Research        

In 2018, the United States Department of Defense transitioned from the high-three retirement system to the blended retirement system.  Service members often question whether the new retirement plan was an improvement, and whether the recommended lifecycle funds within the Thrift Savings Plan are the most effective allocation of their retirement account.  Both of these questions are dependent on how a service member controls the funds within their Thrift Savings Plan.

This paper explores this new control of retirement funds that is available to service members. Through basic application of portfolio theory, I find the lifecycle funds under the blended retirement system presently generate approximately $42,012 or 1.26% less in retirement earnings to service members in comparison to the previous high-three retirement plan. However, I show the lifecycle funds to be inefficient, accepting an unnecessary volume of risk for every unit of return. I further demonstrate how efficient portfolio allocation may result in a reduction of portfolio risk while increasing service member retirement earnings by $371,516 or 11.17 percent in comparison to the lifecycle funds.

Financial literacy is a hallmark competency of leaders across the military. Personal finance mentorship can be a leadership tool for junior officers, assuming they possess appropriate financial competencies. However, naval officers can be found in ready-rooms, wardrooms, and officer clubs around the fleet comparing stories of financial dismay by not only their subordinates, but also their peers and superiors. Likewise, over-budget and behind-schedule is the reputation that has plagued military procurement. A deficit of financial competencies should come as no surprise, given the lack of financial education the Department of the Navy provides its officer corps. The U.S. Naval Academy is the only service academy to not offer a course of study in finance. This prompted a team of new company officers in the leadership, education, and development (LEAD) master’s program at the Academy to study midshipman financial literacy and compare findings to the fleet. This included the first survey of midshipman financial literacy in recent history, an outreach program to discuss financial literacy with midshipmen, and a comparison of financial training across service academies to identify best practices.

The Port of Baltimore closed with the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Efforts to clear the channel for shipping are ongoing, but logistical disruptions have been, and continue to be, significant. How well will Baltimore’s share of trade be absorbed by the many other ports along the east coast of the United States?

I estimate the responsiveness of U.S. state and local government revenues to changes in gross domestic product (GDP), providing the first sensitivity analysis of several categories of taxation, non-tax revenue, and total revenue to economic fluctuations. Overall, I find that total state and local government revenues are resilient to economic shocks, demonstrating an overall sensitivity of 0.969 in the United States since 1992. I show that state and local government revenues have historically demonstrated a proportionally smaller response to respective changes in GDP during economic recessions, while revenues generated by property tax and the majority of non-tax revenues are indistinguishable between periods of economic growth and recession. A cross-sectional examination of sensitivities indicates states with an above-average share of non-tax revenue exhibit a greater resiliency to economic fluctuations, particularly when state revenue-per-capita is low.

In June 2015, Greece was on the verge of what was expected to be the largest sovereign default in history. The government forced the closure of national banks, limited cash withdraws by its citizens, and shut down the Athens Stock Exchange. Greece held a popular referendum rejecting the terms of a European bailout, laying a clear path for default and departure from the European Union. However, in the week that followed, contrary to the popular vote, the Greek Parliament accepted a bailout package under what was widely considered harsher austerity terms for Greece than the package proposed in the referendum. This paper reviews the events leading up to the summer of 2015 and examines some of the contributing factors that brought Greece to the brink of default and departure from the Eurozone.