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Essays On Energy Economics And Environmental Policies, Janak R. Joshi

Economics ETDs

This dissertation contains three distinct empirical chapters in applied energy and environmental economics. Each chapter focuses on a unique set of research questions, methods, and data. The unifying motivation therein concerns the development of renewable or alternative low-carbon energy sources as a policy response to the challenges of climate change mitigation, local and regional environmental quality issues, and energy security concerns. Economic and environmental evaluation of the energy policies coupled with understanding energy use patterns is of paramount importance. Together, the empirical chapters focus on demand, supply, and policy aspects of energy markets in the United States (US).

First, Chapter …

Financial Outcomes From Selection Of Insurance Intervals, Shana Anderson Stewart

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential value of enrolling in rainfall-index for pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance for Utah producers. A stochastic optimization model is used to identify the optimal selection of insurance intervals that will provide the maximum indemnity payments less premiums. Four Utah counties were selected for analysis. Results indicate that positive returns will occur greater than 60% of the time in all counties with the selected insurance intervals. The optimal months to insure varied in each county.

Imperfect Produce Pricing: Relationships Between Price Percent Discount And Demographic Traits Of Customers, April Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to understand the impact of price reductions on consumer spending behaviors related to the purchase of imperfect produce. Additionally, the correlation between consumers’ demographics and their willingness to purchase imperfect produce at various price points was evaluated. The data was viewed with mindfulness toward reducing food loss as a function of the world food crisis. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Washington County, Arkansas consumers’ demographic traits and the percent discount at which they are willing to alter their behavior to purchase specific imperfect produce items. Using the Theory of …

Assessing Rice Consumers’ Preferences And Willingness To Pay In Haiti, Cleeford Pavilus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last 30 years, rice has become the number one food staple in Haiti, and rice imports have outpaced domestic production to supply the country’s increasing rice demand. Policy makers support the claim that increasing local rice supply will not only reduce the dependency on imported rice but also upheave the national economy. However, there is a lack of information on Haitian consumers’ preferences for rice to aid the development of the local rice supply chain. This research aims to bridge that gap by assessing Haitian consumer preferences and willingness to pay for selected rice quality characteristics. The results …

Risk And Return Comparisons Of Pre-Harvest Marketing Strategies, John Leander Turner V

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes risk and returns associated with pre-harvest corn grain marketing strategies for the state of Arkansas. Farming is characterized by a volatile environment. Numerous risks are taken by producers in order to provide commodities that are bought and sold by various parties in the supply chain. Price, yield, and production costs vary daily and can have large variation between years. Risk and Return Comparisons of Pre-harvest Marketing Strategies examines the effectiveness of using pre-harvest marketing strategies to enhance returns and to mitigate inherent price risk in the Memphis cash corn market. Thirteen strategies are compared to the October …

Floral Consumer Experience Study, Wenonah Marie Marlin

MSU Graduate Theses

The main objectives of this research is to identify the retailer controlled variable that are significant to increase floral purchases. Surveys were sent to MSU alumni and dispersed through social media. Respondents answered questions regarding floral purchasing patterns, floral product selection and quality, consumer attitude and socio-demographics. Responses were separated and compared by generation. Results show that Baby Boomers and older are more likely to purchase flowers more often, floral purchases are seasonal and flower type and a stylish shop are important to consumers.

Corn Exports Extrication, Claire Hutchins

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Annual corn exports, as a percentage of total use, exhibit a persistent, downward trend starting in the mid-1970s. Changes in government policy and domestic supply-demand dynamics are widely held as the determinants for corn price movement over the same period. However, significant disputes have emerged since 2013 which attribute the last five years of corn market underperformance to minor trade vicissitudes between the U.S. and China. This report estimates a corn price determination model which demonstrates that foreign exports play an insignificant role in the U.S. corn market between 1997 and 2018.

