bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The pricing of High Yield Equity Notes
Authors: Duncan Paul J. , Easton Stephen A.
Published: March 2003

High Yield Equity Notes are securities that provide the noteholder with a cash flow stream that comprises a fixed yield and a short position in a European put option on the shares of an Australian company. This paper examines the pricing of these securities and finds apparent overpricing compared with expectations given standard pricing relationships. This apparent overpricing is consistent with the low transaction costs incurred by purchasers of High Yield Equity Notes.
Earnings management and abnormal returns: Evidence from the 1970–1972 Price Control Regulations
Authors: Bowman Robert G. , Navissi Farshid
Published: March 2003

We examine the association between abnormal returns and earnings management in the context of price control regulations to test the construct validity of the earnings management model. Abnormal returns are used as a market–based measure, and discretionary accruals are employed to measure earnings management. Our results support the hypotheses that (1) price control regulations affect firms’ security prices negatively, (2) firms make income–decreasing discretionary accruals to increase the likelihood of price increase approval, and (3) firms that are affected most negatively by the regulations manage earnings more aggressively. We conclude that the earnings management model we use in this study is capable of predicting opportunistic discretionary accruals.
Do Australian companies manage earnings to meet simple earnings benchmarks?
Authors: Holland David , Ramsay Alan
Published: March 2003

Measurement error in unexpected accruals is an important problem for empirical earnings management research. Several recent studies avoid this problem by examining the pooled, cross–sectional distribution of reported earnings. Discontinuities in the distribution of reported earnings around key earnings thresholds may indicate the exercise of management discretion (i.e. earnings management). We apply this approach to the detection of earnings management by Australian firms. Our results generally indicate significantly more small earnings increases and small profits than expected and conversely, considerably fewer small earnings decreases and small losses than expected. These results are much stronger for larger Australian firms. We undertake an exploratory analysis of alternative explanations for our results and find some evidence consistent with management signalling its inside knowledge about the firm's expected future profitability to smooth earnings, as opposed to ‘management intent to deceive’ as an explanation for our results.
Unit initial public offerings: Staged equity or signaling mechanism?
Authors: Lee Martin , Lee Philip , Taylor Stephen
Published: March 2003

We investigate the use of unit (i.e., package) initial public offerings by Australian industrial firms and conclude that their use reflects their role as a signaling mechanism (Chemmanur and Fulghieri, 1997), as distinct from the agency–cost explanation offered by Schultz (1993). From a sample of 394 IPOs between 1976 and 1994, the 66 firms making unit offerings are typically riskier, use less prestigious underwriters and have a lower level of retained ownership than other IPO firms. While these results are also consistent with Schultz's agency cost explanation, other results we report are not. We find no difference in underpricing etween unit IPOs and other IPO firms, nor are there any significant differences in the planned uses of proceeds reported in the prospectus, post–listing failure rates or secondary equity offerings of the type predicted by Schultz. We do however, report evidence consistent with a prediction unique to the signaling explanation. After controlling for the level of ownership retained by insiders, the proportion of firm value sold as warrants is increasing in IPO firms’ riskiness.
The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the quality of financial reporting and auditing: Perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore
Authors: Goodwin Jenny , Seow Jean Lin
Published: March 2003

This study uses two hypothetical cases to examine the perceptions of auditors and directors in Singapore about corporate governance practices relating to the quality of financial reporting and auditing. In the first case, the strength of the audit committee, the existence of an internal audit function and the strength of a corporate code of conduct were manipulated. All three variables were perceived to have some influence on financial reporting and audit quality. However, some interesting differences were found between the perceptions of auditors and directors. Auditors place more weight on the internal audit function, possibly due to their familiarity with the role that internal audit can play in reducing audit risk and enhancing controls. Directors have more confidence in board enforcement of a strong code of conduct, possibly reflecting the view that this encourages staff to adhere to higher ethical standards. In the second case, audit partner rotation, outsourcing of internal audit services and whether the audit firm audited all companies within a group were manipulated. Auditors believed that their ability to resist management pressure was enhanced when they audited all companies within the group. No significant differences were found for the other variables, suggesting that neither group believes that these practices impair audit independence.
The Anatomy of Income Distribution in Urban Ethiopia
Authors: Bigsten Arne , Makonnen Negatu
Published: March 2003

Poverty is gradually spreading to the urban areas of Ethiopia, although it remains more extensive in the rural areas. This paper presents the first substantial analysis, since the 1960s, of the distribution of urban incomes and their determinants. It uses data for 1994 for an analysis of the economic well‐being of urban households; it shows that income diversification is a typical characteristic of the poor, while those who are better off derive more than 75 per cent of their income from wage employment. Multiple activity remains less common in urban Ethiopia than in comparable countries, which is not surprising, since the two‐decade socialist rule ruined the private sector.

