bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential demand for hedging by Australian wheat producers
Authors: Simons Phil , Rambaldi Alicia
Published: March 2003

The potential for hedging Australian wheat with the new Sydney Futures Exchange wheat contract is examined using a theoretical hedging model parametised from previous studies. The optimal hedging ratio for an ‘average’ wheat farmer was found to be zero under reasonable assumptions about transaction costs and based on previously published measures of risk aversion. The estimated optimal hedging ratios were found by simulation to be quite sensitive to assumptions about the degree of risk aversion. If farmers are significantly more risk averse than is currently believed, then there is likely to be an active interest in the new futures market.
Middlemen behaviour and generic advertising rents in competitive interrelated industries
Authors: Kinnucan Henry W.
Published: March 2003

This article focuses on the role of middlemen in determining the returns to generic advertising in a competitive industry where supply is uncontrolled, the price of marketing inputs is endogenous, and retail markets are interrelated through consumer preferences. Theoretical analysis suggests farm‐gate returns (quasi‐rents) are overstated when input substitution at middlemen level is ignored, a result confirmed in the empirical application. As for mark‐up behaviour, represented by the farm‐retail price transmission elasticity, a general result is that farm‐gate returns to generic advertising always increase as the transmission elasticity decreases, provided retail demand is more elastic than input substitution. Endogenising the price of marketing inputs has little effect on advertising rents.
Risk premia in Australian interest rates
Authors: Douglas Justin , Bartley Scott
Published: March 2003

The level of and movements in interest rates and the exchange rate can have a substantial impact on the economic performance of Australia's primary industries. Whether a country and/or exchange risk premium has resulted in higher interest rates and increased volatility in the exchange rate is therefore important to these industries. There is some evidence that a small country risk premium may have emerged during the early 1990s. In line with earlier studies, however, no evidence was found of such a premium during the 1980s. A further finding is that any exchange risk premium may have declined over the last decade or so. Possible links between risk premia and Australia's foreign debt and current account deficits are also examined.
Policy–making in the EU: the bananarama story, the WTO and policy transparency
Authors: Borrell Brent
Published: March 2003

The EU banana policy is manifestly bad. But despite a healthy policy transparency process and comprehensive public criticisms of its extreme inefficiencies, its costs have been growing progressively worse and more disruptive of international commerce. This raises serious doubts about the WTO process, and the policy transparency process itself. At the very least, the EU bananarama story told here means we should not be complacent about either.
Banana policy: a European perspective
Authors: Tangermann Stefan
Published: March 2003

European Union banana policies do not make economic sense, and hence criticism of these policies is justified. Some facts should, though, be remembered. If the EU had chosen free trade in bananas when the Single Market was established, certain producers both inside and outside the EU would have lost income, and it proved politically impossible to choose direct financial compensation. Also, the quantitative implications of the new EU banana regime may be less than sometimes assumed, as trade has not been reduced very much. The WTO's role is not to judge the economic merits of these policies, but their legal justification.
Regime shifts and technology diffusion in crop yield growth paths with an application to maize yields in Zimbabwe
Authors: Myers Robert J. , Jayne Thomas
Published: March 2003

An alternative specification for the trend component of crop yield growth is developed and applied to maize yield data for Zimbabwe’s large‐scale farming sector. This accounts for permanent regime shifts as new technologies are discovered but allows gradual absorption as adoption follows a diffusion path. Econometric methods are used to estimate the timing and importance of innovations, as well as the length of the diffusion path. Results from an application to Zimbabwe commercial maize yields indicate two major regime shifts that can be associated with the introduction of hybrid seed varieties, and a diffusion path that extends over a decade.
Induced innovation and land degradation in developing country agriculture
Authors: Coxhead Ian
Published: March 2003

With few exceptions, induced innovation theories give little consideration either to the role of distortions as determinants of the factor biases of innovations, or to the influence of technical progress – with or without distortions – on the sectoral structure of production. This analysis identifies demand for innovations as a function of a specific policy setting which both conditions and is conditioned by the structure of production. In this context, when some sectors contribute more than others to environmental externalities, private and social optima in the allocation of research resources may diverge. In some circumstances it may be optimal to use research budget allocations as second‐best substitutes for Pigouvian taxes.
Nonparametric measures of the impact of public research expenditures on Australian broadacre agriculture
Authors: Cox Thomas , Mullen John , Hu Wensheng
Published: March 2003

