This paper uses stylized analytical and numerical general equilibrium models to evaluate the welfare impacts of alternative policies for reducing nitrogen run-off from agricultural production in an open economy while recognizing the presence of distortionary agricultural support subsidies and...

This paper evaluates the welfare and greenhouse-gas effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the presence of biofuel subsidies. In our numerical model, demand for gasoline and ethanol stems from consumer demand for driving miles, but all fuels have congestion and environmental external...

This paper uses stylized analytical and numerical general equilibrium models to evaluate the welfare impacts of alternative policies for reducing nitrogen run-off from agricultural production in an open economy while recognizing the presence of distortionary agricultural support subsidies and...

Policy intervention in the biofuel market has led to a significant increase in biofuel production and use in the past several years. However, the welfare effect of biofuelpolicies, specifically the ethanol tax credit for corn ethanol, ethanol import tariff andrenewable fuel standard (RFS)...

Biofuels have been promoted to achieve energy security and as a solution to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. This dissertation presents a framework to examine the extent to which biofuel policies reduce gasoline consumption and GHG emissions and their...

Significant ambiguity surrounds the magnitude and sign of the effect of foreign aid on economic growth. Foreign aid can potentially augment scarce domestic capital to spur growth but foreign aid can also remove positive incentive to build wealth, stalling growth. This paper characterizes the...

This paper investigates the impact of USDA crop production reports in corn andsoybean futures markets. The analysis is based on all corn and soybean production reportsreleased over 1970-2006. The empirical analysis compares the typical OLS eventstudy approach to the new Identification by...

This paper develops a theoretically consistent behavioral model of farmer decision-making that allows for analysis of the relative impacts of the determinants of SSI value. The model departs from previous literature by assuming that SSI reduces uncertainty, but not eliminate it. Results show...

This paper addresses the collective action problem of nonpoint-source pollution control in a small agricultural watershed. At issue is the stability of cooperative behavior among a group of farmers, who have voluntarily agreed to discontinue their use of the herbicide atrazine due to high...

The dissertation examines an informal financial institution in Cameroon: the Rotating Saving and Credit Association. Its describes the operational procedures. RoSCAs are associations formed by a core of individuals who willingly and regularly contribute periodically a fixed or variable amount to...