Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Geography'
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1
Campbell, Janet C. "Geographic adventures an interdisciplinary fourth grade geography unit /." [Denver, Colo.] : Regis University, 2006. http://165.236.235.140/lib/JCampbell2007.pdf.
2
Heric, Matthew. "The professional geographer experience : issues for advancing collegiate geography education /." Diss., This resource online, 1996. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06062008-155714/.
3
Seymour, Amy. "Overcoming Global Ignorance: Developing Geographic Literacy in a World Regional Geography Course." TopSCHOLAR®, 2007. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/432.
Abstract:
The most recent Roper Survey (2006), a study of geographic literacy among 18-to 24-year-olds, found that despite constant coverage of the war in Iraq since 2003, 63% of Americans surveyed could not find Iraq on a map. Similar shortcomings abound in the poll, pointing to what must be considered a "geographic illiteracy" among Americans. This national geographic illiteracy has global implications that range from the local to the global scale, including issues of politics, economics, foreign policy, environmental policy, and resource use to name just a few. How badly prepared, then, are students entering colleges and universities in terms of basic geographic knowledge? What are the societal consequences of failing to address geographic ignorance, and what instructional methodology could successfully address the problem? Once baseline geographic knowledge is assessed in the classroom, how can it be improved? The hypothesis of this study is that teaching students geography through a rigorous system that reinforces the Five Themes of geography through regular analysis of current events can help to improve geographic knowledge and understanding, and that this heuristic device can be expected to increase students' base geographic knowledge by at least 30% over the course of a semester, bringing average pre-course F grades to a B within a short period of time. The study group was comprised of three World Regional geography classes offered during the spring 2007 semester at Western Kentucky University's Glasgow campus. Students took a pre-course survey prior to any lecture over the subject material. This same survey was administered at the end of course prior to the final exam, with the difference between the two representing the improvement score. During the semester the students were given eight assignments where the students had to analyze a current event using the Five Themes, with the expectation that these assignments would increase their knowledge content over the semester by the target average of 30%. The study returned a below-target actual increase of 15% - nonetheless a significant increase - but this increase could not be statistically attributed to the Five Themes rubric. The Five Themes heuristic did not appear instrumental in improving geographic knowledge during the course of a semester as the study duration may have been too short. However, the significant level of student improvement suggests that this concept warrants further investigation as a pedagogical methodology through a much more extended set of trials. Although this study, as designed, produced inconclusive results, it unexpectedly revealed evidence that factors of age and gender may strongly affect geographic learning, raising questions about adopting any one-size-fits-all approach to geography education. The study also suggests that the current trend of providing a single course in geography in pre-college education does not suffice in bridging the gap of geography illiteracy in America. The results argue for suggesting a need for new directions in educational policy and practice at both the secondary and post-secondary levels.
4
Bachmann, Monika M. "Geography in Virginia four hundred years of geography and geography education in the Old Dominion." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/4521.
Abstract:
Thesis (D.A.)--George Mason University, 2009.Vita: p. 343. Thesis director: Allan Falconer. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Arts in Community College Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed June 10, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 334-342). Also issued in print.
5
Sellergren, Martin. "Local Geography Educator." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för informationsteknologi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-372079.
Abstract:
The intent of this project is to produce a mobile application capable of teaching local geography of any place in the world to it’s users. The meaning of local geography in this context is attributes of villages, city-districts, roads, parks, rivers, schools and such geographic objects – object inside a limited area. The goal was to make a stimulating, entertaining and above all educational application. A design was carefully assembled through an analysis of existing applications with a similar concept, through a review of human factors regarding memory and learning, through an interview with a potential user, among other things. The corresponding application was implemented for Android mobile phones and tablets. The application introduces quiz- based education with well-reasoned solutions to design difficulties also faced by other developers of applications of this kind. The resulting application is likely unique with the functionality to offer education of detailed local geography of any place in the world. A brief evaluation of the educational value of the resulting application had promising results.
6
West, Bryan A. "Conceptions of geographic information systems (GIS) held by senior geography students in Queensland." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2008. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16682/1/Bryan_Andrew_West_Thesis.pdf.
Abstract:
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) represent one of the major contributions to spatial analysis and planning of the new technologies. While teachers and others have viewed its potential contribution to geographical education as considerable, it has not been known with any certainty whether they present a valuable educational tool that aids geographical education. The value of GIS to geographical education is viewed as depending on a geographical education being, in itself, valuable.
Within this context, synergetic focus groups are employed to explore the conceptions of GIS held by 109 secondary school students studying Senior Geography in metropolitan and regional Queensland, Australia. A phenomenographic approach is adopted to identify the six qualitatively different ways, or conceptions, in which the participating students experience GIS as:
1. Maps and a source of maps in geography.
2. Mapping in geography: a way to use and create maps.
3. A professional mapping tool: exceeding the needs of senior
geography.
4. Frustrating geography: irksome and presenting many challenges
to the student-user.
5. Relevant geography: within and beyond the school experience.
6. A better geography: offering a superior curriculum, and broader
geographical education, when contrasted to a senior geography
that omits its use.
The structural and referential elements of each of these conceptions are elucidated within corresponding Categories of Description. The qualitatively different ways in which the conceptions may be experienced are illustrated through an Outcome Space, comprising a metaphoric island landscape. This structural framework reveals that for the Senior Geography students who participated in this investigation, the extent to which GIS may augment the curriculum is influenced by the nature of students' individual understandings of how GIS manages spatial data.
This research project is a response to repeated calls in the literature for teachers of geography themselves to become researchers and for a better understanding of GIS within geography education. It reviews the salient literature with respect to geography and geography education generally, and GIS within geographical education specifically. The investigation has confirmed that qualitatively different conceptions of GIS exist amongst students and that these are not consistently aligned with assumptions about its use and benefits as presented by current literature.
The findings of the study contribute to knowledge of the potential educational outcomes associated with the use of GIS in geography education and decisions related to current and potential geography curricula. It provides guidance for future curriculum development involving GIS and argues for additional research to inform educators and the spatial sciences industry about the actual and perceived role of GIS within geography education.
