This dissertation uses informalization as a way to identify workers and enterprises that engage in low-productivity, or contingent economic activities, and are systemically excluded from the costs and benefits of social ...

Natural hazards occur frequently, and the costs associated with these events are well into the billions of dollars. The rising frequency and costs from natural disasters require a comprehensive understanding of its impacts ...

In the United States, suicide is typically theorized as an individual act, and as symptom of a mental disorder. However, evidence shows that those who die of suicide (e.g., by sex, race) varies depending on cultural, social ...

With the rise of neoliberal perspectives on economic policy and development in the 1980s came a new phase of globalization in the world economy. Quantitative increases in trade and financial flows, coupled with qualitative ...

International capital flows play a critical role in the development process. On the one hand, a stable stream of capital flows could augment the capital stock accumulation of a country and, hence, spur economic growth. On ...

This dissertation explores the relationship between trade liberalization and the environment in several aspects. Chapter 2 first examines the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve for carbon dioxide emissions, in ...

The legacy of lead in the United States is complex and intertwined with public health. As concerns over the toxicity of lead increased with time, policy makers responded with a series of national policies aimed at minimizing ...

Simulations show that recipient nations are directly impacted by U.S. foreign assistance spending (in the form of U.S. economic and military aid) in a manner similar to transfer payments, spurring growth, and easing liquidity ...

Following findings of increased poverty over time among Coloradans with college experience, I estimate the impact of Higher Education spending on poverty and debt outcomes for groups of individuals who have completed at ...

In the preface to his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817; 1951, p. 5), David Ricardo wrote that the determination of laws of distribution is the principal problem in Political Economy. One of the political ...