Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Economics (120)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (120)
- Agricultural and Resource Economics (6)
- Growth and Development (6)
- Labor Economics (6)
-
- Regional Economics (6)
- Public Economics (5)
- Econometrics (4)
- Environmental Studies (4)
- Behavioral Economics (2)
- Health Economics (2)
- Other Economics (2)
- Sociology (2)
- American Politics (1)
- Arts and Humanities (1)
- Business (1)
- Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics (1)
- Demography, Population, and Ecology (1)
- Economic History (1)
- Economic Policy (1)
- Education (1)
- Education Economics (1)
- Environmental Policy (1)
- Food Security (1)
- Geography (1)
- Indigenous Studies (1)
- Industrial Organization (1)
- International Economics (1)
- International and Area Studies (1)
- Latin American Studies (1)
- Keyword
-
- Economics (10)
- Health (9)
- Education (6)
- Nepal (5)
- Contingent valuation (4)
-
- Development (4)
- Optimal control (4)
- Spatial Analysis (3)
- Access to care (2)
- Becker (2)
- Choice Experiment (2)
- Conflict (2)
- Disasters (2)
- Earthquake (2)
- Energy (2)
- Environmental economics (2)
- Ethnicity (2)
- Fertility (2)
- Food Security (2)
- GIS (2)
- Gender (2)
- Human capital (2)
- Infrastructure investment (2)
- Mexico (2)
- Natural resource economics (2)
- New Mexico (2)
- Non-market valuation (2)
- Nutrition (2)
- Obesity (2)
- Poverty (2)
Articles 61 - 90 of 156
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
The Value Of Wildlife Watching Recreation And Techniques For Addressing Nonresponse In Nonmarket Valuation Surveys, Jee Hwang
Economics ETDs
In this dissertation, the value of wildlife watching recreation is used as the context for exploring different modeling approaches available for combining data from nonmarket valuation surveys such as the travel cost method (TCM) and contingent valuation method (CVM). Another topic explored in this dissertation is the issue of nonresponse in nonmarket valuation surveys. The results of this dissertation are useful for wildlife and land managers interested in obtaining theoretically consistent values of wildlife watching recreation using a combination of TCM and CVM data. The practical solutions to nonresponse in nonmarket valuation surveys are useful for researchers who wish to …
An Economic Analysis Of Evolving Health Hazards, Justin Tevie
An Economic Analysis Of Evolving Health Hazards, Justin Tevie
Economics ETDs
Health hazards (e.g., West Nile virus and antibiotic resistance) by their nature are detrimental to the health of mankind and are a vexing problem for society. Health authorities awareness of the rising health care costs associated with these health hazards highlights the need to undertake research in these areas. This dissertation presents a series of papers on these health hazards. Chapter 2 develops a spatial filtering panel data count model to examine the factors that contributed to the high prevalence of human West Nile virus (WNV) in California and Colorado using county-level data from 2003 to 2007. An econometric analysis …
The Law Of One Price And Virtual Worlds, Michael Morrison
The Law Of One Price And Virtual Worlds, Michael Morrison
Economics ETDs
Price convergence and purchasing power parity are two important foundations to international trade theory. Yet there is still no consensus on their existence, despite numerous studies. While the debate over price convergence and purchasing power parity continues, the last several years have seen a substantial rise in the use of virtual worlds. Virtual worlds are interactive digital environments where individuals with an internet connection can come together to communicate, cooperate and trade. Virtual worlds create smaller copies of the real world. These copies lack many of the complexities found in the real world. This feature makes virtual worlds a unique …
Temporal And Spatial Analysis Of Forest Management: A Case Study Of Kam Cha I, Thailand, Jeff Felardo
Temporal And Spatial Analysis Of Forest Management: A Case Study Of Kam Cha I, Thailand, Jeff Felardo
Economics ETDs
Optimal forest management strategies are needed to maximize welfare for both local and global forest users. This research will focus on spatial and temporal components within the framework of forest management policy. Particularly, payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs and their effect on forest management are considered. This research provides analysis of survey data, a theoretical forest management model, and of large GIS datasets. This dissertation demonstrates how to incorporate spatial and temporal components into the study of how a PES program could be implemented in Kam Cha i, Thailand. The results from the survey analysis demonstrate mixed attitudes towards …
The Economics Of Entrepreneurship: Subsidies, Risk And Tax Evasion, Dennis H. Barber Iii
The Economics Of Entrepreneurship: Subsidies, Risk And Tax Evasion, Dennis H. Barber Iii
Economics ETDs
Often times, policymakers develop legislation to increase the levels of entrepreneurial activity. These policies exist at the federal, state and local levels as part of economic development plans. This dissertation aims to offer information to policymakers on the effectiveness of existing policies and to evaluate how entrepreneurial individuals behave. There are three approaches taken in this dissertation. The first chapter presents a natural experiment and utilizes a difference-in-difference-in-difference model to investigate whether state level subsidies increased the health insurance take-up rate among the self-employed. The findings suggest that, in fact, these types of subsidies did increase the probability that a …