Nonparametric methods are used to measure the impact of public research expenditures on Australian broadacre agriculture over the 1953–94 period. Results using both unrestricted and 30‐year lagged specifications of the research impacts on productivity suggest that while certain aspects of the nonparametric multi‐input/output technologies are quite robust to alternative specifications (in particular, the associated Malmquist total factor productivity indexes), other aspects are less stable (in particular, the indexes on input and, to a lesser extent, output biased technical change). Internal rates of return to research expenditures on Australian broadacre agriculture are estimated to be in the 12 per cent to 20 per cent range.
Natural resource accounting in theory and practice: A critical assessment
Authors: Harris Michael , Fraser Iain
Published: March 2003

In this paper an extensive review of the theoretical and applied literature on natural resource accounting (NRA) is provided. The review begins by explaining the economic theory that underpins NRA, contrasting welfare and sustainability as policy goals, and presenting various distinct conceptions of national income. The state of play regarding official revisions to the system of national accounts (SNA) with respect to natural resources and the environment is presented and controversial areas are highlighted. Finally, the economic literature on proposed revisions, and applied studies that have proceeded using these methods, is summarised and critiqued. We argue that much of the literature proceeds with weak conceptual foundations, and that typical case studies produce results that are ambiguous in interpretation. Moreover, we highlight fundamental tensions between economic theory and national accounting methodology, and conclude that one outcome of this has been the insufficient attention paid by economists to the revisions to the SNA; instead devoting time and effort to ‘freelance’ NRA case studies utilising sometimes ad hoc methods from the economic literature.
Are resource‐abundant economies disadvantaged?
Authors: Anderson Kym
Published: March 2003

Economies well endowed with natural resources relative to other factors of production have grown slower than other economies over the long term. In reviewing possible explanations for this, the article finds unconvincing such common suggestions as declining terms of trade and rising restrictions to primary product markets abroad. It suggests the most likely reason is these countries’ own distortionary policy regimes. Recent reforms in some resource‐rich economies are already yielding growth dividends. The article also examines the impact of the greening of world preferences and politics on the prospects for resource‐abundant economics.
Testing the validity of responses to contingent valuation questioning
Authors: Bennett Jeff , Morrison Mark , Blamey Russell
Published: March 2003

One way of assessing the validity of results generated through the application of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is through the analysis of response sensitivity to factors expected to have an influence. Scope testing involves presenting at least two alternative impact scenarios to population sub‐samples and testing for differences between the estimates generated. Most applications of the CVM in Australia have not involved scope testing and those that have yielded mixed results. These studies are reviewed. The results of scope sensitivity and other validity tests are presented for a study aimed at estimating the value of environmental damage caused by dryland salinity in the Upper South East of South Australia.
Optimal strategies for regional cultivar testing
Authors: Brennan John P. , Kingwell R. S. , Thomson F. M. , Cullis B. R.
Published: March 2003

In undertaking cultivar trials, the variability of the response of the cultivars to the different environments in which they are grown introduces the possibility of release errors and non‐release errors in the decisions made on the basis of the trial results. In this article a model is developed that accounts for the economic costs of those errors as well as the costs of operating the trials, and enables the features of the optimal cultivar testing program to be identified. The model is illustrated by application to wheat cultivar trials in central and southern NSW.
The economics of household waste management: a review
Authors: Choe Chongwoo , Fraser Iain
Published: March 2003

In recent years reducing the amount of waste generated by households has become an important policy issue in industrialised economies. It is no longer acceptable to discard waste without concern for environmental and natural resource issues. In an effort to reduce household waste various policy instruments such as kerbside charges, deposit‐refund schemes, integrated sales tax exemptions and virgin material taxes, have been proposed and/or implemented. This article reviews the economics literature that has addressed household waste management. It is argued that a comprehensive modelling framework is necessary if the complex policy environment is to be accurately described.
Industrial relations reform in Australia: implications for the agricultural and mining sectors
Authors: Hawke Anne , Wooden Mark
Published: March 2003

A major transformation in the processes that underpin industrial relations arrangements in Australia appears to have occurred during the last decade. The tribunal‐based systems of conciliation and arbitration that have shaped labour‐management relationships now play a far less pivotal role, and the system of awards is far less central to the determination of wages and conditions. Greater scope now exists for employees and employers to tailor their industrial relationship to the needs of the enterprise. This article provides an overview of the development of both collective and non‐collective bargaining within the formal framework, and the likely impacts of such developments.
Some neglected issues in food demand analysis: retail‐level demand, health information and product quality
Authors: Herrmann Roland , Roeder Claudia
Published: March 2003

Food demand analysis is dominated by the econometric estimation of demand systems based on aggregate market data and steady progress has been made in analytical techniques. Yet some issues have been neglected in food demand analysis which are crucial for understanding recent consumption trends in industrialised countries. Three of these issues are dealt with here: analysis of food demand at the retail level; influence of health information on food demand; and importance of product quality for food demand. It is shown that answers to important questions in these areas can be given when large and unconventional data sets are used.
Economic evaluation of a weed‐activated sprayer for herbicide application to patchy weed populations
Authors: Bennett Anne L. , Pannell David J
Published: March 2003

