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...

We analyze the potential impact of continuing the existing U.S. sugar program, replacing it with a standard program, and implementing the standard program with multilateral trade liberalization. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), duty-free sugar imports from Mexico will...

The producer support estimate (the successor to the producer support equivalent) calculated by the OECD is widely used as an indicator of distortions created by agricultural policies. In this paper we demonstrate that changes in the relative (percentage) PSE are not an accurate indicator of the...

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...

This paper focuses on the compatibility of U.S. agri-environmental programs with the Green Box provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). If a new WTO agreement is concluded under the current Doha round of negotiations, it is likely that the amount of payments that can be...

Economists have rarely considered the implications of taxation systems for the agricultural sector. Management specialists and accountants have usually approached theissue from the perspective of how farmers and landowners can avoid it. Little has been written on the extent to which the special...

Global trade system is witnessing an unprecedented increase in food safety and quality standards. Changes in the structure of the world trade affect the welfare of farmers and consumers, destinations of exports, and the dynamics behind the exporters compliance decisions with these non-tariff...

Agri-environmental programs have become popular in many countries as a means of improving environmental quality. In the United States, recent Farm Bills have progressively expanded the number and range of these programs beyond soil conservation to water quality and other issues. Economists have...