bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Critique of Exchange Rate Treatment in Agricultural Trade Models
Authors: Chambers Robert G. , Just Richard E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe recent theoretical and empirical literature on the role of exchange rates in agricultural prices and trade is reviewed. Specifically, alternative specifications of the exchange rate in excess demand functions are considered. Results show that the specification most common in recent theoretical and empirical work is unnecessarily restrictive and may bias the resulting analysis. Several less restrictive specifications for empirical research are suggested.
Academic Freedom and Peer Reviews of Research Proposals and Papers
Authors: Berry R. L. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAcademic freedom—the freedom of professional persons to present unpopular views—can exist only when there is freedom from severe sanctions such as censorship of research proposals and papers. Peer reviews are invaluable to researchers struggling to improve their work. They are also invaluable to administrators who must allocate limited funds and journal pages among competing researchers. However, evidence indicates that some administrators use peer criticisms to justify the suppression in whole or part of unpopular proposals and papers. Such prior restraint is censorship unless the administrators can prove that it is justified because of gross incompetence or financial exigency.
Estimation and Optimal Control of an Uncertain Production Process
Authors: Taylor C. Robert , Chavas Jean‐Paul 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThree alternative decision rules for estimation and control of an uncertain production process are examined. One is a certainty equivalence strategy whereby an optimal rate based on current estimates of production parameters is used throughout the planning horizon. A second is updated certainty equivalence, a passively adaptive strategy. Third is an actively adaptive control formulation. Monte‐Carlo simulation results show that the passively adaptive strategy outperforms the others. For the cases simulated, the actively adaptive approximation to the information state for a dual control problem is not good enough to establish superiority of this sophisticated strategy for all problems.
A New Analytical Framework for the Fertilization Problem
Authors: Lanzer Edgar A. , Paris Quirino 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA novel control model for technical and economic analysis of fertilizer recommendations is based on Liebig's Law of the Minimum, Mitscherlich's relative yield theory, and the notions of yield plateau and soil fertility carry‐over. The empirical model consists of a multistage separable programming specification which maximizes the discounted stream of net revenues subject to crop response and fertility carry‐over functions. The model is applied to the wheat‐soybean cropping system in Southern Brazil. It is found that, while the optimal fertility target levels are within a small range of those determined by Brazilian agronomists, their maintenance recommendations could be substantially improved.
A “Putty‐Clay” Approach to Aggregation of Production/Pollution Possibilities: An Application in Dairy Waste Control
Authors: Moffitt L. Joe , Zilberman David , Just Richard E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractUtilizing the “putty‐clay” production framework, a methodology for empirical assessment of the relationship between aggregate economic variables and environmental policy instruments is developed. Practicality is demonstrated by an application of the approach to the problem of dairy pollution in the Santa Ana River Basin of California. Results indicate pollution taxes to be substantially more efficient than emission standards in achieving a predetermined environmental quality goal. However, redistribution of tax revenues back to the regulated industry may be required to promote political feasibility.
Retail and Wholesale Demand and Marketing Order Policy for Fresh Navel Oranges
Authors: Nelson Glenn , Robinson Tom H. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe federal marketing order for fresh navel oranges appears to have been administered in early 1974 in a manner which restricted supplies to consumers, raised retail prices, and lowered total receipts of growers and packers. An examination of historical data and econometrically estimated parameters in wholesale and retail demand equations supports these conclusions. These concerns were central to a heated debate between the Cost of Living Council and the Navel Orange Administrative Committee.
Supply, Demand, and Technology in a Multiproduct Industry: Texas Field Crops
Authors: Shumway C. Richard 
Published: July 2006

AbstractTechnology, supply, and demand relationships among six Texas field crops and three variable inputs are investigated using a dual approach. Evidence of nonjoint production is found for wheat but not for other crops. Cotton, sorghum, and corn are homothetically separable. No larger groups of outputs nor any input groups satisfy the sufficient dual conditions for consistent aggregation and two‐stage choice. Production is homothetic in outputs, fertilizer, and hired labor. Product supply and input demand equations are estimated. Estimates are inconsistent with expectations of the competitive model. The normalized profit function Hessian is not positive definite, and parameter symmetry is rejected.
A Multi‐Year, Stochastic, Farm Simulation Model for Northern Nigeria: An Experimental Design Approach
Authors: Crawford Eric W. , Milligan Robert A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe paper illustrates the use of experimental design in simulation modelling. Income growth prospects for small farms in northern Nigeria are examined under deterministic and stochastic conditions. A partial factorial design is employed to assess the impact on growth of resource endowment, stochastic yields and returns, consumption behavior, and enterprise opportunities. Analysis of variance on the deterministic results indicates that the key determinants of financial performance are stochastic events and family size and resource endowment. Capital accumulation under stochastic returns is slower than under fixed average returns. The value of a multi‐year model is discussed.
