Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Medicaid expansion and child maltreatment(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Holom, Nicholas George; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Wendy A. StockWith the recent major changes to the Medicaid program through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and through individual states' expansions to Medicaid, more effort has been applied to understanding the effects of the Medicaid program beyond health. The prevalence of child maltreatment among families of low-income and poor health motivates the question of how expansions to Medicaid may affect child maltreatment. This study contributes to the literature by examining the contemporaneous effects of changes to Medicaid on child maltreatment. I find that increased Medicaid eligibility reduces the incidence of both reported and substantiated child neglect and child sex abuse.Item Agricultural literacy in Montana preservice elementary educators(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Rianda, Jondie Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carl IgoA major disconnect in a connected world has occurred, creating a knowledge deficiency in agriculture and its global issues. The purpose of this study was to determine Montana State University preservice elementary educators' perceptions toward agriculture, educating about agriculture, and incorporating agricultural topics within their lessons. Researchers used the diffusion of innovations theory and its five communication channels and five degrees of innovativeness along with the theory of planned behavior as a lens to analyze agricultural literacy awareness. Data included education students enrolled in one or more of the following 2019 spring K-8 methods courses: science, math, social studies, and language arts. Regarding barriers, respondents indicated Time and Funding were the most significant, however, Personal Interest and Reward/Recognition construct item were the most significant benefits. Math Methods students obtained the highest percentages out of all four subject areas regarding their comfort level of potentially utilizing the National Agriculture Literacy Outcomes (NALO), while Language Arts Methods course students had the lowest. Participants' overall confidence to potentially utilize agriculture as a context to teach core academics was low compared to their degree of innovativeness, tendency to adopt the innovation. Findings possess significant recommendations and implications for addressing agricultural literacy in nonagricultural educators to improve teachers' perceptions, and increase their awareness of agricultural concepts to successfully and efficiently utilize agriculture as a context. A variety of approaches can be drawn upon to achieve this goal. First, collaboration between elementary and agricultural education preservice education programs. Second, provide agriculturally-based workshops and professional development opportunities for nonagricultural education majors need to be provided. Third, expand efforts toward in-service educators. Fourth, create an agriculturally integrated K-8 curriculum and standards. Fifth, publish research utilizing specific agricultural literacy terminology in nonagricultural education.Item The value of fresh water as an economic input: evidence from Florida oyster fisheries(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Dahl, Caleb Eliot; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Richard ReadyNatural resources contribute to a number of processes that humans depend on for economic benefits. A notable example is fisheries. Fishery productivity is largely dictated by environmental factors. When an ecosystem is altered, the effect on its fisheries can be catastrophic. As development intensifies throughout the world, an increasing number of fisheries are affected by environmental change driven by human behavior. A relevant example is Florida's oyster industry in the Gulf of Mexico, including the famous Apalachicola Bay fishery. As development and population have increased in the surrounding region, the river system that drains into the Florida Gulf has seen diminished water supply. Oysters rely on a particular mix of fresh and saltwater, so changes in the fresh water level affects the ecosystem and the fishing industry. In this thesis, I analyze the effect and value of freshwater input in the oyster fisheries of the Florida Gulf. I find that the effect of freshwater inflow on oyster productivity varies by season, with quarter three flow being of primary importance. Depending on the county and valuation method, I find a standard deviation change in freshwater inflow to be worth between $318,650.98 and $834,004.81 over two years in the context of oyster fisheries. While this specific situation is of particular interest, this work also contributes to the broader literature regarding the role and value of natural resources as economic inputs.Item The costs of cooperation: the effects of section 199 on basis for farm cooperatives in the midwest(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Swanson, Andrew Chase; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Anton BekkermanThe 2004 American Jobs Creation Act created Section 199, a tax provision for producers of domestic goods. During the ensuing decade, Section 199 became especially important for agricultural cooperatives, partly because of a series of favorable Internal Revenue Service private letter rulings for marketing cooperatives. I analyze the impacts of Section 199 on agricultural markets by assessing differential effects on the pricing behavior of grain marketing cooperatives and non-cooperatives in Nebraska and Kansas. I first develop a model for the agricultural cooperatives pricing behavior that incorporates a tax on the qualified patronage received by cooperative patrons. This model produces several testable predictions. First, Section 199 will lower the spot prices offered by cooperatives while increasing the spot prices offered non-cooperatives that compete with cooperatives for agricultural commodities. Second, the widening of prices between cooperatives and non-cooperatives will be mitigated by increased spatial competition. I empirically test the predictions of this model using a difference-in-difference empirical strategy and winter wheat basis data. The results indicate that the series of IRS letter rulings in 2008 widened the basis differential between cooperative and non-cooperative firms by almost 5 cents per bushel on average. Furthermore, these market distorting effects are greater for elevator locations that do not have a competing location within 10 miles of their location. While the benefits of Section 199 have been widely touted by cooperative lobbying groups, the results of this thesis show the importance of also considering the costs of policy interventions directed at specific agricultural firm types.Item The effect of drug-free school zone laws on teen drug use(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Wert, Eric Daniel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark AndersonOne often stated goal of drug policy in the United States is keeping drugs and drug related violence away from children. Drug-free school zone laws, which impose harsher penalties on those caught on drug related offenses near schools, are perhaps the most ubiquitous policies with this specific aim in mind. While some form of drug-free zone is currently enforced in all 50 states, several have made reforms to their laws in the last 10 years. Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, I estimate the relationship between weakening drug-free school zone laws and teen drug use. I find little evidence to suggest these reforms have led to increases in teen drug use.Item The effect of natural disaster on individual-level aspiration: evidence from rural Nepal(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Shrestha, Samyam; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Diane CharltonIn this study, I analyze the effect of the 2015 Nepal earthquake on individual-level aspiration. I use the data from a longitudinal household survey in rural Nepal from 2014 and 2016, and the earthquake intensity data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Using a fixed effects model, I find that compared to those who experienced below median earthquake intensity in terms of Modified Mercalli Scale (MMI), those who experienced MMI between the 50th and 75th percentile had their aspiration index drop by 0.14 of a standard deviation. Similarly, the drop was 0.33 of a standard deviation for those experiencing MMI more than 75th percentile. This finding adds to the literature that natural disaster not only damages physical infrastructure but also curtails individual's overall aspiration, which, as the economic literature illustrates, has a negative effect on investment. There was, however, no consistent statistically significant effects on the individual components of aspiration.Item Solo signator: analysis of the minor alone statutes(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Parker, Lev Ariel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carly UrbanLack of banking access affects approximately a quarter of the population. It is often the most vulnerable populations that are most likely to be unbanked. Without access to the formal banking system, people turn to alternative financial services (AFS) which are significantly more expensive than the formal alternatives. Granting minors independent access to the formal banking system may be a policy tool which can reduce the number of unbanked adults and adults who frequent AFS. I exploit variation in a set a laws known as the Minor Alone Statutes (MAS) which grant minors independent access to state-chartered banks and credit unions. Results on how the MAS affect account ownership are inconclusive, but the MAS do decrease the probability of young adults with bank accounts frequenting AFS by approximately 10%.Item The effect of access to concealed carry permit data: evidence from North Carolina(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Dwinell, Conner Joseph; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Isaac SwensenGun regulation in the United States is a contentious political issue. This is exacerbated by the fact that the economics literature has not come to a clear consensus on the effects gun possession has on crime. In this paper, I examine whether access to online gun permit data deters criminal behavior. On July 12th, 2012, WRAL, a Raleigh, North Carolina local television station, published a database containing the number of concealed carry permits held on every street in the station's viewing area. This allowed members of the public to search the database and find the number of permits at the street level in twenty-two of the 100 total counties. This paper studies how public availability of concealed carry permit data affects violent and property crime rates. I use multiple difference-in-differences strategies, exploiting variation in the timing of WRAL's database going online, inclusion in the television station's viewing area, and agency-level permit concentration to examine the effect of a plausibly exogenous shock to crime in North Carolina. My findings indicate that there are no statistically significant changes in property or violent crime rates for counties whose permit data was published relative to those outside WRAL's viewership area. I also find no evidence of crimes shifting between areas of high and low gun concentration. However, an extension of my empirical model suggests that applications for concealed carry permits rise by approximately 18.1% in treated counties after publication of the concealed carry database.Item The impact of farm-level variables on federal crop insurance coverage level selection(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Boyd, Mark Weiderspon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Eric BelascoThis thesis evaluates the significance of farm-level variables related to cash flow on coverage level selections as a potential explanation for the well-documented behavioral anomaly in producers' federal crop insurance coverage level selection choices. The current crop insurance literature appears to lack a clear explanation of why producers choose to insure at lower or less than economically optimal coverage levels. To inform this question, the relationship between liquidity factors and insurance coverage level selection are estimated empirically using linear and fixed effects models with data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, Risk Management Agency Summary of Business, and the Risk Management Agency Actuarial Data Master. Specifically, this research endeavors to evaluate the associations between variables related to cash flow and coverage level selection, as well as isolate the effect of premium rates on coverage selection, in order to provide evidence that constrained cash flow may be the reason for the appearance of nonutility maximization in coverage level selection. The results indicate that variables directly related to cash flow such as higher costs are associated with significant differences in coverage level selection, though the direction of the association is dependent on the type of costs, whether fixed or variable, while higher revenue higher acreage farms insure at higher coverage levels. In addition, higher premium costs are associated with lower coverage level selection, despite subsidy incentives indicating expected cash flow plays a significant role in coverage level decisions.Item Long-term impacts of childhood Medicaid expansions on crime(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2018) Hendrix, Logan James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Wendy A. StockThis paper examines the effects of public health insurance expansions among children in the 1980s and 1990s on their criminal activity later in life. Using a panel of the states' 1980-1990 birth cohorts and a simulated eligibility instrumental variables strategy, I find that increases in the fraction of children eligible for public health insurance lead to substantial reductions in criminal activity. Considering the extraordinary costs of crime to victims, public budgets, and offenders, these findings suggest a previously unrecognized substantial benefit to the provision of public health insurance to children.