Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Declining Mobility And Interhousehold Transfers Among East African Pastoralists, Marieke Huysentruyt, Christopher B. Barrett, John G. Mcpeak

Economics - All Scholarship

We model interhousehold transfers between nomadic livestock herders as the state-dependent consequence of individuals' strategic interdependence resulting from the existence of multiple, opposing externalities. A public good security externality among individuals sharing a social (e.g., ethnic) identity in a potentially hostile environment creates incentives to band together. Self-interested interhousehold wealth transfers from wealthier herders to poorer ones may emerge endogenously within a limited wealth space as a means to motivate accompanying migration by the recipient. The distributional reach and size of the transfer are limited, however, by a resource appropriation externality related to the use of common property grazing lands. …

Grasping The Small: The Political Economy Of Growth, Poverty And The Role Of The State In Two Chinese Provinces, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Darfur: Rainfall And Conflict, Michael Kevane, Leslie C. Gray

Economics

Data on rainfall patterns only weakly corroborate the claim that climate change explains the Darfur conflict that began in 2003 and has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million persons. Rainfall in Darfur did not decline significantly in the years prior to the eruption of major conflict in 2003; rainfall exhibited a flat trend in the thirty-years preceding the conflict (1972-2002). The rainfall evidence suggests instead a break around 1971. Rainfall is basically stationary over the pre- and post-1971 sub-periods. The break is larger for the more northerly rainfall stations, and is less noticeable for En …

Measures Of International Transport Cost For Oecd Countries, Stephen S. Golub, B. Tomasik

Economics Faculty Works

This paper presents new estimates of country-specific international transport costs for 21 OECD countries over the period 1973-2005. The methodology is based on direct measures of air, maritime, and road transport costs rather than on cif/fob ratios or other balance of payments data employed in previous studies. Transport costs are calculated as costs per kilogramme for each mode of transport at a bilateral level and then aggregated. Australia and New Zealand are found to have the highest transport costs among the OECD countries considered, followed by Japan. The time trends are sensitive to the choice of deflator, but the results …

Geography, Poverty, And Development Policy In The New African Millennium: Monitoring The Millennium Development Goals Through Human Development, Joseph Tamba Koroma

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV I AIDS, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. The eighth goal (MDG 8), aims to develop and strengthen a global partnership for development between rich and poor countries. Three main components of the latter (MDG 8) aim to accelerate the infusion of official development aid (ODA), liberalize international trade, and introduce information and communication technologies (ICT) in the hope of creating a conducive …

Patenting By Cleveland's Inventors: Critical Areas And Knowledge Flows, Iryna Lendel, Songpyo Kim

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

Regional competitive advantages can be created by deploying processes, product innovations, and/or improving the performance of companies. The concept of increasing returns to scale due to technology advances and the modern growth theory suggest that knowledge spillovers are passed through networks of people. Dense co-location of companies different from industries in large urban areas creates an environment for deploying new knowledge and increasing productivity of companies. Although the presence of mature industries is more often considered to be a burden than a resource of regional growth, a fair judgment about their true influence on economic development can be made if …

Crossing Borders: Mexican Immigration Into The United States, Ewelina L. Dzieciolowski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Immigration has been one of the major political and economic topics debated by governments in the world. In the United States, migration legislation is debated in the Senate, and impacts every industry throughout the country. Therefore, with further research in this field more answers for why migration occurs can be found. Although various disciplines focus on this phenomenon, each offers reasons specific to the discipline which is searching for an explanation. This thesis acknowledges that economic factors, social aspects, push and pull influences are some of the reasons for immigration, but it also proposes that there are other forces behind …

Comprehensive Study Of Regionalism: Tools For Comparison And Evaluation, George A. Erickcek, Jason M. Preuss, Brad R. Watts, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Daila Shimek, Jim Robey, Jacob Duritsky

Reports

No abstract provided.