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La pauvreté, déjà généralisée dans les régions rurales de l’Ethiopie, se répand progressivement dans les zones urbaines de ce pays. Cet article présente la première analyse approfondie relative à la distribution des revenus dans les villes et aux déterminants de ces revenus, depuis les années 60. Les données pour 1994 sont utilisées pour analyser les conditions de vie des ménages urbains; l’article montre que la diversification du revenu est une caractéristique des pauvres tandis que les couches de la population mieux nanties tirent plus de 75 pour cent de leurs revenus d’un emploi salarié. Par rapport à d’autres pays analogues, la multiplicité de l’activité reste peu courante dans les zones urbaines d’Ethiopie, ce qui n’est guère surprenant étant donné que les deux décennies de régime socialiste ont ruiné le secteur privé.
Supply Determinants of Mining Companies: Evidence for Gold and other Minerals in South Africa
Authors: Mainardi Stefano
Published: March 2003

Supply determinants of mining companies have been identified in several factors, with no consensus on their relative importance. These factors, which include mineral commodity prices, the institutional framework, geological characteristics, the scale of mine operations, and specific features of the controlling holdings, can influence the objectives of the mines, and their ability to achieve these objectives. Following a brief overview of alternative literature hypotheses concerned with mineral supply determinants, statistical and econometric analyses are applied to partly pooled cross‐mine data over the period 1984–95, for gold and other major export minerals in South Africa.

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Des déterminants de l’offre des sociétés minières ont été identifiés dans différents facteurs sans qu’un consensus se dégage quant à leur importance relative. Ces facteurs, au nombre desquels figurent les prix des produits minéraux, le cadre institutionnel, les caractéristiques géographiques, la taille de l’exploitation minière et les caractéristiques de la société de holding majoritaire, peuvent influer sur les objectifs des mines et sur leur aptitude à atteindre ces objectifs. Après une brève revue des hypothèses sous‐tendant diverses théories relatives aux déterminants de l’offre des produits minéraux, une analyse statistique et économétrique est effectuée à partir de données partiellement communes, portant sur la période 1984–95, concernant l’or et d’autres importants produits minéraux d’exportation en Afrique du Sud.
Weak Form Efficiency of the Nigerian Stock Market: Further Evidence
Authors: Olowe R. Ayodeji
Published: March 2003

This study provides further evidence on the weak form efficiency of the Nigerian stock market, that is, whether security prices on the Nigerian stock market adjust to historical price information. Using correlation analysis, monthly stock returns data over the period January 1981–December 1992 were employed in the analysis. The results provided support for the work of Samuels and Yacout (1981) and Ayadi (1983), that is, the Nigerian stock market appears to be efficient in the weak form.

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Cet article traite de la faible efficacité de la Bourse des valeurs du Nigeria, à savoir que, à partir de nouveaux éléments, il cherche àétablir si les cours des titres cotés à la Bourse du Nigeria sont réajustés pour tenir compte des données chronologiques. A l’aide d’une analyse de corrélation, un examen des données mensuelles sur le rendement des titres, pour la période allant de janvier 1981 à décembre 1992, a été réalisé. Les résultats corroborent les travaux de Samuels et Yacout (1981) et ceux de Ayadi (1983), à savoir que la Bourse des valeurs du Nigeria semble être faiblement efficace.
Structural Adjustment Programmes and Technical Efficiency in the Malawian Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Chirwa Ephraim W.
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the efficiency of firms within the structural adjustment period in four sub‐sectors in Malawian manufacturing industry: food processing, tea processing, clothing and footwear, and pharmaceuticals and soaps. We first estimate stochastic production frontiers for each sub‐sector and predict firm level efficiencies using panel data between 1984 and 1988. Secondly, we attempt to associate predicted firm level efficiencies with firm‐specific and industry characteristics using a censored Tobit regression analysis. Results reveal that the average annual technical efficiency ranges from 53 per cent in the pharmaceuticals and soaps sub‐sector in 1984 to 83 per cent in the clothing and footwear sub‐sector in 1984. Technical efficiencies decline over time in the food processing, tea processing, and clothing and footwear sub‐sectors while those in the pharmaceuticals and soaps sub‐sector increase over time. We also find that technical efficiency significantly declines with firm size, domestic monopoly power and tariffs, while it is a positive function of factor intensity and skills of workers.

