The most common application of linear programming in agricultural situations has been to the problem of resource allocation between competing farm activities. Given relevant input-output information for a specific farm, together with real or assumed price and cost patterns, the technique of...

In a large-scale agricultural model a sizeable amount of low level data undergoes several stages of processing. In designing a model, uncertainty and complexity will restrict the generality of computer-implemented stages and much of the processing will be manual. The resulting model is likely to...

The diverse modelling activity coming under a defined concept of Simulation is reviewed first through a general outline of suggested methodology and secondly through a survey of applications in agricultural economics and kindred disciplines. The review concludes with a consideration of present...

The relationship between technical and allocative efficiency is examined by drawing on concepts of activity dominance in linear programming. The conclusion is reached that there is no fundamental distinction between technical and allocative efficiency. Other topics addressed in the paper, all...

A review of the ex ante evaluation of research proposals is structured in the wider context of research management. Five functions of research management are identified; initiation, evaluation, selection, implementation and control, and dissemination. After considering the relative weights given...

Policy-oriented studies at the household and village level are undertaken by researchers from a range of disciplines. In this paper, we focus on two such studies, one conducted in Tonga by agricultural economists, the other in Indonesia by a geographer. While there are differences in...

In many instances, Bayesian Econometrics offers a more natural interpretation of the results of a statistical investigation than does the sampling theory approach. Furthermore, the Bayesian approach provides a formal framework for incorporating prior information which is frequently available...

Decision analysis, the practice of Bernoullian decision theory and Bayesian statistics, is reviewed in relation to its application in management. Aspects of the scaling of beliefs (probabilities) and preferences (utilities) are discussed, focussing on practical problems. It is concluded that the...

Probability judgements are important components of decision making under uncertainty. In particular, economic decisions can be aided by assuring more accurate assessment of probabilities and more realistic modelling of economic problems through the inclusion of subjective probabilities. The...