Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to use the DuPont expansion to examine those factors underlying differences in (rates of) return on different crop portfolios over space (ten regions) and time (1960-2004). The paper also estimates the impact of government payments on farmland values...

Hotter countries are poorer on average. This paper attempts to separate the historical and contemporaneous components of this income-temperature relationship. Following ideas by Acemoglu et al. (Am Econ Rev 91(5):1369-1401, 2001), we use colonial mortality data to account for the historical role...

To analyze U.S. consumers' brand choices for cheese purchases, we derive a set of discrete-choice models from dynamic utility maximization. ACNielsen Homescan Survey data on U.S. households is used to estimate a dynamic probit model for each of the top brands for cheddar, shredded, and sliced...

To remain viable, agriculture in each location must offer returns that are competitive with those from alternative investments and sufficient to cover producers' financial obligations. Economic theory says that rates of return converge over time as resources flow into more-profitable industries...