bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Testing for Misspecification in the Referendum Contingent Valuation Approach
Authors: Ozuna Teofilo , Jang Kee Yoon , Stoll John R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractBinary choice models are frequently used in the analysis of referendum contingent valuation data. Because omitted regressors, heteroskedasticity, and distribution asymmetry in these models result in inconsistent parameter estimates, it is important that misspecification tests be undertaken. In this article, conditional moment tests for these problems are presented and applied to data from two referendum contingent valuation studies. Results show that some models have misspecification problems and that these problems affect the estimation of welfare measures.
Defensive Technology and Welfare Analysis of Environmental Quality Change with Uncertain Consumer Health Impacts
Authors: Lee Linda K. , Moffitt L. Joe 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMeasuring the ex post losses from environmental quality change is an important issue when environmental contamination creates health risks, liability is assigned, and private compensation efforts are required. This paper proposes a methodology for measuring the ex post welfare impact of environmental quality change using market behavior from defensive expenditures. Conditions under which a defensive technology can provide a bound on welfare estimates are identified.
Welfare Implications of Equilibrium Supply and Demand Curves in an Open Economy
Authors: Bullock David S. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractLine integral theory is used to prove that in a closed economy the net domestic social welfare effects of a market distortion can be captured in the distorted market alone by using equilibrium supply and demand curves. Considerable confusion exists in the applied literature about the proper application of this proposition. It is shown that the proposition does not generally hold for open economies. It is shown that in general neither geometric areas behind equilibrium supply curves nor geometric areas behind equilibrium demand curves have any welfare significance.
Market Structure for Farmed Salmon
Authors: DeVoretz Don J. , Salvanes Kjell G. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractFarmed salmon represents 20% of the total volume of the world's salmon supply. Norwegian salmon farmers produce more than 50% of the world's farmed salmon. Rapid expansion of this industry raises important issues about market model specification. We specify and test models with varying degrees of market power, including third‐degree price discrimination, using Norwegian export data from 1983 to 1988. Results indicate that Norwegian exporters have limited ability to engage in regional price discrimination, although they may have discriminated after the third quarter of 1987. Seasonal price discrimination, however, may have taken place because demand is more inelastic in periods when fresh wild‐caught salmon are unavailable.
Damage Control Econometrics: Functional Specification and Pesticide Productivity
Authors: Carrasco‐Tauber Catalina , Moffitt L. Joe 
Published: July 2006

AbstractEmpirical studies of pesticide productivity have often concluded that the value of marginal product of pesticide exceeds marginal factor cost despite anecdotal and other evidence to the contrary. This article presents estimates of pesticide productivity derived from alternative functional specifications of pesticide involvement in production. Results suggest that explanation of the magnitude of pesticide productivity estimates obtained in empirical studies may lie somewhere other than with functional specification.
Adoption Ceilings and Modern Coarse Cereal Cultivars in India
Authors: Jansen Hans G. P. , Walker Thomas S. , Barker Randolph 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe concept of, and evidence for, regional adoption ceilings is assessed for modern coarse cereal cultivars in India. Adoption is defined as the proportion of total area of a given coarse cereal planted to modern cultivars. Agroclimatic and soil differences are more important than disparities in infrastructure in explaining the variation across regions in estimated adoption ceilings. Qualitatively different modern cultivars from those now released are necessary to change regional adoption behavior. The results support an agricultural research strategy that gives higher priority to more regionally oriented breeding and testing programs in preference to the past emphasis on wide adaptation.
Utilization, Profitability, and the Adoption of Animal Draft Power in West Africa
Authors: Jaeger William K. , Matlon Peter J. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractFarmers in West Africa's semi‐arid tropics have been slow to adopt animal draft power to replace manual cultivation, defying the logic of conventional choice‐of‐technique analyses. This paper demonstrates that farmers can profitably adopt animal draft power when household characteristics and exogenous factors permit high utilization of animals and equipment. Empirical analysis of farm‐level data indicates that low utilization is the key cause of low returns, and that a long learning period precedes achieving high utilization and benefits. Linear programming models are used to establish the importance of family size, access to land, and appropriate implements in achieving profitable adoption.
On the Political Economy of Public Good Inputs in Agriculture
Authors: de Gorter Harry , Zilberman David 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe paper analyzes two elements in explaining and prescribing the level of cost‐reducing “public good” inputs in agriculture: the distribution of political influence and the economic properties of markets. The incidence of costs/benefits of alternative cost‐sharing arrangements between taxpayers and producers is compared to the social optimal and competitive outcomes. Although one group could lose, we focus only on situations of a Pareto improvement. The model predicts why some sectors have relatively more public versus private research funding and why the degree of underinvestment varies across sectors. The observed underinvestment in agriculture may be due to the political power of farmers, inelastic demand, and highly productive public good inputs.
