Development assistance has long served as pretext for the transfer of technologies, policies, and strategies from Western industrialized countries to poorer areas of the world. The assumption is that the same successful results reached in the originating context can be replicated. One such cross-cultural transfer is a US adult education policy implemented in the rural areas of the Republic of Niger. / The policy, known as ROD, purports to transform local cooperatives into profit-making private enterprises, and to teach farmers the requisite skills and understandings. This study critically analyzes the intervention in order to (1) assess the viability of the proposed strategy as a "curriculum" for personal and organizational learning in rural Niger, (2) explicate the assumptions about the problems and potentials of the milieu on which it is based, (3) explore ways in which revised adult education practice might serve to better accommodate the policy to its context, and (4) draw some conclusions regarding the feasibility of this sort of transfer. / Results of the study suggest that the intervention strategy is interpreted and assessed in very different ways by stakeholders at different levels, and that it has been modified significantly in the course of implementation. These mostly haphazard modifications have not, however, been such as to ensure its success or acceptance, though they do suggest graphically which aspects of the policy are least accepted in the local context. The data also provide a basis for suggesting ways in which adult education could facilitate a better upfront adaptation and "reinvention" of the strategy in the field. In a more general sense, this study provides insights into the conditions for cross-cultural transfer of adult education-relevant policies between North and South, and the precautions that must be taken. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-08, Section: A, page: 2252. / Major Professor: Peter A. Easton. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to examine small farmers in three North Florida counties (Gadsden, Jackson and Jefferson) to ascertain the factors determining the utilization of the 1890 Land-Grant University Cooperative Extension Services. Specifically, the study examines the social and economic characteristics of the small farmer utilizing the Cooperative Extension Services and the small farmer's perceptions of how much the Cooperative Extension Services are satisfying their farm and family needs. / To obtain information for the study, a questionnaire was administered to survey small farmers in Gadsden, Jackson and Jefferson counties. Descriptive statistics, especially frequencies, percentages, mean and mode were the basic statistical technique used to analyze collected data. Findings were summarized in tables. / The major findings of this research helped ascertain which specific factors were associated with small farmers' utilization of specific Cooperative Extension Service programs. It may also serve as a stimulus for further research on Cooperative Extension Service programs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: A, page: 0791. / Major Professor: Richard Chackerian. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

Through the remarkable growth of over a decade China's rural industry has already become an important pillar of its national economy. The primary goal of this dissertation is to place China's rural industry in a historical and a market economic perspective in an efforts to link its rapid development and its economic performance to its market-oriented characteristic, and to analyze its productive efficiency at firm-level, in order to demonstrate that firms operating in a competitive market economic environment should have better economic performance. / Using 1988-1992 data of 500 rural non-agricultural enterprises, which are collected from four counties of Sichuan province by author, and using stochastic frontier production function approach, this dissertation primarily examines technical efficiency, factor productivity growth, and economies of scale for sample firms with two dimensions: ownership (township, village or private ownership) and sector (manufacturing and its sub-sectors, construction or service). According to the empirical analysis, it is found that, at least for the sample firms, China's rural industry has (1) higher technical efficiency, measured by both its level and its distribution, than that of their counterparts in China's state sector and in typical developing countries; (2) much faster growth rate of total factor productivity than that of China's state and urban collective sectors; (3) greater labor output elasticity and constant returns to scale; and (4) significant labor-capital substitution effect in most cases. It also finds that when output is essentially determined by the capacity of engineering facilities, relatively larger-sized firm groups with higher capital intensity have better technical efficiency; on the contrary, in relatively labor-intensive sectors, the smaller-sized firm groups perform better, which is consistent with the finding by other economists that there does not exist obvious bivariate relationship between firm size and relative technical efficiency. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: A, page: 2794. / Major Professor: James Cobbe. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This dissertation consists of three chapters. Chapter one is to study the spell of temporary migration in China using a semi-parametric duration model. Empirical analyses are based on a national household survey from the Chinese Household Income Project 1995. The estimated hazard rates generally increase with the spell of migration, suggesting that the longer migrants stay away from home, the more likely they return home. Not only are single, well-educated migrants more likely to migrate, they also stay longer away from home. Although the majority of migrants are male, females tend to stay longer away from home. Further examination shows only single females have longer migration duration. Although household heads are more likely to migrate, they also return home earlier. In order to explain those findings, this chapter focuses on three interactive important aspects: China's ambiguous migration policy, outdated land policy and Chinese traditional family values. Chapter two is to apply a three-stage least squares (3SLS) and non-linear two-stage least squares (2NSLS) to study the impacts of migration on the sending community. Migrant families greatly benefit from migration in regard to household durable consumption and household annual income. Rural-urban migration has no significant effects on agricultural investment. Because land is allocated into small plots, the marginal product of either labor or capital in farming is nearly zero. That may explain why migrant families show no interest in agricultural investment even if they are better off in annual household income. Chapter three is to conduct a preliminary investigation of the link between migration and the informal credit market in developing countries. This is the first research on the link. Using the 1998 Nicaragua Living Standards Measurement Survey, this chapter shows that migrants have a higher probability of participating in the informal credit market than non-migrants. The positive link between migration and the informal credit market furthermore shows that the benefits from migration could then be extended from migrant families to non-migrant families through the informal financial intermediary. Migration could then have a far more reaching impact on the source community in developing countries than we may have expected / acase@tulane.edu