Spatial distribution of weeds in a crop is patchy. Traditional boom sprayers waste herbicide by applying it to areas where weed density is already low. A new technology, Weed Activated Spray Process (WASP), uses sensors to detect the presence of weeds and control spray nozzles accordingly. The economic benefits of this technology to extensive crop farmers in Western Australia are investigated using a model based on the economics of information. Existing technology is likely to reduce profits because the weed density at which it switches off spraying is too high. Even if sensitivity to low densities could be improved, likely benefits of pre‐crop usage would still be very low or negative.
An analysis of the Western Australian gold royalty
Authors: Fraser Rob
Published: March 2003

This article analyses the modified form of ad valorem royalty recently announced by the WA government in relation to gold production, which features a threshold price below which there is no tax liability and compares this royalty with a profit‐based royalty. The level at which the threshold price is set plays an important role in determining the performance of the royalty in relation to its impact on production and the expected level and variability of tax revenue. It is argued that the higher this price is set, the stronger the grounds for preferring a profit‐based royalty, even taking into account the reliability of each form for generating tax revenue.
Issues in defining property rights to improve Australian water markets
Authors: Brennan D. , Scoccimarro M.
Published: March 2003

This article discusses the key practical issues associated with defining property rights to water use, in the context of broadening the scope of the market for transferable water entitlements. In particular, the third party impacts of water trade and the need for improved water trading rules are discussed. Some of the issues associated with defining the reliability of water rights, including the design of appropriate dam management policies, are also discussed. The article concludes with some positive suggestions for the policy debate.
On the balance between strategic‐basic and applied agricultural research
Authors: Pannell David J.
Published: March 2003

Strategic‐basic research refers to basic research conducted in strategically selected areas expected to be of social benefit. Recent literature on the processes of basic research and its links to applied research has not been widely discussed in relation to agricultural research. This may have important implications for the question of the optimal allocation of research resources. The links are reviewed and combined into a framework for considering the allocation question. A numerical model suggests that only a small number of the model’s parameters substantially affect the optimal level of basic research, and that it is not important to identify the optimal solution precisely, since the benefit function is extremely flat around the optimum.
Some issues affecting the macroeconomic environment for the agricultural and resource sectors: the case of fiscal policy
Authors: O’Mara L. P. , Bartley S. W. , Ferry R. N. , Wright R. S. , Calder M. F. , Douglas J.
Published: March 2003

The impact of structural changes in fiscal policy on macroeconomic stability in Australia and other developed economies since the mid‐1970s is assessed. The evidence points to a destabilising influence from fiscal policy from the mid‐1970s to the mid‐1980s, with a more stabilising influence since then. Within Australia, there is some evidence that structural changes to fiscal policy may have helped to stabilise interest rates and the real exchange rate over the period since the mid‐1980s. However, this stabilising influence on the real exchange rate may have reduced the extent to which real exchange rate movements have countervailed world commodity price changes in Australian dollar terms.
The valuation of market information from livestock selling complexes
Authors: Crase Lin , Dollery Brian
Published: March 2003

The efficient operation of livestock markets is contingent upon producers accessing relevant market information which assists adjustment to production and distribution. This article provides an analysis of the value of market information gleaned by producers attending public livestock auctions. The article uses the Travel Cost Method to quantify the value of this information and notes the limitations of applying the Travel Cost Method in this context.
Commodity futures markets: a survey
Authors: Carter Colin A.
Published: March 2003

This review article describes the main contributions in the literature on commodity futures markets. It is argued that modern studies have focused primarily on technical questions, with insufficient economic content. More research needs to be directed towards understanding fundamental economic issues such as why so few farmers hedge, the impacts of government farm programs on commodity futures, and the market impacts of commodity pools. The literature has failed to explain the prevalence of inverted markets in grains and oilseeds, and there is unexplainable price volatility in markets such as hogs and orange juice.
A Genetic Algorithm Approach to Farm Investment
Authors: Cacho Oscar , Simmons Phil
Published: March 2003

A farm portfolio model is specified with two risky enterprises and a risk‐free asset which may be held short or long by the farmer. The model is solved numerically using a genetic algorithm. It is shown that the assumption of competitive adaptation leads to a violation of normative efficiency. Those who survive are not the most efficient in a normative sense.
Choice Modelling: Assessing the Environmental Values of Water Supply Options
Authors: Blamey Russell , Gordon Jenny , Chapman Ross
Published: March 2003

