During 43 weeks three communities belonging to the Chambo-Guano irrigation system (María Auxiliadora, San Antonio, and Tunshi San Javier) were studied. Each family had 0.662 ± 0.149 producing cows, 0.115 ± 0.048 dry cows, 0.381 ± 0.095 heifers, 0.252 ± 0.068 young bulls, 0.158 ± 0.052 bulls, and 0.568 ± 0.096 calves. The age at first mounting (21.696 ± 9.28 months) showed that the cows enter reproduction late. Of the cows, 71.94 ± 5.26% were of household varieties. To feed them, alfalfa was used at 79.86 ± 4.5%, undergrowth 56.83 ± 5.62%, corn stalks 48.2 ± 6.02%, kikuyu 19.42 ± 4.63%, crop aftermaths 18.71 ± 4.29%, zig-zig 17.27%, agave 9.35 ± 3.5%, ray grass (8.63 ± 2.98), banana waste 8.63 ± 3.28%, and oats 2.88 ± 1.96%. There were 280 ± 85.27 mother sheep, 64 ± 33.697 male reproducers, 174 ± 54.62 young sheep, and 198 ± 65.76 lambs. The age at first mounting was 18.45 ± 9.55 months and time between shearings was 12.62 ± 2.91 months with a production of 7.46 ± 3.99 pounds of wool. 53.24 ± 5.82% of the sheep were household breeds. As sources of food there were underbrush (46.04 ± 5.79%), pasturing (41.73 ± 5.77%), alfalfa (25.9 ± 5.25%), crop aftermaths (12.95 ± 3.99%), ray grass (5.76 ± 2.64%), and corn stalks (5.04 ± 2.65%). There were 672 ± 310.302 pigs. The age at first birthing was 18.108 ± 1.153 months with 8.237 ± 0.713 piglets per birthing, with only 5.536 ± 0.472 weaned at an age of 2.419 ± 0.156 months. As a food source, there was underbrush (56.12 ± 5.94%), banana waste (51.8 ± 5.85%), kitchen scraps (48.2 ± 5.95%), crop aftermaths (38.85 ± 5.26%), bran (28.06 ± 5.37%), alfalfa (26.62 ± 5.19%), and quiquyo (4.32 ± 2.33%). The guinea pig population was 3608 ± 683.653 with 2.52 ± 0.1 young per birthing. Outstanding food sources were alfalfa (79.86 ± 4.74%), chilca (34.53 ± 5.72%), underbrush (24.46 ± 5.18%), and kitchen scraps (11.51 ± 3.77%). The bird population was 1140 ± 226.856 animals. The majority are household chickens (47.48 ± 11.79%) used for egg production. Predominating foods were dried corn (72.66 ± 5.26%), barley (35.97 ± 5.62%), and wheat (1.44 ± 1.40%). The communities studied tend toward using bovine milk production. Even when the cows have low reproduction rates, they have important levels of milk production. The number of calves per birth could be adequate, but the levels of weaning are low. In guinea pigs and birds there were not any precarious forms of tenancy; possibly there are family property forms. It is recommended that the study be deepened in order to establish the influence of irrigation water, implement profitable programs of exploitation, and establish plans to help forward ecological tourism.

This study was done with the objective of helping families that produce poultry to market their product. Therefore, we determined that it is important to develop a strategic marketing plan to help producers reach their sales targets. As such, this research is focused on the development of chapters that sustain and support the importance and benefits that will be achieved through the development and execution of the plan. This will help with the satisfaction of demand expectations. The first chapter shows the theoretical framework, which explains basic concepts about diagnosis, marketing plan, marketing, projects, chicken broilers, and other related topics. In other words, making use of the scientific theory related either directly or indirectly to the thesis. After being classified and cautiously analyzed, this information allowed the realization of the theoretical framework, which is the basis and foundation of the thesis. The second chapter explains a strategic situational diagnosis that was developed through a field study. After determining the population under investigation in the field study, researchers identified the strengths and weaknesses of the production families as well the Benson Institute, a party interested in the project. The third chapter deals with market research, which was used to estimate the supply and the portion of the demand possibly left unmet. The fourth chapter contains the proposal of this thesis along with proposed marketing strategies focused on the 4 P's of marketing. In addition, other useful marketing strategies are covered such as building a storage facility in a strategic place. Chapter five covers financial and economic factors and presents the economic situation related to sales, estimated costs, projected expenditures, and free cash flow. Furthermore, it contains an analysis of some economic indicators. In chapter six, the impacts generated by this thesis are identified using a scanning matrix. Finally, the last part contains the respective conclusions and recommendations based on the research done.