Cet article examine l’efficience des entreprises en période d’ajustement structurel dans quatre sous‐secteurs de l’industrie manufacturière au Malawi: agroalimentaire, transformation du thé, vêtements et chaussures, produits pharmaceutiques et savons. Nous estimons d’abord pour chaque sous‐secteur des frontières stochastiques des possibilités de production et nous prédisons le niveau d’efficience des entreprises sur la base des données recueillies au moyen d’un panel entre 1984 et 1988. En second lieu, nous tentons d’associer le niveau d’efficience prédit à des caractéristiques propres à l’entreprise ou au métier en utilisant une analyse de régression censurée. Les résultats montrent que l’efficience technique varie en moyenne de 53% dans le sous‐secteur des produits pharmaceutiques et savons en 1984 à 83% dans le sous‐secteur des vêtements et chaussures en 1984. L’efficience technique diminue avec le temps dans les sous‐secteurs de l’agroalimentaire, de la transformation du thé ainsi que des vêtements et chaussures, tandis qu’elle s’améliore dans celui des produits pharmaceutiques et savons. On constate également que l’efficience technique baisse sensiblement avec l’accroissement de la taille de l’entreprise, l’acquisition d’une position de monopole et la protection tarifaire, tandis qu’elle augmente avec l’intensité des facteurs et la qualification de la main‐d’oeuvre.
The Economic Effects of Integration in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community: Some General Equilibrium Estimates for Cameroon
Authors: Bakoup Ferdinand , Tarr David
Published: March 2003

In this paper we quantitatively assess the impact of the CEMAC on its largest member, Cameroon. We find that Cameroon will gain between 0.41 and 0.62 percent of its GDP. Our decomposition shows that the part of the agreement that calls for further preferential reduction of tariffs is immiserizing, although given the low level of intra‐regional imports, the quantitative impact is quite small. Improved access to partner country markets accounts for about one‐quarter of the gains. We find, however, that about three‐quarters of the gains come from reduction of Cameroon’s tariff against the rest of the world. Moreover, our estimates for Cameroon’s unilateral trade liberalization show that it can gain marginally even more from full unilateral trade liberalization than it can from implementation of the CEMAC arrangements. Our results incorporate, in an otherwise small open economy model, the fact that Cameroon may possess regional market power, and we assess the difference in results with models that have no regional market power.

Dans cet article, nous évaluons quantitativement l’impact de la CEMAC sur son pays membre le plus important par son poids économique: le Cameroun. Nos estimations indiquent que le Cameroun enregistrera un gain compris entre 0,41% et 0,62% de son PIB. La décomposition de cet impact montre que l’approfondissement des préférences tarifaires réduit le bien‐être, même si compte tenu du faible niveau des importations intra‐régionales, son impact quantitatif apparaît assez faible. L’amélioration de l’accès aux marchés des partenaires régionaux explique environ un quart des gains. Cependant, environ trois quarts des gains sont expliqués par la réduction par le Cameroun de ses tarifs vis‐à‐vis du reste du monde. De plus, nos estimations indiquent qu’àla marge, le Cameroun gagnerait plus d’une libéralisation commerciale unilatérale que de la mise en oeuvre des accords de la CEMAC. Nos résultats incorporent dans ce qui est par ailleurs un modèle d’une petite économie ouverte, le fait que le Cameroun puisse posséder un pouvoir de marché régional, et nous comparons les résultats àceux des modèles sans pouvoir de marché régional.
How to Reduce Corruption
Authors: Collier Paul
Published: March 2003

Africa has not always been corrupt, and some African societies are not corrupt. Nevertheless, for much of Africa, the reduction of corruption is currently an important priority. I review the lessons from Africa’s history, from experience elsewhere, and from economic theory, to develop an agenda for action. Since Africa became corrupt, part of the solution is to understand what caused that change so that the causal factors can be reversed. For example, both widespread economic regulation and weak checks on the performance of public sector employees encouraged corruption. However, once corruption becomes normal, reversing the policies that caused it is not enough. The society needs a ‘big push’ to shock it out of a high‐corruption equilibrium.

La corruption n’a pas toujours sévi en Afrique et certaines sociétés africaines ne sont pas victimes de ce fléau. Toutefois, pour une grande partie du continent, la lutte contre la corruption revÃt actuellement un caractère hautement prioritaire. Le présent article passe en revue les leçons tirées de l’histoire de l’Afrique, fait le point de l’expérience acquise dans d’autres régions du monde et analyse les théories économiques en vue d’élaborer un plan d’action. La corruption étant devenue l’apanage de l’Afrique, l’un des moyens de la faire reculer consiste à appréhender les facteurs à l’origine de ce phénomène afin de les inverser. Par exemple, la réglementation économique généralisée et la faiblesse des contrôles sur le travail des agents de l’État sont des facteurs qui ont incitéà la corruption. Néanmoins, lorsque la corruption entre dans les moeurs, il ne suffit pas, pour y mettre un terme, d’inverser les politiques qui en sont les causes. La société doit subir un ‘grand choc’ pour la faire sortir du cycle de la corruption.
Corporate Governance in Africa: The Record and Policies for Good Corporate Governance
Authors: Ayogu Melvin D.
Published: March 2003

We survey, using international criteria, the institutional record for quality corporate governance in Africa. The record leads us to the conclusion that corporate governance in Africa is enriched by expanding the framework of analysis beyond the conventional criteria (homo economicus) to incorporate moral sentiments– the influence of norms and values. Such considerations, we argue, can improve our understanding of boardroom dynamics and the characteristics of the decision management and decision control they engender in ‘Business Africa’.
The External Debt Problem in Africa: A Comparative Study of Nigeria and Morocco
Authors: Edo Samson E.
Published: March 2003

