Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Three Essays In Economics Of Prey-Predator Relation, Dong-Hun Go

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation explores how natural ecosystem can be integrated with economic system through two case studies of multiple species interactions, or predator-prey relations. By the inclusion of biological, ecological and economic aspects, the integrated approaches aim at more clearly understanding of how regional ecosystem and economy interact with each other, given threats of resource extinction and environmental shock. I also explain strategies and policy regimes that can be considered to achieve efficient and sustainable ecosystem management in those circumstances.

The first case study focuses on a predator-prey relation in the Pacific Ocean between the United States and Canada, where endangered/threatened …

Regulation And Energy Poverty In The United States, Michael C. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Energy poverty is a topic often neglected in the discussion about global climate change. Apocalyptic prophecies about the negative future effects of climate change ignore the suffering of people around the globe whose lives could be drastically improved with access to reliable sources of energy. Though energy poverty from a global perspective is much more serious than energy poverty from a domestic perspective, high home energy bills are a serious cause for concern for many Americans.

This research examines the relationship between regulation, the prices of electricity and natural gas, and the household energy burden, which is the ratio of …

Essays On The Economics Of Energy And Transportation, Ryan N. Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for planning, operating, and maintaining a highway network consisting of over 18,500 lane-miles of highway. In recent years the growing uncertainty about oil prices and availability has made long-range transportation planning even more challenging. Rather than relying on trend extrapolation, this study uses market mechanisms to shed light on key long-range transportation planning assumptions. In particular, this study was conducted to help WSDOT assess the likelihood that natural gas will substitute for petroleum fuels and estimate the impacts that changes in fuel prices will have on natural gas vehicle demand, fuel …

How High School Records And Act Scores Predict College Graduation, Lianqun Sun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary purpose of this study is to assess the degree to which ACT scores and high school records predict success in college. I used large public university admission and graduation panel data in order to address the following questions: (1) Are high school records (class rank, high school grade point average (GPA), and Advanced Placement (AP) test credits) better predictors of college success than ACT scores, and which is the best predictor among high school records and ACT scores? (2) Is there any heterogeneity in these effects across race, sex and residency (state or non-state students)?

By answering these …

A Tournament Approach To Price Discovery In The Us Cattle Market, Jeffrey Wright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cattle price discovery is a process of determining the price in the market through the interactions of cattle buyers (packers) and sellers (ranchers). Locating the price discovery center or market, and estimating price interactions among the regional fed cattle markets and also among feeder cattle markets can help define a relevant fed cattle procurement market. This research identifies that the U.S. cattle markets is discovered in the futures markets, feeder cattle futures and fed futures.

Three Essays On Big-Box Retailers And Regional Economics, Denis Peralta

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Throughout the years, big-box retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Target have become the focus of many studies researching their impacts on local economic outcomes (i.e. employment, wages, poverty level, food prices, etc.) within specific regions, states, counties and localities in the U.S. This dissertation covers three closely related topics in regional science: (i) the dynamic interrelationship among the presence of the big-box stores, retail wage, and employment, (ii) the impact of the big-box retailers on personal income growth, and (iii) the dynamic interrelationship between the presence of the big-box retailers and personal income growth. The research draws important insights …

The Effects Of Federal, State, And Private Oil And Gas Ownerships On County Wages In The Intermountain West, Benjamin A. Crabb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Advances in drilling technology and resource prices contributed to a boom in oil and natural gas production in the Western U.S. in the first decade of the 2000s. Following the boom, a strain of state-level legislation emerged calling for the transfer of federal lands to the states. A justification for the proposed transfers is the claim that state management will increase oil and gas production, resulting in improved economic outcomes. However, a substantial literature indicates that dependence on mineral wealth can be a problematic development strategy which may result in slower economic growth and other undesirable socioeconomic outcomes. The role …

Three Essays On Us Agricultural Insurance, Taehoo Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Agricultural insurance programs such as crop insurance and Dairy Margin Protection program (MPP-Dairy) are managed by United State Department of Agriculture (USDA). The objective of these programs is to help farmers manage their financial risk. Agricultural insurance programs have played an important role for farmers in terms of maintaining farm profitability. There are several potential problems with insurance programs, such as moral hazard and adverse selection, which make them inefficient.

