Economics Commons^™

Rural Development Hubs, A Possibility For Nebraska?, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

The Aspen Institute, Community Strategies Group conducted an analysis of 43 Rural Development Hubs from across the country to discover their strategies, organizational structures, regional roles, and practices. Their aim was to learn how rural regions can help investors, policymakers and other local and regional decision-makers better serve their regions. The following provides an overview of their findings detailed in the report: Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure. The report provides an opportunity for further discussion on the potential role of Rural Development Hubs in Nebraska. Rural Development Hubs are defined as a “place-rooted organization working hand-in -glove …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

They Shrank The Futures Contracts! Mini Futures Contracts: What They Are And How To Use Them, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

Mini futures contracts (or e-mini, since they are traded electronically) were first developed in the late 1990s based on futures contracts that already existed. The main characteristic of mini contracts is that they represent a fraction of standard-size contracts. For example, the first mini contract was launched in 1997 and based on the S&P500 futures contract. The size of the standard futures contract is $250 times the value of the S&P500 index, while the size of the mini futures contract is $50 times the value of the S&P500 index. If the index is at 4,200 points, the total value of …

Nebraska National Agri-Marketing Association (Nama) Is Back On Track, Ashton Humphreys, Rosalee A. Swartz

Cornhusker Economics

UNL’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student organization is one of more than thirty student chapters across the U.S. and Canada. NAMA’s objective is to make students aware of the many career opportunities in agricultural marketing. Building strong connections between students and professionals in marketing, advertising, communications, promotion, sales, and public relations is the key to this objective. NAMA members also have opportunities to develop leadership and team-building skills through club activities and involvement. Two years of COVID created a leadership and experience gap for UNL NAMA. Officers from 2018-2019 had graduated. Monthly meetings were suspended for some time, followed by …

Depreciation Changes Ahead, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed in 2018, a lot of time and focus was placed on all the things that were changing quickly and the things that were 5-6 years out became back burner problems. Amazingly enough, we are now at the stage of the bill where things are starting to phase out. These changes will start to impact tax returns starting in 2023 and will continue increasing taxable income through 2025. The first change is the phase out of the Bonus depreciation. This law has been on the books since 2001 (there was no …

The Unintended Consequences Of China’S One-Child Policy, Wesley Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published a book entitled The Population Bomb in which he argued that rapid population growth would overwhelm the world’s capacity to feed, house, and otherwise care for the coming millions of people. At that time, the world population was about 3.5 billion growing at an average annual rate of 2.06 percent (World Bank 2023). At that rate of growth, the world’s population would have been expected to double to 7.0 billion by 2001. In fact, population growth rates fell after the 1960s and world population reached only 6.2 billion in that year. Fears of a population …

Pursuing Antiracist Public Policy Education: An Example Connecting The Racist History Of Housing Policy To Contemporary Inequity, Craig W. Carpenter, Tyler Augst, Harmony Fierke-Gmazel, Bradley Neumann, Richard Wooten

The Journal of Extension

We review the antiracism concept and contextualize it in Extension public policy education and the Extension system itself. Despite public policy education having a long history in Extension on a wide variety of issues, missing from this programming is the pursuit of antiracism. As a programmatic example, we review some historical causes of present-day housing inequities and an associated example approach for pursuing antiracism in housing policy education. Finally, we conclude by noting additional opportunities to pursue antiracism in Extension public policy education. In doing so, we emphasize that public policy education cannot be “nonracist” if it is not antiracist.

The Trade Impact Of Economic Integration Agreements, Byungyul Park, John C. Beghin

Cornhusker Economics

A year ago, Cornhusker Economics reported on the substantial trade integration that has been taking place globally in recent decades (see Beghin, 2022). With this proliferation of Economic Integration Agreements (EIAs) through regional and bilateral trade agreements and customs unions since the 1990s, many economists have investigated the effect of these agreements on merchandise trade. Early investigations struggled to find robust findings. They reached two opposite conclusions, with an eventual rejoinder on their limitations. Some investigations found statistically insignificant or negligible effects of EIAs on trade flows. Other investigations found significant effects, sometimes negative, of EIAs on trade. See Park …

Rising Interest Rates: What They Mean For You And The Economy, Timothy L. Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Discusses rising interest rates what they mean for agricultural workers and the economy.

Don’T Talk To Me Until I’Ve Had My Coffee: An Analysis Of Colombia’S Changing Coffee And Agricultural Sector In The Face Of Climate Change, Nita Vemuri

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Abstract

“With each year that passes, Atlantic and Pacific cyclone generating areas have experienced higher sea surface temperatures and increases in the intensity and duration of tropical storms.” (Sherbinin et al., 2007) While climate change remains a myth to some, it has become a reality for many, especially those whose livelihoods depend on climate-vulnerable fields and occupations. Latin American countries are especially subjected to climate change consequences because of their vast agricultural sectors and their reliance on ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) patterns, “There is a clear relationship …

Would Ai Stocks Estimate Be As Surprised To Usda Stocks Reports As Private Market Analysts?, Asif Mahmud Chowdhury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The USDA survey-based Quarterly Agriculture Stocks (QAS) reports are the primary source of information regarding the relative supply of U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat for the last fifty years. Research has examined USDA stock reports and their relevancy to the market (e.g., Isengildina-Massa et al., 2021). In addition, private industry analysts estimate expected quarterly grain stock reports before USDA releases them. Market information firms such as Bloomberg and Reuters publish a subset of these estimates a few days before the USDA reports. Previous research has found that when industry analysts have significant differences in stock expectations compared to what the …