Diffusion, Adoption, And Network Constraint: Can Understanding Personal Networks Of Afghan Women Improve The Adoption 0f Agricultural Innovations, Clair Wilcox

Dissertations

A plethora of case studies conducted in myriad locations find that factors influencing the adoption of agricultural innovation are different, emphasizing the need for locality specific understanding (Waddingon 2014). The diffusion of agricultural innovations may be influenced by the structure of the social system in which that diffusion is taking place. This study investigates the social structure of rural Afghan women, in an effort to determine how they interact and exchange information, and how the personal network structure, and the nature of the women’s interaction influences adoption of innovations. With the objective of framing rural development programs targeting women in …

The Differentiation Of Smallholder Farming And Household Food Responsibilities In Northern Ghana, Siera Vercillo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the most urgent problems facing sub-Saharan Africa is that many people lack access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food, particularly in semi-arid regions such as northern Ghana. An important indication of this problem within Ghana is that stunting rates due to prolonged undernourishment are significantly higher in the northern regions than in other parts of the country, despite claims of an overall increase in the availability of food. Broadly, this dissertation employs qualitative case study research in the Northern Region (interviews N=109 and 12 focus groups) to describe the changes in access to resources, roles and …

Identification And Characterisation Of Novel Phages Of Pectobacterium And Erwinia, Colin Buttimer

PhDs

Losses in crop yields due to disease need to be reduced to meet increasing global food demands associated with growth in the human population. There is a well-recognised need to develop new environmentally-friendly control strategies to combat bacterial crop diseases. There are several crop diseases for which no effective bactericidal agents are currently available, such as potato blackleg and soft rot disease caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum and other members of soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (Czajkowski et al., 2011). Furthermore, current control measures involving the use of traditional chemicals or antibiotics are losing their efficacy due to the natural development of bacterial …

Three Essays On Food Economics Studies, Hongli Wei

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation research, we first study how legislations governing nutrients in food production have influenced consumer behaviors and firm choices. Taking margarine and spreads as the product category of choice, Chapter 1 analyzes how consumers and firms responded to the 2006 implementation of the NLEA trans fats labeling guidelines. Our results show that product offerings with “trans fat free” labels increased shortly after 2006, while consumer purchases of products with “trans fat free” labels also surged promptly after the labeling policy was implemented. However, in general, we find the short-term effects of trans fat labeling to be significantly larger …

Economic Impacts Of Groundwater Salinity In Louisiana, Rajan Dhakal

LSU Master's Theses

In the United States, nearly 60 million acres of land is affected by water and soil salinity problems that pose a serious threat to the long-term economic and environmental viability of the agricultural sector. Understanding the economic impacts of soil salinity in agricultural lands is essential for planning farming practices in several salinity affected regions. This study presents a two-stage approach to assess the damage from salinity in two major aquifers in Louisiana. In the first stage, looking at the trend of rise in salt content within these aquifers, I predict the future level of salinity by assuming three different …

Land As Power: Pathways For Closing The Gender Gap In Land Rights In India, Rachel Lubitz

Capstone Collection

This Independent Practitioner Inquiry Capstone sought to uncover whether women in their respective communities in India experience improvements in income, education, health, food security and their livelihoods, if said women farmers are able to secure the rights to both their land and other productive assets. The study used a comparative analysis to highlight the state of women’s land rights in India, in conjunction with a selection of best practices relevant to the context and analyzing a case study assessing the impact of one organization’s women’s land rights efforts in particular: The Human Development and Research Center’s Swabhoomi Kendra Center in …

Off-Farm Labor Supply And Health Impact Of Pesticide Use: An Economic Analysis, Nguyen Vuong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By employing data from Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (VHLSS) and weather data from different sources, this thesis aims to fill the gaps in the literature on off-farm labor supply, health effect of pesticide use and the economic returns to communist party membership in Vietnam.

This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter provides a brief introduction. The second chapter considers the effect of weather on the risk perception of farmers in Vietnam by examining labor allocation decision and its effect on household income. I started by building a theoretical framework with the assumption that off-farm wage per hour …

Sustainability Of Utilizing Renewable And Nuclear Energy In Saudi Arabia Using Different Types Of Life Cycle Assessment, Kamel Almutairi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evaluating the global environmental impacts of the current and future energy policies in Saudi Arabia using Life cycle assessment (LCA) method was the main objective of this dissertation. First, the attributional life cycle assessment (ALCA) framework was used to evaluate the Saudi’s air conditioning systems, as they are responsible for about 70% of the total Saudi residential electricity consumption. The ALCA’s results showed that the AC use phase produces the largest share of the environmental impact and the magnitude of the environmental impacts is influenced by the type of primary fuel used for electricity generation.