Three criticisms of the contingent valuation method (CVM) are considered in this article. One technique that would appear to answer such criticisms is choice modelling (CM). CM permits value estimates for different goods sharing a common set of attributes to be pieced together using the results of a single multinomial (conditional) logit model. The CM approach to environmental value assessment is illustrated in the context of a consumer‐based assessment of future water supply options in the Australian Capital Territory. CM is found to provide a flexible and cost‐effective method for estimating use and passive use values, particularly when several alternative proposals need to be considered.
Food Consumption Patterns and Nutrition in Urban Java Households: The Discriminatory Power of some Socioeconomic Variables
Authors: Rae Allan N.
Published: March 2003

Food consumption patterns are undergoing substantial change in many countries as economic development proceeds. The trend is a move away from traditional cereals towards higher‐value and higher‐protein foods. Explaining such changes only in terms of traditional economic variables can lead to biased estimates of income effects and perhaps biased projections of food demand. Household survey data from Indonesia are used to measure the importance of several socioeconomic variables in explaining differences in household food consumption patterns and nutrition. Household expenditure and the level of women’s education are shown to be the most influential in this explanation.
Grain marketing and National Competition Policy: Reform or Reaction?
Authors: Watson A. S.
Published: March 2003

Grain marketing arrangements in Australia have been controversial for many years. Following an account of the historical background to grain marketing, this article concentrates on more recent debates. The most interesting technical economic argument concerns the validity of claims that statutory marketing authorities with export monopoly powers can obtain higher prices. The article also discusses how marketing in Australia has been affected by Commonwealth and State Government policies with respect to microeconomic reform and privatization. Although major changes appear to have been made in grain marketing and its institutions, there are inherent economic problems with the current approach to deregulation.
Foot‐and‐mouth Disease and Trade Restrictions: Latin American Access to Pacific Rim Beef Markets
Authors: Rae Allan N. , Nixon Chris , Gardiner Peter
Published: March 2003

Owing to their eradication of foot‐and‐mouth disease Argentina and Uruguay have recently been granted access to the fresh beef markets of the United States and Canada. This raises the prospect of Latin American suppliers gaining access to other Pacific Rim markets, and of increasing the integration of the Pacific and non‐Pacific beef markets. A two‐commodity spatial equilibrium model is constructed for the base year 1995. Projections are then made for the year 2001 under various policy and other scenarios. In some instances, major changes in trade patterns may result.
Public Policy and Private Incentives for Livestock Disease Control
Authors: Bicknell Kathryn B. , Wilen James E. , Howitt Richard E.
Published: March 2003

This article presents a dynamic bioeconomic model of livestock disease control that is unique in its integration of disease dynamics, inter‐species interaction, control‐induced migration, and individual optimising behaviour. Examination of the first‐order conditions highlights why profit‐maximising producers cannot be expected to eradicate disease. Results from an empirical application of the model confirm that the current mix of policies to control bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand is achieving lower levels of prevalence than would prevail in the absence of a national strategy. These policies do, however, appear to remove some of the individual incentive to control disease.
The microeconomics of food security
Authors: Chavas Jean‐Paul
Published: March 2003

This article develops a dynamic microeconomic model of food security under uncertainty, with special focus on the relationships between food demand, nutrition and human survival. It investigates the influence of entitlements on malnutrition, hunger and starvation under uncertainty. It develops useful insights on the links between food security and a number of policy instruments commonly used in dealing with malnutrition and starvation.
Bird migrations and the international economics of species conservation
Authors: Clarke Harry
Published: March 2003

The conservation economics of protecting bird species which migrate across national boundaries is examined. A case for adopting a global view of the implications of national conservation efforts and for negotiating efficient international conservation agreements is emphasised. The roles of cost constraints, strategic policy substitutabilities/complementarities, policy reactivity and alternative conservation objectives are analysed.
Probability distributions for economic surplus changes: the case of technical change in the Australian wool industry
Authors: Zhao Xueyan , Griffiths William E. , Griffith Garry R. , Mullen John D.
Published: March 2003

Mullen, Alston and Wohlgenant (1989) (MAW) examined the distribution of the benefits of technical change in the Australian wool industry. Their conclusions are revisited by examining the probability distributions of changes in the welfare measures, given uncertainty about their model parameters. Subjective probability distributions are specified for the parameters and correlations among some of the parameters are imposed. Hierarchical distributions are also used to model diverse views about the specification of the subjective distributions. A sensitivity elasticity is defined through the estimation of a response surface to measure the sensitivity of the estimated research benefits to individual parameters. MAW’s conclusions are found to be robust under the stochastic approach to sensitivity analysis demonstrated in this article.
Tax reform and the natural resource industries
Authors: Freebairn John
Published: March 2003