In this paper, the African external debt problem with particular reference to Nigeria and Morocco is extensively analysed, and statistical indicators show that it is severe and has adverse effects on investment. The analysis also finds that fiscal expenditure, balance of payments and global interest rate are the crucial factors in explaining the accumulation of external debt in the two countries. Although the problem tends to exhibit some differences in characteristics between the two countries, the fact remains that they both belong to the same category of highly indebted countries. It is therefore necessary they embark on a rapid programme of privatization aimed at reducing fiscal expenditure, and a sustained export promotion programme to improve balance of payments. At the same time, both countries should restructure and develop their capital markets to reduce exposure to the vagaries of global interest rate. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank could also assist by modifying the International debt relief programme (HIPC Initiative) to accommodate both countries.

Cet article étudie en détail le problème de la dette extérieure de l’Afrique, en se centrant en particulier sur les exemples du Nigeria et du Maroc. Les indicateurs statistiques montrent que le problème est grave et a des effets négatifs sur l’investissement. L’analyse a également mis à jour le fait que les dépenses fiscales, la balance des paiements et le taux d’intérÁt global sont des facteurs essentiels dans l’accumulation de la dette extérieure dans ces deux pays. Si le problème présente des caractéristiques différentes dans les deux pays, le fait n’en demeure pas moins qu’ils appartiennent tous deux à la mÁme catégorie des pays très endettés. Il leur est donc nécessaire d’engager rapidement un programme de privatisation visant à réduire les dépenses fiscales, et un programme intensif de promotion des exportations pour améliorer la balance des paiements. Dans le mÁme temps, les deux pays doivent restructurer et développer leurs marchés financiers pour réduire leur exposition aux caprices des taux d’intérÁt mondiaux. Le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et la Banque mondiale pourraient également les aider en modifiant le programme international d’allégement de dette (Initiative PPTE) de manière à ce qu’ils puissent en profiter.
The Creation and Spread of Technology and Total Factor Productivity in China's Agriculture
Authors: Jin Songqing , Huang Jikun , Hu Ruifa , Rozelle Scott
Published: March 2003

The overall goal of this study is to create a framework for assessing the trends of China's national and international investment in agricultural research and to measure its impact on total factor productivity. The main methodological contribution is to provide more convincing measures of crop‐specific technologies from China's national research program and of those imported from the international agricultural research system. Our results find that from 1980 to 1995, China's total factor productivity for rice, wheat, and maize grew rapidly and new technology accounts for most of the productivity growth.
Efficiency Wages, Deferred Payments, and Direct Incentives in Agriculture
Authors: Moretti Enrico , Perloff Jeffrey M.
Published: March 2003

Empirical evidence from agricultural labor markets is consistent with efficiency‐wage theory and inconsistent with several alternative explanations. According to this theory, the higher wage or deferred payment (benefits) that direct‐hire growers pay relative to that of farm labor contractors is an efficiency wage. Growers use this extra compensation to lower their monitoring expenses and reduce shirking by workers.
What is the Value of Agricultural Economics Research?
Authors: Schimmelpfennig David E. , Norton George W.
Published: March 2003

The output of agricultural economics research is information, much of it aimed at designing or improving institutions. Bayesian decision theory and economic surplus analysis have been suggested as possible approaches to evaluate that information. This article takes a critical look at the strengths and weaknesses of combining those approaches for empirical evaluation of agricultural economics research. It presents three case studies, utilizing prior and posterior probabilities elicited from key decision makers. Direct application of the probabilities to a simple set of states and actions is best suited to situations involving a single policy‐making center, or a consensus decision‐making process.
Do Single Mothers Face Greater Constraints to Workforce Participation in Non‐Metropolitan Areas?
Authors: Mills Bradford F. , Hazarika Gautam
Published: March 2003

Increasing workforce participation among single mothers is the primary goal of recent welfare reform measures. This article shows that increased workforce participation in the mid to late 1990s led to improvements in the economic well‐being of non‐metropolitan and metropolitan area families headed by single mothers. Differential benefits and costs of workforce participation of single mothers in non‐metropolitan and metropolitan areas are then examined. Single mothers are found to face lower costs to workforce participation and receive lower hourly earnings in non‐metropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas. Young children do, however, raise workforce participation costs more in non‐metropolitan areas.
Random Profits and Duality
Authors: Pope Rulon D. , Just Richard E.
Published: March 2003

Dual production specifications derived under certainty are typically randomized for econometric purposes with ad hoc error specifications. This article shows that such approaches can cause integrability conditionsto fail. In particular, if errorsin input demands represent errorsin optimization that affect output, then typical dual approachesdo not yield congruent suppliesand demands.
Consumption of Economic Information in Agriculture
Authors: Just David R. , Wolf Steven A. , Wu Steve , Zilberman David
Published: March 2003

