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Essays On Technology And International Trade, Xianliang Tian Jan 2014

Essays On Technology And International Trade, Xianliang Tian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The three essays contained in this dissertation are about technology and international trade. The first essay examines optimal intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in developing countries, while the other two estimate product quality at the sectoral level for a panel of twelve manufacturing sectors in twenty OECD countries using a novel approach and relate import competition and R&D investment to the growth of sectoral product quality. Chapter 2 is motivated by the work of Acemoglu and Zilibotti (2001), who argue that the technologies developed in the North are not appropriate for the needs of the South, due to a ``technology-skill …


Economic Inequality And Marriage Formation, Xue Li Jan 2014

Economic Inequality And Marriage Formation, Xue Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation primarily investigates the causal impact of economic inequality on marriage formation. I demonstrate how economic inequality among men affects an individual woman’s propensity to get married in both the U.S. and China. Based on the framework of Loughran (2002) and Gould and Paserman (2003), I identify the causal impact of male wage inequality on the marriage propensity among women in the U.S. using the 1990 and 2000 Censuses as well as the 2007 American Community Survey. I address the endogeneity and reverse causality problems by applying skill-biased technological shock as an instrument for the wage gap between high …


Essays On Poverty And Infant Health, Deokrye Baek Jan 2014

Essays On Poverty And Infant Health, Deokrye Baek

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I offer three independent studies that each contribute to the literature on poverty and infant health. The first essay examines whether access to public transportation reduces food insecurity in the U.S. Potential endogeneity problem is addressed with instruments of federal transportation funding. I provide new evidence of a negative causal effect of public transportation accessibility on food insecurity, which is more prominent among poor African-American households. The second essay examines the relation between savings of poor households and a welfare program called the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). Eligibility for SNAP benefits requires households to own limited …


Essays On Incentives, Economic Conditions, And Educational Choices, Gregory Brian Upton Jr. Jan 2014

Essays On Incentives, Economic Conditions, And Educational Choices, Gregory Brian Upton Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I offer two independent studies that each contribute to the literature on the college choices. The first paper examines the impact of Arizona’s merit based scholarship on college enrollment decisions. I find that both enrollment and tuition and fees increased at Arizona’s three large public institutions after the implementation of the AIMS scholarship. Enrollment effects are strongest among black and hispanic students. The second paper examines the impact of the recent 2009 housing crisis on college enrollment decisions. I find that large reductions in housing wealth lead to increases in public school enrollment and decreases in private …