7
West, Bryan A. "Conceptions of geographic information systems (GIS) held by senior geography students in Queensland." Queensland University of Technology, 2008. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16682/.
Abstract:
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) represent one of the major contributions to spatial analysis and planning of the new technologies. While teachers and others have viewed its potential contribution to geographical education as considerable, it has not been known with any certainty whether they present a valuable educational tool that aids geographical education. The value of GIS to geographical education is viewed as depending on a geographical education being, in itself, valuable. Within this context, synergetic focus groups are employed to explore the conceptions of GIS held by 109 secondary school students studying Senior Geography in metropolitan and regional Queensland, Australia. A phenomenographic approach is adopted to identify the six qualitatively different ways, or conceptions, in which the participating students experience GIS as: 1. Maps and a source of maps in geography. 2. Mapping in geography: a way to use and create maps. 3. A professional mapping tool: exceeding the needs of senior geography. 4. Frustrating geography: irksome and presenting many challenges to the student-user. 5. Relevant geography: within and beyond the school experience. 6. A better geography: offering a superior curriculum, and broader geographical education, when contrasted to a senior geography that omits its use. The structural and referential elements of each of these conceptions are elucidated within corresponding Categories of Description. The qualitatively different ways in which the conceptions may be experienced are illustrated through an Outcome Space, comprising a metaphoric island landscape. This structural framework reveals that for the Senior Geography students who participated in this investigation, the extent to which GIS may augment the curriculum is influenced by the nature of students' individual understandings of how GIS manages spatial data. This research project is a response to repeated calls in the literature for teachers of geography themselves to become researchers and for a better understanding of GIS within geography education. It reviews the salient literature with respect to geography and geography education generally, and GIS within geographical education specifically. The investigation has confirmed that qualitatively different conceptions of GIS exist amongst students and that these are not consistently aligned with assumptions about its use and benefits as presented by current literature. The findings of the study contribute to knowledge of the potential educational outcomes associated with the use of GIS in geography education and decisions related to current and potential geography curricula. It provides guidance for future curriculum development involving GIS and argues for additional research to inform educators and the spatial sciences industry about the actual and perceived role of GIS within geography education.
8
Ford, Of The. "Parallel worlds : attribute-defined regions in global human geography /." Thesis, Connect to resource online, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/2004.
Abstract:
Thesis (M.S.)--Indiana University, 2009.Department of Geography, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Owen J. Dwyer, Jeffrey S. Wilson, Scott M. Pegg. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-168).
9
Widener, Becky J. "The influences of the Missouri Geographic Alliance on geography competence of students in Missouri public schools /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1996. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9737856.
10
Barnett, Clive. "Impure and worldly geography." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1996. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cabbb71c-906c-4822-af54-f5c7018025f5.
Abstract:
This thesis provides a theoretical and historical examination of the production of contested colonial-geographical knowledge. Following a critical examination of recent 'contextual' histories of geography, it is proposed that treating geographical knowledge as colonial discourse is a more fruitful line of inquiry, and the emergence of post-colonial and colonial discourse theory is discussed. This leads on to a consideration of post-structuralist theories of textuality, discourse, and reading, as the preliminary to an analysis of the archive of the regular published knowledge of the Royal Geographical Society from 1831 to 1873. The racialised representation of non-European societies and subjects denies to them any status as active subjects of knowledge or history. It is found that the sanctioned geographical knowledge produced by the R.G.S. in the mid-nineteenth century depends for its identity on the construction of certain geographical knowledges, meanings, and practices as improper and inadequate. It is argued that the writing of geographical discovery thus involved the discursive dispossession of non-European societies of authority over geographical knowledge and territory.
11
Pacione, Michael. "Research in urban geography." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.248816.
12
Santos, Josà Adriano Fernandes dos. "Applied mathematics to geography." Universidade Federal do CearÃ, 2016. http://www.teses.ufc.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=17058.
Abstract:
Partindo do cenÃrio interdisciplinar em que a MatemÃtica se encontra, este trabalho se resume a apresentar aplicaÃÃes oriundos da Geografia dentro da contextualizaÃÃo matemÃtica. Os PCNâs (1998), documentos que regem a educaÃÃo atual brasileira, deixa clara importÃncia do trabalho interdisciplinar no ensino, bem como a relevÃncia de um ensinamento contextualizado baseado na pratica e vivÃncia histÃrica do homem. Por sua vez, na Geografia foi visto que a cartografia traz contribuiÃÃes relevantes à matemÃtica, e que a trigonometria à uma das ferramentas principais utilizadas nesta conjuntura, tanto por parte da geometria euclidiana
quanto da geometria nÃo-euclidiana. Assim neste trabalho foram apresentadas algumas aplicaÃÃes retiradas do estudo da cartografia que, com a ajuda da matemÃtica e principalmente
da trigonometria (plana e esfÃrica) foram resolvidas. Dando sequÃncia, ainda com foco na cartografia, especificamente no estudo de mapas e projeÃÃes, foi dada Ãnfase à ProjeÃÃo
CilÃndrica de Mercator e respectivas explicaÃÃes matemÃticas para a chamada arte de projetar num plano, no caso, Ã projeÃÃo da esfera num plano, com suas devidas explicaÃÃes matemÃticas
para tal feito. Com o tempo e o surgimento do cÃlculo infinitesimal, foi mostrado aqui a determinaÃÃo da chamada variÃvel de Mercator, e sua origem. Em seguida com a ajuda da
Geometria Diferencial dando Ãnfase aos estudos de Gauss, foi apresentada a nÃo isometria entre o plano e a esfera, e que a curvatura gaussiana à a funÃÃo definidora para tal fato. AtravÃs das formas fundamentais e do Teorema egrÃgio aqui tambÃm apresentadas, os estudos de Gauss dentro da geometria diferencial foram definidores para a explicaÃÃo mais atual da variÃvel de Mercator, contribuindo assim para o esclarecimento da famosa projeÃÃo feita por Mercator que ficou na histÃria por sua perfeiÃÃo.From the interdisciplinary scenario in which mathematics is, this work comes down to present applications coming from Geography within the mathematical context. The NCP's (1998), documents governing the current Brazilian education, makes clear the importance of interdisciplinary work in education, and the importance of a contextualized teaching based on practical and historical experience of man. In turn, the geography was seen that mapping brings outstanding contributions to mathematics, and trigonometry is one of the main tools used in this context, both by the Euclidean geometry as the non-Euclidean geometry. So in this paper were presented some applications withdrawn from the study of cartography, with the help of mathematics and especially Trigonometry (flat and spherical) were resolved. Continuing, still focusing on cartography, specifically in the study of maps and projections, emphasis was given to Cylindrical Mercator projection and their mathematical explanations for the so-called art of designing a plan in case the projection of the sphere in a plane, with its appropriate mathematical explanations for such a feat. With time and the emergence of infinitesimal calculus, it was shown here to determine the variable called Mercator and its origin. Then with the help of differential geometry emphasizing Gauss studies, it was presented not isometry between the plane and the sphere, and the Gaussian curvature is the defining function for this fact. Through the fundamental forms and egregious Theorem here also presented the Gauss studies in differential geometry were defining for the most current explanation of Mercator variable, thus contributing to the clarification of the famous projection made by Mercator that went down in history for its perfection.
