Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Health And Healthcare In Nepal: An Analysis Of The Private And Public Sector, Sujita Pandey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through private and public efforts, there has been considerable improvement in the health and healthcare sector in Nepal. However, the healthcare system in Nepal faces challenges such as limited access and lack of quality healthcare. Although there have been recent efforts to introduce universal healthcare coverage, there is limited evidence on existing systems to properly formulate a policy. To provide a wholistic review of the Nepali health system, we assess both public and private sectors. In 2005, Nepal introduced a financial incentive, called the Safe Delivery Incentive Program, to increase the use of maternity care with the goal of reducing …

Off-Farm Labor Supply And Health Impact Of Pesticide Use: An Economic Analysis, Nguyen Vuong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By employing data from Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (VHLSS) and weather data from different sources, this thesis aims to fill the gaps in the literature on off-farm labor supply, health effect of pesticide use and the economic returns to communist party membership in Vietnam.

This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter provides a brief introduction. The second chapter considers the effect of weather on the risk perception of farmers in Vietnam by examining labor allocation decision and its effect on household income. I started by building a theoretical framework with the assumption that off-farm wage per hour …

Past, Present And Future Of Maine's Pulp And Paper Industry, Ariel Listo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The pulp and paper industry has historically been of paramount importance for the state of Maine, both from cultural and economic perspectives. The industry has been a vital part of the forest products economy and a large contributor to employment and state gross domestic product (GDP). However, the number of pulp and paper mills in Maine has declined sharply in the last few decades, deeply harming employment levels, local economies and the forest products sector of the most heavily forested state in the nation. This phenomenon has sparked efforts to understand the factors behind the downfall of Maine's pulp and …

Behaviors And Perceptions Of Environmental Decision Making: The Role Of Information Dissemination Through Public Disclosures And Labels, Jordan R. Anthony

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental decision making may be influenced by information and how this information has been disseminated. By recognizing that information needs to be salient to the individual (Cash et al., 2003, 2006), tailored and framed to the individual (Pelletier & Sharp, 2008), and recognizing that the information must be presented in a way that the individual is ready and able to accept the information (Teisl, Rubin, & Noblet, 2008) all serve as a means to improve the effect information has on environmental decision making. Through this work, two studies of contextual examples of how information dissemination affects environmental decision making are …

Assessing Economic Performance Of Maine's Lobster Fleet Under Changing Ecosystem Conditions In The Gulf Of Maine, Alexa M. Dayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluates lobster producer efficiency and considers fleet wide economics and policy implications in support of changing marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine. We conducted a comprehensive lobster industry survey to assess costs and effort expended at the producer level for a representative fishing year, and establish a series of production function performance baselines for future comparison. The demographic data, attitudes and valuations collected allow us to characterize the fishing effort and regional dependency on the resource. We look at the Maine Lobster limited entry licensing system, to understand how the future participation in the fishery might change, …

Timber Harvest And Recreation In Maine's North Woods: Attitudes, Impacts, And Strategies For Coexistence, Chelsea Liddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I explore recreator characteristics associated with attitudes toward logging evidence in recreational settings, potential effects of logging on North Maine Woods visitor spending, and the effects of an educational intervention on attitudes.

In Chapter 1, I use data from a random sample of Maine households to examine the associations between demographic characteristics/recreational activities and attitudes towards evidence of forest management in recreational settings. I use three separate ordered logistic regressions to model the associations between respondent characteristics and three types of forest management settings: old growth forest, a managed forest with selective harvest, and seeing/hearing evidence of …

Assessing Economic Performance Of Maine's Lobster Fleet Under Changing Ecosystem Conditions In The Gulf Of Maine, Alexa Dayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the inter-disciplinary space that lies between fisheries management and stock conservation, resource extraction and economic return at the individual producer level, balanced with societal welfare. It considers policy implications in support of changing marine ecosystems and considers the values of the Maine lobster communities, which depend on it. We conducted a comprehensive lobster industry survey to assess costs and effort expended at the producer level for a representative fishing year, and establish a series of production function performance baselines for future comparison. The demographic data, attitudes and valuations collected allow us to characterize the fishing effort and …

Modeling The Standard And Poor's 500 Index Via Wave Analytics: Harnessing Lag For Intraday Utilizations, John Cardenas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modeling and simulation of financial instruments is accomplished from multiple approaches but most completely from an engineering perspective. Aeronautical engineering yields a wave model created for stock indices in the 1970s. This comprehensive methodology models stock markets as waves for the intention of trading or investing yet has not been applied on time periods smaller than daily or weekly, known as intraday. Stakeholders trading intraday waves need to utilize wave analysis for price capture, analytics, and profitability. It is the purpose of this thesis to present a model to harness wave analytics for the needs of traders seeking price capture …

Implications Of Macroeconomic Controls In Ghana, Wisdom Takumah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ghana’s desire to achieve sustainable economic growth with relatively stable price level pursue both monetary and fiscal policies that could lead to macroeconomic. This study examines the effects of fiscal and monetary policy on economic growth and determine the level of convergence of growth for Ghana using structural equation modeling (SEM) using time series data from 2008 to 2017. Both short run and long-run results revealed that the ratio of government spending to private investment was statistically significant and it exerted a positive impact on economic growth, an indication that government expenditure is a key channel through which we can …

Adoption Of Conservation Practices And Precision Technologies In South Dakota: An Empirical Analysis, Allen P. Deutz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advances in conservation agriculture and precision agriculture technology practices have contributed to the adoption of conservation practices that reduce externalities from agricultural production, but this conversion was usually coupled with economic incentive, whether from increases in fertility and yield, or payments for on farm retirement or restoration practices. This study expands on this theme, evaluating the connection between conservation and the increased use of various precision agriculture technologies. The study uses survey data collected from South Dakota farmers and ranchers, with responses from 28 counties and over 500,000 acres of crop, pasture, and range land to address the following three …