We develop a model of decision makers' demand for agricultural economic information services. This modeltreats choice of externaldecision‐support services as a function of actors' assessment of how alternative investments in information complement their internal competencies. Data from a survey in four commodity systems are used to evaluate hypotheses as to how human capital, and functional role of actors in commodity systems affect demand for variously formatted information. By focusing on three axes of heterogeneity—diversity among decision makers, information service providers, and information—we are able to identify key structuraland functional relationships in agricultural economic information systems.
Marketing Orders, Grading Errors, and Price Discrimination
Authors: Chalfant James A. , Sexton Richard J.
Published: March 2003

Some marketing orders allow an agricultural industry to regulate the flow of product to market. We examine a more common, but less controversial, aspect of marketing orders, the setting and enforcement of grades, and show that purposefully introducing error into the grading process reduces farmers' incentives to produce high‐quality product, thus partially sustaining the adverse selection problem that would exist in the absence of grades. Because demand for high‐quality product is generally inelastic relative to demand for low‐quality product, grading error can increase industry profit. In principle, an industry can achieve through grading error the same allocation of product between high‐ and low‐quality outlets as attainable through direct volume regulation.
Demand Estimation in the Presence of Stochastic Trend and Seasonality: The Case of Meat Demand in the United Kingdom
Authors: Fraser Iain , Moosa Imad A.
Published: March 2003

If budget shares have stochastic trend or seasonality or both, then demand equations based on the assumption of deterministic trend and deterministic seasonality will be mis‐specified. We test this proposition by estimating a Linearized Almost Ideal (LAI) demand system for meat demand in the United Kingdom using Harvey's structural time series methodology. We demonstrate that the model specification allowing for stochastic trend and deterministic seasonality performs best in terms of diagnostic tests and goodness of fit measures. It is also shown that the model with stochastic trend is better at out‐of‐sample forecasting.
Pigs in Space: Modeling the Spatial Structure of Hog Production in Traditional and Nontraditional Production Regions
Authors: Roe Brian , Irwin Elena G. , Sharp Jeff S.
Published: March 2003

We posit a spatially explicit, county‐level model of the hog production sector and estimate how numerous firm‐specific, locality‐specific, and spatial agglomeration factors affect the location, movement, and intensity of hog production within 15 key hog production states. Spatial agglomeration, urban encroachment, input availability, firm productivity, local economy, slaughter access, and regulatory stringency variables affect the sample regions' spatial organization. Analyses suggest that western states in the sample may shape hog production levels by wielding traditional business recruitment and retention tools (e.g., tax rates, environmental stringency) while Corn Belt states may shape hog production via nontraditional tools (e.g., land use controls).
Distinguishing between Equilibrium and Integration in Spatial Price Analysis
Authors: Barrett Christopher B. , Li Jau Rong
Published: March 2003

This article introduces a new spatial price analysis methodology based on maximum likelihood estimation of a mixture distribution model incorporating price, transfer cost, and trade flow data. This method permits differentiation between market integration and competitive market equilibrium and derivation of intuitive measures of intermarket tradability, competitive market equilibrium, perfect integration, segmented equilibrium, and segmented disequilibrium. One can also use these estimates to derive semiparametric measures of time‐varying regime probabilities to track changing market conditions. An application to trade in soybean meal among Pacific Rim economies demonstrates the usefulness of the method.
Planting Decisions and Uncertain Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Crop Varieties
Authors: Saak Alexander E. , Hennessy David A.
Published: March 2003

There exists much uncertainty about consumer attitudes toward genetically modified foods. If it happens that sufficient (insufficient) acres are planted under nonmodified seed to meet postharvest demand, then a price premium will not (will) emerge for the nonmodified varieties. A nonlinearity originates in the fact that a price premium may not be supported. This nonlinearity interacts with demand uncertainty to determine equilibrium plantings and the probability that postharvest varietal prices differ. Also, as planting approaches signals will be broadcast about the nature of postharvest demand. We show how the nonlinearity affects the types of signals that growers will prefer to receive.
Optimal Producer Behavior in the Presence of Area‐Yield Crop Insurance
Authors: Chambers Robert G. , Quiggin John
Published: March 2003

Optimal producer behavior in the presence of area‐yield insurance is studied. The producer's optimal production and insurance choices are characterized. The effect of the provision of area‐yield insurance on production patterns is studied, and sufficient conditions for the provision of area‐yield insurance to increase the riskiness of the individual producer's decisions are derived. A separation result is derived for area‐yield insurance contracts and stochastic technologies.
Testing the Validity of Contingent Behavior Trip Responses
Authors: Grijalva Therese C. , Berrens Robert P. , Bohara Alok K. , Shaw W. Douglass
Published: March 2003

