For the success of sustainable tourism, it is important to know residents’ perceptions and attitudes toward tourism under its influences. Relevant research enjoys an enduring popularity in sustainable tourism research. It has long been recognized that tourism has complex impacts in economic,...

In this dissertation I present novel findings that analyze the effects of insurances on the resilience to shocks and household's risk taking behavior. Moreover, the question is raised as to whether there could actually be something good about shocks, as they could trigger processes of social...

Based on Amartya Sen's groundbreaking work on capabilities and functionings, static poverty measures have long used non-income indicators. In contrast, measures of poverty dynamics, including chronic poverty, have in general conceptualized poverty only in an income dimension. Hence, this paper...

The wave of upbeat stories on the developing world's emerging middle class has reinvigorated a debate on how social class in general and the middle class in particular ought to be defined and empirically measured. With the aim of adding clarity to this debate, this dissertation provides a...

This paper discusses two recent controversies surrounding levels and trends in the number of "missing women" in the world. First, the impact of fertility decline on gender bias in mortality is examined. Contrary to the expectations of some authors, fertility decline has not generally led to an...