bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimal Stochastic Control of U.S. Wheat Stocks and Exports
Authors: Burt Oscar R. , Koo Won W. , Dudley Norman J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA stochastic dynamic programming model was developed to estimate optimal strategies for U.S. wheat reserves policy using the results of an econometric model which reflects the complex dynamics of supply response. Empirical results indicated that U.S. producers are the beneficiaries of a wheat storage program, while domestic and foreign consumers are relatively small and large losers, respectively. Another result is that wheat storage capacity in excess of 2 billion bushels is difficult to justify economically.
Major Determinants of Ocean Freight Rates for Grains: An Econometric Analysis
Authors: Binkley James K. , Harrer Bruce 
Published: July 2006

AbstractEconometric analysis of ocean grain rates suggests that ship size and trade volume are of approximately equal importance with distance in determining rates. Use of large ships reduces at‐sea costs and hence the role of distance; but larger ships appear to incur higher port costs, which suggests that efficient port facilities are required for scale economies to be realized. Policies to improve shipping technology and increase trade volume can lead to lower rates, reduce geographic differences among exporters, and thus lead to more competitive markets. This implies that the role of transportation in trade analysis should not be ignored.
Farm Level Economics of Soil Conservation in the Palouse Area of the Northwest
Authors: Burt Oscar R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractControl theory is applied to the farm level economics of soil conservation in a model which uses depth of topsoil and percentage of organic matter therein as the two state variables. An approximately optimal decision rule was tested against the optimal rule and found to be excellent; errors in the decision rule were less than one percent within the region in state space of practical consideration. Results suggest that intensive wheat production under modem farming practices and heavy fertilization is the most economic cropping system in both the short and long run in the Palouse Area except under low wheat prices.
An Economic Analysis of Expenditures on Agricultural Experiment Station Research
Authors: Huffman Wallace E. , Miranowski John A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractExperiment station research expenditures are responsive to economic and institutional forces. A four‐equation model of resources allocation to state agricultural experiment station research, consisting of demand and supply equations for research, an equation allocating state governmental revenues to station research, and an expenditure identity, is presented. A reduced‐form expenditure equation, derived from this model, is fitted to cross‐sectional data for forty‐eight U.S. states, pooled together for 1960, 1965,and 1970. A large share of the variance in per capita expenditures of state agricultural experiment stations is explained by the variables included in the model.
The Potential Impact of Changes in Income Distribution on Food Demand and Human Nutrition
Authors: Pinstrup‐Andersen Per , Caicedo Elizabeth 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA procedure is developed to estimate nutritional and food demand implications of changing consumer income distribution. Findings from an empirical application to the population of Cali, Colombia, suggest that changes in income distribution can effectively improve human nutrition, even in the absence of food supply expansions. These same changes also have a large impact on the demand for individual food commodities. In societies where significant changes occur in income distribution, commodity demand projections preferably should be based on individual stratum rather than on average estimates of price and income elasticities.
Rural Banks and Farm Loan Participation
Authors: Barry Peter J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBanking theory is used to develop a static, certainty model for evaluating profitability of farm loan participations for rural banks. Techniques are developed and applied to measure empirically the effects of participations on rural bank earnings attributed to farmer customer relationships and costs associated with demand balances required by correspondent banks. Model results show a decline in optimal levels and profits of loan participations for rural banks as correspondent balance requirements increase and as other parameters adjust to levels reflecting tighter monetary conditions. Participation strategies that may enhance the flow of funds into rural areas are also considered.
A Model for Evaluating the Effects of Thai Government Taxation of Rice Exports on Trade and Welfare
Authors: Wong Chung Ming 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe implications of Thai government taxation of rice exports through the export premium on trade and welfare are examined by means of a dynamic simultaneous equation model which allows for interactions between the rice production, consumption, and export sectors. Although the export premium may have generated a net welfare gain for Thailand over the 1961–70 period, owing to the highly imperfect nature of the international market, it results in a substantial transfer from the farmers and may have adverse effects on their incentives to adopt modern inputs in paddy production.
Price Behavior on a Declining Terminal Market
Authors: Tomek William G. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe relationship of prices of choice steers on the Denver terminal market to comparable prices on the Omaha market apparently was influenced by the sharp decline in saleable receipts in Denver. But price effects of the volume of trading were measurable only when the volume in Denver became extremely small in 1967 and 1968. These results are consistent with defining a thin market place by using sampling concepts. Some subtleties of using Chebyschev's inequality to define a thin market are discussed.
