Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

From Himalayan Catastrophe To National Resilience: Lessons From The 2026 Bhote Koshi And Trishuli River Floods In Nepal, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

On the morning of 26 August 2026, the mountains above Nepal’s northern frontier delivered a disaster of almost unimaginable speed and scale. A massive mass of ice, rock, and sediment detached in the high Himalayan terrain near the Nepal–Tibet border, descended roughly 1,200 metres, interacted with the Lhende Khola system, and generated a debris-rich flood that surged through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, destroying settlements, markets, roads, bridges, hydropower facilities, and an international border crossing and transforming them into fields of mud, boulders, and wreckage within minutes (ICIMOD, 2026b; Reuters, 2026a). Satellite analysis indicates that a substantial section …

Mountain Development In Nepal: Settlements, Infrastructure, And Economic Transformation, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

As Nepal urbanizes, expands infrastructure, strengthens local governments, and explores deeper connectivity with India and China, climate change is increasing floods, landslides, heat, and water insecurity. Rapid internal migration, rising disaster risks, youth outmigration, and dependence on remittances are also revealing the limits of conventional urban development, especially in the mountainous region. The central challenge for Nepal is no longer just to accommodate growing towns and cities, but to build settlements that are safe, productive, environmentally resilient, and capable of sustaining long-term prosperity.

This paper argues that Nepal's urban future must be guided by a new development paradigm centered on …

Upper Mora River Corridor Plan. Path To Social And Economic Recovery. A Working Paper, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

The Working Paper outlines a plan for the Upper Mora River Corridor as a path to the social and economic recovery of the watershed and its communities in the Mora Valley of New Mexico in the aftermath of the year 2022 wildfires. The first section of the plan includes an historical overview of the traditional gristmills of northern New Mexico and places where a few of them are preserved and still standing. The next section goes into detail as to the early commercial mills situated along the upper Mora River Corridor with a focus on the four remaining mills: the …

Agricultural Water Management, Farmer Decision-Making And Climate Adaptation In Dryland Agriculture: A Case Of The Middle Rio Grande Basin, Oluwatosin A. Olofinsao

Economics ETDs

Agriculture in dryland regions faces mounting pressure from climate change, water scarcity, and shifting land-use demands. The Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB) of central New Mexico exemplifies these challenges, where irrigated agriculture relies on increasingly variable surface water supplies. This dissertation examines agricultural water use, farmer decision-making, and adaptation strategies across farm types and climate conditions in the MRGB. The first study presents a spatial descriptive analysis of farm size, crop patterns, groundwater access, evapotranspiration (ET), and effective ET, revealing a landscape numerically dominated by smallholder farms that account for a substantial share of irrigation water use. The second study …

Automation, Migration, And Development: Geography Of Job Precarity In South Asia And North Africa, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

This article examines how accelerating automation and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in advanced economies reshape labor markets across the Global South through interconnected channels of production, migration, and remittances. Drawing on the theories and practices of economic geography, labor economics, and development studies, the analysis conceptualizes automation as a transnational shock that contracts demand for migrant labor while simultaneously amplifying employment precarity in labor-surplus economies. The article advances a geographically grounded framework linking technology adoption in core industries with labor displacement, youth unemployment, and urban labor saturation in South Asia and North Africa. It further highlights the macroeconomic …

Research Journal 2026: People And Places, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

José Rivera narrates his life history from adolescence into college years, university teaching, research career, publications, and ends with post-retirement service as a giving back to community. For most of his term as an academic, his research focus was on community-based organizations that he terms “peoples’ institutions”: acequia associations and mutual help societies. For data, he conducted field work in New Mexico and the American Southwest as well as internationally, primarily in Mexico, Peru, Spain and the Philippines. While at these locations, he interviewed people, collected maps, researched archives, and took photographs as ethnographic evidence of people and places. His …

Food Green Cities For Urban Sustainability (Book), Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai, Drona Rasali, Sunil Babu Shrestha

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The book delves into the essential role of urban agriculture, forestry, and sustainable practices in ensuring food security while addressing the challenges of climate change and urbanization. It highlights urban greening and sustainable land use as strategies to create livable cities and mitigate environmental degradation. Through its chapters, the book offers a rich compilation of research, practical solutions, and transferable strategies for application in other developing countries.