Evaluating Simulated Military Training Exercises, George Boese
Evaluating Simulated Military Training Exercises, George Boese
Economics ETDs
The Joint Kill Chain Event (JKCE), designed by the Air Forces Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC), provides an interesting case study for evaluation of simulated military training. JKCE places Army Air Defense Artillery Fire Control Officers (ADAFCOs) into an Air Force Control and Reporting Center (CRC) simulator. From the CRC, the ADAFCO leads an air missile defense scenario, protecting friendly assets (airfields, bases, missile launchers, etc.) and coordinating surface-to-air missile strikes. This scenario serves as the operational capstone event in the Army's ADAFCO certification course, which qualifies officers to perform a vital missile authorization function in major combat operations. The …
Are Graduate Students Rational? Macroeconomic Determinants Of Graduate Enrollment And Completions In The Biomedical Sciences, John Clack
Economics ETDs
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget doubling from 1998 through 2003 stimulated demand for biomedical scientists, increasing both relative wages and employment. However, because research doctorates in these fields may take six years or more to complete, there is a substantial lag in the labor supply response to changing market conditions. Rational expectations models assume that prospective graduate students can forecast their expected future wages, taking into account other students likely responses and thus also future employment levels. However, prior research on student enrollment and degree completion in science and engineering fields suggests that market conditions at the time …
Demand For Water Quality: Empirical Evidence From A Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior, And Choice Experiment Survey About The Bagmati River In Kathmandu, Nepal, Hari Katuwal
Economics ETDs
Surface water ecosystems such as rivers and lakes provide many benefits to the society. These benefits include both market goods such as drinking water, outdoor recreation, fisheries, as well as non market goods such as habitats for aquatic life, biodiversity, aesthetic attributes, and religious values. Because people value both market and non market goods, benefits from both types of goods must be taken into account for any policy change. The primary objective of this dissertation is to assess public preferences and estimate the benefits of improving environmental quality, water quality in particular, using survey data from Kathmandu, Nepal. Chapter 2 …
The Landscape Of Fdi Flows, Nicholas Rohl
The Landscape Of Fdi Flows, Nicholas Rohl
Economics ETDs
Over the last forty years, the world has experienced a rapid rise in the level and significant shift in the composition of recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Researching FDI is critical because of the increasingly important role it has in the global economy and the many potential benefits it provides investors and host countries. This paper will examine the past, current, and future state of FDI flows. An aggregate inflows dataset as well as a specific pair flows dataset will be analyzed to gain a better understanding of the drivers of FDI. The aggregate flows dataset contains data …
Household Food Security In Developing Countries: Understanding The Role Of Dynamic Natural And Social Systems, Steven Archambault
Household Food Security In Developing Countries: Understanding The Role Of Dynamic Natural And Social Systems, Steven Archambault
Economics ETDs
The lack of consistent and reliable levels of nutritious food may be one of the most brutal results of poverty. Beyond the human suffering, the lack of food security has damaging economic consequences, making it difficult for communities to break poverty cycles. This dissertation studies the various decisions made by households, governments, and the international community that impact household food security. Food security, the long-term availability of nutritious foods, is essentially achieved through a trade-off of consumption and investment in assets and capital to ensure future availability of food. Chapter 2 builds an optimal control model to analyze the trade-offs …
Responding To Natural Hazards: The Effects Of Disaster On Residential Location Decisions And Health Outcomes, James Ian Price
Responding To Natural Hazards: The Effects Of Disaster On Residential Location Decisions And Health Outcomes, James Ian Price
Economics ETDs
Exposure to natural hazards is rapidly increasing due to growing populations within floodplains and along hazard-prone coastlines. This trend, coupled with potential increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events from climate change, underscores the importance of disaster research and continued advancements in hazard risk mitigation. This dissertation conducts analyses regarding the effects of natural hazards on residential location choice, county migration rates, mental health status, and displacement. The results have practical implications for disaster risk management. Chapter 2 estimates household willingness-to-pay to live in lower hazard-risk areas. A model of residential location choice is developed in which …