Marstonia lustrica is a poorly understood aquatic snail, relatively rare throughout its range and listed in the State of Massachusetts as Endangered (MNHESP 2010, Hershler et. al 1987). It is the northern-most cold temperate species of its genus, with other members of the genus occurring along the southern edge of its range and in the southeastern United States (Thompson 1977). The current range of M. lustrica appears to follow the maximum extent of the Laurentide Glacier (20–25 kya), extending from Minnesota to western Massachusetts. Research regarding the distribution, ecology, and phylogeny of M. lustrica in the State of Massachusetts and eastern New York raised the possible role of glaciers and pro-glacial lakes in the establishment and distribution of the snail, leading to the hypothesis that its distribution and evolution may be dependent upon glacial processes. A full range survey was completed in 2007 and 2008, with populations identified in 20 water bodies from Minnesota to Massachusetts, and Ohio to Ontario, Canada. Fifty-seven specimens from the 20 populations were sequenced for two mtDNA markers (COI and NDI), developing both phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks. Here I present those trees and networks, and correlate the distribution of these populations and their representative haplotypes with both glacial events and contemporary watersheds, using AMOVAs and Mantel tests to examine several v phylogeographic models. In addition to the results for M. lustrica, the unexpected occurrence of several other species of Marstonia spp. found across the range of M. lustrica are presented, including M. pachyta, M. comalensis, and M. hershleri.

The United States has implemented many policies to target obesity. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has mandated that restaurants must label the calorie content of the food they provide on menus and menu boards. Previous literature suggests that this policy will cause a small subset of consumers to improve the nutritional quality of the food they consume. Restaurants’ responses to the policy are not as well studied but existing literature suggests that menu items become slightly healthier after the introduction of various local policies. This paper seeks to assess the impact of a nationally-instituted nutrition labeling policy on fast-food nutritional content. We find evidence that restaurants both improve the healthfulness of pre-existing food items and introduce new food items of substantially lower nutritional quality.

As information regarding origin, production method, and environmental certifications characterize a progressing seafood market, scare analysis has been made to understand market responses. This study focuses on consumer preference for wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp with several attributes. These include the Homegrown By Heroes label and Best Aquaculture Practices certification, as well as other existing attributes including the Marine Stewardship Council and each state’s local label. Also considered are hypothetical labels including Community Supported Fishery (CSF) and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This study surveys consumers in Kentucky and South Carolina while utilizing a choice experiment to elicit willingness-to-pay measures for these various product attributes. Both wild-caught and farm-raised shrimp are considered since these species have significant market potential. Like previous studies, a strong preference for fresh as well as local shrimp was found. Furthermore, preference for Homegrown By Heroes was found to be highly valued by consumers, as well as the NOAA label signifying a federally operated ecolabel. Consumers were also found to value BAP and MSC certifications, two third-party agencies currently existent in the seafood market. Marketing and policy recommendations are given based on consumer willingness to pay estimates for these various seafood attributes in both states.

There is a significant amount of literature documenting empirical linkages between socioeconomic status and mental health of individuals. While economic studies have found beneficial impacts of anti-poverty programs (e.g., micro-credit programs) on mental and emotional health, non-economic studies have documented the powerful roles of social capital in determining mental and emotional health. In this thesis, we study the impact of a large community-driven development (CDD) women's empowerment program, Jeevika, on mental health. JEEViKA is a rural livelihood program in Bihar, India, which promotes women's livelihood through a network of women's self-help group (SHG). Using data on a sample of 2300 SHG women from matched pairs of 66 high-exposure and low-exposure Jeevika villages, we estimate the causal impact of Jeevika on mental health. The results suggest that mental health improves with increasing age and among socially backward communities in high exposure JEEViKA villages. However, overall both the individual and village level analysis demonstrates no significant impact of JEEViKA on the mental health.

