Since the mid-nineties, agricultural economists discuss the suitability of “weather derivatives” as hedging instruments for volumetric risks in agriculture. Contrary to traditional insurance contracts, the payoffs of such derivatives are linked to weather indices (e.g. accumulated rainfall...

Optimization has been recognized as a powerful tool in teaching and research for a long time. In spite of its well known problem solving capacity, some methodological obstacles have persisted over the years. The main problem is that stochastic variables and their correlations cannot be...

Investment decisions are, as a rule, characterized by uncertainty, irreversibility and flexibility. Simple net present value calculations will not account for these features. In many situations even flexible investment planning with decision trees, which represents the most advanced method of...

Since the mid-nineties, agricultural economists discuss the suitability of “weather derivatives†as hedging instruments for volumetric risks in agriculture. Contrary to traditional insurance contracts, the payoffs of such derivatives are linked to weather indices (e.g. accumulated...

In this paper we examine whether there is room for improvement in farm program decisions through the integration of formal mathematical optimisation into the planning process. Probing the potential for improvement, we investigate the cases of four Brandenburg cash crop farms over the last six...

Farmers do not often change from their house bank to another bank, even if the competing banks offer better conditions. This “reluctance to switch” can be explained, on the one hand, by the transaction costs resulting from such a change of business relation. On the other hand, it may be the...

Die Effizienzanalyse mit Hilfe der Data-Envelopment-Analyse (DEA) stellt ein weit verbreitetes Verfahren zur vergleichenden Einschätzung der empirischen Performanz von Entscheidungseinheiten (z.B. Unternehmen) dar. Angesichts „boomender“ Anwendungen auf eine Vielzahl...

In this paper we develop a theoretical model that links dynamic efficiency measurement and optimal investment under uncertainty. It is widely acknowledged that uncertainty has an impact on the optimal factor use of a profit maximizing firm. This is particularly true for the optimal adjustment of...

In this paper we analyse agricultural land prices in the German Federal State of Brandenburg within the period 2000-2011. Our objective is to understand the price formation process in foreclosures. One effect of foreclosures relates to pressured sales, which likely lead to a price discount, and...

Among the family-farms in western Germany, significant regional differences are observable. They exist not only with respect to present farm-structure but also with respect to patterns of structural change. In the present paper, the different farm-development-strategies that cause these regional...