Regional Economics Commons^™

Nebraska Business And Consumer Confidence Indexes: February 3, 2017, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Both business and consumer confidence improved in Nebraska in January 2017, but the gap between the two measures remained. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) stood at 89.2 during January, well below the neutral value of 100. The outlook of Nebraska businesses, by contrast, was positive. The Business Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) stood at 107.8 in January, well above the neutral value. Both values were somewhat higher than in December 2016. When asked about the most important issue facing their business, customer demand was mentioned by 30 percent of business respondents, labor availability and quality by 22 percent …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: January 20, 2017, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) 1 fell by 0.50% during December of 2016. The decline in the LEI-N, which predicts economic activity six months in the future, follows a drop of 0.39% during November. The two consecutive declines suggest that economic growth will be weak in Nebraska during the second quarter of 2017. Business expectations were strong in December but other components of the LEI-N were negative. In particular, there was a sharp jump in initial claims for unemployment insurance during the month, suggesting a softening in labor market conditions. There also was another increase in the value …

Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska And Survey Of Nebraska Business: January 6, 2017, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The gap between business and consumer confidence persisted in Nebraska through December of 2016. The Consumer Confidence Index – Nebraska (CCI-N) stood at 88.2 during December, well below the neutral value of 100. The outlook of Nebraska businesses, by contrast, was positive with respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business expecting to increase both sales and employment over the next 6 months. In particular, 31 percent of businesses expect sales to increase over the next 6 months while just 18 percent expect sales to fall. Fifteen percent of businesses expect to expand employment while 3 percent expect to reduce it. …

Evaluation Of Monetary, Fiscal And External Inflationary Sources In Nigeria, Samson A. Aladejare

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This study focuses on evaluating the monetary, fiscal and external inflationary sources in Nigeria. The Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag estimation technique was adapted to capture these effects. Empirical findings of the study showed that overall, the main determining cause of inflation in both short run and long run periods in Nigeria, are more of monetary and external factors and less of fiscal sources. Specifically, the problem of inflation in Nigeria appears to be more of structural phenomenon than monetary in the short run. However, in the long run, combinations of monetary and external factors tend to be the major cause of …

Land Tenure, Governance And Accountability In Nigeria: The Implications On Food Production To Feed The Present And The Future, Abiodun E. Obayelu, Aisha O. Arowolo, Olatokunbo H. Osinowo

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Land is very vital for agricultural production, and for any nation that wants to be self-food sufficient. Different land reforms have taken place in Nigeria since 1960 with the aim of facilitating access to agricultural land, and make the nation self-sufficient in food production, but little changes have only been recorded. Bureaucracy by approving authorities in practice in communities where land is situated still hinders land acquisition for agricultural investment. This study therefore analyzes land policy, governance and accountability and draw out some implications on food production in Nigeria. The percentage of arable land to the total land area was …

Internal Control Activities As A Tool For Financial Management In The Public Sector: A Case Study Of Ghana Post Company Limited, Kwakye E. Agyapong

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The case, Ghana Post Company Limited, allows for the observation of internal control activities as a tool for financial management in the public sector. The objective of the research is to examine the control environment of the Ghana Post Company to ensure there is segregation of duties, proper information and communication between employees and management; and monitoring of the policies implemented by management. The sample size of 36 included individuals from all of the departments within the company. The departments are Auditing and Finance, Human Resource, Mail and Parcels, and Financial Services. The work established had continued lapses in the …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: December 16, 2016, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

Leading Economic Indicator – Nebraska (LEI-N) 1 fell by 0.32% during November of 2016. The decline in the LEI-N, which predicts economic activity six months in the future, suggests that economic growth will be modest in Nebraska during the first half of 2017. Four of six components of the LEI-N were negative during November. Airline passenger counts and manufacturing hours both declined during the month. There also was another increase in the value of the U.S. dollar during November, a negative for export-oriented businesses in Nebraska. Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose during the month. Two components of the indicator …

Commodity Prices Limit Nebraska Growth, Eric Thompson, Nebraska Business Forecast Council

Business in Nebraska

Over the last few years the service sector has been the primary engine of economic growth in the United States. Supported by growth in employment and real wages, the service sector has grown steadily with increases in retail trade, business services, personal services and construction activity. Growth has been limited, however, in the industrial sector, given weakness in the energy industry, poor demand for business investment and weak overseas economies. The net result has been moderate economic growth.

