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Poland has joined the European Union and is set to join the European Monetary Union (EMU) in the near future. Euro area membership involves potential costs and benefits. On the one hand, Poland will abolish the zloty/euro exchange rate and, as a result, transaction costs and exchange rate risk within the single currency area will be eliminated. On the other hand, it is argued that a single currency area implies the costs stemming from the sacrifice of autonomous monetary stabilization policy, which allows for an independent interest rate policy, and an exchange rate adjustment mechanism in the presence of country-specific shocks. This dissertation focuses on a quantitative assessment of the economic costs of joining the EMU. The evaluation of the volatility of main macroeconomic variables under the current inflation targeting regime and fixed exchanged rate is performed within an optimizing dynamic general equilibrium model of a small open economy with nominal rigidities. Model dynamics under terms of trade and world interest rate shocks are investigated. We find that the euro adoption implies a higher macroeconomic volatility. Analyzing the impact of terms of trade shock, the inflation targeting regime is more favorable, as an inability to devalue the currency under the euroization scenario leads to a slower recovery in demand for non-tradable goods and thus consumption. Considering the impact of a sudden decline in the world interest rate, an excessive zloty appreciation and the tightening of monetary policy under inflation targeting pushes the economy into a deeper recession compared to the adoption of the euro regime, while long-run implications are almost the same for the two scenarios. / Economics

This dissertation examined the relationships among adoptive status, social capital, and academic achievement. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) had 609 adopted and 11, 940 non-adopted adolescents. I used OLS regression models to help explain why adopted adolescents have significantly lower grade point averages (GPA) than non-adopted adolescents. Potential mediators were family social capital, closeness to family, mother and father, mothers' and fathers' involvement in their children's education, self-esteem, academic expectations, and in-school behavioral difficulties. Only closeness to fathers and in-school behavioral difficulties differed by adoptive status. Compared to non-adopted adolescents, adopted adolescents were closer to their fathers and had more in-school behavioral difficulties. Adopted adolescents also had lower GPA's, even when all other predictors were in the model. However, were it not for greater closeness to their fathers, adopted adolescents' would have had even more in-school behavioral difficulties and consequently, lower academic achievement. The results have implications for social capital theory and theory and research concerning adoptive families. / Ph. D.

This dissertation explores household risk and savings behavior in Zimbabwe, and agricultural technology adoption, and the impact of public investments on the economy and community health in Ethiopia. The first paper analyzes changes in per capita consumption and savings behavior in Zimbabwe before and after a range of financial and weather-related shocks using comparable national income, consumption and expenditure surveys of 1990/91 and 1995/96. The empirical results show that before droughts and macroeconomic adjustments Zimbabweans used savings to smooth consumption. In contrast, risk management strategies were severely limited after the shocks; consumption tracked income more closely in the latter period. The inability to effectively address the risks arising from droughts and economy-wide structural changes implies that any subsequent economic and social uncertainty will have serious welfare consequences. The second paper examines the interaction between public investments, community health, and productivity- and land-enhancing technology adoption decisions by farm households in Northern Ethiopia. It models technology adoption as a sequential process where the timing of choices can matter. The econometric test results indicate that the decision and intensity of technology adoption are highly correlated with the sequential nature of adoption. The most striking results concern the importance of disease - the amount of time spent sick and time spent caring for sick family members are inversely associated with both the decision and intensity of technology adoption. Finally the third paper looks at the welfare impacts of a public water resource development project with health side effects in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. It uses a model of a social planner to characterize the optimal implementation of such projects over time, showing how health and production are important considerations in this decision. The empirical analysis shows that the marginal net benefits of Tigray's current microdam investments are positive. The lost income households suffer from increased time away from productive activities (due to sickness) is compensated for by increased yields and market opportunities brought about through irrigated agriculture. However, it should be noted that this conclusion is based on efficiency and not equity. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to better understand how the diffusion (spread) and adoption (acceptance) of SkillSoft® (an e-learning product) occurred among employees of one military organization and to distill individual perceptions regarding influences that affected the process. This case study focused on the process and its challenges. Relating personal perceptions of the process and how various categories of influences (personal, organizational, technological, mandated policy, change) may have affected the process in a military organization provides a unique account that has been lacking in the literature. The results of this case study resonate with earlier research by Rogers (1983), Weinstein (1981), Sherry (1997), and Schein (1985), which found that influences (personal, organizational and technological) can have a dynamic effect on the diffusion and adoption of an innovation such as SkillSoft®. The study findings revealed that interviewees preferred job related e-learning experiences which support prior research by Bonk and Wisher (2000), and research by Thomerson and Smith (1996) who found that change in the way training is delivered can have an effect on the individual’s willingness to adopt an e-learning program like SkillSoft®. The study augments previous findings by Berge, (1997) indicating that culture can be a barrier to the implementation of on-line learning. The findings illuminated that awareness of the organization’ s environment (culture, mission, organization structure, decision-making process, communications channels, skills of employees), users’ requirements, as well as the product’s (SkillSoft®) fit with individual learning styles, are key elements to be considered when implementing an e-learning product in a military setting. Post Script: With the acquisition of SMARTFORCE®, SkillSoft® Corporation was able to diversify its e-learning training opportunities (course library) to better meet the learning requirements of military personnel since the initiation of this case study. Currently the 2003 SkillSoft® SMARTFORCE® library of courses is available free of charge on-line and is enhancing the knowledge and skills of active duty, reserve military personnel and Department of Defense government civilians. / Ph. D.

