This dissertation includes three essays on growth, the housing market, and inequality. In the first essay, I analyze the effects of government consumption and government debt on long-run economic growth by considering the economic characteristics of the countries investigated. Linear regressions reveal that government consumption has a much bigger negative impact on long-run growth compared with the negative (and sometimes insignificant) effects of government debt. Nonlinear analyses further show that such effects are highly impacted by the economic characteristics of the countries investigated. In the second essay, I study time-series fluctuations in the United States housing market from 2010 to 2016 using the Gordon growth model. Using variance decomposition analysis, I find that the housing premium is the main driver of housing market fluctuations. Motivated by previous studies and using impulse response functions, I show how different components of the housing market respond over time to a shock in the interest rate in regions with different levels of income or demographics. My findings suggest that the impact of monetary policy is smaller (and less persistent) in the U.S. housing market when households have more females, more African Americans, or fewer well-educated members; a combination of these demographics and a lower income in households results in a smaller impact of monetary policy in the housing market, due to the necessity of housing for these families. In the third essay, I use Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annual data and Zillow median housing price data, to analyze the impact of income inequality on housing price to rent ratio from 2005 to 2015 for more than 12,700 zip codes. Employing various specifications, I find a consistent positive and significant relationship between the Gini coefficient and housing affordability index. My results are robust to different methods of estimating the Gini index. Moreover, the empirical results of this study suggest a larger impact of inequality in zip codes with higher levels of income.

The agricultural interests of the United States and Utah have experienced some trying situations during the past quarter century. Periods of depression followed by periods of expansion and prosperity have resulted in a condition of instability and insecurity in agriculture. The effect of alternate periods of prosperiy and depression in agriculture becomes increasingly important as agriculture changes from self-sufficing to commercialized types of business enterprises. Many of the difficulties inherent in the present complex social and captial structure were of minor significances in the early types of agricultural activities. Changing conditions in agriculture and in social institutions in general have necessitated that action be taken in behalf of agriculture; that some of the disturbances and chaos resulting from rapidly changing economic conditions might be mitigated. Many attempts have been made to relieve the undesirable situations which have prevailed in our agricultural industry. Some measures of relief have been supplied by various legislative action; other movements have resulted from activities on the part of farmers' organizations. Among the remedies proposed for relieving the depressed agricultural situation was movement for cooperative enterprise, especially those adventures in the realm of cooperative marketing. This movement, accordng to many, was to serve as the panacea or "cure all" for the undesirable disturbances in the field of agriculture. With the general evolution of the cooperative idea as a possible remedy for agricultural ills, government aid was solicited in an effort to promote and encourage agricultural cooperation. Various legislative acts, both state and federal, were passed and numerous political gestures made in the farmer's behalf. This was largely the result of the realization of a long felt need on the part of agricultural leaders; however to some extent it may have been an act of political strategy by those desiring the support of the national farm bloc. No matter what the reason, the fat remained that sentiment was created and interest was secured favoring the development of agricultural cooperatives. Farm organizations, professional promoters, agricultural extension services, and other educational institutions have all exerted an influence ont he character and direction of cooperative development. Just what effect this cooperative movement has had on the agricultural situation in Utah and its present status, is the primary purpose of this treatise. The historical background and development of cooperative tendencies will be presented briefly in an effort to show the growth and development of cooperative marketing along with its present economic status in Utah. The purpose of this study is to analyze and interpret the historical growth and development of farmers' cooperative marketing organizations in Utah along with an appraisal of their present economic status.