13
Ackerman, Joy Whiteley. "Walden: A Sacred Geography." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1268155007.
14
Ziv, Oren. "Essays in Economic Geography." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17467205.
Abstract:
While economic geography is concerned chiefly with proximity, models in urban economics eliminate proximity as a relative metric in order to preserve tractability. I introduce a new method of solving spatial models that allows for the consideration of proximity in an economic geography setting while retaining much of the tractability of the urban framework.
The first chapter in this thesis introduces the solution method for continuous space geography models and shows how it reduces the complexity of the equilibrium conditions and allows such a model to generate more predictions than was previously possible.
In this chapter, I build a model of firm location decisions in a spatial setting in order to provide a new explanation for the relationship between productivity and density: sorting of heterogeneous firms for market access. This geographic model of sorting breaks observa- tional equivalence between firm sorting and agglomeration forces: under specific conditions, positive shocks to density can negatively affect average productivity through changes in the local composition of firms, inconsistent with models of agglomeration forces without sorting.
Using restricted access establishment-level Census data, I document strong intra-city relationships between location and firm characteristics predicted by the model. I test for evidence of composition effects, instrumenting for the supply of new non-residential real estate construction using the geographic distribution of multi-city real estate developers, and find evidence of firm sorting.
The second chapter in this thesis finds persistent differences in self-reported subjective well-being across U.S. metropolitan areas and uses historical data to show that cities that are now declining were also unhappy in their more prosperous past. The third chapter in this thesis considers the spatial location decisions of multi-unit firms and highlights two previously understudied potential agglomeration and dispersion forces: intra-firm distance costs and market cannibalization.Political Economy and Government
15
Guo, Hao. "GEOGRAPHY, TRADE, AND MACROECONOMICS." UKnowledge, 2017. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/economics_etds/31.
Abstract:
This dissertation studies the effects of external integration and internal liberalization on the economic geography within a country when regions within the country have different access to the world market.
The first paper introduces internal geography into the Melitz (2003) model to examine how external and internal liberalizations affect the economic geography within a country. By dividing a country into a coastal region and an inland region, the model shows that trade leads the coastal region have a higher than proportional share of industry, and causes firms in the coastal region to be larger and more productive than firms in the inland region. Both external and internal liberalizations encourage industry agglomeration in the coastal region. However, external trade liberalization leads to firm divergence, and internal liberalization leads to firm convergence, between coastal and inland regions. This allows me to test the relative importance of internal and external liberalization. Using Chinese data from 1998 to 2007, I find that the manufacturing sector grew faster in the coastal region than in the inland region after the WTO accession in 2001. Firms also converged between coastal and inland regions, indicating that internal liberalization had stronger effects during this period.
In the second paper, I document large economic discontinuities across the east/non-east provincial borders in China and argue that the border effects are largely due to preferential policies that give the east advantages in international trade and economic development. Using counties contiguous to the borders of 4 plain provinces, I find that manufacturing activities (output, employment, and export) increase abruptly from the west to the east of the borders. The counties in the east also have a lower share of agricultural population and a higher share of output by foreign firms. The economic discontinuities are larger for non-state sectors than for the state sector and are stronger in non-mountain regions than in mountain regions. The large economic discontinuities are unlikely to be explained by geographic and cultural differences across the borders, and can be accounted for by the policy differences between east and non-east provinces. I find that the openness level and the index of market liberalization can account for a large part of the east/non-east divide.
In the third paper, I use the ending of the Multi-fiber Arrangement (MFA) to study the effects of an external trade liberalization on Chinese textile and clothing industry. After the Multi-fiber Arrangement ended in 2005, Chinese textile and clothing exports in products that faced quotas before experienced significant boom. The effects are stronger in the coastal region than in the inland region. Using distance to the seaport as a measure of world-market access, I show that the external trade liberalization (the quota removal) had larger effects on regions with better access to the world market. A further analysis of firm entry shows that the large adjustment of export after the expiration of the MFA was largely due to destination and product expansions by existing firms.
16
Nyerges, Aaron. "A Geography of Resistance." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8760.
Abstract:
Despite it's apparent nostalgia for the village ideal, America's literary modernism largely dispels the romantic antagonism between small-town community and mass society. Drawing from the theories of Jean-Luc Nancy, I advance the notion that community was produced by capitalist society, not destroyed by it. Modulating between a regional and local focus, my readings of American modernists (such as Gertrude Stein, Marianne Moore, William Faulkner, Willa Cather, Sherwood Anderson, Jean Toomer and Hart Crane) elucidate the ways in which writers contradicted their explicit bemoaning of lost community by acknowledging loss as consonant with community as such. Focusing on how emergent technologies in communication and transportation repositioned writers in relation to themselves and each other, I coin the term "mass geography" in order to describe the social flux that enthused hinterlands and small-towns after the war, thereby disrupting the notion that American community is sustained by shared identity, ontological integrity or physical rootedness.