Tax reforms passed by Federal Parliament in June 1999 include rationalising indirect taxes, a tax mix change, and a smaller fiscal surplus. The impact or first‐round effects on the natural resource industries indicate large gains. Important second‐round reactions, particularly a real currency appreciation, erode most of, and in some cases more than all of, the first‐round gains. A complete assessment requires the use of general equilibrium models.
Decisions and tradable production quota when yield is uncertain
Authors: Hennessy David A. , Wei Wei
Published: March 2003

This article analyses optimal decisions under regulation by tradable agricultural production/marketing quotas when production is stochastic. For risk‐neutral and risk‐averse producers the fraction of planned production that is covered by quota is separable from input decisions when yield randomness is additive. The role of quota in protecting against the risk of production shortfall is investigated. A producer is shown to benefit from being allowed to treat as one all tranches of production quota under his control. Production decisions are invariant to this amalgamation. But when production randomness is additive normal, the qualitative impact of amalgamation on quota positions depends upon whether the ratio of rental price to the price difference that is being protected exceeds one half.
Assisting decision‐making in Queensland barley production through chance constrained programming
Authors: Gali V. Jyothi , Brown Colin G.
Published: March 2003

A chance constrained programming model is developed to assist Queensland barley growers make varietal and agronomic decisions in the face of changing product demands and volatile production conditions. Unsuitable or overlooked in many risk programming applications, the chance constrained programming approach nonetheless aptly captures the single‐stage decision problem faced by barley growers of whether to plant lower‐yielding but potentially higher‐priced malting varieties, given a particular expectation of meeting malting grade standards. Different expectations greatly affect the optimal mix of malting and feed barley activities. The analysis highlights the suitability of chance constrained programming to this specific class of farm decision problem.
The role of expected protein levels in determining the impact of protein premiums and discounts: a note
Authors: Petersen Elizabeth , Fraser Rob
Published: March 2003

Fraser (1997) considered the impact of protein premiums and discounts on a grower’s income stream and willingness‐to‐pay for a forward contract where the protein premium and discount system is centred on a grower’s existing expected protein level. This article extends these results to consider the impact of a protein premium and discount system which is not centred on a grower’s existing expected protein level. The article suggests that the grower’s existing expected protein level plays a crucial role in determining the impact of the system.
The efficiency of the Australian dairy processing industry
Authors: Doucouliagos Hristos , Hone Phillip
Published: March 2003

In this article we analyse trends in the economic performance of the dairy processing industry and evaluate the link between these trends and the deregulation of the industry. Using Stochastic Frontier Analysis to derive Malmquist total factor productivity estimates, we show that the industry exhibits a relatively high level of technical efficiency. Victoria, the major producing state, has been effectively on the frontier over the period studied. In recent years, the rapid expansion in capital investment that has attended the shift towards deregulation, has been accompanied by an apparent slowdown in both productivity growth and technical progress. There is also evidence of a convergence in productivity levels across states.
Domestic support and the WTO negotiations
Authors: Sumner Daniel A.
Published: March 2003

In their attempt to maximise trade benefits, agricultural trade negotiators must allocate scarce resources and consider trade‐offs across issues such as liberalising foreign border measures or reducing foreign domestic subsidies. Analysis and examples support the notion that more liberalisation will be achieved in the new WTO round by emphasis on lowering border barriers and export subsidies rather than attempting to discipline domestic farm subsidies directly. Analyses of EU grain policy, Korean rice policy and US sugar policy show how reduced export subsidy or more import access have substantial trade benefits, even if farmers are compensated with payments or price supports.
Agricultural economists and world poverty: progress and prospects
Authors: Rola‐Rubzen Maria Fay , Hardaker J. Brian , Dillon John L.
Published: March 2003

New development paradigms come and go, seemingly with increasing rapidity, yet poverty remains the scourge of the developing nations. As we enter the new millennium, we fear that still more development fads and fancies will emerge, to be taken up and then dropped by the development community. These swings in fashion bring with them the danger that the ‘basics’ of effective development strategies for poverty reduction will be neglected. In this article, we advance some personal and perhaps controversial views about the virtues of getting agriculture moving as a means of reducing poverty, and about the role that agricultural economists can and should play in that endeavour.
Generic advertising without supply control: implications of funding mechanisms for advertising intensities in competitive industries
Authors: Freebairn John W. , Alston Julian M.
Published: March 2003

Producer profit‐maximising rules for generic commodity advertising programs and associated funding levies are derived. Lump‐sum, per unit and ad valorem levies, and government subsidy funding arrangements are compared and contrasted. The initial single‐product competitive market model is extended to incorporate international trade, government price policies, and multiple commodity interactions.
Issues in benefit‐cost analysis of agricultural research projects
Authors: Marshall Graham R. , Brennan John P.
Published: March 2003

