This paper shows the implications of credit and labor market imperfections on gender differences in agricultural labor productivity, especially highlighting how both imperfections negatively affect female productivity by discouraging off-farm income generating activities and restricting access...

Government spending should be regarded as a social and political phenomenon, not merely as a technical choice. We argue that there is an implicit contract between the organized elites and politicians which often leads to a pro-elite allocation of public resources. A natural and simple taxonomy...

Explicitly accounting for certain basic physical laws governing the “earth” sector dramatically enriches our ability to explain a high degree of diversity in observed patterns of economic growth. We provide a theoretical explanation of why some countries have been able to sustain a more or...

This paper explores the conditions for sustainable development through two models of economic growth that elucidates two extremes; an open economy with constant prices, and a closed economy with endogenous prices. Sustainable development is easier to achieve in the case of the former than the...

Rural communities in the Upper Midwest continue to experience economic restructuring, caused not only by area agricultural changes, but also by mining and local manufacturing shutdowns. Focusing on two states, Minnesota and North Dakota, this study details the repercussions, and response, of...

Literature reports that small and medium firms face greater difficulty in obtaining the necessary export market information and in obtaining financing than do larger firms. Accordingly, the United States has many export promotion and enhancement services, but there is little documentation on the...

Removed at publisher's request Jan. 16, 2012