MODELING THE DECISION TO BUY FLOOD INSURANCE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR COASTAL AREAS

A perennial question about the NFIP is: how can participation be increased? An empirical analysis reveals that in coastal areas the voluntary participation rate is only nine percent and identifies important determinants of the insurance purchase decision. It suggests that insurance will not discourage undesirable risk management practices in coastal areas.Risk and Uncertainty,

THE TRADEOFFS IN ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF LOGGING AND RECREATION IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

The US Forest Service is adopting ecosystem management, but the potential impact on local economies is unknown. Analysis via a recursive system of regression equations reveals that some ecosystem management variables have an influence upon recreational visitation which, in turn, has a net negative impact on county employment levels.Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

SCHOOL CHOICE IN RURAL GEORGIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Previous empirical studies of school choice have been at the national level, or have focussed on northeastern states. We estimate the demand for private education in rural Georgia, using proportion of private school attendance as an indicator variable. We find that income, tuition, race and school quality are important choice determinants. The results provide useful information for rural school administrators, and suggest that a tuition tax credit would have to be substantial to cause a significant exodus from public schools.School choice, Educational finance, Rural areas, Tuition tax credits, Public Economics,

Acoustic Testing of Generator/Alternator Fans

The intent of this project was to fill in a gap of the testing knowledge possessed for acoustics of an alternator within a generator set. The objective was to build a test fixture that would allow the user to test the acoustics of alternators without the driving force of an engine, which is a high acoustic source during testing. Eliminating the engine from the equation would allow for more accurate data of the product line, allowing for better utilization of acoustic tools when implementing sound source dampening. At the end of the project, it was found that the test fixture that was used gave useful data within certain frequencies, but will be needing modifications in order to allow for a larger range of frequencies to be more accurately measured

VALUING RISK-REDUCING INTERVENTIONS WITH HEDONIC MODELS: THE CASE OF EROSION PROTECTION

This article extends the literature on economic valuation of public interventions that reduce environmental risk. We consider the case where risk-reducing interventions have different characteristics than the risk proxies used in hedonic regressions. We then demonstrate the importance of these considerations by reexamining an existing analysis of shoreline protection where we estimate risk using a latent variables model. The results show substantially different and arguably more plausible results.Environmental Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

A Study of Views of Educators and Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Pastors Toward Continuing

The aim of this study will be to determine directions for continuing education within the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. In this study the views of various educators concerning objectives for continuing education will be explored. Secondly, the results of a questionnaire on continuing education, sent at random to pastors in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, will be presented. Next, the implications of the results of the questionnaire will be drawn, and, where possible, correlated with the opinions of the educators. Finally, from these implications and comparisons, suggestions will be made, where possible, fora program of continuing education for pastors within the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod

Growing the \u3ci\u3eExperience\u3c/i\u3e Economy

Some of us, and I confess I am in this group, can remember when our mother would make us a birthday cake. She used basic ingredients or commodities like flour, sugar, eggs and cocoa to create it from scratch. It was always a wonderful creation and quite affordable – probably under 50 cents for the entire cake. Then a few years later it seemed fashionable to use cake mixes and canned frostings. Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines and others figured out that they could take the commodities and package them in such a way as to make a consumer good. It saved time and energy and people were willing to pay for the convenience. Fast forward a few years and buying a cake mix was not quite good enough. We are now willing to go to a bakery or grocery store and purchase a birthday cake. We buy not only the cake, but the service of having the cake already completed and ready to use. Correspondingly the price goes up, but this is not a huge issue, because we were again saving personal time and energy