Risk aversion has been considered a factor in mitigating the moral hazard problem in agri-environmental policy. If farmers face multiple sources of uncertainty, however, risk aversion could contribute to the problem. Focusing on a required reduction in the use of a potentially damaging input...

Although the United States has typically been in a position to import ethanol, corn-based ethanol exports are surging as the domestic market becomes saturated and world prices rise due to high prices for sugar, the competing global feedstock. The U.S. is now the world’s leading ethanol...

The U.S. fuel ethanol industry has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years, with roughly a 3.6-fold increase in ethanol production since 2005 (RFA, 2012). A fuel blender’s credit (the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit), a secondary tariff on imported ethanol, and mandatory use of...

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS), which involves mandates for variousbiofuels, is complex and has been often misinterpreted or oversimplified in previous studies.In this paper we analyze the implications of the RFS for the U.S. domestic and international ethanol markets. We...

Achieving high compliance rates in incentive-based agri-environmental schemes is animportant issue. This paper explores the use of a mixed penalty-reward approach underheterogeneous compliance costs. Specifically, we examine the use of a “compliancereward” under asymmetric information and...

Although the United States has typically been in a position to import ethanol, cornbasedethanol exports are surging as the domestic market becomes saturated andworld prices rise due to high prices for sugar, the competing global feedstock. TheU.S. is now the world’s leading ethanol producer...

The promotion of biofuel use in preference to traditional petroleum-based transportation fuel has linked agricultural commodity markets and energy markets more closely together. Biofuel policies can involve multiple policy instruments, but studies examining their effects on biofuel feedstock and...

Ensuring that farmers comply with the terms of agri-environmental schemes is an important issue. This paper explores the use of a 'compliance-reward' approach under heterogeneous net compliance costs with respect to cost-share working lands programmes such as the Environmental Quality Incentives...

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS), which involves mandates for various biofuels, is complex and has been often misinterpreted or oversimplified in previous studies. In this paper we analyze the implications of the RFS for the U.S. domestic and international ethanol markets. We...