Productivity Spillovers In Healthcare: Evidence From The Treatment Of Heart Attacks, Amitabh Chandra, Douglas O. Staiger

Dartmouth Scholarship

A large literature in medicine documents variation across areas in the use of surgical treatments that is unrelated to outcomes. Observers of this phenomena have invoked “flat of the curve medicine” to explain these facts, and have advocated for reductions in spending in high-use areas. In contrast, we develop a simple Roy model of patient treatment choice with productivity spillovers that can generate the empirical facts. Our model predicts that high-use areas will have higher returns to surgery, better outcomes among patients most appropriate for surgery, and worse outcomes among patients least appropriate for surgery, while displaying no relationship between …

Fixed-Effect Estimation Of Highly-Mobile Production Technologies, William C. Horrace, Kurt E. Schnier

Economics - All Scholarship

We consider fixed-effect estimation of a production function where inputs and outputs vary over time, space, and cross-sectional unit. Variability in the spatial dimension allows for time-varying individual effects, without parametric assumptions on the effects. Asymptotics along the spatial dimension provide consistency and normality of the marginal products. A finite-sample example is provided: a production function for bottom-trawler fishing vessels in the flatfish fisheries of the Bering Sea. We find significant spatial variability of output (catch) which we exploit in estimation of a harvesting function.

Vol. 10 No. 1 Esr Review, Esr Review

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

No abstract provided.

What Is Economic Self-Reliance?, Paul C. Godfrey

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

Editor's Note: This issue begins our third year under the banner ESR Review. ESR stands for economic self-reliance, and we have published a number of themed issues addressing particular issues of development and self-reliance. When I first became involved in this project, my task was to define what we mean by economic selfreliance and to create a theory-based model of how individuals and families can become more self-reliant. The next four issues will center on the different elements of the model. This issue focuses on the role of human capital in economic development and self-reliance.

Utilizing Socially Responsive Knowledge, Lisa Jones Christensen, Jennifer Boehme Kumar

Journal of Microfinance / ESR Review

No abstract provided.

Taxation Causes Kentucky To Lag Tennessee In Growth, Stephen E. Lile

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fixed-Effect Estimation Of Highly-Mobile Production Technologies, William C. Horrace, Kurt E. Schnier

Center for Policy Research

We consider fixed-effect estimation of a production function where inputs and outputs vary over time, space, and cross-sectional unit. Variability in the spatial dimension allows for time-varying individual effects, without parametric assumptions on the effects. Asymptotics along the spatial dimension provide consistency and normality of the marginal products. A finite-sample example is provided: a production function for bottom-trawler fishing vessels in the flatfish fisheries of the Bering Sea. We find significant spatial variability of output (catch) which we exploit in estimation of a harvesting function.

Who Really Made Your Car?, Thomas H. Klier, James M. Rubenstein

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Has Thailand Learned From The Asian Crisis Of 1997?, Kuejai Jungjaturapit

Major Themes in Economics

Many economists have investigated the causes of the Asian crisis of 1997 in order to prevent a repeat of it. There were many issues leading to the crisis, and there is no agreement on what all the causes were. I conclude that for the case of Thailand, there were three main causes: exchange rate policy, weak financial institutions, and actions of the government. The crisis is analyzed, and the results are used to suggest ways to prevent future unnecessary recessions. Finally, the current situation in Thailand is examined to determine whether Thailand has learned from the crisis and made any …

Options For Rural Sustainable Development: An Examination Of Solar Energy In Morocco, Wynne Mcauley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project is about on the current situation of energy in Morocco, especially in terms of the electrification of rural villages, as a means of understanding the potential of the country for developing renewable energy methods. It examines major energy companies and renewable energy organizations, as well as the experiences of solar energy technicians and rural development associations in their efforts to bring electricity to rural Moroccan villages. It also focuses on case studies of a few remote towns and the problems they face as they attempt to bring electricity to their homes.

An Empirical Analysis Of Macroeconomic And Political Determinants Of Private Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Ralph Cann-Tamakloe

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The general macroeconomic and political difficulties experienced by many Sub-Saharan African countries in the late 1980s has led to economic and political reforms to improve private investment performance. It has been estimated that Sub-Saharan African countries needed to boost private investment in gross domestic product some 25% in the 1990s to achieve sustainable growth and development (Pfefferman and Madarassy, 1989). However, private investment performance has fallen short of the estimated 25%, and remained stagnant between 12.4% and 14.1% per annum from 1993 to 2002.

The purpose of this study therefore is to examine the influence of macroeconomic factors and democracy, …

Maine’S Technology Sectors And Clusters: Status And Strategy, Charles Colgan, Marianne Clark, Charles Lawton, James Damicis

Industry Studies

The concept of “clusters” has been a key idea in economic development in Maine and other states for more than a decade. In 2002, the Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) released a study of the cluster characteristics of the seven technology sectors that were designated as the focus of attention for Maine’s research and development support programs.

