This study investigates non-parametrically the optimizing behavior of a sample of 289 Kansas farms under profit-maximization and cost-minimization hypotheses. The study uses both deterministic and stochastic non-parametric tests. The deterministic results do not support strict adherence to...

A wide range of economic analysis of agricultural trade liberalization was performed prior to and during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. Views differ as to the effectiveness of this research, although most would agree that it became less relevant as the negotiations progressed. This...

Impacts of agricultural and nonagricultural trade liberalization on agriculture are assessed in a multi-commodity, multi-country framework. By modeling simultaneously all goods sectors of the economy, we evaluate the importance of: (a) relative price changes between sectors, and (b) income and...

The conventional gravity model is revised for a single commodity and applied to meat markets to determine factors affecting trade flows of meat. This study demonstrates that the gravity model for a single agricultural commodity can be parameterized more effectively by using time series and...

The article develops three hypotheses about how policy interventions in major trading nations influence price integration in the world beef market. Simple correlation coefficients, tests for significant differences between coefficients, and Granger causality tests are used to test the...

This paper hypothesizes that while there are important qualitative differences in domestic beef and imported beef, beef and cattle imports also represent attempts by the US beef processing and wholesale sector to adjust to short-run changes in supply and demand. Dynamic production theory is...

Using a translog production function, cereal production on state farms in Ethiopia between 1980 and 1985 was analyzed. The farms were found to be operating at constant returns to scale. Manual labor was under-utilized, while machinery and other modern inputs were over-utilized. Elasticities of...

This paper explains market segmentation that occurs in the Philippine informal credit markets through the matching of borrowers and lenders by their occupational specializations to internalize transaction costs and facilitate economic activity. The regression results support a predictable...

Chile is one of the few countries that has encouraged the use of markets in water resource management. In order to assess the impact of water markets and transactions costs in Chile, four river valleys, the Maipo, Elqui, Limari, and the Azapa were selected as case studies. Transactions from the...

The US meatpacking industry has become concentrated to a degree not experienced since the days of the 'Beef trust' a century ago. A number of mainstream studies have investigated if such concentration has been detrimental to competition. Just as earlier studies may have helped shape competition...