The_Ticker

Tipping Points

Tipping Points

Here’s a tip for New York City taxi drivers seeking bigger tips: Pick up tourists. Adam Nowak, associate professor of economics, and Amir B. Ferreira Neto, ’19, PhD Economics, studied data on yellow taxis in the Big Apple to see if tourists tipped more than locals. They do. Furthermore, theatergoers tip more than non-theatergoers, based on their findings that zeroed-in on drop-offs and pickups near Broadway. These differences between tourists and locals may affect the allocation of taxis throughout the city, conclude Nowak, Neto and Amanda Ross, of the University of Alabama.

Feminine Appeal

After graduating magna cum laude in finance and economics in 2008, Nesha Sanghavi launched UG Apparel, collegiate sports fashions for women. As a varsity cheerleader for the WVU football and basketball teams, Sanghavi noticed the lack of feminine appeal in WVU clothing. So she did something about it. How successful has she been? Enough to donate $100,000 to establish an endowed scholarship and student enrichment fund in her name. She was named to the Roll of Distinguished Alumni in 2019.

Read Article

Frank Fumich: Mountain Man

Chambers College alumnus Frank Fumich no longer lives in West Virginia, but he’s still called to the mountains – specifically, Mount Everest. 

Read Article

Fashion and Finance

Interested in finance, but also fashion? You can do both! John Pineda, finance senior and fashion merchandising minor, attended New York Fashion Week this fall as a production coordinator. He had the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes to put on a show — everything from hair and makeup to seating, lighting, ticketing and security.

Read Article

Fans Arrive Like Butterflies

Large, one-off events such as music concerts can create economic impacts not seen from professional sports, suggests rockin’ research by Joshua Hall, chair and professor of economics. Hall and Justin Parker, a 2020 Ph.D. economics graduate, found that Pearl Jam’s Seattle “Home Shows” in August 2018 generated $58 million in additional hotel revenue and $9 million in hotel tax revenue. That dwarfs Seattle Mariners baseball games ($140,000 in additional hotel revenue on game days). Their research was published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

Read Article

Take Stock

Worried about a looming recession and what to do with your money? Hold steady on those investment plans, advises Alexander Kurov, professor and Fred T. Tattersall research chair in finance. In an article penned for The Conversation, Kurov writes “Stick to your long-term plan and ignore day-to-day market fluctuations, however frightening they may be. Don’t take my word for it. The tried and true approach of passive investing is backed up by a lot of evidence.” To dive into the full article, go to go.wvu.edu/kurov.

Read Article