A Translog Cost Function Analysis of U.S. Agriculture, 1939–77
Authors: Ray Subhash C. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe translog cost function provides a convenient framework for analyzing U.S. agricultural production in a multioutput context. Treating crops and livestock as two distinct outputs, this study utilizes standard results of neoclassical duality theory to obtain measures of pairwise elasticities of substitution between inputs, price elasticities of factor demands, and the rate of Hicks‐neutral technical change. Results obtained from joint GLS estimation of parameters of cost and share equations indicate a declining trend in the degree of substitutability between capital and labor. Price elasticity of demand for all inputs increased over time. The measured rate of technical change was 1.8%per year.
The Political Economy of Agricultural Research and Extension: Grants, Votes, and Reapportionment
Authors: Rose‐Ackerman Susan , Evenson Robert 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper seeks to identify the economic and political factors that produce state financial support for agricultural research and extension. State demand for research and extension services is found to be influenced not only by the level of farm income and population but also by measures of intergovernmental influence and the political effectiveness of farmers. Federal grants have “price” effects which stimulate state spending; the reapportionment of state legislatures mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court had a negative effect, while the ability of farmers to elect other farmers to the legislature increases state support for research and extension.
Risk Management by Colorado Dryland Wheat Farmers and the Elimination of the Disaster Assistance Program
Authors: King Robert P. , Oamek George E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe impacts of eliminating the Disaster Assistance Program and modifying the provisions of federal all‐risk crop insurance are evaluated for a sample of eastern Colorado dryland wheat farmers. A stochastic simulation model and stochastic dominance techniques are used to identify changes in risk management strategies and to obtain approximate measures of welfare changes. The results indicate that all ten sample farmers were made worse off by this policy change, despite substantial subsidies in crop insurance premiums. Welfare losses were sizable, relative to expected net returns, and acreage covered by federal crop insurance did not increase appreciably.
Range Management under Uncertainty
Authors: Karp Larry , Pope Arden 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe problem of rangeland management is modeled as a stochastic control problem. The manager periodically chooses stocking rates and decides whether to use a treatment which improves the rangeland. His decisions have an uncertain impact on the rangeland. The theory of finite Markov chains is used to analyze the solution to the control problem. The stochastic specification of the model is varied to test the sensitivity of the optimal policies. These are quite robust except at certain levels of the range condition. Cases of a risk‐neutral and risk‐averse manager are studied.
Erratum
Authors: Nelson Paul E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIn the February 1984 Journal issue, the last paragraph of Bernard Erven's review of Peter H. Calkins and D. D. Pietre's text, Farm Business Management; Successful Decisions in a Changing Environment, indicates that there is no teacher's manual to accompany it. The good news is that there is—the publisher guarantees it! Erven is absolved of responsibility; he was unaware that such a manual was available. Apologies are extended to the authors and the publisher.Paul E. Nelson, Jr.Book Review Editor
Ranking Doctoral Programs by Journal Contributions of Recent Graduates
Authors: Tauer Loren W. , Tauer Janelle R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe productivity of graduate agricultural economics programs in the United States is measured by the number of pages and articles that recent graduates have published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics during the last ten years. In both rankings the University of California, Berkeley, leads, followed by the University of California, Davis, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State or Purdue. When pages are divided by the number of graduates, the University of Chicago ranks first, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Berkeley, Davis, and Rhode Island.
Goals and Consequences of Rice Policy in Japan, 1965–80
Authors: Otsuka Keijiro , Hayami Yujiro 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe change in welfare of producers and consumers, government cost, and the deadweight loss arising from the various forms of government interventions into the rice market in order to protect domestic producers in Japan are estimated in a partial equilibrium framework. Results of the quantitative analysis indicate that the motivation of the government was to minimize budget costs in achieving the target level of producer price support, while consumer welfare had an insignificant weight in the government's objective function. It is aiso found that acreage control is a “second best” policy to reduce social inefficiency produced from other forms of market distortions.
Choice of Varieties by Sri Lanka Rice Farmers: Comparing Alternative Decision Models
Authors: Herath H. M. G. , Hardaker J. Brian , Anderson Jock R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractSri Lanka rice farmers are faced with a choice between traditional and high‐yielding rice varieties. Three risky‐choice models are compared to explain producer behavior. Forty farmers with typically small rice areas were studied. Choice criteria compared were multiple (two)‐attribute utility maximization, single (profit)‐attribute utility maximization, and expected profit maximization. Expected utility maximization performed better than expected profit maximization: single‐attribute utility maximization outperformed the more complex multiattribute utility model. The importance of careful elicitation of subjective probability distributions is emphasized. Rice farmers appear to allocate their land between available technologies in an economically rational way.