17
Sandberg, Marissa Anne. "Teacher Geography: So What?" Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/297735.
Abstract:
Despite a wide range of existing literature concerning urban schools, teacher attrition, and educational disparities for the underprivileged, little research has been conducted concerning these issues in relation to commuting teachers. This study seeks to identify possible effects of commuting teachers, particularly into urban schools, including potentially strained relationships between teachers and students, schools, and communities, and possible linkages to high attrition rates. An exploratory case study was performed in one school in a large western city, consisting of qualitative interviews with ten teachers from a wide range of backgrounds. Despite a lack of association between either variable and overall satisfaction with their work environment, the findings demonstrate an association between teachers commuting great distances and considerations of leaving their specific jobs. This offers insight for administrators, policymakers, and other figures in education in that despite efforts to create positive school environments, spatial differences may present an ongoing challenge in teacher retention.
18
Chapman, R. Louis. "Harold Adams Innis and geography his work and its potential for modern geography." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/4951.
19
Puttick, Steven. "Geography teacher's subject knowledge : an ethnographic study of three secondary school geography departments." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.712039.
20
Fournier, Diane Lucie Carleton University Dissertation Geography. "Defining feminist geography : an examination of how Canadian women geographers perceive feminist geography." Ottawa, 1990.
21
Contreras, Anthony D. "Historical GeoCollaboration : the implementation of a scoring system to account for uncertainty in Geographic data created in a collaborative environment /." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2010. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd3555.pdf.
22
Tse, To-fun. "Integrating GIS into the geography curriculum of Hong Kong schools." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B31940390.
23
Kagoda, Alice Merab T. "Geography education in Uganda, a critical analysis of geography programs in National Teachers Colleges." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/nq21583.pdf.
24
Sato, Yasuhiro. "Economic Geography, Fertility and Migration." Elsevier, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/8650.
25
Tondel, Fabien. "INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY." UKnowledge, 2009. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/737.
Abstract:
This dissertation explores the impact of international trade on the geographic location of manufacturing activities and on regional productivity growth patterns within countries. This study develops models of trade with monopolistic competition in the context of a two-region country. It also provides empirical estimates of the e ect of tari policy on the distribution of industrial activities and on productivity growth di erentials across Colombia's regions.
The rst essay investigates the consequences of trade liberalization for the distribution of manufacturing activities between large and small cities. It presents an extension of the Melitz (2003) model of trade with monopolistic competition and heterogeneous rms where producers' location and export market participation decisions depend on their productivity. As a country's exposure to trade shifts, rms and output are reallocated between large and small urban areas. Data from Colombia's manufacturing sector lend support to theoretical predictions concerning tari reduction's impact on the repartition of industrial activities between metro- and nonmetropolitan areas in this country.
The second essay extends the New Economic Geography, Footloose-Capital model to examine the e ect of commercial policy on the distribution of industrial activities between regions within a country. This study aims at distinguishing theoretical cases with regard to the nature of the trade policy change or to the source of asymmetry between regions. It shows that trade liberalization can have adverse consequences for the manufacturing sector of a small or isolated region under bilateral liberalization, but a positive impact under unilateral trade liberalization.
The third essay adapts the Melitz and Ottaviano (2008) model of trade with monopolistic competition, heterogeneous rms, and variable mark-ups to analyze the relationship between trade openness, regional market size, and regional aggregate industry performance. It demonstrates that the impact of trade liberalization on aggregate industry productivity growth varies across regions as a function of regional market size and proximity to foreign markets. A larger region experiences a greater increase in aggregate productivity through intra-industry reallocation of market shares. Similarly, a region with better access to international markets enjoys a higher productivity growth from tari reduction. Empirical evidence is obtained from the Colombian manufacturing sector.
26
Middleton, Nick. "The geography of dust storms." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9e98cc16-7a43-4ef8-9526-3e4c064b108a.
Abstract:
Dust storms have a great many environmental implications in the world's dry lands where they are particularly common. Four main classes of dust event are identified and defined: dust storms, dust haze, blowing dust and dust devils. The geography of dust storms is analysed in each of eight major world regions: Africa, the Middle East, South-west Asia, Europe and the USSR, China, Australia, North America and Latin America. Terrestrially observed meteorological data and data from remote sensing platforms are employed to identify the major source areas in each region, their seasonality, diurnal patterns of activity and trajectories of long-range transport. Among the important controls on the frequency distribution of dust storm activity are the meteorological conditions that generate dust-raising winds, and a number of meteorological systems commonly cause dust storms in all global regions. These include low pressure fronts with intense baroclinal gradients, pressure gradient winds between moving or stationary air masses, katabatic winds and convectional cells. The nature of the surface upon which deflation occurs is also important; typical dust-producing geomorpholological units include alluvial spreads, lacustrine deposits, desert depressions, loess deposits and reactivated fossil dunes. Dust storm activity is prone to considerable variation. The seasonal characteristics are explicable with reference to the meteorological systems generating dust, the state of ground cover, particularly vegetation, and the effects of seasonal rainfall. Substantial variations also occur from year to year, and land use and climatic variations can substantially affect their occurrence.
27
Hoskin, Peter John. "The narrative geography of Mark." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322744.
28
Hurd, Howard. "The geography of corporate philanthropy." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.241179.
29
Simandan, Dragos Matei. "A structural theory of geography." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.399928.
30
Merrills, Andrew Herbert. "Geography in early Christian historiography." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.621981.
31
Leite, Vasco Leitão Carvalho Gomes. "Essays on New Economic Geography." Doctoral thesis, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Porto, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/45958.
32
Beyer, S. "The social geography of handicap." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/b0840d16-e9b9-4396-b0c9-c16f9127771b.
33
ALLEN, CHRISTIAN MICHAEL. "An Industrial Geography of Cocaine." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1029351158.
