Doctoral Dissertation Research in Geography and Regional Science

在学术文献中经常提到， 地理和相关领域的方式，决策在一个 具体的网站不仅受到影响的特点， 站点之间的关系， 但对这些关系的大多数分析都是轶事， 描述性的。 本博士论文研究项目 将系统地分析城市市场的邻近程度如何影响 菲律宾农民决定投资增加 土壤生产力 假设将被检验， 投资和市场接近度之间的关系是U形的， 在靠近或远离的地点进行的投资 城市中心，而较低水平的投资是在 中间距离。 对225个农场的调查信息 将使用对农田土壤样本的分析， 确定与市场的接近程度和其他因素如何影响 决定种植何种作物和进行何种投资 提高土壤生产力。 该项目将提供具体的手段来分析潜在的 政策的效用，旨在同时鼓励经济 发展和保持土壤质量，但它将有一个更 作为一种手段来区分 特定的网站是根据与其他网站的关系进行评估的。 作为农民的选址决策。 该研究项目还 将为有前途的研究生提供一个绝佳的机会 来扩展和完善她的基本研究技能

Frequent reference is made in the scholarly literature of geography and related fields to the ways in which decision making at a specific site is influenced not only be the characteristics of that site but also by the relationships between that site and other sites, but most analyses of these relationships have been anecdotal and descriptive in nature. This doctoral dissertation research project will systematically analyze how proximity to urban markets affects decisions by Philippine peasant farmers to make investments to increase soil productivity. The hypothesis will be tested that the relationship between investments and market proximity is U-shaped, with maximal investments made at locations that are either close to or far from urban centers, while lower levels of investment are made at intermediate distances. Information from a survey of 225 farm households an analyses of soil samples from fields will be used to determine how proximity to markets and other factors has affected decisions about which crops were planted and what investments were made to improve soil productivity. This project will provide specific means to analyze the potential utility of policies aimed at simultaneously encouraging economic development and maintaining soil quality, but it will have an even more significant impact as a means of distinguishing how characteristics of specific sites are evaluated with respect to relationships with other sites as farmers make locational decisions. The research project also will provide an excellent opportunity for a promising graduate student to expand and refine her basic research skills.