Economics Commons^™

Economic Analysis Of Working Waterfronts In The United States, Alan W. Hodges, Thomas J. Stevens, Mohammad Rahmani, Robert Swett

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Waterfront communities in the United States, whether rural or urban, recreational or industrialized, have been subject to economic, technological, ecological, and demographic changes that challenge their continued existence or development. The purpose of this study is to document the current status, contribution to regional economies, and future prospects of U.S. coastal communities in order help promote their long‐term economic prosperity. A review of the relevant literature on economic valuation of waterfront and ocean‐related economic activities found that previous studies usually evaluated only one particular economic sector or specific region. The present study attempts to provide a comprehensive evaluation of all …

Does Green Consumerism Increase The Acceptance Of Wind Power?, Caroline L. Noblet, John Thøgersen

Publications

In this paper, we discuss what might be termed an action-based learning approach to promoting important pro-environmental actions, such as support for or acceptance of environmental policy. Such an approach involves promoting simple and easy behaviours as entry points for more radical steps towards sustainability, referred to as “catalytic” or “wedge” behaviours. Despite the obvious need for innovative approaches to promote important pro-environmental behaviour, and sound theoretical backing for such concepts, there is a lack of research testing the key propositions of this approach. In a survey study based on a random sample of residents of the state of Maine, …

Gentrification And Vulnerability Of Maine Fishing Communities, Cameron R. S. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine hosts numerous small fishing villages that contribute greatly to the States economy and culture. The cumulative effects of state and federal regulation, stock depletion and other socio-economic trends threaten these communities. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews, we examine how gentrification is affecting the vulnerability and resilience of fishing communities. This study has revealed gentrification to be a complex process, which is merely the most readily recognizable symptom of forces that are reshaping the post-industrial landscape. Fishing communities can no longer be thought of as discrete entities isolated from broad social and economic changes. Technology and new markets have …

Giving Voice To The Future In Sustainability: Retrospective Assessment To Learn Prospective Stakeholder Engagement, Mark W. Anderson, Mario F. Teisl, Caroline L. Noblet

Publications

There is a broad understanding that intergenerational equity is a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for sustainability. Likewise, there is a growing consensus that sustainability science requires stakeholder engagement to be successful. These two ideas demand some meaningful way of engaging the future as a stakeholder if sustainability is to be operationalized. Rawls' theory of justice provides a model for how this might be accomplished, yet there are both conceptual and practical problems with a Rawlsian approach. We propose using retrospective assessment as a means of learning how to approach future stakeholder engagement in sustainability.

Maine Lobster Fishermen Had Early Brush With Organized Labor, Charles A. Scontras

Bureau of Labor Education

In the current effort of Maine lobster fishermen to maintain and enhance their interest, John Drouin, a Cutler lobsterman and vice chairman of the Maine Lobster Advisory Council — a group of fishermen and dealers who work with the Department of Marine Resources to protect the industry — noted that Maine lobstermen operate as independent business owners, compared with Canadian lobster fishermen, who are represented by unions and thus exert greater influence against the processors. “Until the day comes when we become unionized or one big co-op, we are just 5,000 individuals,” Drouin said.

A Company Of Shadows: Slaves And Poor Free Menial Laborers In Cumberland County, Maine, 1760 – 1775, Charles P.M. Outwin

Maine History

Although slaves and poor, free menial laborers were by no means a majority of the population in late colonial-era Maine, they represented a culturally and socioeconomically significant part of commercial society there, especially at Falmouth in Casco Bay (now Portland) and in coastal Cumberland County. This essay uncovers the lives of the Falmouth’s small slave population and its larger poor menial laborer population from 1760 up to the port city’s destruction by the British in 1775. The author was granted a Ph.D. in history from the University of Maine in 2009. He is a member of the Maine Historical Society, …

The Bodwell Granite Company Store And The Community Of Vinalhaven, Maine, 1859-1919, Cynthia Burns Martin

Maine History

From the late 1850s to the late 1910s, Bodwelll Granite Company on Vinalhaven Island operated a Company Store from which employees could purchase a wide variety of consumer goods. In the early decades of its existence, the Company Store was generally popular with the company’s employees and the island community. Because of certain competitive advantages, and because the company was guaranteed a profit through federal contracts, the company store often had lower prices than its competitors. But by the late nineteenth century, the store’s prices were often higher than its competitors and the store became part of the growing rift …

The Economics Of Offshore Wind Energy, Caitlin M. Howland

Honors College

The global community is yearning for a solution to climate change. Research has shown one cause of climate change could be emissions from electricity production by fossil fuel sources. Deepwater offshore wind energy is being looked into as a potential solution, and with every new endeavor a cost analysis is necessary.