The Impact of Component Pricing of Soybeans and Milk
Authors: Perrin Richard K. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractCurrently, the price that an individual farmer receives for soybeans is not adjusted for oil and protein content, and the price for milk is adjusted for fat content but not for solids‐not‐fat. This study finds that the potential social surplus gains from a change to component pricing of these commodities is small (no more than one to two percent of current commodity value, before deducting the extra costs of such a pricing system). Substantial transfers would occur between component‐consuming groups, while producers as a group would be affected only slightly.
Multiple Input, Multiple Output Production Choices and Technology in the U.S. Wheat Region
Authors: Weaver Robert D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractDuality theory motivates a translog expected profit function consistent with multiple products, price uncertainty, preseason climate constraints, acreage control policies, and possibly nonhomothetic technology. Although multiple outputs are allowed, enterprise specific data is not necessary. Instead, time‐series measures of output revenues and expected prices, input expenses and prices, and fixed input flows are employed. Appropriate measures of elasticities of choice, returns to size, and biases in technological change are derived. Results indicated decreasing returns to size, rather limited, though complementary, responsiveness of choices to price changes, and the nature of biases in technological changes.
Flexible Consumer Demand Systems and Linear Estimation: Food in India
Authors: Swamy Gurushri , Binswanger Hans P. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractDemand equations in real income and nominal prices can be obtained directly by differentiating a cost function in which output is replaced by real income. This derivation is possible because recent advances show that certain index numbers provide close approximation to real income without knowledge of the utility function parameters. Three flexible functional forms corresponding to well‐known flexible cost functions were used to estimate food demand elasticities. Time‐series and cross‐sectional data from ten Indian states for twenty years were used. The estimates provide a complete set of expenditure, price, and cross‐price elasticities for four commodities, some close substitutes.
The School Lunch Program and Nutrient Intake: A Switching Regression Analysis
Authors: Akin John S. , Guilkey David K. , Popkin Barry M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe nutrient impact of the school lunch program is examined, using the basic sample of the National Food Consumption Survey. The results clearly indicate the program's substantial positive effect on nutrient consumption by both low income and high income children. Moreover, the nutrient impact of school lunch participation is shown to be greater for low income children.
Multiattribute Utility Analysis: The Case of Filipino Rice Policy
Authors: Rausser Gordon C. , Yassour Joseph 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMajor uncertainties and conflicting objectives often arise in public policy analysis. This paper advances a framework that is appropriate for public policy problems frequently encountered in agriculture and food systems. Among other possible benefits, its principal value is to provide focus on the major conflicts, trade‐offs, and subjective perceptions among affected groups. It can be used to isolate major disagreements, needed empirical evidence, appropriate degrees of risk aversion, equity value judgments, and consensus solutions. In an empirical setting, the framework is used to evaluate price policy for rice in the Philippines.
Farmland Accumulation and Prices
Authors: Shalit Haim , Schmitz Andrew 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA model of farmland accumulation is developed to study factors influencing U.S. farmland values. This model stresses the manner in which credit is allocated for land purchases. To secure necessary loans for additional land to expand farm size, the farmer provides as collateral his net accumulated wealth. Thus, land acquisitions are made to increase profits and to provide leverage for further land expansion. Besides income and consumption, the level of accumulated debt is one of the main determinants of farmland prices. Derived demand for farmland is developed, and the pricing equation for farmland is estimated as part of a structural equation model.
Segmented Regression, Threshold Effects, and Police Expenditures in Small Cities
Authors: Stinson Thomas F. , Lubov Andrea 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIndividuals projecting local government expenditures in small cities typically assume that average costs can be represented by a single, smooth, continuous function. This paper discusses why assuming piece‐wise continuity may be more realistic. Segmented regression is then used to test for discontinuities in local per capita expenditures for police protection in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Three distinct segments were found for expenditures in North Dakota and Wisconsin; two for Minnesota. Minnesota and Wisconsin results improved further when cities with declining and nondeclining populations were treated separately.
Dynamic Modeling of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery
Authors: Blomo Vito J. , Nichols John P. , Griffin Wade L. , Grant William E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe impact of alternative management schemes on the shrimp fishery of the eastern Gulf of Mexico is analyzed and compared to a baseline using simulation techniques. The fishery's biological and economic functions are modeled including intraseasonal shrimp growth rates, differences in demand for shrimp by size, and a heterogenous fishing fleet. Using consumer and producer surplus techniques, new fishing regulations appear socially optimal compared to the baseline. A rent‐maximization scheme increases social surplus to its highest level. However, applying such a scheme to one part of the total Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery is not recommended.
