Effects of human capital and off-farm labor opportunities need further investigation. This study corroborates nonagricultural credit studies, which indicate that RPA outperforms logistic regression based on within-sample observations. Incorporation of misclassification costs can influence the creditworthiness decision. Jon Rausch is an extension specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics, The Ohio State University. Utilities in Appalachia that use locally mined high-sulfur coal must choose among abatement options such as fuel mixing and smokestack scrubbing technologies.
Wet scrubbers are the most frequently adopted abatement technology in Ohio.
This paper investigates beneficial reuses of by-product from wet scrubbers. By-product is most often disposed of in landfills, resulting in large external costs. We combine social cost and benefit transfers with a linear optimization model to investigate potential benefits of by-product recycling. Results suggest that significant incentives exist to find beneficial uses for by-product. But benefits may be partially offset if adoption increases reliance on agricultural chemicals.