While a number of validity tests exist for contingent valuation data, to date there are very few literature examples for contingent behavior (CB) data. The objective of this study is to test the validity of CB trip data for different levels of rock climbing access using data from surveys implemented before and after a policy restricting recreational access was imposed. Results from generalized Negative Binomial and seemingly unrelated Poisson regression models show significant sensitivity to scope, and suggest that CB data may be a valuable supplement to revealed preference data when policy proposals are outside the range of historical conditions.
Oligopsonistic Landlords, Segmented Labor Markets, and the Persistence of Tied‐Labor Contracts
Authors: Basu Arnab K.
Published: March 2003

This article examines contractual labor arrangements in agrarian economies that persist as a consequence of market power on the part of landlords faced with output uncertainty. We show that a segmented labor market characterized by tied‐labor contracts and involuntary unemployment in the lean season are optimal as compared to a labor hiring arrangement that guarantees full employment of labor in both seasons. Government intervention in the form of a specific subsidy targeted toward the hiring of permanent laborers may raise the welfare of all laborers while a specific subsidy directed toward the hiring of casual laborers or the institution of relief programs that absorb the rural unemployed in the lean season leads to the casual laborers in the economy being worse off.
The Contribution of Unmeasurable Inputs to Fisheries Production: An Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Fishing Vessels in the English Channel
Authors: Pascoe Sean , Coglan Louisa
Published: March 2003

Variations in the efficiency of demersal trawlers operating in the English Channel were examined through the estimation of a stochastic frontier production function. The most important measurable factor affecting efficiency was the age of the vessel. However, unmeasurable factors accounted for about 65% of the variation in efficiency, and as much as 9% of the total variation in catches between boats. It is postulated that most of this variation was due to differences in skipper and crew skill. In contrast, “luck” accounted for around 11% of the variation in catches between boats.
Induced Innovation in United States Agriculture, 1880–1990: Time Series Tests and an Error Correction Model
Authors: Thirtle Colin G. , Schimmelpfennig David E. , Townsend Robert E
Published: March 2003

An error correction model (ECM) of induced innovation, based on the two‐stage CES production function allows direct tests of the inducement hypothesis, which are applied to U.S. data for 1880–1990. The time series properties of the variables include a structural break in 1920, cointegration is established and an ECM constructed, which allows factor substitution to be separated from technological change. Causality tests show that the factor‐price ratios and R…D are Granger‐prior to the factor‐saving biases of technological change. The inducement hypothesis is corroborated, and identified as one factor in the complex development of U.S. agriculture.
Rural Population Growth, 1950–1990: The Roles of Human Capital, Industry Structure, and Government Policy
Authors: Huang Tzu‐Ling , Orazem Peter F. , Wohlgemuth Darin
Published: March 2003

Human capital raises rural incomes, but this effect is swamped by higher returns to human capital in urban markets. This leads to “brain drain” from rural areas. Populations grow more rapidly in rural counties that have a diversified employment base. Farm population grows faster (or declines more slowly) in counties with relatively high farm income, and nonfarm populations grow faster in counties with relatively high nonfarm income. However, higher farm incomes lead to slower nonfarm population growth and vice versa. Rural county government services financed by local taxes or debt have neutral or negative effects on population growth.
Producer Experience, Learning by Doing, and Yield Performance
Authors: Goodwin Barry K. , Featherstone Allen M. , Zeuli Kimberly
Published: March 2003

Current crop insurance rating procedures consider only performance for the individual crop in question. Recent farm legislation has given producers considerable planting flexibility and, as a result, many have shifted to new crops. Producers without a production history for the new crop may be offered levels of insurance that do not accurately reflect their expected yields. Likewise, premium rates may not reflect a producer's actual risk for a new crop. We examine the extent to which information about expected yields may be gleaned from a consideration of historical performance on other crops. We also consider the extent to which yield performance exhibits learning by doing such that yields improve with experience. Though the results are mixed, we generally find that yield performance tends to improve with experience. However, when yields are conditioned on historical yield performance for other crops, the importance of experience is diminished significantly. Yield performance is related to a number of farm characteristics. Finally, we examine the extent to which yield variability is correlated across crops for individual farmers. Implications for crop insurance rating practices are discussed. The results demonstrate robust correlation between a farm's historical yield on other crops and a newly produced crop—a factor largely ignored in current crop insurance contracts.
Primal/Dual Positive Math Programming: Illustrated Through an Evaluation of the Impacts of Market Resistance to Genetically Modified Grains
Authors: Preckel Paul V. , Harrington David , Dubman Robert
Published: March 2003

The goal of Howitt's positive mathematical programming procedure is to calibrate a mathematical programming model so that it will reproduce a set of base data for the primal variables. This article develops an analogous procedure allowing one to specify the levels of both primal and dual variables. This article also sheds light on a potential ambiguity of Howitt's procedure (with attendant policy evaluation impacts). The procedure is illustrated through application to an equilibrium displacement model focused on evaluating the consequences of the reluctance of U.S. trading partners to accept genetically modified crop products for U.S. production patterns and net farm income.
Robust Comparisons of Malnutrition in Developing Countries
Authors: Sahn David E. , Stifel David C.
Published: March 2003