Emerging non-fossil sources of electricity …

Factors Affecting Spatial Differences In Health Outcomes, Kwadwo Poku-Agyemang

LSU Master's Theses

This study sought to establish the impact of the disparities between Metropolitan, Micropolitan and Non-Core communities on life expectancy. The study also assesses the impact of individual behavioral choices and certain social variables and county level policies one the life expectancy in a county.

A simple mean comparison analysis is employed to establish the differences in life expectancy across the various levels of the urban hierarchy in 1,553 counties in the United States. An ordinary least squares model is used to tease out the relationship between specific individual choice factors; smoking habits, obesity and exercise habits and socio-economic factors; medicare …

The Vermonter's Guide To The Farm Bill, Olivia A. Peña

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive set of laws and programs that dictates United States policies across the food system. While it may seem that a farm bill is only related to agriculture, this legislation, in reality, includes a broad set of policies on food production, nutrition assistance, rural community development, research, the environment, international trade, and more. Often known as a farm and food bill, the legislation impacts food systems stakeholders, including those who farm, live in a rural community, and even those who eat food—so that is everyone.

Considering the widespread impacts of the Farm Bill, it is …

Child Abuse Prevention In Rural Southern California: A Participatory Action Research Project, Nelly Zambrano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examines resources and services to prevent families and children from entering the child welfare system in a rural town in Southern California. There is constant struggle to get the adequate services, resources and trained staff in this rural area because it is isolated and it takes about two hours’ travel time to get to the metropolitan cities. The literature review discusses child welfare services challenges, strengths and social capital to support families and children as well as the child welfare system itself in rural areas. Constructivism is the appropriate framework for this research project, because the goal …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Boosting Demand For Biofortified Foods: The Case Of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Bread In Tamale, Ghana, Tchassanty Ouro-Gbeleou

Master's Theses

Abstract: In the context of introducing biofortification of staple crops as a food-based approach to combat micronutrient malnutrition in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), we carried out a survey in Tamale, Ghana to elicit consumers’ preference of and willingness to pay for one of the highly nutritious biofortified staple crop processed product: the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) bread. Our results indicate that scores of respondents in the sample show preference for OFSP bread. The most important determinants of OFSP bread preference are its sweet taste and soft texture and consumers are willing to pay 0.634 pesewas more for the attribute …

Do Climate Shocks Affect Smallholder Farmers’ Conservation Practices? Evidence From Peru, Heleene Tambet

Master's Theses

Peruvian agriculture is estimated to be subject to the greatest impacts of climate change in South America. Resulting shifts in rainfall patterns and extreme temperature realizations impose more frequent abnormal weather shocks on farmers and their production decisions. I study the impact of such shocks on agricultural practice choices of farmers growing two main staples, maize and potato; namely, I analyze adoption of practices reducing soil degradation, practices aimed towards water conservation, and application of inorganic fertilizer. I utilize unique cross-sectional data from Peru National Agricultural Survey over the years 2014 to 2016 in conjunction with long-term climate data, and …

An Economic Valuation Of Biodiversity: Measuring Willingness-To-Pay For Quinoa Conservation In Peru, Craig Scott

Master's Theses

Peru is facing increasing homogenization of traditional crops as a result of international market pressures. Destruction of the genetic resource base creates vulnerability to disease, climate, and pest shocks which threaten food security and the economic future of Peru’s agricultural sector. This paper aims to determine whether informational priming on the non-market value of national identity is sufficient to change the willingness to pay for agro biodiversity programs among the Peruvian general population in both urban and rural areas. A choice set willingness to pay experiment combined with choice rankings and randomized priming measures how much individuals are willing to …

Behaviors And Perceptions Of Environmental Decision Making: The Role Of Information Dissemination Through Public Disclosures And Labels, Jordan R. Anthony

