In this dissertation, I offer three independent studies. The first examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on entrepreneurial activities over the period 1996-2008. We find that FDI has no discernible effect on entrepreneurial activity in probusiness states identified by the existence of Right-to-Work (RTW) states. In non-RTW states, however, we find that an increase in FDI decreases the average monthly rate of business creation and destruction.
The second study assesses the impact of breastfeeding on early childhood outcomes. Using Birth Cohort of Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (ECLS-b) data and employing a recently developed econometric technique, I estimate the upper and lower bounds of the effect of breastfeeding on early childhood health and cognitive ability. I find that even a small fraction of selection on unobservables explains the full effect of breastfeeding on early childhood outcomes.
The third study evaluates the effect of Ban-the-Box (BTB) policy on recidivism. BTB policies restrict employers from conducting background checks on employment applications and delay them until interviews are completed. I examine if BTB policies prevent ex-offenders from returning to prison. Using the National Correctional Reporting Program 2000-2014 dataset in a differences-in-differences framework, I find that BTB policies reduce one-year rates of recidivism. I also observe a large reduction in recidivism for black males in BTB counties but do not detect any evidence for females. Finally, I find that employment opportunities in industries which employ more ex-offenders are complements with BTB policies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-06202017-040247 |
| Date | 07 July 2017 |
| Creators | Onda, Masayuki |
| Contributors | Eren, Ozkan, Hill, Carter, Chanda, Areendam, Dowell, Margaret-Mary Sulentic, Davis, Nick, Newman, Robert |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06202017-040247/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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