We evaluate the importance of the competitiveness and productive efficiency of the food processing sector for predicting policy outcomes, and the sector's performance under selected government interventions. Our model is based on firm-level decisions and focuses explicitly on the effects of...

A dynamic programming model is developed to identify barriers to the adoption of long-run control programs for the parasitic weed Striga. The model is applied to Sirakorola in northwestern Mali. The ability of national and village-level institutions to overcome the barriers to adoption is explored.

This paper examines whether permanent farmland preservation programs are capitalized into farmland prices. We consider the landowner's decision to voluntarily participate and correct for sample selection bias in our estimation of sales prices. Initial results suggest development restrictions...

The ability of food stamps to ameliorate food insufficiency in the U.S. is estimated with self-selection models which incorporate the systematic differences between eligible food stamp participants and non-participants. The analysis is performed with a sample of eligible households from the 1992...

This paper examines the potential for adverse selection when farmers are offered a portfolio of insurance policies. We analyze the risk characteristics farmers who bought alternative insurance instruments in 1996-97. Inability to differentiate farmers according to risk types results in pooling...

A dynamic dual model of investment under uncertainty is applied to a panel of Finnish hog farms. Stochastic dynamic programming is used to characterize duality relations. The model accommodates irreversibility and/or asymmetric adjustment costs. Results have important implications for Finland's...

To justify public subsidies for export promotion, export markets must fail to provide incentives for exporters to recognize the benefits of spillover or long-term benefits of promotion. This paper tests for these failures in dynamic dual model for horticultural export supply. Results show...

We model the ill-defined nature of grazing access using fuzzy set theory. We also model common property considerations. Within this framework, we examine when the traditional system results in higher returns and/or lower variance for herders than land privatization or a standard common property...

Switching costs affect importer decisions, hence impacts of subsidies over time. Dynamic, game theoretic simulations of EU-US competition for Moroccan wheat imports suggest firms charge lower prices and governments award higher subsidies with switching costs. Policy under alternative...

This paper considers an agricultural production model of sequential nitrogen application under risk. Because of random shocks between successive production stages, optimal fertilization decisions depend on the magnitude of farmers' risk aversion (risk premium), and the possibility for farmers to...