Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Does Prize Sharing Close The Gender-Based Gap Of Competition In Nepal?, Supriya Adhikari
Does Prize Sharing Close The Gender-Based Gap Of Competition In Nepal?, Supriya Adhikari
Master's Theses
Past research has shown that even when women perform
equally as men, they are less competitive when cash is provided as
incentive. Using the experimental design of Cassar and Rigdon
(2021), where in a real effort tournament a social incentive
motivates women to compete more and closes the gender gap in
competitiveness, we examine if this will be found in a Nepal
sample. Following the evolutionary literature that suggests women
need each other’s support for child care, participants are given an
option to share the prize they win to help them earn friendships and
bonds in a competitive game. Our …
The Long-Run Effects Of Tropical Cyclones On Infant Mortality, Isabel Miranda
The Long-Run Effects Of Tropical Cyclones On Infant Mortality, Isabel Miranda
Master's Theses
In the United States alone, each tropical cyclone causes an average of $14.6 billion worth of damages. In addition to the destruction of physical infrastructure, natural disasters also negatively impact human capital formation. These losses are often more difficult to observe, and therefore, are over looked when quantifying the true costs of natural disasters. One particular effect is an increase in infant mortality rates, an important indicator of a country’s general socioeconomic level. This paper utilizes a model created by Anttila-Hughes and Hsiang, that takes advantage of annual variation in tropical cyclones using annual spatial average maximum wind speeds and …
Sweden's Great Escape: Industrialization And The Changing Productivity Cost Of Winter, Charlotte Taylor, Jesse Anttila-Hughes
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 …
Ambiguity Aversion: Adoption, Uptake, And Trends, Adam Franklin
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 …
Does Infant Formula Availability Reduce Breastfeeding?, Ingvild Madsen Lampe
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 …
Privatization & Fdi: Examining Growth In Vietnam's Provinces, William T. Clark
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 Fii Model As An Investment In Patience: Exploring Time Preferences In Medellin, Colombia, Jennifer Graham
The Fii Model As An Investment In Patience: Exploring Time Preferences In Medellin, Colombia, Jennifer Graham
Master's Theses
The motivation for this research is to explore the success behind the Oakland based Family Independence Initiative (FII) as a model for poverty alleviation. During the period of June-December 2012, nearly 200 small business owners in Medellin, Colombia participated in a field experiment intended to replicate the FII model by randomizing the treatments of setting goals, receiving conditional payments, and participating in self-help groups, as well as the combinations thereof. The data shows that the subjects in the full FII treatment group achieve more goals and have significantly higher monthly sales than those subjects in any other treatment or control …
Incentives To Improve Economic Conditions: A Field Experiment In Medellin, Colombia, Lauren Skora
Incentives To Improve Economic Conditions: A Field Experiment In Medellin, Colombia, Lauren Skora
Master's Theses
The motivation for this research is to replicate the Oakland based Family Independence Initiative (FII) and to test the components of this model. The FII program claims its success stems from a bottom-up approach structured around setting life-improving goals, mutual support groups, and small monetary incentives to achieve results. As the popularity of this program continues to gain momentum in the United States, we designed a field experiment to measure the impact of incentives on goal achievement and economic conditions as well as the overall impact of the FII model. We enrolled close to 200 small business owners in four …
Microfinance Partnerships: A Bridge For Refugees, Megan Fielding
Microfinance Partnerships: A Bridge For Refugees, Megan Fielding
Master's Theses
My thesis examines the extension of microfinance to a refugee community; the objective focuses on economic assistance and a bridge to provide the required basic needs, as reported by the refugee population. With the global growth of refugees, the repositioning of refugees from either being cast aside as a potentially productive society or completely overlooked, is critical. Through my research in Ecuador, my thesis takes the viewpoint that refugees do, in fact, matter, and can become productive contributors to a society. The challenge that is presented in that viewpoint is: how do they become a part of a society?