Since 1992, the Swedish government and more specifically the Swedish Transport Administration (STA), has subsidized unprofitable flights in the country. Most of these flights are to remote towns in the northern half of the country in which alternative methods of transport are limited, and it is therefore argued that these flights need to be subsidized in order to make these towns easily accessible and to continue being economically stable. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether or not the Swedish government should continue subsidizing unprofitable flight routes, or if it should subsidize some of the routes or simply none of them. This was done with a so-called cost-benefit analysis. The cost-benefit analysis comes to a conclusion that, likely, four out of the seven PSOs should be abolished, while three could possibly still be subsidized. However, since a cost-benefit analysis was used, it is difficult to test the result for statistical significance meaning the result is uncertain and open for discussion and future evaluation.

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Cultivation of marine ecosystems began in the early Holocene and has contributed vital resources to humans over millennia. Several more recent cultivation practices, however, erode biodiversity. Emerging lines of evidence indicate that certain resource management practices may promote favourable ecological conditions. Here, I use the co-occurrence of 24 First Nations clam gardens, shellfish aquaculture farms, and unmodified clam beaches to test several hypotheses concerning the ecological implications of managing intertidal bivalve populations. To so do, in 2015 and 2016, I surveyed epifaunal (surface) and bivalve communities and quantified each intertidal sites’ abiotic conditions, including sediment characteristics and substrate composition. In 2017, I generated three-dimensional models of each site using structure-from-motion photogrammetry and measured several aspects of habitat complexity. Statistical analyses use a combination of non-parametric multivariate statistics, multivariate regression trees, and random forests to quantify the extent to which the intertidal resource cultivation structures nearshore biodiversity Chapter 1 outlines a brief history of humanity's use of marine resources, the transition from extracting to cultivating aquatic taxa, and the emergences of the northeast Pacific’s most prevalent shellfish cultivation practices: clam gardens and shellfish farms. Chapter 2 evaluates the ability of epifaunal community assessment methods to capture species diversity by conducting a paired field experiment using four assessment methods: photo-quadrat, point-intercept, random subsampling, and full-quadrat assessments. Conducting each method concurrently within multiple intertidal sites allowed me to quantify the implications of varying sampling areas, subsampling, and photo surveys on detecting species diversity, abundance, and sample- and coverage-based biodiversity metrics. Species richness, density, and sample-based rarefaction varied between methods, despite assessments occurring at the same locations, with photo-quadrats detecting the lowest estimates and full-quadrat assessments the highest. Abundance estimates were consistent among methods, supporting the use of extrapolation. Coverage-based rarefaction and extrapolation curves confirmed that these dissimilarities were due to differences between the methods, not the sample completeness. The top-performing method, random subsampling, was used to conduct Chapter 4’s surveys. Chapter 3 examines the connection between shellfish biomass and the ecological conditions clam garden and shellfish farms foster. First, I established the methodological implications of varying sediment volume on the detection of bivalve diversity, abundance, shell length, and sample- and coverage-based biodiversity metrics. Similar to Chapter 2, this examination identified the most suitable method, which I used during the 2015 and 2016 bivalve surveys. The analyses quantified several interactions between each sites’ abiotic conditions and biological communities including, the influence of substrate composition, sediment characteristics, and physical complexity on bivalve communities, and if bivalve richness and habitat complexity facilitates increases in bivalve biomass. Chapter 4 quantifies the extent to which managing intertidal bivalves enhance habitat complexity, fostering increased diversity in the epifaunal communities. This chapter combines 2015, 2016, and 2017 surveys of the sites' epifaunal communities and habitat complexity metrics, including fractal dimension at four-resolutions and linear rugosity. Clam gardens enhance fine- and broad-scale complexity, while shellfish farms primarily increase fine-scale complexity, allowing for insights into parallel and divergent community responses. Chapter 5 presents an overview of shellfish as a marine subsidy to coastal terrestrial ecosystems along the Pacific coast of North America. I identified the vectors that transport shellfish-derived nutrients into coastal terrestrial environments, including birds, mammals, and over 13,000 years of marine resource use by local people. I also examined the abundance of shellfish-derived nutrients transported, the prolonged persistence of shellfish subsidies once deposited within terrestrial ecosystems, and the ecological implications for recipient ecosystems. Chapter 6 contextualizes the preceding chapters relative to the broader literature. The objective is to provide insight into how multiple shellfish cultivation systems influence biological communities, how ecological mechanisms facilitate biotic responses, and summarize the implications for conservation planning, Indigenous resource sovereignty, and biodiversity preservation. It also explores future work, specifically the need to support efforts that pair Indigenous knowledge, and ways of knowing with Western scientific insights to address conservation challenges. / Graduate / 2022-12-13