The first essay constitutes a theory which lends truth to the Kuznets hypothesis. The attention is centered on the role of financial markets in defining the process of knowledge accumulation, and ultimately the distribution of income earning capabilities in a population of ex ante heterogeneous individuals. The provision of credit is hindered by one-sided lack of commitment embedded in the area of educational investment. Adaptation in the legislative system to accommodate a punishment scheme conditional on default is the critical requirement for the economy to be carried on a dynamic growth path, albeit one of higher and worsening inequality. Owing to the accumulation of human capital and the associated externality on future generations’ knowledge productivity, the economy ultimately makes its transition to a state of lower income differentials. The second essay is an enquiry on the role of monetary policy in determining the growth dynamics of a small open economy. We postulate that the possibility of intermediated credit does not exist, the intention of the assumption being to uncover the role of inflation as tax on private spending. The analysis brings a valid argument of the superneutrality of money. Inflation when operating as consumption tax has no impact on the growth rate of output. This is established irrespective of the labor supply be held fixed, or incorporated as endogenous decision. When imitating the role of capital taxation, inflationary policy has a negative effect on capital accumulation in a framework of fixed labor supply. However, the validity of the superneutrality result is once again reestablished in an environment accommodating the endogeneity of labor supply. The third essay is a theoretical investigation of the long-run effects of tax and expenditure policies in an open economy framework. The aim is to establish an analytic basis for the factual evidence associated with the non-monotonic response of the current account to fiscal shocks. To this endeavor we sought two sources of time non-separability in the preference structure, habit-forming consumption in consumer durable goods. Optimal private choices induce non-monotonic dynamics on consumption behavior that are exactly consistent with the evidence on the current account.

The goal of this study is to evaluate the introduction of cellulosic ethanol conversion plants using switchgrass as the feedstock and how it impacts the economies of two Tennessee regions. Switchgrass feedstock production, storage, and transportation costs are estimated for one plant in West Tennessee and one plant in East Tennessee. In each region, the location for a cellulosic ethanol conversion plant and the acreage required to meet a 61.8 million-gallon/year capacity are specified. The costs associated with switchgrass production and cellulosic ethanol conversion are then entered into IMPLAN to estimate the economic impacts of one cellulosic ethanol plant in each region. The key findings of the study for West Tennessee are as follows. The investment impacts of switchgrass farming are $100.4 million more in total industry output, an increase of 914 jobs, and $46.9 million more in total valued added. Investment impacts of a cellulosic ethanol conversion plant include $121.3 million increase in total industry output, an additional 653 jobs, and a $47.7 million increase in total valued added. Year-to-year operations of switchgrass farming and cellulosic ethanol conversion increase the region’s total industry output by $57.1 million, increase jobs by 296, and increase total value added by $26 million. In East Tennessee the investment impacts of switchgrass farming are $118.3 million increase in total industry output, 949 jobs created, and a $66.4 million increase in total valued added. Investment impacts of a cellulosic ethanol conversion plant include a $116.9 million increase in total industry output, an additional 765 jobs, and a $48.3 million increase in total valued added. Year-to-year operations of switchgrass farming and cellulosic ethanol conversion increase the region’s total industry output by $80.4 million, jobs by 396, and the total value added by $39.2 million.

This paper analyzes the impacts of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Scheme. The goal of this paper is to help improve the design of cash transfers. First of all, I analyze whether the cash transfer positively affects child health variables despite occurring in a region with poor supply side health institutions. I find significant results for many child level variables, such as frequency of illnesses, but insignificant improvements in anthropometric measurements. Secondly, I examine whether female-headed households invest more in child health than male-headed households. The results show that the impacts of the cash transfer did not depend on the sex of the household head. This result provides some evidence that females do not always have systematically different preferences for expenditure on children than males. The paper uses the imperfect randomization of the cash transfer in combination with difference-in-differences regressions, propensity score matching, and Lee Bounds tests in order to ensure the robustness of the results.

Selection for increased encephalization in humans necessitated extensive brain growth after birth. To estimate changes in rates of growth and corresponding shape changes during gestation and infancy, chord and arc distances were obtained from the frontal, parietal, and occipital bones of 44 human fetuses, neonates, and infants (one year old and younger). Rates of growth in chord and arc measurements were calculated and compared using linear regression of log-transformed variables, followed by ANCOVA. Curvature of bone lengths and widths were estimated by chord/arc indices. Fetal rates of cranial growth were significantly slower while the fetal frontal and occipital bones were significantly more curved than those of infants. Fetal rates of cranial growth decrease during the first six postnatal months, in conjunction with rapid changes in shape, except for parietal superior-inferior height where bossing of the bone is similar in fetuses and neonates.

