Essays on conflict, cooperation and economic development

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-182).This dissertation consists of three chapters on topics relating to conflict, social cooperation and development economics. Several studies have identified the impact of adverse economic shocks on civil conflict using rainfall variation as an instrument for income or growth. The first chapter contributes to this literature by carrying out a micro-level analysis on the relationship between climate and resource variation with armed conflict using a novel dataset on inter-tribal violence manifested through livestock raids in a pastoral-dependent region of East African called the Karamoja. Consistent with previous work, I find that across the region there is a negative relationship between resources and conflict, when resources are measured with forage. However, I also find that both decreases and increases in rainfall are correlated with conflict across the region. This bimodal relationship between precipitation and conflict persists when I analyse raid-location and tribe specific variation in rainfall, while the relationship between forage and raiding is less clear. There is some indication that forage-scarcity motivates tribes to carry out raids and forage-scarce sublocations appear to be more vulnerable to raids and livestock losses, but these results are not robust to all specifications. In the second chapter, I study the effect of Uganda's 2006 disarmament policy in the Karamoja region in East Africa. The disarmament policy greatly reduced the guns of tribes in the Ugandan districts of the region but not in the Kenyan districts. The theoretical impact of the disarmament is ambiguous, however, since guns can be used for deterrence as well as helping aggressors carry out violent crimes, such as livestock raiding. Empirically, I find that the disarmament campaign had the unintended effect of increasing the frequency of raids in Uganda by about 40%, while, consistent with the idea that disarmament reduced the costs of raiding, I find no impact on the monthly death rate. Moreover, the increase in raids in Uganda was driven by an increase in Ugandan initiated raids on other Ugandans, not an increase in Kenyan initiated raids on Ugandans, suggesting that within Uganda the deterrent effect of guns outweighs their impact as a tool of aggression. In the third chapter, written jointly with Johannes Haushofer, we study the impact of stress on social behavior by exogenously stimulating the two biological systems associated with stress: the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and noradrenergic (NA) system and measuring behavior in interactive tasks in a laboratory experiment. Our preliminary findings suggest that the concurrent stimulation of both systems, through the administration of 60mg of hydrocortisone and 20mg of yohimbine, did not lead to statistically detectable changes to behavior in any of the social tasks. It did, however, manifest in lower opinions of the trustworthiness and fairness of other people, as well as a decrease in the value associated with helping other people, as measured through a visual analog scale survey. Given these initial results, we find preliminary evidence for a relationship between stress and anti-social behavior as revealed through lower beliefs on social standards. JEL Classification: C91, K42, Q56by Laura R. Ralston.Ph.D

Predicting market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) landings from pre-recruit abundance

The fishery for market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) in California is typical of many of the world’s cephalopod fisheries, in that a very short life span and the effect of environmental forcing on recruitment result in enormous interannual variability in catches and population size. We evaluate the utility of a pre-recruit index of squid abundance that is based on midwater trawl sampling in the 3–5 months preceding the onset of the fishery as a basis for predicting landings. Catches in the survey largely represent squid in the 30–50 mm dorsal mantle length size range, representing individuals 30–90 day old. Catch-per-unit-effort statistics are derived from simple twofactor Δ-Generalized Linear Models, with year and station as main effects and numbers per tow as the dependent variable. Regional models for northern and southern squid populations are developed. Pre-recruit indices, as well as indices of squid prey (krill) abundance are compared with landings data, as well as estimates of squid spawning stock biomass derived from an egg escapement model. Our results show that the abundance of prerecruit market squid and krill sampled in the survey tracks both catches and overall population size, providing the potential to forecast landings. Our findings are consistent with a sparse but growing literature showing the potential utility of pre-recruit surveys to inform fisheries participants and managers

Riparian vegetation, Colorado River, and climate: Five decades of spatiotemporal dynamics in the Grand Canyon with river regulation

