Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Economics

Major Professor

Matt C. Harris

Committee Members

Celeste K. Carruthers, Maria Padilla-Romo, James A. Chyz

Abstract

\chapter*{Abstract}\label{ch:abstract} The first chapter evaluates the effect of the passage of the Campus Save Act (as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization in 2013) on reported incidents of crime on college campuses in the United States. This piece of legislation required colleges and universities to provide sexual assault awareness training and preventive education programs for all new students, faculty, and staff. I collect survey data from colleges and universities on their historical training efforts and available resources from 2010 to 2020. While previous studies have examined the relationship between sexual violence and future earnings or labor market outcomes, this study is the first to explore the effect of preventive training programs on reported incidents of crime. I find that colleges and universities who made training programs mandatory rather than optional had a positive relationship with reported incidents of sexual crime on campus. However, during this time period, on average financial resources and staffing for Title IX offices did not increase.

The second chapter examines the effect of star ratings in a market with extremely well-informed consumers. Star ratings have been shown to be salient in markets when they can alleviate information imperfections, improve product quality, or make complicated information more usable in consumption choices. I examine the effect of star rating in the market for college football athletes. Existing studies have shown recruit quality has a positive effect on winning percentage as well as revenue generation. Using a regression discontinuity design, I am the first to study the effect of a marginal recruiting star as an indicator of future player outcomes and school choice. Likewise, I study the effect of a marginal recruiting star on demand choices for college football coaches. My findings indicate star ratings, conditional on the composite index, do not serve as a good indicator of future performance nor do they influence consumer demand but instead serve as a mechanism to convey information to uninformed outside audiences.

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