This thesis is composed of three papers in which the research questions are related to the double burden that accrues to Brazilian women. The first and second papers address this issue by looking at expenditure decisions about home production. The first paper examines whether the expenditure decisions about production goods, such as white appliances, relative to entertainment goods, such as TVs, are the outcome of a bargaining process between husbands and wives. The second paper looks at the demand for maid services and for production durable goods, examining the extent to which other household members substitute for maid services and durable goods in home production. The third paper addresses the effects of Brazilian women's double burden on their labor market participation by examining whether the occupational choice of Brazilian women is affected by their gender roles and whether entry into other occupations that are not identified as female occupations has become easier since the introduction of anti-discrimination laws in the labor market. / The first paper combines two Brazilian data sets: a Brazilian household expenditure survey, Pesquisa de Orcamento Familiares (POF), and a Brazilian household survey, Pesquisa Nacional Por Amostra de Domicilios (PNAD). The results of the first paper indicate that the decision about durable goods ownership is the outcome of a bargaining process between husband and wife. The test on the coefficients of the marriage market variable and the indicators of households in which only the wife and households in which only the husband makes expenditure decisions corroborate the expectations about wives' preferences for production goods. / The same data sets as the first paper are used in the second paper. The finding of the second paper indicates that if the marriage market is favorable to women, that is if the ratio of women to men goes from 1.07 to 0.96, the increment in the household probability of owning at least one maid's substitute durable goods is equivalent to 24% the impact of moving a household up one income quintile. Moreover, the results indicate that daughters' time substitutes for wives' time and maid services in home production. Parents may want daughters trained in home production to be able to perform their future role as wives. However, this training comes at a cost to daughters' investment in formal education, narrowing their future career options. / The data used in the third paper come from a Brazilian household survey, Pesquisa Nacional Por Amostra de Domicilios (PNAD). Gender roles are responsible for women to choose female-dominated occupations, married women are 1.14 times more likely to work in female-dominated occupations and having a child six years and older increases on average by 12% the probability that women work in female-dominated occupations instead of gender-integrated occupations in 2001. However, it becomes easier for all types of women to enter into male-dominated and gender-integrated occupations in 2001 compared to 1981.

This research describes one approach to commercializing new horticultural crops for the natural products industry. The use of aeroponic technology proved to be feasible for the production of difficult-to-harvest, high-value root crops. Using Arctium lappa Asteraceae ("burdock") as a model crop in a modified A-frame aeroponic growing unit, the biomass and phytochemical yields of roots grown in aeroponics were compared to controls grown in a typical greenhouse soilless peat/perlite/sand mixture. No significant differences were seen in the yields of root biomass, measured as dry weights. No significant differences were seen in the phytochemical quality of the roots, as measured by the concentration of chlorogenic acid. Variability in the concentration of chlorogenic acid appeared to be lower in roots from the aeroponically-grown plants, indicating the possibility of improving phytochemical consistency using this horticultural technology. The feasibility of producing raw materials for the herbal dietary supplement industry in Native American communities and on reservations was also examined. Research exploring the use of a matched savings program called Individual Development Accounts indicated that low- and moderate-income Native American families are interested in becoming producers of herbal crops, using aeroponic and conventional horticultural technologies. This model of economic development for rural Native American populations may provide an example for integrating various tribal and federal programs with private enterprises to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for supplemental farm-based and home-based income. Finally, the feasibility of introducing a line of Native American branded products into the herbal dietary supplement market was tested. The results of this research indicate that this industry is an appropriate venue for adding value to agricultural products through the imagery and association of Native American culture, providing the consumer is convinced of the authenticity of the products. This multi-pronged, interdisciplinary approach to the commercialization of new agricultural crops, particularly those targeting niche consumer groups, could be transferred to other agricultural products.

One of the innovations in the management of forest resources in the 1990s is the use of criteria and indicators (C&I) as a tool to measure the sustainability of forest management practices in general, as well as, specific forest related activities such as timber industry. The International Tropical Timber Organization has developed a set of criteria and indicators for the measurement of sustainability in natural tropical forests. This study uses these criteria and indicators to critically evaluate the current status of the forest industry in the Republic of Congo as it conforms to the ITTO sustainable management objectives. The study identifies both the progress made to achieve the ITTO "objective 2000", and weaknesses that need to be addressed in order to reach an overall sustainable forest industry. Recommendations are made to correct the identified weaknesses.