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental decision making may be influenced by information and how this information has been disseminated. By recognizing that information needs to be salient to the individual (Cash et al., 2003, 2006), tailored and framed to the individual (Pelletier & Sharp, 2008), and recognizing that the information must be presented in a way that the individual is ready and able to accept the information (Teisl, Rubin, & Noblet, 2008) all serve as a means to improve the effect information has on environmental decision making. Through this work, two studies of contextual examples of how information dissemination affects environmental decision making are …

Peer Support And Food Security In Deaf College Students, Brianna Celeste Keogh

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

Objective: This paper investigates the role of peer support in food security among deaf college students. Participants: The sample included 166 college students who took the survey between May and October 2017. Methods: Participants completed a bilingual online survey in ASL and English. This survey included questions about peer support, the USDA’s 6-item food security module, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Out of 166 students (mean age=23; SD=6), 60.7% were food secure. About 26.4% (n= 43) were at-risk for food insecurity and another 12.9% (n=21) had very low food security. The sample included respondents who identified as people of color (54%) …

A Socioeconomic Valuation Of Urban Wetland Ecosystems And Policy Recommendation For College Lake, Michael Dunmyer

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Cityscapes in the United States are often viewed dichotomously in regards to natural environments. Preserved sites can be seen as an obstacle to urban development, and the concept of a functioning ecosystem within city limits is fictitious to many; we assume the two cannot coexist. Lynchburg, Virginia’s College Lake offers a unique case study for how urban ecosystems can not only subsist within cities but provide pivotal functions for them as well. With the potential for a dam-breaching storm event increasing in possibility with each passing year, concerns regarding the structural integrity of the College Lake dam in Lynchburg, Virginia …

Fuelwood Collection From Community Forests In Nepal: Time Allocation, Resource Dependency And The Role Of Women, Santosh Neupane

Doctoral Dissertations

The dependency of Nepalese people for fuelwood, fodder and other forest resources led to deforestation of forest under the management of the Government of Nepal in the 1960s and 1970s. Community forests (CF) were established as a means to restore forest resources and proper management of forest use by the local people under their own management. The agrarian rural communities of Nepal across the different regions use forest products for household, energy and fodder purposes. Labor allocation for forest resource collection, household dependency on forest resources and the role of women regarding management and decision making in CF activities are …

Agricultural Information Needs And Food Access In The Stann Creek District Of Belize, Sam Harris

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face to face meetings were …

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Giving Garden At Coogan Farm: A Practitioner Report On Community Gardens For Health And Regional Food Security, Emma Sutphen

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) is a community organization that, through its various programming, works to perpetuate a vision of humans as part and parcel of the world. In 2013, when the Nature Center acquired the Coogan Farm property, the organization built a community garden called the Giving Garden to serve surrounding communities, expanding services to the foodservice sector educational programming around sustainable agriculture. DPNC’s partnership with the Robert G. Youngs Family Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, and Gemma E. Moran mobile food pantry, forged in 2014, has allowed the garden to minimize area food insecurity through its …

Degrowth Lessons From Cuba, Claire S. Bayler

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

Cuba is the global leader in practicing agroecology, but agroecology is just one component of a larger climate-ready socio-economic system. Degrowth economics address the need to constrain our total global metabolism to within biophysical limits, while allowing opportunity and resources for "underdeveloped" countries to rebuild themselves under new terms. Degrowth recognizes the role of overdeveloped countries in surpassing the ecological limits of our planet at the cost of wellbeing for billions of dispossessed people within and between countries. Cuba's circumstances during and following the Special Period exemplify both sides of the degrowth scenario, as well as demonstrating policy and grassroots …

Enhancing Quality Of Life Through Foreign Direct Investment In Northern Mozambique, Sarah-Beth Delay

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has the potential to increase economic activity and improve GDP growth in low-income countries, but can hinder economic development (quality of life improvements) if not sustainable and holistic in manner. Africa serves as a host to many cases of FDI focused on economic growth, but not necessarily improving the quality of life for its citizens. FDI has spread throughout the African continent, where many countries are well endowed with natural resources, like minerals and coal. These economies have experienced rapid GDP growth with few benefits reaching citizens of the host country. Mozambique is a low-income country …