Although it remains a tea consuming nation, both production and consumption of coffee in China has been increasing at double-digit rates and is not expected to slow down (International Coffee Organization (ICO), 2015). With investments and upward trends in production and rapid increases in consumption of coffee in China it is important for producers and retailers of the bean1 in China to understand the new Chinese coffee consumer. Using survey data from Wuhan, China we help understand the Chinese coffee consumer by explaining their consumption using standard OLS regression. Results show that whether or not consumers make/brew their own coffee, how long consumers have been consuming coffee regularly, the size of the coffee cup most often purchased and individuals’ prediction of their coffee consumption in the following year are all important in explaining Chinese coffee consumption. We suggest for long-run success, that Chinese coffee producers and retailers in China focus on the quality of their coffee bean. 1 ‘bean’ refers to coffee

The livestock industry in the United States has experienced significant concentration and vertical integration in recent years. This change has resulted in greater observed levels of pollution attributed to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and society has attempted to use regulation to remedy these problems. Despite regulation at the federal and local level no documented improvement in water quality has been observed to date. This thesis is concerned with the response of profit-maximizing economic agents to the form of environmental regulation adopted at the federal level. A theoretical model of firm profit is proposed and analyzed using comparative statics to derive a variety of firm and policy relevant results. A qualitative discussion of monitoring and enforcement aspects of regulation and transaction costs in public policy implementation is provided. Results suggest that the form that regulation has taken fails to address the economic decision making process of the firm and thus fails to create incentives for more environmentally benign behavior.

There is a broad literature on the finance-growth nexus in the macroeconomics literature. Is there evidence for the finance-growth nexus at the sub-national region? If so, can macroeconomic finance and growth methods be extended to sub-national regions? Joseph Schumpeter argued that banks promote economic growth by choosing which projects to fund, by mobilizing underutilized capital, by managing risk and by monitoring managers. This dissertation proposes a modified Martin and Ottaviano (2001) model that allows for borrowing to form new firms or to expand existing firms. The model shows that if borrowing across regional lines is costly, above and beyond the normal interest rate, that new firm formation will tend to agglomerate in the more financially developed region. With this theory in hand, the dissertation goes on to test the effects of bank deposits on earned income in Kentucky counties. Using equation-by-equation and simultaneous equations panel data methods, this dissertation shows that there is a strong correlation between the size of the bank deposits in a county and income growth. Since Kentucky counties are small and economically interconnected, spatial autocorrelation tests are applied with the result that there are pockets within Kentucky where incomes are spatially correlated. Spatial panel estimates are then conducted to correct for spatial autocorrelation. These results show a strong correlation between deposits and income growth. This dissertation contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it proposes a model that ties endogenous growth, the New Economic Geography and the finance-growth nexus together in a Neo-Schumpeterian context. Second, it gives evidence for the finance-growth nexus in Kentucky counties under methods similar to those used in macroeconomics. Third, the dissertation suggests a way forward in performing future analysis of the finance-growth nexus in a sub-national context. Overall, this dissertation finds evidence to support the hypothesis that the size of the banking industry in a given county positively influences earned income growth. There is also evidence that having a large banking industry in a neighboring county has a positive spillover effect on earned income. Further estimates to control for endogeneity find evidence that the effect of deposits on income growth is stronger than the effect of income growth on deposits.

Food safety scares affect consumption behavior, and food safety and animal health issues are increasingly impacting international agricultural trade. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral-type disease, and has raised not only the concerns of animal health issue but also food safety issue. Over 58 countries in the world have experienced FMD outbreaks, and pork exports and imports among these countries are largely impacted. This dissertation focuses on how global pork trade is affected by FMD. This dissertation consists of three parts: first, this study specifically focuses on the market of U.S. pork exports. Results show that disease-affected pork importers are potential traders with the U.S., and only importing countries with a vaccination policy are more likely to increase pork imports from the U.S. rather than those importers with a slaughter policy. Second, a further investigation focuses basic hypothesis on import demand of FMD-affected importers by using a gravity model with fixed-effects to show how pork trade is affected by FMD among 186 countries. Results confirm that pork export falls when an exporting country develops FMD. Exporters with a vaccination policy have larger negative impacts than those with a slaughter policy. Further, pork importers that develop FMD and institute a slaughter policy will import more pork, but importers with a vaccination policy import the same level of pork. Third, the findings of part one and two reveal that FMD-free pork exporters face different market opportunities when pork importers have FMD outbreaks. Hence, four major FMD-free pork exporters, such as Canada, U.S., Germany, and Spain, are further investigated. Results confirm that the impacts of foreign FMD have altered pork exporters differently. Germany has gained the most exports during foreign FMD outbreaks in pork importers; the U.S. is second; Spain is third; and Canada is fourth. In sum, this dissertation contributes to the literature of gravity model when endogeneity and heteroskedasticity may coexist, when an extremely large number of zero observations are included, when single commodity for one specific exporter is analyzed, when a spatial econometric approach is compared, and when pork export market has been altered by foreign FMD outbreaks.