Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Thorstein Veblen And His Underlying Philosophical Influences, John Battaile Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This inquiry recognizes Thorstein Veblen first and foremost as a philosopher who advanced a literature in Social Sciences, generally, and Economic Science, in particular. Veblen’s thinking and writing were supported by rich traditions drawn from notable philosophers that included among several: Charles Sanders Peirce, Immanuel Kant, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Relying upon his strong background in Philosophy, he then sought to challenge mainstream, neoclassical economics, especially. As his career developed, he would turn his talents and energies towards advancing ideas that would ultimately prove foundational for heterodox economics and, relatedly, American Institutionalism.

Journal of Economic Literature Classification Codes:
B15 – Historical, …

Extension Event Attendance Increases Adoption Of Weed Management Practices By Sports Field Managers, George Frisvold, Chandrakant Agme, David Ervin, Shawn W. Askew, Rebecca Grubbs Bowling, Jennifer Allen, James T. Brosnan, Multiple Additional Authors

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data from a national survey of 348 U.S. sports field managers were used to examine the effects of participation in Cooperative Extension events on the adoption of turfgrass weed management practices. Of the respondents, 94% had attended at least one event in the previous 3 yr. Of this 94%, 97% reported adopting at least one practice as a result of knowledge gained at an Extension turfgrass event. Half of the respondents had adopted four or more practices; a third adopted five or more practices. Nonchemical, cultural practices were the most-adopted practices (65% of respondents). Multiple regression analysis was used to …

International Labour Migration, Farmland Fallowing, Livelihood Diversification And Technology Adoption In Nepal, Karki Nepal, Mani Nepal, Randall Bluffstone

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article investigates the effect of temporary international labour migration on farmland fallowing, adoption of agricultural intensification technologies and livelihood diversification. Using nationally representative data, combined with empirical methods that allow causal inference, the authors find that households with international migrants are over 50 per cent more likely (based on propensity score matching estimates) to have fallow land than those without. Temporary international migration promotes the adoption of some agricultural intensification technologies and causes rural households to diversify their livelihoods. Land fallowing may increase food insecurity, while agricultural intensification may improve it, for an uncertain net effect.

Anticipatory Impacts Of The Repeal Of Roe V. Wade On Female College Applicants, Janna Wisniewski, Brigham Walker, Jillian Torres, Rajiv Sharma

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined the relative impact of the anticipated repeal of Roe v. Wade on the share of female applicants to universities in states where abortion was banned compared with universities in states where abortion remained legal. Using the Common Data Sets from 71 of the top 100 institutions in the United States spanning 27 states from academic years 2018–2022, we found that there was a nearly one percentage point relative decrease in the share of female undergraduate applicants to institutions in ban states compared with states in which abortion remained legal. This suggests that undergraduate applicants are sensitive to state …

Private Benefits From Ambient Air Pollution Reduction Policies Evidence From The Household Heating Stove Replacement Program In Chile, Adolfo Uribe, Randall Bluffstone, Carlos Chávez, Walter Gómez, Marcela Jaime

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We estimate the key private benefits from a program to improve ambient air quality during winter in central Chile by replacing inefficient wood-fired home heating stoves with more efficient pellet stoves. We are interested in the private benefits to households because they represent the additional value of the program and likely drive private adoption. Combining electronic stove surface temperature and air pollution monitoring with household surveys, we estimate the effects of adoption on household fuel expenditures, indoor temperatures, and indoor air pollution concentrations (PM2.5). We also explore heterogeneous effects of the program by income group and energy poverty status. Our …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Primary Care Appointment Availability By Physician Age And Gender, Janna Wisniewski, Sarah E. Tinkler, Brigham Walker, Miron Stano, Rajiv Sharma

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using data generated through simulated patient calls to a national random sample of primary care physicians between February and July 2020, we examine the effects of the first wave of COVID-19 on the availability of the U.S. primary care physician workforce for routine new patient appointments. As states enacted stay-at-home orders, physicians overall became less selective by insurance, and there was a 7 percentage-point increase in acceptance of patient insurance. Telemedicine appointment offers increased 10.2 percentage points from near zero. However, relative to younger counterparts, physicians older than the sample mean (53.1 years) became 18.1 percentage points less likely to …

Similarities, Commonalities And Parallels In The Contributions Of Thorstein Veblen And Friedrich Nietzsche, John Battaile Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This inquiry seeks to establish that similarities, commonalities, and parallels can be identified in selected contributions advanced by Thorstein Veblen and Friedrich Nietzsche. In the main, their commonness is noted to appear in the critical approaches that also includes expressing deep-seated skepticism regarding the course to modernity, singling out institutions ruling society, and especially the economy—in the case of Veblen. Specialized in Philology, as Nietzsche extolls his Dionysian orientation this inquiry introduces the idea that Veblen’s foundation for his distinctly critical approach to ruling institutions also reflects a Dionysian perspective. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-85) Nietzsche introduces a character whom …

Cognitive And Economic Development, John Luke Gallup

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A burgeoning literature has found that early childhood health conditions of individuals have large causal effects on their cognitive development, education and earnings. How much does early cognitive development contribute to the national economy? Although researchers have long studied the role of worker health for economic growth, they have not assessed the role of early cognitive development.

