Wharton Research Scholars
Wharton Research Scholars is an intensive one-year research program for a select group of students who are interested in conducting research under the supervision of some of Wharton’s preeminent faculty members. As part of the program, participants complete an honors thesis.
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Publication Measuring the Impact of Pedagogical Reform on Children in Middle Income Countries: Classroom Size(2023-04-01) Patel, AaryaEducation reform should be strategically implemented to reduce the magnitude of childhood inequalities reflected in SDG 4. Within this broad topic, this study seeks to understand the relationship between the pupil-teacher ratio of a classroom and student exam performance across South Africa and India. The current literature reveals that targeted education reform improves student cognition. However, there is dissent around the impact of classroom size on student achievement. This study quantitatively compares Higher Secondary School Examination pass rates between four districts within Mumbai, India, and Matriculation Examination pass rates between four schools within KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Categorical data analyses were run to determine if the difference in pass rates between the districts or schools is significant. A case analysis of each country reveals that secondary school students across Mumbai and KwaZulu Natal benefit from learning in classrooms with lower pupil-teacher ratios. This study does not produce causal or fully externalizable results, and limiting factors are illuminated through conversations with non-governmental organizations across both countries.Publication Understanding Cancel Culture and the Potential for Forgiveness: Corporate Apologies(2023-04-01) Madrazo, Diego NoriegaThis research paper analyzes how customer attitudes towards cancel culture vary depending on the contents of a released apology statement. The two factors evaluated within the apologies were: specificity (whether the apology is specific about why the incident happened) and blame assignment (whether the company takes full responsibility or calls out specific individuals within the company). The methodology of this experiment was a 2x2 between-subjects survey that was administered to 932 respondents. The results of the study found no evidence that specificity or blame attribution alone affect people’s attitudes towards a corporate apology. However, a statistically significant interaction effect between specificity and blame was found. Apologies with specific details when the company is taking blame as a whole and apologies with no specific details when certain individuals are blamed were found to lead to positive effects on people’s purchase intent, personal emotional belief, and personal emotional response.Publication Analyzing Key Events & Casual Factors(2023-05-01) Bobovich, NicoleDigital asset markets reached peak valuations of more than 3 trillion in 2021. However, the strong growth in crypto asset value in 2021 was met with turmoil and value destruction in subsequent years with a series of bankruptcies of cryptocurrency-related businesses in a period dubbed the "crypto winter." This study considers the impacts of the events of the crypto winter on decentralized lending protocols, specifically using the Aave protocol as a case study. Looking at data centered on interest rates, available liquidity, and the total value of invested funds on the Aave protocol, this study seeks to better understand how investors' perceptions of the safety of borrowing cryptocurrencies have changed after the events of the crypto winter. The study will aim to look at predicting spreads between variable and stable interest rates with an OLS regression and analyze the impacts of the crypto winter using historical Aave lending data.Publication Gender and Sexuality Stereotypes of Lesbian Women in the Workplace(2023-12-01) Miller, FionaHow are lesbian women perceived at the workplace? This study investigates how gender, sexual orientation, and job type might simultaneously influence warmth and competence assessments of women in the workforce. While recent literature has extensively studied stereotypes affecting hetersexual women, there is little focus on how sexual orientation and job type might simultaneously influence perceptions of lesbian women. This study employs a 2x2 experimental design investigating if there is a job type effect and/or a sexual orientation effect that influences subjects’ perceptions of the target’s warmth and competence using the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). This paper hypothesizes that (1) lesbian women in agentic jobs, as compared to heterosexual women, will be perceived as more likable and more competent, and (2) lesbian women in communal jobs, as compared to heterosexual women, will be perceived as less likable and less competent. While these hypotheses were not supported by the experimental data, the results identify important areas of future research.Publication Measuring the Impact of Group Membership and Voice Type on Loyalty Perception and Workplace Punishment(2023-05-01) Nooruddin, YasmeenThis paper explores how group membership and voice type influences loyalty perception and punishment severity of misconduct within a managerial setting. Misconduct is a universal constant across all organizational settings, and management’s punishment in response can be influenced by an array of factors where some transgressors are punished more severely than others for similar types of misconduct. However, existing literature is ambiguous on whether management’s perception of a transgressor’s loyalty explains why some employees are punished more severely than others. Expanding on current theories of loyalty and punishment, we theorize that loyalty perception depends on two factors: group status (specifically in-group status by team association places clear expectations of loyalty to the group) and employee voice type (specifically, speaking up to challenge existing managerial practices is a deviation of expected behavior in organizational settings). The results for these analyses will add value to existing research on loyalty and managerial punishment, and will provide useful contributions to managerial efforts in handling unethical behavior. The study did not reveal a main effect of employee group status on punishment recommendation, but it did reveal a main effect on employee group status on loyalty perception; of employee voice type on loyalty perception; of employee voice type on punishment recommendations, and of employee voice type on loyalty perceptions and punishment recommendations of in-group employees.Publication Competition or Monopoly for Kuala Lumpur's Metro Rail Industry?