Two policy goals dominate United States' agricultural programs: voluntary land retirement for environmental purposes and countercyclical income support. Traditionally, these goals have been pursued with separate policies. This policy separation is efficient with perfect information regarding...

In this dissertation, a state-contingent, principal-agent model is developed to examine the institution of input provision by a corporate firm that contracts with agents for the production of a given commodity. "Input provision" entails not only the provision and delivery of key inputs by the...