Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Food safety (7)
- Enforcement (6)
- Compliance (5)
- International trade (5)
- Community Supported Agriculture (4)
-
- Experiments (4)
- Vertical differentiation (4)
- Contingent valuation (3)
- Emissions Trading (3)
- Food quality (3)
- Fresh Produce (3)
- Hypothetical bias (3)
- Market Power (3)
- New Empirical Industrial Organization (3)
- Organic Agriculture (3)
- Rural low-income mothers (3)
- Traceability (3)
- Active learning (2)
- Asia (2)
- Buyer market power (2)
- Common pool resources (2)
- Consumer demand (2)
- Country of origin labeling (2)
- Developing countries (2)
- Emissions trading (2)
- Environmental labeling (2)
- Fisheries (2)
- Food attributes (2)
- Health capital (2)
- Homeostatis (2)
- Publication Year
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 30 of 92
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Skill Differences And Wage-Effort Relationship: Who Are More Exploited, High-Skilled Or Low-Skilled Workers?, Hyun Woong Park, Dong–Min Rieu
Skill Differences And Wage-Effort Relationship: Who Are More Exploited, High-Skilled Or Low-Skilled Workers?, Hyun Woong Park, Dong–Min Rieu
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Who are more exploited, high-skilled or low-skilled workers? We address this question using the efficiency wage model with skill differentials incorporated. We perform simulations to find the Nash equilibrium numerically, and our central results are the following. First, higher-skilled workers are offered higher wages but exert less effort, and in particular the skill-wage relationship matches the observed data on wage inequality of the U.S. Second, we employ two measures of the degree of exploitation. On the one hand, the ratio between effort and wage the higher-skilled workers experience is lower than that of lower-skilled workers. This is due to their …
Three Essays On The Political Economy Of Cultural Production And Creative Labor, Luke Pretz
Three Essays On The Political Economy Of Cultural Production And Creative Labor, Luke Pretz
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation investigates the relationships between capital, cultural production, and creative labor. Essay one theorizes the basis for the intensification of pop music stardom following the introduction of on-demand streaming technology. Prior to the emergence of on-demand streaming, record labels and broadcasters had a mutualistic relationship, wherein the near cost-free music provided by record labels formed the basis for radio broadcasts, which in turn formed the basis for the consumption of that music. Following the emergence of on-demand streaming the mutualistic relationship was ruptured. Broadcasters, in the form of streaming platforms, transitioned to the cost-efficient cultivation of masses of highly …
Four Essays On Peace Consolidation And Ethnic Reconciliation In Postwar Sri Lanka, Narayani Sritharan
Four Essays On Peace Consolidation And Ethnic Reconciliation In Postwar Sri Lanka, Narayani Sritharan
Doctoral Dissertations
In four essays, this dissertation explores the process of peace consolidation and economic recovery from the devastating conflict of 1983-2009 in Sri Lanka. This dissertation addresses a timely and important topic. The findings make an important contribution to the literature on economic development and peacebuilding, specifically on the role of foreign aid in alleviating the risks of conflict and helping countries rebuild their economies after conflict. The dissertation highlights important political economy dimensions that help illustrate social and political dynamics that lead to conflict, such as regional and ethnic inequalities, which also influence post-conflict reconstruction. In addition to a historical …
Inconsistent Definitions Of Gdp: Implications For Estimates Of Decoupling, Gregor Semieniuk
Inconsistent Definitions Of Gdp: Implications For Estimates Of Decoupling, Gregor Semieniuk
Economics Department Working Paper Series
Efforts to assess the possibilities for decoupling economic growth from negative environmental impacts have examined their historical relationship, with varying and inconclusive results. Part of the problem is ambiguity about definitions of environmental impacts, e.g. whether to use territorial or consumption-based measures of environmental impact. This paper shows that ambiguities arising from definitional changes to GDP are sufficiently large to affect the outcomes. I review the history of structural revisions to GDP using the example of the United States, and on international comparisons of purchasing power parity, compare decoupling results using various historical definitions of GDP on the same environmental …
Forms Of Naturalism In Seminal Neoclassical Texts: An Analysis And Comparison Of Léon Walras, John Bates Clark, And William Stanley Jevons, Mark Silverman
Forms Of Naturalism In Seminal Neoclassical Texts: An Analysis And Comparison Of Léon Walras, John Bates Clark, And William Stanley Jevons, Mark Silverman
Doctoral Dissertations
