Economic theory is replete with causal hypotheses that are scarcely tested because economists are generally constrained to work with observational data. This article describes the use of causal inference methods for testing a hypothesis that one random variable causes another. Contingent on a...

We describe a means of rejecting a null hypothesis concerning observed, but not deliberately manipulated, variables of the form H0: A -/- B in favor of an alternative hypothesis HA: A -- B, even given the possibility of causally related unobserved variables. Rejection of such an H0 relies on the...

State level data on food environment variables for the period 2000 through 2013, gathered from the Food Environment Atlas and various other government sources are used to model a panel VAR to capture specific state-level fixed and random effects. The set of food environment variables can be...

This study primarily focuses on the effect of information on consumers’ purchasing behavior. If consumers are provided with information about a specific product they may change their beliefs about that product. This distribution of information may lead the consumer to make the decision either...

This article discusses the current state of contract theory and its usefulness for conceptualizing issues related to agricultural contracting. I will discuss the limitations of existing theory for applied work, and what methodological improvements are needed to enhance the usefulness of the...

Pricing decisions for new product are always challenging due to limited information such as market needs and competition. Contingent valuation is a widely used technique to elicit value for new products or non-market goods. Previous literature has shown that potential buyers use a reference...