The dairy industry is a major contributor to both the New Zealand economy as a whole and to the Waikato regional economy in particular. The industry is experiencing a period of considerable change, with increases in dairy conversion, increased intensification, and increasing use of nitrogen...

Blogs provide a dynamic interactive medium for online discussion, consistent with communal constructivist pedagogy. This paper explores the use of blogs in the teaching and assessment of a small (40-60 students) introductory economics paper. The role of blogs as a teaching, learning and...

Development agencies spend approximately US$ 400 million per year on landmine clearance. Yet many cost–benefit evaluations suggest that landmine clearance is socially wasteful because costs appear to far outweigh social benefits. This paper presents new estimates of the benefits of clearing...

The purpose of this paper is twofold. Primarily the paper makes a quantitative case for implememtation of market-based demand management policies, such as congestion pricing, to reduce urban traffic congestion and mobile-source air pollution. In addition the paper demonstrates the usefulness of...

Development agencies spend approximately US$400 million per year on landmine clearance. Yet many cost-benefit evaluations suggest that landmine clearance is socially wasteful because costs appear to far outweigh social benefits. This paper presents new estimates of the benefits of clearing...

The dairy industry is an important contributor to the economy of the Waikato region of New Zealand. An understanding of the history and development of the dairy sector in the different districts of the Waikato region is important in terms of informing future policy. Unfortunately there are...

In many developing countries, the composition of rural households is influenced by the migration of adult household members to urban locations in search of employment. Children may be left in the care of their mother alone, or in the care of grandparents when both parents have migrated. Using...

This paper presents a review of existing and emerging wind power technologies in light of the evident trends of the industry, and describes the challenges these technologies will face if wind turbines were to become a significant and reliable source of clean energy of the future. Apart from...

The importance of social media for election campaigning has received a lot of attention recently. Using data from the 2011 New Zealand General Election and the size of candidates’ social media networks on Facebook and Twitter, we investigate whether social media is associated with election...