Regional Economics Commons^™

Identifying Spatial Clusters Within U.S. Organic Agriculture, Cheryl Brown, Daniel Eades

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

The market for organically produced products has experienced rapid growth in recent decades; however, this growth has not been distributed evenly across the country instead concentrating in certain regions. Employing measures of spatial concentration and association we identify those counties in which organic production is clustered or represents a proportion of the agricultural economy greater than what would be expected by national trends. Results show that spatial clustering of organic agriculture does exist based on data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture on organic farms, acreage, and value of sales. Counties with the largest location quotients for organic production were …

The Influence Of Socioeconomic And Environmental Factors On Health And Obesity In Rural Appalachia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Hyungna Oh

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used in estimation. Results indicate that an individual’s risk of being obese increases at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Marginal impacts show that as the level of education attainment increases, the probability of being obese decreases by 3%. Physical inactivity …

The Impact Of County Level Factors On Obesity In West Virginia, Anura Amarasinghe, Cheryl Brown, Gerard D'Souza, Tatiana Borisova

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A panel estimation of county prevalence of obesity indicates that while the percentage of the population with a completed college degree and the number of food stores available per thousand population are negatively and significantly correlated to county obesity rates, mean commuting time, average annual wage and the total number of business establishments per thousand population positively and significantly contribute to obesity. Educational attainment that raises both human and social capital, as well as changes in the built environment can play a vital role in controlling obesity in West Virginia (WV).

A Spatial Analysis Of Obesity In West Virginia, Anura Amarasinghe, Gerard D'Souza, Cheryl Brown, Tatiana Borisova

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A spatial panel data analysis at the county level examines how individual food consumption, recreational, and lifestyle choices ― against a backdrop of changing demographic, built environment, and policy factors ― leads to obesity. Results suggest that obesity tends to be spatially autocorrelated; in addition to hereditary factors and lifestyle choices, it is also caused by sprawl and lack of land use planning. Policy measures which stimulate educational attainment, poverty alleviation, and promotion of better land use planning and best consumption practices (BCPs) could both reduce obesity and result in sustainable development of regions where obesity is prevalent and the …

South Dakota's International Trade, Evert Van Der Sluis, Benno Wymar

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Insuring Major Spring Crops In South Dakota, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Tax Management, Burton Plflueger

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Renaissance Zone Programs Of Michigan, Yuanlei Zhu

Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes whether the Renaissance Zone (RZ) programs in the state of Michigan are effective in helping distressed urban areas. The unique ES202 data permits us to use both establishment level data and aggregated zip level data to examine the impact of RZ programs on the establishment number and the firms' employment, real wage, and life duration. Based upon the presumption that different firms are sensitive to the tax incentives in different ways, this study examines the impact on all firms, on new firms, dead firms, and existing firms, on manufacturing and service firms, and on large and small …

Experiences With "Quality" Labeling Of Food Products, Thomas L. Dobbs

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Borderplex Economic Outlook: 2005-2007, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr.

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Payments For Environmental Services From Agriculture: Experience In The United Kingdom, Thomas L. Dobbs

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Backgrounding Cattle In 2005, Jack Davis, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Peace In Unity: 19th Century Irenic Motivations In European Unification, Robert Taft Keele

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Hauptargumenten of politicians and citizens concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the EU are almost exclusively economic or political in nature: lower tariffs; loss of monetary instruments; immigration; disenfranchisement; etc. The object of my thesis is to remind everyone, amid the flurry of speculation and uncertainty prevalent in Europe since the French rejection of the EU constitution, that a major benefit of the European integration is peace, on a continent that has been ravaged by war for centuries. I prove that the establishment of peace was a major element in European unification by confirming links between peace movements and …

Looking Beyond The Shipyard: Economic Development Challenges Of Southern Maine And Seacoast New Hampshire, Charles S. Colgan

Regional Studies

The threatened closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has spurred an intense examination of the future economic prospects for York County, Maine and Rockingham County, New Hampshire. This report provides the first integrated analysis of the shipyard’s effects on both the Maine and New Hampshire economies. The shipyard accounts for more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs across the two-state region. Over 80% of these jobs are in York County, with an additional 10% in Rockingham County and the balance spread through the rest of Maine and New Hampshire. The total jobs associated with the shipyard account for 3.5% of …

Welfare And Work: Experiences In Six Cities, Christopher T. King, Peter R. Mueser

Upjohn Press

King and Mueser examine changes in welfare participation and labor market involvement of welfare recipients in six major cities during the 1990s. By focusing on these six cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City) they are able to glean the extent to which differences in state and local policy, administrative directives, and local labor market conditions contribute to the trends in caseloads, employment, and well-being observed among former recipients.

