Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays In Development Economics And Economics Of The Family, Aaron Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1 explores a potential solution to the continuing disequlibrium in microfinance markets. I design a mechanism to aid in securitization of microloans, using a dynamic investment pool governed by a Central Microcredit Clearinghouse (CMC), that would sell investment units back to MFIs and outside investors simultaneously. The CMC would serve as a catalyst to this other avenue of microcredit financing, securitization of microloans, which could help spawn the type of growth in investor-based funding of MFIs that is so urgently needed. Chapter 2 analyzes Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment and disbursement activity in terms of motivation, considering that the …

Pre- And Post- Wage Differences Of Trade Adjustment Assistance Job Training Participants In Arkansas, Kimberley Hall Gordon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A number of costs are associated with the implementation of trade agreements not the least of which is the cost to the American workforce. The information age ushered in an era of globalization unlike anything the world economy had experienced before. As countries raced forward to dominate emerging markets and grow market share, millions of American workers were left in the wake. A remedy to the plight of the dislocated worker was found in trade adjustment assistance, specifically in job training benefits.

This study examined the wage differences experienced by Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) job training participants served through the …

Investing In An Agricultural Legacy, Leo Paul Goeringer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

America's agricultural producers continue to age. According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators increased from 55.3 in 2002 to 57.1 in 2007. During the same period, the Census shows a thirty percent decrease in the number of farmers under age 25. Young and beginning producers (YBPs) entering agriculture face high startup costs and a shortage of land to own or rent.

With these concerns in mind, this manuscript details the impact of an innovative proposed loan program for YBPs in Arkansas, which would offer concessionary interest rates and loan fees by participating banks for …

Purchasing Power: The Effects Of Foreign Investment On Political Development In Kazakhstan, William Curtis Sullivan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the effects of foreign direct investment on Kazakhstan's political growth. Kazakhstan's transition to a market economy was plagued by corruption, and heavy investment in the oil industry generated resource dependency concerns. The regime later began to exert control over the oil industry through renegotiated contracts and legislative changes. This enriched and empowered the regime. As a result, Kazakhstani presidentm Nursultan Nazarbayev, was able to consolidate control over the state by employing "soft authoritarian" tactics and by rewarding political supporters. The regime was able to employ these tactics because of the wealth that foreign investment created. Thus, control …

Too Big Not To Fail: United States Corporate Media And The 2008 Financial Crisis, Justin Lars Bergh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates United States newspaper coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, with a particular focus on the debate that took place in press coverage surrounding the proposed 700 billion dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Specifically, this study aims to understand how, when faced with a crisis that threatened hegemony, the state and economic elites, working in and through media, were able to effectively convince the subordinate classes to consent to state intervention aimed at perpetuating a financial system that has historically profited from the relative financial insecurity of the subordinate classes. In order to understand media's role in …

Essays On International Trade And Finance, Amat Adarov

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation consists of three papers exploring the macroeconomic implications of heterogeneity of countries in financial development, economic interconnectedness via trade and financial linkages.

Chapter 1 examines whether countries which are more centrally located in the global trade network have more synchronized stock markets. Global trade data is used to construct a novel measure of random walk betweenness centrality (RWBC), measuring the extent to which a country lies on random pathways in-between other countries and is therefore likely to be a conduit in the transmission of a shock across global markets. Based on a panel dataset of 58 countries over …

The Effect Of Weighting Development Indicators On Countries Eligibility For International Development Funding: The Case Of The Millennium Challenge Corporation (Mcc), Idrissa Noma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government agency whose purpose is to promote economic growth and reduce poverty in low and low middle-income countries. It uses indicators to endorse countries eligibilities for international development funding. These indicators are related to economic growth and are developed by independent third parties (e.g., United Nations, World Bank), to evaluate a country's policy performance in three specific areas: (1) Ruling Justly, (2) Investing in People, and (3) Encouraging Economic Freedom (MCC, 2011). The MCC weighs indicators equally regardless of their myopic in-country relevancy to economic development. The goal of this study is …