Cognitive ability is the foundation of human capital, affecting both educational attainment and economic growth. The risk factors for poor cognitive development are very high in many countries. Each risk factor also causes child mortality, making child survival a viable proxy for good …

Changing The Paradigm For Pesticide Resistance Management, David R. Shaw, Amy Asmus, Jill Schroeder, David Ervin

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Collaborative action on the part of all stakeholders in pest management is essential to effectively address the challenges of pesticide resistance. The US Environmental Protection Agency, through its Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee, recently posted a report on pesticide resistance management and the role the Agency can play in these efforts. In this perspectives piece, we commend the Agency for acknowledging these needs, and encourage implementation of the recommendations. We urge all stakeholders to follow the example set by EPA to engage openly, listen to other stakeholders, and determine their role as part of the broader community that is needed to …

Valuing Ecosystem Services From Restoring Ancient Irrigation Systems: An Application Comparing Labor Vs. Monetary Payments For Choice Experiments, Sahan Dissanayake, Shamen Vidanage

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The use of stated preference methods in developing countries is growing with the increasing concern about the environment as economies develop. At the same time using monetary payment vehicles and estimating a Willingnessto Pay (WTP) can be problematic in rural or low incomes areas in developing countries. Many respondents in these areas regularly engage in barter and paying with labor and do not use monetary payments for all transactions. This distinction from urban areas with a monetary economy and with most settings in developed countries can impact results from valuation studies as the WTP elicited from rural and low-income areas …

Assessing Visitor Preferences And Willingness To Pay For Marine National Park Hikkaduwa: Application Of Choice Experiment Method, Chamathi Jayaratne, U.A. D.P. Gunawardena, J. C. Edirisinghe, Sahan Dissanayake, D. Rajapaksa

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Eco-tourism all over the world is threatened by the fact that the coral reefs and associated ecosystems are in a process of disappearing at an accelerated rate due to several natural and anthropogenic causes. In this context, the Marine National Park Hikkaduwa (MNPH), one of the four marine national parks in Sri Lanka, that features a fringing coral reef with a high degree of biodiversity, reports a decreasing trend in visitation mainly due to a condition of coral bleaching caused by an El Nino effect. Unfortunately, the regeneration of the corals is found to be slowed by continuous anthropogenic activities. …

Working Paper No. 75, The Utopian Socialists Reconsidered, Aden Quenemoen

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that efforts to formulate utopian solutions to societal challenges are deserving of reconsideration, especially when the national and international solutions influenced by one Karl Marx and his followers appear to have reached their nadir as the Soviet experiment ended by the start of the 1990s. Such requires us to look back in time prior to Marx by considering contributions advanced by the likes of: Henri de Saint-Simon, Robert Owen, and Charles Fourier. What is stressed is that all three of these authors advanced novel ideas, with some of their ideas deemed important and enduring, while …

Working Paper No. 77, Deconstructing The Kardashian-Based Economy, Alec Van Rossum

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that connections can indeed be made between Thorstein Veblen's contributions towards our understanding of social stratification related to patterns of consumption, and the rise in importance of the Kardashian family. We take Veblen’s seminal and enduring book, The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions [1899] and relate some of the ideas therein to what is being coined herein as a “Kardashian-Based Economy.” By drawing connections between selected ideas that Veblen's advanced, and some of the influences displayed by some members of the Kardashian family on consumer culture, we aim to understand …

Working Paper No. 83, The New Focus On Mexico, Maria Zavala

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that China’s falling into unfavorable relations with Washington has contributed to a new focus on Mexico. China’s aggressively competing with America for technological supremacy has indeed elicited a U.S. response. Over recent years and months, the U.S. has implemented a host of measures intended to mitigate China’s competition. Along with disruptions to the supply chain and growing political concerns, company leaders have found it increasingly difficult to continue manufacturing in China. Relatedly, investment flows are streaming towards Mexico in what is now termed as “nearshoring.” This tendency comes with a set of workable challenges. With …