This paper investigates the impact of Familias en Acción, a conditional cash transfer program in Colombia, on participant credit behavior. The motivation of the research is derived from previous studies which indicate that conditional cash transfer programs have effects on households aside from those directly intentioned by the programs. While the direct impacts of Familias en Acción have been measured by the research team responsible for evaluating the program, potential indirect effects remain uninvestigated. My research specifically focuses on the impacts of the program on credit behavior. I compute estimates on the percent change in loan balance outstanding and credit participation over the four-year evaluation period by comparing households that are benefiting from the program (treatment) and those that are not (control). Because Familias en Acción was not a randomly assigned program, I use quasi-experimental data collected in three rounds over four years. I control for dissimilarities between the treatment and control group by utilizing a difference-in-differences approach and by controlling across a wide-range of observable household characteristics. I find that the program does affect credit behavior in treated households. In both urban and rural areas, the outstanding loan balance and the number of households involved in the credit market increases after the first year of the program. After four years of the program, the effect is still significant and positive in rural areas though not in urban areas. This indicates that the program affects credit behavior in all treated households in the short run and rural households in the long run. These findings provide new considerations for policy makers who are implementing these programs in developing countries.

This paper examines the fiscal impact of privatization revenues in 47 developing countries. There are many reasons that privatization is attractive for the central government of developing countries. If substantial, these revenues from the sale of state owned enterprises can present a potential solution to persistent deficits. On the other hand, the privatization revenues could be used to finance an even larger deficit. In this paper, I will discuss previous research on the fiscal impact of privatization revenues, the factors that contribute to persistent fiscal budget deficits and explain how empirical research on the fiscal impact of privatization in the developing world is a logical extension of this research. Using data from the World Bank’s Privatization Database on privatization revenues from the years 1988 to 2008 and panel data techniques, I find that an increase in privatization revenues is correlated with a worsening of the fiscal budget balance, lending support to the hypothesis that revenues from the sales of state owned enterprises are used to finance a larger deficit.

The natural resource curse paradox has given rise to a wide range of explanations, which look at the economic, social and political characteristics of resource-rich countries. This paper focuses on the political economy of natural resources and finds that controlling for sociopolitical factors eliminates the natural resource curse. The analysis then turns to these sociopolitical factors and examines the significant, complex and varied effects of democratization on economic growth in general, as well as in resource-rich countries in particular. I conclude that the type of institutions needed for economic development in resource-rich countries are not specific to either democratic or autocratic systems, but are equally likely to be adopted by either regime, so that no one ideology is more suitable than the other. A corollary to this, however, is the case of weak democracies or low democratization levels. Such states are unable to adopt the necessary strategies and institutions and, thus, pose the greatest threat to economic growth in resource-rich countries. On the other hand, highly autocratic systems in resource-rich countries, such as those in Bahrain and UAE, or perfectly democratic systems, such as those in Norway and Iceland, utilize resources more efficiently for economic development.

Despite some recent economic progress, there is still widespread poverty and severe inequality in developing countries. According to the World Bank there are over 925 million hungry or undernourished people worldwide. More than 80 percent of people in the world live in countries whose income inequality is rising. Over 2.1 billion people globally live on less than two dollars a day, with over 880 million people facing absolute poverty and living on less than one dollar a day. Three out of four people living on less than $1 a day live in rural areas. These impacts have been magnified by the recent global recession, as rising food prices and a decrease in remittances have pushed between 130 and 155 million people back into poverty. 1 Particularly in lower income countries, the impoverished are faced with poor and insufficiently funded health care systems, restricted access to adequate nutrition and potable water, low agricultural yields, and poor soil quality. Not only are the services in short supply for the poor, but the predicament of the poor often limits their capacity to avail themselves of these services. Parents may opt for keeping their children out of school, either to employ their labor or to avoid the costs of transportation and school fees. Healthcare may also entail costs that parents are reluctant to bear. Thus, people are often in poor health which decreases their productivity and learning capacity. These issues combined, along with inadequate education systems, poor school attendance, and teacher absenteeism, all retard human capital accumulation.