The following College of Business and Economics faculty members will give sabbatical presentations on Friday, May 6 at the college’s Development & Research (D&R) Conference in Stephens Hall. For details about each presentation see below.
For more information on the entire conference, visit the event page.
Presenter: Juergen Jung, Department of Economics
Coauthors: Chung Tran, Matthew Chambers
Friday, May 6 | 10 a.m.
Stephens Hall, Room 311
Title: Aging and Health Financing in the U.S.: A General Equilibrium Analysis
Abstract: We quantify the effects of population aging on the US healthcare system. Our analysis is based on a stochastic general equilibrium overlapping generations model of endogenous health accumulation calibrated to match pre-2010 U.S. data. We find that population aging not only leads to large increases in medical spending but also a large shift in the relative size of public vs. private insurance. Without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aging itself leads to a 36.6 percent increase in health expenditures by 2060. The group based health insurance (GHI) market shrinks, while the individual based health insurance (IHI) market and Medicaid expand significantly. Additional funds equivalent to roughly 4 percent of GDP are required to finance Medicare in 2060 as the elderly dependency ratio increases. The introduction of the ACA increases the fraction of insured workers to 99 percent by 2060, compared to 81 percent without the ACA. This additional increase is mainly driven by the further expansion of Medicaid and the IHI market. Interestingly, the ACA reduces aggregate health care spending by enrolling uninsured workers into Medicaid which pays lower prices for medical services. Overall, the ACA adds to the fiscal cost of population aging mainly via the Medicare and Medicaid expansion.
Presenter: Seth Hammer, Department of Accounting
Friday, May 6 | 11 a.m.
Stephens Hall | Room 311
Title: Tax-Advantaged Bond Investing Following the Enactment of the Affordable Care Act
Abstract: Tax changes following the enactment of the Affordable Care Act have exacerbated the ongoing state of turmoil in the municipal bond market. Beyond the tax issues, fixed income investors and their advisers also face a myriad of challenges, such as the impact of unfunded pension liabilities, and unprecedented concerns, including negative interest rates and climate change. This project helps to bring to the forefront the potential risks and strategic planning opportunities associated with investing in this extraordinary market environment.
Presenter: Xiaolin Li, Department of e-Business and Technology Management
Friday, May 6 |12 p.m.
Stephens Hall | Room 309
Title: Information Cues and Online Product Sales Performance
Abstract: The study empirically explores the impact of different information cues, including numerical ratings and textual reviews, on the sales performance of online products. The analysis of a big dataset about the reviews and sales of products on Amazon.com reveals diverse effects of different information cues on the sales performance of products. The findings have significant implications for both business practice and research.
Presenter: Susan Flaherty, Department of Finance
Friday, May 6 | 12 p.m.
Stephens Hall, Room 311
Title: Banking development and Systemic Banking Risk
Abstract: While the financial crisis that spurred the great recession ended seven years ago, the fear of a repeat event has focused legislators and academics on the significance of systemic risk generated by country level banking systems. We examine the changes in the level of systemic risk as a function of a country’s financial development, bank concentration and regulatory requirements as well as cultural and legal variables. Based on the availability of the Compustat Global database and other databases, our sample includes financial institutions from 20 countries including both advanced and emerging countries, over the 2002 – 2013 period. Rather than using a traditional value-at-risk (VaR) analysis for estimating risk, we use a measure of systemic risk developed by Acharya et al. (2010), the MSE or marginal expected shortfall. The MSE measures a financial institutions contribution to the system as a whole. Our results suggest that banking system size, level of concentration, and development have a negative, significant impact on systemic risk. These results are in line with Anginer et al. (2013) who find a significant, negative relationship between bank competition and systemic risk suggesting that large, more competitive banks are more diversified. Our paper contributes to a growing literature on the relationship between systemic risk and stability in the financial system and has implications for policymakers and for those countries with nascent banking systems.
Presenter: George Georgiou, Department of Economics
Friday, May 6 | 1 p.m.
Stephens Hall | Room 311
Title: Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism
Abstract: This project will examine the methods and processes that private sector financial institutions use to screen for illicit money deposited in/or flowing through their accounts. The focus will be on: offshore financial centers, tax havens and shadow banks, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
