These papers are either written as individual honors papers, or team honors projects from Economics 418-419, Economic Analysis of Community Issues.

Economic Analysis of Community Issues is a research class where students do hands-on applied economic analysis either for local community groups or on a topic of community interest. The objective of the course is to have students complete a research paper that provides them with some practical experience applying skills in economics and statistics and give the local community or State a finished research project that provides them useful answers to questions that matter for their decision-making.

The completed projects are intended to satisfy the research component of the department’s requirements for graduating with honors. The class is small and involves intensive interaction with professors Joe Stone and Glen Waddell. This course is designed as a capstone for students who want to graduate with honors and enrollment is therefore by permission only.

The course begins winter quarter, when invited community speakers give talks about their potential projects, and the instructors discuss research methods and relevant aspects of benefit-cost analysis and econometrics. Students start their projects at the end of winter, and can expect to devote considerable time during spring quarter to data collection, analysis, and writing. The finished project includes delivery of a finished paper, and a presentation to interested community members.

James Tarlow, “The Winless 22 of the NBA: An Economic Investigation and Theory of Competitive Imbalance in the NBA.”

Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Piger

Demic Tipitino, “Do Bilateral FTAs Increase Trade? Case Study: Oman, Bahrain, and the US-FTAs.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Cody Bjorklund, “Gas Vs. Mileage Tax: Which Will Prevail”

Faculty Advisor: Van Kolpin

Timothy Gaffney and Ben Griffy, “Framing Effects in Parental Support of Local Public Schools.” Recipient of the Best Honors Paper award.

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Neil Cronkrite and Ian O’Gorman, “Signaling for Attention: Mobility and Student Performances in United Way’s Promise Neighborhoods.”  Subsequently published in Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal, 1(1):100- 113

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Courtney Tuxbury, “Eugene Education Fund: Donor Analysis.”

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Thomas Bradley, “Local School Financing: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of School Auctions.”

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Fangdian Du and Chris Koehler, “A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Truck vs. Rail Shipping in Lane County.”

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Andrew Fagin, Daniel Pellatt, and Andrey Voloshinov, “Characterizing Oregon’s Economy: Key Determinants of Oregon Tax Revenue 2001-2009“

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Melinda Noell, “Relative Costs and Benefits of Campus Land Use“

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Cheyney Michael Thomas O’Fallon, “Effects of Foreign Ownership on Local Corporate Philanthropy.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Jennifer Luna Ann Lacey, “One House One Vote: Consensus Within the Household.”

Faculty Advisor: Anne van den Nouweland

Tyler West, “Lurking in the Shadows: An Analysis of the Causes of and Governmental Responses to the 2008 Financial Crisis.”

Faculty Advisor: Mark Thoma

Jeffrey Coe and Sean Spring, “Evaluation of On-Site Admissions Programs at the University of Oregon.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Benjamin Trussell, “The Bid Rent Gradient Theory In Eugene, Oregon: An Empirical Investigation.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

“The Effect of De-noising FMRI Data Using Independent Component Analysis.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Kayla Erickson, “Microcredit: Access to Credit as Access to Health.”

Faculty Advisor: Ron Davies

Matthew W. Curtis and Ari I. Siegel, “An Econometrics Analysis of the Efficiency of Parking Garage Security in Downtown Eugene, Oregon.“

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Brett M. Jossis and Zachary G. Penacho, “Forecasting Revenues for Lane Transit District: An Econometric Analysis of Lane County Payrolls” Recipient of Best Honors Paper award.

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Joe D. Hagen and Jessica J. Schnieder, “Central Oregon Index of Poverty.“

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

William J. Goodling and Samuel M. Olson, “An Econometric Analysis of Parking Citation Payment in Eugene, Oregon.“

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Colin Jabin and Morgan Williamson and Sin Ting Cheuk, “Allocating a Public Good for the Good of the Public: Journal Budget Allocation Model for the University of Oregon Libraries.“

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Eason Ding and Tim Hursey, “Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Planning using Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro.“

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Joe Coleman and Seongjun Hong, “Multifamily Housing Demand and the effects of Transit Oriented Development in Walnut Station Mixed Use Center.“

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Mahama Abdel Samir Sidbewende Bandaogo, “A Reassessment of The Poverty Level in Burkina Faso: Implementation of A Weakly Relative Poverty Line”

Faculty Advisor: Peter Lambert

Joey Brady, Sean Pank, and Adam Shick, “Determinants of Off-Street Parking Demand in Downtown Eugene, OR.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Chris Carothers and Luke Hudson, “The Oregon Country Fair: An Economic Impact Analysis.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

James Davidson and Stanley Dewsnup, “Variable Cost and Incremental Revenue Estimation in the Blood Industry: An Empirical Study of Lane Memorial Blood Bank.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Dan Handelman and Elise Smilek, “A Statistical Analysis of the Factors Predicting University of Oregon Alumni Contributions.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen. Contact Blonigen for paper.

