Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays In The Social Determinants Of Health And Public Health Policy, Glen Vincent Mcdermott

Economics ETDs

There is broad-based qualitative evidence arguing that stress is a public health concern. In the search for causality however, economists investigating public health concerns are often limited to a narrow subset of socio-economic status (SES) factors which are not well suited to the evaluation of stress/health effects. As a result, economists have a difficult time answering the “how” and “why” questions which emerge from the well-respected SES/health gradient. This dissertation focuses on a subset of stressors credibly affiliated with SES to address two pathways underling the established SES/Health gradient. Chapter 2 uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to test …

Individual And Household-Level Effects Of Energy Poverty On Human Development, Brandon Bridge

Economics ETDs

This study investigates some of the predictors of energy poverty, the interrelationships between different expressions of energy poverty, and the human development impacts of energy poverty on primarily rural individuals and households in an underdeveloped country. It uses data from four rounds of Nicaragua's Living Standards Measurement Survey, and examines the effects of energy poverty on income, education, and health.

Chapter 1 provides background information on energy poverty in general, as well as the specific situation that has developed in Nicaragua. It also provides a modeling framework, both conceptual and mathematical, for the ways in which energy poverty impacts human …

Essays On Risky Health Behavior, Bern Dealy

Economics ETDs

Risky health behaviors including substance abuse and risky sex are a significant contributor to chronic illness in the US. Efficient use of public resources to avert or mitigate the consequences of risky health behaviors requires a better understanding of the overall costs of risky health behavior to society. Additionally, a better understanding of the value and behavioral consequences of programs designed to mitigate the consequences of risky health behavior is needed. This dissertation utilizes a number of unique methodological and empirical tools to examine the consequences of risky sex and drug abuse and the value of policies which seek to …

Economic Integration And Economic Development In Central America, Angel David Sandoval

Economics ETDs

The thesis of this paper is that economic integration can lead Central America to much higher levels of living for her people, but this will be accomplished only if the economic structure of the region is greatly modified. Correcting the structural faults of the Central American economics will also require economic integration. Such structural weaknesses as inadequate medical personal care, limited provision for education of the masses, out-moded fiscal systems, insufficient and inefficient transportation systems, lethargic public administration, the great gap between the incomes of upper classes and the masses of the people, and the concentration of land ownership in …

A Survey Of The Attention Given To Population Problems By Physical And Social Science Societies, Morton K. Ohlson

Economics ETDs

It is the purpose of this thesis to examine the publications of leading physical and social science societies 1946 through 1956 with a view to finding out the degree of importance that they attach to the world's present rate of population growth. As a result of this examination of scientific literature it is the thesis of this paper that the overwhelming majority of social and physical scientists believe that the present rate of growth of the world's population is one of the most contemporary problems. The attention given has been uneven among the scientific societies. Some have devoted an adequate …

The Economic Aspects Of The Petroleum Industry In New Mexico, Kenneth William Olm

Economics ETDs

The primary objective of this study is to examine the petroleum industry in the state of New Mexico and the importance of the industry to the economy of the state. A secondary objective is to determine the probable future developments of the petroleum industry in New Mexico. Considerable capital investment has resulted from the growth of the industry within one state. Continued growth will result in additional investment, and in an increased demand for the labor which is necessary in the future expansion and operation of the several phases of the petroleum industry. Furthermore, a growing industry such as the …