Economics
Department Honors Students
Class of 2004
l-r:
Kasie Blanchette, Frank Castellucci, Kaitlin Regan
The
Economics Department is proud to present our 2004 Economics
Department Honors students. Below are abstracts for the
three thesis papers. The complete papers can be downloaded
in PDF format by clicking the titles. (A free PDF document
reader is available from Adobe (www.adobe.com).)
The papers were presented at The Holy Cross Academic Conference,
on April 23, 2004.
Prof.
Miles B. Cahill
Director, Economics Department Honors Program
Kasie
R. Blanchette
Effects
of MP3 Technology on the Music Industry:
An Examination of Market Structure and Apple iTunes
Abstract
Advancements
in MP3 technology allow consumers to purchase and listen
to music through mediums other than the standard CD player,
such as a computer. This paper first presents the historical
development of music technology over approximately the
past one and a half centuries. It also examines how current
technological developments are affecting the music industry,
specifically in regards to: copyright law, market structure,
market concentration, policing piracy, and royalty payments.
Through analyzing a specific online music provider, namely
Apple iTunes, this paper illustrates the growth in the
market for online music and what it takes to be a successful
company in this new industry.
Thesis
advisor: Prof.
David Schap
Please send comments to Kasie Blanchette, krblanch@holycross.edu
Frank
M. Castellucci
The
Choices of Private and Public Health Insurance:
A View of the American Labor Force
Abstract
Purchasing
health insurance has become an extremely important social
issue, as every day an increasing number of Americans
find themselves unemployed and uninsured. This thesis
uses the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Study and regression
analysis in order to examine the correlation between being
insured and several social factors, including employment
and income. By expanding upon more general studies of
the past, I hope to more specifically outline factors
that influence individuals to purchase health insurance
and create a basis for future studies.
Thesis
advisor: Prof. Lorna
Gross
Please send comments to Frank Castellucci, fmcastell@holycross.edu
Kaitlin
A. Regan
Lottery
Purchases and Taxable Spending:
Is There a Substitution Effect?
Abstract
State
legislatures have historically justified adoption of lottery
programs as a means of supplementing general tax revenue.
Many states designate the extra revenue specifically to
funding education or other public services, and therefore
may rely heavily on the success of the lottery. It has
been conjectured that lottery tickets are a substitute
for other consumption goods. If this is the case, then
an increase in lottery ticket sales will be accompanied
by a decrease in sales of taxable consumption items. To
the extent that this is true, any increase in total revenue
to state government due to lottery sales may be partially
offset by a decrease in sales tax revenue. It is possible,
therefore, that the net addition to total state government
revenue after the establishment of a lottery program is
less than the amount of revenue generated through lottery
sales.
Using
data from twelve states spanning the period 1980-2000,
this paper attempts to determine the impact of lottery
revenue on sales tax revenue. The data are combined into
a panel, and a fixed effects pooled time series model
is estimated. The equation is then re-estimated for each
state in the sample. The results from this study do not
provide evidence that lottery purchases negatively impact
sales tax revenue.
Thesis
advisor: Prof.
John R. Carter
Please send comments to Kaitlin Regan, karegan@holycross.edu
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