A Historical Analysis Of The Squatter Settlements (Sukumbasi) In Nepal And The Role Of Smart Settlements, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

In Nepal, landless populations can broadly be categorized into two groups: urban squatters and rural landless families. Each group can further be distinguished by its level of political connection and access to power.

Among urban squatters, politically connected groups often occupy open public spaces in cities with some degree of protection or tolerance from political parties. In contrast, less powerful urban squatters usually settle on public land because they cannot afford formal housing. These settlements are commonly located in unsafe or marginal areas, such as riverbanks, flood-prone zones, and unused public spaces. Despite these risks, many remain in urban areas …

Irrigation And Society In The Upper Río Grande Basin, U.S.A: A Heritage Of Mutualism, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

The acequias of the upper Río Grande are more than just irrigation canals. They also allocate and manage water for the community of landowners in the system. After four centuries of use, the acequias persist into modern times with their founding principles intact: self-government, local autonomy, internal rules for operating procedures, and a strong sense of mutualismo or communal responsibility. They have endured since Spanish colonial settlement and have maintained continuity of a water culture surviving political-administrative changes under three sovereigns, Spain (1598-1821), Mexico (1821-1848), and the United States (1848-Present). Despite stressors of climate variability, demographic changes, urbanization, and economic …

Modern Agricultural Servitude: The Modern Farm Worker Experience In The Salinas Valley, Jesus E. Tavarez

Chicana and Chicano Studies ETDs

The prevailing narrative in Chicanx studies focuses on the historical labor activism of the United Farm Workers (UFW) in the 1960s and ‘70s. I am particularly interested in examining the contemporary campesino experience in the Salinas Valley by discussing the history behind Mexican cheap labor, low wages, exploitive work conditions with inadequate healthcare, agrochemical exposure, and historical consciousness of farm workers. I will argue that farm workers are in dire need of a migratory reform as an approach to improve the working conditions of farm workers throughout California. This research aims to shed light on how the multi-billion-dollar agribusiness industry …

The Quadruple Helix Of Strategic Alliances And Its Application For Community Development In Las Acequias De Atrisco, Jorge Garcia

Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal

In today’s society, the development of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) is imminent yet, large segments of the world remain marginalized. I contend that peer-to-peer and inter-institutional networks can be used to connect local with global systems to close this divide. Using today’s virtual and digital technologies the gap can be bridged using collaboration platforms using different knowledge systems that do not simply replicate the same information. The suggested model represents forming strategic alliances for information sharing and collaboration to empower and support local knowledge systems. The examples discussed show our efforts toward an inclusive approach with communities in full partnership, …

Impact Of Shale Oil And Gas Exploration In The Permian Basin: Public Finances, House Prices, Migration, And Household Income, Bamadou Ouattara

Economics ETDs

This dissertation examines the impacts of shale oil and gas exploration in the Permian Basin, focusing on housing, socio-demographics, petroleum exploration, and environmental effects. It addresses three key research areas: New Mexico's public finances, inter-county migration and household income, and the influence on house prices.

The introductory chapter reviews the boomtown impact model and advocates for its adaptation to current social, economic, and financial landscapes. The second chapter analyzes New Mexico's public finances from 2010-2021, emphasizing oil and gas tax revenues and the need for financial prudence due to industry volatility.

The third chapter uses causal effect techniques to assess …

Minimizing Surface Run-Off, Improving Underground Water Recharging, And On-Site Rain Harvesting In The Kathmandu Valley, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal's political institutions and administrative units were thoroughly restructured in 2015 with the promulgation of the new Constitution. Several rural areas were combined to meet the definition of urban threshold criteria to classify rural areas into urban categories. Accordingly, over 3,900 local political and administrative units were amalgamated into 753 units, of which, 293 units are classified as urban. Within these newly defined urban areas, many natural environments have been converted into impervious surfaces such as paved roads, sidewalks, and building roofs. These impervious surfaces have drastically increased the amount of surface run-offs-often termed as "urban floods"--under increasing precipitation caused …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Nepal: Issues And Perspectives, Basu Sharma, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Asta-Ja USA and Asta-Ja RDC published the book “Issues and Perspective on the Covid-19 and Nepal” in December 2020. Edited by Basu Sharma and Ambika P. Adhikari, the book contains 12 papers by 17 authors. The 173-page book is a part of Asta-Ja’s Occasional Paper Series and addresses some of the key impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Nepal, and proposes some policy recommendations to mitigate those impacts. The book covers the areas of how agriculture, food production, employment, urban planning, economy, public health and research activities are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors review the pandemic’s impact …