Examining The Impact Of Parental Involvement In A Dual Language Program: Implications For Children And Schools - Ollas Report No. 2, J. F. Casas

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

This study focuses on a dual language (Spanish-English) program in the Omaha Public Schools. Dual language programs are programs in which children develop proficiency in two languages simultaneously. These programs are currently seen as the gold standard second language education because of the large amount of empirical support they have received with respect to children’s academic gains. All of the dual language classrooms are comprised of half native English speakers and half Spanish speakers.

Parental involvement has received much empirical attention with respect to traditional school programs; however, little is known about the role of parental involvement in dual language …

The Impact Of Trade Liberalization On Growth, Unemployment, And Poverty In Bangladesh, Maha Z. Mirza

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Trade liberalization has been one of the major policy components of the governments of the developing countries in the recent decades. Bangladesh as many other developing nations, has adopted different measures of trade reform policies as an element of International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), as well as to be an integral part of the world wide trend of globalization. Such policy measures include the reduction/rationalization of tariff rate, simplification of import and export trade procedures, relaxation of restrictive trade policies, and reform of financial and monetary policies. Even though, the trade reform measures were anticipated to increase …

Evaluation Of The Air Force’S Determination Of The Military Value Of The W.K. Kellogg Air Guard Station And The Potential Cost Savings Generated By Its Closing, George A. Erickcek, Tom Edmonds

Reports

This is an evaluation of the methodology used by the Air Force in determining the military value of the W.K. Kellogg Air Guard Station and in estimating the potential costs savings generated by its proposed closing.

South Dakota Agricultural Land Values And Cash Rental Rates: 2005, Larry Janssen, Burton Plueger

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Arts And Cultural Activities And The Michigan Economy, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

Soybean Rust: Market Implications, Alan May

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Economic Integration In Central Asia, Rustam Eshniyazaov, Evert Van Der Sluis

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Livestock Risk Protection: An Application Of Black's Option Pricing Model, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Educational Achievement And The Successful Integration Of Latinos In Nebraska: A Statistical Profile To Inform Policies And Programs - Ollas Report No. 1, Lourdes Gouveia, Mary Ann Powell

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

The unprecedented and continuous growth of the Latino population in Nebraka compels us to engage in institutional changes, comprehensive policy reforms, and innovative programs that enhance the productive integration of this population into our state. As an abundant body of research and informed practices make clear, education is the bedrock of successful integration for current and future generations of Latinos. No longer can a job, obtained without a high school or college education, provide the opportunities it may have once provided to older generations of Americans or, for that matter, first-generation immigrants. The latter tend to measure their socioeconomic success …

Eu Enlargement And It's Impacts On U.S. And Global Agriculture, Evert Van Der Sluis, Lionel Favereau

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Theses & Papers By Master's Degree Students In The Department Of Economics: 2004, Matthew Diersen, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Specification Of Functional Form In Models Of Population Migration, Brian Cushing

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

A characteristic of the empirical literature on internal population migration is widely varying results and often conflicting conclusions regarding relative importance of explanatory factors. There are a number of possible explanations for these conflicting findings, some of which have received little attention in the literature. This paper focuses on one major specification issue in the context of an aggregate migration model: choice of functional form. The discussion lays out a theoretical basis for choosing functional form. It follows this with a comparison of empirical results for several functional forms. Statistical tests are used to choose the most appropriate functional form.

Front Matter: The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2005, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Cover, front matter, table of contents, and other materials for the 2005 The State of the Region report authored by the Regional Studies Institute at Old Dominion University

Part 2: Is There A Housing Price Bubble In Hampton Roads?, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

While housing prices increased 40 percent in Hampton Roads (after inflation) during the past decade, most of this increase can be attributed to improved eco-nomic fundamentals such as lower interest rates, increased incomes, Department of Defense housing incentives and more cautious building policies by area developers. Hence, we do not have the kind of housing price bubble that currently exists in cities such as San Diego, San Francisco and Boston, and the state of Florida. We may face some future price adjustments, but they are not likely to be wrenching.

Part 1: The Hampton Roads Economy Midway Through The Decade, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Our regional economy continues to perform better than the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation. The 2000-2004 time period is the best five year time period our region has experienced since 1969. Employment increased four times as rapidly as national employ-ment and we experienced significant job growth in scientific, technical and information technology occupations—-something that has largely eluded us in the past. Defense expenditures increasingly dominate the region’s economy and account for about 75 percent of all recent growth. However, the BRAC process could throw a huge wrench into this prosperity. If all BRAC recommendations, including the closure of Oceana, …