"In this study, two non-homothetic translog stochastic meta-frontier cost functions-with and without local concavity imposed-are estimated using a nonlinear maximum likelihood estimation procedure to compare the cost efficiency of Alberta and Ontario dairy farms for the period 1984-96. The...

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how farm-level modelers can best extend their research to address issues broader than just farm income. The paper describes how trade-off curves are a valuable tool for summarizing the missing information to policy makers on economic problems related to...

Under heavy development pressure, farmland is rapidly being converted to non-agricultural uses such as houses, roads, and recreational facilities. A great deal of research has investigated these farmland losses and their associated drivers. However, the existing empirical studies have neglected...

We simulate a theoretical agent-based model of opinion dynamics in a two-party framework that captures the effects of social pressures that compel individuals to publicly conform to their party line even when they may disagree with it privately. The results of our model indicate that opinions...

The mad cow disease crisis in the United Kingdom (U.K.) was a major policy disaster. The government and public health officials failed to identify the risk to humans, created tremendous uncertainty regarding the human risks once they were identified, and undertook a series of policies that...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) balances risks and benefits before approving pharmaceuticals, as rationality would require. But powerful behavioral biases that lead to the mishandling of uncertainty also influence its approval process. The FDA places inordinate emphasis on errors of...

ABSTRACT This article estimates whether there is a cancer risk premium for the value of a statistical life using stated preference valuations of cancer risks for a large, nationally representative US sample. The present value of an expected cancer case that occurs after a one decade latency...