Decision theory affords a means for the objectively rational use of information in decision-making. Concern has been expressed from time to time that the application of decision theory is, or is sometimes, of doubtful appropriateness. In this paper an attempt is made to identify a principal...

Hierarchical Decision Models of woolproducers’ decisions provide unique insights into the impact of major price changes. Producers’ lagged response in some contexts appear to be due to the ambiguous decision environment they face, their strategic goals and responses to that environment apart...

World-wide consumer response toward food products made from genetically modified ingredients has been largely negative. However, the majority of the previous studies on consumer attitudes towards genetically modified food products were conducted in developed countries in Europe as well as Japan....

Australian urban water utilities face a significant challenge in designing appropriate demand management and supply augmentation policies in the presence of increasing water scarcity and uncertainty over future dam inflows. This paper considers the design of optimal demand management and supply...

Farms systems are open to financial systems. Financing matters. Analysis of questions about management of farms is a multi-dimensional task; focusing on economic efficiency only partly does the job. A financial system channeling funds efficiently from the non-farm sector to the farm sector,...

Risk of establishment of the freshwater climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) in mainland Queensland from the Torres Strait is high. The species is dispersed through human assistance and/or attributes that assist its own spread. The species has the potential to out-compete native freshwater and...

The onus on landholders in relation to environmental performance is ever increasing. One tool for achieving environmental improvements is the design and promotion of region-specific ‘best management practices’ (BMPs). These are conservation practices aimed at reducing diffuse source...

One approach to rationalising policies for addressing potentially catastrophic climate change when such policies may prove unnecessary is to suppose the policies provide a form of social insurance even in the presence of pure uncertainty. Then, provided the policies are effective, such insurance...

This article analyses the risk-return efficiency of limits to which loan pricing accounts for credit risk in the Australian-farm sector. A key issue faced by banks is the trade-off between raising returns through higher risk premiums and the possibility of impairing credit quality. The...