The Effects Of International Remittances On Child Schooling In Ecuador, José Bucheli
The Effects Of International Remittances On Child Schooling In Ecuador, José Bucheli
Economics ETDs
An economic crisis hit Ecuador during the final years of the 20th century. This crisis initiated a massive migration of Ecuadoreans mostly to Europe and the United States. The remittances migrants started sending back rapidly increased and soon represented an important share of the GDP. This became a new source of income (or the only one) for many households. The present research project analyzes, through the use of an instrumented probit model, how the probability of children attending school changes when the household receives remittances and when other variables are accounted for. Data from the 2010 Ecuadorean Housing and Population …
Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Who Falls In And What Beneficiaries Do To Avoid Entry, Danelle Callan
Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Who Falls In And What Beneficiaries Do To Avoid Entry, Danelle Callan
Economics ETDs
In 2006, the implementation of Medicare Part D offered seniors the benefit of government subsidized prescription drug coverage. The baby boomer generation is expected to retire at a rate of 10,000 per day for the next nineteen years. Research into health care and prescription drug coverage for this aging population is becoming relevant due to a increasing proportion of the population. Understanding the characteristics of individuals who reach the Medicare Part D coverage gap will assist in possible outreach, education, and future enrollment strategies. Identifying populations at risk of reaching the coverage gap can help focus interventions to address issues …
A New Approach To State Corporate Taxation, Swaroop Chary
A New Approach To State Corporate Taxation, Swaroop Chary
Economics ETDs
State Corporate Income Taxes (CIT) generally conform to the basic design and provisions of the federal tax, which results in corporate income being taxed twice, once at the corporate level as it is earned, and again at the individual shareholder level. Most state corporate income taxes also incorporate at least some of the federal provisions that narrow the corporate income tax base, such as bonus depreciation and the domestic production activities deduction. State corporate income taxes also have very high compliance costs relative to revenue, and are a highly volatile source of state revenue. In addition, state corporate income taxes …
Computational Methods In Natural Resource Economics: Agent-Based Modeling And Hotelling's Rule, David S. Dixon
Computational Methods In Natural Resource Economics: Agent-Based Modeling And Hotelling's Rule, David S. Dixon
Economics ETDs
This dissertation presents a prototype model and methodology for validating a simple agent-based model against the basic Hotelling monopoly model and a few basic extensions. Hotelling's Rule identifes the expected behavior of a market for a nonrenewable resource. The statement is simple - marginal profit will increase at the prevailing rate of interest - but the implications are far-reaching and not broadly understood. Agent-based modeling is a computer modeling and simulation methodology. It has its origins in biology and physics, but has become a powerful tool in the social sciences for examining systems in which the well-understood behaviors of individuals …
Valuing Changes In The Provision Of A Public Good: Empirical Applications In Environmental And Health Economics, German Muchnik Izon
Valuing Changes In The Provision Of A Public Good: Empirical Applications In Environmental And Health Economics, German Muchnik Izon
Economics ETDs
This work applies revealed and stated preference methods for valuing changes in the provision of environmental and health care goods. It estimates non-market benefits to society from protecting forest lands from commercial activities and elicits individuals preference (e.g., willingness to pay) for expanding health care coverage to the uninsured. Health care provision policies can save lives but also increase costs, and may work best when done in combination with behavioral and health interventions that promote healthy life styles such as protecting public forest lands. Chapters 2 and 3 apply the hedonic pricing empirical framework to investigate whether protecting public forest …
Estimated Business Interruptions Losses Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Vanessa Vargas
Estimated Business Interruptions Losses Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Vanessa Vargas
Economics ETDs
A generalized framework of Economic Analysis of natural and man-made disasters is applied to the estimation of business interruption losses associated with an oil spill. Specifically, this framework is applied to the Deepwater Horizon incident which occurred on April 20, 2010 and resulted in the extensive fouling of the Gulf of Mexico waters and the associated coastline. The region of analysis is the coastline extending east from Louisiana to the Pan-handle of Florida. Economic impacts were measured as business interruption losses reported as lost Gross Domestic product at the county, state, and national level. Short-run economic impacts were evaluated using …
