This study of the firm under uncertainty relaxes the standard single production cycle assumption. Under realistic circumstances, a forward-looking risk-averse firm will produce more than a risk-neutral firm, and an increase in the mean-preserving price spread will increase the risk-averse firm's...

A framework is developed for examining the price and welfare effects of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops. In the short run, non-GM grain generally becomes another niche product. However, more profound market effects are observed under some reasonable parameterizations. In the...

The paper lays out the economic arguments in favor of the establishment of farmer-owned brands in midwestern agriculture and presents four case studies based on successful efforts in this area in the United States and European Union. The case studies involve Parma Ham, Brunello di Montalcino...

This study estimates the probability density function of the Federal Risk Management Agency's (RMA) net income from reinsuring crop insurance for corn, wheat, and soybeans. Based on 1997 data, the authors estimate that there is a 5 percent probability that RMA will need to reimburse at least $1...

Historically, the U.S. government has had a substantial involvement in the agricultural sector. Lence and Hayes use a dynamic, three-commodity, rational-expectations storage model to compare the impact of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996 with a free-market...

This paper examines the incentive of atomistic agricultural producers within a specific geographical region to differentiate and collectively market products. We develop a model that allows us to analyze the market and welfare effects of the main types of real-world producer organizations, using...

The paper motivates and proposes a closed-form option-pricing model for markets such as grains or livestock where the price level can be expected to revert to expected production costs. The model suggests that traditional option pricing models will overprice long-term options on these markets.

The welfare implications of intellectual property protection (IPP) for private sector agricultural research are analyzed, focusing on the realistic cases in which countries provide different IPP levels, technology spills over across countries, and the public sector is involved in research. A...

A theory of short-run competitive firm behavior allowing for nonmyopic risk aversion, randomness in input and output prices, as well as forward trading and storage of final good and material input is introduced. If the firm is a forward looking risk-averse expected-utility maximizer, separation...

Decision making under unknown true parameters (estimation risk) is discussed along with Bayes and parameter certainty equivalent (PCE) criteria. Bayes criterion provides the solution for optimal decision making under estimation risk in a manner consistent with expected utility maximization. The...