34
Pigot, Alexander Lester. "The geography of species diversification." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/10662.
Abstract:
Speciation is largely a geographical process, but the role of geography in explaining patterns in species diversification remains poorly understood. Here I examine the effects of geographic ranges on the evolution of species diversity using a combination of phylogenetic and geographic approaches based on both simulated and real data. In the first part of the thesis, I develop a neutral model combining the evolution of species’ distributions and the geography of speciation to explore the effects of this relationship on the dynamics of species radiations. I show that neutral interactions between geographic ranges and speciation can lead to dramatic differences in diversity amongst clades and through time, and can mirror the phylogenetic patterns observed in real data derived from bird genera. The evolution of ranges following speciation is likely to be a key factor in how patterns of species diversification unfold through time. In the second part of the thesis I examine the dynamics of ranges over both ecological and evolutionary timescales. First, using neutral and deterministic models of range expansion, I show that the structure of species’ distributions in birds are highly deterministic and cannot be predicted by random ecological processes. I then use phylogenies of extant birds and mammals, to examine whether there is any evidence for systematic changes in range size through time. In both groups, I find that a model of random range evolution cannot be rejected. The results show that inferences regarding the dynamics of range evolution from extant phylogenies are likely to be confounded by the effects of speciation and extinction. In the final part of the thesis, I test whether the geographic ranges of species determine the potential for speciation, focussing on how range shape constrains gene flow between populations. Using estimates of population neutral genetic differentiation for birds, mammals and amphibians, I find that differences in the degree of genetic cohesion of a species cannot be predicted by the shape of its geographic range. Hence, if range shape is to influence speciation it must do so through alternative mechanisms. Taken together, these findings suggest that geography can have a profound effect on the patterns of diversification. Ignoring the role of geography may therefore result in misleading conclusions regarding the processes underlying variation in species diversity. While my findings show that geographic ranges are deterministic, they also imply that neutral processes may play a much larger role in the history of diversification than is generally appreciated. This geographical perspective therefore goes some way to reconciling the roles of neutrality and ecology in the evolution of species diversity.
35
Turgay-Brett, Ece. "The geography of multinational production." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2005. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34640.
Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the development of a theoretical model which captures the main firm, sector and location characteristics of multinational firm activity. The knowledge capital model (Markusen and Venables, 1995, 1996) is extended by intra and inter-industry supply linkages to allow multinational firms to be attracted to a country to exploit the agglomeration externalities created by pooling of national or other multinational firms. The main finding through computational general equilibrium (CGE) simulations is that firms show a preference to locate their affiliates in countries with strong supply linkages, as long as the competition among sectors for limited endowments do not increase the factor prices to a level that makes the country disadvantageous. Multinational firms (MNFs) particularly in sectors with high total scale economies, low trade costs and high plant versus firm level scale economies prefer to locate in close proximity to industrial clusters. The propositions obtained from CGE simulations are also tested empirically for manufacturing sector affiliates. The empirical findings provides evidence on the importance of supply linkages in a host economy for attracting MNFs in technology-intensive sectors and that the sub-sectors may vary on the importance they set on finding locations with industrial clusters. In addition to these, the determinants of location decisions of MNFs in Europe and the impact of the European integration policies on multinational production are investigated. The empirical analysis for the potential effects of a regional integration policy reveals that central and peripheral countries may benefit from different aspects of an integration process. Moreover, the intra-region and extra-region foreign direct investment may display different motives for choosing a location for their affiliates. The findings provide support on the hypothesis that intra-EU FDI has become more efficiency seeking, hence, leading to a redistribution of multinational activity within the region.
36
Leite, Vasco Leitão Carvalho Gomes. "Essays on New Economic Geography." Tese, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Porto, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/45958.
37
Esposito, Elena <1983>. "Essays on geography and diseases." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2014. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/6539/1/esposito_elena_tesi.pdf.
Abstract:
This dissertation explores how diseases contributed to shape historical institutions and how health and diseases are still affecting modern comparative development. The overarching goal of this investigation is to identify the channels linking geographic suitability to diseases and the emergence of historical and modern insitutions, while tackling the endogenenity problems that traditionally undermine this literature. I attempt to do so by taking advantage of the vast amount of newly available historical data and of the richness of data accessible through the geographic information system (GIS).
The first chapter of my thesis, 'Side Effects of Immunities: The African Slave Trade', proposes and test a novel explanation for the origins of slavery in the tropical regions of the Americas. I argue that Africans were especially attractive for employment in tropical areas because they were immune to many of the diseases that were ravaging those regions. In particular, Africans' resistance to malaria increased the profitability of slaves coming from the most malarial parts of Africa. In the second chapter of my thesis, 'Caste Systems and Technology in Pre-Modern Societies', I advance and test the hypothesis that caste systems, generally viewed as a hindrance to social mobility and development, had been comparatively advantageous at an early stage of economic development. In the third chapter, 'Malaria as Determinant of Modern Ethnolinguistic Diversity', I conjecture that in highly malarious areas the necessity to adapt and develop immunities specific to the local disease environment historically reduced mobility and increased isolation, thus leading to the formation of a higher number of different ethnolinguistic groups. In the final chapter, 'Malaria Risk and Civil Violence: A Disaggregated Analysis for Africa', I explore the relationship between malaria and violent conflicts. Using georeferenced data for Africa, the article shows that violent events are more frequent in areas where malaria risk is higher.
38
Esposito, Elena <1983>. "Essays on geography and diseases." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2014. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/6539/.
Abstract:
This dissertation explores how diseases contributed to shape historical institutions and how health and diseases are still affecting modern comparative development. The overarching goal of this investigation is to identify the channels linking geographic suitability to diseases and the emergence of historical and modern insitutions, while tackling the endogenenity problems that traditionally undermine this literature. I attempt to do so by taking advantage of the vast amount of newly available historical data and of the richness of data accessible through the geographic information system (GIS).