(2023-12-01) Zarif, Aini Sofia MohdPublic transportation in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area (KL) has been receiving particularly increased spotlight in recent years. As the government plans for the public transportation network’s expansion to accommodate for the population growth and alleviate traffic congestion in KL, critics raise concerns about the reliability and practicality of the existing system. This thesis seeks to answer the question of which operating model, competition or monopoly, best suits the KL metro rail landscape. After analyzing the operating models of Hong Kong and Singapore as reference points of gold standards of monopoly and competition-based respectively, this thesis recommends KL should shift to a competition-based operating model and be more aggressive in implementing LVC mechanisms to diversify away from significant reliance on government funds and fare revenues. Additionally, it is also important to have sound checks and balances in political and government involvement especially pertaining to the appointment and termination of top level executives of government-linked organizations directly involved with the rail transit industry such as MRT Corp and Prasarana.Publication A Prospectus for the Application of the Customer Lifetime Value Framework for Customer Relationship Management within Blockchain Settings(2023-05-01) McKeon, DanielIn recent years, there has been a rapid surge of growth in interest surrounding blockchain technologies through their implementations in cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and myriad other applications. Despite the tremendous increase of users and investors engaging with blockchains, there has not been a corresponding increase in the amount of research dedicated to advancing Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) across the blockchain industry. Consequently, this paper aims to provide a prospectus for a potential cohorted analysis of blockchain userbases using a probabilistic Customer Lifetime Value (“CLV”) framework to generate managerial insights useful in CRM or forecasting the growth trajectory of a blockchain. The prospectus utilizes Bitcoin as an example subject for analysis and suggests utilizing a combination of the Python and R programming languages to fit the Pareto/NBD to model repeat purchasing behavior and the Gamma-Gamma to model customer spend.Publication Powerless Against Climate Change: The Consequences of Government Intervention in Investor-Owned Utility Bankruptcies on Creditor Recoveries and Incentive Alignment(2023-05-01) Malik, TvishaPG&E is widely regarded as the first climate-change caused Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since then, numerous other investor-owned utility companies have declared bankruptcy due to climate disasters. Historically, due to the wide-reaching consequences of utility service disruptions to broader economic activity, state and local government officials have involved themselves in utility bankruptcies to ensure services continue and ratepayers are protected from drastic rate spikes. This paper will explore what effect, if any, government involvement in utility Chapter 11s has on creditor recoveries, moral hazard, and incentive alignment. An event study of bond trading prices around the time of PG&E’s bankruptcy elucidates investor sentiment regarding climate and political economy risk present in the region. The study suggests that government intervention in PG&E caused investors of peer companies to view their investments as less risky. Finally, this paper explores potential solutions to manage climate damages in a way that decreases moral hazard.Publication The Future for Oil & Gas Majors: Activity in the Low Carbon Space & Market Reactions(2023-05-01) Masom, Adam J.This paper explores the influence of the green energy transition on oil and gas majors – namely, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies. Specifically, this study examines greenhouse gas emissions reductions strategies, investments in the low carbon space, and public market reactions to the energy transition. The global energy supply is forecasted to shift rapidly from hydrocarbons – oil, natural gas, and coal – to cleaner, lower-emission sources – hydrogen, bioenergy, solar, and wind – as economies target a net zero emission future. It is important to understand the strategies oil and gas majors are employing to drastically reduce their carbon footprint and position themselves within the energy transition. Using corporate sustainability reports and press releases, this paper analyzes empirical data relating to the energy transition, delving into the respective strategies of each oil and gas major. Additionally, this paper uses event studies to analyze abnormal returns on low carbon activities over time. The results indicate that emissions are starting to decline, but future net zero targets are inconsistent and relatively ineffective. Further, it finds that the U.S. majors lag behind their European counterparts, employing mitigative strategies whereas the European majors are building diversified portfolios of renewable energy technologies. Finally, it finds that activity in the low carbon space does not have a significantly accretive or dilutive effect on the market capitalization of each major.Publication Powerless Against Climate Change: The Consequences of Government Intervention in Investor-Owned Utility Bankruptcies on Creditor Recoveries and Incentive Alignment(2023-05-01) Malik, TvishaPG&E is widely regarded as the first climate-change caused Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since then, numerous other investor-owned utility companies have declared bankruptcy due to climate disasters. Historically, due to the wide-reaching consequences of utility service disruptions to broader economic activity, state and local government officials have involved themselves in utility bankruptcies to ensure services continue and ratepayers are protected from drastic rate spikes. This paper will explore what effect, if any, government involvement in utility Chapter 11s has on creditor recoveries, moral hazard, and incentive alignment. An event study of bond trading prices around the time of PG&E’s bankruptcy elucidates investor sentiment regarding climate and political economy risk present in the region. The study suggests that government intervention in PG&E caused investors of peer companies to view their investments as less risky. Finally, this paper explores potential solutions to manage climate damages in a way that decreases moral hazard.