Supply Response and Investment in the Canadian Food Processing Industry
Authors: Lopez Ramon E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper reports on the estimation of a dynamic model of the food manufacturing industry in Canada. Its major objectives are to analyze the determinants of investments and the production structure of the industry. An important finding of the study is that the hypothesis of instantaneous capital adjustment to changing market conditions is statistically rejected. Capital stock adjustment to optimal levels takes approximately two and one‐third years. Another result is that although the industry is responsive to price changes, a general pattern of inelastic factor demand and output supply prevails in the short run, intermediate run, and even in the long run.
Optimal Market Pools for Agricultural Cooperatives
Authors: Buccola Steven T. , Subaei Abdelbagi 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMost agricultural marketing cooperatives distribute members' net revenues on a pool basis. The present paper outlines various pool options and provides a framework for identifying privately and collectively optimal pooling rules. Individual members' pool choices are found to vary according to farm enterprise and risk aversion level. A collectively optimal rule depends generally on risk aversion and on the method used to aggregate individuals' expressed preferences. In the instance examined here, however, the collective optimum is somewhat insensitive to assumed risk aversion.
Export Orientation of Nonmanufacturing Businesses in Nonmetropolitan Communities
Authors: Smith Stephen M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractEfforts to expand the economic base in nonmetropolitan communities traditionally focus on manufacturing. The case for a nonmanufacturing focus is presented in this paper, and survey data used to determine the actual basic role of these industries in nonmetropolitan communities. Community and firm characteristics are examined by regression analysis to determine factors associated with higher export levels. While only a minority of the nonmanufacturing businesses surveyed were export oriented, these were strongly so. Larger size, nonlocal ownership, and larger nonmetropolitan markets are associated with higher export levels but nearness to a metropolitan market is not.
Food Product Proliferation: A Market Structure Analysis
Authors: Connor John M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe frequent introduction of avowedly novel products is a common marketing strategy of leading food manufacturers. Over half of all new packaged consumer goods are foods or beverages, yet little is known about the amounts, patterns, and causes of product proliferation. Alternative definitions and analytical models of product proliferation are reviewed, focusing on those derived from Hotelling spatial‐equilibrium theory. A simple regression model is used to test the relationship of market structure to the number of new food products introduced. The results verify that food product proliferation is a mode of industry conduct arising from markets characterized by differentiated oligopoly.
Reducing Moral Hazard Associated with Implied Warranties of Animal Health
Authors: Centner Terence J. , Wetzstein Michael E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractImplied warranties convey information regarding animal health to livestock buyers. Statutory implied warranties also include insurance coverage for a warranty breach which removes buyers' incentive to mitigate possible damages when a warranty is breached. Nonmitigation of damages created the problem of moral hazard, which led livestock sellers to seek legislative exemptions abrogating implied warranties. A theoretical analysis of the possible inefficiencies associated with legislative exemptions adopted by twenty‐five states is provided and partial insurance is suggested as an alternative to the legislative shift in liability.
Demand for Beef and Chicken Products: Separability and Structural Change
Authors: Eales James S. , Unnevehr Laurian J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractDynamic almost ideal demand systems are estimated for meat aggregates and for disaggregated meat products. Tests for weak separability show that consumers choose among meat products rather than meat aggregates such as “beef” or “chicken.” Therefore, tests for structural change in the meat aggregates may be biased. Tests for structural change in the meat products show an exogenous constant annual 6.4% growth in chicken parts demand from 1965 to 1985 and a 3.5% decline in beef table cut demand after 1974. Increased demand for convenience may explain these changes.
Modeling Food Consumption Decisions as a Two‐Step Process
Authors: Haines Pamela S. , Popkin Barry M. , Guilkey David K. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis article evaluates the suitability of tobit analysis of food consumption patterns by comparing results generated by a tobit model and a modification with a two‐step decision process. Two samples of adult women were selected from the 1977–78 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey and the 1985 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. Results show strong statistical evidence for questioning tobit analysis in examining food consumption decisions. Determinants of the decision to consume food within a particular food group often differ from the determinants of how much to consume, particularly for more highly defined food groupings.
Murray River Salinity—An Illustrative Model
Authors: Quiggin John 
Published: July 2006

AbstractSalinity problems have received increasing attention in recent years. This article addresses irrigation‐related salinity in Australia's Murray River system. Analysis of these problems involves a number of issues which have so far received limited attention in discussions of salinity. These include farmers' incentives to adopt different land management practices and the structure of property rights. This article describes a model, based on concepts of common property, which has been developed to illustrate how different institutional structures can affect farm land use decisions and salinity‐related problems. It is shown that open access solutions imply social welfare losses, and that procedures used in the past are likely to lead to underestimates of these losses.
