In this paper we develop a theoretical model of input supply by agricultural producers who purchase crop insurance and so who may engage in moral hazard. We show, through simulations, that a combination of partial insurance coverage combined with a minimum standard for input use may reduce...

This paper investigates the use of rainfall insurance to manage agricultural production risks. A number of rainfall insurance products are presented along with a raitonal model which identifies the economics of rainfall. The use of rainfall insurance will increase in future years as capital...

The main motivation for this paper is the recognition of the fact that asymmetric information is the form of moral hazard and adverse selection results in sizeable efficiency losses. These costs are passed back to producers in the form of excessively high premium rates and also passed back to...

Normal, gamma and beta distributions are applied to 609 crop yield histories of Ontario farmers to determine which, if any, best describe crop yields. In addition, a distribution free non-parametric kernel estimator was applied to the same data to determine its efficiency in premium estimation...

This article reviews two major approached used in the past for risk analysis—the expected utility approach and the use of safety rules—and endeavors to reconcile their applicability and use in light of the recent nonexpected utility risk literature and working using the mean-Gini...

This article examines farm operating risks and cash-rent determination through the use of the efficient set mathematics. The efficient set mathematics proves to be a pragmatic approach to characterizing operating risks, and the relationships between operating risks and cash-rent determination....

This paper presents a model and framework for pricing degree-day weather derivatives when the weather variable is a non-traded asset. Using daily weather data from 1840-1996 it is shown that a degree-day weather index exhibits stable volatility and satisfies the random walk hypothesis. The paper...

This study presents a new approach to the optimal hedging decision. In some empirical studies, the standard hedge using the mean-variance hedge ratio provides results which are inconsistent with downside risk management. The new approach taken here relates the optimal hedge ratio to semivariance...