This paper assesses the cost efficiency of indicator-based targeting. Using household survey data from Malawi, we examine whether an indicator-based targeting of the poor is more target- and cost-efficient than the currently used mechanisms for targeting agricultural subsidy programs in the...

In this paper, the new empirical industrial organization approach with a dynamic model is simultaneously employed to measure the degree of oligopoly, oligopsony power, and cost efficiency in the U.S. beef packing industry. The oligopsony power is estimated with two effects: cash cattle...

Increasing worldwide energy demand and diminishing supplies of fossil fuels have necessitated the development and increasing use of new sustainable energy sources, as well as more parsimonious energy use. In the context of agriculture, research has focused predominantly on the production of...

This study investigates the impact of risk preferences on economic efficiency scores. Risk averse individuals may be less likely to adopt new technologies and have lower production levels than individuals with other risk preferences. Nonparametric techniques are used to estimate cost and revenue...

We examine the effect of farm level cost and scale efficiencies on dairy quota exchanges in Ontario. A constrained profit maximization framework is used to illustrate the role of cost efficiency in quota exchanges (i.e., sales and purchases). Using a multinomial logit model, where net quota...

This paper investigates smallholder dairy competitiveness from estimates of a translog cost frontier using data from 130 smallholder dairy farms in six provinces of Northeast Thailand. Cost efficiency estimates indicate that there is significant scope for improving cost efficiency in smallholder...

Several recent papers report a puzzling pattern of food demand falling as household size rises at constant per capita expenditure, especially in poorer countries. This pattern is contrary to a widely used model of scale economics. This paper exploits within-country differences in household...

As of 2011, 39% of drinking water systems on Canadian First Nations’ reserves could be classified as high risk, or unequipped to safely deal with the infiltration of a pollutant (Neegan Burnside 2011a). In recent years, some First Nations have contracted water services from neighboring...

The size of the protected area is recognized as one of the key attributes for assessing the effectiveness of investing in protected areas. We evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas by examining economies of scale in size and the average cost of acquiring protected areas depending on the...