Author ORCID Identifier
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 Member
Feng Yao
Committee Member
Cecil Bohanon
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
Recommended Citation
Steitz, Colin Michael, "Three Essays on Political Economy" (2023). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 12250.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12250
Included in
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