Working Paper No. 78, On Lenin, And The State As A Necessary Tool, J.P. Trafford

Working Papers in Economics

In his The State and Revolution [1918], Vladimir Illich Ulyanov—also known as Lenin—singles out the organ of the “State” as the institution essential for realizing a successful communist revolution. Lenin’s draws his thinking on the State from Karl Marx, who in his writings expresses the view that a State emerges in order to mitigate class conflicts. From this perspective, the State becomes an organ for class rule. History teaches us that the State occupies a position above society and is utilized as a special coercive force for exerting the wills of members of the ruling class upon the working class. …

Working Paper No. 84, Designing The Future: The Influence Of Lloyd J. Reynolds On American Product Innovation, Bander Qadan

Working Papers in Economics

This research inquiry shall explore how critical advances in American design products and consumerism can be traced back to the late Lloyd J. Reynolds and the silent yet powerful influence he has had on a generation of students, such as the innovative pioneer, Steve Jobs. Lloyd J. Reynolds was a renowned calligrapher and teacher at Reed College. The inquiry is structured chronologically, leading to Apple's 2022 valuation of about two trillion dollars. Four significant areas shall be examined to trace this trajectory. Firstly, the paper examines the effects of calligraphy/typography on Lloyd J. Reynolds. Secondly, it delves into Steve Jobs’ …

Working Paper No. 80, On W. Stanley Jevons And Britain’S “Coal Question”, Matthew Phan

Working Papers in Economics

Nineteenth century Britain emerged as the center for the industrial world; with coal serving as the energy carrier which would prove itself as a key resource for powering Britain’s industry and for generating her prosperity. At the same time, coal served as a sector in which innovations were also being devised and introduced. This inquiry seeks to establish that one W. Stanley Jevons, an academic lecturing at the University of Manchester, expressed concerns regarding what he and some others phrased as Britain’s “coal question,” and took to addressing issues associated with its depletion. In so doing, Jevons’ writings would offer …

Working Paper No. 82, The Importance Of The Cold War And Its Ending, Abraham Escudero

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the citizenry inhabiting the two superpowers derived benefits from the Cold War; advantages that appear to have diminished with the start of the Post-Cold War Era. In the 1930s the Great Depression brought into question the efficacy of the Western capitalist system. As a challenge, a Soviet model running on a revolutionary zeal associated with establishing a new society underscored Joseph Stalin’s super-industrialization drive. The citizenry of both superpowers, as well as citizenry around the world, would ultimately benefit from the competition for dominance, albeit with certain costs, especially for human rights. Shifts in …

Working Paper No. 79, On The Emergence Of And Failures Of Cybernetics In The Soviet Union, Leah Herrera

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that despite potentially offering significant efficiency gains leading to an era of intensive economic growth, cybernetics in the USSR fell short in being implemented because of a) lack of coordination between competing ministries; b) inadequate policies; and c) insufficient funding. Though the structure of government in the USSR appeared to be centralized and hierarchical, with economic and government plans and policies traveling from the top down, in practice, ministries acted more like heterarchies, leading to ministerial competition over the large cybernetic projects meant to reform the administrative command economy—from the mid-1950s through to the late …

Developing And Implementing A Sustainable, Integrated Weed Management Program For Herbicide-Resistant Poa Annua In Turfgrass, James D. Mccurdy, Rebecca G. Bowling, Edicarlos De Castro, Alec R. Kowalewski, Clint M. Maddox, James T. Brosnan, Shawn W. Askew, Clebson G. Goncalves, David Ervin, Multiple Additional Authors

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The ability of Poa annua L. to adapt to most turfgrass environments extends to its ability to develop resistance to commonly used herbicides. Herbicide resistant P. annua is of almost epidemic proportions. The loss of once viable chemical-based treatments pushes practitioners towards more expensive, and often less effective, control strategies. This management guide focuses on integrated weed management (IWM) practices for P. annua control and herbicide resistance—what it is and how to overcome it. Also discussed are resistance mechanisms and documentation of common occurrences of field-level resistance within much of the United States. Finally, a summary of some of the …

Feeling The Heat: Climate Change Is Becoming A Big Factor In Business Decision-Making, Risk Assessment, Candace Beeke, Sahan Dissanayake, Jennifer Price, Moss Adams

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland Business Journal Publisher and President Candace Beeke spoke recently with PSU’s Sahan Dissanayake and Jennifer Price, with Moss Adams, about the direct and indirect effects of climate change on business, along with the physical impacts and economic hazards. Here are their insights.