At issue here is the role of “naturalism” in certain seminal neoclassical texts. I outline both a positive and normative dimension to the term “naturalism.” Along its positive dimension, I use the term to mean that the social sciences ought to follow the method of the natural sciences. Along its normative dimension, I use it to mean that the natural order of things can provide for justice. I examine the role these concepts play in the works of Léon Walras, John Bates Clark, and William Stanley Jevons. The question I raise, through this examination, is whether the positive conception of …
Three Essays On Child Welfare In Côte D’Ivoire, Didier Wayoro
Three Essays On Child Welfare In Côte D’Ivoire, Didier Wayoro
Doctoral Dissertations
The objective of this dissertation is to examine the impact of early life events such as civil conflicts and rainfall variability on child welfare in Côte d’Ivoire and investigate possible mitigating factors. It consists of three essays. Focusing on the 2010-2011 post-electoral violence, the empirical results from the first essay show that armed conflicts reduce the birth weight of newborn children who were in-utero during the conflict and increase the probability among exposed pregnant women of having an underweight child at birth. In addition, the study suggests that the impact of conflict on birth weight and low birth weight (less …
Three Essays On “Doing Care”, Gender Differences In The Work Day, And Women’S Care Work In The Household, Avanti Mukherjee
Three Essays On “Doing Care”, Gender Differences In The Work Day, And Women’S Care Work In The Household, Avanti Mukherjee
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation provides a theoretical perspective on why women’s responsibility for care work lengthens their workday relative to men due to subsistence requirements, and draws attention to the relevance of other female family members. Building from theories of institutional bargaining research insights from “doing gender”, I develop a theoretical perspective on “doing care” that considers both bargaining power and social norms as determinants of differences in time allocation across and within gender. Conventional bargaining models predict that women who earn incomes can substitute hours of paid work for unpaid work. Using qualitative field work from India, and my theory of …
The Impacts Of Foreign Labor Migration Of Men On Women's Empowerment In Nepal, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar
The Impacts Of Foreign Labor Migration Of Men On Women's Empowerment In Nepal, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation looks into the changes in the lives of Nepalese women due to the rapidly increasing foreign labor migration of men. Literature on migration from Nepal mostly focuses on economic gains made through remittance inflows. The changes in intra-household power relations and the transformations in women’s lives, due to the male-dominated nature of Nepalese migration, are largely neglected. My study fills this gap, by examining women’s experiences, as they assume the role of household heads, financial managers and single parents, in a society that has historically suppressed their freedom. I specifically focus on the changes in women’s work responsibilities, …
Elite Capture, Free Riding, And Project Design: A Case Study Of A Community-Driven Development Project In Ceará, Brazil, Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth
Elite Capture, Free Riding, And Project Design: A Case Study Of A Community-Driven Development Project In Ceará, Brazil, Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation explores the successes and failures of a community-driven development project, São José Agrário (SJA), conducted in Northeastern Brazil. The project was co-funded by the World Bank and the State of Ceará and co-directed by a social movement (the Landless Workers Movement, MST) and the State of Ceará. The dissertation employs a mixed methods approach based on eight case studies, a census survey of six communities, and interviews with a wide variety of actors connected to the project. I address the problem of elite capture, either by non-targeted communities or by an elite within the targeted communities disproportionately benefiting …
Microfinance, Household Indebtedness And Gender Inequality, Theresa Mannah-Blankson
Microfinance, Household Indebtedness And Gender Inequality, Theresa Mannah-Blankson
Doctoral Dissertations
My dissertation explores the implications of access to microfinance for gender equity and household welfare in Ghana. The study draws on the quantitative and qualitative evidence from a unique dataset generated from a survey of 499 households, with and without access to microfinance, during my field research work in Ghana from May to July 2013. The motivation for the dissertation derives from evidence suggesting that access to finance is an important tool for fighting poverty and reducing inequality. However, for most developing countries access to finance for the poor is mainly through the informal or the semi-formal sector, including microfinance …
Employment And Family Leave Mandates: Three Essays On Labor Supply And Demand, Nontraditional Families, And Family Policy, Samantha Schenck
Employment And Family Leave Mandates: Three Essays On Labor Supply And Demand, Nontraditional Families, And Family Policy, Samantha Schenck
Doctoral Dissertations