Issues And Perspective On The Covid-19 And Nepal: An Introduction, Ambika P. Adhikari, Basu Sharma

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Even though Nepal has relatively fewer Covid-19 cases as of 24 September 2020 (about 70,000 cases and more than 450 deaths), the numbers are on the rise. If this trend continues for a while, the likely consequences of the Pandemic would be no less severe than elsewhere. Further, Nepal’s next-door neighbor India is now experiencing a rapid rise in the virus infection rate and virus-related death toll. In fact, as of 24 September, 2020, India is seeing some about six million total Covid-19 cases, and more than 92,000 deaths. As India and Nepal have open borders, and as India is …

Essays On Nutrition And Cognitive Production In Developing Countries: Evidence From Ethiopia & Nepal, Mohammad Ali

Economics ETDs

This dissertation is comprised of five chapters. The first chapter provides an outline of the three separate research papers that are combined in this dissertation. It highlights the goals of each paper, discusses their importance to the field of economics, and outlines their contributions to the existing literature. The final chapter summarizes the main conclusions from the three research articles and points to how my future research trajectory is shaped by my dissertation research.

The second chapter explores the effect of current health (denoted by BMI for age scores) on cognitive test scores directly and indirectly, through time allocated to …

Dynamic And Integrated Models Of The Energy-Water-Land Nexus: Economic And Environmental Evaluation Of Policy Decisions, Elmira Kalhor

Economics ETDs

This dissertation contributes to the field of environmental and natural resource economics by employing data and hybrid simulation models to assess the economic and environmental outcomes of policy instruments applied to the complex systems of humans and the physical environment. Three integrated and dynamic models are developed to measure short- and long-term outcomes of price scenarios and resource capacity constraints.

The first chapter examines the balancing problem faced by a state-level policymaker. The Permian Basin is a source of significant revenue to the state of New Mexico; however, unconventional oil and gas production in this highly productive field requires large …

Diaspora’S Role In Nepal’S Development: Summary Of The Forum Held At The Nepali National Convention. Baltimore, Md, Usa. July 5-7, 2019, Ambika P. Adhikari, Diwakar Dahal, Rajendra Khatiwada

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Four major Nepalese community organizations, ANA, ANMA, BANA, and INLS jointly hosted the “Nepali National Convention 2019” in Baltimore, Maryland, USA during July 5 to 7, 2019. Eight other community-based organizations including Blood Donors of America, Society of American Nepalese Nurses, Nepalese Association of Florida, Nepal Pasa Pucha Amerikaye, America Nepal Women’s Association of Greater Washington, Nepal Education and Culture Center, America Nepal Society, and Association of Nepali Teraian in America were involved as co-hosts of the convention. Several other local organizations participated in support of the convention.

The Forum “Diaspora’s Role in Nepal’s Development” was held from 1:30-3:00 pm …

Essays On Energy Economics And Environmental Policies, Janak R. Joshi

Economics ETDs

This dissertation contains three distinct empirical chapters in applied energy and environmental economics. Each chapter focuses on a unique set of research questions, methods, and data. The unifying motivation therein concerns the development of renewable or alternative low-carbon energy sources as a policy response to the challenges of climate change mitigation, local and regional environmental quality issues, and energy security concerns. Economic and environmental evaluation of the energy policies coupled with understanding energy use patterns is of paramount importance. Together, the empirical chapters focus on demand, supply, and policy aspects of energy markets in the United States (US).

