My philosophical case study concerns textbook presentations of the theory of demand. Does this theory contain anything more than just a collection of tautologies? In order to determine its empirical content, it must be viewed holistically. But then, the theory implies false factual claims. We...

A number of studies have applied non-market valuation techniques to measure the value of cultural goods. Virtually all of these studies are single case applications and rely mostly on stated preferences, such as contingent valuation techniques. We compare the relative value of multiple,...

A novel procedure is described for accelerating the convergence of Markov chain Monte Carlo computations. The algorithm uses an adaptive bootstrap technique to generate candidate steps in the Markov Chain. It is efficient for symmetric, convex probability distributions, similar to multivariate...

O agronegócio do Leite desempenha um papel importante dentro do setor agropecuário; todavia, tem sofrido os efeitos das diversas políticas macroeconômicas e setoriais. De forma semelhante, o agronegócio do leite tem relevância para o estado de Rondônia. A característica da produção no...

A manufacturer, in a fast moving consumer goods industry, buys Nat-ural oils from a number of oil suppliers world-wide. The prices of theseoils are the major raw material cost in producing the consumer goods,which are also sold world-wide. The volatility in the international pricesof the Natural...