Economics Commons^™

Natural Resources In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Use And Priorities: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Many rural Nebraskans say they already recycle a lot and face no barriers. However, many rural Nebraskans cite lack of programs and difficulty getting materials to drop-off sites as barriers to recycling. Persons living in or near smaller communities are more likely than persons living in or near larger communities to say their community doesn’t offer recycling. However, most rural Nebraskans say their community offers either curbside pickup or drop-off recycling for all of the materials listed with the exception of glass bottles.

Most rural Nebraskans are in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline, but think it should be …

Organisational Factors Determining Export Performance And Electronic Commerce Adoption: An Empirical Investigation, Breda Kenny, Mairéad Clohessy

Irish Business Journal

Ireland’s economic performance over the past two decades was largely driven by the exporting sector of the economy. Vigorous export growth largely reflected the success of the economy in securing inward foreign direct investments flows, mainly from the United States (Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland, 2009). Given that Ireland has a population of just over 4.23 million (CSO, 2006) it is imperative that Irish organisations expand into foreign markets to gain a larger market base. It is against this background of international trade that this paper is set. This is a study of export performance and electronic …

Fair Trade, Marketing And Consumer Behaviour, Brigit Derler, Vicky O'Rourke, Simon Stephens

Irish Business Journal

This paper examines different aspects of fair trade marketing. Firstly, secondary research examines the development, advantages and challenges of fair trade. Secondly, primary research explores consumer buying behaviour in Ireland and Austria in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) market. Thirdly, the attitudes of consumers towards mainstreaming and clean-washing are explored. Phase one of the data collection involved one hundred and twenty consumer surveys. In phase two exploratory research using mixed modes collected data from nine suppliers of fair trade FMCGs. The findings suggest that the effects of mainstreaming are perceived to be predominantly positive. The research findings also suggest …

Cooperative Strategies In Anonymous Economies: An Experiment, Gabriele Camera, Marco Casari, Maria Bigoni

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

We study cooperation in economies of indefinite duration. Participants faced a sequence of prisoner’s dilemmas with anonymous opponents. We identify and characterize the strategies employed at the individual level. We report that (i) grim trigger does not describe well individual play and there is wide heterogeneity in strategies; (ii) systematic defection does not crowd-out systematic cooperation; (iii) coordination on cooperative strategies does not improve with experience. We discuss alternative methodologies and implications for theory.

Economic Assimilation Of Mexican And Chinese Immigrants In The United States: Is There Wage Convergence?, Michael Seeborg, Yujie Wu

Scholarly Publications

This research determines the economic assimilation experience of Mexican immigrants and Chinese immigrants towards natives level over time after controlling for human capital and demographic characteristics. Using Census data from multiple years, this research follows cohorts of Mexican and Chinese immigrants who migrated to the U.S. prior to 1994 to investigate the impact of assimilation on the level of earnings for these immigrants. Multiple regression and simulation techniques are used to compare the earnings growth pattern for the two immigrant groups. Results show that over time there is wage convergence for Chinese immigrants toward the native level and they do …

No. 58: The Disengagement Of The South African Medical Diaspora, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda

Southern African Migration Programme

Conventional wisdom holds that the ‘brain drain’ of health professionals from Africa is deeply damaging to the continent. Recently, a group of North American and European neo-liberal economists has challenged this conventional wisdom, variously arguing that the negative impacts are highly exaggerated and the compensating benefits many. The benefits include various forms of “diaspora engagement” in which those who have left then engage through sending remittances, direct investment, knowledge and skills transfer, return migration and involvement in diaspora associations. A previous SAMP study of Zimbabwean physicians outside the country provided clear evidence for the “diaspora engagement” hypothesis (see No 56 …

No. 61: Unfriendly Neighbours: Contemporary Migration From Zimbabwe To Botswana, Eugene Campbell, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

Although Zimbabweans have often crossed into Botswana for various reasons, the numbers involved escalated dramatically after 2000 as Zimbabwe entered a prolonged economic and political crisis from which it has still not recovered. While considerable research and policy attention has been given to the migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa, their movement to Botswana has a much lower profile, except when the two countries engage in charges and counter-charges over issues such as the building of electrified fences between the two countries or the corporal punishment of Zimbabwean migrants in Botswana. At such moments, relations between these two close neighbours …

No. 62: Heading North: The Zimbabwean Diaspora In Canada, Jonathan Crush, Abel Chikanda, Belinda Maswikwa

Southern African Migration Programme

Studies of the Zimbabwean diaspora tend to focus on migrants in South Africa and the United Kingdom. This is the first major study of Zimbabwean migration to Canada. The report presents and discusses the findings of a SAMP survey conducted across Canada in 2010. It first discusses the recent history of migration from Zimbabwe to Canada and then provides a demographic and socio-economic profile of the Zimbabwean diaspora in Canada. The report also examines the linkages that Zimbabweans in Canada maintain with Zimbabwe, and the potential for return migration.

