<p> The main objective of this dissertation is to analyze the impact that two notable school reforms have had on student achievement in Colombia. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay lays out the conceptual framework for the dissertation. It describes the education production function that underlies most analyses in the economics of education, and reviews the main evidence on the impact of school resource policies on student outcomes. </p><p> The second essay analyzes the impact of longer school days on student achievement in Colombia, where primary and secondary students attend schools that have either a complete (7-hour) or a half-day (4-hour) schedule. Using test score data from 5^th and 9^th graders in 2002, 2005, and 2009, along with school administrative data, this study identifies the effect of longer school days by implementing a school fixed effects model. The main model compares variation in average test scores across cohorts for schools that switched from a complete schedule to a half schedule and vice versa. I find that among schools that switch schedules between 2002 and 2009, the cohorts exposed to complete schedules have test scores that are about one tenth of a standard deviation higher than cohorts that attended half schedules. The impact of a complete schedule is larger for math test scores than for language test scores, and it is larger for 9^th grade test scores than for 5^th grade test scores. Effects are largest among the poorest schools in the sample, and those in rural areas. The results suggest that lengthening the school day may be an effective policy for increasing student achievement, particularly for the lowest-income students in Colombia and other developing countries. </p><p> The third essay analyzes the impact of the "Escuela Nueva" (EN) model (New School) on student achievement, using test score data from SABER 2002 and 2005, a national standardized test administered to 5^th and 9^th graders in Colombia. EN is an educational model originally designed to improve the effectiveness of rural schools. It is characterized by multigrade classrooms (i.e., one instructor teaches students in various grades in the same classroom), a child-centered curriculum, flexible systems of grading and promotion, intensive teacher training, and parental involvement. To mitigate the concerns about systematic selection of schools into EN that might bias the estimations of the EN impact, this study implements a school fixed effects model that controls for time-invariant characteristics within the school. Results show that among schools that switched models between 2002 and 2005, the cohorts of 5^th grade students exposed to EN have on average 0.135 of a standard deviation higher language test scores than cohorts exposed to other models, while there is no statistically significant impact on switching to EN for 9^th graders. The impact of EN is largest among rural schools and the poorest schools in the sample.</p>

<p> Economic models generally fail to adequately measure positive and negative growth paths in development through agrarian, industry, and service economies. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to design a new model that could accommodate both directions of growth and better measure development paths with particular attention to labors contributions. The theoretical foundation for this study was Walt Whitman Rostow's 5 economic stages of growth classifications. This Study attempted to find the most common economic growth path. While most development models use three to five classifications, this study used nine new classifications giving it a unique and specific look at international development. The two model indicators used were gross domestic product composition by sector (the economic success of the system) and labor force occupation by sector (labors activity to help define behavior of the system). The sample included data from 279 nations from the CIA World Factbook. A systematic method of analysis was used in the open, axial, and selective theoretical coding phases. The key findings reveal 9 distinct growth phases, 15 identified growth paths, and 4 distinct path clusters which helps measure and define development behavior. This analysis resulted in building upon Rostow's original observations. The implications for social change show that policy makers can benefit from using this new model, named the behavioral international economic development growth path model, to provide improved decision making measurements related to agrarian, service, and industry sectors of the economy. In addition, public administrators in developing nations may benefit from a better understanding of more specific development paths, probabilities of path movement, and comparison of policies from same classification nations.</p>

<p> Healthcare spending has risen astronomically over the recent past. Some of the blame has been placed upon an inefficient healthcare system. Whether true or not, we are in the midst of burdensome financial trend in healthcare that cannot continue. Thus, private payers, government payers and taxpayers alike, are looking at ways to reduce such spending. At the same time, healthcare providers wish to remain profitable enough to continue delivering care, well into the future. One proposed answer to the conditions plaguing an inefficient and expensive health system is the new focus on collaborative care models for healthcare delivery. This paper examines collaboration, particularly the joint venture between hospitals and healthcare providers. This paper also assesses the financial viability of such organizations, and recommends areas for further exploration in collaborative design.</p>