With respect to these problems, three research gaps are identified: i) moral hazard in prevented planting (PP), ii) choice of PP and planting a second crop, and iii) selecting margin …

Entrepreneurs' Perceived Factors Of Success And Barriers-To-Entry For Small Business And Farm Operations In Rural Paraguay, Braden J. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both agriculture and nonagriculture activities are important for Paraguay's economy and its rural development plan. Ensuring opportunity for successful enterprise creation and expansion will facilitate new business entrance, while also growing rural economies. Past research has identified many factors that contribute highly to business and farm operation success, though little information exists about the perceptions of would-be entrepreneurs.

This study analyzes perceptions and characteristics of young, would-be entrepreneurs and agriculture producers in rural Paraguay to better understand their views of business/farm success and hurdle factors. Results suggest that increased experience, education and business exposure will decrease perceptions of many barrier …

How Good Intentions Backfire: Failures And Negative Consequences Of Federal Environmental Policies, Jordan K. Lofthouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is meant to dispel the myths that surround federal environmental policies. The research object of this project is to show that the formation of environmental policies is not altruistic, and the outcomes of these policies often have negative side effects that policymakers and the general public should recognize.

During my time as an undergraduate, I studied environmental geography, which also included environmental policies. We would research environmental problems, but the solution to these problems always seemed to be another government policy. I began to wonder why environmental problems never seemed to actually get better. Once I began my …

The Market Potential For Food And Agricultural Tourism In Utah, Miranda Bradshaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tourism is one of the largest and most economically important industries in Utah. Local businesses and government agencies may increase their tourism-related profits through targeted marketing and product development. As tourists may differ from one another in terms of trip planning, party size, the activities they participate in, and more, it is important to understand who tourists are. The primary research purpose of this study was to explore and better understand the different types of tourists who visit Utah.

Data on tourists were collected through an in-person survey. This data was then used to place tourists into groups according to …

Fear-Based Policymaking: How Government Agencies Exploit Mortality Risk Perceptions, Alecia M. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this thesis is to explore how government policymakers use distorted Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) calculations for their personal benefit. The VSL estimates how much a large group of citizens would jointly pay to save the life a one random person from a fatal disease. The VSL is used by government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Agencies use the VSL in benefit-cost analyses to help determine potentially favorable life-saving policy from wasteful policy. Despite the well-intentioned objectiveness and decisiveness of the VSL, the political framework incentivizes miscalculated and exaggerated VSL estimates. Public choice theory addresses …

Political Parties And Direct Democracy: An Analysis Of The 2015 Greek Referendum, Megan E. Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On July 5, 2015, Greek voters were asked to vote on whether the country should accept the terms of austerity offered by the European Union for bailout from the country’s financial crisis. With a turnout rate of 62.5% overall, 61.3% of Greeks voted “no.” While a majority of voters in every district opposed the bailout’s terms, the margin against the proposed austerity measures ranged from 51.2% in Lakonias to 73.8% in Chanion. This paper explores whether political parties influenced Greek voters’ decisions to accept or reject the EU's budgetary reforms. We first review the literature relevant to that question, focusing …

Three Essays In Trade And International Development, Nii Amon Neequaye

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation studies how society views corruption at different stages of economic development. It develops a theoretical framework that shows that at low levels of income or development, corruption increases and at high levels of income and development, corruption decreases. This theoretical proposition is also investigated empirically. The empirical analyses support the proposed theory and hint that fiscal policy, socioeconomic conditions, and incidences of war play significant roles in determining a country’s corruption level.

In addition, this dissertation also explores the relationship between merchandise and service trade. I show theoretically that the two are related and determined simultaneously. An empirical …

Spatial Temperature Variation In Refrigerated Road Transport, Joseph D. Phoenix

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study evaluated the temperature variability that existed in refrigerated table grape consignments over a two-day journey from two suppliers in southern Spain, to client managed facilities in England. In order to inhibit senescence, perishable foods are transported in temperature-controlled transport to maximize shelf life. However, thermal dynamics suggests that uniform spatial temperature is not necessarily achieved despite a constant set point. As fruit exposed to suboptimal temperatures is more likely to exhibit undesirable quality issues, knowledge of spatial temperature can direct quality control team members to these potentially problematic pallets within an inbound shipment.

