Economics Commons^™

Colombian Women’S Experiences Of Cosmetic Surgery And Its Relationship To Body Image, Austin Gonzalez-Randolph

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand women’s experiences of cosmetic surgery and its effects on body image on women from the Colombian cities of Bogotá and Pereira. The participants of this study were women of Colombian descent, who reside in Colombia. This was done with the hopes of better understanding how culture impacts views on cosmetic surgery. Colombia appears to have a culture that is very enmeshed with cosmetic surgery. This study provides an initial exploratory and qualitative investigation into the perception of body image as it relates to cosmetic surgery among six young women living in Colombia; …

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

Natural Disasters In Latin America: The Role Of Disaster Type And Productive Sector On The Urban-Rural Income Gap And Rural To Urban Migration, Madeline Alice Messick

Dissertations

This research provides insight into the impact of natural disasters as drivers of rural to urban migration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Disasters of varying types are predicted to have differing impacts on the productive sectors of agriculture, industry, and services; which due to the concentration of the various productive sectors in either urban or rural areas, subsequently changes the urban-rural wage differential. Changes to the wage differential (as measured by the urban-rural income gap) are predicted to lead to movement between urban and rural areas until a new equilibrium wage is reached.

This dissertation first identifies a …

Remittances As Contributor To Risk Management And Poverty Reduction In Grenada, Dianne Jntl Rosemary Forte

Dissertations

A Small Island Development States (SIDS) viewpoint is underrepresented in the existing migration literature. That perspective is necessary because SIDS geography creates a unique set of social and economic circumstances that predisposes small states to high vulnerability to external shocks from environmental events and influences emigration decision making. Like other SIDS, Grenada is characterized by small land mass, small population, limited opportunities for productive labor, and limited resources to efficiently support all the requirements of modern institutions. This has resulted in high levels of emigration and a pattern of circularity as Grenadian households make rational decisions to manage risk and …

Preferential Trade Agreements And Quality Of Government In Sub-Saharan Africa, Sharon Camara

Dissertations

Objectives. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations have made concerted attempts at economic integration and openness with use of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) beginning in the latter half of the 1990s. These changes could result in increases in trade and growth. The World Bank’s Good Governance indicators are designed to assess the quality of institutions in a given country. The objective is to assess the impact of PTAs and Good Governance indicators on trade in SSA nations. Methods. Data on trade y was generated based on exports defined by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Direction of Trade statistics, and both OLS and …

A Study In How Linking Social Capital Functions In Community Development, Julie Burress Jordan

Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores how linking social capital is mobilized in community development and proposes an analytical framework for studying linking social capital relationships unique from bonding and bridging social capital. Linking social capital defines those relationships that are acting to bridge individuals across institutional boundaries and can be particularly important in rural, less developed regions. Although not frequently used in empirical studies, linking capital is typically measured by counting membership in external groups or associations. This study revealed the most direct benefit from linking social capital was financial support from intermediary agencies. Additionally, linking social capital has indirect community …

Three Essays On Racial Wage Differentials In South Africa, Ochas Kashinge Pupwe

Dissertations

Wage gaps amongst the different racial groups in South Africa, have remained high post-apartheid. With the enactment and implementation of several empowerment programs aiming at reversing racial marginalization, it is puzzling to see the persistent wage gaps between the white minority and non-white majority. This dissertation seeks to ascertain factors that may account for the persistent wage gap.

The first essay tests for the presence of over-education and its effects on wage determination amongst South Africa’s racial demographic groups. The results indicate that whites were over-educated whilst marginalized populations exhibited significant levels of under-education in 1991 and 2011 and hence …

The Natural Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: Transparency And International Initiatives, Meaza Zerihun Demissie

Dissertations

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has become a classic case of the resource-curse phenomenon characterized by the abundance of natural resources, low economic development, and misuse of natural resources. Economic-development experts debate ways to overcome or avoid the resource curse to advance SSA countries into developed countries. Only one natural resource-rich country in the region, Botswana, has succeeded in becoming an upper middle-income country using its natural resources, making the possibility of replication of this achievement difficult. The literature aligns in the belief that the economic and political well-being of resource-rich nations depends highly on the actors involved. National and …

Beyond The American Dream : Tales Of Hispanic Mutimillionaires Who Rose Above Poverty After Immigrating To The United States, Ricardo Norton

Dissertations

Problem. A review of the literature on Hispanics reveals the absence of academic studies on the conditions and life experiences that helped poor Hispanic immigrants become multimillionaires after arriving to the U.S. at 18 years of age and older and without conversational English. Most Hispanic immigrants live in poverty right after arriving to the U.S. and only a few become multimillionaires. A study on how they rose above poverty has the potential to uncovering useful information for other poor immigrants who are still looking who seek financial success. Such study will also add to the larger body of literature information …

Essays On The Latin American Foreign Exchange Market, Isabel Ruiz

Dissertations

During the last decade, Latin American countries have moved towards becoming more open and financially integrated. At the same time, the region has appeared to adopt a "bipolar" position concerning exchange rate regimes. Most countries have moved towards more flexible exchange rates, while others have implemented hard pegs in the form of dollarization. This dissertation has two goals. First, to measure linkages and dynamics across Latin American foreign exchange markets. Second, to explore how exchange rate uncertainty impacts U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) into Latin America.

In order to study interactions among these markets, I focus on the level of …

Determinants And Consequences Of Workers’ Remittances, Carlos Ivan Vargas-Silva

Dissertations

In this dissertation we study the determinants and consequences of workers' remittances. It is important for developing countries to have a clear understanding of the motivations that migrants have to remit money home, in order to increase remittances inflows. It is also important to understand the impact of remittances in the receiving countries in order to develop policies that can maximize the benefits of remittances, while minimizing any possible detrimental effects. In this dissertation we concentrate on the relationship between remittances and macroeconomic variables in the receiving countries. To this end we use both individual and aggregate level data.

In …

Essays On Monetary Policy In Bangladesh, Sayera Younus

Dissertations

No abstract provided.