Digital Commons Network^™

Survey Instruments For A Cost Study Of Haccp In The Seafood Industry, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points approach to assuring food safety was first mandated in the United States in 1995 for the seafood industry, with full implementation to take place by December, 1997. The Survey Instruments included in this Working Paper were developed as part of a cost analysis of the adoption of HACCP in the Seafood Industry. The purpose of the Survey was to quantify the change in costs that average seafood companies experienced during the first year of HACCP adoption.

The Economic Impact Of Housing In Massachusetts, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series

Home building generates substantial local economic activity, including income, jobs, and revenue for state and local governments. These far exceed the school costs-to-property-tax ratios. Furthermore, balanced growth, the availability of homes that match the character of the jobs, plays a significant role in attracting sustainable economic development.

The Potential For Planning An Industrial Cluster In Barre, Vermont: A Case Of 'Hard-Rock' Resistance In The Granite Industry, John R. Mullin, Zenia Kotval

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Faculty Publication Series

Throughout the world, there has been considerable interest among economic planners concerning the creation of industrial clusters. Efforts to stimulate, nurture and reinforce such clusters can be found in virtually all of the European nations, as well as in Japan, Korea, China and others. These efforts range from reinforcing the strengths of promising areas to stimulating the creation of totally new technologies. The identification of such clustering opportunities has become a critical element of national, state, regional and local planning activities. While there are many researchers who have focused on this topic, the Harvard Business School's Michael Porter has,arguably, been …

Development In A Time Of Globalization, J. Mohan Rao

PERI Working Papers

The paper examines grounds on which a `second opinion’ to the Washington Consensus may be constructed using data for a sample of 123 rich and poor nations for the period from 1960 to 1995. The historical record makes abundantly clear that international inequality has increased not only over the long haul of the past two centuries but also in recent decades. Unequal development derives mainly from economic and political-economic forces internal to nations. Unregulated global market forces mostly follow this process rather than countering it. At the same time, the fragile internal development process is vulnerable to the disruptive forces …

Westhampton Business Development, Umass Amherst Center Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This report was meant to explore the potential for business development in Westhampton, Massachusetts and recommend alternative models for development. The project identified various models of residential growth and business development through research and analysis of business activity in 10 communities with similar characteristics to Westhampton.

Annual Report Grant Period July 1, 1997 Through June 30, 1998, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

Center for Economic Development's Annual Report for the Grant Period of July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998.

The report includes a description of the Center for Economic Development, Institutional Issues and Successes, and Target Areas for the program.

Studies and Community Based Projects, Conferences/Work Meetings, Technical Assistance to State and Regional Agencies, and their Dissemination are all discussed as well.

Finally, the report includes Results, Assessment, and Evaluation of the programs work and progress.

University Of Massachusetts Housing Study The Economic Impact Component, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Economic Impact Component of the University of Massachusetts Housing study aims to answer two research questions:

1. What are the direct and indirect economic impacts of the housing industry in Massachusetts?

2. What is the significance of housing as a factor in business location decisions?

The first, and primary, question was addressed through a quantitative assessment using the "Local Impact of Homebuilding Model" calibrated by the National Association of Home Builders, The second research question was addressed through a qualitative assessment of area development and site selection literature and policy analyses dealing with business location criteria.

The Economic Impact Of Human Services Agencies On The Pioneer Valley Region: An Analysis Of Expenditures And Jobs, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Center for Economic Development, working in concert with the Human Service Forum, assessed the expenditure and job multipliers for the human service industry on the Pioneer Valley region. The study consists of three parts: 1) detailed assessments of expenditures for six human service providers that helped shape a survey of jobs and expenditures; 2) a follow-up survey was sent to 110 agencies with a response rate of 53% and ; 3) the subsequent application of job multipliers, developed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, to the information in order to assess the total impact of jobs in the …

A Build-Out Study Of The Mid-Connecticut Valley Of Massachusetts, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This is a study of growth potential in seven towns located along an east-west axis in the mid Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts. It employs a planning method commonly described as a build-out analysis in which lands are identified that are both physically suitable and available for future development. Zoning regulations, population growth projections, land conservation trends, and other constraints are then used to project different growth scenarios that result in estimations of the number of new residences that can be accommodated over time and the increases in population that would be likely based on those. The results of …

Housing Equity Analysis Final Report, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

the Purpose of this study is to assess the impact of discrimination on rental housing opportunities in Massachusetts. We obtained information on the numbers and types of housing discrimination cases filed in Massachusetts with federal, state, and private non-profit fair housing organizations. A total of 3,431 complaints were reported in Massachusetts from the period of 1990 to April 1998. Our findings indicate clearly, that rental housing discrimination exist in the state of Massachusetts. One of the major problems that we found is the fact that most instances of housing discrimination do not get reported. Based on our work, we are …

Economic Sustainability Plan For Adams, Massachusetts: Ten Year Projection Plan, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The client for this project is James Leitch, The town administrator for the Town of Adams. In addition, we are working in close conjunction with the Center for Economic Technology (C.E.T.).