Documentation of the interacting effects of river regulation and climate on riparian vegetation has typically been limited to small segments of rivers or focused on individual plant species. We examine spatiotemporal variability in riparian vegetation for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon relative to river regulation and climate, over the five decades since completion of the upstream Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. Long-term changes along this highly modified, large segment of the river provide insights for management of similar riparian ecosystems around the world. We analyze vegetation extent based on maps and imagery from eight dates between 1965 and 2009, coupled with the instantaneous hydrograph for the entire period. Analysis confirms a net increase in vegetated area since completion of the dam. Magnitude and timing of such vegetation changes are river stage-dependent. Vegetation expansion is coincident with inundation frequency changes and is unlikely to occur for time periods when inundation frequency exceeds approximately 5%. Vegetation expansion at lower zones of the riparian area is greater during the periods with lower peak and higher base flows, while vegetation at higher zones couples with precipitation patterns and decreases during drought. Short pulses of high flow, such as the controlled floods of the Colorado River in 1996, 2004, and 2008, do not keep vegetation from expanding onto bare sand habitat. Management intended to promote resilience of riparian vegetation must contend with communities that are sensitive to the interacting effects of altered flood regimes and water availability from river and precipitation. å©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Promoting Smoke-free Multi-unit Affordable Housing in North Carolina Through a Health Communication Campaign

Background: Secondhand smoke exposure causes 50,000 deaths each year in adult nonsmokers in the United States. In multi-unit housing (e.g. apartments and condominiums), secondhand smoke moves through hallways, air ducts, and small spaces between units, contaminating the air in both smokers' and nonsmokers' units. The presence of secondhand smoke is of particular concern for low-income individuals residing in public housing and affordable housing, where there are higher rates of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Smoke-free policies in housing offer health benefits for both tenants and housing operators, including reduced risk of fire, and reduced maintenance and turnover costs for property owners. The 2012-2013 Capstone team partnered with the Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch (TPCB) to promote adoption of smoke-free policies among multi-unit affordable housing (MUAH) operators in North Carolina (NC), building on the work of the previous Capstone team. The 2011-2012 Capstone team surveyed NC tenants, housing managers, and owners regarding facilitators, motivators, and barriers to implementing smoke-free policies and created an online toolkit of materials and resources for housing operators who are interested in implementing smoke-free policies in their properties. Building off of these efforts, the 2012-2013 Capstone team designed a health communication campaign with two goals: 1) to decrease perceived barriers and increase perceived benefits to implementing smoke-free policies among MUAH operators who are contemplating policy adoption, and 2) to increase use of the online toolkit. Methods: We conducted interviews with MUAH operators and organizations to identify preferred and feasible communication channels and to collect narratives from MUAH operators who have implemented smoke-free policies. Based on a literature review and these formative research findings, we created health communication materials that included case studies and thematic content for the online toolkit, newsletter blurbs for housing organization e-newsletters, and a fact sheet to be disseminated at housing conferences. We then created plans for implementing and evaluating the health communication campaign. Finally, we pre-tested the fact sheet with an online survey sent to MUAH operators. Discussion: The Capstone team's work increased Capstone team members' skills in developing health communication campaigns and has important implications for TPCB, the state of North Carolina, and for the field of smoke-free housing. Our work contributed to TPCB's overall mission of promoting smoke-free environments and to TPCB's efforts to engage and build relationships with housing stakeholders, such as MUAH owners and managers. Our work also generated discussion and interest about smoke-free policies among MUAH operators and housing organizations. Smoke-free policies are relatively new to the housing industry, and smoke-free housing advocates around the country work to promote policies and share best practices and information. Our hope is that the health communication campaign will influence additional MUAH operators to adopt smoke-free policies, which will ultimately reduce secondhand smoke exposure among affordable housing residents in NC. Finally, we hope that the health communication materials and comprehensive approach to gathering and sharing operators' experiences will contribute to the growing literature regarding smoke-free multi-unit housing and will serve as a model for smoke-free policy advocates in other states.Master of Public Healt