According to the 2006 Canadian Census, there were 8,040 Zimbabweborn people …

No. 63: Dystopia And Disengagement: Diaspora Attitudes Towards South Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

In 2008, South African Brandon Huntley was given refugee status in Canada by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). The unprecedented decision, based on Huntley’s claim that as a white South African he was the victim of racial persecution in South Africa, caused a firestorm. Interest in the case was particularly intense in South Africa itself where the decision was derided in the media and the South African government lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government. Over 140 high-profile South African academics also filed a petition protesting the decision with the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria. Within weeks, …

No. 57: Patients Without Borders: Medical Tourism And Medical Migration In Southern Africa, Jonathan Crush

Southern African Migration Programme

No abstract provided.

Essays On Impact Of Risk Preference On Health And Occupational Choice, Meenakshi Beri

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation re-examines Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data in order to ascertain whether there exists behavioral heterogeneity among people regarding health risk as compared to that of financial risk as well as whether there exists racial-ethnic and gender heterogeneity in the health state dependence of marginal utility. Given heterogeneous risk and time preferences of individuals, this study investigates the impact of those preferences on sorting into occupations and industries using various measures of job risk. I construct three measures of risk across jobs, cross-categorized by occupation and industry: a fatal injury rate, non-fatal injury and illness rate, and a …

Economic Deregulation And Corporate Dividend Policy, Xinghua Gao

Wayne State University Dissertations

I investigate the evolution of corporate dividend policy in response to the changing operating environment induced by economic deregulation from the 1970s-1990s. Specifically, I examine the impact of deregulation on the firm's propensity to pay dividends, dividend payout ratio, the sensitivity of corporate dividend policy to current and past earnings, changes in the information content of dividends, and changes in corporate financing behavior along the deregulation process. Empirical results reveal that economic deregulation per se does not have significant impacts on firms' propensity to pay dividends. However, it seems that firms reduce dividend payout along the deregulation process and adjust …

Champion Of Capitalism, Third Edition, Don P. Diffine Ph.D.

Belden Center Monographs

With the passage from this life of Nobel laureate Dr. Milton Friedman, in November 2006 at the age of 94, this commemorative monograph takes special note of both a diminutive giant and a pugnacious gentleman who, at the turn of the millennium, was cited in Fortune Magazine as "Economist of the Century."

Quality Of Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being And Church Life: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, Philip Schwadel

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans are positive about their current situation. And, they continue to be generally positive about their future situation. Over one-half (51%) of rural Nebraskans think they are better off than they were five years ago and just under one-half (45%) think they will be better off ten years from now. Certain groups remain pessimistic about their situation. Persons with lower household incomes, older persons, and persons with lower educational levels are the groups most likely to be pessimistic about the present and the future.

When asked if they believe people are powerless to control their own lives, most …

Sustainability In The Plastics Industry: Concerns, Issues, And Strategies, Bonnie Bachman, Shristy Bashyal, Margaret Baumann

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

An increased corporate emphasis on sustainability can be seen in such areas as: annual reports with published sustainability goals, sustainability management systems with balanced scorecards and dashboards, websites using increased screen area and space for sustainability communications, internal and external stakeholder opinion gathering, development of sustainable supply chain plans, and marketing strategies focusing on green or sustainable consumers. To address this ever increasing attention to sustainability, a research project to understand sustainability in the plastics industry was initiated with the membership of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). This paper focuses on the results of the research (global survey) and …

Impact Of The Great Recession On Middle Class Americans, Joseph Morreale, Julia Yeung

Student-Faculty Research Projects

This research paper studies the effect of the Great Recession (Late-2000s Recession) on middle-class Americans. It will analyze and cover the extent of the impact through evaluating data on several factors, such as the percent of the middle class in college, percent female participation rate, single parent households (female householder), middle class income, unemployment rate, and several other factors from the years 1970 to 2010. This research will offer insight into the extent of the Great Recession’s impact on the middle-class and identify which key factors had the most significant effect.