Several fundamental issues continue to support an outlook for moderate economic growth. First, the pace of job growth will slow given the …

The 2016 Nebraska Manufacturing Report, Mitch Herian, Eric Thomspon

Bureau of Business Research Publications

The purpose of this report is to provide an economic snapshot of the Nebraska manufacturing industry. In particular, the report is designed to present contributions of manufacturing to the state economy, recent trends in Nebraska manufacturing, and considerations for the future of Nebraska manufacturing. The information contained within the report will help policy makers and stakeholders better understand the current state of manufacturing in the state, particularly in relation to recent demographic and economic trends in Nebraska and the United States. The report finds that the manufacturing sector has a significant impact on the Nebraska economy. Approximately 10 percent of …

Broadband And Mobile Internet Services In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans use their cell phone to access the Internet. Certain groups are more likely than others to use mobile/cellular Internet service: rural Nebraskans with the highest household incomes, who are younger, married, with higher education levels and with management or professional occupations.

Overall, most rural Nebraskans using mobile/cellular Internet service are satisfied with their service. Furthermore, most rural Nebraskans are satisfied with the reliability, speed, customer service, and coverage of their mobile Internet service. However, most rural Nebraskans using mobile Internet service are dissatisfied with the price of their service.

Certain groups have issues with various aspects of …

Perceptions Of Well-Being In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans continue to feel positive about their current situation. Just over one-half (52%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (holding steady from 53% last year, the highest proportion in all 21 years of this study, tied in 2008). And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future continues to be optimistic. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (46%) believe they will be better off ten years from now. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that people are powerless to control their own lives. This year, 55 percent strongly disagree or disagree with that statement. …

Barriers To Prevention In Dengue Fever In Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Swat District, Abdul Zahir, Assad Ullah, Mussawar Shah, Arsalan Mussawar

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The main aim of this study was to find out the barriers in dengue prevention in the Swat District of Khyber Pkhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. A sample size of 354 respondents were proportionally allocated to each Mahallah or street (Tahir Abad, Angaro Dheri, Usman Abad and Banr) and then randomly selected. The association of the independent variable (barriers to prevention) and dependent variables (practices for control) were tested by using a Chi Square test. The perception about barriers in dengue prevention shows that a highly significant association was found between practices for control and access to medical facilities (p=0.034), government agencies …

Exploring The Budget Deficit-Economic Growth Nexus: New Evidence From Ghana, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Emmanuel Orkoh, Augustine Mensah Owusu

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

In this paper, we combine Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with trend analysis to assess the relationship between Ghana’s budget deficit and economic growth from 2000 to 2015 using quarterly data. The trend analysis reveals that since 2000, years of high budget deficit were usually followed by years of low economic growth and vice versa. This phenomenon was pronounced in 2009, when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate fell from 7.3 percent in 2008 to 4 percent in 2009, following an increase in the budget deficit from 8 percent in 2007 to 11.5 percent in 2008. The same phenomenon …

An Assessment Of Federal Outlay On Pivotal Growth Induced Sectors In Nigeria, Samson Adeniyi Aladejare, Eche Emmanuel, Charles Edobor Umonda

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This study analyses government capital and recurrent spending outlays on sectors (education, health, defense agriculture and transport and communication) believed to be critical to the growth of the economy, for the period 1980 to 2014. The Error Correction Method was adopted to analyze the short-run impact of each spending division on the prosperity of the economy. The disaggregation into capital and recurrent expenditure was done to gauge the impact each has economic growth. Empirical findings of the study reveal that though capital outlays on the sectors concerned have been more significant than recurrent spending towards achieving the goal of economic …

Motivations For Luxury Consumption: Insights From Tunisia’S Emerging Market, Pranjal Gupta,, Mouna Zaghdoudi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Luxury consumption and the desire for luxury are well-accepted phenomena. Myriad studies have documented the pervasiveness of the luxury market in the West and the high growth and strong potential of Asian luxury markets. It is also evident that as resources have grown in a region, luxury consumption and the desire for luxury products have followed. Nevertheless, the need for more far-reaching studies that explore emerging markets are important to understand the differences in how luxury may penetrate these markets, given variations in resources and culture. This paper investigates a number of factors that may contribute to the emergence of …