[pt] A presente tese de doutorado é dividida em três capítulos. No primeiro capítulo, exploramos descontinuidades em elegibilidade à auxílio financeiro para matrícula em instituições de Ensino Superior privado no Brasil para investigar: (i) se estudantes alteram suas decisões em resposta a uma política pública desenhada para subsidiar acesso ao Ensino Superior privado, e (ii) como estudantes reagem quando podem optar entre obter subsídios para matrícula no ensino privado ou se matricular em instituições públicas gratuitas. Nossos resultados mostram que elegibilidade à subsídios aumenta a probabilidade de que estudantes se matriculem e permaneçam matriculados no Ensino Superior. Também concluímos que elegibilidade reduz probabilidade de matrícula em instituições públicas e que não há impacto em investimento em qualidade ao nível do curso. No segundo capítulo, desenvolvemos um modelo estrutural de demanda com escolha discreta para investigar quais fatores influenciam a escolha de estudantes entre diferentes cursos. Utilizamos esse modelo e a expansão de um programa federal de crédito estudantil no Brasil para avaliar como disponibilidade de crédito influencia escolha de curso quando os custos associados variam ao nível do curso. Nossos resultados mostram que os dois fatores com maior influência na escolha de estudantes entre diferentes cursos são mensalidade e o retorno esperado no mercado de trabalho. Nossos resultados também mostram que, quando há disponibilidade de crédito, estudantes —especialmente estudantes de menor renda—são menos sensíveis à variações de mensalidade. No capítulo final, investigamos se restrições no acesso à água encanada causadas por um evento climático extremo afetam desempenho escolar. Respondemos a essa pergunta avaliando as consequências de uma política de racionamento de água imposta pelo governo do Distrito Federal. Ao comparar o desempenho acadêmico de estudantes matriculados em escolas localizada em vizinhanças atingidas pelo racionamento contra o desempenho de estudantes matriculados em vizinhanças não afetadas, concluímos que o racionamento de água teve um impacto negativo e significante em desempenho acadêmico. Em especial, nossos resultados mostram que esse impacto é significativamente maior para estudantes matriculados em escolas de pior infraestrutura. / [en] This doctoral thesis, is comprised of three chapters. In the first chapter, we explore a discontinuity in eligibility for financial aid for private higher education in Brazil to investigate: (i) if students in the lower end of the ability distribution change their behavior in response to a policy designed to subsidize access to private higher education, and (ii) how students react when they are given the chance to choose between public tuition-free institutions and subsidized access to private higher education. We show that eligibility for financial aid increases students likelihood of enrolling and persisting in higher education. We also find that eligible students are less likely to enroll in public tuition-free institutions, with no clear impact on the choice of quality at the program level. In the second chapter, we develop a structural discrete choice model of demand to investigate the determinants of major choice. We use this model and the expansion of a government-funded student credit program in Brazil to evaluate how the availability of credit impacts major choice when—as in Brazil—tuition varies at the major level. We find that tuition and expected labor market returns are the main factors determining students choice between different majors.We also find that, when student credit is available, students— especially lower income—are less sensitive to price variations at the major level. In the final chapter, we investigate whether water shortages caused by an extreme climate event impact educational performance. We answer this question exploring the consequences of a water rationing policy that affected some neighborhoods in Brazil s Distrito Federal. Comparing the academic performance of students enrolled in schools located in neighborhoods affected by the rationing against the performance of students enrolled in non-affected neighborhoods, we find that water rationing has a negative and significant impact on students performance. In particular, we show that the impact is significantly stronger for students enrolled in schools with poor infrastructure.