Working Paper No. 63, On Karl Polanyi And His Conception Of Fascism, Serene Mistkawi

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the writings of author Karl Polanyi offered insights into key variables and historical conditions that gave rise to the system we know of as “fascism.” Integral to his insights, Polanyi describes economic conditions attendant for fascism to emerge, with one condition noted as widespread and persistent unemployment. Polanyi stresses that fascism needs to be understood as reactionary, a responding to features integral to classical liberalism. Considering a broad historical context Polanyi teaches us of the political conditions necessary for fascism to emerge and take form as political movements wielding power. He considers conflicts in …

Working Paper No. 71, Max Weber: On Religion And Economic Outcomes, Celeste Aiu Taber

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that early sociologist Max Weber advances a view that religious faith could indeed affect economic outcomes. In his analysis of Reformed faiths, Weber determines that “the calling” inspired by Martin Luther transformed the work ethic of believers, instilling in them a spirit suitable for the advancement of modern capitalism. The Reformed work ethic observed by Weber served as a basis for individual Protestants to accumulate wealth. Weber also considers the developments of religious asceticism among the faiths of Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism, and the Baptist movements. The ascetic character of these religious communities assisted in generating …

Working Paper No. 72, The 1849 Gold Rush And The Roots Of California’S Economic Development, Matthew Phan

Working Papers in Economics

The Californian Gold Rush, commonly referred to as the “1849 Gold Rush” proved to be a major event which brought significant change to California. This inquiry seeks to establish that this 1849 Gold Rush provided a foundation for a broadly shared prosperity through contributing to the advancement of California’s industry. The first part in this inquiry goes into some detail regarding how the gold rush got initiated, would become a major event for the world. The second part explores what changes the gold rush had brought for California’s industry, economic development, and broadly shared prosperity. The third part explains more …

Working Paper No. 68, Variables Precipitating The Extermination Of The American Bison, Cameron Winterer

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that innovations in tanning technology advanced by Europeans in the late 19th century accelerated the destruction of the bison, and subsequently the downfall of bison-reliant indigenous groups of the Great Plains, especially. The North American bison is considered as a crucial natural resource in the plains region of North America. What this inquiry seeks to emphasize is that advancements in technology, coupled with a growing demand for bison hides, contributed to the demise of bison populations. Lastly, this inquiry seeks to examine the near extinction of the plains bison and some of the effects their …

Working Paper No. 73, “Placing-Out”: Dealing With Vagrant Children In 19th Century America, Josephine Cannistra

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to convince the reader that motivations of 19th century aid societies were not necessarily rooted in the welfare of vagrant children, but rather in the goals of bolstering American agriculture and creating a new generation of farmers out of children that likely would have otherwise proved a direct social and economic burden. While apprenticeships have a long history in the United States, the joining of apprenticeships and indentured labor formed a 19th century system of placing children out into rural homes as contracted workers. This system, as social movement from above, offered economic benefits to farmers and …

Working Paper No. 69, Towards An Evolutionary History Of Gleaning, Stella Burlingame

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the act of gleaning can be understood through an evolutionary approach. Because gleaning has been practiced in some form in almost every agricultural system, this inquiry shall consider several different regions and time periods, taking into account the distinct economic and social structures. The segments of history to be explored here range from antiquity, as documented in Scripture, through early modernity, and into the post-modern era.

Working Paper No. 70, Industrialization, Retail Activities, And The Rise Of American Consumerism, Joseph French

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the department store can be viewed as a novel institution that emerged to facilitate an economic relationship between a burgeoning American industrial sector and a new generation of working-class consumers with rising incomes and changing needs. The development of retail in America lagged behind Europe for many decades, until the rapid pace of American industrialization acted as a catalyst for retail to evolve into a modern institution. Alongside the creation of the department store, American cities were taking to the skies, and those who inhabited them would establish a new socio-economic class that was …

Working Paper No. 67, Insights Into Project Cybersyn, Leah Herrera

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that back in the 1970s Chile’s “Project Cybersyn” offered novel approaches and specific technologies that appeared to have benefitted capitalism as a system. The Spanish name, SYNCO served as an acronym for Sistema de Información y Control. President Salvador Allende expected that the attributes associated with Project Cybersyn could assist his efforts in implementing his variant of socialism. Cybersyn consisted of a network (Cybernet), software (Cyberstride), computers, a economic simulator known as CHECO, and a control room (Opsroom.) Cybersyn reached an advanced prototype stage; however, its fate was also tied to the interests of the …

Working Paper No. 74, Some Influential Effects Of The Typewriter On The American Economy, Bander Qadan

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that the introduction of the typewriter generated effects upon the American economy by promoting productivity increases, enhancing communications, and improving management. In addition, this inquiry seeks to illustrate how the typewriter affected American businesses by providing efficiency in time management and documents’ production. Furthermore, this inquiry shall showcase how the typewriter affected women’s work in the American economy, especially with respect to inclusivity within the workplace as well as the enhancement of communications. Additionally, this inquiry shall analyze how the development of the QWERTY keyboard and its related “lock-in” generated effects on the American economy.