Spanish California Missions: An Economic Success

Starting in 1769, the Spanish established missions in Alta California. A small band of soldiers, Franciscan priests and volunteers walked from Baja California to San Francisco Bay through semi-arid, scarcely populated land stopping occasionally to establish a location for a religious community. Usually two priests, a few soldiers and a few Indians from Baja California settled at the spot. Their only resources for starting an economy were themselves, a few animals and a nearby source of water. They attracted the local Indians to join the community and perform the work necessary to create a strong economy. After only a few years, the missions were almost entirely self-sufficient, and offered reliable supplies of food, clothing and housing to the inhabitants. By 1790, some of these missions had a population of more than a thousand people, including a handful of priests and soldiers. While there were many negative aspects of mission life, virtually all the coastal Native Californians willingly joined the missions and stayed. Their continually increasing skills and trade with military outposts and passing ships created the economic success of the mission

Review of \u3cem\u3eCreditworthy: A History of Consumer Surveillance and Financial Identity in America\u3c/em\u3e

A book review of Josh Lauer\u27s Creditworthy: A History of Consumer Surveillance and Financial Identity in America

Banking in California: Some Evidence on Structure, 1878-1905

Doti’s thesis explains the contribution of state banks to nineteenth century financial history in the United States

Nationwide Branching: Some Lessons from California

California provides a case study of a large and diverse geographic area with few restrictions on branch banking. In spite of the lack of restrictions, branching occurred primarily in two periods, the 1920\u27s and 1960\u27s. Large banks took over smaller banks during these periods, but, particularly in the 1960\u27s, new banks opened to fill the gap. Branching without limitation did not result in a few banks dominating the market

Banking in Orange County: Early Years

This article explores the beginnings of banking in Orange County

Review of Frances Dinkelspiel\u27s Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California

A review of Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California

The Impact of Vaccinations on COVID-19 Case Rates at the State Level

This study uses a stepwise regression model to measure the efficacy of vaccination in reducing COVID-19 case rates through 8/10/21. In order to hold other covariants constant, variables like density, poverty, and governmental stringency were also included in the regression tests. The statistical results rigorously show that higher vaccination rates led to significantly lower COVID-19 case rates at the state level. A simulation is presented that estimates the cumulative COVID-19 case rate had vaccinations not been available. With respect to the other variables tested, density was significant in positively affecting case rates in 2021 after not being significant in the last half of 2020. Poverty rates were significant during all periods tested in the study. Surprisingly, governmental stringency as measured by the Oxford Stringency Index was not found significant in reducing COVID-19 case rates in 2021. Finally, no significant evidence of herd immunity was found in 2021

Examining the Impact of Socioeconomic Variables on COVID-19 Death Rates at the State Level

This study uses a step-wise regression model to identify the socioeconomic variables most significant in explaining COVID-19 death rates on a state-level basis. The regression tests cover the 1/1/2020 to 12/1/2020 period as well as the first and second halves of 2020. This study also uses the Oxford stringency index to measure more precisely the efficacy of governmental mandates at the state level. The results in this study rigorously showed that while the density variables were the most significant explanatory variables during the first half of the year, their significance fell during the second half. Use of the Oxford stringency index revealed that more stringent mandates led to significant reductions in COVID-19 death rates, especially during the second half of the year. The study’s findings also reveal that a higher poverty rate in a state is significantly associated with higher COVID-19 death rates during all three periods tested

Benefit-Cost Analysis of COVID-19 Policy Intervention at the State and National Level

This study analyzes the benefits of statewide policy intervention in reducing COVID-19 deaths and the costs of that intervention in lost jobs and lower real gross state product (RGSP). Policy interventions are measured by the Oxford stringency index which places a daily numerical value on the level of a state’s policy intervention. Empirical evidence is provided that shows policy interventions have reduced COVID-19 deaths by 375,000 lives in 2020. On the cost side, it was found that policy intervention resulted in a loss of 7.3 million jobs and a decline of $410 billion in RGSP. The study concludes by integrating the findings related to the benefits and costs of policy interventions to the economic cost per life saved for every state, as well as an estimate of the national average cost per life of$1.1 million. That figure is compared to an age-adjusted value of statistical life (VSL) calculated in the study of $4.4 million for COVID-19 fatalities