We use Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to make international and inter‐temporal welfare comparisons. While most poverty analyses rely on expenditures or income, we use anthropometric measures of nutrition as indicators of living standards. The advantages are that we observe individual—not household—well‐being, deflators and exchange rates are unnecessary, and measurement techniques are similar across surveys. We test the robustness of the headcount results, and find that applying higher order Foster‐Greer‐Thorbecke poverty measures adds little information; although stochastic dominance testing of nutrition distributions reveals that changes in malnutrition are sensitive to the choice of the “nutrition poverty line”.
Effective Costs and Chemical Use in United States Agricultural Production: Using the Environment as a “Free” Input
Authors: Morrison Paul Catherine J. , Ball V. Eldon , Felthoven Ronald G. , Grube Arthur , Nehring Richard F.
Published: March 2003

A cost‐function‐based production model is used to represent patterns of input use and output production in U.S. agriculture, and the implied costs of induced reductions in risk from agricultural chemicals (“bad outputs”). We estimate and evaluate shadow values for these harmful outputs, and the implied input‐ and output‐specific substitution patterns, with a focus on the impacts on pesticide demand and its quality and quantity components. Using state‐level data we find these measures to be statistically significant, vary substantively by region, and imply increased demand for effective pesticides associated with improvements in quality from embodied technology.
Partial Market Liberalization and the Efficiency of Policy Reform: The Case of the European Dairy Sector
Authors: Bouamra‐Mechemache Zohra , Chavas Jean‐Paul , Cox Thomas L. , Réquillart Vincent
Published: March 2003

This article analyzes the efficiency of partial market liberalization and policy reform with an application to the European dairy sector. In a second best world, partial moves toward market liberalization are not always efficiency improving. We develop a general equilibrium model to investigate the efficiency implications of discrete changes in government policy. The analysis covers price and quantity instruments used in both domestic and trade policy. We derive simple cnditions under which partial market liberalization is efficiency improving. We apply the approach to agricultural policy reform in the European dairy sector and identify market liberalization scenarios that are “not” efficiency improving.
The Adoption and Profitability of rbST on Connecticut Dairy Farms
Authors: Foltz Jeremy D. , Chang Hsiu‐Hui
Published: March 2003

This work estimates probit and tobit models of the adoption of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) on Connecticut dairy farms and then endogenizes that adoption in estimates of milk production and farm profit rates. The work improves on the current literature by allowing the rbST decision to be both continuous and contingent on other technology adoption decisions. The results show that larger farms, with more productivity technologies, and with younger, more educated farmers, are more likely to adopt rbST. While rbST is shown to significantly increase milk production, there is no evidence that it increases profits on a per cow basis.
Does Capital Market Structure Affect Farm Investment? A Comparison using French and British Farm‐Level Panel Data
Authors: Benjamin Catherine , Phimister Euan
Published: March 2003

This article considers whether differences in the structure of agriculture credit markets in France and the United Kingdom alters the investment sensitivity to financial variables particularly cash flow. Using two panel datasets of French and British farms, three approaches are used to test the sensitivity of investment to internal finance, an inventory investment model, a fundamental q‐model, and Euler equations for machinery investment. The results suggest that the contrasting capital markets structures do induce differences in overall investment sensitivity to cash flow and its pattern across both farms with varying levels of collateral and between inventory and machinery investment.
Sunshine and the Open Shop: Ford and Darwin in 1920s Los Angeles
Authors: Davis Mike
Published: March 2003

By 1910, Los Angeles was already notorious as national capital of the open shop. During World War I, the Chamber of Commerce launched an ambitious campaign to attract eastern investment to new manufacturing districts southeast of downtown. With the arrival of hundreds of branch plants in the 1920s, Los Angeles' business leaders—quoting Ford and vulgarizing Darwin—embraced a sweeping vision of Urban Eugenics based on scientific factory planning, proprietary industrial suburbs, mass‐produced bungalows, and a racially selected workforce. Even Mother Nature was a scab.
Somebody Else, Somewhere Else: Racisms, Racialized Spaces and the Popular Geographical Imagination in Sweden
Authors: Pred Allan
Published: March 2003

In conjunction with recurrent economic dislocations and the restructuring and melting of national capitalisms into one another, there has been a resurgence of racisms in Europe; even in Sweden, a country long stereotyped as an international champion of equality and economic and political justice. An array of concrete and racialized spaces has emerged and contributed to the further spread of racism. Deeply enmeshed in this process is a disjuncture between racist attitudes and behaviors, and a widely held image of the self and the nation as altruistic and just. Confronted by such internal dissonance, many, if not most, Swedes resolve matters through denial and projection: believing or asserting that the country's only racists are either skinhead youths or right‐wing extremists, “somebody else.” The contradiction between the racisms and national identity is also commonly culturally reworked through projecting upon other locations as well as other groups. To demonstrate the complexities and internal contradictions of this popular geographical imagination, this paper provides a detailed depiction and critique of one of its elements—the municipality of Sjöbo.
Between Process and Individuation: Translating Metaphors and Narratives of Urban Space
Authors: Merrifield Andy
Published: March 2003