<p> International technology diffusion reflects global R&amp;D production and collaboration that increasingly accompany other forms of international activity such as trade and foreign direct investment. This thesis studies country-level market flows of disembodied technology or intangibles trade. The main conceptual premise is that operations of MNC subsidiaries have a substantial effect on these market-based flows, consistent with public goods aspects of industrial knowledge and with theories on MNC R&amp;D strategies. Extensive previous country-level work relating FDI and technology flows focuses largely on knowledge spillovers (benefits from involuntary, uncompensated knowledge flows). Further, this study considers simultaneously two types of MNC subsidiaries (foreign owned subsidiaries and overseas subsidiaries of domestic MNCs) to acknowledge the likely role of two-way FDI (measured by MNC activities) in intangibles trade. In turn, the influence of these subsidiary groupings on intangibles trade reflects varied motives of the underlying R&amp;D investments. The predicted effects of MNC operations on intangibles trade result in hypotheses that are tested with published aggregate statistics from the U.S. balance of payments on total U.S. exports and imports in R&amp;D services as the dependent variables. </p><p> Theoretically, the thesis introduces the concept of reverse knowledge transfer from international business research to the study of bilateral intangibles trade. More generally, the thesis contributes to the literature by integrating macro and micro perspectives useful to understand the direction and nature of disembodied technology flows. In particular, the conceptual approach is consistent with macro trade models (two-way trade and two-way FDI from new trade theory), international business research, knowledge-based and transaction costs theories of MNCs (internalization of knowledge production and transfer), and innovation theory (knowledge seeking/exploiting). Consistent with these theoretical considerations, the empirical implementation considers panel countries as both exporters/importers of intangibles and host/home countries of R&amp;D-performing MNC subsidiaries. In turn, estimated equations use panel econometrics to relate observed heterogeneity in the geographic structure of bilateral trade with the geographic distribution of MNC operations for the two types or groupings of MNC subsidiaries. </p><p> The main conceptual premise of this study was supported by the empirical findings. In the aggregate, U.S. MNCs and foreign MNCs with U.S.-located subsidiaries appear to engage in knowledge seeking R&amp;D investments that influence transactions captured in balance of payment statistics. At the same time, the hypotheses regarding the effect of value added operations were not sustained statistically, failing to support knowledge exploiting as conceptualized here. </p><p> International transactions in intangibles in the form of services trade have yet to be integrated in the mainstream S&amp;T policy literature. The analysis of aggregate R&amp;D services trade pursued in this study may complement research on industrial knowledge flows based on other S&amp;T indicators (or levels of aggregation) thus potentially allowing monitoring and analysis of international technology diffusion earlier in the innovation cycle (e.g., before or apart from patenting), and suggests the potential of non-spillover flows as targets of international S&amp;T policy tools, perhaps in conjunction with trade and investment policy frameworks. The study also discusses the need for enhanced and integrated domestic and international statistics on R&amp;D and related intangibles to support future research and the design or modification of policy tools to monitor and facilitate cross-border flows of industrial knowledge.</p>

<p> Preferences and behaviors for privacy management with mobile applications are difficult to capture. Previous measures are mostly based on self-report data, which often does not accurately predict actual user behavior. A deeper understanding was sought, gleaned from observing actual practices. This thesis analyzes 11,777 applications from the Google Play marketplace in order to determine the impact of privacy settings on purchase behavior. This was done by looking at the effect of the number of privacy concessions as well as the effect of individual concessions and category on number of downloads. It was found that users of paid applications do not have a preference for fewer privacy concessions. This study further reinforces the disconnect between the user's often stated preference for privacy and their actual behavior -- a discrepancy known as the &ldquo;privacy paradox &rdquo;. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.</p>

<p> The transition to late-capitalism in the U.S. has generated extensive societal change. This paper examines the intersection of three of these changes: the transition to a consumer-oriented economic and societal model, the increase of economic insecurity experienced by individuals and households and the heightened emphasis on a short-term orientation in individual decision-making. A review of literature from the fields of Sociology, Economics and Psychology describes differing understandings of how individuals react to the heightened economic insecurity that households experience under late-capitalism. Within mainstream Economics', theoretical and empirical work suggests that individuals respond to insecurity by reducing spending and maximizing long-term financial well-being. However, recent work by theorists such as Zygmunt Bauman and Richard Sennett suggest that the proliferation of risk that occurs under late-capitalism weakens individuals' ability to anticipate future risks and leaves them vulnerable to society's emphasis on short-term thinking. </p><p> In response to these two interpretations, I analyze differences in the effect of household employment insecurity on consumer behavior over time. Part one of the analysis is a descriptive evaluation using six years (1980-2005) of General Social Survey data and compares levels of perceived job insecurity across demographic and occupational groups, while controlling for occupation-specific unemployment levels. Results show that perceived insecurity increased during this time period, regardless of individual characteristics however, members of traditionally 'secure' groups had lower initial levels of perceived insecurity and sharper growth such that, by 2005, levels of job insecurity are not well predicted by demographic or occupational characteristics. </p><p> The second part of this study analyzes data from BLS' Consumer Expenditure Survey. A two-level regression model for repeated cross-sectional data decomposes the effect of occupational characteristics, the unemployment rate and time on households' spending in nine expenditure categories. Models include interaction effects to assess changes in the effect of occupational characteristics over time. Results suggest that occupational characteristics weakened as predictors of spending behavior during this time series, especially in 'long-term oriented' categories (e.g. housing, education). However, the presence of an earner in a high insecurity occupation is significantly associated with increased spending on 'short-term oriented' good and services.</p>

