Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mentoring Female Entrepreneurs: Revenue Analysis, Candy M. Moreno Garcia

Master's Theses

Throughout the world, significantly less women own businesses than their male counterparts. In addition, they tend to own businesses that are smaller, have less growth, are less profitable and have lower sales turnover than those of men. Supporting female entrepreneurs is crucial as they tend to spend more on the health of the household, nutrition and education. This paper uses a randomized controlled trial to determine the impact of a mentorship program between experienced female entrepreneurs and inexperienced entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on the impact to profits. I use data collected from three rounds of survey over the course of six …

Are Menstrual Cycles A Biological Determinant Of Well-Being Amongst Sierra Leonean Schoolchildren?, Ashwini Shridhar

Master's Theses

The influence of hormones and biology on behavior is a topic that is rife with controversy, especially when it comes to sexual hormones. There is even more murkiness when it comes to the topic of menstruation and knowledge about women’s menstrual cycles. Recent research on this topic have seen a link between the hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles and various behavioral implications on competition, cooperation, and risk behavior. This study tries to expand existing knowledge by examining whether there is a link between hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles and risk preferential behavior using economic experiments in the largely understudied context …

Empowering Female Entrepreneurs Through Mentorship In Medellin, Colombia: Results From The Field, Theresa Solenski

Master's Theses

Utilizing the power of local knowledge and peer networking, this study attempts to quantify the impacts of mentorship among female micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia on empowerment. Developing countries such as Colombia have disproportionately high rates of unprofitable micro-businesses, many of which are managed by women. Internal constraints, such as disempowerment, play a central role in perpetuating poverty. We implement a 6-month mentoring intervention by pairing 18 successful entrepreneurs with 52 disadvantaged female, micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia to measure the additional benefit of localized knowledge to micro-borrowers. Using a process of random assignment, I measure the change in female empowerment, measured …

Financial Red Flags: Empirical Mapping Of Firm Political Preferences By Sector In Mexico, Ian Connors

Master's Theses

Can the stock market be used to determine the political preferences of individual economic sectors? This paper explores the conceptual relationship between electoral outcomes and financial markets in Mexico. Specifically, it analyzes how financial markets predict the expected effects of a given political platform on the performance of firms within specific sectors. To do this, the study used event-study methodology to calculate abnormal returns on stock prices across the nine sectors listed on the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores stock exchange following the historic election of leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), On July 1, 2018. However, despite the uncertainty …

The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism And The Challenges To A United States Of Africa, Adesola Adeyemo

Master's Theses

Establishing a ‘United States of Africa’ to the average individual is deemed as a mythical idea in contemporary Africa, irrespective of the popularity of this idea several years ago. Today, the idea is idealized as overambitious – considering the balkanized state of the continent post-colonialization. Because of this, attempts made since then have favored enforcing regional integration over continental integration. Undeniably, this idea would not have come into being if it wasn’t for the concept of Pan-Africanism - which has for long guided the political and socio-economic policies created on the continent. The goal of this research is …

The Impact Of Cleft Lip And Palate Repair Surgery On Cognitive And Academic Outcomes For Teens In India, R Jeremiah Maller

Master's Theses

India has a backlog of nearly one million patients in need of cleft lip and palate repair. Unrepaired cleft results in social stigma and diminished health, psychological wellbeing, and academic functioning. Cleft repair surgery has the potential to restore functioning in these domains. However, the magnitude of the social, educational, and economic impact of cleft repair surgery has not been evaluated using statistically rigorous methods. An estimation of the academic and educational impact of cleft repair has implications for the appropriate allocation of public health resources. We analyze original data gathered from teenagers in West Bengal, India using the difference-in-differences …

Impact Of Cooperative Membership On Members' Household Economies: The Case Of Chiapas Coffee Farmers, Stephen Pitts

Master's Theses

Coffee producers typically sell raw coffee beans as the first step in a global value chain. Recently, groups of producers have formed coffee cooperatives that attempt to regain market power by integrating the other steps of the value chain. This study uses matching to estimate the effect of membership in one such cooperative on the household economy of indigenous coffee producers in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. It contributes to the literature by considering new determinants of participation and outcomes of interest. First, social capital at the individual and village level is correlated with cooperative membership more than other demographic …

Public Policy And Millennium Development Challenges: Case Study Of Africa, Pathkonn Kombate

Master's Theses

Abstract:

Based on a panel of 50 African countries from 1970 to 2015, this study analyzes the impact of public investments and spending in education and health sectors on GDP per capita growth. I separately modeled for education and health capital, while controlling for governance and demonstrated the importance of investments and expenditures on human capital in countries production capacity accumulation, which in the long run leads sustainable economic growth. Results show a positive relationship between spending in those sectors and the per capita income growth and proves their importance on the continents’ combat against poverty.