Michael Pierce and Eshwari Rao, “A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the University of Oregon Brain Development Lab’s PCMCA Program.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Nathan Eckstein, “A Statistical Analysis of American Football Running Backs’ Draft Position and Subsequent Earnings”

Faculty Advisor: Trudy Cameron

Chad Fulton, “A Runaway Competitive Fringe: How File-Sharing is Disrupting the Music Industry.”

Faculty Advisor: Glen Waddell

Ashley Hadjatry-Tarzaban, “A Shift in Power: The Rise of Sovreign Wealth Funds in the Middle East.”

Faculty Advisor: Wes Wilson

Debi Miller, “Eugene Public Parks: A Question of Efficient Allocation.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Kevin Sanders, “Coups d’Etats: An Economic Analysis of Factors.”

Faculty Advisor: Chris Ellis

Tyler Scandalios, “An Issue of National Security: The Roles of United States Economic and Military Aid in Promoting Human Development and Political Stability in Developing Countries”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Bennet Voorhees, “Forecasting Eugene’s Building Permit Revenues: Developing a Reliable Forecasting Model for Departmental Budgeting and Decision-Making.”

Faculty Advisor: Joe Stone

Michael Pierce, “Ups and Downs: An Analysis of Oregon’s Relationship with the National Economy”

Faculty Advisor: Tim Duy

Josephine Teicheira, “An Econometric Analysis: The Effect of Governmental Educational Expenditure on Foreign Direct Investment.”

Faculty Advisor: Jeremy Piger

Grace Rogers, “Health Investment and Economic Development.”

Faculty Advisor: Shanka Chakraborty

Sarah Dickey, “An Analysis of New Rapid Transit Service and New Ridership in Lane County, Oregon.”

Faculty Advisor: Wesley Wilson

Jacquie Dodd, Lisa Poplawski & Peter Zochowski. “EITC Take-up: A look at Earned Income Tax Credit take-up rates by low- to moderate-income individuals, as determined by tax preparation firms’ locations and services.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Peter Anderson & Ben Brookins, “Google AdWords: A Guide to Acquiring, Optimizing, and Maintaining an Effective Web Advertising Campaign”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh. Contact Harbaugh for paper.

Thomas Bode and Loren Snow, “Statistical Analysis of Campus Safety Factors.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Aidan Parisian and Scott Gibbens, “Zoning Regulation and Property Values: An Empirical Analysis of Eugene, Oregon”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Doron Fletcher and Sarah Dickey “An Analysis of the Eugene Christian School and the Eugene Private School Market”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Traci Lawrence & Michael Galen “Comparison of Zoning Codes and their Impacts For Eugene and Comparable Cities”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Morgan Brammer and Nicholas Johnson “Resource Allocation in Willamalane Parks”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Alex Baldwin and Travis Walker, “Budgeting for Oregon Opportunity Grant Allocation: The Determinants of Award Acceptance and the Relationship Between the Labor Market and Financial Aid application.“

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh. Contact Harbaugh for paper.

Brooke Jackson and Kent Strauss, “A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Recycling Programs for the Eugene Saint Vincent de Paul.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Ben Bushong, “Revealed Preference and Mean-Variance Investing”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Joe Edgar and Eric Gefre, “University Student Electrical Consumption: Comparison and Analysis.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh.

Michael Fillingame and Chris Hemmings, “Tracking Progress or Regress: Constructing a Healthy Community Index for Lane County.”

Faculty Advisors: Bruce Blonigen and Glen Waddell

Steven Green and Jason Schwartz, “Cost-Benefit Analysis and Prediction Markets and the Proposal for University of Oregon Prediction Markets”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Cody MacMillan and Lindsay Steiert, “Forecasting the Demand for Care of Individuals with Disabilities for the Oregon Department of Human Services”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Stephanie McShurley, Alex Vrtiska “An Economic Analysis of Factors Associated with Higher Re-entry Probability within the Oregon State Foster Care System”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Ray Morris, David Walter and Simeon Wessinger, “Lane Transit District Payroll Tax Revenue Analysis”

Faculty Advisors: Bruce Blonigen and Tim Duy

Dmitry Sivaev and Emrich Stovel, “Developing Sustainable Business Clusters in the Eugene Area: An Economic Analysis”

Faculty Advisors: Bruce Blonigen and Tim Duy

Zach Zollinger and Whit Perkins, “An Analysis of Charitable Giving to the Eugene Water and Electric Board.”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Download powerpoint presentation, excel spreadsheet.