Optimal Land Use For Watershed Management—A Case Study In The Feitsui Watershed, Chi-Hsin Chang
Optimal Land Use For Watershed Management—A Case Study In The Feitsui Watershed, Chi-Hsin Chang
Economics ETDs
Watershed management has always been a crucial issue, especially in developing regions where watershed residents are comprised of low-income farmers. The Feitsui Watershed in Taiwan is one such agricultural watershed. Traditionally, the watershed management policy targets only pollution abatement, therefore constraining agricultural and other economic development. These regulatory measures are likely to hamper the local economy and worsen the living situation for farmers. In this paper, I argue that good watershed management should also consider the positive externalities from agriculture. I find that the willingness to pay for farmland amenity is above the profit of agricultural output. Ignoring this amenity …
Adoption Of Renewable Portfolio Standards In The United States: Which Factors Matter?, Angely Andrea Cárcamo Gallardo
Adoption Of Renewable Portfolio Standards In The United States: Which Factors Matter?, Angely Andrea Cárcamo Gallardo
Economics ETDs
The RPS has become the most important instrument in United States to encourage the generation of electricity through the use of renewable energy. In brief, the RPS is a policy mechanism that requires suppliers of electricity to provide a specific percentage of their energy supply from some form of renewable energy. Such a percentage is referred to as the RPS ultimate target. In this thesis factors affecting the adoption of an RPS by U.S. states are investigated. Through statistical regression, this thesis specifically studies the effects of political views, energy endowments, electricity markets, economic factors, and other variables. These factors …
Measuring Effects Of Climate Change And Energy Efficiency Regulations In U.S. Households, Bishwa Koirala
Measuring Effects Of Climate Change And Energy Efficiency Regulations In U.S. Households, Bishwa Koirala
Economics ETDs
The first chapter explains the human causes of climate change and its costs, which is estimated to be about 3.6% of GDP by the end of 21st century (NRDC, 2008). The second chapter investigates how projected July temperatures will increase the demand for electricity in the U.S. by 0.8%, while projected January temperatures will decrease the demand for natural gas and heating oil by 1% and 2.3%, respectively. This chapter further examines effects of the energy-efficiency building codes: IECC 2003 and IECC 2006 in the U.S. in reducing the energy consumption in the U.S. households. This study finds that these …
Minimum Wage States During Recession, Leila Burrows
Minimum Wage States During Recession, Leila Burrows
Economics ETDs
This study analyzes the effect of minimum wage legislation during a period of economic recession. In particular, I examine whether states with minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage fared better or worse during the recession that began December 2007. Since minimum wages raise the price of labor above market price, firms subject to this additional cost might experience greater adverse effects of the recession. On the other hand, since state minimum wages are often enacted in states with relatively high market wages, the disemployment effects of minimum wage legislation might be negligible. Despite a large increase in minimum …
Schooling In Mexico: An Evaluation Of Private Costs As A Determinant Of Household Demand For Education, And The Benefits Of A Free Textbook Program, Lauren Kelly Moore
Schooling In Mexico: An Evaluation Of Private Costs As A Determinant Of Household Demand For Education, And The Benefits Of A Free Textbook Program, Lauren Kelly Moore
Economics ETDs
While the literature discussing public funding of education and the associated costs is extensive, studies that examine household, or private, costs for education are scarce. I use data from the 2005 Mexican Family Life Survey first to examine the nature of these private costs for Mexican families and second to determine to what extent direct schooling costs incurred by households are significant factors in enrollment decisions for primary and secondary school students. I find that, while small, direct costs are consistently significant determinants of school enrollment. Students age 13 to 15 are more sensitive to these direct costs than are …
A Juxtaposition Of Rational Choice And Socio-Cultural Approaches To Explain Changes In Family Size Throughout The Process Of Economic Development Using Household Survey Data From Brazil, Daniel Delfino
Economics ETDs
This research juxtaposes empirical approaches to analyze the relationship between fertility and economic development. Using household survey data from Brazil in the mid 1990s, separate Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models are run that comparatively evaluate the explanatory power of divergent methods used to explain fertility in developing countries. Rational choice approaches, in the spirit of Gary S. Becker, are presented alongside approaches that account for heterogeneous socio-cultural traits to see which method explains more about family size in Brazil. The paper finds evidence to support the relevance of both the rational choice and the socio-cultural approaches to fertility studies. The …
An Application Of Dynamic Economic Systems To The Gold Market, Rohnn Sanderson