The Real Winner Of The Second World War: Patriotic Consumption And The Formation Of A Society Of Spin, Jordan T. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique circumstances in the United States during the Second World War allowed for business to continue as usual on the home front. Advertisers, public relations experts, and big business all worked for the government to promote the war effort. For a period of time major companies in the United States were producing advertisements that persuaded citizens to support rationing, buy war bonds, hate the enemy, and keep their brand names in mind in the post-war years. Companies who supported the war effort had their brands connected with ideas of patriotism and enjoyed the success of brand loyal consumers in …

Tides Of Cooperation: The Ebb And Flow Of Regional Cooperation In Latin America, Amaleia E. Kolovos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regional organizations have developed into important global actors as they negotiate inter-regional trade agreements, regulate economic policies, and develop international security communities. States have much to gain from such regional cooperation efforts particularly in emerging regions such as Latin America. Such gains can include increased trade and economic relations, enhanced security, attracting external investment, and increasing bargaining power at the international level. With such gains to be had, one might expect states in these regions to regularly cooperate in order to achieve their common interests. However, this is clearly not always the case. Latin America has struggled for decades with …

Higher Education Student Debt & Tuition Costs, K. Harrison Maloy Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

U.S. higher education tuition costs have risen at nearly double the rate of inflation over the past forty years. In 2012, student loan delinquency rose to 12% and surpassed credit card delinquency rates as the top category of consumer debt delinquency. Meanwhile, recently enacted federal policies advocate for increased higher education accessibility, affordability and attainability, but simultaneously promote educational institutions to increase spending with funds fueled by student debt. The growth of $136.8 billion in student loan delinquency has triggered decreasing participation in non-student debt markets by people with student loan debt. Fortunately, Americans continue to enroll in colleges at …

Two Applications Of Financial Economics To Real Estate, Jeffrey Dibartolomeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My first essay examines the effects of dividend policy on the liquidity risk of REITs. I argue that the mandatory high cash payouts of REITs reduce investor reliance on the stock market to satisfy their liquidity needs. Using a sample of equity REITs from 1980 through 2015, I find strong empirical evidence consistent with this paradigm. Unlike non-REIT property companies, I find REITs exhibit negative sensitivity to marketwide liquidity shocks; a result that is evident across most property type sectors. Moreover, while my findings are robust across a wide range of portfolios based on size, dividend frequency, leverage, market-to-book, operations …

Crafting Local Food Narratives With Immigrant Voices: Participatory Ethnography Among Somali Bantu Farmers In West Denver, Raymond Alexander Pang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, a non-profit, Re:Vision, established the Ubuntu Farm to work with the local Somali Bantu refugee population. It was supposed to improve access to fresh produce, offer educational opportunities, skill training and more. Early on in 2014, it became clear Re:Vision was not delivering on its promises, and by 2015 the farm had ceased to exist. Using participant observation, interviews with farm participants and staff and a review of publicly accessible financial documents, I argue that Re:Vision maintained a conflict of mission, which contributed to their farms' failings, despite their ability to grow plenty of vegetables. From there, I …

Great Powers Have Great Currencies: Popular Nationalist Discourse And China's Campaign To Internationalize The Renminbi, Michael Stephen Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why did the Chinese government begin promoting the internationalization of its currency, the renminbi, after the 2008 global financial crisis? Only a few years earlier, Beijing balked at U.S. demands to reform its currency regime, which would require dismantling many of the country's long-preferred tools for promoting growth and maintaining domestic stability. Similar concerns about the dilution of monetary policy independence motivated previous rising economies Germany and Japan to proactively discourage the internationalization of their currencies. While China's central bank had long explored promoting greater international use of the renminbi, and such a policy would generate some benefits for China, …

Three Essays On Insurance Asset Management, Xin Che

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The insurance industry manages a large amount of financial assets. In recent years, a growing number of investment companies are providing insurance asset management solutions, and the use of external asset management by the insurance industry is increasing over time. Therefore, understanding insurance asset management is important for academics and practitioners in both insurance and general finance. In the first essay, we investigate industrial portfolio tilt (referred to as “industry bias”) in the U.S. property liability insurers’ comstock portfolios. We find that U.S. property-liability insurers exhibit a negative industry bias by tilting their portfolios away from their own industry. We …

Determinants Of Tipping Behavior: Evidence From Us Restaurants, Nusrat Jahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to analyze people’s tipping behavior to assess the factors that determine both the likelihood of leaving a tip and tip size in US restaurants. A total 2,334 away from home eating events are considered in this study based on the nationally representative National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) dataset. Two different tipping scenarios are considered for full-service restaurants to examine differences in customers’ behavior under two different situations. Considering that households’ tipping decisions and tip sizes are functions of the demand for personal interest (D"#, ) and the demand for social interest (D&#), different socio-demographic, …

Excess Zeros, Endogenous Binary Indicators, And Self-Selection Bias With Application To First Marriage, Smoking And Drinking Outcomes, Lateef Subair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Demands And Offers In Ultimatum Games, Jeremiah Wills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pecorino and Van Boening (2010) introduce the embedded ultimatum game. The authors embed an ultimatum game into a stylized legal bargaining framework and cross analyze the offer and dispute behavior in this game with the same behavior in a baseline simple ultimatum game. The current study seeks to test the replicability of a computerized version of these games. Additionally, variations of the two games are introduced here to test the effects of specific manipulation of the framing of the simple ultimatum game, as well as to test the effects of specific manipulation of the offer structure in both the simple …