Resource Adequacy: Should Regulators Worry?, Hernan D. Bejarano, Lance Clifner, Carl Johnston, Stephen J. Rassenti, Vernon L. Smith

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Regulators have proposed various institutional alternatives to secure network resource adequacy and reasonably priced electric power for consumers. These alternatives prompt many difficult questions: Does the development of Demand Response reduce the need for new capacity? How effectively can a government-mandated Capacity Market foster efficient investment? How does centralized generator commitment (with revenue guarantees) compare to a system in which Generators voluntarily commit themselves with no revenue guarantees? If exclusive distribution contracts were replaced by unregulated retail competition, what would be the effects on investment and market prices? We use laboratory experiments to address these questions.

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2012, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, and other materials for the 2012 The State of the Region report authored by the Regional Studies Institute at Old Dominion University

Part 1: Gathering Steam: The Regional Economy Recovers (Slowly), Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

We continue to do better than the nation, but our regional economic recovery has been slow. The port, regional tourism and residential housing have yet to regain the ground they lost during the recession and the outlook for defense spending is hazardous.

Part 2: How Much Is Too Much? Comparing Income Inequality And The Cost Of Living In Hampton Roads To New York City, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Incomes are distributed more equally in Hampton Roads than nationally and certainly more so than in New York City. At least 80 percent of households in Hampton Roads are better off in economic terms than the comparable 80 percent in New York City.

Part 3: Attorneys And Law Firms In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The national market for attorneys is glutted and this has resulted in stagnant salaries, unemployed attorneys, falling law school enrollments, and rising dissatisfaction of attorneys with their lot in life. The situation in Hampton Roads does not differ substantially.

Part 4: Do We Have Enough Physicians In Hampton Roads?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads will require approximately 1,000 additional physicians in 2025. If one-quarter of Eastern Virginia Medical School graduates remain in the region, then by 2025, EVMS will supply 504 of the needed physicians. The resulting shortage will affect physician availability, quality and pricing.

Part 5: Does The Commonwealth Balance It's Budget On The Backs Of Local Governments?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

We examine the Commonwealth’s fiscal practices and conclude that the answer to this question often is yes.

Part 7: K-12 Private Education: Southside Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Eighty-six private (independent) K-12 schools exist in Southside Hampton Roads. Commonwealth regulation of their activities is minimal (often virtually zero) and hence there is great variation in their goals, operations and transparency.

Part 6: A Powerful Economic Engine: The Impact Of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The economic impact of EVMS approximates $800 million annually and at a time when other economic engines are sputtering, the medical school has become an increasingly important economic force in our region.

Part 8: Homeschooling: Our Fastest-Growing Alternative In K-12 Education, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

1.6 percent of all K-12 students in Hampton Roads are homeschooled. While homeschooling families ordinarily must satisfy a stated set of standards, they can claim a religious exemption and this essentially obviates those standards. Hence, there is great variation in the nature and substance of homeschooling in our region.

Part 9: Modeling And Simulation In Hampton Roads, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

The demise of JFCOM has reduced the size of, but hardly eliminated, modeling and simulation in our region. Old Dominion University’s VMASC continues to show the way and now is heavily involved in medical simulation work.

Remembering Camelot: Recent Adventures In Economy, Law And Politics, John Henry Schlegel

Other Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Interaction Of Political Capacity And Economic Growth To Attract Foreign Direct Investments At The Provincial Levels Of Developing Countries, Murniz Allen Vasay Coson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation will explore how developing provinces within countries attract foreign direct investment. The policy implication to this study is important because it could account for the uneven distribution of growth in developing countries that so frequently leads to dual economies. To attract foreign direct investments, provincial governments compete among themselves trying to appeal to international investors. There is consensus in the economic development literature that both economic and political variables interact to advance a nation's economy. The ability for a country to provide a free market economy to exchange goods and ideas makes the environment more favorable for investors, …

Essays On Regional Economic Integration In East Asia, Teerasak Sapwarobol

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand the pattern of trade and portfolio investment in East Asian economies and how trade integration can affect the level of bilateral asset holdings. On the trade side, the determinants of bilateral trade flow is examined at the product level, not the aggregate, so as to assess the impact of RTAs across product types as well as the nature of the home market effect and the role of similarity of demand structures. On the financial side, the dissertation synthesizes analyses of the composition of cross-border portfolio holdings in East Asian economies, focusing on the importance of …