Use of benefit‐cost analysis for economic comparison of agricultural research projects remains confounded, inter alia, by lack of rigour in specifying the without‐project scenario and how benefits from an innovation endure after its adoption declines. Failure to account for the without‐project scenario favours projects to the extent that more benefits are foregone than costs avoided. Moreover, it is unreasonable to assume generally that aggregate benefits from an innovation continue at the peak level until the end of a 30–40 year planning horizon. A general BCA model for agricultural research projects is presented to enable flexible handling of these issues.
Limited arbitrage in international wheat markets: threshold and smooth transition cointegration
Authors: Mainardi Stefano
Published: March 2003

The strength of the adjustment towards arbitrage equilibrium can be expected to be somehow proportional to the extent of market price deviations from equilibrium. In this article, threshold and smooth transition cointegration models are applied to quarterly wheat prices of three major world suppliers over the period 1973–99. Results based on arranged autoregressions of the error term of a static regression do not prove to be robust. Although non‐linear models relying on a multivariate system approach yield partly contradictory results, the main evidence from the latter suggests a weakening, rather than an outright inaction, of the adjustment process in the inner regime.
Land tenure and farm management efficiency: the case of paddy and cinnamon production in customary land areas of Sumatra
Authors: Suyanto S. , Tomich Thomas P. , Otsuka Keijiro
Published: March 2003

This study attempts to identify the impacts of land tenure institutions on the efficiency of farm management based on a case study of lowland paddy (rice) and upland cinnamon production in customary land areas of Sumatra. While the traditional joint‐family ownership system is found to exist in paddy land, more individualised ownership systems are widely observed in upland areas. Yet, we found no statistical evidence that residual profit per unit of land is affected by land tenure institutions in either the lowlands or uplands, indicating that the prevailing land tenure institutions are equally conducive to efficient farm management.
Rethinking the externality issue for dryland salinity in Western Australia
Authors: Pannell David J. , McFarlane Donald J. , Ferdowsian Ruhi
Published: March 2003

Dryland salinity has been conceived of as a problem involving massive off‐site impacts and therefore requiring coordinated action to ensure that land managers reduce those off‐site impacts. In economic terms, salinity is seen as a problem of market failure due to externalities, including external costs from one farmer to another and from the farm sector to the non‐farm sector. In this article, we argue that, at least in Western Australia (WA), externalities are much less important as a cause of market failure than has been widely believed. If all externalities from salinity in WA were to be internalised, the impact on farm management would be small.
Dryland salinity: economic, scientific, social and policy dimensions
Authors: Pannell David J.
Published: March 2003

A broad range of information relevant to salinity is reviewed in order to critically evaluate existing and prospective policy responses. The review includes issues of hydrogeology, farmer perceptions and preferences, farm‐level economics of salinity management practices, spill‐over benefits and costs from salinity management, and politics.

The technical challenge of preventing salinity is far greater than previously recognised. The farm‐level economics of currently available management practices for salinity prevention are adverse in many situations. Off‐site benefits from on‐farm practices are often small and long delayed. Past national salinity policies have been seriously flawed. While current policy proposals include positive elements, they have not sufficiently escaped from the past.
Influence of strategies and heuristics on farmers’ response to change under uncertainty
Authors: Murray‐Prior Roy B. , Wright Vic E.
Published: March 2003

Hierarchical Decision Models of woolproducers’ decisions provide unique insights into the impact of major price changes. Producers’ lagged response in some contexts appear to be due to the ambiguous decision environment they face, their strategic goals and responses to that environment apart from lags caused by factors such as attitude to risk, expectations adjustment, adjustment costs and learning costs. Much of the response to major price changes comes from strategic decisions to change enterprises rather than marginal changes to existing enterprises. In ambiguous environments, methods may need to be found that incorporate simplifying behavioural rules and strategies.
Valuing New Zealand recreational fishing and an assessment of the validity of the contingent valuation estimates
Authors: Wheeler Sarah , Damania Richard
Published: March 2003

This article presents estimates of the recreational value of fishing in New Zealand. The data was obtained from a large‐scale interview conducted at boat ramps across New Zealand. The results suggest that the recreational value of a species depends critically on the motives for targeting a particular species. Species targeted for eating purposes have marginal values that appear to closely reflect the market price of the fish (i.e. the opportunity cost). In contrast, those species which are sought mainly for recreational purposes, have a higher value. Furthermore, values for these fish types were found to be greatest for scarce species and large species of fish. The article examines the robustness of the estimates to determine whether strategic bias, embedding effects or hypothetical bias influence the results.
Stated values and reminders of substitute goods: Testing for framing effects with choice modelling
Authors: Rolfe John , Bennett Jeff , Louviere Jordan
Published: March 2003

