Vassar College Digital Library

Vassar Scholarship

Vassar Scholarship, the institutional repository formerly known as Digital Window, reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community.  It provides access to a variety of collections, including senior theses and projects across a wide range of disciplines.

Do fringe benefits cause layoffs?

Publication Date
1990-October-01
Document Type
Department or Program
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Abstract

It is commonly believed that firms prefer layoffs to worksharing, in part, because layoffs economize on fringe benefit costs. We find that when labor markets are characterized by optimal implicit contracts, layoffs will never occur in equilibrium, regardless of the...

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How budget deficits cause trade deficits: The simple analytics

Publication Date
1989-November-01
Document Type
Department or Program
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Abstract

The traditional classroom presentation of international macroeconomic issues obscures the link between budget deficits, exchange rates, and the trade deficit. The article offers a simple supply and demand framework to clarify the role of budget deficits in creating trade deficits...

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Liberty and Justice for Whom? Educational Reforms and Capital, Labor and Social (Im)Mobility in the Age of Neoliberalism

Publication Date
2014-January-01
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Authors
Department or Program
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Abstract

In this thesis, I wanted to examine the influence of neoliberal theory in the realms of public education and immigration within the US, and to tease out the implications that have resulted within each. From there, I attempted to understand...

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Making Knowledge, Making Power: The Impact of Restorative Discipline Practices in Three New York City Schools

Publication Date
2015-January-01
Document Type
Department or Program
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Abstract

The rise of standardized testing and zero­tolerance discipline measures in the United States over the last decade has resulted in public schools that prioritize order and obedience over deep learning and interpersonal relationships. While detrimental across the board, these austere...

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Optimal implicit contracts and the choice between layoffs and work sharing

Publication Date
1989-October-01
Document Type
Department or Program
Document Type
Abstract

Implicit contract models of labor market equilibrium under work sharing and layoffs are constructed to examine several common explanations for the observed market bias in favor of layoffs. We first establish the optimality of work sharing in the absence of...

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The High Price of High Heels: How Women's Fashion is an Agent of Patriarchal Control

Publication Date
2014-January-01
Document Type
Authors
Department or Program
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Abstract

Women have made great strides over the past century gaining rights and achieving inclusion throughout much of American society but it is widely accepted that women still experience marginalization in what remains a patriarchal society. Some women feel that high...

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