Many American families have a difficult time balancing their obligations at work with their responsibilities at home. This is especially the case when a member of the family needs an increased level of care giving, for instance after the birth of a child or when a family member is seriously ill. Governments around the world have passed legislation to make these difficult times easier for workers by mandating that employers provide paid family leave to their employees. However the US federal government mandates only 12 weeks of job-protected leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which only …
Three Essays On Women's Land Rights In Rural Peru, Rosa L. Duran
Three Essays On Women's Land Rights In Rural Peru, Rosa L. Duran
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation investigates the relationship between female land rights and cultural, policy, and regional variables, and asks to what degree, and in what ways, the highly contextual nature of the relationships between these variables have determined local-specific causes and effects of female land rights in Peru. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay provides the socioeconomic and institutional context for the entire dissertation, introducing a brief historical account of the evolution of female land rights in Peru. This essay pays particular attention to the relationship between property rights and geographical context in the Peruvian countryside, examining the region-specific …
Three Essays On Economic Inequality And Environmental Degradation, Klara Zwickl
Three Essays On Economic Inequality And Environmental Degradation, Klara Zwickl
Doctoral Dissertations
Rising income and wealth disparities are increasingly viewed as serious economic and social problems, but what are the environmental consequences of an unequal distribution of income and wealth? Are low income neighborhoods disproportionately negatively affected by pollution exposure, and does economic inequality thus manifest itself in environmental inequality? Are poor or unequal communities less successful in collectively organizing local environmental improvements and does inequality thus increase pollution exposure for all residents? This dissertation provides some empirical evidence on these questions. Chapter 1 analyzes regional variations in environmental disparities in US cities. Using geographic micro-data from EPA's Risk Screening Environmental Indicators …
Common Pool Resources And Rural Livelihoods In Stung Treng Province Of Cambodia, Pitchaya Boonsrirat
Common Pool Resources And Rural Livelihoods In Stung Treng Province Of Cambodia, Pitchaya Boonsrirat
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation assesses the contribution of fish and forest products in the livelihoods of villagers in Strung Treng province of Cambodia, as these two common pool resources are threatened by the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 hydropower project. Household survey data collected under the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) are used in the analysis. It is found that, in general, fish accounts for a higher overall contribution in household’s livelihoods compared to forest products. Fishery products are most important for direct consumption, while forest products are more important for cash income. Across the study area, the households …
Seeds Of A New Economy? A Qualitative Investigation Of Diverse Economic Practices Within Community Supported Agriculture And Community Supported Enterprise, Ted White
Open Access Dissertations
Amidst widespread feelings that capitalism is a deeply problematic yet necessary approach to economy, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as both an alternative model for farming and as an increasingly visible and viable model for alternative economy. Using qualitative methods, this doctoral research explores and documents how CSA has become a productive space for economic innovation and practice that emphasizes interdependence, camaraderie and community well-being rather than hierarchical control and private gain. This study also examines how the many participants of CSA have built an identity for CSA--branding it via autonomous and collective efforts. This has resulted in CSA …
The Potential Supply Of Cellulosic Biomass Energy Crops In Western Massachusetts, David Selkirk Timmons
The Potential Supply Of Cellulosic Biomass Energy Crops In Western Massachusetts, David Selkirk Timmons
Open Access Dissertations
Most energy sources are derived from the sun, directly or indirectly. Stopping the increase of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will likely require more reliance on current rather than ancient terrestrial solar input. Yet which forms of renewable energy are most appropriately used is a significant question for the twenty-first century. This dissertation concerns the potential supply of biomass energy crops as a renewable energy source in Massachusetts. Biomass represents a low-efficiency solar collector, and supplying society with an important portion of its energy from biomass would require a great deal of land. The cellulosic biomass crop evaluated in …
Buyer Market Power And Vertically Differentiated Retailers, Shinn-Shyr Wang, Christian Rojas, Nathalie Lavoie
Buyer Market Power And Vertically Differentiated Retailers, Shinn-Shyr Wang, Christian Rojas, Nathalie Lavoie
Nathalie Lavoie