To conduct this study I reviewed reports, articles, and papers by economists, potential developers, and by research institutions and universities. I took this information and applied it to my own calculations on the cost of hypothetical deepwater offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine. I found it important …

Oklahoma, Maine, Migration And The "Right To Work:" A Confused And Misleading Analysis, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

The recent article released by the Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC), “The Case for Right-to-Work in Maine: Examining the Evidence in Oklahoma” (1/23/2012), attempts to make a case for the supposed benefits of a right-to-work (RTW) law in Maine, by discussing the case of Oklahoma’s RTW law, and then presenting a number of statistics on migration to Oklahoma, and from Maine to RTW states. However, a closer examination of this report reveals that it is based on highly questionable and misleading assumptions, and its assertions are based on incomplete data.

Labor, Industry Fighting Over Unemployment Benefits — Sounds A Lot Like The 1960s, Charles A. Scontras

Bureau of Labor Education

Current legislative efforts to reform the unemployment compensation law (LD1725) by increasing penalties for fraud and tightening qualifications for benefits, e.g., removal of the exemption of vacation time as a factor in assessing benefits and lengthening the search for employment after six weeks rather than the current requirement of twelve weeks, triggers some historical images.

Working Conditions And Patient Safety: Safe Staffing In Maine's Hospitals, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

A growing body of research is now documenting how serious problems in the work environments of nursing care in American hospitals are posing a threat to patient safety, as well as contributing to shortages of nurses working in hospital settings and in greater job stress and burnout among nurses. A major factor in this picture, according to a major report by the National Institute of Medicine, is the issue of chronic understaffing among direct care nurses.

What You Need To Know About Worker's Compensation, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

Annual data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor consistently reveal that for too many workers the result of their employment is a job-related injury, illness, and in a number of cases, death. These data document the ongoing need and importance of workers’ compensation. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on: • workers’ compensation, how it evolved in the U.S., and the impact of this history today; • developments with Maine’s law, and resources for accessing information on this statute; and • the need to reform workers’ compensation for Maine workers.

On The Politics Of Climate Knowledge: Sir Giddens, Sweden And The Paradox Of Climate (In)Justice, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

There is a widespread assumption that most people will not effectively respond to climate risk until they personally experience its negative effects. Yet this assumption raises some interesting questions in the Swedish context. The majority of Swedes say they have not experienced the negative effects of climate change, but they are among the world’s citizens most concerned about and active on the issue. These observations raise the question - why do many Swedes act progressively if they do not feel environmental risks “closer to home”? Is there something exceptional about Swedish environmental ethics, political culture or governance structures? This paper …

Can Consumer Demand Deliver Sustainable Food?: Recent Research In Sustainable Consumption Policy & Practice, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

From the growth of the Slow Food movement, the growth of patronage at farmers’ markets, and the expansion of ecolabeled foods – an unprecedented number of consumer-based movements have risen in response to concerns about the environmental and social effects of contemporary globalized food systems. Recent research suggests that these movements are often successful in their efforts to support more sustainable food systems. Meanwhile, other scholars point out that, despite common assumptions, the contemporary focus on consumer responsibility in policy and practice indicates much more than a process of reflexive modernization. The devolution of responsibility to consumers and the dominance …

Economic Development And Maine’S Sustainability Solutions Initiative, Caroline L. Noblet, Kathleen P. Bell, Charles Colgan, Mario Teisl

Maine Policy Review

The authors discuss how Maine’s Sustainability Solu­tions Initiative (SSI) can contribute to economic devel­opment in the state. SSI research is covering five of the seven targeted technology areas identified in recent reports as being important for economic development in the state (forestry and agriculture, environmental, information, composites, marine and aquaculture). The authors note how the broad scope of research carried out through SSI provides opportunities to catalyze new commercial opportunities. As important, SSI is providing many students with a unique learn­ing environment that will prepare them for the new knowledge-based economy.

Attraction And Retention—Maine’S Challenge, Ed Cervone

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay Ed Cervone, Presdent/CEO of the Maine Development Foundation, discusses Maine’s demographic challenges in attracting and retaining population if the state is to grow its economy and sustain that growth. He makes recommendations for attracting a larger, younger, and more diverse population.

Home Care Workers In Maine: Increasingly Essential Workers Face Difficult Job Conditions, Sandra S. Butler

Maine Policy Review

As the population in Maine ages, the need for home care workers is increasing. Turnover is high in this field and the longitudinal Home Care Retention Study (HCWRS; n = 261) reported herein examined predictors of turnover and work experiences of home care aides in Maine. Younger age, lack of health insurance and poorer mental health were among the predictors of termination for the 90 study participants who left their jobs. In telephone interviews, they spoke of low wages, inconsistent hours, unreimbursed mileage and poor communication with employers in describing why they had left their jobs. A follow-up inquiry with …