Evidence linking poverty with poor mental and physical health outcomes is well documented, but until recently little research has focused on the underlying psychological factors that mediate these relationships. This report represents the first step toward exploring how two emerging theories, allostatic load and system justification theory, can be harmonized to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that propagate poverty. Specifically, this report addresses the question of how poverty-related stress might moderate the degree to which an impoverished individual is inclined to justify a system that fundamentally does not favor them. Promising future research will be addressed. / text

The main purpose of this study is to determine if a Bayesian approach can better capture and provide reasonable predictions for the complex linkage between crime and income inequality. In this research, we conduct a model comparison between classical inference and Bayesian inference. The conventional studies on the relationship between crime and income inequality usually employ regression analysis to demonstrate whether these two issues are associated. However, there seems to be lack of use of Bayesian approaches in regard to this matter. Studying the panel data of China from 1993 to 2009, we found that in addition to a linear mixed effects model, a Bayesian hierarchical model with informative prior is also a good model to describe the linkage between crime rate and income inequality. The choice of models really depends on the research needs and data availability. / text

Preparing for Genocide: Community Work in Rwanda How do political elites prepare the civilian population for participation in violent conflict? We empirically investigate this question using village-level data from the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Every Saturday before 1994, Rwandan villagers had to meet to work on community infrastructure, a practice called Umuganda. This practice was highly politicized and, before the genocide, regularly used by the local political elites for spreading propaganda. To establish causality, we exploit cross-sectional variation in meeting intensity induced by exogenous weather fluctuations. We find that a one standard-deviation increase in the number of rainy Saturdays resulted in a 20 percent lower civilian participation rate in genocide violence.   Mobilizing the Masses for Genocide Do political elites use armed groups to foster civilian participation in violence or are civilian killers driven by unstoppable ancient hatred? If armed groups matter, are they allocated strategically to maximize civilian participation? How do they mobilize civilians? I empirically investigate these three questions using village-level data from the Rwandan Genocide. To establish causality, I exploit cross-sectional variation in armed groups' transport costs induced by exogenous weather fluctuations: the shortest distance of each village to the main road interacted with rainfall along the dirt tracks between the main road and the village. Guided by a simple model, I come up with the following answers to the three central questions: (1) one additional armed-group member resulted in 7.3 more civilian perpetrators, (2) armed-group leaders responded rationally to exogenous transport costs and dispatched their men strategically to maximize civilian participation and (3) for the majority of villages, armed-group members acted as role models and civilians followed orders, but in villages with high levels of cross-ethnic marriage, civilians had to be forced to join in. Finally, a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that a military intervention targeting the various armed groups could have stopped the Rwandan Genocide.   The Legacy of Political Mass Killings: Evidence from the Rwandan Genocide We study how political mass killings affect later economic performance, using data from the Rwandan Genocide. Our results show that households in villages that experienced higher levels of violence have higher living standards six years after the genocide. They enjoy higher levels of consumption, own more assets and agricultural output per capita is higher. These results are consistent with the Malthusian hypothesis that mass killings can raise living standards by reducing the population size and redistributing assets from the deceased to the survivors. However, we also find that the violence affected the age distribution in villages, raised fertility rates among female survivors and reduced cognitive skills of children.   Ethnic Income Inequality and Conflict in Africa This paper shows that income inequality between ethnic groups increases the likelihood of ethnic conflict in Africa. To establish causality, we exploit variation in rainfall over each ethnic group’s homeland. One standard-deviation increase in ethnic inequality increases the likelihood of ethnic conflict by about 66 percent. Our results have important policy implications to the extent that global climate change might affect different regions differently and thus increase inequality and conflict.

Sama Dilaut are a marginalized, ethnic group in Malaysia and are known as seafaring nomads. The group is found in the whole Coral Triangle. Many groups around the world who share a history of nomadic origin, also face marginalization by society. One cannot help but wonder why these different groups face similar repercussions.   In Malaysia, the Sama Dilaut are stateless and considered to be in the country illegally, despite the fact that the group has been documented to live in the area as far back as the 16th Century. The future prospects for the stateless children in the country due Malaysia’s statement to ratify UN Convention for the Rights of Children but not UN Convention for Stateless People. The NGO, PKPMM, Sabah provides formal schooling for marginalized children in the state of Sabah. It thus seems paradoxical that the state aims to provide educational opportunities, while at the same time attempting to arrest and deport members of the Sama Dilaut.     This study is conducted as a deductive qualitative field study based on semi-structured interviews to collect empirical data. I traveled to Sabah, on Eastern Borneo in Malaysia, to visit PKPKM Sabah. The qualitative tradition of ethnomethodology provided my approach. Furthermore, the analysis is a thematic text analysis which is primary based on the explanations by Monica Dalen in the book Interview as Method (2011).   The theory the Established and the Outsiders, and the Durable Inequality theory provided the base for this research. These two theories have been used as theoretical framework and analytical assistance. With the awareness that the perspective of western sociology could become indistinct to apply globally. Yet, these two theories are most suitable.   The inequality between, the two categories, Sama Dilaut and the majority society is a natural routine and is manifested in most social contacts them between. This also consolidates and legitimizes the situation and the various positions, the members from each category, are in. Furthermore, it is presented how this takes place over generations; individuals are replaced within the categories, but the categorical behavior consistent. The group of Sama Dilaut does not only deviates from the majority society but also lacks a strong cohesion within their own ethnic group (Elias & Scotson 1999:50-51), which can be applied to other marginalized groups who share a similar history of nomadic traditions.   The organization, PKPKM Sabah, which has been working to legalize their operations, can now provide formal education for the underprivileged children of Sama Dilaut. At the same time, the policy pursued by the government towards illegal immigrants, deprives them of their educational rights, which are granted to them by Education for All. Despite the presence of the PKPKM schools and education centers, the children of Sama Dilaut have very little educational opportunities.

