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Three Essays In The Economics Of Child Health And Development, Jia Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three independent essays that focus on the economics of child health and development.

The first chapter explores whether availability of the SBP has affected maternal labor supply by using variation in the SBP mandates within-state over time to identify the effect. To increase the availability of the School Breakfast Program (SBP), between 1989 and 2012, 21 states passed laws that require schools to provide the SBP if the fraction of students eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast in their school districts exceeds a certain threshold. Using the CPS Food Security Supplement data between 1995 and …

Education Production: Teacher Evaluation Models And Weekend Feeding Programs, Michael Kurtz

Doctoral Dissertations

Education production and, more generally, human capital production, is a significant driver of economic well-being both locally and nationally. This research informs policy decisions regarding how educational inputs are utilized and how those inputs can be influenced by the private sector. This dissertation, “Education Production: Teacher Evaluation Models and Weekend Feeding Programs,” is comprised of three chapters. The first addresses the rising issue in education policy of the measurement of student-test-based teacher evaluation. The second examines the scholastic effects of the relatively recent emergence of weekend feeding programs. The third uses the emergence and spread of the same weekend feeding …

Catch Share Management In The Northeast Multispecies Fishery: Implications For The Commercial Groundfish Fishery In New Hampshire, Rachel G. Feeney

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation tests theories about catch share approaches to fishery management, examining their validity and limits relative to the Northeast groundfish sector program, and potentially modifies them in light of research outcomes. Participants of the groundfish fishery based in New Hampshire are the particular focus of research, but broader impacts are considered. Studies of this catch share program have been limited to date, and studies of catch share programs generally have focused on a particular dimension (e.g., biological, social, economic) rather than integrate across dimensions, despite increasing needs to do so for management. Here, six key aspects of fishing are …

Waste Water Treatment In New Hampshire: Analysis Of Nitrogen Treatment In The Great Bay Community, Jessica I. Kaczynski

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis addresses and analyzes the challenge of high nitrogen levels in treated wastewater. As fresh water supplies are decreasing, demand for water usage is increasing, as are pollution levels. Wastewater treatment plants are designed to improve the quality of wastewater and allow for future reuse. Although reusing wastewater was initially an innovative solution, many of the treatment plants that were built thirty years ago are now reaching the end of their useful life. This research focuses on the Great Bay community in New Hampshire and analyses the existing systems and accomplishments. Future projects are identified, as well as proposals …