Nur-tegin, Kanybek

This thesis examines greenwashing and other deceptive marketing techniques within the two areas of environmental concern and healthy living. In recent years, there has been an increase in consumer desire for sustainably sourced and natural ingredients. In order to keep up with the shift in demand, companies have implemented new strategies to project an image of ethical practices and clean products. However, sometimes these claims can be deceptive. This paper breaks down fraudulent marketing techniques into three categories: Misleading Imagery, Wording, and Certifications; Deceit Through Lack of Transparency and Informational Context; and Diversion. I provide examples of companies that employ these techniques and use primary-source data and peer-reviewed studies to highlight the difference between the company’s projected image and its actual characteristics. This study ultimately contributes to a better framework for understanding common specious claims used in the all-natural, organic, and sustainability fields in order to encourage consumers to reevaluate their purchasing decisions and hold corporations more accountable to their promises of improvement.

Airbnb has attracted significant attention from municipal governments due to its potential to influence housing affordability. This paper assesses the role of Airbnb concentration on home prices in Fort Lauderdale from October 2021 to December 2022 using a first difference fixed effect model and data scraped from the Airbnb website via InsideAirbnb. The results from the model suggest higher Airbnb concentration leads to higher home prices. For a home priced between the 35th and 65th percentile, an additional one percentage point of Airbnb concentration causes prices to increase by 3.2 percent.

Florida continues to be a major retirement destination. With a large and growing population of retirees, their effect on real estate prices becomes measurable. Using an
ordinary least squares regression analysis, I assess the effect retirees have on home prices in Palm Beach County, Florida. I claim that, in contrast to existing literature, retirees are bidding up the prices on select properties within Palm Beach County. This paper will also determine the amount that retirees increase these properties by.

This paper investigates the relationship between elementary school quality, as assessed through standardized test scores and ratings, and residential property values in Palm Beach County, Florida. Multiple regression analysis found a strong positive connection between these two variables. Our results indicate that a one-point increase in school rating would lead to an estimated $7,100 increase in property value; this signals a tangible appreciation for higher-quality schools. All the houses examined were bought in 2019, providing a current Palm Beach County housing market analysis. The relevance of our findings cannot be overshadowed: it is essential for realtors and homeowners to comprehend the link between school quality and property values so they can make better choices about allocating resources efficiently and selecting suitable homes when buying that will benefit their children’s future.

This thesis examines whether China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is promoting economic development or downfall in the form of debt-trapping to 4 participating economically emerging countries. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the world's largest infrastructure program, launched by the Chinese government in 2013. Since its inception, Chinese financial institutions and businesses have financed and constructed a wide range of global projects. I utilize qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of primary and secondary sources and data on economic growth rates and debt accumulation rates to explore the effects of the BRI in participating countries. There was no uniform consequence of the BRI, but rather characteristic-dependent effects that varied across cases. Further, my analysis does not suggest an overall trend of debt-trapping. By understanding the impact of the BRI in these countries, we can better recommend how countries carrying similar characteristics to participating countries should approach the BRI.

The art of drag, once looked down upon in society and criminalized for many years, has seen a recent surge in popularity and become celebrated and welcomed internationally. RuPaul and their Emmy-award-winning television franchise RuPaul’s Drag Race have created a whole new industry and career path for what was once seen as a menace to society and unwanted for its challenges against cis-gendered and heterosexual norms. Changing the media industry and political landscape for LGBTQ+ people, RuPaul and their show have positively uplifted queer performers by providing a platform to show off their talents and opportunities to make money they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Despite the backlash from non-supporters, queens have been able to turn their television fame into large fanbases, international spin-offs, and financially successful cosmetic, media, and hospitality industries.

The small-firm effect is a well-researched topic that defies fundamental financial market theory. Though there are many studies on presence of the small-firm effect, few investigate the reasoning behind it. This study tests 577 stocks in 2019 to determine if the small-firm effect can be explained by differences in financial metrics commonly used by investors. Though we find that market capitalization has an inverse relationship with asset turnover, market capitalization has a positive and negative relationship, respectively, with return on assets and cash conversion cycle. We find that revenue growth, free cash flow growth, return on assets, and market capitalization all have a positive effect on returns. Though we find that asset turnover is higher for small-firms, it does not make a difference on returns. In contrast, return on assets is lower for small-firms is positively correlated with returns, possibly explaining the reversal of the small-firm effect in our sample.

Japan’s post-world war efforts to rehabilitate the economy led to global economic success well into the early 1990s. To revitalize the economy, Japan necessarily utilized limited trade restrictions and fixed exchange rates imposed by the U.S. to take international trade by surprise. Although economic performance proved to be prosperous for nearly three decades, prolonged economic stagnation appeared in the early 1990s and continued for a decade. As a result of stagnation, economic growth was drastically reduced, and deflationary periods were sparked. This paper aims to identify the underlying causes of stagnation in the Japanese economy. In doing so, I will use the principles of the neoclassical growth theory to analyze two endogenous growth factors (labor and capital) to see how they pertain to economic stagnation in Japan.

Homeownership is a critical component in the American Dream. Minorities are positively affected by owning a home as it showcases prosperity, economic stability, and vast educational services (depending on the neighborhood). Unfortunately, any negative shift in the housing market can change the dynamic and burst the housing bubble. The Great Recession was that negative shift that changed the course of homeowners in the United States and worldwide. The findings of this thesis will note how the federal government failed to regulate the subprime markets and failed to protect minority homeowners. The thesis will also discuss subprime lenders in minority neighborhoods and how unemployment contributed to the increase in foreclosure and the decrease of minority homeownership rates.

Most homebuyers are currently using social media and other online platforms to search for the best deals and real estate agents. In 2013, the National Association of Realtors reported that ninety percent of homebuyers use online tools during the purchasing process. This report prompts us to focus our research on the impact of social media marketing on listing agent's success. In this study, we collect data of 20 Abacoa agents to determine whether their number of social media platforms and their online presence contribute to their success. We use data from the agents’ Facebook and Twitter accounts and the total of listings they had during the month of April to November 9, 2020. After testing these data, we discover that agents with two social media platforms are as successful as agents with only one. Furthermore, we also find that there is a positive relationship between their number of Facebook followers and their number of listings. For future research, we recommend using a large sample size.