Choice modelling, a non‐market valuation technique, is used to explore framing issues in the context of environmental valuations. Choice modelling appears to have promise in simultaneously valuing a pool of substitute amenities and goods. Describing choices according to component attributes can also help to frame choices according to a number of trade‐offs. The statistical information available helps to determine where framing effects have occurred. Three choice modelling experiments were reviewed to show that framing effects may be more widespread in non‐market valuation studies than is commonly thought.
Local water markets for irrigation in southern Spain: A multicriteria approach
Authors: Arriaza Manuel , Gómez‐Limón José A. , Upton Martin
Published: March 2003

Spanish authorities have recently approved a new legislative framework for the creation of local water markets to improve allocative efficiency for this scarce resource. This paper analyses the potential impacts of the policy. A utility function for three groups of farmers was elicited, using a method that does not require interaction with the decision‐makers. Utility was measured as a function of the first two moments of the distribution of total gross margin. The utility functions were then used to simulate farmers' responses to changes in the price of water.
Elasticity of demand for Australian cotton in Japan
Authors: Chang Hui‐Shung (Christie) , Nguyen Chi
Published: March 2003

Although a relatively small producer, Australia exports more than 90 per cent of its cotton production, making it the world's third largest cotton exporter in recent years. This means that export performance plays a major role in determining the profitability of the Australian cotton industry. The primary aim of this study was to determine the competitive position of Australian cotton in the Japanese market, based on the original non‐linear Almost Ideal Demand System model using data from 1972 to 1998. The main findings are that the USA had a relatively strong market position and that Australia needs to improve its cost competitiveness and quality image to advance its market standing.
Implications of World Trade Organisation accession for China’s agricultural trade patterns
Authors: Carter Colin A. , Li Xianghong
Published: March 2003

This paper examines the composition of China’s international trade from 1980 to 1997, with a focus on agriculture and a view towards understanding agriculture’s changing trade structure relative to other sectors. We analyse the time series behaviour of individually traded goods at the Standard Industrial Trade Classification three‐digit level, categorised into three groups: agricultural commodities, ‘other’ primary commodities and manufactures. We find that China’s agricultural trade has expanded along comparative advantage lines in only a very modest way, suggesting that World Trade Organization membership will have a large impact on China’s agricultural trade patterns.
Accessing other people’s technology for non–profit research
Authors: Nottenburg Carol , Pardey Phillip G. , Wright Brian D.
Published: March 2003

As patents and other forms of intellectual property become more pervasive in the next generation of biotechnologies, designing policies and practices to ensure sufficient freedom to operate (i.e., the ability to practice or use an innovation) will be crucial for non–profit research agencies, especially those intent on developing technologies destined for commercial release. Are non–profit organisations exempt from intellectual property claims? What constitutes infringement of a patent? How does a non–profit establish its freedom to operate? We address these issues in this paper and evaluate various options for accessing other people’s technologies. Options include cross–licensing agreements, research–only or cost–free licences, market segmentation strategies, mergers or joint ventures, and patent pooling or clearinghouse mechanisms. Responding creatively to the new intellectual property environment will have far reaching consequences for the future of non–profit research.
Walking and chewing gum at the same time: Australia's free trade area strategy
Authors: Findlay Christopher
Published: March 2003

The pursuit of free trade area agreements (FTAs), according to some, does not impede the multilateral trade negotiations process. It is argued to the contrary in the present paper that the FTA approach does impede the multilateral one. Comments are offered on common approaches to the analysis of the impact of FTAs, on the reasons why, despite concerns evident in these comments, the FTA strategy has become so popular, and on ways out of a dilemma of FTA proliferation, or at least ways to avoid the risks associated with it.
Economic performance, cost economies and pricing behaviour in the US and Australian meat products industries
Authors: Morrison Catherine J.
Published: March 2003

The cost and demand structures of meat products industries in the US and Australia from 1970 to 1991 are examined. Scale economies, technical change and trade impacts and output pricing behaviour are evaluated, using short‐ and long‐run input cost and input and output demand elasticities. The greatest technological impacts stem from large‐scale economies, which are similar across countries. Unit cost savings from output expansion involve capital investment and materials saving in the long run, although input‐specific patterns vary by country. Import competition appears to motivate capital expansion further. Finally, large mark‐ups of price over marginal cost are found, which are consistent with low profits as a result of the underlying scale economies.
World food markets into the 21st century: environmental and resource constraints and policies
Authors: Rosegrant Mark W. , Ringler Claudia
Published: March 2003

