This paper proposes a nonparametric bias-reduction regression estimator which can accommodate two empirically relevant data environments. The first data environment assumes that at least one of the predictor variables is discrete. In such an empirical framework, a "cell" approach, which consists...

The identification of improved methods for characterizing crop yield densities has experienced a recent surge in activity due in part to the central role played by crop insurance in the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (estimates of yield densities are required for the determination of...

The main objective of this study is to compare the impacts of government payments and crop insurance policies on the use of futures and options measured from a downside risk hedge model with the impacts analyzed by the expected utility (EU) hedge model. Understanding the effects of...

Agricultural economists have for many decades concerned ourselves with gaining an understanding of individual behavior when confronted with risk, and developing tools to address decision-making under risk. This area of research has recently gained renewed attention for a variety of reasons. This...