectors (where minimum wage coverage is more complete) nationally using data from the Current Population Survey. We then extend our analysis to a detailed state-level case study of agricultural workers in California using a representative survey of employed farm workers. Results suggest wage increases for covered workers that exceed those for uncovered workers, but insignificant differences in hours worked. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the impacts of minimum wage coverage on agricultural workers relative to other workers for the U.S.
Open Access
Does trade cause growth across trading blocs?
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Marturana, Michael A., author; Braunstein, Elissa, advisor; Cutler, Harvey Stephen, committee member; Davies, Stephen (Stephen P.), committee member
Does international trade influence the growth rate of income per capita across trading blocs? Many empirical studies have been conducted to analyze the effect of international trade on economic growth. This paper investigates the growth effects from trade, on income per capita, across the four trading blocs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Southern Common Market from 1970 through 2004. Using an autoregressive process of one lag, the model yielded results consistent with economic theory—exports positively influence the growth rate of income per capita while imports reduce said rate. Furthermore, these variables are statistically significant at standard levels. The model also controls for membership in a particular trading bloc and finds intra-bloc economic growth rates to differ substantially. Other variable estimates from the model however, are not consistent with theory which implies some degree of model misspecification and suggests further research is needed.
Open Access
Economic efficiency of US 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards: a lifecycle-based approach
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Anderson, Aaron, author; Kling, Robert W., advisor; Willson, Bryan D., committee member; Iverson, Terrence W., committee member; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member
A new method of evaluating vehicle emission standards is developed and applied to US 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards. The method is closely related to lifecycle analyses because it relies on the calculation of lifecycle costs of a single vehicle meeting the new standards, as well as the lifecycle costs of a vehicle compliant with previous standards. This allows the calculation of a per-vehicle net benefit, which is then, along with forecasted vehicle sales, used to estimate the total net benefit of the standards imposed over some period of years. There are multiple advantages to the approach developed here relative to that used by the EPA. Primarily, it allows a comparison of benefits and costs that occur across different periods of time, it relies on marginal damage estimates from the peer-reviewed literature, and it is easily adaptable to different emission standards. In contrast to the result of the EPA analysis, it is found that the net benefit of the standards is negative.
Open Access
Economic essays on wildlife-aircraft conflict in the United States
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Navin, Jordan, author; Weiler, Stephan, advisor; Anderson, Aaron, committee member; Pena, Anita, committee member; Kroll, Stephan, committee member; Mushinski, David, committee member
Wildlife-aircraft conflict poses a substantial economic and safety threat in the United States (US). Dolbeer, Wright, Weller, Anderson, and Begier (2014) estimates direct costs related to wildlife strikes burdened the US economy by approximately $157 million annually between 1990 and 2014. In 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) collaborated on a project with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Wildlife Services to investigate the magnitude and nature of the wildlife strike problem, ultimately resulting in the creation of the National Wildlife Strike Database (NWSD). However, reporting strikes (and associated information, such as repair costs) to the NWSD is not mandatory, and information used to calculate economic damage estimates from wildlife strikes in the US relies on voluntarily reported cost data. This dissertation focuses on the direct costs of wildlife strikes in the US and the associated disclosure behaviors of large domestic American airlines. Chapter 1 investigates the relationship between the likelihood of voluntary repair cost disclosure after a wildlife-strike event by such airlines and market competitiveness and idiosyncratic firm profits. Results show changes in competitiveness and profitability impact the voluntary disclosure of wildlife-strike repair costs by major US airlines to the NWSD. Chapter 2 similarly examines airline voluntary disclosure accuracy, employing emerging methods from economics and accounting literature that test the accuracy of self-reported data based on a statistical property exhibited by large datasets, known as Benford's Law (de Marchi & Hamilton, 2006; Dumas & Devine, 2000; Nigrini, 1996; Zahran, Iverson, Weiler, & Underwood, 2014). Analogous to Chapter 1, findings indicate the accuracy of repair costs American air carriers report to the NWSD is linked to market competition and profits. Chapter 3 relates to developing a method for interpolating missing repair costs in the NWSD using machine learning techniques. Results show that a neural network outperforms both linear regression and random forest models when predicting out-of-sample data, and furthermore, interpolating missing costs in the NWSD with a neural network delivers an average annual estimate of the direct costs of wildlife strikes in the US that is approximately $75 million, significantly less than prior estimates. Specifically, the neural network approach yields estimates $19 and $82 million lower, respectively, than when using mean cost assignment and Dolbeer et al. (2014)'s reported estimate derived using a variation of the same method.