An Application Of Dynamic Economic Systems To The Gold Market, Rohnn Sanderson
Economics ETDs
An Application of Dynamic Economic Systems to the Gold Market
The Welfare Effects Of International Remittance Income, Michael Milligan
The Welfare Effects Of International Remittance Income, Michael Milligan
Economics ETDs
This dissertation explores the welfare effects of international remittance income, i.e., income earned by migrant workers and sent back to their home country. Remittance income has increased markedly in the last decade, particularly in the developing world. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to quantify the effects of this income on recipient countries. Chapter 2 of this dissertation presents a study of how remittance income affects child welfare in Nepal using the 2003/2004 Nepal Living Standards survey. I examine how remittance income and non-remittance income affect child labor and child education. Specifically, I examine the probability that a child …
The Economics Of Urban Water Policy : Infrastructure, Scarcity, And Conservation, Jason Hansen
The Economics Of Urban Water Policy : Infrastructure, Scarcity, And Conservation, Jason Hansen
Economics ETDs
This research focuses on urban water policy. The three papers extend the literature through economic application, taking theory in a direction that informs water resource managers on optimal decision-making or a better approach to management. Three primary results are: first, that the optimal infrastructure investment path is impacted by existing capital stock, water policy, and the size of the customer base served. Second, optimally managed, optimally priced urban groundwater mitigates aquifer drawdown and generates excess revenue that may be used for capital investment. Third, to achieve water conservation through non-price methods, managers should use a neighborhood, community-organized approach. Water systems …
Consumer Willingness To Pay For Water Conservation In The Framework Of Renewable Energy Projects, Amber Riter
Consumer Willingness To Pay For Water Conservation In The Framework Of Renewable Energy Projects, Amber Riter
Economics ETDs
This research focuses on consumer valuation of the benefits associated with renewable electricity generation, specifically for water conservation. Previous contingent valuation studies in this area conclude that consumers are willing to pay for these benefits, but do not explicitly consider the environmental benefit of water conservation. The impact of this benefit is tested for a unique sample of New Mexican consumers by performing a split-sample study with a treatment variation in the benefit related information given to the respondent. The study is performed using the Internet survey mode for a sample population of 2000 University and University Hospital Staff. A …
Perceptions And Misperceptions Of Health Among Different Groups In The United States, Katherine Bass
Perceptions And Misperceptions Of Health Among Different Groups In The United States, Katherine Bass
Economics ETDs
The prevalence of unhealthy habits and behaviors is undeniably felt and seen here in United States. Smoking and obesity are the two leading preventable causes of death today. The economic and societal costs are too high for such a preventable problem. The associated diseases and illnesses that stem from them account for billions of dollars in medical expenditures as well as billions more in lost productivity. This paper explores the degree to which people in different groups account for poor health habits on their health status. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, the self reported health status was …
Park Amenities And Crime: Do Neighborhood Parks Contribute To Crime?, Elizabeth Cota
Park Amenities And Crime: Do Neighborhood Parks Contribute To Crime?, Elizabeth Cota
Economics ETDs
Municipal parks are often assumed to be associated with crime, but if parks do foster crime, the specific relationships are unclear. Park data were collected for a national and a city sample, recognizing four typical amenities in parks: sports, family, ornamental, and undeveloped. These four variables were regressed on eight different categories of crime for both samples. Percent male, percent aged fifteen to twenty-four, and percent white were used as control variables. Given the expected signs on the control variables, the city sample provided more likely results. In that sample, parks with sports, family, and ornamental amenities were associated with …
Poverty, Inequality, Violent Conflict, And Welfare Loss: Micro-Level Evidence From Nepal, Mani K. Nepal
Poverty, Inequality, Violent Conflict, And Welfare Loss: Micro-Level Evidence From Nepal, Mani K. Nepal
Economics ETDs
Poverty alleviation has become one of the main global agendas of the twenty first century, but the identification and targeting of the poor is facing fundamental problems due to the lack of required information. We utilize the micro-level estimation technique to estimate household expenditure for the census households using Nepalese household surveys, and estimate different measures of poverty and inequality at the national level as well as at the regional, districts and village levels, and for the different caste/ethnic groups. Our findings indicate that the reduction in poverty during 1995/96 — 2003/04 is not uniform across the villages of Nepal, …