Provision of and Request for Agricultural Extension Services
Authors: Dinar Ariel 
Published: July 2006

AbstractProvision of and request for extension services are simultaneously determined by economic, social, and policy variables. This paper examines the allocation of extension services provided to settlements in terms of a demand‐supply model using data from Israel. Results suggest that the amount of extension provided affects the request for extension and vice versa. Other variables influencing the amount of extension services provided and requested are structure, scale, and age of the settlement and its distance from the extension center. The role of a settlement coordinator is of great importance in determining the amount of services provided.
The Value of Stabilizing Fertilizer under Carry‐Over Conditions
Authors: Chiao Yen‐Shong , Gillingham Allan 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper develops a dynamic programming model to examine the effects on yield and profitability of variability in spread of phosphate fertilizer under carry‐over conditions and the value of technology which reduces this variability. The cost of uneven spread is high, if the plant‐available soil phosphorus reserve is low. Therefore, the value of technology reducing variability in spread is high to farmers with less‐developed land where soil phosphorus reserve is low. This value is also high to users of low carry‐over fertilizers, i.e., nitrogen and potassium.
The Conditional Beta Distribution as a Stochastic Production Function
Authors: Nelson Carl H. , Preckel Paul V. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe conditional beta distribution is proposed as a parametric model of the probability distribution of agricultural output. A two‐stage maximum likelihood estimation procedure is shown to produce consistent, asymptotically efficient and normal estimates of maximum output and the parameters of the conditional distribution. Application of the procedure to data on corn yield response to fertilizers shows that fertilizers have a significant impact on each of the first three moments of the distribution of corn yield. Corn yield distributions are found to be negatively skewed, implying that above average yields are more probable than below average yields.
Optimal Spatial Management of Agricultural Pollution
Authors: Braden John B. , Johnson Gary V. , Bouzaher Aziz , Miltz David 
Published: July 2006

AbstractReducing emissions is not the only way to control agricultural pollution; containing the movement of emissions is another. Theoretical and empirical analyses show that combining containment with discharge reductions can substantially reduce the costs of total and marginal abatement. This justifies more ambitious abatement objectives but will require coordinated action by landowners. Achieving this coordination is a major challenge of agricultural pollution control programs.
Functional Form and the Statistical Properties of Welfare Measures
Authors: Adamowicz Wiktor L. , Fletcher Jerald J. , Graham‐Tomasi Theodore 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper uses Monte Carlo analysis to compare the variance of consumer's surplus for several functional forms for demand. Although the semilog and linear forms fit the data well by statistical criteria, the coefficients of variation for consumer's surplus generated by these forms were substantially larger than for the double log and linear‐log forms. While this paper is framed in the travel cost approach to recreational demand, there are implications for the choice of functional form whenever the measure of interest is a nonlinear transformation of the estimated parameters.
The Choice of Crop Rotation: A Modeling Approach and Case Study
Authors: El‐Nazer Talaat , McCarl Bruce A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMany farming situations involve crop rotations. This has led to many farm linear programming models which explicitly include crop rotation considerations. However, for the most part crop rotations have been modeled using explicit predetermined rotations. An attempt is made to relax this requirement, allowing the model to determine freely the optimal long‐run rotation. The approach is tested on a Northeastern Oregon farm. Data are developed using regression analysis of historical cropping records. Risk‐neutral and risk‐averse formulations are tested. The model develops a plausible set of rotations and does not require the rotations to be predetermined.
Methods for Selecting the Optimal Dynamic Hedge When Production is Stochastic
Authors: Karp Larry S. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA dynamic hedging problem with stochastic production is formulated and solved. The optimal feedback rules recognize that future hedges will be chosen optimally based on the most current information. The resulting distribution of revenue is analyzed numerically. This information enables the analyst to select the risk aversion parameter that results in the preferred distribution of revenue.
Describing and Identifying the Complete Set of Target MOTAD Solutions
Authors: McCamley Francis , Kliebenstein James B. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractFor some Target MOTAD applications, only enterprise mixtures associated with a single target level are of interest. However, in most cases knowledge of other Target MOTAD enterprise mixtures provides useful information. The complete set of Target MOTAD enterprise mixtures is the union of a finite number of closed convex subsets. It can be identified by parametric programming. For well‐behaved problems, only two parameters, target income level (T) and expected deviations (λ), need to be varied to identify the set of Target MOTAD mixtures. Data from a problem by Hazell are used to illustrate this technique.