Projections of global food supply and demand to the year 2020 indicate that food production in the aggregate is likely to keep pace with growing populations and incomes, and that real food prices will be stable or slowly declining. This article examines the possible environmental and resource constraints to long‐term food production growth and explores the implications of these possible constraints for food and resource policies. The article reviews and synthesises the evidence on biophysical limits to crop productivity; plant genetic resources and biotechnology; the availability of plant nutrients; soil and land degradation; the increasing scarcity and declining quality of water; and the impact of global climate change on agriculture.
The political economy of quality measurement: a case study of the USA slaughter cattle market
Authors: Whitley John E.
Published: March 2003

As agricultural products move from being economic commodities to quality–differentiated goods, price dispersion within specific markets increases and implicit subsidies from high quality producers to low quality producers are removed. The present paper examines how these distributional effects can influence patterns of support and opposition to changes in marketing arrangements. The simple model developed is calibrated using data from the USA slaughter cattle market. Estimates of the impact on prices of measuring quality more accurately are found to be similar in size to previous estimates of market power price suppression in the market.
Economic potential for improving the nutritional characteristics of feed grains
Authors: Brennan John P. , Singh Rajinder Pal , Singh Inder Pal
Published: March 2003

A comprehensive set of potential new feed grains for Australia was evaluated to help establish the options with the highest priorities for research. The cost–reducing impacts of the different options were analysed using a linear–programming model that determined the least–cost feed rations for the different livestock industries. Economic welfare analysis was then used to estimate the size and distribution of the benefits of research from the feed grains quality–improving research. The analysis revealed that there are only limited opportunities to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Australia's livestock industries by improving the nutritional characteristics of feed grains.
APPLYING THE SOM MODEL TO TEXT CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO REGISTER AND STYLISTIC CONTENT
Authors: TAMBOURATZIS GEORGE , HAIRETAKIS NIKOLAOS , MARKANTONATOU STELLA , CARAYANNIS GEORGE
Published: March 2003

We report on the application of the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) classification method to the task of categorizing texts according to their register and the style of their author. The SOM has been selected as its performance in various data-mining applications has been found to be highly successful. Here, the method is evaluated against the task of clustering textual data which are corpora of texts written in the Greek language; the parameters used depict linguistically important structural properties of the texts. The experiments reported indicate that the SOM results are equivalent to those generated by statistical methods.
TEXT COMPRESSION USING HYBRIDS OF BWT AND GBAM
Authors: AL-NASSIRI AMER
Published: March 2003

In this paper we considered a theoretical evaluation of data and text compression algorithm based on the Burrows–Wheeler Transform (BWT) and General Bidirectional Associative Memory (GBAM). A new data and text lossless compression method, based on the combination of BWT1 and GBAM2 approaches, is presented. The algorithm was tested on many texts in different formats (ASCII and RTF). The compression ratio achieved is fairly good, on average 28–36%. Decompression is fast.
GLOBAL ASYMPTOTIC STABILITY OF A CLASS OF DYNAMICAL NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors: MEYER-BÄSE ANKE , PILYUGIN SERGEI S.
Published: March 2003

The dynamics of cortical cognitive maps developed by self–organization must include the aspects of long and short–term memory. The behavior of the network is such characterized by an equation of neural activity as a fast phenomenon and an equation of synaptic modification as a slow part of the neural biologically relevant system.

We present new stability conditions for analyzing the dynamics of a biological relevant system with different time scales based on the theory of flow invariance. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium, and give a quadratic–type Lyapunov function for the flow of a competitive neural system with fast and slow dynamic variables and thus prove the global stability of the equilibrium point.
THE N = 2 SUPERCONFORMAL ℤ3 ORBIFOLD-PRIME MODEL WITH c = 3
Authors: DULAT SAYIPJAMAL
Published: March 2003

We consider N = 2 superconformal field theories on a two-dimensional torus with central charge c = 3. In particular, we present the partition function for this theory. Furthermore, to generate new theories, we recall general orbifold prescription. Finally, we construct the modular invariant ℤ3 orbifold-prime model.
STIFF PERFECT FLUID SINGULARITY-FREE DIAGONAL INHOMOGENEOUS COSMOLOGIES IN SCALAR–TENSOR THEORIES
Authors: YAZADJIEV STOYTCHO S.
Published: March 2003

We report on new classes of exact diagonal inhomogeneous cosmological solutions to the scalar–tensor gravity equations. The solutions describe cylindrically symmetric universes filled with stiff perfect fluid. As a particular limiting case, new gravi-dilaton vacuum solutions are obtained. The spacetimes described by the solutions are singularity free and globally hyperbolic.