Sweden's Great Escape: Industrialization And The Changing Productivity Cost Of Winter, Charlotte Taylor, Jesse Anttila-Hughes

Master's Theses

We combine a paleoclimate reconstruction of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)- a key determinant of Scandinavian winter intensity- with four centuries of historical production data from Sweden, to examine the changing influence of climate variability on production over time. We find the colder, drier winters associated with the negative phase of the NAO led to reduced economic production for much of Swedish history, and that this relationship changed with development: during industrialization, Sweden underwent a transition from ‘level’ effects, where harsh winters lowered average incomes, to ‘growth’ effects, where it reduced growth in improving living standards. Post-industrialization, neither ‘level’ nor …

The Causal Impact Of Cleft Lip And Palate Surgery On Psychological Wellbeing, Sam Manning

Master's Theses

Cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) are birth conditions in which a newborn has an opening in the roof of their mouth or a slit in their upper lip. Left untreated, CL/P can lead to speech impediments and an unsightly orofacial deformity. However, a sequence of simple, common surgical procedures can restore function with minimal scarring. To date, the psychological effects of being born with CL/P have been investigated in the literature, but the restorative impact of CL/P surgery on psychological wellbeing has not been rigorously evaluated. This study uses a quasi-experimental approach to estimate the impact of being born …

Impact Of Innovative Menstrual Technology And Awareness On Female Empowerment Outcomes In Rural Nepal, Anjali Limbu

Master's Theses

In developing countries, menstruation poses two significant challenges for females. First, the resources required for periods are expensive for those in low-income communities. Hence, the absence of such menstrual products lowers females’ access to schooling and employment. Next, periods are also heavily stigmatized – especially in poorer or rural areas. Such taboos surrounding menstruation negatively impacts females’ psychological development and hamper their prospects of socialization. Thus, to analyze this issue, we ran a randomized control trial in Nepal, where we provided reusable menstrual pads and / or health seminar to 312 schoolgirls and 100 of their mothers. Our outcomes demonstrate …

Do Marketing Strategies Impact Condom Sales In Uganda?, Meyhar Mohammed

Master's Theses

What attracts people to buy condoms? HIV/AIDS remain one of the biggest health dangers of the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of efforts have been pursued in the past two decades to drastically reduce prevalence of HIV and increase awareness about preventive mechanisms. In order to prevent relapse of success achieved so far, it is important to recognize transformation of consumer behavior due to growth in social networks, education and awareness over time. There are a lot of behavioral triggers captured by social marketing interventions in the field of public health. In an attempt to investigate the role …

Competitive Mothers: An Experimental Study Of Female Competitiveness And Polygamy In Togo (West Africa), Aminata Cissokho

Master's Theses

Are women in a patriarchal society like Togo as competitive as men? How does being a parent, in a polygamous vs. monogamous marriage and having high income affect one’s willingness to compete? With an incentivized experiment, we explore whether there are gender differences in selecting into competitive environments, especially when the incentives switch from cash to voucher. This experiment is conducted in Togo, West Africa, with 428 subjects including females-males, parent-non parent. Overall, the findings reveal no significant differences between the females and males’ willingness to compete. Female parents are more competitive than male parents regardless of the incentive. Subjects …

Generating Prevalence Estimates Of Sensitive Behaviors Through List Randomization: Survey Experiment Among Indian Males, Abha Indurkar

Master's Theses

Survey respondents may under-report or misreport sensitive behaviors due to social desirability bias. List randomization is an indirect way of asking questions which allows respondents to answer sensitive questions without the surveyor knowing their actual response. This has emerged as a new technique to ask sensitive questions as it reduces respondent’s discomfort while reporting sensitive behaviors. In this study, we apply list randomization to generate prevalence estimates of sensitive behaviors and perception related to homosexuality, molestation of women and notion of partner purity in the sample of young, college educated Indian males. Our findings are consistent with the literature on …

Financing And Productivity: Evidence From Indian Manufacturing Industry, Tingyi Wu

Master's Theses

India grows rapidly in recent years, not to mention its high-technology industry. What are secrets behind this fast-growing situation? This paper intends to find the answer using a firm-level panel data in India and examine the loan-productivity relationship via both contemporaneous and lagged models. I find positive and statistically significant results that loans play an important role in firms’ performances.