This dissertation comprises three chapters. The first chapter develops a research design to estimate the causal effect of parental layoffs and income during adolescence on children's college outcomes, and implements this design on administrative data for the United States. The design compares outcomes of children whose fathers lose jobs before college decisions with outcomes of children whose fathers lose jobs after college decisions. I find that layoffs and unanticipated income losses during adolescence have very small adverse effects on future college outcomes. These effects are smaller than estimates in prior work based on firm closures rather than timing of layoffs. I replicate these larger estimates and show they are driven by selection of workers into closing firms. The findings suggest that relaxing parental liquidity constraints during adolescence will do little to increase enrollment compared to improvements in financial aid, especially for low-income children. The second chapter, written with my advisor and other colleagues, shows that classroom quality in early childhood has large causal impacts on adult outcomes, and that test score gains can help to identify classroom quality even when these gains fade out over time. We first link administrative data to records from Project STAR, in which 11,571 students in Tennessee and their teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms within their schools from kindergarten to third grade. We then document four sets of experimental impacts. First, students in small classes are more likely to attend college and exhibit improvements on other outcomes. Second, students who had a more experienced teacher in kindergarten have higher earnings. Third, students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classrooms in grades K-3 -- as measured by classmates' end-of-class test scores -- have higher earnings, college attendance rates, and other outcomes. Finally, the effects of class quality fade out on test scores in later grades but gains in non-cognitive measures persist. The third chapter explores theoretical properties of markets for "credence goods." Credence goods such as health care involve consumer reliance on expert diagnosis. When consumers observe expert cost functions, competitive markets tend strongly toward efficiency. I argue that consumers do not observe expert cost functions and extend an existing model to incorporate this insight. The key result is that prices and competition no longer eliminate mistreatment. / Economics

Measures of American inequality offer sparse coverage of subnational units and rely on surveys of self-reported family and household incomes. This dissertation details the development of new inequality datasets at the county, state, and national levels from alternative lenses: sector wages; industry earnings; and average incomes. Sector and industry data are particularly rich, detailed, consistent, and reliable. These new metrics from underutilized data sources contribute to debates over the lived effects of inequality. American economic inequality concentrates in some places more than others, arising from different causes. This dissertation considers ecological associations between inequality, voter turnout, and election outcomes at the state and county levels and multilevel models of individual participation and candidate preference, with voters nested within their state contexts. Aggregate voter turnout has been lower in states with higher levels of income inequality for the last several presidential elections, though this relationship did not strengthen with rising inequality. Likewise, some inequalities have strong associations with state- and county-level presidential election outcomes in certain years, but the patterns are irregular. Multilevel models of voters in states do not indicate a strong relationship among inequality per se and individual behavior. / text

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The theoretical part of Master’s paper defines the essence of differentiation of population’s income and the problem of its optimality. A system of indexes measuring the differentiation of income was created, the relation of inequality of income and economical growth was defined and social consequences of growing differentiation of income was evaluated. A comprehensive analysis of notion of poverty was carried out, the relation between inequality of income and poverty was evaluated and drawbacks of criteria for poverty assessment were revealed. A model system of income redistribution was created, essential means of reducing income inequality and poverty as well as the problem of their efficiency were distinguished and trends of improving the redistribution system were defined. In the practical part of Master’s paper a consistent analysis of the level, dynamics and structure of the average disposed income was carried out and differences of income between the social groups of residents were identified. Comparing city and village households assessed the scope of income differentiation. A prognostication of the size of average disposed income was performed and the relation of income and other economical indices was assessed. The formulated hypotheses of the scientific research were proven. First, the structure and dynamics of income has significant differences between the social groups of residents. Second, the scope of differentiation of income in city and village households is... [to full text]

This project offers a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the contemporary post-Soviet Internet bride phenomenon and the rationales, motives, and aspirations of the industry's participants. As international marriage services have incorporated information and communications technologies (ICTs) to assist in the marketing of women of post-communist nations for correspondence courtship with Western men, the industry has furthered the globalization of marriage markets and the opportunities for communicative exchange among disparate nations and cultures. By way of case study, the project takes a special focus on the Belarusian/American segment of the industry, turning to personal interviews with participants and employing qualitative techniques to dissect marketing methods. The study gives primary consideration to processes and elements of globalization, postmodern consumer culture, and aspects of human sexuality (particularly sexual exchange theory), recognizing their interactive and mutually-constitutive nature that calls for their analysis through a Baudrillardian lens.

This thesis considers the extent to which the hegemonic, socially and economically hierarchical principles of private enterprise were channelled through school-business links. School-business links take many forms, and the one I have highlighted is a neo-vocationalist programme which was aimed at rendering low-achieving senior secondary students 'employable'. In the process, the importance of private enterprise as generators of wealth is emphasised, while that of labour is overlooked. That is, the interests of employers are paramount in the programme, while those of the students are marginalised. In my discussion and conclusion, I find that the programme can be seen to be exploitative, because the rhetoric that legitimates it obscures the ways in which the interests of unequal social classes are met in an hierarchically differential fashion.