Open Access
Empirical examination of the determinants of corruption: cross-sectional and panel analysis
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) El-Bahnasawy, Nasr Galal El-Din, author; Revier, Charles F., advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, advisor
This study explores the determinants of corruption, using cross-sectional, panel random-effects, and dynamic panel analysis to check the robustness of the results to alternative specifications and estimation methods. The study uses two different indexes of perceived corruption, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and the Control of Corruption measure (CC), to check the robustness of the results with alternative corruption measures. The study also uses a large array of explanatory variables that may influence corruption, including a large set of economic variables, a set of political variables, and a group of sociocultural variables. The first interesting result indicates that the rule of law strongly impacts corruption and that a better quality of law enforcement is correlated with lower corruption. Moreover, rich countries are perceived to have lower corruption than poor countries. This work highlights the importance of the rule of law and per capita GDP in the battle against corruption. Furthermore, this study finds the following. Lagged corruption impacts current level of corruption. Larger countries seem to have higher perceived corruption. A larger percentage of the population that is rural is associated with higher perceived corruption. Higher proportion of seats held by women in the national parliament is associated with lower corruption. Political stability, regulatory quality, ethnic fractionalization, and natural resource abundance do not impact corruption in my analysis. This study also examined the impact of some other factors on corruption such as voice and accountability, government effectiveness, the cost of business start-up procedures, the ratio of average government wage to per capita GDP, the degree of openness to international trade, membership in various religions, the level of economic development, and the legal system origin.
Open Access
Entrepreneurship by gender: characteristics, financing, and growth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Conroy, Tessa, author; Weiler, Stephan, advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Mushinski, David, committee member; Thilmany, Dawn, committee member
Women own less than one-third of firms in the United States, despite comprising nearly half of the labor force. The gender gap holds in most local areas, but analysis by county shows that there is significant variation in male- and female- business ownership across space. Though previous studies link entrepreneurial activity to several important regional characteristics, none consider how the impact of these characteristics, particularly the availability small business financing, might vary between men and women. Further, there has been little consideration for separate impacts of male- and female-owned firms on economic growth. Chapter one identifies the determinants of growth in the propensity for male- and female-owned firms and considers the relative importance of endowment and behavioral differences in explaining the gender gap in business ownership. The results indicate that there are significant endowment and behavioral differences between the male and female populations, particularly with regard to human capital accumulation. Human capital accumulation at the bachelor's degree level increases the propensity for male-owned firms, but the relationship between human capital accumulation and the propensity for female-owned firms forms an inverted "U." Counties with large shares of females at very low and very high education attainment have lower growth in the propensity for female-owned firms, and growth is highest in counties with a large share of female college graduates. Family structure is also a significant factor, shown by the negative effect of the number of children per adult, which is much stronger for males. A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition demonstrates that though the effect of endowment differences is larger in absolute value, the behavioral differences captured by the coefficient effect, are key to alleviating the gender disparity in business ownership. Chapter two analyzes the impact of male- and female-owned firms on economic performance. The results show that counties with higher initial densities of male- and female-owned firms, generally have lower subsequent employment growth. More detailed analysis by employment status shows that male-owned employer firms have the strongest relationship to economic growth compared to female-owned employer firms and non-employer firms owned by either gender. Instrumental variable analysis using the historical mining industry addresses the potential endogeneity created by including births in the empirical model of employment growth. Chapter three focuses on capital as an especially important input to entrepreneurship, and ultimately, to economic growth. So far as bank loans are critical to the start-up, survival, and expansion of establishments, it is reasonable to expect spatial linkages between lending and establishment births as well as between lending and economic performance. This study examines the effect of small business loans based on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) data and applies an instrumental variable strategy using money demand shocks to address potential endogeneity between lending and establishment births. Using an economic growth framework and cross-sectional empirical model for U.S. counties, we test the hypotheses that the establishment birth rate, employment growth, and our measure of entrepreneurship for each gender is higher in counties where bank financing is more available, controlling for community-level characteristics affecting business and economic dynamics. We also consider the long-term effect of small business lending and focus on establishing the appropriate lag structure. The results indicate that lending has a significant and positive effect on births that is strongest in rural and micropolitan counties. Second, increases in lending appear to have a weakly negative effect on employment growth. There is no effect of lending on entrepreneurship for either gender.

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