<p> My dissertation addresses the need for an alternative system to capitalism, our mainstream system of economics, to support the necessities of a world facing countless ecological systems collapses, global climate change, and social inequity exacerbated by wealth disparity. <i>Alternative economics </i> is defined here as current economic or socioeconomic practices and theories that may redress the flaws in the current dominant global economic system, which is mainstream capitalism. </p><p> The approach to this research is theoretical; that is, I analyze the current literature in the relevant areas of economics and related literature in the social sciences, philosophy, political economics, and environmental studies. I then attempt to generate new knowledge through the analysis, critique, extension, and integration of existing theories and by drawing on existing empirical research. This research is also transdisciplinary, an approach that transcends conventional disciplinary regimes and boundaries. The aim of this study is to ascertain the best alternatives to our current system of capitalism by examining the arguments for and against alternative economic or socioeconomic systems. </p><p> The scope may embrace the complex and transdisciplinary, but it attempts to focus as narrowly as possible on the most promising ideas today concerning the imminent need for changing economics in the face of our global socio-environmental crises as being considered of high importance. The definitive goal of this research is to examine the most recent literature on these alternatives, and, based on this research, to identify which alternatives most suitably address the needs of our ecological systems, the needs of society, and the issue of global climate change. </p><p> Keywords: alternative economics, heterodox economics, sustainability, compassionate economics, wealth disparity, ecosocialism economics, steady-state economics, climate change, transdisciplinary.</p>

The role of the public policy process as a factor in geographical change is examined by means of a study of US public policy in the lagging region of Appalachia. A review of the socio-economic problems of this region, and of US government attempts to overcome these problems, identifies the difficulty of drawing conclusions on the basis of attempting to reconcile opposing value systems at the full regional level. In order to enhance the depth of geographical analysis possible, a detailed study of a sample of Local Development Districts (LDDs) within Appalachia is taken up in order to assess the working out of public policy at the local level. Quantifiable census data of economic and demographic variables are used to provide a foundation against which the opinions of LDD staff can be evaluated. In a synthesis of this data it is shown that major improvements have taken place in the quality of life of the people of Appalachia between 1960 and 1980; that over this period the LDDS have provided an important catalytic role, both in bringing local-scale infrastructure to largely rural areas, and in developing local involvement in decision-making; and that there is little ground for suggesting that local development would have taken place on such a scale without the LDD presence. The conclusions drawn from this study are that the public policy process should be regarded as a major factor in the explanation of geographical change; that the best application of public policy is through the marriage of different scales of infrastructure provision and geographical unit; that both public policy and theoretical modelling should recognise the dynamic nature of society; and that geographers can make important contributions to the public policy process.

<p> This paper examines the relationship between expansions of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits and federal tax return filing behavior among EITC eligible individuals. An estimated 13 to 18 percent of individuals who are eligible for EITC do not file tax returns, and therefore do not receive the credit. One understudied approach to reducing the EITC eligible nonfiler rate is increasing EITC benefits, which effectively increases filing incentives. This study uses panel data from the 2008 Survey on Income and Program Participation that track EITC eligible individuals before and after the EITC expansion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (n = 111,057). A cross-sectional Heckit model and fixed effects linear probability model estimate that a $100 increase in EITC is associated with a 5.1 to 5.9 percent increase in the 2009 filing propensity of 2007 EITC eligible nonfilers (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.000). A generalized ordered logit model estimates that, among EITC eligible individuals without a filing requirement in 2007 and 2009, a $100 increase in EITC is associated with a 0.6 percent increase in the probability of persistent filing and a 0.4 percent decrease in the probability of persistent nonfiling across both years (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.000). Greater participation should be counted among the potential benefits of EITC expansions.</p>

<p> The purpose of this policy analysis was to analyze California&rsquo;s implementation of CalFresh as a part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) using research articles and state and governmental documents. The analysis explored the amendment to CalFresh to student eligibility and the consequences of implementation. The amendment to the policy increased eligibility to students that were previously disqualified from receiving nutritional assistance on the basis that they were attending an institution of higher education. A thorough examination of the act provided an understanding of how benefits are distributed among qualifying college students. Though CalFresh is available to many low-income Californians, the information presented in this policy analysis focused on traditional college students and in detailing the benefits they are able to receive through the CalFresh Student Eligibility Amendment.</p>

