The objective of this study was twofold: (1) to identify nontraditional sources of data that can be used to monitor economic activity in rural areas, and (2) to test the relationship between such data and trends in traditional measures, such as income and employment.

Economic transition and reforms in the Central and Eastern European nations and the Newly Independent States have been uneven and probably slower than expected by many observers, with agriculture experiencing special difficulties. Johnson says that there is a real need for practical and...

Assessing the effects of alternative policies that regulate nonpoint pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) requires insight into the interactions of livestock production practices, waste management technologies, and their impacts on the environment. CAFOs have been...

This paper investigates whether a small country facing foreign price instability benefits from active stabilization of the domestic price of the importable. For example, the European Community can be treated as a small open economy facing price instability of agricultural products originating in...

Economic restructuring in rural areas of the Midwest has stimulated a myriad of initiatives. This paper examines recent economic development patterns in the rural Midwest and reviews traditional policy approaches prescribed for dealing with rural problems. These approaches relate to resource...

The livestock and dairy industries are consolidating and concentrating within confined geographical areas. Accompanying these structural adjustments that are under way in the dairy and livestock industries is the potential for increased point and nonpoint source pollution problems from animal...

Concern about environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilizer use is increasing. Mainstream agriculture is dependent on nitrogen fertilizer and use patterns are polluting water resources. A five cent tax on nitrogen fertilizer is shown to have three benefits. National nitrogen fertilizer use is...

The Japanese pork market is protected by a complex set of restrictions, including a variable levy and an import tariff. The combination of these policies distorts the quantity, price, and form of Japanese pork imports. An important issue relevant to the liberalization of the Japanese pork market...

Strategic trade in international markets is important for agricultural and other basic commodities. State trading companies (STCs) and large private firms control most of the trade volume. In this study the authors use concepts of modern game theory to treat time inconsistency issues associated...

This paper analyzes the incidence of agricultural commodity programs. Producers advocate commodity programs and receive price subsidies, but free entry and perfectly elastic supplies of nonland inputs ensure that landowners extract the entire surplus from price subsidies. Moreover, an increase...