Warmer temperatures were identified on …

Analysis Of Portfolio Diversification And Risk Management Of Livestock Assets In The Borana Pastoral System Of Southern Ethiopia, Medhat Ibrahim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ethiopia is one of the poorest and most populated countries in the world. It is also one of the largest receivers of foreign aid in the world. The Borana Plateau in the Oromia region is one of the poorest regions in southern Ethiopia. The local population in this region has relied on livestock for their livelihood for many generations. The growing number of humans and livestock on the Borana Plateau has caused the rangeland to be degraded. Coupled with more frequent and severe droughts, this growth can cause the loss of a large number of the livestock in this region …

The Optimal Cow Size For Intermountain Cow-Calf Operations: The Impact Of Public Grazing Fees On The Optimal Cow Size, Jesse Russell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cattle industry is very competitive which is forcing cow-calf producers to strive for efficiency. Research has shown that as a cows mature weight increases, feed efficiency decreases, as well as reproductive efficiency and other production factors. The purpose of this paper is to (1) identify the economically optimum cow size when charging for grazing public lands on a true Animal Unit Equivalent (AUE) basis and (2) determine if the current practice of charging on a per head basis for grazing public lands has an effect on the optimal cow size.

To simplify the complexity of this problem, three different …

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative And U.S. Energy Markets, Kangil Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The dynamic mutual relationship between the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon permit price and energy prices in the U.S. is examined. Results show that the RGGI and electricity markets are not closely linked, although the carbon permit price is usually closely interrelated with energy prices. The loose relationship between the RGGI and electricity markets can be explained by the recent low carbon credit demand which stems from the low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions existent in the particular area covered by the RGGI. The low GHG emissions result from fuel switching due to recent low natural gas prices. Unlike the …

Stochastic Tests On Live Cattle Steer Basis Composite Forecasts, Elliott James Dennis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the seminal papers of Bates and Granger in 1969, a superfluous amount of information has been published on combining singular forecasts. Materialized evidence has habitually demonstrated that combining the forecasts will produce the best model. Moreover, while it is possible that a best singular model could outperform a composite model, using multiple models provides the advantage of risk diversification. It has also been shown to produce a lower forecasting error. The question to whether to combine has been replaced with what amount of emphasis should be placed on each forecast.

Researchers are aspired to derive optimal weights that would …

Calculating Willingness-To-Pay As A Function Of Biophysical Water Quality And Water Quality Perceptions, Carlos G. Silva

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

When estimating economic value associated with changes in water quality, recreation demand models typically depend upon either (i) biophysical measures of water quality as collected by natural scientists or (ii) the perception of water quality by recreationists. Models based upon biophysical metrics (such as oxygen concentration, pollutant concentrations, Secchi depth measurements, etc.) operate on the assumption that people can perceive and respond to these metrics, or respond to factors that are, indeed, correlated with the biophysical measure. Economists have often estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures associated with unit changes in biophysical measures without examining the degree to which the measures are …

Analysis Of Building Resiliency In An Ethiopian Pastoral System: Mitigating The Effects Of Population And Climate Change On Food Insecurity, Brigham Forrest

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Worldwide expenditures on international development in the form of assistance or “aid” have continued to increase as developed countries look to both help and influence developing countries. In 2011, more than $140 billion in development aid was distributed globally, more than double the amount expended for international development aid in 2003. Many of the countries that are in need of aid have governments that do not have the resources, the experience, political stability, or well-functioning institutions to effect long-term structural change to bring their people out of poverty.

Ethiopia is a country receiving large amounts of development aid, and one …

The Benefits Of Animal Traceability Systems On A Foot-And-Mouth Disease Outbreak In Utah, Christian Michael Ukkestad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent decades, a number of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks have occurred in countries that had been FMD-free for many years. The last FMD outbreak in the United States occurred in 1929 and the country contains a naïve livestock population, meaning it is susceptible to an outbreak. In the event of an FMD outbreak in the United States, the speed at which the source and contacts between livestock can be identified impacts both the implementation and effectiveness of mitigation strategies. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the impact of higher levels of animal traceability on the immediate welfare …

Three Essays On The Economics Of Controlling Invasive Species, Yanxu Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Invasive species have caused notable economic damages in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and other industries over the past several decades. Invasive species control must therefore be designed to prevent the both the introduction and spread of invasive species. This dissertation examines the efficiency and efficacy of tariffs and inspections as a joint control mechanism at a home (i.e., importing) country's border. I find that a traditional tariff can be optimal in the short run when the invasive species level is directly related to a foreign (i.e., exporting) country's shipment size. However, in the long run a traditional tariff results in a …