We consider a model of vertical competition where downstream firms (retailers) purchase an upstream input from a monopolist and are able to differentiate from each other in terms of quality. Our primary focus is to study the effects of introducing a large retailer, such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter, that is able to lower wholesale prices (i.e. buyer market power). We obtain two main results. First, the store with no buyer market power responds to the presence of the large retailer by increasing its quality, a finding that is consistent with recent efforts by traditional retailers to enhance shoppers’ buying experience …
Buyer Market Power And Vertically Differentiated Retailers, Shinn-Shyr Wang, Christian Rojas, Nathalie Lavoie
Buyer Market Power And Vertically Differentiated Retailers, Shinn-Shyr Wang, Christian Rojas, Nathalie Lavoie
Christian Rojas
We consider a model of vertical competition where downstream firms (retailers) purchase an upstream input from a monopolist and are able to differentiate from each other in terms of quality. Our primary focus is to study the effects of introducing a large retailer, such as a Wal-Mart Supercenter, that is able to lower wholesale prices (i.e. buyer market power). We obtain two main results. First, the store with no buyer market power responds to the presence of the large retailer by increasing its quality, a finding that is consistent with recent efforts by traditional retailers to enhance shoppers’ buying experience …
Estimation Of Treatment Effect Of Asthma Case Management Using Propensity Score Methods, Sylvia Brandt, Sara Gale, Ira Tager
Estimation Of Treatment Effect Of Asthma Case Management Using Propensity Score Methods, Sylvia Brandt, Sara Gale, Ira Tager
PERI Working Papers
Asthma, treatment effect, health intervention, propensity scores
A Safety Valve For Emissions Trading, John K. Stranlund
A Safety Valve For Emissions Trading, John K. Stranlund
PERI Working Papers
This paper considers the optimal design of an emissions trading program that includes a safety valve tax that allows pollution sources to escape the emissions cap imposed by the aggregate supply of emissions permits. I demonstrate that an optimal hybrid emissions trading/emissions tax policy involves a permit supply that is strictly less than under a pure emissions trading scheme and a safety valve tax that exceeds the optimal pure emissions tax as long as expected marginal damage is an increasing function. While the expected level of emissions under a hybrid policy may be more or less than under pure emissions …
Partial Implementation Of Cool: Economic Effects In The U.S. Seafood Industry, Siny Joseph, Nathalie Lavoie, Julie A. Caswell
Partial Implementation Of Cool: Economic Effects In The U.S. Seafood Industry, Siny Joseph, Nathalie Lavoie, Julie A. Caswell
PERI Working Papers
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) was implemented on seafood in the United States on April 4, 2005. MCOOL exempts the foodservice sector and excludes processed seafood from labeling. This paper contributes to understanding the economics of the MCOOL law for seafood by showing that current partial implementation may have unintended consequences on the domestic supply chain. While labeling satisfies the market demand for information provision in one market, exemptions in the other market may create incentives for the diversion of imports, which are assumed to be lower in quality than domestic seafood, to the non-labeled sector. Analyzing alternate scenarios …
Comparing The Effectiveness Of Regulation And Pro-Social Emotions To Enhance Cooperation: Experimental Evidence From Fishing Communities In Colombia, Maria Claudia Lopez, James J. Murphy, John M. Spraggon, John K. Stranlund
Comparing The Effectiveness Of Regulation And Pro-Social Emotions To Enhance Cooperation: Experimental Evidence From Fishing Communities In Colombia, Maria Claudia Lopez, James J. Murphy, John M. Spraggon, John K. Stranlund
PERI Working Papers
This paper presents the results from a series of framed field experiments conducted in fishing communities off the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The goal is to investigate the relative effectiveness of exogenous regulatory pressure and pro-social emotions in promoting cooperative behavior in a public goods context. The random public revelation of an individual’s contribution and its consequences for the rest of the group leads to significantly higher public good contributions and social welfare than regulatory pressure, even under regulations that are designed to motivate fully efficient contributions.
The Benefits And Costs Of Proliferation Of Geographical Labeling For Developing Countries, Julie Caswell
The Benefits And Costs Of Proliferation Of Geographical Labeling For Developing Countries, Julie Caswell
Julie Caswell
Food product attributes related to geographical origins are a topical issue in global food trade. The provision of geographical labeling may occur through geographical indications under the mandated trade rules of the TRIPS Agreement, through trademarks, or through country-of-origin labeling. The overall effect of the expansion of geographical labeling on developing countries depends on a complex mix of market opportunities that may yield substantial benefits as well as implementation costs. Increasingly, the analysis of this overall effect will need to evaluate the joint impacts of different forms of geographical labeling on the market position of developing countries.
Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-Income Mothers, Sheila Mammen, Jean W. Bauer, Daniel Lass
Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-Income Mothers, Sheila Mammen, Jean W. Bauer, Daniel Lass
Sheila Mammen
The satisfaction with life (SWL) among rural low-income mothers was assessed using a sample of 163 mothers who participated in a multi-state, three-year longitudinal study. Dependent variables included those that represented various forms of capital (health, human, personal and social) as well as the mothers’ levels of life satisfaction from prior years. Nearly two-thirds of the rural mothers were satisfied with their life in all three years. Their level of satisfaction appeared to be constant, however, such persistence had a time frame of only one year. In all three years, their depression score and the adequacy of their income had …
Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-Income Mothers, Sheila Mammen, Jean W. Bauer, Daniel A. Lass
Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-Income Mothers, Sheila Mammen, Jean W. Bauer, Daniel A. Lass
Daniel A. Lass
The satisfaction with life (SWL) among rural low-income mothers was assessed using a sample of 163 mothers who participated in a multi-state, three-year longitudinal study. Dependent variables included those that represented various forms of capital (health, human, personal and social) as well as the mothers’ levels of life satisfaction from prior years. Nearly two-thirds of the rural mothers were satisfied with their life in all three years. Their level of satisfaction appeared to be constant, however, such persistence had a time frame of only one year. In all three years, their depression score and the adequacy of their income had …
The Earned Income Tax Credit And Rural Families: Differences Between Participants And Non-Participants, Sheila Mammen, Frances C. Lawrence, Peter St. Marie, Ann A. Berry, Suzanne Enzian Knight
The Earned Income Tax Credit And Rural Families: Differences Between Participants And Non-Participants, Sheila Mammen, Frances C. Lawrence, Peter St. Marie, Ann A. Berry, Suzanne Enzian Knight
Sheila Mammen
The differences between rural low-income mothers who were participants and non-participants in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) were examined. One-third of the 224 eligible mothers in a multi-state study did not claim the tax credit. Non-participants were more likely to be Hispanic, less educated, with larger families, borrowing money from family, and living in more rural counties. Participating mothers, on the other hand, were more food secure, perceived their household income as being adequate, reported recent improvements in their economic situation, were satisfied with life, and lived in states with a state EITC. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that …
Partial Implementation Of Cool: Economic Effects In The U.S. Seafood Industry, Siny Joseph, Nathalie Lavoie, Julie A. Caswell
Partial Implementation Of Cool: Economic Effects In The U.S. Seafood Industry, Siny Joseph, Nathalie Lavoie, Julie A. Caswell
Nathalie Lavoie
Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) was implemented on seafood in the United States on April 4, 2005. MCOOL exempts the foodservice sector and excludes processed seafood from labeling. This paper contributes to understanding the economics of the MCOOL law for seafood by showing that current partial implementation may have unintended consequences on the domestic supply chain. While labeling satisfies the market demand for information provision in one market, exemptions in the other market may create incentives for the diversion of imports, which are assumed to be lower in quality than domestic seafood, to the non-labeled sector. Analyzing alternate scenarios …
Securing The Border From Invasives: Robust Inspections Under Severe Uncertainty, L. Joe Moffitt, John K. Stranlund, Craig D. Osteen
Securing The Border From Invasives: Robust Inspections Under Severe Uncertainty, L. Joe Moffitt, John K. Stranlund, Craig D. Osteen
PERI Working Papers
Two important features of agricultural quarantine inspections of shipping containers for invasive species at U.S. ports of entry are the general absence of economic considerations and the severe uncertainty that surrounds invasive species introductions. In this article, we propose and illustrate a method for determining an inspection monitoring protocol that addresses both issues. An inspection monitoring protocol is developed that is robust in maximizing the set of uncertain outcomes over which an economic performance criterion is achieved. The framework is applied to derive an alternative to Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) for shipments of fruits and vegetables as currently practiced at …
Optimal Choice Of Voluntary Traceability As A Food Risk Management Tool, Dm Souza Monteiro,, Julie Caswell
Optimal Choice Of Voluntary Traceability As A Food Risk Management Tool, Dm Souza Monteiro,, Julie Caswell
Julie Caswell
Traceability systems are information tools implemented within and between firms in food chains to improve logistics and transparency or to reduce total food safety damage costs. Information about location and condition of products is critical when food safety incidents arise. This paper uses a principal-agent model to investigate the optimal choice of voluntary traceability in terms of precision of information on a given attribute at each link of a food chain. The results suggest that four scenarios may emerge for the supply chain depending on the costs of a system and whether or not the industry can internalize total food …
Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell
Expanding The Focus Of Cost-Benefit Analysis For Food Safety: A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Approach, Julie Caswell
Julie Caswell
A pressing need in the area of food safety is a tool for making overall, macro judgments about which risks should be given priority for management. Governments often seek to base this prioritization on public health impacts only to find that other considerations also influence the prioritization process. A multi-factorial approach formally recognizes that public health, market-level impacts, consumer risk preferences and acceptance, and the social sensitivity of particular risks all play a role in prioritization. It also provides decision makers with a variety of information outputs that allow risk prioritization to be considered along different dimensions. Macro-level prioritization of …