There are well-established links between early exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and negative developmental outcomes for young children. Emerging evidence suggests that early care and education (ECE), an existing and widely used resource within children’s communities, may be a promising means to support and address the needs of young children experiencing adversity. However, little is known about ECE or ECE policies in the IPV context. This three-paper dissertation employs a triangulation mixed methods design to address these gaps in our current knowledge. Chapter 2 investigates the influences of ECE on the behavioral outcomes of children exposed to IPV. Four waves of national, longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Survey (N=3,108) were used to examine the moderating roles of informal, formal home-based, and center-based child care on respective associations between children’s IPV exposure and internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems (IBP, EBP). Results from ordinary least squares regression models with interaction terms and subgroup analyses using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) suggest that non-parental child care, particularly center-based care, can attenuate the negative influences of some forms of IPV exposure on young children’s behavioral outcomes. Chapter 3 draws on primary data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 17 IPV survivor mothers of young children aged 0–5 to understand their ECE and child care subsidy decisions and arrangements. A data-driven thematic analysis revealed pervasive influences of IPV on mothers’ ECE access and utilization. Despite IPV perpetrators’ interference with and restraint of ECE, mothers sought child care arrangements they believed would enhance children’s well-being, particularly with respect to children’s IPV-related needs and safety. Social and structural factors (e.g., social isolation and ECE affordability and availability) also importantly influenced mothers’ ECE arrangements, and child care subsidies were a critical resource for some. Chapter 4 explores the mechanisms by which ECE can promote children’s resilience during and following IPV exposure, using data from the same 17 interviews with IPV survivor mothers as well as interviews with 6 ECE professionals with experience working with children exposed to IPV. Results from data-driven thematic analyses indicate that reduced exposure to IPV and associated risks, prevention of abusers’ unsafe contact with children, nurturance, enriching activities, stability, a balance of consistency and flexibility, access to therapeutic services, and support of children’s emotion regulation and social development may serve as key protective mechanisms for children exposed to IPV within ECE environments. / 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z

Bangladesh is a South Asian country that has great potential for renewable energy and a growing economy. Hence, it is important to understand the obstructing forces against Bangladesh’s sustainable development. Current literature has shown that removing fossil fuel subsidies can increase welfare by 1.89 per cent and small-scale hydropower plants can generate clean and reliable electricity while also providing clean drinking water, supporting irrigation systems, and managing severe flooding. The purpose of this report is to provide public opinion on reinvesting fossil fuel subsidies towards hydropower production. It seeks to present the views of Bangladeshi citizens on renewable energy, both their support for or against hydropower production and education levels on the topic. Both are important for policymakers as it allows them to plan their next steps in the energy transition with the knowledge of their general population.  It aims to achieve this through survey data, using snowballing sampling and the pretest-posttest design. Data was analysed using cross tabulation and contingency graphs and found that (1) there was an overall good understanding of fossil fuel consumption in Bangladesh but uncertainties to its relation to flooding and natural disasters. (2) Majority of Bangladeshis think the government over-subsidises fossil fuels and are willing to switch to renewables for electricity if the government offered it. And (3) while a few participants have concerns about hydropower, the majority are willing to support the reinvestment of fossil fuel subsidies into hydropower.

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This dissertation surveyed Section 8 participants to collect the information necessary to update utility allowances to reflect fy 1983 utility costs. Data was collected regarding the thermal efficiency of units currently under lease and the lifestyles of participants. HUD specified that allowances were to be updated by collecting and analyzing actual energy use data (from previous utility bills if possible). However, VHDA chose to contract with this author to develop a model which could estimate actual energy use from the survey data. Such a model was developed and validated using case studies of Section 8 units that were able to return accurate actual use data; as part of the information requested in the survey. Following model validation, the model was used to update utility allowances and generate a set of allowance worksheets VHDA field agents use when determining levels of assistance under the Section 8 program. A total VHDA utility budget was then estimated by aggregating the individual utility allowances based on the updated worksheets. The new total utility budget was estimated to be $6.2 million while the previous budget was about $3.8 million. This was clearly higher than VHDA had the funds to cover. Therefore solutions were explored to reduce these budget costs and still provide 100% of the cost of utilities. / Ph. D.

Congress has directed the Department of Agriculture to perform research and establish a pilot program to determine the feasibility of using regulated agricultural commodity options trading for the benefit of farmers to protect them from fluctuations in the value of their commodities. The purpose of this study is to examine the prospects for using put options in place of current farm income support programs. It focuses on the feed corn program in its analysis. It also examines available literature on the subject of using futures and options contracts to replace current farm programs. The study uses the Black model for the pricing of options on futures contracts to estimate prices of options that would provide a level of income protection similar to that afforded by the current income support program for corn farmers. It goes on to estimate the fair value of the implicit put options granted by the Federal government for the 1982 - 1989 crops of corn and compares those values to actual program costs. The results suggest the possibility that program costs are higher than they need be because government price and income guarantees are provided at a cost in excess of the fair market values of the current program's implicit options and that transfer of some or all of the risk-bearing role to the private sector would result in reduced government costs. / Master of Arts