Risk Aversion and Price Risk in Duality Models of Production: A Linear Mean‐Variance Approach
Authors: Coyle Barry T. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA duality model of production is developed that permits risk aversion and price uncertainty. The linear mean‐variance framework employed is tractable for empirical research, in contrast to duality models of risk based on a generalized expected utility function. The framework is more general than in standard price certainty models while retaining the simplicity needed for empirical research.
Incorporating Data and Theory in Roundwood Supply and Demand Estimation
Authors: Hetemäki Lauri , Jari Kuuluvainen 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper examines the aggregate pulpwood market in Finland using the econometric approach advocated by Hendry, Neale, and Joba and Spanos, who propose a statistically consistent way to estimate simultaneous‐equations models. Private nonindustrial timber supply is estimated along with a three‐input demand function (capital, labor, and wood). Results indicate that short‐term supply reacts positively to an increase in stumpage price, while the long‐term (total) elasticity is negative and small in absolute terms. Capital is a complement while labor is a substitute for roundwood input. Dynamic adjustment process, substitution and cross‐price effects, and capital market imperfections implied by the present study differ from those obtained in previous research.
The von Liebig Hypothesis
Authors: Paris Quirino 
Published: July 2006

AbstractUsing a celebrated sample of corn response to nitrogen and phosphorus collected by Heady and Pesek, it is shown that a von Liebig model with Mitscherlich regimes is the best interpreter of the experimental data. This assertion is based upon the results of nonnested hypothesis tests among five alternatives. An extension of the test to switching regression models reinforces the superiority of the von Liebig hypothesis for this sample. Cost functions, dual to von Liebig production functions, have continuous derivatives with respect to the parameters and may be easier to estimate when input prices are available.
Estimating the Technology Coefficients in Linear Programming Models
Authors: Dixon Bruce L. , Hornbaker Robert H. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractEstimation of a linear programming model's technology coefficients using data from a sample of firms is viewed as an application of random coefficient regression (RCR). An RCR estimator restricting predicted coefficient values to be nonnegative is proposed. The estimator's finite sample performance is examined in Monte Carlo experiments. The proposed estimator performs well compared with inequality‐restricted least squares, despite its use of an estimated covariance matrix. In sampling a population of firms, a dependency may arise between coefficients and activity levels. Two tests for dependence are proposed and examined in Monte Carlo experiments. The tests' reliability varies with characteristics of the sampled population.
Assessing Technical Efficiency in Commercial Fisheries: The Mid‐Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery
Authors: Kirkley James E. , Squires Dale , Strand Ivar E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractDespite the extensive effort to research issues of allocative efficiency in fisheries, little empirical analysis of technical efficiency (TE) in fisheries exists. This study examines vessel efficiency using a stochastic production frontier based on a sample of sea scallop vessels operating in the Mid‐Atlantic between 1987 and 1990. Estimates of TE are computed and compared with input usage, resource conditions, economic performance, and recently imposed regulations. The analysis suggests that owners and captains only partially compensate for changes in resource conditions through the use of labor and fishing effort, and recent regulations may improve overall TE in the short run.
Rural Population Decline in the 1980s: Impacts of Farm Structure and Federal Farm Programs
Authors: Goetz Stephan J. , Debertin David L. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractFederal farm program benefits accrue disproportionately to large‐scale farm operators, and continue largely because of the political influence of their beneficiaries. Some writers argue that these payments stem the movement of labor out of agriculture, ultimately reducing the pace of rural depopulation. Here, a theoretical model linking farm program payments to population loss is presented and empirically estimated for the years 1980–90. Larger farm program payments as a share of total cash marketing receipts were associated with greater population losses from rural counties. This result holds after controlling for other economic variables affecting population migration from rural areas.
Government Rail Car Regulation and the Price of Canola
Authors: Carter Colin A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractIn this paper I analyze Canadian government regulation of rail transportation as it affects the domestic price of canola in both the street and futures market. The regulation gives rise to an idiosyncrasy: Vancouver canola futures and Vancouver spot prices do not converge, with futures trading at a significant premium to spot prices during the delivery month. As a result, Vancouver futures prices do not reflect international market conditions. I offer an explanation of the futures premium. In addition, I find that there is evidence to support a contention that a change in rail car policy in 1989 improved canola throughput efficiency in Vancouver and may have led to higher street prices.
