If being socially responsible can result in short or long-term economic benefits, then why do not all companies adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices? This thesis draws on general assumptions from illustrative examples of two paper companies in Brazil--Aracruz and Riocell-- to...

This thesis examines three surprise victories for workers' rights in the Guatemalan garment sector. In the past three years, three unions have formed at the Choishin, Cimatextiles, and Nobland factories and each has negotiated a collective bargaining agreement. This thesis explores why these...

During Portuguese colonial rule biased service provision throughout the 20th century resulted in a city that today has spatially segregated water services distinguishable along racial lines. In 1975, a newly independent Mozambique lacked the financial and human resources necessary to extend its...

Governments are coming under increasing pressure to augment their revenues to offset the social costs of globalization and ever-widening trade and capital liberalization. Unarguably, the most sustainable way to procure additional resources is taxation. In this context, one of the main challenges...

Research was conducted on the proposed Green Line Extension, a light rail corridor from Cambridge through Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. The project is being undertaken by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Due to...

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a quantitative tool that measures the bundled impact of an individual product over its entire life cycle, from "cradle-to-grave." LCA has been developed over many decades to improve industry's environmental performance, and also to create environmental labels for...

Much has been written about the financial crisis that engulfed the financial markets in the summer and fall of 1998. Little has been written about the effect of this crisis on the fledgling Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Market (CMBS). By comparing and contrasting the CMBS market with...

This thesis aims to inform the decision-making process for growing an asset-building program through strategic partnerships with other community-based organizations (CBOs). The impetus for this paper came from Lawrence CommunityWorks, a CBO in Lawrence, Massachusetts that is interested in...

Local independent businesses are critical to the economic health and quality of life of communities. This thesis examines whether marketing can motivate people to consciously and reliably support local independent businesses in their community. The first chapter provides an introduction to the...

For the past three decades, rising skill requirements, increased income inequality, and the growth of suburbs as employment centers have altered the dynamics of urban labor markets. Have labor matching processes also changed in this time? And are these processes the same regardless of location?...