Replaced with revised version of paper 07/10/09.

We explore in this paper the consequences of status seeking preferences among agents contracting with a private principal in the context of production. We examine in particular the case of envy and we show that in general envy entails augmented distortions due to asymmetric information in...

The agricultural economics literature, both academic and trade, has discussed the assumed presence of cycles in livestock markets such as cattle and hogs for a very long time. Since Jarvis (1974), there has been considerable discussion over how these cycles impact optimal economic decision...

Replaced with revised version of paper 04/20/10.

Given its vast land resources and favorable water supply, the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) natural agricultural potential is immense. However, the economic potential of the sector is handicapped by one of the most dilapidated transport systems in the developing world (World Bank, 2006)....

The study finds that the emergence and expansion of the ethanol sector was associated with a fundamental transformation of the integration of the energy and agricultural sectors. In particular, the correlation structure between crude oil and grain prices increased dramatically, becoming more...

Agricultural studies have often differentiated and estimated different technologies within a sample of farms. The common approach is to use observable farm characteristics to split the sample into several groups and subsequently estimate different functions for each group. Alternatively, unique...

We use data from a recent national survey to analyze the use of subtherapeutic antibiotics (STAs) among producers of broilers. STAs are included in feed or water and are intended to prevent disease or promote growth. Producers who do not use STAs instead rely on a set of other practices,...