Elementary Statistics (GHC)

This Grants Collection for Elementary Statistics was created under a Round Eleven ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process. Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials: Linked Syllabus Initial Proposal Final Reporthttps://oer.galileo.usg.edu/mathematics-collections/1039/thumbnail.jp

Regulation of residential tenancies and impacts on investment

This research reviews the evidence-base about factors impacting and shaping rental investment; reviews the state of residential tenancies laws across Australia; and presents options for a renewed reform agenda. The regulation of the Australian private rental sector (PRS) directly affects about 40 per cent of Australian households: the 26 per cent who live in private rental housing as tenants, and the 14 per cent who own it as landlords. Reform of regulation of residential tenancies processes are underway or have recently concluded in different jurisdictions. These processes, however, have mostly been uncoordinated at a national level and significant divergences and gaps have opened up in the laws. The research finds little evidence that Australian residential tenancies law has impacted investment in private rental housing. On the contrary, Australian residential tenancies law has accommodated, even facilitated, the long-term growth of the PRS and of its particular structure and dynamic character. However, the small-holding, frequently-transferring character of the PRS presents basic problems for tenants trying to make homes in it. The research also presents a number of issues that could be considered as part of a national agenda for residential tenancy law reform

Disparities in registration and use of an online patient portal among older adults: findings from the LitCog cohort

(C) The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved.Financial disclosure: This project was supported by the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG030611), the National Center for Research Resources (5UL1RR025741), and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (Grant 8UL1TR000150). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Smith is currently supported by a Cancer Research UK Fellowship

The cellular and synaptic architecture of the mechanosensory dorsal horn

The deep dorsal horn is a poorly characterized spinal cord region implicated in processing low-threshold mechanoreceptor (LTMR) information. We report an array of mouse genetic tools for defining neuronal components and functions of the dorsal horn LTMR-recipient zone (LTMR-RZ), a role for LTMR-RZ processing in tactile perception, and the basic logic of LTMR-RZ organization. We found an unexpectedly high degree of neuronal diversity in the LTMR-RZ: seven excitatory and four inhibitory subtypes of interneurons exhibiting unique morphological, physiological, and synaptic properties. Remarkably, LTMRs form synapses on between four and 11 LTMR-RZ interneuron subtypes, while each LTMR-RZ interneuron subtype samples inputs from at least one to three LTMR classes, as well as spinal cord interneurons and corticospinal neurons. Thus, the LTMR-RZ is a somatosensory processing region endowed with a neuronal complexity that rivals the retina and functions to pattern the activity of ascending touch pathways that underlie tactile perception

Candidate Gene Analysis of Femoral Neck Trabecular and Cortical Volumetric Bone Mineral Density in Older Men

In contrast to conventional dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, quantitative computed tomography separately measures trabecular and cortical volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD). Little is known about the genetic variants associated with trabecular and cortical vBMD in humans, although both may be important for determining bone strength and osteoporotic risk. In the current analysis, we tested the hypothesis that there are genetic variants associated with trabecular and cortical vBMD at the femoral neck by genotyping 4608 tagging and potentially functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 383 bone metabolism candidate genes in 822 Caucasian men aged 65 years or older from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MrOS). Promising SNP associations then were tested for replication in an additional 1155 men from the same study. We identified SNPs in five genes (IFNAR2, NFATC1, SMAD1, HOXA, and KLF10) that were robustly associated with cortical vBMD and SNPs in nine genes (APC, ATF2, BMP3, BMP7, FGF18, FLT1, TGFB3, THRB, and RUNX1) that were robustly associated with trabecular vBMD. There was no overlap between genes associated with cortical vBMD and trabecular vBMD. These findings identify novel genetic variants for cortical and trabecular vBMD and raise the possibility that some genetic loci may be unique for each bone compartment. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Researc