Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8555-3416

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Chambers College of Business and Economics

Department

Economics

Committee Chair

Roger Congleton

Committee Co-Chair

Josh Hall

Committee Member

Feng Yao

Committee Member

Cecil Bohanon

Abstract

The first chapter studies the impact of conventions and multi-day events on
hotel demand in the Indianapolis metro area. Using hand-collected data on
sporting events and conventions, we study the impact on hotel metrics: ADR,
Occupancy, Daily Rate, and Revenue. We show that traditional sporting
events generate little impact when compared to multi-day conventions. We
show that mega-events such as major championship games generate significant
increases in hotel demand. We find large and statistically significant effects for
multi-day conventions on hotel demand with very little evidence of crowding
out. A single day of a multi-day convention brings in approximately $928,000
in additional hotel revenue. Our findings contribute to the literature on the
economic impact of large events such as conventions and sporting events that
attract out-of-town visitors.
Chapter two examines the median voter model as applied to the right-to-
work vote for Missouri. Right-to-work laws constitute a major constitutional
decision that impacts the abilities of unions to operate within a state with
additional impacts on the general labor market. The attempted passage of
right-to-work in Missouri coincided with a rare public vote on the matter,
that allows us to examine the role of demographics and occupational special
interest in the attempted passage of right-to-work.
The third chapter examines the history of rights arguments in the constitutional political economy of James Buchanan. Beginning with Limits of
Liberty and progressing through his collected works, I document his usage of
rights arguments and definitions to give clarity to an oft-overlooked part of
Buchanan’s constitutional political economy

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