<p> Broadband data networks are becoming increasingly capable of delivering enhanced services and speeds well beyond the capabilities of traditional dial-up. The National Broadband Plan includes guidelines and objectives for broadband development. This study will analyze EAGLE-Net Alliance to determine the extent to which its broadband project is aligned with the relevant goals in the National Broadband Plan. This paper is a case study analyzing a publicly funded broadband project to determine the extent to which it is aligned with the National Broadband Plan. </p><p> This study is important because the success of the National Broadband Plan lies, in part, on periodically checking the progress of its stated goals. The study will attempt to interpret data from the federal grant period to determine the extent to which National Broadband Plan goals are aligned with the objectives and results of the EAGLE-Net Alliance project.</p>

In the last five years, textiles and apparel have represented the largest source of growth of U.S. imports from countries covered by the Caribbean Basin Initiative. The economic importance of this sector to the Caribbean countries gave rise to this study which discusses the international regulation of textile and apparel trade and the possible effects of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the North American Free Trade Agreement on the Caribbean textile and apparel industry. This analysis takes into account not only the legal mechanisms developed to control trade in this sector, but also the underlining powers that have allowed the shaping of the current textile and apparel order. Special emphasis is placed on U.S. trade policies toward the Caribbean Region which have played a significant role in the present development of the Caribbean apparel industry.

<p> In just 30 years microfinance has transformed from a credit-based rural development scheme that has claimed to reduce poverty and empower poor women, to a $70 billion financial industry. In the process, the traditional NGO-led model has given way to commercialized institutions, resulting in an increased emphasis on profitmaking. This has also led to confusion in the sector around its mission: is it to alleviate poverty and empower poor women or simply to provide the "unbanked" with access to formal sources of finance? This research considers the main debates in microfinance with regard to its mission and presents empirical evidence on the effectiveness of microfinance. The study is based on the Pakistani microfinance sector, which provides an ideal opportunity for a comparative analysis of two distinct models of microfinance &ndash; the nonprofit microfinance institutions (MFI) and the microfinance banks (MFB). The research compares the depth of outreach, mission, practice, and borrower experiences of MFIs and MFBs, employing a political economy framework. The data includes 140 interviews with policymakers, donors, senior, mid and low-level microfinance officers, and their clients; as well as observations of practitioner-client interactions, including the process of disbursement and collection, group meetings, and field visits with loan officers in urban Pakistan. It also comprises two district-level surveys: the microfinance outreach survey from the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) and the Government of Pakistan's Social and Living Standards Survey (PSLM). The surveys are analyzed econometrically to test whether district-level socioeconomic differences affect patterns of outreach. This study broadens our understanding of the extent to which the local political economy shapes the outcomes of a market-based intervention, such as microfinance. It also provides an insight into the evolution of microfinance, specifically as framed by the global development discourse and subsequent public policy choices. Finally, the study provides an authoritative account of how institutional structure affects microfinance's effectiveness as a tool for poverty alleviation, empowerment and financial access.</p>

Along with international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) has been the engine driving the current economic globalization of the world economy. The growth rate of FDI, which exceeded that of international trade and world output throughout the 1990s, raises important questions regarding the value of FDI to developing countries as host countries to FDI and the role it can play in their development. / In an attempt to answer these questions, this thesis tackles the main issues underlining FDI and developing countries. After analysing the pros and cons of FDI for developing countries and other interested parties, this thesis scrutinizes the regulation of FDI as a means to balance the interests of the concerned parties, giving an assessment of the balance of interests in some existing and potential FDI regulations. Furthermore, this thesis highlights the case against the deregulation of FDI and its consequences for developing countries. It concludes by formulating regulatory FDI guidelines for developing.