Given the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation (E&I) for economic growth, the question of what stimulates them is imperative. Recent research has focused on business training programs as a main driving force. However, these programs have shown mixed effectiveness. Therefore, it is necessary to explore other potential drivers. This research uses the ABC reality show, Shark Tank, as a case study to test the media’s impact on E&I. The show is a business pitch competition where judges decide whether to support contestants’ ventures. The main empirical strategy involves regressing measures of E&I on viewership (proxied by Nielsen ratings) at the Designated Market Area level over time. My main tasks have been to (1) extract data from Census to control for potentially confounding factors and (2) convert latitude and longitude for inventor locations into zip codes and county level information based on data from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The latter is still in progress. Preliminary findings suggest that business activity is positively correlated with Shark Tank exposure. This effect may be different for minorities. This presentation will focus on preliminary results, lessons learned from this experience, and how it fits with my overall career goals.

As a major world power, the United States occupies many resources resulting in great economic success. Economic prosperity, better quality of life, and a hopeful future are key aspects that migrant individuals seek when coming to America. Migrants who find work in the U.S. often times send money and resources back to their native countries in hopes of improving the lives of their families. Indeed, research has shown that migrant remittances can bring prosperity to developing countries by increasing overall income and boosting key outcomes such as health, entrepreneurship, and education. This study examines migrant remittances and its welfare implications by conducting eye-tracking experiments and surveys with a sample of almost 400 Central American migrants. In pursuance of further understanding these migrants’ remittance decisions, I primarily aided in the cleaning, coding, merging and analysis of survey and webpage clicks data. This research presentation will focus on (a) preliminary results from the research, (b) lessons learned through this research experience (e.g. data analysis and econometric methodology), and (c) how these fit with my future career goals.

Countries across the world have released a conscious and unconscious message that positive economic performance means more happiness for a nation. When determining what factors impact the pursuit of happiness for an individual, it is often assumed that income is key. This thesis observes the opposing views that economists have on happiness. The following variables will be addressed. Per capita income, life expectancy, level of education, the quintile ratio, gender labor force participation inequality, gender income inequality, gender inequality index, gender suicide rate inequality, inequality within country life expectancy, inequality within country educational attainment, and inequality within country income are used to predict how socio-economic measures of economic disparity impact the happiness index across nations. In summary, are happier societies, also more equitable societies?
The economic modeling of happiness was informed by the following hypotheses:
As human development indicators rise, does happiness increase?
As gender disparity indicators decrease, does happiness increase?
As human development within country inequality decreases, does happiness increase?
 
After running multiple regression tests, my findings are still being analyzed, however I am anticipating to find results that align with my hypotheses.

Many imports and exports are staples in the everyday lives of many people. Typically, resources are extracted from markets in the global south and sent to the north. In 2017, the United States imported 1.25 billion dollar’s worth of coffee from Colombia. One commodity that is overlooked and rather unconventional is the trafficking of drugs. Trafficking cocaine, though illegal, accrues billions of dollars, similar to the legal industries of healthcare or any of the sporting industries. My research focuses on how media represents the similarities between both legal and illegal trading of commodities, which are often overlooked. Using both cultural studies methods and theory of rational choices, I observe here how drug trafficking as a business is represented, and how from rational choice theory we can see how it is a criminal rational decision that operates just as any legal corporation that supplies a commodity from the south to northern markets