The purpose of this project is to assist Adams in the creation of a ten year economic action plan, which is only one-third of Adams proposed Comprehensive Sustainability Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is to be completed by the merger of three plans: the 1997 University of Massachusetts Landscape Architecture Studio Report on environmental elements within the Town, our 1998 Economic Action Plan, and a Social Plan, to be developed …

Providence Place: The Development Of A Downtown Mall, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This study examines the history of urban mall development in the United States and the role of such sites in widespread revitalization efforts that are intended to protect the city from further decline and bring it back to its once thriving existence, before the mass relocations to the suburbs.

Providence Place in downtown Providence, Rhode Island is the primary focus of the study which has three objectives. The first objective is to analyze the development patterns of suburban malls in the Providence region. The second is to identify the economic factors that prompted the development of a large scale downtown …

The Valley Of Innovation Springfield Biotechnology Summary Report, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

The Valley of Innovation is a new industrial region that is being formed as the result of recent technology transfers and significant growth in the biotechnology sector. The region includes part of western Massachusetts along with Central Connecticut and runs from north to south along the I-91 corridor, following the general borders of the Connecticut River Valley. The region extends from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, through Springfield, Massachusetts, and continues past Hartford, Connecticut, to New Haven, and down I-95 towards New York State.

Currently in embryonic form, the region has the potential to grow rapidly. It is nurtured …

Barbara, The Market, And The State, Nancy Folbre

Economics Department Faculty Publications Series

Some reflections, in poetry and prose, on Barbara Bergmann’s contributions to economic theory.

How Labeling Of Safety And Process Attributes Affects Markets For Food, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

Consumers are increasingly considering information on the safety and process (how foods are produced) attributes of food in making their buying decisions, Producers, processors, and retailers may choose voluntary labeling of these attributes, may be required to label by government regulations, or may use a combination of these approaches, The market effects depend on consumer perceptions of the attributes, the benefits and costs of labeling for companies, and the goals of government policy, These effects are illustrated through a discussion of labeling of foods that are produced with the use of biotechnology (genetically modified organisms) or that are organically grown.

Comparative Levels Of Food Safety Regulations In Three U.S.-Asian Trading Groups, Yuan Wang, Julie Caswell

Julie Caswell

U.S.-Asian trade currently represents about 35% of the total value of U.S. agricultural and food trade. Country-by-country comparisons show significant differences in level of food safety regulations in the U.S., Japan, newly industrialized countries in Asia, and Asian developing countries. These disparities result in significantly different import requirements that may impede trade in agricultural and food products.

The Potential For Planning An Industrial Cluster In Barre, Vermont: A Case Of 'Hard-Rock' Resistance In The Granite Industry, John R. Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Throughout the world, there has been considerable interest among economic planners concerning the creation of industrial clusters. Efforts to stimulate, nurture and reinforce such clusters can be found in virtually all of the European nations, as well as in Japan, Korea, China and others. These efforts range from reinforcing the strengths of promising areas to stimulating the creation of totally new technologies. The identification of such clustering opportunities has become a critical element of national, state, regional and local planning activities. While there are many researchers who have focused on this topic, the Harvard Business School's Michael Porter has,arguably, been …

The Economic Impact Of Housing In Massachusetts, John Mullin, Zenia Kotval

John R. Mullin

Home building generates substantial local economic activity, including income, jobs, and revenue for state and local governments. These far exceed the school costs-to-property-tax ratios. Furthermore, balanced growth, the availability of homes that match the character of the jobs, plays a significant role in attracting sustainable economic development.

Wage Formation And The (Non-)Existence Of The Nairu, Peter Skott

Peter Skott

The influence of NAIRU theory on economic policy is both puzzling and unfortunate, especially in a European context. This paper shows that standard rationality assumptions and objective functions may fail to generate a well-defined NAIRU in a unionized economy. It then presents two simple models with endogenous wage aspirations. One version of the model produces a unique long-run NAIRU while the other implies the presence of aspiration-induced hysteresis in the employment rate. The hysteretic version seems preferable on theoretical grounds and - at a stylized level - this version also fits the empirical evidence better than the non-hysteretic version. The …