Ryan Bricker & Jeremy Simantel, “The Land Premium in Eugene/Springfield: Determining the Price Differentials of Brownfield and Greenfield Parcels and the Impact of the Enterprise Zone.”

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Download powerpoint presentation.

Downloadpowerpoint presentation.

Download powerpoint presentation.

Michael Connolly and Aaron Frank’s project for the department’s Community Economics Class (Econ 418/419) was the development of a Business Confidence Index for Central Oregon. The Index has now been adopted by the Bend Bulletin, which will sponsor quarterly updates, and publish them in its Business Section. The article from the Bulletin is posted here and continued here.

Download powerpoint presentation.

Download powerpoint presentation.

Tatiana Raterman and Mark Allen, “The Impact of the Living Wage on Disposable Income.”

Download powerpoint presentation.

Chelsea R. Byers, Jesse Cathy, and Rob Wyman, “Interpreting Fair Market Value: Zoning, Land Value, and the Possible Unanticipated Externalities of Oregon’s Ballot Measure 37.”

Koushalah Sunder and Jason Payton, “Design of the Oregon Business Confidence Survey.”

Kate Hartwig and Yuliya Tkachyshyn, “Effects of Medicaid Expansions on Health Insurance Coverage: The Case of the Oregon Health Plan.”

Download powerpoint presentation.

By Alycia Spires and Ryan Slunaker, “Neighbor to Neighbor Dispute Resolution in Eugene, Oregon.”

Carole Forrester and Carolyn Foster, “United Way of Lane County’s Fundraising Efforts.”

Download powerpoint presentation.

Nathan Kamesar and Amos Nadler, “Willingness to Pay for Recycling in Eugene, Oregon.”

Download powerpoint presentation.

Anthony Lambatos and Kenton Olson, “The West Eugene Enterprise Zone: The Impact Of Tax Incentives on Firm Growth.”

Download powerpoint presentation.

Tom O’Brien and Justin Valasek, ”Classroom Peer Effects: A Model of Disruptive Behavior in Middle School Classrooms.”

Download paper, powerpoint presentation.

Tiancong (Kathleen) Li , Cleo Neculae, and Ryan Sullivan, “Performing Arts Organizations: An Examination of the Relationship between Ticket Expenditures, Donations, and Income.“

Download paper, powerpoint presentation.

Aryn Clark and Zeb Cooley, “Positive Behavior Support: A Case Study of the 4J and Bethel School Districts.”

Download paper, powerpoint presentation.

Kate Callister and Chi Ho, ”Who Volunteers in Lane County?“

Download powerpoint presentation.

Sam Boggess and Dan Claric, “RideSource Shopper Analysis”

Download paper, powerpoint presentation.

Melinda Rowan and Jennifer Witt, “Hynix“

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Powerpoint presentation

Jared Lunsford, “Endogenous Information Cascades”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

For a pdf, email the author at jdl22+@pitt.edu

Ryan Suvoy, “Giving and Taking”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh Bill Harbaugh

Selena Smith, “EU Eastern Expansion and the Effects on Trade”

Faculty Advisor:, Bruce Blonigen

2003 Department Prize for best individual honors paper.

Dane Jensen and Jared Durham, ”The Property Value Effects of the South Ridgeline Trail“

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Summary, Powerpoint presentation

Graham Crawford and Aaron Steinberger, “What Gives?”

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh

Email the authors at D-econometrica for information on this project.

Felicia Lorelli and Reva Shrestha, “Local Purchasing Incentives“

Faculty Advisor: Bruce Blonigen

Lindsay Beckman and Anne Jackson, ”Cost Analysis of the Adolescent Transitions Program“

Faculty Advisors: Bruce Blonigen and Bill Harbaugh

Powerpoint slides

2003 Department Prize for best group honors paper

Oliver Levine, “Effects of Market Power and Strategic Manipulation Within a Simulated Kyoto Protocol Emissions Trading Program“

Faculty Advisor: Bill Harbaugh