This dissertation constructs a political ecology of two modern irrigation communities in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. In assessing the impacts of the 1992 restructuring of Mexico's water policy, the study contributes to debates within geography about global economic integration, the transformation of the state-society relationship, the interface of ecological change with structural and political demands, and the prescription of decentralization, privatization, and free trade strategies for improving water management in developing countries. The dissertation investigates these questions: How have the restructuring of water and agricultural policy impacted local producers in irrigation districts in Sonora? How have small communal producers (e.g., ejidatarios) responded to the water reform package? An underlying assumption is that Sonoran producers in irrigation districts are among the nation's most-advantaged, given their proximity to U.S. markets, access to irrigation, technological package, and experience with commercial production. Mexico's water and agriculture policies are intended to allow the strongest, most efficient producers to become more competitive. I argue, however, that the water and agricultural reform package overall does not benefit Sonoran producers, and particularly disadvantages the ejidatario sector of farmers, due to a cost squeeze driven by rising water and input costs, retrenchment of state support, and loss of subsidies, among other factors. Most ejidatario producers have abandoned production and their water and land assets are being privatized. Despite this overall finding, some ejidatarios have found entrepreneurial ways to adapt their productive responses to the new challenges. The global-local linkages in the districts demonstrate that different free trade agreements can have distinct impacts on producers of different crops and transnational companies can pose challenges to water-strapped local communities. The prolonged drought has contributed to a water shortage that limits profitability of agriculture. The state's promotion of water consumptive, export crops is at odds with the demands of nature that dictate less intensive agriculture in arid regions like Sonora, with implications for the sustainability of commercial agriculture. A concept of water as a social good---rather than a purely economic good---needs to be resuscitated in order to satisfy the rural development needs of Mexico's ejidatario producers.

This dissertation investigates the implication of combining economic and ecological models in an effort to expand our knowledge of the complex problems associated with resource management. The motivation for this research arises from the perceived need to develop a better understanding of how the flow dynamics within a resource affect the efficient management of that resource. Following the introduction, the second chapter experimentally tests the theoretical models of agent behavior in patchy resource environments under both sole-ownership and competitive extraction regimes. In each setting experimental results indicate that subjects over-allocate vessels to regions that possess the greatest rates of emigration within the bioeconomic system relative to the theoretical predictions. This introduces a "spatial externality" because over-harvesting in one region reduces the harvest in the surrounding regions. The third chapter proposes a potential solution to the problems associated with a spatial externality by analyzing the use of marine reserves in the presence of a heterogeneously distributed resource. This is conducted by introducing the presence of biological "hot spots" (areas within a fishery that possess a larger growth potential than the surrounding areas) with spatial rates of migration into the current economic theory. Simulation results indicate that the presence of biological hot spots within a fishery creates an environment within which it is optimal to establish a marine reserve that increases the value of the fishery. The fourth chapter makes use of my earlier experimental and simulation research, which indicate that locational choice and the spatial distribution of effort should affect the management of the fishery. Within this chapter a spatial Heckit model is developed to empirically investigate for the presence of herding behavior among yellowfin sole and Pacific cod fishermen in the Eastern Bering Sea. Econometric results provide support for herding behavior among fishermen within the yellowfin sole fishery. Moreover, fishermen respond to the lagged biomass and spatially weighted biomass signals as significant determinants of locational choice. This results in Lotka-Volterra oscillations in the Pacific cod fishery. In the final chapter of this dissertation, the general findings are concluded and some future avenues of research are discussed.

Croton fantzianus Seymour (Euphorbiaceae), is a structurally important tree in the tropical deciduous forest of the Municipality of Alamos in southern Sonora. It has become important as a non-timber forest product within the last thirty-five years, harvested for stakes (vara blanca ) for the agricultural fields in Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California. A study was carried out on ecology of the species, macroeconomics and household economics to determine sustainability of current patterns of use. During a study on the ecology of the tree the species was identified from specimens collected and found to be a disjunct population known previously from Nicaragua. It was determined that vegetative and reproductive phenologies are driven by water availability with responses along a water gradient varying among study sites. Rapid development of silver mining precipitated woodcutting for timber and fuel at unprecedented rates in the late 17th century. The original tropical deciduous forest was transformed to secondary forest by this extraction. Closure of the mines in the early 20th century began economic isolation of the Municipality that persists today. The economy of Alamos is depressed in response to national and state economy, people are under- or un-employed. Many cut vara blanca. Economic strategies in the Municipality include exploitation of non-timber forest products, the most important is vara blanca. There are three levels of organization for vara extraction: cutters, middlemen truckers, and large truckers. Income generated by each level is significantly larger than the daily minimum wage. Financial records indicate that nine of eleven respondents rely on the resource for all or part of their incomes. A study of the population ecology of the species indicates it is the most important component of the forest community at all study sites. Population structure and composition are variable and may be related to prior harvest history. Loss of reproductive capacity was recorded on a recently harvested area. The tree may be a successional species and does well in disturbed areas. Government records and informant interviews indicate intensification of extraction has depleted the population. It is questionable if extraction at recent rates can be sustained.