We estimate a distance function of grains production using generalized method of moments that enables us to accommodate multiple outputs of farmers as well as address the endogeneity issues that are related with the use of distance functions for multi-output production. Using a panel data set of...

Microcredit has expanded rapidly since its beginnings in the last 1970s, but whether and how much it reduces poverty is the subject of intense debate. Generally it depends on how the program is implemented and the set of policies that regulate it. In this spirit, microcredit impacts in the...

Despite the rapid producer adoption of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in recent years, the economic advantage of hybrid rice in the mid-Southern United States remains disputed. This study compares the economic risk and return of three popularly sown hybrid rice varieties: XL723, Clearfield® (CL)...

Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association(SAEA) Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, 3‐5 February 2013

This study examines the role of price competitiveness and foreign activity in Ghana’s export performance. Using an augmented VAR model in conjunction with modified Wald tests, causal relationships are tested between real effective exchange rates, foreign GDP and both total and agricultural...

Peanut paste/butter consumption frequency in the Republic of Uganda is analyzed using a household survey data. Estimation results from Zero-inflated Binomial regression conclude that education, household location, color of peanut paste, etc. are important. The ordinal logistic results conclude...

This paper investigates the effect of remittances in attracting U.S. foreign direct investment flows to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It uses an unbalanced panel data set for fifteen countries covering the period 1983-2010. The results suggest a positive and significant impact of...

This paper examines the effects of gender on the adoption of new technologies of peanut production in Eastern Uganda. The findings suggest that females adopt improved varieties at a lower rate compared to males. In addition, females in female-headed households are less likely to adopt.

This paper examines the impact of carbon payments on reforestation in coastal Ecuador. The model estimates that landowners would need to be paid between 13.59 US dollars to 41.81 US dollars per metric ton of carbon in order to be no worse off from reforesting a hectare of her land.

We investigate the impact of large floods on the risk of civil conflict in a sample of 125 countries between 1985 and 2009. We control for endogeneity of floods and the potential spatial and temporal dependency of civil conflict. We find that floods increase the probability of conflict incidence...