Three Essays in Applied Labor Economics

The goal of this dissertation is to apply theoretical and empirical methodologies used in the field of labor economics to analyze several topics which have clear policy implications. Chapter 1 analyzes the relationship between domestic violence and welfare receipt in a more rigorous framework than has been previously possible. It is well documented that there is a strong relationship between abuse and welfare receipt and the assumption has predominantly been that welfare receipt affects the risk of victimization. I show that the direction of impact actually runs in the opposite direction. This finding is critical in light of the welfare reforms of the 1990\u27s. I find that violence decreased the likelihood of using welfare services prior to the reforms, and that this effect is even larger after the reforms took place. However, this negative effect is drastically reduced in the presence of the Family Violence Option. Chapter 2 broadens the analysis of domestic violence to include women of all income levels. Specifically, I look at how the decision to participate in the workforce affects abuse levels and vice versa. Because attitudes towards domestic violence and women\u27s working status likely vary by income levels, I analyze the relationship in both low and high income households. I find that for women with low income spouses, employment increases the likelihood of abuse, however, for women with high income spouses, employment decreases the likelihood of abuse. Chapter 3 attempts to reconcile the observed educational attainment gap between black and white workers with the monetary returns to education literature which predicts that black individuals have higher monetary incentives to invest. I examine the returns to education in a broader sense: the job satisfaction returns to education. I find that job satisfaction is actually declining in education for black workers. Further, it is found that education does not improve the ability of black workers to transition into new jobs that they like better. These results suggest that higher education may create expectations that are not being met by black workers, and one potential explanation for this is that covert discrimination still exists in the workplace

Pemodelan Pengolahan Citra untuk Klasifikasi Jenis Buah Pisang Menggunakan Metode KNN

Di Indonesia sendiri buah pisang merupakan salah satu jenis buah yang paling banyak di produksi. Namun di samping banyaknya produksi, masih banyak pula pengolahan pisang yang di lakukan secara kurang efisien. Hal ini dapat di lihat dari pemilihan jenis buah pisang secara manual yang menyebabkan pemilihan jenis buah pisang kurang optimal jika di lakukan dalam jumlah banyak Dalam penelitian ini akan di buatnya system untuk memilih jenis buah pisang secara otomatis bertujuan supaya membantu dalam memilih jenis buah pisang dalam jumlah banyak. Dalam penelitian ini nantinya akan menghasilkan system yang mampu menklasifikaikan jenis buah pisang. Jumlah data yang di gunakan untuk klasifikasi buah pisang ini adalah sebanyak 150 data foto pisang. Foto buah pisang yang di ambil terdiri dari 3 jenis buah pisang. Setiap jenis buah pisang akan di ambil 50 foto sebagai data, sehingga 3 × 50 menjadi 150 data buah pisang yang didapat. Jumlah yang di gunakan sebagai data uji sebanyak 120, dan mendapatkan akurasi 99.1667%

Building the rule of war: postconflict institutions and the micro-dynamics of conflict in eastern DR Congo

Why have peace-building and reconstruction efforts so frequently failed to create durable institutions that can deter or withstand resurgent violence in volatile sites of cyclical conflict? Extant theory predicts that new institutions can help overcome violence and mitigate commitment problems in postconflict contexts by reducing uncertainty in inherently uncertain environments. By contrast, this article argues that postconflict institutions often prove limited in their abilities to contribute to durable peace because they offer wartime elites new venues in which to pursue conflict-era agendas. Through a micro-analysis of efforts to build the rule of law in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, I demonstrate that wartime elites capture and instrumentalize new legal institutions to maximize their intra- and inter-organizational survival; to pursue economic, military, and political agendas behind the scenes; and, in some cases, to prepare for an imminent return to war

Women's rights in "weak" states: the promises and pitfalls of gender advocacy in transition

Milli Lake explores how and to what extent the spotlight on sexual violence has restructured judicial priorities in eastern DR Congo and South Africa