Concerns about the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment, human health, and wildlife have led to research and promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Recently, an IPM program was introduced in the Albanian olive sector through the USAID-funded global IPM-CRSP project to develop improved olive IPM technologies. This study develops and applies a protocol for integrated economic impact assessment of olive pest management strategies designed by the IPM-CRSP project in Albania. The main components of the integrated approach for economic impact assessment of olive IPM include (i) net return analysis for measuring farm level impacts; (ii) economic surplus modeling for measuring market-level impacts; and (iii) modeling of IPM adoption under output uncertainty. The economic surplus equilibrium displacement model developed for the Albanian olive market with no international trade accounts for IPM research-induced supply shifts, increased demand due to quality improvement, and research-induced spillovers to non-target zones. The main sources of data for performing partial budgeting and economic surplus analysis were: (i) an expert survey; (ii) partial budgets compiled based on a farmer survey and expenditure records from field-level experiments; and (iii) data collected at the market level. The data used to estimate the dichotomous logit model came from a 1999 survey of 200 growers and a survey of 120 growers carried out in 2000 in the Vlora district of Albania. The net return analysis indicates that compared to conventional practices, the proposed olive IPM packages generally promise higher yields, improved quality of olive products, lower pesticide use, and higher net returns to producers. However, adoption of some of the IPM practices implied higher production costs. Based on the simulation results, the Albanian olive industry has the potential to derive a net IPM research benefit between $39 million (assuming that farmers move directly from minimum spraying to IPM) and $52 million (assuming that farmers move from full pesticide program to IPM) over the next 30 years. Farmers' reliance on pesticide use on olives and other crops does not seem to hinder IPM adoption. Grower perceptions and the process of expectation formation significantly influence adoption decisions. Addressing the process of expectation formation and changing these perceptions by educational programs and better access to information will encourage IPM adoption. / Ph. D.

Throughout the world, innovation is viewed as a critical factor in the future health of the construction industry. There is universal interest in successful commercialization of innovative construction products. This thesis focuses on the US construction industry's ability to successfully commercialize innovative products. US small, limited-resource innovators will be key players in this success. Recent failures of entrepreneurial business ventures in the commercialization of such products would benefit from a unique model for construction industry commercialization. The general approach is through an identification of accelerators for previously commercialized products, which are incorporated into a generic commercialization model. This process consists of five stages that are presented in this work: defining commercialization and innovation through literature for the residential construction industry; reviewing literature from other-industry commercialization models; establishing a new generic model (or framework) for innovative construction products from such literature; capturing qualitative and quantitative construction data from industry experts regarding actions that facilitate commercialization; populating specific cells of the generic model deemed relevant through this industry data, resulting in the accumulation of important cells, actions, and sequences. This work uses industry cases to present challenges specific to the construction industry and its products. It is limited to five such cases and their important data for residential construction innovation commercialization success. / Master of Science

This study evaluates the adoption and impacts of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) adoption for rice in Cambodia. Extent of adoption and characteristics of adopters are discovered. Farmers are considered high adopters of IPM if they used two non-pesticide or minimal-pesticide practices to control rice insect, disease, weed, or rodent pests in the last twelve months; farmers are considered low adopters if they used one practice; farmers are considered non-adopters if they used zero practices. IPM practices include pest-resistant variety; stale seedbed (sequential harrowing or harrowing followed by a non-selective herbicide); apply Trichoderma on seeds or seedlings, no insecticide spray for the first 40 days; apply bio-pesticides such as neem, Bt, and metarhizium, and Beauvaria; Sarcocystis bait for rodents; hand weeding at recommended growth stage; and/or another practice specified by the farmer. Out of 394 farmers surveyed, 40 (10.15%) were found to be high adopters, 228 (57.86%) were found to be low adopters, and 126 (31.97%) were found to be non-adopters of IPM. IPM practices currently include mostly hand-weeding and no spray for 40 days; few other practices were adopted. Our study reveals a need for broader education on rice IPM throughout Cambodia. The high frequency of pesticide applications among rice farmers, the finding that adoption of IPM was not found to have a meaningful influence on the number of pesticide applications, and the finding that less than one-quarter of farmers in our study have received training on IPM reveal the need for increased knowledge of IPM in Cambodia, and the need for future education on IPM to focus on reducing pesticide use. / Master of Science / This study evaluates the adoption and impacts of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for rice in four provinces in Cambodia. IPM is an ecologically-friendly pest management philosophy that offers alternatives to reliance on harmful chemical pesticides. Farmers are divided into groups of high adopters, low adopters, and non-adopters depending on the number of IPM practices used. Proportion and characteristics of adopters, frequency and type of IPM practices, and scope of IPM training in the region are discovered. Determinants of adoption and the effect of adoption on level of pesticide use on rice are analyzed using econometric analysis. Out of 394 farmers surveyed, 40 (10.15%) were found to be high adopters, 228 (57.86%) were found to be low adopters, and 126 (31.97%) were found to be non-adopters of IPM. Adopters primarily use only two types of IPM practices. Less than one-quarter of farmers in our study have received training on IPM. Farmers who have more years of experience in rice cultivation, and farmers who consider agricultural extension a top source of agricultural information are more likely to adopt IPM. Farmers who have more family members who are able to work, and farmers who consider input suppliers a top source of agricultural information are less likely to adopt IPM. Adoption of IPM was not found to meaningfully influence the number of pesticide applications on rice. Our study reveals the need for increased training on rice IPM in Cambodia, and the need for future IPM education to focus on reducing pesticide use.