Samantha Borkhoche, M.A.
5th year Economics PhD Candidate at West Virginia University
About me: I am a 5th year PhD Candidate at West Virginia University located in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA primarily focusing on macroeconomics with specific interests in international, monetary, and environmental economics. I am originally from Beirut, Lebanon and grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. I have a passion for studying developing and emerging economies. My ambition as an economist is to collect and transform data from underdeveloped countries into a useable format in order to better understand the frameworks of their economic institutions. My goal after completing this program is to either work as an academic or with an international/governmental organization (ex. International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Bank of International Settlements). During my 4th year, I was a graduate research fellow with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in Washington D.C. working on banking policies. This past summer, I was in Washington D.C. to participate in the Fund Internship Program at the International Monetary Fund. There, I worked in AFR-W1 and developed a working paper analyzing the effect of green trade policies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I completed my undergraduate degree at Susquehanna University in central Pennsylvania. I speak English, Arabic, and basic French. I am an avid yogi and enjoy playing piano, snowboarding, and traveling. I live in West Virginia with my terrier mix named Lyra, and we love going on adventures together.
Working Papers:
The Nonlinearity Nexus between Inflation, Growth, and Poverty
This paper uses a panel smooth transition regression to find nonlinearity estimates between inflation, growth, and poverty.
It identifies an inflation threshold on growth and poverty at about 7%.
It finds that the effect on poverty is more larger at lower levels of inflation.
Presented at the WEAI Conference on June 30th, 2024
This paper uses linear local projections to measure the effects of green trade on environmental outcomes in SSA
It finds that increasing green trade decreases the harmful effect on the environment with a peak decrease after about 3-5 years. There are decreases in ecological footprint by about 4\%, decreases in Net CO2 emissions embedded in trade by about 60-100\% of total domestic production, and decreases in PM2.5 by about 1%.
Measuring the Effects of Geopolitical Risk on Remittances
This paper discusses the effects of geopolitical risk on remittances using various local projection models
It finds that during country risk, remittances sent in increase and remittances sent out decreases. There is no effect from geopolitical risk.
Presented at the SEA Conference on November 25th, 2024
The Effect of CBDC News on Bank Returns
This paper measures the effects of Central Bank Digital Currency news announcements by major US Government Organizations (FED, White, House, Treasury, Congress) on bank abnormal returns
It uses various event study methods including the Fama and French (1993) 3-factor model
It finds that the market perceives CBDC as having a negative impact on bank through bank disintermediation
Introduction to Digital Currencies: A Macroeconomic Experiment
This experiment seeks to understand the interactions of consumers when faced with three different currency options: a physical, fiat currency, a private, digital currency, and a Central Bank Digital Currency. It tests which treatments can change the incentives of participants to choose one currency over another in different inflationary environments.
The pilot was completed in April 2024 using the Behavioral Economic and Situational Testing Lab at West Virginia University.
New Keynesian Economics in an Open Economy: A Literature Review
This is a literature review expanding on New Keynesian Theory in an open economy environment
Expanding Growth Models to Include Human Capital: A Literature Review
This is a chronological literature review incorporating human capital into popular macroeconomic growth models