Aspirations As A Component Of Life Satisfaction: A Look At Female Microfinance Borrowers In Oaxaca, Mexico, Joseph E. Kemler

Master's Theses

This research is an extension to the Oaxaca Hope Project by B. Wydick and T.J. Lybbert. How does an individual gauge her own satisfaction with life? Previous research has noted that many domains make up overall life satisfaction, i.e. career satisfaction, family life satisfaction & social life satisfaction. A burgeoning topic in this regard is the role that aspirations play in life satisfaction. Using survey data from female microfinance borrowers in Oaxaca, Mexico this project attempts to analyze the affect previous aspirations have on life satisfaction. By creating an “aspirational window” we objectively attempt to gauge the relationship between “high” …

Income Shocks And The Acceptance Of Intimate Partner Violence In Indonesia, Matthew N. Krupoff

Master's Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive issue affecting 1 in 3 women worldwide. Despite the negative welfare impacts, it is still seen as acceptable in some parts of the world, even amongst women. This paper examines how elastic these accepting attitudes towards IPV are to changing economic conditions. Specifically, this paper focuses on changes in intra-household resources from negative shocks to male-sourced income. The setting and context takes place in coastal communities in Indonesia, where fishing is a main source ofincome generated primarily by men. This paper uses satellite-derived fishing conditions to measure how women's attitudes towards IPV change …

Ambiguity Aversion: Adoption, Uptake, And Trends, Adam Franklin

Master's Theses

What is ambiguity aversion and what is its role as a determinant of technology adoption? This study develops and implements a novel ambiguity preference instrument in the context of an ongoing RCT pilot program in southwest Uganda promoting adoption of an improved variety of sweet potato. No correlation between ambiguity aversion and crop adoption is observed, although it is suspected that RCT treatment arms including supply- and demand-side information reduced the ambiguity of the new variety, probably overcoming any ambiguity-preference-related constraints and clouding the picture. Methodological lessons learned regarding the development and implementation of an apporopriate ambiguity preference measure point …

Emigration, Repatriation And The Reality Of Returned Youth In El Salvador, Isabel C. Duarte Vasquez

Master's Theses

According to US Customs and Border Protection, over 59 thousand unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) have been detained at the US border, of those 59 thousand, 17 thousand are from El Salvador. El Salvador is home to some of the most dangerous and ruthless gangs of the twenty-first century. Their ruthlessness comes from 1980s guerrilla warfare experience. In addition, El Salvador serves as a transshipment point for illicit substances from South America into Mexico. These dynamics fuel the homicide rate of the region as local gang members must protect their territory by any means …

An Analysis Of Mongolia’S Resource-Led Development: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Extraction Industry, Belguun Bat-Erdene

Master's Theses

It has been 26 years since Mongolia transitioned to democracy. I decided to evaluate the progress of Mongolia’s development since the transition to evaluate whether the country of only 3 million people with vast land and natural resources successfully implemented policies to attain growth and societal wellbeing. In order to evaluate Mongolia’s development progress, this thesis uses FDI in Mongolian development since 1990 as a case study to examine the relationship between FDI, state development strategies, and development outcomes. My research questions encompass a series of interrelated inquiries including 1) whether human development can be achieved through extraction industries 2) …

The Investment Casualties Of War: Global Impacts Of Armed Conflict On Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Reinhard J. Cate Mr.

Master's Theses

Abstract: Involvement in the outbreak of an armed conflict can present a variety of potential risks to an involved nation’s economy. In this paper I examine if one one of those risks, specifically that a new war could scare away foreign investment actually occurs and whether the intensity of the conflict increases or lessens the potential impact. Using ordinary least squares on panel data from 1966 to 2015, I examine the short and long term impacts of armed conflict on global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows using two measures of conflict intensity: Large conflicts or ‘wars’, with 1000 or more …

Evaluating Stolper-Samuelson: Trade Liberalization & Wage Inequality In India, Anthony M. Michael

Master's Theses

This paper tests the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem in India after it underwent major trade reform in 1991. Using industry level tariff data, the paper empirically examines trade liberalization’s effect on the wages of high-skilled labor relative to low skilled labor within firms. The study finds empirical evidence to support growing wage differentials within firms, which contradict the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem. Additionally, when controlling for firm size and the effects of the global financial crisis, these results remain robust. Finally, the paper explores training and welfare and R&D’s effect on the wage differentials within firms, finding a …

