Defining appropriate probability distributions for the variables in an economic model is an important and often arduous task. This paper evaluates the performance of several common probability distributions under different distributional assumptions when sample sizes are small and there is...

A recent paper by Hardaker et al. (The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 48, 2004a, 253) and book by Hardaker et al. (Coping with Risk in Agriculture, 2004b) describe a procedure for determining an efficient set from among a set of random alternatives. This procedure,...

Evaluating the risk of a particular decision depends on the risk aversion of the decision maker related to the underlying utility function. The objective of this paper is to use stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF) to compare the ranking of risky alternatives using alternative...

A particular numerical analytical technique for solving systems of simultaneous equations which offers several advantages to the user over other numerical techniques is discussed. The Gauss-Seidel algorithm is simply an iterative technique which requires no derivatives, matrix inversion,...

This paper examines the magnitude of error associated with linear approximations of nonlinear variables based on Taylor's Series. Little attention has been given to the error term in previous empirical studies. This paper presents the mathematical technique for the single-variable and...

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/04/08.

The probability of success for an immigrating Dutch dairy farmer was analyzed using a whole farm simulation model. Data used to simulate the U.S. farms came from the AFPC's database of representative U.S. dairies and projected mean annual prices from FAPRI. Data on the Dutch dairy used for...

Three marketing strategies (selling a put option, cash sale at harvest, and cash sale in June) are simulated based on historical values and ranked based on certainty equivalents for a representative irrigated and dryland cotton farm Scenario analysis is also used to compare varying yield values.