Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: (to be uploaded)

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper evaluates racial differences in socioeconomic predictors on credit card debt. Specifically, I examine how income, educational attainment, and occupational status differently impact the amount of credit card debt whites, black, and Hispanic individuals carry. To test the assumption that credit card debt is unequally distributed across racial groups, I use the 2001 wave of the Survey of Consumer Finances. I use Tobit regression techniques to find that whites carry more credit card debt than blacks and Hispanics. I also find that most of what we know about carrying credit card debt only applies to whites. Among whites, being middle-income, highly educated, and employed in a professional career is significantly related to higher credit card debt. Among Blacks, only education significantly affects credit card debt; while, none of these socioeconomic predictors affects the credit card holdings of Hispanics. I suggest that understanding how credit card debt differently affects individuals based on sociodemographic statuses will strengthen our overall understanding of social stratification.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper wants to explore the relationship between international debt and international relations. This research argues that international debt patterns, connected with trade, have an influence not only on economic relations, but on political ones as well. Reversely, political relations have an influence on how countries can use the instrument of debt for their own economic and political goals. The paper utilizes game theory models to explain debt/trade political relationship in two cases: the 1st Opium War between the UK and China, and the current economic relationship between China and the USA.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this paper I test whether political institutions of checks and balances can restore investor confidence in leftist governments’ perceived creditworthiness. Investors tend to be averse to left-wing governments because historically leftist governments have frequently relied on expansionary macroeconomic policies and infringed on the property rights of investors. However, governments may improve the negative perception of from investors by the help of institutional and policy arrangements that reduce political and policy uncertainty and promote investor confidence. I specifically test the effects of veto players on country creditworthiness. Theoretically, veto players may or may not improve country creditworthiness: a larger number of veto players make policy changes more difficult, thus may provide greater policy stability; on the other hand, veto players in leftist governments may be perceived as a policy gridlock that locks in policies that are unfavorable to investors. Using sovereign credit ratings data of more than 100 developed and developing countries, I find that there is an inverted-U shaped relationship between political constraints and sovereign credit ratings among the leftist governments in the developing world; that is, there is a positive relationship between veto players and credit ratings as one moves from very few to a moderate number of veto players, but after reaching a certain level of veto points the relationship turns negative. On the other hand, there seems to be no significant association between the number of veto players and sovereign credit ratings among leftist governments in the developed world.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Contemporary scholarship considers the impact of conditionality on issues ranging from economic growth to social expenditure. However, this literature has not explored the effect of conditionality on security concerns. Since the end of the Cold War, multilateral institutions increasingly encouraged military spending reform alongside the reprioritization of government consumption. This paper theoretically and empirically explores multilateral debt as an instance of conditionality. I conduct a cross-national time-series analysis of 109 developing countries from 1990 till 2004, and ultimately determine multilateral debt has a significant negative effect on defense expenditure. These results have important implications for disarmament, but also extend to issues of development. Reductions in military expenditure allow resources to be redirected toward more socially productive pursuits, hopefully laying the groundwork for sustainable development.