Does Infant Formula Availability Reduce Breastfeeding?, Ingvild Madsen Lampe

Master's Theses

Abstract: Several key studies highlight the importance of breastfeeding and there is a broad consensus that it plays a crucial role for a child's health and cognitive development. This is especially true for the poor in developing countries, where vulnerable infants' access to proper nutrition is vital. We investigate the effect of introducing infant formula into a market on changes in breastfeeding patterns. Using the Demographic Health Surveys and annual reports from the baby food industry between 1981 and 2002 in 11 tropical countries, we find evidence that import of infant formula significantly reduces breastfeeding duration. The effects are stronger …

The Effect Of Financial Sector Development On Fdi Led Growth In China, John Costigan

Master's Theses

Abstract: Over the past several decades developing countries have attracted and relied on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to supply their economies with the investment needed to maintain high economic growth and development. In their pursuit of FDI, many developing countries have passed policies and regulations aimed at attracting inward FDI. Because of the high growth rates and high returns on investment in many of these economies they have experience a large increase in FDI inflow over the past few decades. As these economies have grown and investment has increased, the financial services sector in the developing world has grown to …

Unintended Consequences Of Enforcement In A Fisheries Institution: Results From An Artefactual Experiment In Tanzania, Spencer Maccoll

Master's Theses

Overfishing and the destruction of fishing commons in developing countries is a growing problem. Policymakers and local community leaders are looking for solutions to keep their fishing commons sustainable. Fines and enforcement mechanisms are commonly suggested to help preserve the commons. This paper discusses a novel artefactual experiment conducted throughout several fishing communities in Tanzania to determine the effect of enforcing a ban on illegal fishing gear on fishing behavior. Results indicate that the fishers in the enforcement treatment group depleted the fish stock significantly faster than the unenforced control group. One possible explanation for this result is that the …

A Test Of The Household Separation Hypothesis In Rwanda, James E. Anderson

Master's Theses

How does a farm household in rural Africa react when the government decides crop selection? In developing countries, agricultural households strive to optimize a risk mitigating utility function rather than a traditional agricultural production function. These households are termed “non-separated” as their farming efforts are directed towards family food security rather than maximizing agricultural profits. The lack of integration with labor and commodity markets makes these non-separated households difficult to influence with policy initiatives. Various tests for household separation have been developed.

We use a unique dataset from Rwanda to evaluate these separation tests. The data include households forced into …

Does Poverty Really Impede Cognitive Function? Experimental Evidence From Tanzanian Fishers, Virginia Graves

Master's Theses

Does the feeling of scarcity really impede cognitive function? Using experimental evidence from Tanzanian fishers, this study examines the connection between poverty and cognitive function. Fishers in the experiment are tested on how exposure to a ‘scarcity trigger’ impacts cognition and productivity through measuring performance on problem solving tasks. The study also creates an index of distractions to test how existing problems in an individual’s life, which contribute to limited attention, relates to cognitive function and productivity. Experimental results do not find that mental and financial scarcities significantly impact test performance. Although the study finds no significant causal evidence, this …

Privatization & Fdi: Examining Growth In Vietnam's Provinces, William T. Clark

Master's Theses

Over the past three decades many developing countries have looked toward privatizing investment markets and relying more on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to supply needed capital investment for their emerging private sectors. In their pursuit of foreign capital, developing countries have enacted several changes in economic policy and regulation in hopes of transforming formerly rural and undeveloped countries into highly urbanized centers of global production. This is particularly true for a transitioning economy such as Vietnam, which has seen increasing privatization of industry and investment since the reforms of 1986 known as “Doi Moi.” In this study I …

The Impact Of Migration And Remittances On Children's Education In El Salvador, Philip H. Jakob

Master's Theses

The effect that migrant remittances have on school enrollment is a challenging relationship to empirically define, requiring both an analysis of the circumstances that lead a household member to emigrate from their home and equally, but not always independently, how the family makes investment decisions in the education of one or more of their children. This study presents a new strategy to determine the nature of this relationship for households in El Salvador, using a 2SLS estimation with a wealth-stratified panel constructed from household survey data over a nine-year period. Employing this methodology to estimate the combined effects of both …

Chutes And Ladders: Climate Variability And The Decision To Enter Sex Work In India, Kate Pennington

Master's Theses

There is widespread consensus that climate change will drive large-scale changes in poverty distributions, migration, and participation in risky informal labor markets, especially for poor households in developing countries which are both more likely to depend on the environment for their livelihood and less able to insulate against climate shocks. Within poor households, gender inequality means that women and children will bear a disproportional amount of welfare losses. I examine the impact of climate variability on migration and participation in risky informal labor markets for a particularly vulnerable population: female sex workers in India. Using a unique survey of 5,498 …