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Essays On Gender, Ethnicity, And Health In The United States And Turkey, Tunay Oguz Sep 2015

Essays On Gender, Ethnicity, And Health In The United States And Turkey, Tunay Oguz

Economics ETDs

This dissertation is composed of three studies examining barriers to health and healthcare that affect individuals on the basis of their race, ethnicity, and gender. The first study examines access to care disparities between non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. I find that observed characteristics explain all of the disparities in access to care between these two groups, a marked change from a decade ago when characteristics explained only 65 percent. However, disparities in access to care between women and men remain unexplained even when differences in their attitudes and beliefs regarding healthcare are controlled for, especially for Hispanic men and women. …


Economic Analysis Of Infrastructure Investment And Irrigation Budget Issues In A Southwestern U.S. Water Utility, Heidi Pitts Sep 2015

Economic Analysis Of Infrastructure Investment And Irrigation Budget Issues In A Southwestern U.S. Water Utility, Heidi Pitts

Economics ETDs

The three chapters of this dissertation investigate two policy issues faced by water utilities: infrastructure investment and water budget programs. Water utilities have infrastructure that is deteriorating at an increasing rate, necessitating higher rates of investment from ratepayers. At the same time utilities must improve their management of existing water supplies in order to postpone the need to procure water supplies with a higher marginal cost. Water budgets are a way to manage scarce water resources more efficiently. The first chapter focuses on customer preferences for infrastructure investments. Individuals are willing-to-pay to have fewer outages at home, shorter average outage …


Ethno-Racial Disparities In Health Outcomes: Evidence From The Aging Population, Olufolake Odufuwa Jun 2015

Ethno-Racial Disparities In Health Outcomes: Evidence From The Aging Population, Olufolake Odufuwa

Economics ETDs

This dissertation assesses racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes of the aging population, with focus on improving functional health, health status and quality of life at both individual and community levels. Chapter 2 examines racial and ethnic disparities in willingness to pay (WTP) for improved health among an aging population sample while also examining the impact of health status and risky health behaviors. Results indicate that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to have a positive WTP for improved health than non-Hispanic Whites. However, WTP for minorities is found to be significantly lower than for non-Hispanic Whites. However, …


Towards Reaching Sustainable Urban Development In The Kathmandu Valley Of Nepal: An Economic Analysis Of Solid Waste Management, Recycling, And The Health Impacts Of Air Pollution., Menuka Karki Jun 2015

Towards Reaching Sustainable Urban Development In The Kathmandu Valley Of Nepal: An Economic Analysis Of Solid Waste Management, Recycling, And The Health Impacts Of Air Pollution., Menuka Karki

Economics ETDs

The Kathmandu Valley is a rapidly growing and densely populated largest urban area, which includes the capital city, in Nepal, and it faces the challenge of protecting environment and safeguarding public health. This dissertation spans over three separate papers and addresses the two environmental issues of the Kathmandu valley i.e., management of solid waste and outdoor air pollution. Solid waste management related two papers talk about peoples preference and willingness to pay for improvement in the solid vi waste management service, and the determinants of people's recycling behavior. Outdoor air pollution paper estimates health impact of exposure to outdoor air …