<p> Collaborative efforts like modern scientific research depend on methods to evaluate and absorb participants&rsquo; contributions, and at the research frontier this evaluative step is often accomplished through the peer review of grants and manuscripts. With billions of dollars and space in prestigious journals hinging on the decisions of reviewers, the review system has attracted consistent scrutiny. Many of the thousands of studies scrutinizing peer review focus on the reliability, validity, and fairness of the reviewers&rsquo; decisions. Largely absent in this debate about peer review&rsquo;s internal practices are the consequences of these practices for the character and diffusion of published knowledge. This dissertation shifts the focus to the consequences of peer review practices through four case studies. The first case investigates the negotiation of revisions authors of quantitative sociological manuscripts undertake during peer review and reveals that substantial changes concern primarily manuscripts&rsquo; theoretical framing, while the data analyses remain relatively stable. The case argues that the greater relative value placed on data and analysis over frames incentivizes investment into the former over the latter. The second case interrogates the common practice of using post-publication citations to evaluate the validity of review decisions. Analysis of the reviews of manuscripts submitted to the <i>American Sociological Review</i> from 1977 to 1981 and the manuscripts&rsquo; subsequent citations reveals no relationship. However, reviewers&rsquo; comments show that reviewers focused on the soundness of the manuscripts&rsquo; arguments, not their potential impact. The case shows that a review process that results in publications of variable impact is not necessarily a failing of peer review, but rather a consequence of reviewers and citers draw on different dimensions of value. The third case study examines the consequences for quantitative sociology of the common bias for positive findings in peer review. Using hundreds of studies that use the <i>General Social Survey,</i> the published statistical relationships are perturbed by slight changes to the model specifications. Results show that at the time of publication, results are relatively robust to this perturbation. Additionally, the published relationships are estimated using waves of the Survey that appeared after publication. Results indicate that published findings are weakened much more by social change. The last case focuses on the consequences of scientific peer review judgments outside of the sphere of science. By measuring rates at which millions of scientific journals are used as sources in Wikipedia, the largest online encyclopedia, I show that Wikipedia editors preferentially use high impact and the more accessible (open access) journals. The case shows that increased accessibility of the scientific literature improves its diffusion to the lay public and that a status ordering that review practices establish in one sphere, science, may be exported wholesale to a disparate context, Wikipedia.</p>

<p> Research literature has documented Nigeria&rsquo;s leadership crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1960. This crisis corresponds with political instability and infrastructure weaknesses, which have resulted in crime, corruption, poverty, lack of social cohesion and personal freedoms, environmental degradation, gender inequities, and deteriorating conditions of public works. No literature was located that addressed the impact of leadership on the governance and development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate this phenomenon in Nigeria between 1960 and 2010. The theoretical framework comprised Burns&rsquo; and Bass&rsquo; theories of transformational leadership, and Davis&rsquo; and Toikka&rsquo;s theories of transformation and transition in governance. Data were collected through personal interviews with a purposeful sample of 13 past presidents of Nigeria, public officials, and infrastructure development experts, and by reviewing secondary data on leadership and development in Nigeria during the period 1960&ndash;2010. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify patterns and themes. Findings showed that (a) political instability and the Nigerian civil war have been obstacles to infrastructure development and implementation; (b) military dictatorships implemented improvements, although they neglected rural areas; (c) a new national infrastructure plan must be funded, developed, and implemented; (d) corruption must be combatted in awarding project contracts; and (e) Nigeria&rsquo;s governance should be based on a pragmatic-visionary form of leadership. The implications for positive social change include informing policy makers about the importance of infrastructure development in Nigeria in order to improve economic growth and the lives of citizens.</p>

No description available.

<p> The occurrence of inflight medical incidents on commercial airlines is documented in medical and aviation journals to occur at a rate of approximately 1 in 11,000 &ndash; 50,000 passengers (Lyznicki, 2013; Prout, 2013; Johanson, 2013; and Peterson, 2013) but these numbers can vary. As there are no requirements to report medical incidents to any governing body worldwide (Ruskin, 2009), (Walters, 2008), (Liao, 2010) it is very difficult to obtain an accurate accounting of inflight incidents. The literature reveals that most of the inflight incidents are occurring among passengers with pre-existing conditions (Grounder, 2011) and that issues were not being properly addressed by their primary care providers. The purpose of this study was to show the depth of discrepancy between the currently reported rate of inflight medical incidents and the actual rate of inflight incidents and to gain a better understanding of the general public knowledge base regarding flying with medical conditions and practice of medical providers addressing their patient&rsquo;s acute &amp; chronic conditions as it pertains to flying on commercial airlines. This study surveyed the general public and revealed the majority of respondents had no knowledge of medical guidelines for passengers and a lack of discussion with their providers regarding safety of flying as it relates to their medical conditions. This study also conducted a survey of medical providers which revealed a lack of understanding of how aircraft cabin pressurization affects their patients with acute and chronic illness. These findings support the need for improvement in developing and implementing a unified method of calculating and reporting inflight medical incidents, along with patient and provider flight education.</p>