The first chapter of my thesis, 'Side Effects of Immunities: The African Slave Trade', proposes and test a novel explanation for the origins of slavery in the tropical regions of the Americas. I argue that Africans were especially attractive for employment in tropical areas because they were immune to many of the diseases that were ravaging those regions. In particular, Africans' resistance to malaria increased the profitability of slaves coming from the most malarial parts of Africa. In the second chapter of my thesis, 'Caste Systems and Technology in Pre-Modern Societies', I advance and test the hypothesis that caste systems, generally viewed as a hindrance to social mobility and development, had been comparatively advantageous at an early stage of economic development. In the third chapter, 'Malaria as Determinant of Modern Ethnolinguistic Diversity', I conjecture that in highly malarious areas the necessity to adapt and develop immunities specific to the local disease environment historically reduced mobility and increased isolation, thus leading to the formation of a higher number of different ethnolinguistic groups. In the final chapter, 'Malaria Risk and Civil Violence: A Disaggregated Analysis for Africa', I explore the relationship between malaria and violent conflicts. Using georeferenced data for Africa, the article shows that violent events are more frequent in areas where malaria risk is higher.
39
Manzato, Ilaria <1991>. "The geography of design startups." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/7160.
Abstract:
In recent years, startups have started to attract the attention of different actors in the socio-economic and political contexts, thanks to the potential advantages that these new ventures can offer. The attention of the majority of these actors is principally focused on high-tech startups, because they are the most known especially in the collective consciousness. However, recently, thanks to an improved attention of scholars on manufacturing and handcrafted works, other types of startups have started to obtain increasing importance: manufacturing and design startups. In particular this dissertation will be focused on design startups, because they may represent an element of growth and innovation in the design sector. Moreover, the main aim of the dissertation is to determine how the development of design startups is influenced by the presence of endowments, typical of a place. This purpose will be combined with the analysis of four design startups, two Italians and two Americans, in order to understand how the same “type” of startups can be developed in different places, as Italian industrial districts and New York City. Moreover, I will try to find what are the specific locational factors, which help in the establishment of design startups in these two diverse places, trying to understand if these factors could represent the starting point to face a future growth and national and international competition.
40
MUREDDU, FRANCESCO. "Essays in New Economic Geography." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11584/266005.
Abstract:
The recent Nobel Prize assigned to Paul Krugman "for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity" witnesses the important role that the scienti�c community gives to the insights of the so-called New Economic Geography (NEG) literature. This field of economic analysis has always been particularly appealing to policy makers, given the direct link between its results
and regional policy rules. For the same reason it is useful to deepen the analysis of its most important outputs by testing the theoretical robustness of some of
its more relevant statements. This thesis tries to o¤er a contribution in this direction by focusing on a particular sub-field of NEG literature, the so-called
New Economic Geography and Growth (NEGG) literature, having in Baldwin and Martin (2004) and Baldwin et. al (2004) the most important theoretical syntheses. These two surveys collect and present in an uni�ed framework the
works by Baldwin, Martin and Ottaviano (2001), where capital is immobile and spillovers are localized, Martin and Ottaviano (1999) where spillovers are global
and capital is mobile. Other related papers are Baldwin (1999) which introduces forward looking expectations in the so-called Footloose capital model developed
by Martin and Rogers (1995); Baldwin and Forslid (1999) which introduces endogenous growth by means of a q-theory approach; Baldwin and Forslid (2000)
where spillovers are localized, capital is immobile and migration is allowed.
Some more recent developments in the NEGG literature can be distinguished in two main strands. One takes into consideration factor price differences in
order to discuss the possibility of a monotonic relation between agglomeration and integration (Bellone and Maupertuis (2003) and Andres (2007)). The other
one assumes firms heterogeneity in productivity (first introduced by Eaton and Kortum (2002) and Melitz (2003)) in order to analyse the relationship between
growth and the spatial selection e¤ect leading the most productive firms to move to larger markets (see Baldwin and Okubo (2006) and Baldwin and Robert-Nicoud (2008). These recent developments are related to our work in introducing some relevant departures from the standard model. Indeed this thesis develops
and extends the theoretical framework of New Economic Geography theory along several routes.
In the third chapter of the thesis we develop a New Economic Geography and Growth model which, by using a CES utility function in the second-stage
optimization problem, allows for expenditure shares in industrial goods to be endogenously determined. The implications of our generalization are quite rel-evant. In particular, we obtain the following novel results: 1) catastrophic
agglomeration may always take place, whatever the degree of market integration, provided that the traditional and the industrial goods are su¢ ciently good
substitutes; 2) the regional rate of growth is affected by the interregional allocation of economic activities even in the absence of localized spillovers, so that
geography always matters for growth and 3) the regional rate of growth is af-
fected by the degree of market openness: in particular, depending on whether
the traditional and the industrial goods are good or poor substitutes, economic
integration may be respectively growth-enhancing or growth-detrimental.
In the fourth chapter of the thesis we build a New Economic Geography
and Growth model based on Baldwin, Martin and Ottaviano (2001) with an
additional sector producing Non-tradable goods (services). By assuming intersectoral and localized knowledge spillovers from the innovation sector to the
service sector, we show that firms'allocation affects regional real growth. More
precisely we assume that the unit labour requirements (and thereby the prices)
in the service production are a negative function of the output of innovation, i.e.
the stock of knowledge capital. Due to this new specification, real growth rates
in the two regions always diverge when the firms allocation pattern differs from
the symmetric one. This result is a novelty in the standard theoretical NEGG literature where regional gap in real growth rate is always zero. Moreover, this result has strong policy implications because it suggests that concentrating in-
dustries in only one region may also bring a dynamic loss for the periphery.
By analyzing the trade-o¤ between the dynamic gains of agglomeration (due to localized intertemporal spillovers) and the dynamic loss of agglomeration (due to localized intersectoral spillovers), we also discuss different notions of optimal
level of agglomeration.
The thesis will proceed as follows: in the chapters one and two we describe the state of the art in New Economic Geography and its further developments such as the New Economic Geography and Growth, the possibility of a monotonic relation between agglomeration and integration, and finally the firms heterogeneity in New Economic Geography models. Instead in chapters
three and four we present our original contribution to the theory, i.e. the analysis of endogenous expenditure shares and intersectoral knowledge spillovers on the agglomeration patterns and economic growth.