First, Chapter …

Three Essays On Understanding Municipal Water Demand In The Western United States, Michael J. O'Donnell

Economics ETDs

Scarce water resources in the Western United States, in concert with population growth and climate change, constitute a need to better understand factors that impact water demand. In this dissertation, Chapter 1 provides cultural and historical context for water use in the West and argues that understanding water demand is important, especially when managing scarcity is a goal. Chapter 2 uses aggregate city-level data from four municipalities in New Mexico to investigate seasonal trends and breakpoints. Although per premises and aggregate demand tend to decline in all geographies investigated, existence and timing of breakpoints varies by geography. Additionally, drivers of …

Spatial And Temporal Intricacies Of Natural Resource Use: Studies In Water, Forests, And Hydrocarbons, Dadhi Adhikari

Economics ETDs

This dissertation examines spatial and temporal impacts of natural resource use. The second chapter integrates hydrological and economic systems to examine the impact of drought on these two systems and explores the spatial impact of policies aimed to mitigate the drought impact. The systems dynamics model developed for this chapter simultaneously considers the physical hydrology in the Middle Rio Grande water basin in New Mexico, the engineered water management system, and a behavioral model of residential water demand for three cities: Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The simulation results showed that droughts that occur in later periods, …

Analyzing The Rio Chama Flow Project’S Capacity To Implement Adaptive Management, Avery Olshefski

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The Rio Chama is the main tributary to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Several reservoirs were built on the Rio Chama to store water for downstream users, which has led to the river section becoming highly managed, resulting in negative ecological effects. Approximately 400,000 AF per year of water is conveyed through the system without considerable consumptive amounts, 96,200 AF of which were added with the San Juan-Chama trans-basin diversion, creating more water in the system then historically available. Therefore, the flow between the El Vado and Abiquiu Reservoirs has the potential to be optimized in order to provide …

Uses Of Sampling Techniques & Inventory Control With Capacity Constraints, Florentin Smarandache, Sachin Malik, Neeraj Kumar

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The main aim of the present book is to suggest some improved estimators using auxiliary and attribute information in case of simple random sampling and stratified random sampling and some inventory models related to capacity constraints. This volume is a collection of five papers, written by six co-authors (listed in the order of the papers): Dr. Rajesh Singh, Dr. Sachin Malik, Dr. Florentin Smarandache, Dr. Neeraj Kumar, Mr. Sanjey Kumar & Pallavi Agarwal. In the first chapter authors suggest an estimator using two auxiliary variables in stratified random sampling for estimating population mean. In second chapter they proposed a family …

Sustainable Livelihood Systems In Nepal: Principles, Practices And Prospects, Ambika P. Adhikari, Govinda P. Dahal, Ishara Mahat, Bishwa Regmi, Kalidas Subedi, Bharat Shrestha (Eds.)

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

No abstract provided.

Sampling Strategies For Finite Population Using Auxiliary Information, Florentin Smarandache, Rajesh Singh

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The present book aims to present some improved estimators using auxiliary and attribute information in case of simple random sampling and stratified random sampling and in some cases when non-response is present. This volume is a collection of five papers, written by seven co-authors (listed in the order of the papers): Sachin Malik, Rajesh Singh, Florentin Smarandache, B. B. Khare, P. S. Jha, Usha Srivastava and Habib Ur. Rehman. The first and the second papers deal with the problem of estimating the finite population mean when some information on two auxiliary attributes are available. In the third paper, problems related …

Studies In Statistical Inference, Sampling Techniques And Demography, Florentin Smarandache, Rajesh Singh, Jayant Singh

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This volume is a collection of five papers. Two chapters deal with problems in statistical inference, two with inferences in finite population, and one deals with demographic problem. The ideas included here will be useful for researchers doing works in these fields. The following problems have been discussed in the book: Chapter 1. In this chapter optimum statistical test procedure is discussed. The test procedures are optimum in the sense that they minimize the sum of the two error probabilities as compared to any other test. Several examples are included to illustrate the theory. Chapter 2. In testing of hypothesis …

An Economic History Of The Mescalero Apache Indians, T.T. Mccord Jr.

Economics ETDs

It is the purpose of this study (1) to indicate the origin and development of the Mescalero Apache Indian economy; (2) to show the reasons for its development; (3) to present a probable trend in the future of the Mescalero Apache Indian economically, as based upon past and present tribal economics.

This study has been made in the belief that there is a definite need to a fuller knowledge of the too-little-known economic history of the Mescalero Apache Indians. The roots of their economic philosophy go back many centuries, and thus it is important to trace, analyze and evaluate the …