The South is one of the leading timber producing regions in the world. Monitoring economic contribution of the forest products industry in the South over time is thus crucial in addressing critical economic issues and in understanding important industry trends. This study reports the economic impacts for the four forest-based industry (forestry, lumber and wood products, paper and allied products, and wood furniture) for 13 southern states, individually as well as regionally, and compares to 2001, the last comprehensive study of the industry in the South. During the study period, the industry’s employment decreased by 33.35% and earnings in real terms decreased by 18.44%. However, value of shipments and manufacturing valueded for the industry in real terms increased by 59.21% and 68.22% respectively. Therefore, despite of disproportionate impacts of the current recession and decline in housing starts, the industry still is an important component of the South’s economy.

The dissertation includes two projects. The first one studies the product market segmentation and output collusion within substitutes; the second one examines the effects of WIC program and peers on breastfeeding activities. In Chapter I, we extend the differentiated product model, first developed by Bowley (1924), by relaxing the assumption that each firm produces only one differentiated product. By doing so, we are able to analyze the potential for collusive market segmentation in a two stage decision framework, first in product space and second in output. We find that when firms cannot coordinate on output, the required discount factor that supports collusive market segmentation is strictly decreasing in product substitutability and is greater than partial output and full collusion. Overall we find that output collusion alone is easier to sustain than collusive product market segmentation. In Chapter II, we first use duration analysis techniques to estimate the effects of WIC participation on breastfeeding activities using a nationwide data. Income ineligible participants are excluded from the sample. The models with and without peer effects variables are both estimated. We find that the prenatal WIC participation status does not have significant effect on breastfeeding activities. Peer effects have significant positive effects on both partial and exclusive breastfeeding durations but not on breastfeeding initiation. The magnitude of the peer effects on each individual is different and depends on the individual’s propensity to breastfeed. The results on peer effects based on the full sample are consistent with the findings from restricted sample. Knowing more than five peers who breastfed increases the probability of initiating by 3.7% and the likelihood of breastfeeding at months 3 and 6 by more than 15%. It also increases the partial and exclusive breastfeeding durations by 9 and 3 weeks, respectively. The results suggest the presence of a social multiplier in breastfeeding. Any exogenous change in breastfeeding behavior due to policy interventions would result in an even greater change due to the bidirectional influences within peer groups. Peer effects play a more important role for breastfeeding duration than initiation.

This thesis investigates the use of commodity exchange traded funds (ETFs) as a price risk management tool for agriculture producers. The effectiveness of ETFs in hedging price risk will be determined by calculating optimal hedge ratios. This thesis will investigate the southeastern producer’s ability to hedge their price risk for corn, soybeans, live cattle and diesel fuel. Hedge ratios will be calculated using ordinary least squares (OLS), error correction model (ECM), and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) regression models. A utility maximization framework will be used to determine how transaction costs and risk aversion effect the optimal hedge ratio. The main finding is that ETFs provide producers with a reliable tool when hedging their output and input price risk. The presence of transaction costs decrease the effectiveness of an ETF hedge.

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No description available.

<p> This study is a search for an analytical framework within which the structural factors constraining the Nigerian development process can be highlighted.</p> <p>We examine the input-output method and its relationship to planning a less developed country. The input-output table available for Nigeria is analysed using conventional techniques. Certain indices are derived in an attempt to throw some light on the evaluation of the development process. 'Ihe importance of designing an input-output table within the context of the particular problem to be solved is emphasized. </p> <p> A comparative analysis is made of the Nigerian table and an input-output table for Zambia, to highlight the relationship between the design and the use of an input-output table in the planning process. Furthermore, the elements involved in designing a table that would come to grips with the question of structural transformation, are discerned. In particular, the need to relate the classification of economic activities in an input-output matrix to the planning problem emerges.</p> <p> The data provided in the Nigerian table are used to illustrate the sort of basis on which an input-output table could be built if there is to be a link between a formal description of the economy and the simulation of change.</p> <p> The study illustrates the extent to which the development process depends on the planners' recognition of the relationship between the problem of transformation and the nature of structural constraints in the economy. In this way, it is possible to isolate systemic malfunctions in the economy and identify in connection with these, the areas of weakness in the planning process.</p> <p> It is also seen that if the input-output model is to be useful in planning structural transfoTmation, it must be able to accommodate radical changes in the structure of production and a normatively determined pattern of demand. The scope of the conventional model must be broadened to allow the planner to emphasize target groups of people in relating the structure of production to the pattern of demand.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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The evaluation of prosthetic valves can provide a unique challenge, and a thoughtful approach is required. High output states like anemia should be kept in the differential when evaluating elevated gradients across prosthetic valves. We present the case of a 69-year-old man with a Starr-Edwards prosthetic aortic valve who presented with symptoms of congestive heart failure and high transvalvular pressure gradients. These symptoms indicate a potential prosthetic valve stenosis. His laboratory evaluation results were consistent with valve-related hemolysis. Resolving his anemia led to a resolution of the symptoms and lowered the pressure gradient on follow-up.

This dissertation examines the employment impacts of investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the U.S. A broad expansion of the use of renewable energy in place of carbon-based energy, in addition to investments in energy efficiency, comprise a prominent strategy to slow or reverse the effects of anthropogenic climate change. This study first explores the literature on the employment impacts of these investments. This literature to date consists mainly of input-output (I-O) studies or case studies of renewable energy and energy efficiency (REEE). Researchers are constrained, however, by their ability to use the I-O model to study REEE, since currently industrial codes do not recognize this industry as such. I develop and present two methods to use the I-O framework to overcome this constraint: the synthetic and integrated approaches. In the former, I proxy the REEE industry by creating a vector of final demand based on the industrial spending patterns of REEE firms as found in the secondary literature. In the integrated approach, I collect primary data through a nationwide survey of REEE firms and integrate these data into the existing I-O tables to explicitly identify the REEE industry and estimate the employment impacts resulting from both upstream and downstream linkages with other industries. The size of the REEE employment multiplier is sensitive to the choice of method, and is higher using the synthetic approach than using the integrated approach. I find that using both methods, the employment level per $1 million demand is approximately three times greater for the REEE industry than for fossil fuel (FF) industries. This implies that a shift to clean energy will result in positive net employment impacts. The positive effects stem mainly from the higher labor intensity of REEE in relation to FF, as well as from higher domestic content and lower average wages. The findings suggest that as we transition away from a carbon-based energy system to more sustainable and low-carbon energy sources, approximately three jobs will be created in clean energy sectors for each job lost in the fossil fuel sector.

<p> The Serial Output Controller is one of the component boards of a Marine Navigation System. Litton Systems (Canada) Limited required the development of a test package for this board to be implemented on the DIGIPACT test station. This report introduc.es the subject of electronic component board testing with an overview of the test equipment and underlying philosophies used by Litton Systems for fault detection and fault diagnosis. The four stages of the test package development process, test plan definition, programming, validation and evaluation are described. The architecture of the DIGIPACT test system is presented as background information. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)