41
Gogol, Nityananda. "Historical geography of medieval Assam." Thesis, University of Gauhati, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1594.
42
Aber, Jeremy W. "Comparing the dominant and continuous theoretical frameworks of spatial microgenesis." Diss., Kansas State University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/14960.
Abstract:
Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Geography
J. M. Shawn Hutchinson
The theoretical framework of spatial microgenesis as presented by Siegel and White (1975), and updated by Montello (1998) posits that through exposure, humans will create spatial knowledge of places in their minds. This process is thought to be an ongoing one, and will eventually lead to a metrically-scaled ‘map-like’ image in the mind. In Siegel and White’s dominant framework, knowledge of space progresses through the stages of landmark and route, and ends with survey knowledge, whereas in Montello’s continuous framework, metrically-scaled survey knowledge is present from the first exposure. Beyond that primary difference between the two theoretical frameworks, the continuous framework also provides for greater nuance in how the process may occur for different individuals. There is little research directly addressing the differences between the two frameworks, and this dissertation adds support for the continuous framework by testing three of its five tenets. Utilizing a virtual environment as a laboratory, participants were exposed to a novel environment and asked to complete spatial tasks based on knowledge of the layout of said environment. Over the course of three sessions, measures of spatial knowledge were recorded using distance, direction, and sketch map tasks. The results support the first tenet of the continuous framework: metrically-scaled survey-type knowledge was found in all participants beginning with the first session. The concepts of landmark, route, and survey knowledge are still valuable though, as the results clearly showed that they help to describe the way that individuals conceptualize mental representations of space. These conceptualizations may potentially be valuable as a component of a larger spatial ontology for the American public school system. Regarding tenet two, some improvement in error rates was observed over time, but not at a statistically significant rate for all tasks, suggesting that other factors such as the study length and motivating factors may have played a role in performance. Tenet four was also supported, with significant variation in performance between participants with similar levels of exposure to the environment. Overall, this dissertation finds that the continuous framework is largely correct in its descriptions of the process of spatial microgenesis, albeit with some elements that are not fully supported by the data collected. Despite not being a good model of the process, the dominant framework remains valuable for describing how people conceptualize their spatial knowledge of environments.
43
Maddrell, Mander Avril M. C. "Geography, gender and the state : a critical evaluation of the development of geography 1830-1918." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.319108.
44
Lee, Jinhyung. "Building Ladders of Opportunity: Understanding the Impacts of New Mobility Services on Space-time Accessibility." The Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1589496154927058.
45
Amante, Christopher Joseph. "Consideration of Elevation Uncertainty in Coastal Flood Models." Thesis, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10844867.
Abstract:
Digital elevation models (DEMs) are critical components of coastal flood models. Both present-day storm surge models and future flood risk models require these representations of the Earth’s elevation surface to delineate potentially flooded areas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) develops DEMs for United States’ coastal communities by seamlessly integrating bathymetric and topographic data sets of disparate age, quality, and measurement density. A current limitation of the NOAA NCEI DEMs is the accompanying non-spatial metadata, which only provide estimates of the measurement uncertainty of each data set utilized in the development of the DEM.
Vertical errors in coastal DEMs are deviations in elevation values from the actual seabed or land surface, and originate from numerous sources, including the elevation measurements, as well as the datum transformation that converts measurements to a common vertical reference system, spatial resolution of the DEM, and interpolative gridding technique that estimates elevations in areas unconstrained by measurements. The magnitude and spatial distribution of vertical errors are typically unknown, and estimations of DEM uncertainty are a statistical assessment of the likely magnitude of these errors. Estimating DEM uncertainty is important because the uncertainty decreases the reliability of coastal flood models utilized in risk assessments.
I develop methods to estimate the DEM cell-level uncertainty that originates from these numerous sources, most notably, the DEM spatial resolution, to advance the current practice of non-spatial metadata with NOAA NCEI DEMs. I then incorporate the estimated DEM cell-level uncertainty, as well as the uncertainty of storm surge models and future sea-level rise projections, in a future flood risk assessment for the Tottenville neighborhood of New York City to demonstrate the importance of considering DEM uncertainty in coastal flood models. I generate statistical products from a 500-member Monte Carlo ensemble that incorporates these main sources of uncertainty to more reliably assess the future flood risk. The future flood risk assessment can, in turn, aid mitigation efforts to reduce the vulnerability of coastal populations, property, and infrastructure to future coastal flooding.
46
Songer, Lynn Christine. "Comparative impacts of Web-based GIS on student content knowledge, geography skills, and self-efficacy in introductory human geography /." view abstract or download file of text, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1421613491&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
Abstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 217-229). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
47
Craig, Thomas R. "The Utility of Standardized Achievement Test Scores as a Predictor of Geographic Knowledge and Abilities in Undergraduates at an Urban Ohio University." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1213040235.
48
DiMartino, Michael. "A curriculum guide for teaching world geography /." View abstract, 2000. http://library.ctstateu.edu/ccsu%5Ftheses/1607.html.
Abstract:
Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2000.Thesis advisor: James Snaden. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Sciences in Geography." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-118).
49
Parkhomenko, Andrii. "Essays in macroeconomics and economic geography." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/405334.
Abstract:
Esta tesis estudia cómo las barreras y distorsiones en el mercado de trabajo y el mercado inmobiliario afectan la productividad de una economía.