This study is a step towards implementing the Brookings Institution’s recommendations for an aggressive effort to build and expand clusters. It updates and expands the 2002 MSTF cluster report and also builds upon the work of Porter and others to identify distinctive …

Far-Flung Europe: What Is The Economic Impact Of Geography?, John Luke Gallup

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several Western European countries have integral territory thousands of miles from continental Europe. The economic performance in these "outermost" regions tests the impact of geographical isolation in a high income, institutionally uniform setting quite different from the geographical challenges of poor, agriculturally dependent developing countries. The European regional data used have different starting years by country. This required the derivation of a new non-linear estimation model for cross-regional growth. The outermost regions converge to national income levels of continental Europe at least as fast as other poor continental regions, showing no special impact of geography on economic growth. Looking at …

Using Student Response Systems In Economics And Finance Classes, Jean Snavely, Michelle Trawick

Finance Faculty Publications

Student response systems (clickers) offer the potential for student engagement and active learning in the classroom. Use of the technology can also help instructors identify areas of uncertainty and use student feedback to customize lectures. Earlier identification of problem areas for both student and instructor should lead to more efficient and effective use of class time and better learning outcomes. This presentation covers best practices in the use of clickers in introductory statistics and principles of managerial finance classes. Topics include how to use clickers, sample exercises, what has worked and what hasn’t worked from personal experience, how to produce …

International Trade And Unemployment: Theory And Cross-National Evidence, Pushan Dutt, Devashish Mitra, Priya Ranjan

Economics - All Scholarship

In this paper, we present two alternative models of trade and unemployment, in which unemployment is generated through a search mechanism. The basic framework of the first model is Ricardian in that the only factor of production is labor and trade is based on relative technological differences. The second model has a Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O) framework with two factors of production, namely labor and capital that are intersectorally mobile. Using cross-country data on various measures of trade policy, unemployment and a variety of controls, we find strong evidence for the Ricardian prediction that unemployment and trade openness are negatively related (protection …

Workforce Program Performance Indicators For The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Kevin Hollenbeck, Wei-Jang Huang

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Japan And The World: Japan’S Contemporary Geopolitical Challenges – A Volume In Honor Of The Memory And Intellectual Legacy Of Asakawa Kan’Ichi, Frances Rosenbluth, Masaru Kohno

CEAS Occasional Publication Series

Yale CEAS Occasional Publication Series - Volume 2

United States As A Monetary Union: A Lesson For Europe?, Kazimierz Dadak

Business Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Entrepreneurship And Urban Success: Toward A Policy Consensus, Zoltan J. Acs, Edward L. Glaeser, Robert E. Litan, Lee Fleming, Stephan J. Goetz, William R. Kerr, Steven Klepper, Stuart S. Rosenthal, Olav Sorenson, William C. Strange

Economics - All Scholarship

Like all politics, all entrepreneurship is local. Individuals launch firms and, if successful, expand their enterprises to other locations. But new firms must start somewhere, even if their businesses are conducted largely or exclusively on the Internet. Likewise, policymakers at local and state levels increasingly recognize that entrepreneurship is the key to building and sustaining their economies' growth. Although this is a seemingly obvious proposition, it represents something of a departure from past thinking about how local, state, or regional economies grow. Historically, state and local policymakers have put their energies into trying to attract existing firms from somewhere else, …

Neighborhood Crime And Non-Auto Mode Choice, Shishir Mathur, Christopher Ferrell, Emy Mendoza

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

No abstract provided.

2008 American Incentive System Almanac, Don P. Diffine Ph.D.

Belden Center Monographs

No abstract provided.

Offshore Financial Havens: Their Role In International Capital Flows, Zhixiang Sun

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The purpose of this paper is to study the role of offshore financial havens in international capital flows. We examine the effects of being a tax haven, a money laundering centre or an offshore financial centre (OFC), which often overlap. We want to see whether these places are used as entrepots (which means temporary storage for funds) or as investment places or both. We mainly use two complementary data sets: bilateral cross-border asset holding and financial intermediation. One is a stock variable and the other one is a flow variable. We apply the gravity model to bilateral cross-border asset holding …