Challenges Of Respecting Riparian Rights Around Hydroelectric Dams In Cameroon Since 1949, Séverin Nwaha

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

The impact of electric energy on socio-economic development has attracted the attention of all categories of people in society. This is because of the role power plays in the economic and industrial sectors of any country. Public authorities seem to be more concerned with protecting capitalist interests at the detriment of the riparian population. Despite regulations and legal provisions, authorities are still not able to implement a rigorous policy in this sector in Cameroon due to administrative bottle necks, among other factors. Furthermore, the existence of multiple regulatory and management bodies creates confusion. Legislation related to this issue is usually …

Mobile Facial Recognition System For Patient Identification In Medical Emergencies For Developing Economies, Kingsley C. Nwosu

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Medical emergencies are part of the common daily lives of people in developing and under-developed economies. Frequently, some of these medical emergencies end up tragically for many people in these countries due to many reasons, among which is the delivery of medical treatment when the patient is uncommunicative or unresponsive. The ability of the attending medical personnel to access a patient’s medical history is critical for the quality of the treatment rendered. Unfortunately, today many lives are lost in low income economies during medical emergencies due to lack or inaccessibility of a patient’s medical information. One of the major contributing …

Illiquid Capital: Are Conservation Easement Payments Reinvested In Farms?, Joshua M. Duke, Brian J. Schilling, Kevin P. Sullivan, J. Dixon Esseks, Paul D. Gottlieb, Lori Lynch

Center for Great Plains Studies: Staff and Fellows Publications

Agricultural conservation easements have positive externalities but few studies examine the supply-side. This paper explores whether easements may also overcome a credit-market failure, as banks may not be lending based on the full developed value of land. Original survey data test our research hypotheses and show profitable owners and nonoperators to be using easement payments to extract capital from their land by using the preservation programs as a bank. The results also show that the unprofitable owners and operators are reinvesting in their agricultural enterprises. Both results are consistent with an underlying credit-market failure, and the latter suggests that easements …

Climate And Energy: Opinions Of Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Tonya Haigh

Nebraska Rural Poll

Many rural Nebraskans are concerned about more severe droughts or longer dry periods in their area, insect-borne diseases like West Nile Virus, and more extreme summer temperatures in their area. Fewer rural Nebraskans are concerned about the availability of water for their community or home or more frequent extreme rains or floods. Residents of the North Central region are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to be concerned about more severe droughts or longer dry periods in their area.

Few rural Nebraskans reported their household experiencing health problems during the drought of 2012. However, many persons …

Perspectives On Community Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting, and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

However, the proportion of rural Nebraskans satisfied with many social services and entertainment services has decreased across all nineteen years of the study. Declines in satisfaction levels across all 19 years are seen with nursing home care, medical care services, senior centers, mental health services, entertainment, retail shopping and restaurants. …

Engagement In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Civic And Political Participation And Views Of Community Leadership: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans have participated in community involvement activities but they have not been as involved in some political activities. However, most rural Nebraskans have spoken with their pocketbooks on political and social issues by either buying or boycotting products because of the social and political values of the company providing them. And, many rural Nebraskans have signed a written petition about a political or social issue and have contacted a local public official to express their opinion.

Certain groups are more likely than others to have participated in community and political involvement activities. While younger persons are more likely …

Economic Impacts Of The Ethanol Industry In Nebraska, Dennis Conley, Kathleen Brooks, Cory Walters, Eric Thompson

Bureau of Business Research Publications

The U.S. Department of Energy data on Nebraska’s ethanol production started in 1985 at 9 million gallons per year. Ten years later in 1995 it was 200 million gallons as shown below. A little over ten years later starting in 2007, the big jump in production was 858 million gallons, and five years later by 2011 it was 2,062 million. The twenty year growth from 1995 to 2014 was approximately tenfold. Since 2007 the effects on Nebraska’s economy and rural areas have been both sustained and substantial.