Improving Shadow Price Information: Obtaining Relevant Shadow Prices from Problems with Decomposable Objectives
Authors: McCarl Bruce A. , Rister M. Edward , Ziari Houshmand , Stokes Jeffrey R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMathematical programming models can incorporate multiple objectives. Shadow prices in such models reflect a mixture of all of the objectives. A procedure is implemented to develop decomposed shadow prices applicable to the individual objectives. The procedure is demonstrated in a GAMS implementation for multiple objective and risk‐related models.
The Problem of the Persistent Hog Price Cycle: A Chaotic Solution
Authors: Streips Marcus A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA persistent hog‐corn price ratio has been known to exist since the early 1930s and many attempts have been made since then to model its dynamics. That these models have been ineffectual as forecasting tools is apparent by the fact that the hog cycle has persisted to this day. In this paper I propose that increased forecasting accuracy can be obtained by adjusting traditional forecasting models so that they account for deterministic, nonlinear processes. With improved forecasts, the costs of countercyclical production will decrease, dampening and perhaps even eliminating the cycle. The chaotic dynamics of the hog‐corn price cycle is confirmed, and chaotic models of this system are developed. The analysis provides the framework for developing a function to forecast the dynamics of the hog‐corn price ratio.
Identifying Buyer Market Areas and the Impact of Buyer Concentration in Feeder Cattle Markets Using Mapping and Spatial Statistics
Authors: Bailey DeeVon , Brorsen B. Wade , Thomsen Michael R. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe size and shape of market areas for buyers from four major cattle feeding areas are determined by mapping data from the nation's largest video auction. Spatial statistics are also examined to determine their ability to identify market areas for feeder cattle. Mapping shows that procurement areas for feeder cattle buyers are large, irregularly shaped, and overlap substantially. A new statistic was developed to determine primary market areas. Feeder cattle buyers behave as oligopsonists in counties where most buyers are from one feeding area, and prices are higher for feeder cattle in counties where two or more market areas overlap.
Temporal and Spatial Aggregation: Alternative Marketing Margin Models
Authors: Lyon Charles C. , Thompson Gary D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThe effects of temporal and spatial data aggregation on the performance of alternative marketing margin models is assessed using monthly, quarterly, and semiannual fluid milk prices from three U.S. cities. Nonnested tests for multivariate and single equation models with serial correlation are used to choose among alternative models at each aggregation level. While model choice is affected by temporal and spatial aggregation, model choice becomes more difficult as data are temporally or spatially aggregated.
A Repeated Nested‐Logit Model of Atlantic Salmon Fishing
Authors: Morey Edward R. , Rowe Robert D. , Watson Michael 
Published: July 2006

AbstractParticipation and site choice for Atlantic salmon fishing are modeled in the context of a repeated three‐level nested‐logit model. Consumer's surplus measures are derived for different levels of species availability in the Penobscot River, the most important salmon river in New England. For comparison, six other travel‐cost models are estimated. These include restrictive cases of the nested‐logit model, a partial demand model, and two single‐site demand models. Comparisons across these models indicate the importance of modeling the participation decision, including income effects, and of adopting a nested‐logit structure rather than a single‐level logit structure.
A Comparison of Contingent Preference Models
Authors: Mackenzie John 
Published: July 2006

AbstractI compare the informational efficiencies of contingent rating, contingent ranking, and two contingent paired‐comparison methods as alternatives to the referendum contingent valuation method. The contingent rating method is hypothesized to be most efficient because ratings convey information on preference intensities and can uniquely represent respondent indifference or ambivalence. Survey data on hunters' ratings of alternative hypothetical hunting trips are used to estimate four alternative indirect utility models from which marginal willingness‐to‐pay measures for individual trip attributes are derived. Model comparison, WTP estimates, and their confidence intervals confirm the relative efficiency of the contingent rating approach.
The Impact of Technical Change, Scale Effects, and Forward Ordering on U.S. Fiber Demands
Authors: Shui Shangnan , Beghin John C. , Wohlgenant Michael 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis paper estimates a complete system of input cost shares in U.S. textile production, using time‐series data and a linear logit specification incorporating the impact of technical change and scale effects on derived demands for natural and manmade fibers. The specification accounts for forward ordering dynamics in the textile industry. Technical change has decreased natural fiber use in U.S. textile mills in favor of manmade fibers. Decomposition analysis of economic factors affecting long‐run use of natural versus manmade fiber indicates that nonprice factors account for 70% of the decline in long‐run natural fiber use.
A Dynamic Model of Acreage Allocation with General and Crop‐Specific Soil Capital
Authors: Orazem Peter F. , Miranowski John A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractWe develop an empirically tractable model of acreage allocation decisions in which farmers consider impacts of current crop production 00 future soil productivity. Because of the soil productivity effects, future crop prices are shown to affect current acreage allocations. Government programs which alter farmers' expectations of future crop prices relative to current prices also alter farmers' consideration of soil productivity effects of current acreage allocations. Reduced form and structural versions of our model are shown to yield reasonable parameter estimates.