Simulating the Impacts of Credit Policy and Fertilizer Subsidy on Central Luzon Rice Farms, the Philippines
Authors: Rosegrant Mark W. , Herdt Robert W. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe effects of credit policy and fertilizer subsidy on farmers' input choices, production, and income are examined with a multiseason decision‐making model. Stochastic production technology, risk‐neutral and risk‐averse decision rules, short‐term savings/consumption behavior, and a dual financial market are considered. Results indicate the risk‐neutral rule is more consistent with actual choices than risk‐averse rules. Estimated yields increased 21% to 30% from joint credit and fertilizer subsidies. Benefits are greater on irrigated than on rainfed farms. A substantial default rate in the institutional market reduces credit program benefits.
Computation Techniques for Intertemporal Allocation of Natural Resources
Authors: Chapman Duane 
Published: July 2006

AbstractApplication of optimal control theory to applied problems is limited by the difficulty of numerical solutions. Typically, terminal values for the production period, price, or production level have been assumed rather than optimized. The use of an objective functional with explicit discounting gives direct solution values for n, y(t), p(t), and rent (or consumer surplus) for continuous or discrete problems. The method is usable for numerical solutions to problems with linear demand, cost trend, or expropriation risk. It is illustrated with Fisher's widely used discrete problem and with application to parameters representing remaining world oil resources for competitive and monopolistic assumptions.
Demand Analysis of Fresh and Frozen Finfish and Shellfish in the United States
Authors: Cheng Hsiang‐tai , Capps Oral 
Published: July 2006

AbstractHousehold expenditures for at‐home consumption on three species of shellfish and five species of finfish were analyzed. Factors explaining the variation of expenditures on seafood commodities were own price, household income, coupon value, household size, geographic region, urbanization, race, and seasonality. Own‐price elasticities ranged from −0.45 (flounder/sole) to −1.13 (oysters). Expenditures on fishery products were more sensitive to changes in household size than to changes in household income. Cross‐price effects of red meat and poultry were not statistically significant. For comparison purposes, estimates of own‐price, income, and household size elasticities from the literature were made with this set of elasticities.
Rural Property Tax Delinquency and Recession in Agriculture
Authors: Conrad James , DeBoer Larry 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAgricultural recession causes the property tax delinquency rate to increase in rural counties. The annual volume of unpaid property taxes as a percent of the tax levy is regressed on the farm debt‐asset ratio, farm and nonfarm income, and the ratio of the interest rate to the delinquency penalty rate. Data from thirteen agriculturally‐dependent Indiana counties are used. Increases in the debt‐asset ratio and decreases in farm and nonfarm income are found to increase delinquency. Delinquency is also used as a source of capital when interest rates exceed the penalty rate.
High‐Technology Manufacturing in the Nonmetropolitan West: Gold or Just Glitter
Authors: Barkley David L. , Dahlgran Roger A. , Smith Stephen M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractTobit analysis was utilized to determine if employment, occupational, and market‐linkage characteristics of nonmetropolitan high‐ and low‐technology manufacturers differed after controlling for select firm and community characteristics. Data on manufacturers' characteristics were collected through an extensive survey of nonmetropolitan firms in the eleven contiguous western states. The results indicate that the employment size of high‐ and low‐technology manufacturers was similar. Nonmetropolitan high‐technology manufacturers were more rapidly growing, export oriented, and skilled‐labor intensive than low‐technology firms. The low‐technology manufacturers maintained stronger backward linkages with the local economy.
Modeling the Pattern of Structural Change in U.S. Meat Demand
Authors: Moschini Giancarlo , Meilke Karl D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe hypothesis of structural change in U.S. meat demand is tested in a four‐meat almost ideal demand system with parameters following a gradual switching regression model. The results support the notion that structural change partly explains the observed U.S. meat consumption patterns. Structural change is biased against beef, neutral for pork, in favor of chicken and fish, and it does not affect estimated elasticities. The estimated path of structural change implies a rapid transition to a new regime in the mid‐1970s, although a smooth path cannot be ruled out.
The Importance of International Students in the Academic Market for Agricultural Economists
Authors: Gempesaw C. M. , Elterich G. J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAbout 10% of the academic job openings in agricultural economics will probably be filled by international students. During the early 1960s, only one‐fifth of Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics were awarded to foreign students. Currently, close to half of all doctoral degrees in agricultural economics are earned by foreign students. A survey of U.S. agricultural economics departments was undertaken to analyze the potential impact of international students on the supply of academic agricultural economists.