Measuring The Environmental Cost Of Hypocrisy, Elliot Jordan Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis proposes a method for quantifying hypocrisy's environmental costs. The question naturally arises, why attempt to measure people's hypocrisy? The answer is that the possible spillover effects associated with educating people about their quantified hypocritical choices in life likely far outweigh those that would be obtained through standard price incentives. Hopefully the business adage “that which gets measured gets managed”, holds true in this case. Through deeper introspection, we would be taking personal ownership of the externalities to which we contribute, perhaps with a longer-lasting effect on our consumptive behaviors.

The survey will be administered at four different coffee …

Feasibility And Co-Benefits Of Biomass Co-Firing: Case In Utah, Bibek Paudel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research examines the physical and economic feasibility of 5% biomass co-firing in the coal-fired power plants of Utah. Transportation models is used to find out the physical feasibility of 5% biomass co-firing, as well as locate the supply zone for each power plant that would minimize the transportation cost. Additional cost required for 5% biomass co-firing and the economic benefits associated with biomass co-firing are calculated. The additional cost required for 5% biomass co-firing is estimated to be $34.84 million. Previous studies on CO₂ emission reduction are used to compute the economic benefit attain from CO₂ reduction …

Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Aid, And Socioeconomic Infrastructure In Developing Countries, Amrita Ghosh Dastidar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the 1970s and 1980s, developing countries, skeptical of foreign investment, imposed several barriers on entry of foreign capital. However, the late 1980s and 1990s marked the onset of globalization, which integrated the whole world into a single global economy. The once-conservative developing nations, realizing the multifarious benefits of foreign direct investment (FDI), began encouraging entry of foreign firms, using various incentives, such as tax holidays, production subsidies, cash grants, labor training grants, and import duty exemptions. Gradually, FDI and foreign aid became two very important sources of foreign capital for these capital-constrained economies. This dissertation is focused on studying …

American Debtors' Prison: The Rise Of The New York Citizen As A Commercial Participant During The Early American Republic, 1800-1836, Ryan M. Braeger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The following research explores the development of financial culture in the early American republic through the examination of New York's use of debtors' prisons. Beginning with the construction of the historical context surrounding the passage and abolition of the National Bankruptcy Act of 1800, the project takes use of a series of archival sources that exemplify the character of credit in early American economic practices. The emergence of republican financial culture was often at odds with federal judicial and legislative action, the result of which was the creation of state policy and third party organizations dedicated to solving the plight …

Estimating Willingness To Pay For Continued Use Of Plastic Grocery Bags And Willingness To Accept For Switching Completely To Reusable Bags, Jarod Dunn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis demonstrates a surveying method to collect data to obtain tax levels for plastic grocery bag usage. This data was collected through asking respondents about a hypothetical situation in which they were required to pay a tax for using plastic bags or whether they would instead switch to using reusable bags that could be purchased at the grocery store. The respondents were also asked if they already were using reusable bags, how much would the store have to pay them for them to use reusable bags for all grocery shopping trips. From our analysis, people who use reusable bags …

The Application Of Instructional Design Principles In The Development Of Sportsmanship Education Software And Its Impact On Children’S Acquisition Of Sportsmanlike Attitudes And Behaviors, Michael J. Petersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Millions of people participate in sporting events as either athletes or spectators, or both. The presence or absence of sportsmanship they experience can affect them in both negative and positive ways. The purpose of this study was to determine whether schoolchildren who use a computer-based sportsmanship education program would learn and exhibit more sportsmanship than those who did not use the software. It was determined that younger children were more affected by the software than the older children were.

The Potential For Growth In Foreign Direct Investment In The Horticultural Sector Of Armenia, Mikayel Khachatryan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examines why foreign investors choose to invest in companies in Armenia and is specifically attempting to understand how to attract more investment into the fruit and vegetable companies of Armenia. Investment by foreigners in domestic companies is referred to as foreign direct investment of FDI. The research was completed by gathering information from foreign firms that are already investing in companies in Armenia. This was done by conducting a face-to-face questionnaire with business managers of these companies in Yerevan, Armenia during August and December of 2010. The information gathered from these interviews was used in a statistical analysis …