Scholarship & Research
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Item Blood and black gold: natural resource extraction and violent crime on American Indian reservations(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2023) Sikoski, Laura Kate; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Wendy A. StockUsing 2001 to 2016 precinct-level crime data, I examine the relationship between natural resource development in the Bakken oil fields and violent crime on American Indian reservations. While previous studies find positive effects of the Bakken oil boom on crime, the impacts of the oil boom on crime within reservations have never been evaluated. I find that the increase in crime caused by the Bakken oil boom was significantly more severe in reservations, driving the increase in regional crime found by other studies. These results suggest that community safety outcomes should be considered by federal, state, and tribal governments for future natural resource development on reservation.Item The effects of red flag laws on firearm suicides and homicides(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Harris, Mitchell John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark AndersonRisk-based firearm removal laws, commonly known as Red Flag laws have become increasingly popular among lawmakers attempting to reduce gun violence in America. Despite widespread public support, these laws have yet to be studied in economics. Using mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System, I find that Red Flag laws have a significant negative effect on firearm suicides and firearm homicides. Upon further analysis, I find that there is evidence of a pre-existing downward trend in both firearm suicides and firearm homicides. Red Flag laws do not cause changes in these mortality outcomes, rather there is an unobserved shock that decreases firearm suicides and homicides, while simultaneously affecting a state's propensity to adopt a Red Flag law. These results contradict existing non-economic literature, which suggests that Red Flag laws cause a large decrease in firearm suicides.Item Public revenue leakage from real estate non-disclosure laws(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Bollum, Tanner; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Daniel P. BigelowProperty tax is the single largest source of local own-source revenue. Due to lack of existing legal structure, county assessors are often left without access to market data. Prior to 2004, three states in the western portion of the United States had constitutions that lacked legislation regarding the disclosure of home sales. This is recognized in this research as non-disclosure laws (NDLs). New Mexico changed this legal structure in 2004 and mandated that county assessors receive all sales information in hopes that property assessments become more equitable. Using two-way fixed effects and a difference-in-differences design, I estimate the change in county level property tax revenue to be a 3.67 percent increase annually.Item The repeal of Montana's medical marijuana act and traffic fatalities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2020) Lantz, Scott Bryan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark AndersonOver the last several years, marijuana legalization has become a popular piece of state legislation. While most legislation is focused on the passage of these laws for marijuana use, Montana, in 2011, rescinded a previously passed medical marijuana law with Senate Bill 423. This thesis examines the relationship between rescinding a medical marijuana law and traffic fatalities, one of the leading causes of death in America, in Montana after Senate Bill 423 was passed. I test for a causal effect using a synthetic control approach along with a weighted regression using data from the Fatal Analysis and Reporting System with data from 2001-2017. I find that the synthetic control groups saw similar patterns in traffic fatalities despite not rescinding a medical marijuana law. The weighted regression analysis also shows that there is no statistical difference in traffic fatalities after the policy in Montana.Item A statistical analysis of size, type and tenure relationships of five hundred and sixty-five low income farm security households in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1943) Sands, Leroy L.Item Statistical supply functions for Montana wheat(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1958) Dunlap, Ruane D.Item Using Quantile Regression to Measure the Differential Impact of Economic and Demographic Variables on Obesity(2012-09) Belasco, Eric J.; Chidmi, B.; Lyford, C. P.; Funtanilla, M.The fight against obesity in the U.S. has become a pressing priority for policy makers due to many undesirable outcomes including escalating health care costs, reduced quality of life and increased mortality. This analysis uses data from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to evaluate the relationship between behavioral, economic, and demographic factors with BMI while explicitly accounting for systematic heterogeneity using a quantile regression. Results suggest that the effect of exercise, smoking, occupation, and race vary by sizeable amounts from high to low BMI-quantiles. This strongly indicates that future research efforts and policy responses to obesity need to account for these differences in order to develop more effective policies.