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.

Convergence among the U.S. states: Absolute, conditional, or club?

Publication Date
2003-October-01
Document Type
Department or Program
Document Type
Abstract

This paper attempts to ascertain which of the convergence hypotheses – absolute, conditional, or club – best describes the economic development of the U.S. states since 1950. We use regression tree analysis to identify convergence clubs among the states and...

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Energy Consumption and Habit Formation: Evidence from High Frequency Thermostat Data

Publication Date
2017-January-01
Document Type
Department or Program
Document Type
Abstract

Using minute-by-minute data from over 60,000 smart thermostats in households distributed across the United States, we analyze the persistence of energy consumption behaviors in response to external weather shocks. The analysis examines habitual behavior and provides insight into what affects...

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Historical and Contemporary Modes of Racism in Baltimore, Maryland

Publication Date
2013-January-01
Document Type
Document Type
Abstract

Baltimore is divided into spaces of luxury and wealth and spaces of poverty
and destitution. How did Baltimore come to be materially and spatially segregated by race, and how have those boundaries remained in a post‐Civil Rights era of purported...

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Trust and the Law

Publication Date
2017-January-01
Document Type
Department or Program
Document Type
Abstract

This chapter provides a selective review of the literature on trust and the law. We highlight the psychological and game theoretic mechanisms underpinning the role of trust in relationships with incomplete contracts. We also discuss evidence on whether behavioral trust...

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