SENIOR SYNTHESIS

Snapshots of Harvard undergraduate economics research

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2020 Senior Theses

Ec Thesis 2020 Virtual Poster Session

May 23, 2020 econthesis 2020 Senior Theses

Enjoy the posts below and chat with thesis writers via Zoom on Monday, May 25, 1-2pm ET!  Links available in each post and also here.

The Impact of Free Primary Education on Women’s Knowledge of Contraception in Kenya

May 22, 2020 paulachappel 2020 Senior Theses

By Paula Chappel Motivation In my thesis, I investigate the impact of women’s education on their contraceptive knowledge and intent to use contraceptives. I exploit a Kenyan education policy change in January 2003 that made education free and compulsory. This is an important topic because better educated women are often healthier, and are more likely Read More

Beyond Banking the Unbanked: The Effects of India’s Demonetization on Financial Inclusion and Consumption Smoothing

May 19, 2020 avora 2020 Senior Theses

By Aakanksha Vora Banking serves as a gateway into the formal financial system, which can decrease inequality of outcomes and opportunity for the 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally. Building a financially included economy, by banking the unbanked, can alleviate poverty and reduce wealth disparities. However, there are several barriers to access, and ownership of a Read More

The Causal Effect of Chinese Foreign Aid on Child Labor Practices in Developing Countries

wcash 2020 Senior Theses

By Wesley Cash The recent proliferation of Chinese foreign aid in Africa has raised many concerns about China’s potentially exploitative economic and political intentions. This paper empirically tests the effectiveness of Chinese foreign aid by measuring its effect on child labor participation in developing countries. Using a difference-in-differences-like identification strategy at the subnational level, I Read More

Is Our World More Integrated? The Feldstein Horioka Puzzle Revisited

crestanelloj 2020 Senior Theses

By Juan Crestanello My thesis revisits the relationship between a country’s domestic saving and its investment, a link first explored by Feldstein and Horioka (1980). I show that the once strong relationship between domestic saving and investment waned over time and essentially disappeared in the years before the financial crisis, followed by some reemergence more Read More

Aiding Legitimacy: A Model of Foreign Aid, Legitimacy and Conflict

eherington 2020 Senior Theses

By Elizabeth Herington “Fazlullah (local militant leader) was particularly popular in remote areas where people remembered how TNSM (militant-affiliated aid organization) volunteers had helped during the earthquake when the government was nowhere to be seen.” -Malala Yousafzai, global education activist and survivor of Taliban violence, 2013 Civil violence has become the most prevalent form of Read More

Riding with Charlie: Public Transportation Policy and its Impact on Businesses and Road Safety in Massachusetts

pfarias 2020 Senior Theses

By Pedro Farias Can public transportation help local businesses and save lives and costs? My thesis seeks to understand this dual question by considering a natural experiment in Boston. From March 2014 to March 2016, the MBTA expanded public transportation service on weekends from 12:30am to 2:30am for certain routes. With data on MBTA service, Read More

“Take Me to Church”: Religious Membership as a Determinant of Intergenerational Mobility

emorrissette 2020 Senior Theses

By Elizabeth Morrissette Both Suffolk County and Norfolk County, Massachusetts are part of the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area and are adjacent to one another, but the counties have vastly different expected economic outcomes for the children who are raised there. Children who grow up in Norfolk County have average expected incomes that are $12,000 higher Read More

The Promise of a Cure: Measuring the Welfare Gain to Hemophilia A Patients from Gene Therapy

jubriaco 2020 Senior Theses

By Julian Ubriaco US Prescription Drug Spending is on the Rise Growing prescription drug spending is a core driver of rising healthcare costs in the US. Given that prescription drugs now make up nearly 15% of total healthcare spending, calls for price controls have become increasingly intense from the US Congress. However, as a student Read More

Changing Climate, Changing Behavior: Evaluating the Impact of Observability and Framing on Carbon Offset Donations

May 18, 2020 anlichen 2020 Senior Theses

By Anli Chen Climate change is an urgent global issue that requires collective effort from organizations and individuals alike to overcome. Carbon offsets, while an imperfect solution, are one of the most high-impact and low-barrier ways every individual can contribute. Yet, they are relatively unknown and extremely underutilized. My behavioral economics thesis tackles that challenge Read More

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aid Anli Chen behavioral behavioral economics biofuels carbon offsets china chinese aid climate change corn ethanol development econ economics education energy transition environmental economics foreign gene therapy harvard hemophilia income and religion income inequality industrial organization Integration intergenerational mobility International Economics Investment labor markets labor matching law market entry prosocial race and religion religion reputation Savings social capital social networks social norms Thesis two-sided matching urban wealth welfare Wesley Cash
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