El capítulo 1 de la tesis, “El Aumento de la Regulación en Mercados Inmobiliarios en EE.UU.: Causas Locales e Implicaciones Nacionales,” investiga los efectos de la subida de regulaciones en los mercados inmobiliarios en las últimas décadas en EE.UU. Para ello construyo un modelo de equilibrio con múltiples localizaciones, trabajadores heterogéneos y regulación endógena. La regulación se decide por votación: los inquilinos desean menor regulación y los propietarios de las viviendas desean más regulación. En aquellos lugares donde la productividad tiene un crecimiento exógeno más rápido, la población y los precios de la vivienda también crecen más rápidamente. En estas localizaciones, los propietarios votan por una regulación más estricta, que aumenta aún más los precios y resulta en una mayor dispersión de los mismos. Los trabajadores calificados, siendo menos sensibles al precio de la vivienda, se concentran en lugares productivos, lo cual resulta en una mayor dispersión salarial. Es decir, las diferencias de precios inmobiliarios y salarios son amplificadas por la regulación. Para cuantificar este efecto, calibro el modelo para la economía estadounidense y encuentro que, el ascenso en la regulación explica un 23% del aumento de la dispersión salarial y un 85% del aumento en la dispersión de los precios inmobiliarios entre las áreas metropolitanas desde 1980 a 2007. Si la regulación no hubiese aumentado, más trabajadores vivirían en zonas productivas y PIB sería 2% mayor. También muestro cómo las políticas que debilitan los incentivos de los gobiernos locales para restringir la oferta pueden reducir la dispersión de precios y salarios, y aumentar la productividad.
El capítulo 2, “Oportunidad Para Moverse: Efectos Macroeconómicos de Subsidios de Reubicación,” introduce subsidios de reubicación como un complemento a las prestaciones de desempleo y estudia sus efectos en el desempleo, la productividad y el bienestar. Para ello, construyo un modelo de búsqueda de empleo con trabajadores heterogéneos y múltiples ubicaciones, en el que migración se ve impedida por gastos, fricciones de búsqueda, y restricciones de préstamos. Posteriormente, calibro el modelo para la economía estadounidense e introduzco un subsidio que reembolsa parte de los gastos de mudanza a los desempleados. Durante la Gran Recesión, un subsidio de reubicación que cubre la mitad de los gastos habría bajado la tasa de desempleo en 0,36 puntos porcentuales (un 4,8%) y habría aumentado la productividad en un 1%. Estos subsidios no hubiesen tenido ningún costo para el gobierno ya que el gasto adicional en los subsidios habría sido compensado por la reducción en el gasto en prestaciones por desempleo.
El capítulo 3, “Los Gerentes y Diferencias en Productividad,” (con Nezih Guner y Gustavo Ventura) investiga los factores que determinan las diferencias de productividad entre países. Para un grupo de países ricos documentamos que, (i) durante el ciclo de vida, los ingresos de gerentes de las empresas crecen más rápidamente que los ingresos de los trabajadores; y que (ii) el crecimiento de ingresos de los gerentes en relación con los trabajadores se correlaciona positivamente con la productividad. Esta evidencia es interpretada a través de un modelo de “span-of-control” donde los gerentes invierten en sus habilidades. Parametrizamos este modelo usando las observaciones de EE.UU. y luego cuantificamos la importancia relativa de las diferencias de productividad exógenas y las distorsiones en el tamaño de las empresas. Los resultados indican que tales distorsiones son fundamentales para generar las diferencias observadas en el crecimiento de los ingresos de los gerentes entre los países ya que la variación en las distorsiones explica el 42% de la variación en productividad entre países.In this thesis I study how barriers and distortions inherent in labor and housing markets affect aggregate productivity of a national economy. In Chapter 1 of this thesis, “The Rise of Housing Supply Regulation in the U.S.: Local Causes and Aggregate Implications”, I investigate effects of the rise of regulatory restrictions on the supply of housing in recent decades in the United States. I build an equilibrium model with multiple locations, heterogeneous workers and endogenous regulation. Regulation is decided by voting: renters want less regulation and owners want more. In locations with faster exogenous productivity growth, labor supply and house prices also grow more rapidly. Homeowners in these places vote for stricter regulation, which raises prices further and leads to greater price dispersion. High-skilled workers, being less sensitive to housing costs, sort into productive places, which leads to larger wage dispersion. That is, wage and house price differences are amplified by regulation choices. To quantify this amplification effect, I calibrate the model to the U.S. economy and find that the rise in regulation accounts for 23% of the increase in wage dispersion and 85% of the increase in house price dispersion across metro areas from 1980 to 2007. I find that if regulation had not increased, more workers would live in productive areas and output would be 2% higher. I also show that policy interventions that weaken incentives of local governments to restrict supply could reduce wage and house price dispersion, and boost productivity. In Chapter 2, “Opportunity to Move: Macroeconomic Effects of Relocation Subsidies”, I introduce relocation subsidies as a supplement to unemployment benefits, and study their effects on unemployment, productivity and welfare. I build a job search model with heterogeneous workers and multiple locations, in which migration is impeded by moving costs, cross-location search frictions, and borrowing constraints. I calibrate the model to the U.S. economy, and then introduce a subsidy that reimburses a part of the moving expenses to the unemployed. During the Great Recession, a relocation subsidy that pays half of the moving expenses would lower unemployment rate by 0.36 percentage points (or 4.8%) and increase productivity by 1%. Importantly, the subsidies cost nothing to the taxpayer: the additional spending on the subsidies is offset by the reduction in spending on unemployment benefits. In Chapter 3, “Managers and Productivity Differences”, (with Nezih Guner and Gustavo Ventura) we investigate the determinants of productivity differences across countries. We document that for a group of high-income countries (i) mean earnings of managers tend to grow faster than for non managers over the life cycle; (ii) the life-cycle earnings growth of managers relative to non managers is positively correlated with output per worker. We interpret this evidence using an equilibrium life-cycle, span-of-control model where managers invest in their skills. We parameterize this model with observations from the U.S. We then quantify the relative importance of exogenous productivity differences and the firm size-dependent distortions. Our findings indicate that such distortions are critical to generate the observed differences in the growth of relative managerial earnings across countries. We find that cross-country variation in distortions accounts for about 42% of the cross-country productivity differences.
50
MacCannell, Jason Francis. "Homelessness in Sacramento : a landscape geography /." For electronic version search Digital dissertations database. Restricted to UC campuses. Access is free to UC campus dissertations, 2005. http://uclibs.org/PID/11984.