http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2272 2013-06-19T08:21:43Z 2013-06-19T08:21:43Z Karetnikov, Daria http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13608 2013-02-08T03:43:28Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Have the National Resources Inventories advanced conservation policy? Authors: Karetnikov, Daria Abstract: Background. Over the last three decades, the USDA's conservation policy has changed dramatically. Not only has the number of programs multiplied and the scope of issues expanded, but a once-casual link between commodity programs and conservation activities has been formalized. One reason for the changes may have been an effort within the USDA's conservation agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), to collect information on natural resource conditions through the National Resources Inventories (NRIs). In the 1970s, Congress mandated the NRIs and also a national agricultural-conservation appraisal and the development of a national program to devise conservation-policy recommendations. Together these mandates constituted the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA) appraisal process. The NRIs have been produced on a huge scale and through great effort, and they have evolved successfully over time. Recently formed Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) offered another opportunity to use the NRIs. But their integration into policy has been neither consistent nor smooth -- nor, heretofore, well understood. Question. Have the National Resources Inventories advanced conservation policy? Methods. I followed three policy layers over the last thirty-five years: the intra-agency dynamic that produced informational products; the USDA conservation-program structure, and the federal legislative branch in its policy-making dimension. In all, I interviewed over 40 experts, looked through nearly 800 speeches, reviewed 47 Congressional hearings, analyzed dozens of databases, and relied on hundreds of internal documents. Conclusion. Yes, the National Resources Inventories have advanced conservation policy. However, NRI influence has been directly unambiguous only once. NRI influence has mostly been through the RCA, and it has been greatest when support has been high at both agency and USDA levels, when participation from constituent USDA agencies and other federal agencies has been enthusiastic, when willingness to restructure programs according to actual findings has been ascendent, and when Congress members have been hearing about NRI results from many sources.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Radics, Gustavo Axel http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13510 2013-02-07T04:10:44Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: On the effects of inter-governmental transfers on macroeconomic stability Authors: Radics, Gustavo Axel Abstract: This dissertation explores the effects of inter-governmental transfers on macroeconomic stability, evaluating the case of Peru, which experienced a large increase in transfers to local governments from 2001 to 2010, linked to the fiscal revenue from the development of natural resources. The findings indicate that, although the surge in transfers in Peru is not an imminent threat on macroeconomic stability, it created a fiscal risk through two main channels. First, the reduction in the fiscal space of the central government to conduct counter-cyclical fiscal policy, since it shares with sub-national governments an increased proportion of its revenue from corporate income tax on extractive industries, which is the tax that grew most in Peru over the last decade and is also the most volatile. And second, the high increase of local expenditures due to increased transfers from the central government, which is a manifestation of the flypaper effect. This increased local expenditure contributed to a larger share of local government participation in the general government. In turn, this increased participation contributed to put pressure on the central government to allocate more funds to local governments when transfers fell. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the results also show that local governments in Peru do not reduce their fiscal effort in terms of own taxation in response to the high increase in transfers. This dissertation builds on the literature on the link between decentralization and macroeconomic stability, with particular reference to the allocation of the fiscal revenue from the development of natural resources among levels of government, which is an important issue in many countries around the world, in the context of the high rise in commodity prices of the last decade. It provides lessons related to the consequences of sharing a large proportion of the fiscal revenue from the development of natural resources with sub-national governments, as well as policy options for Peru to improve its decentralization process.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Arendt Jr., Michael James http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13105 2012-10-11T02:31:49Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Application and Implementation of the Supply Chain Reference (SCOR) Model at the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Authors: Arendt Jr., Michael James Abstract: DoD's supply-chain supports over 1 million uniformed, civilian, and contract employees, manages over $90 billion in inventory, and maintains some 15,000 aircraft, 300 ships, and 30,000 combat vehicles. The supply-chain is undeniably the backbone of DoD operations, ultimately enabling it to achieve mission success under a variety of situations. In recent years, the DoD has pursued numerous initiatives for the purposes of improving its supply-chain. Motivations to seek improvements (such as asset tracking, reduced errors, etc.), decreased costs, and increased responsiveness for the warfighter have been plentiful; however, measured improvement thus far has been difficult to ascertain. It is the intent of this research to establish a framework to enable DoD to use industry best practices and process improvements from the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR) as a tool for Defense supply-chain modernization efforts. To accomplish this, the dissertation will address the following research questions: 1. How can the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model be adapted for use as an enterprise-level tool by the United States Department of Defense? 2. Once adapted, what barriers to the implementation of this new tool exist? 3. How can these barriers be overcome?

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z Farmanesh, Amir http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13080 2012-10-11T02:33:19Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Enabling environments Authors: Farmanesh, Amir Abstract: A strong and growing private sector is a critical factor for the promotion of growth and the increase of opportunities for all. A vibrant business sector would mean economic investment, job creation, improvement in overall productivity, and an increase in the economic pie for all those involved in a society. To foster the growth of a legal business sector, governments and policy makers around the world have been interested in learning about effective policies and implementing wide-ranging reforms. This general policy climate which supports and enhances the growth of the formal private business sector has been called a business-enabling environment. The fundamental premise is that growth of the official business sector of economic activity requires good regulations, strong economic fundamentals, and a nourishing sociopolitical structure. The question to which this dissertation responds is which of these factors are quantitatively significant in describing the number of registered businesses worldwide and how these factors compare to each other when they are tested econometrically beside each other. Would the ease of doing business variables still be significant in describing the number of registered businesses when it is compared to fundamental macro policy factors such as corporate tax rate? How far does business bribery affect business growth? This dissertation presents an effort to quantitatively analyze these factors and their effects on the business growth worldwide. It also offers an estimate on the amount of annual business to government bribery around the world disaggregated to a national level. It offers an estimation of national annual bribes paid by the business sector to governments, in each country worldwide, in the currency of that country at the time, and the equivalent amount in US dollars.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z