Metaphors have long been crucial for informing critical understanding about space: Lefebvre speaks of rhythms and waves; Harvey of circulation and flow. Each theorist adopts metaphors that highlight the processual nature of capitalist social space. This paper suggests that when space is redescribed in process terms theorists invariably revert to metaphors of temporality, and all sense of richly textured everyday space disappears. Metaphors of process aren't particularly useful in everyday experience, yet in redescribing the concrete world metaphors frequently portray a static reality. We are presented with a clash of metaphors and neither is adequate. The paper argues for the need to translate between different metaphors of urban space, an argument developed by exploring the work of Henri Lefebvre, Jane Jacobs and Antonio Gramsci, and finds in Gramsci some tips on engaging in this translation, and constructing a more wholesome political redescription.
Romantic beliefs, styles, and relationships among young people from Chinese, Southern European, and Anglo‐Australian backgrounds
Authors: Moore Susan M. , Leung C.
Published: March 2003

In this study, the romantic beliefs, styles of relating, sex‐role traits, and social self‐efficacy of 433 young people from three cultural groups were assessed and their links with relationship status and loneliness explored. A majority cultural group (Anglo‐Australians) was compared with two minority groups (Chinese‐ and Southern European‐background young people) within the same society. Chinese‐background youth were less likely to be in a romantic relationship and more likely to be lonely than Anglo‐Australian or Southern European‐Australians. Greater loneliness was associated with non‐secure relationship styles, lower social self‐efficacy, and lower scores on psychosocial femininity and masculinity. Predictors of relationship status included romantic attitudes and relationship styles. Some evidence pointed to stronger social efficacy and more secure relationship styles being associated with greater acculturation but it was rather weak and inconsistent.
Self–enhancement in Japan? A reply to Brown & Kobayashi
Authors: Heine Steven J.
Published: March 2003

Brown and Kobayashi provide some evidence that Japanese enhance themselves and group members in the self–other paradigm, especially for important traits. However, their conclusions are drawn from a highly selective review of the literature. In their paper they raise four distinct hypotheses: Japanese self–enhance, Japanese self–enhance as much as North Americans, Japanese self–enhance more for important traits, and Japanese enhance their groups. An evaluation of each of these four hypotheses with respect to all of the relevant empirical evidence reveals that they are all poorly supported and, in some cases, are directly contradicted.
New Zealand's economic relations with Japan in the 1950s
Authors: Singleton John
Published: March 2003

New Zealand's special economic relationship with Britain was brought into question during the 1950s. The subsidization of British farmers, and the dumping of foreign food surpluses in the UK, made New Zealand's traditional market seem increasingly insecure. Wellington responded by seeking supplementary outlets, and in 1958 a commercial treaty was signed between New Zealand and Japan, despite the alarm of British manufacturers. New Zealand's trade with Japan grew after 1958, although it failed to grow as quickly as trade between Australia and Japan. The Japanese were reluctant to import many animal products. This article explains the process by which Japan and New Zealand arrived at a compromise, which enabled trade to develop without seriously damaging the interests of protected groups in either country.
Segmenting the contours: Australian economic growth 1828–1913
Authors: Greasley David , Oxley Les
Published: March 2003

The statistical properties of Australian GDP estimates are used to investigate discontinuities in economic growth between 1828 and 1913. Australian GDP appears to follow a segmented trend stationary process, with discontinuities around 1851 and 1891. The results are used to shed light on the impact of the 1851 gold discoveries and the 1890s depression on Australian economic development.
‘Lead Bonus Happy’: Profit‐Sharing, Productivity and Industrial Relations in the Broken Hill Mining Industry, 1925–83
Authors: Shields John
Published: March 2003

Economic and labour historians have thus far shown little interest in analysing the operation and impact of variable, performance‐based payment systems in Australia. This is particularly so of collective forms of performance‐based remuneration such as profit‐sharing. This article assesses the operation and impact of Australia's oldest continuous profit‐sharing scheme, the Broken Hill ‘lead bonus’. Outcomes are assessed against three broad sets of management objectives: economic, cultural/ideological, and industrial. The study argues that whilst the bonus effectively cushioned company labour costs during periods of depressed market demand and metal prices, outcomes at a microeconomic level were negative. Prior to the advent of sustained high inflation, high bonus earnings served to negate the productive potential of the industry's system of small‐group payment by results. Productivity growth emanated mainly from management‐driven changes in mining techniques and technology, the intensity of which was related inversely to the lead price and, hence, bonus payments. The study concludes that management's continued adherence to the bonus system was motivated less by microeconomic or cultural/ideological considerations than by its perceived value as a counter to major industrial disruption.