<p>The economic rationale for public intervention into private markets through price mechanisms is twofold: to correct market failures and to redistribute resources. Financial incentives are one such price mechanism. In this dissertation, I specifically address the role of financial incentives in providing social goods in two separate contexts: a redistributive policy that enables low income working families to access affordable childcare in the US and an experimental pay-for-performance intervention to improve population health outcomes in rural India. In the first two papers, I investigate the effects of government incentives for providing grandchild care on grandmothers’ short- and long-term outcomes. In the third paper, coauthored with Manoj Mohanan, Grant Miller, Katherine Donato, and Marcos Vera-Hernandez, we use an experimental framework to consider the the effects of financial incentives in improving maternal and child health outcomes in the Indian state of Karnataka. </p><p>Grandmothers provide a significant amount of childcare in the US, but little is known about how this informal, and often uncompensated, time transfer impacts their economic and health outcomes. The first two chapters of this dissertation address the impact of federally funded, state-level means-tested programs that compensate grandparent-provided childcare on the retirement security of older women, an economically vulnerable group of considerable policy interest. I use the variation in the availability and generosity of childcare subsidies to model the effect of government payments for grandchild care on grandmothers’ time use, income, earnings, interfamily transfers, and health outcomes. After establishing that more generous government payments induce grandmothers to provide more hours of childcare, I find that grandmothers adjust their behavior by reducing their formal labor supply and earnings. Grandmothers make up for lost earnings by claiming Social Security earlier, increasing their reliance on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and reducing financial transfers to their children. While the policy does not appear to negatively impact grandmothers’ immediate economic well-being, there are significant costs to the state, in terms of both up-front costs for care payments and long-term costs as a result of grandmothers’ increased reliance on social insurance.</p><p>The final paper, The Role of Non-Cognitive Traits in Response to Financial Incentives: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial of Obstetrics Care Providers in India, is coauthored with Manoj Mohanan, Grant Miller, Katherine Donato and Marcos Vera-Hernandez. We report the results from “Improving Maternal and Child Health in India: Evaluating Demand and Supply Side Strategies” (IMACHINE), a randomized controlled experiment designed to test the effectiveness of supply-side incentives for private obstetrics care providers in rural Karnataka, India. In particular, the experimental design compares two different types of incentives: (1) those based on the quality of inputs providers offer their patients (inputs contracts) and (2) those based on the reduction of incidence of four adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes (outcomes contracts). Along with studying the relative effectiveness of the different financial incentives, we also investigate the role of provider characteristics, preferences, expectations and non-cognitive traits in mitigating the effects of incentive contracts.</p><p>We find that both contract types input incentive contracts reduce rates of post-partum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality in India by about 20%. We also find some evidence of multitasking as output incentive contract providers reduce the level of postnatal newborn care received by their patients. We find that patient health improvements in response to both contract types are concentrated among higher trained providers. We find improvements in patient care to be concentrated among the lower trained providers. Contrary to our expectations, we also find improvements in patient health to be concentrated among the most risk averse providers, while more patient providers respond relatively little to the incentives, and these difference are most evident in the outputs contract arm. The results are opposite for patient care outcomes; risk averse providers have significantly lower rates of patient care and more patient providers provide higher quality care in response to the outputs contract. We find evidence that overconfidence among providers about their expectations about possible improvements reduces the effectiveness of both types of incentive contracts for improving both patient outcomes and patient care. Finally, we find no heterogeneous response based on non-cognitive traits.</p> / Dissertation

<p> Although women obtain degrees in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at lower rates than their male counterparts, this difference does not alone account for the similarly large disparity of men and women working in STEM jobs. Using data from the American Community Survey for 2015, I run a survey of models, including linear and logistic regressions as well as propensity matching, to investigate the extent to which women are underrepresented, even after accounting for education. The results show that for women, the benefit of a STEM degree on STEM job placement rates is significantly lower than it is for their male counterparts; in some estimates, the effect is halved. The models diverge somewhat on the extent to which this is correlated with a lower baseline of women without STEM degrees working STEM jobs (compared to similar men), but all provide grounds to reject the notion that workforce disparity is attributable solely or even primarily to education.</p>