The Effects of Macroeconomic Announcements on Commodity Prices
Authors: Barnhart Scott W. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis article analyzes the immediate reaction of a representative sample of commodity prices and two T‐bill yields to the unanticipated components of thirteen macroeconomic announcements. Surprises in the monetary variables cause the majority of the significant commodity price responses; while these plus other cyclical surprises, such as the unemployment rate, cause significant lumber and T‐bill reactions. The results provide strong support for the policy anticipations hypothesis and against the inflationary expectations hypothesis, i.e., that monetary surprises cause changes in real interest rates rather than in nominal rates only as the inflationary expectations hypothesis contends.
Testing Market Integration
Authors: Ravallion Martin 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA model of spatial price differentials for a tradable good is proposed which avoids the inferential dangers of received methods using static price correlations. The proposed method also extracts more information on the causes of price differentials from the same data. The method is illustrated using monthly rice price data for postindependence Bangladesh, including the very substantial regional price shocks during the 1974 famine. Impediments to market integration are indicated.
Econometric Estimation of Producers' Risk Attitudes
Authors: Antle John M. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractGeneral methods are proposed for the identification and econometric estimation of the parameters of the distribution of risk attitudes in a producer population. The proposed methods also provide the basis for the development of statistical tests of model specification and of behavioral hypotheses. Econometric risk attitude estimation is shown to be possible under less restrictive conditions than previously believed. A moment‐based version of the general model is applied to Indian data, and the econometrically estimated risk attitudes are presented and compared to experimental results for a similar group of producers.
An Examination of Farm Sector Real Asset Dynamics: 1910–85
Authors: Featherstone Allen M. , Baker Timothy G. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe dynamic response of real farm asset values to changes in net returns and interest rates is studied using vector autoregression. Results show that a shock in real asset values, real returns to assets, or real interest rates leads to a process in which real asset values overreact. In the initial period, a reaction to a shock immediately occurs followed by a continued build‐up in the asset value for up to six years until finally the effect of the one‐time, transitory shock begins to die out. The results suggest a market with a propensity for bubbles.
Does Agricultural Extension Pay? The Training and Visit System in Northwest India
Authors: Feder Gershon , Slade Roger H. , Lau Lawrence J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe paper presents the results from a study of the effect of the Training and Visit (T…V) System of agricultural extension on farm productivity. Two adjacent areas in northwest India, one with T…V extension and one with an older system, are compared, utilizing farm‐level data. Econometric analysis demonstrates that the T…V area had a wheat yield advantage of 9.33% after four years of T…V extension. The baseline yield differential was calculated as 3.01%. The gain attributable to T…V is shown to imply a return of at least 15% to the incremental investment in extension with high probability.
Cash Rents and Land Values in U.S. Agriculture
Authors: Robison Lindon J. , Lins David A. , VenKataraman Ravi 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA firm‐level land valuation model is deduced which depends on the expected growth rate in net cash returns to land, inflation expectations, and property, income, and capital gains taxes. It is then aggregated to obtain an aggregate two‐sector land valuation model. That model is then estimated for twenty‐four individual states for the period 1960–81. In addition, a pooled cross‐sectional regression model is estimated combining the twenty‐four‐state data. The model results demonstrate that significant state differences exist in the land market and that in many states, agricultural land values are influenced by nonagricultural demand for land.
Efficiency of Alternative Policies for the EC's Common Agricultural Policy
Authors: de Gorter Harry , Meilke Karl D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Community (EC) is facing a crisis from budgetary and political pressures. This study analyzes the relative efficiency of four policy options discussed at the recent emergency summit in Brussels including a price reduction, coresponsibility levies, production controls, and a two‐price plan. These are assessed in terms of their efficiency in achieving producer welfare. A two‐price plan is superior to a production quota only at lower producer income goals. A price reduction policy is more efficacious than a coresponsibility levy, but both are shown to be inferior to either quotas or a two‐price plan.
Marketing Order Impacts on Farm‐Retail Price Spreads: The Suspension of Prorates on California‐Arizona Navel Oranges
Authors: Thompson Gary D. , Lyon Charles C. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe 1985 suspension of the prorate on California‐Arizona navel oranges decreased FOB retail price spreads in Atlanta and San Francisco by about 1.3 cents per pound. Four reduced‐form models of price spreads were estimated as seemingly unrelated regressions for price spreads in Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco. Nested and non‐nested hypothesis testing procedures indicated a markup model as the most plausible one for explaining short‐run changes in price spreads.
Supply and Demand Functions for Multiproduct U.S. Cash Grain Farms: Biases Caused by Research and Other Policies
Authors: Huffman Wallace E. , Evenson Robert E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis study presents new estimates of supply and demand elasticities for U.S. multiproduct cash grain farms and estimates of input and output bias effects caused by public and private crop research, extension, and farmers' schooling. The study also shows that the social rate of return to public crop research is large—about 62 percent.