The purpose of this economic study is to estimate for a five year …

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

Shikkhangon: A Non-Disruptive Primary Education Center For The Underprivileged Children In Bangladesh, Nisar Ahmed

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Over the last few decades, Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in providing access to primary education for all children. But, the underprivileged segment of the population still cannot send their children to schools, primarily due to the inflexible nature of the traditional school system that conflicts with their lifestyle and livelihood. Also, the quality of students’ achievements under the traditional system suffers due to low quality of pedagogy. In order to provide a quality education befitting the lifestyle of the underprivileged, a departure from the traditional schooling is proposed. This new model allows students to access and learn from motivated …

Developing Economies By Advancing Entrepreneurship: An Interview With Amaury De Parcevaux, Simone T.A. Phipps, Amaury De Parcevaux

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

Today, Amaury de Parcevaux is the President of Beeleev, a company he co-founded with Hugues Franc, Founder and CEO. Franc and de Parcevaux attended boarding school together in France, and reflect the vision and mission of Beeleev, which aims to build a collaborative business platform for entrepreneurs seeking to grow their business internationally. Entrepreneurs can benefit from Beeleev via membership. Beeleevers’ membership opens a farreaching network that connects entrepreneurs from different countries, providing the necessary contacts to aid entrepreneurs as they conduct business in another country. For example, if an American entrepreneur needs to find a way into the Korean …

Technical Efficiency Of Onion Production In Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, District Malakand, Abid Khan

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This research was conducted to estimate the technical efficiency and determinants of onion production, by using the Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function with the inefficiency effects model. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect data, randomly, from 93 respondents. The empirical results showed that urea, farm yard manure (FYM), irrigation, and pesticides were the major factors that influence changes in onion production. Farm-specific variables such as education and area were found to have significant effects on the technical inefficiency among the onion producers. The technical efficiency of farmers varied from 0.7478 to 0.9851 with a mean technical efficiency of …

Cell Phone Repairers In Cameroon, 2000-2013, Walter Gam Nkwi

Journal for the Advancement of Developing Economies

This article focuses on cell phone repairers in Cameroon history. It examines how the cell phone has been appropriated by Cameroonians by repairing and extending its life. It questions the ways the repairers have understood the inner parts of the cell phones. How has the repairing of cell phones led to sustaining the livelihood of the repairers? It appears that life would have been unimaginable in the second half of the 21st century without better communication. In Africa mobile phone communication has expanded exponentially over the last decade and will hopefully continue to do so during the coming decades. Cell …

The Economic And Tax Revenue Impact Of The Nebraska Wind Energy Industry, Eric Thompson

Bureau of Business Research Publications

This study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research (UNL-BBR) explores the economic impact from the construction and operation of wind farms in Nebraska, focusing on those farms with 10 or more wind turbines. The study estimates: 1) the statewide economic and tax revenue impact of the Nebraska wind industry as it is currently configured, 2) the local economic and tax revenue impact of the existing industry in the counties where it operates and 3) the potential statewide economic impact from expansion of the industry through the addition of new wind farms.

Table ES.1 summarizes the impacts. Operation …

Survey Of Lincoln Area Businesses About Skill And Training Requirements, Eric Thompson

Bureau of Business Research Publications

his report discusses the results from the Make it Work for Lincoln survey of employers conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research (UNL-BBR). The survey of employers in the Lincoln Metropolitan Area was conducted under contract with the Nebraska Department of Labor and with the participation of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and ATD-Lincoln. The report examines the types of occupations Lincoln area employers are searching for and hiring, and the types of difficulties employers face when hiring. The survey also asks about the types of training which employers provide. Business responding to the survey reported …

Successful Communities: What Is Desired And What Is Present In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are looking for many things in a community. The characteristics of a community that most believe are absolutely essential include social dimensions (sense of personal safety), economic dimensions (jobs/economic opportunities), some basic services (a quality school system, available medical services, affordable housing, quality housing and well maintained infrastructure) and environmental dimensions (a clean and attractive natural environment).

Unfortunately, when asked if these characteristics are present in their current community, some of these areas are lacking. One of the more extreme cases involves jobs/economic opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents say these are absolutely essential in order for them …