Preferences for Pesticide Regulation
Authors: Horowitz John 
Published: July 2006

AbstractI look at consumer preferences for pesticide regulation. The analysis is based on a random telephone survey of households. There is a distinct preference for pesticide regulation over an alternative risk reduction proposal (auto exhaust regulation) when both regulations are hypothesized to cost the same and save the same number of lives. Such preference has a surprisingly broad demographic base. However, when the potential numbers of lives saved are different under the two programs, almost 71% of the subjects preferred the regulation that saved the most lives regardless of the risk source.
Land Allocation in HYV Adoption Models: An Investigation of Alternative Explanations
Authors: Smale Melinda , Just Richard E. , Leathers Howard D. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractMicroeconomic theory provides four competing explanations for partial land allocation to new and traditional seed varieties in HYV adoption decisions: input fixity, portfolio selection, safety‐first behavior, and learning. Testing a general model that contains each as a special case suggests that they are jointly most likely to explain land allocation in the HYV adoption decisions of Malawian smallholders. Yet when each explanation is tested to the exclusion of the others (as is usually the case in the literature), competing hypotheses are individually significant. Results suggest that employing approaches based on single explanations may lead to inappropriately narrow conclusions.
A Public Choice Perspective on Agricultural Policy Reform: Implications of the New Zealand Experience
Authors: Scrimgeour F.G. , Pasour E.C. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractA public choice framework is used to interpret and explore the implications of the dramatic New Zealand economic reforms initiated in 1984. The New Zealand deregulation experience holds lessons for other countries attempting to limit rent seeking and rationalize farm policies. Economic analyses of protectionist policies helped to change public opinion, an important precursor to policy reform. The reform of farm policies was made easier because other sectors were simultaneously restructured. The New Zealand deregulation experience emphasizes the importance of the institutional framework for real world political processes and suggests that constitutional issues warrant more attention in public policy analysis.
Multiple Policy Goals in a Trade Model with Explicit Factor Markets
Authors: Gunter Lewell F. , Jeong Ki Hong , White Fred C. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractAs trade protectionism has been reduced through multilateral agreements, concerns have been raised about competitiveness effects of cross‐country differences in environmental and labor standards. Costs associated with decreased competitiveness are distributed across consumers and the various providers of inputs used in the production of affected commodities. In this paper we present a trade model which can be used to help quantify the magnitude and distribution of costs associated with changes in input regulations. The model can also be used to identify levels of policies required to offset or redistribute costs associated with regulations which reduce international competitiveness.
Quotas without Supply Control: Effects of Dairy Quota Policy in California
Authors: Sumner Daniel A. , Wolf Christopher A. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractUnlike the federal milk marketing order system, California's system includes a milk quota program. Oddly, this quota restricts neither production nor marketing. In aggregate, the quota program leads to more milk production than a typical marketing quota, but less milk than blend pricing without the quota. The California program generates more producer surplus and smaller welfare losses than a federal‐style program without quota. When class 1 milk sales expand, production expands less under the quota program than with blend pricing without a quota. Finally, increases in aggregate quota lower production because they lower the marginal price of milk facing producers.
Monte Carlo Analysis of Mean Reversion in Commodity Futures Prices
Authors: Irwin Scott H. , Zulauf Carl R. , Jackson Thomas E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractThis study examines whether mean reversion is present in corn, soybean, wheat, live hog, and live cattle futures prices. Consistent with earlier studies, asymptotic regression results provide substantial evidence of mean reversion in commodity futures price movements. In sharp contrast, the Monte Carlo regression analysis does not provide support for the existence of mean reversion in commodity futures prices. A clear implication is that the asymptotic regression results are misleading. The reason is that the small sample distributions of test statistics are not well approximated by assumed asymptotic distributions.
Funding, Structure, and Management of Public Agricultural Research in the United States
Authors: Huffman Wallace E. , Just Richard E. 
Published: July 2006

AbstractHypotheses about state agricultural experiment stations are investigated. Formula funding is found more productive than competitive‐grant funding, possibly owing to transactions costs of reviewing and misallocations of pork barrel funding. Heavier administrator involvement in problem choice is found to enhance productivity of applied research where approach and product can be well‐specified in advance, but detracts from productivity of pretechnology research where response to individual incentives may lead to more timely adaptations. Stronger vertical integration of pretechnology, applied sciences, and extension activities is found to increase productivity, suggesting the importance of strongly science‐based applied research and practical understanding of pretechnology sciences.