This paper investigates the determinants of efficiency and technological progress at US research universities. It relies on a unique panel data set of multiple outputs and inputs from 92 universities covering the period 1981-1998. Over that time span, US universities experienced large increases...

This article proposes a semi-parametric stochastic frontier model (SPSF) in which components of the technology and of technical efficiency are represented using semi-parametric methods and estimated in a Bayesian framework. The approach is illustrated in an application to US farm data. The...

The paper investigates price dynamics under market liberalization, with a focus on the effects of lowering price floors. We analyze price dynamics by specifying and estimating a dynamic Tobit model under time-varying volatility, where the market price is censored by a government-set support...

This paper presents an econometric analysis of the effects of price support program and stocks on price dynamics and price volatility. Considering a price support program as a censoring scheme, market prices are specified as a dynamic Tobit model under time varying volatility. The model is...

The paper investigates the implications of hedonic pricing of components, with an application to the dynamics of dairy product prices. A conceptual model of hedonic pricing is developed under a Leontief technology, showing how commodity prices reflect the underlying value of their components....

This paper presents an econometric analysis of the effects of price support programs and stocks on price dynamics and price volatility. Considering a price support program as a censoring mechanism, market prices are specified as a dynamic Tobit model with time varying volatility. The model is...

This paper proposes a new way to evaluate the role of profitability and risk in the dairy industry, one that incorporates the effects of uncertainty about future returns when investments are irreversible, or sunk. The usefulness of this new approach is demonstrated by the light it sheds on...

The implications of sunk costs for many key questions in agricultural economics have yet to be explored. This paper uses a dynamic model of investment behavior to explore how sunk costs can shape market outcomes in ways that might not match predictions of standard competitive models. Applying...