published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The State of Illinois and Federal government have designated one of three major rail corridors bisecting Springfield, Illinois, to be retrofitted to accommodate future high-speed rail traffic. The three corridors that bisect the city are known as the 3rd Street, 10th Street, and 19th Street corridors, each running north to south through the central city area. The approved plan completely decommissions the 3rd Street Corridor while expanding the 10th Street corridor to serve rail traffic currently using both of these corridors. Traffic to run along the expanded 10th Street corridor will include Amtrak's high-speed rail passenger service between St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The decommissioning of the 3rd Street Corridor in Springfield presents an opportunity for green infrastructure development in the form of a linear park. More broadly, this report argues that increasing quality of life amenities via the redevelopment of rail infrastructure provides a viable alternative economic development strategy for cities facing stagnant growth. / text

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In the last three decades of the nineteenth century British capital played a major part in Australian economic development. The flow of capital to the Australian colonies comprised government borrowing on the one hand, and private borrowing by companies on the other. The present study concerns the flow of capital to the private sector of the Australian economy, most which reached the colonies through the medium of finance companies from the mid 'seventies to 1891. The crux of the study are the new estimates of the annual flow of British capital to the private sector of the Australian economy, excluding mining activity (for which estimates are available), in the 'seventies, 'eighties and 'nineties. Capital reached the colonies through a group of powerful finance companies which employed British capital in the Australian pastoral industry. These companies raised most of their funds in Britain in two ways: first, by issuing short-term debenture bonds, and second, by raising deposits. Debentures were issued by pastoral mortgage and investment companies, and deposits were collected by Australian banks. As the available estimates of this flow of capital are wholly inadequate, the present study contributes a new annual series of Australian company borrowing which was calculated directly from balance-sheets and other data, and not by taking a residual of the balance of payments. In addition, a calculation was made, from 1881 to 1891, on an annual basis, of the total burden of indebtedness of the Australian colonies accruing from government borrowing and this form of company borrowing.

This thesis considers China’s rural financial system and its impact on rural economy.  It explores three specific aspects, i.e. the relationship between agricultural growth and finance; agricultural banking efficiency and financial reforms; and the impact of lack of access to credit on production. The results of the general finance-growth relationship over 1992 to 2003 indicate no evidence of a positive relationship between state finance and agricultural or overall growth, although, perhaps as a result of the reforms, this negative impact seemed to disappear when the later sub-period was considered.  The results also suggest that the impact of the lagged state credit variable on growth is positive.  There is also weak evidence that agriculture growth was less negatively affected by state lending than in the economy overall.  There is also some indication that the changes which occurred after the 1993 financial reform were less in agriculture than for the wider economy. Examination on the performance of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) over the period 1979 to 1992 and 2002 to 2005 show that ABCs’ performance fluctuated over years.  However, the overall comparison between the beginning and end of the period indicates an improvement in banking performance in the long-term.

Energy poverty refers to a situation where physiological energy needs are not met with the resources available for cooking, lighting, and heating. Billions of people worldwide still rely on biomass fuels such as wood, charcoal, and dung to satisfy their primary energy needs. With high population growth and urbanization trends, energy poverty is especially prominent in sub-Saharan Africa, where electrification rates remain low and biomass use continues to rise. The need for solutions and strategies to increase the access to clean, efficient and sustainable energy resources has never been greater. However, projects by local governments and international development agencies have met limited success in alleviating energy poverty concerns, largely due to a lack of local involvement in the project planning, implementation, and continued operation. One method that has been advocated as a tool to increase public participation through non-traditional techniques is the use of scenarios. Scenarios have proven effective as an aid in creating policy for various sectors, and involve describing future possible events and conditions in efforts, by decision makers, to consider possibilities that cannot be captured by studying past data. While benefits of scenario use are well documented, a paucity of literature exists regarding the procedural details and effectiveness of each stage of the scenario method. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to bring together a diverse group of research and policy professionals fi-om Senegal and examine the effectiveness of the scenario process in capturing their perspectives and priorities on energy poverty in Senegal. Research methods included document research, participant observation, focus group research, semi-structured interviewing and questionnaire surveying. A two day scenario workshop was conducted in Dakar, Senegal and involved 22 research and policy professionals. The workshop revealed that political cohesiveness, social cooperation, and economic development were the three most influential forces influencing energy access. The local participants' perspectives of the issues, barriers, and possible future outcomes of energy poverty in Senegal were documented, and the results and conclusions will help fill a void in the literature on energy poverty perspectives in West Africa and Senegal. The scenario process proved to be an effective, financially efficient means to engage policy and research professionals in a participatory process. The process fostered open communication between all participants and encouraged cooperative learning.

This thesis explores whether a causal relationship exists between the People's Republic of China's foreign policy and in its economic policy. Specifically, it explores how China's overall economic policy has led it to become involved in countries that are considered political pariahs by many countries but that have established or potential petroleum resources to which China hopes to gain exclusive or at least first chance rights. Concentrating on those relationships, the thesis explores the extent to which Beijing has acted on the international political stage to protect those countries from international pressure and to preserve their political status quo because of China's economic ties with those countries. In three case studies focused on Iraq, Iran, and the Sudan, the thesis finds that Beijing's overall foreign policy is little affected by its economic ties with those countries. In each case, the thesis finds that China's economic ties are more important to Iraq, Iran, and the Sudan than to Beijing, and that such ties are small among overall Chinese economic concerns. Additionally, the thesis finds that Beijing defends these countries in international forums based on longstanding foreign policy considerations of upholding sovereignty and not on economic policy. / US Navy (USN) author.