In contrast with previous index model land applications, this article shows that the land allocation problem is a portfolio model with two constraints, namely, investable funds and land. The two-constraint model implies a drastic reinterpretation of what previous studies have quantified as...

Food intake surveys and food expenditure surveys are the two most popular methods to obtain information about nutrition. The present study examines the accuracy of the nutrition measures calculated from such surveys. An econometric model is advanced to draw inferences about the measurement...

This study develops a method to estimate the probability density function of the Federal Risk Management Agency's (RMA's) net income from reinsuring crop insurance for corn, wheat, and soybeans. When calibrated using 1997 data, results from the advocated method show that in 1997 there was a 5%...

This study examines possible causes for the poor performance that has characterized the forward pricing and hedging practices used by participants in meat processing and merchandising operations. Alternative methods of managing price risk or meat merchandisers are presented and evaluated. The...

The present study surveys the significant body of research on the topic generated by the Regional Research Committee for Financing Agriculture in a Changing Environment: Macro, Market, Policy, and Management Issues, and its predecessors. For this purpose, risk management strategies are...

This study estimates the probability density function of the government's net income from reinsuring crop insurance for corn, wheat, and soybeans. Based on 1997 data, it is estimated there is a 5% probability that the government will need to reimburse at least $1 billion to insurance companies,...

The generalized expected utility model is fitted to U.S. farm data to estimate farm operator's time preferences and risk attitudes. The estimated farmer's utility parameters are quite "reasonable" and exhibit high accuracy. The forward-looking expected utility model is soundly rejected in favor...

Simulations are used to analyze welfare and market- and farm-level effects of making futures available to producers of a storable commodity. Key features of the model are the explicit consideration of dynamic impacts due to inventories, and of aggregate market effects associated with futures...

We examine the incentives of atomistic producers to differentiate and collectively market products. We analyze market and welfare effects of alternative producer organizations, discuss circumstances under which they will evolve, and describe implications for the ongoing debate between the EU and...

A thought experiment is designed to investigate whether the structure of risk aversion (i.e., the changes in absolute or relative risk aversion associated with changes in wealth) can be estimated with reasonable precision from agricultural production data. Findings strongly suggest that typical...