Am 2. Februar 2005 hat die Europäische Kommission den Neustart der Lissabon-Strategie für die Europäische Union (EU) verkündet. Diese Strategie soll die Grundlage bilden für die Bewältigung des dringenden Bedarfs der EU an mehr Wirtschaftswachstum, Arbeitsplätzen und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit...

Im klassischen Ansatz der Agrarökonomie zur Analyse der Agrarpolitik findet die agrarpolitische Willensbildung noch keinen unmittelbaren Eingang. Die vorliegenden Beiträge beschäftigen sich mit unterschiedlichen theoretischen und angewandten quantitativen polit-ökonomischen Ansätzen zur...

Die Analyse der Auswirkungen von Agrarpolitiken ist in der Regel sehr komplex und erfordert eine detaillierte Modellierung des Angebots- und Nachfrageverhaltens im Agrarsektor. Eine empirische Anwendung setzt daher eine angemessene ökonomische Theorie sowie fortgeschrittene quantitative...

The main goal of this dissertation is to investigate the complex rural sector for two of the poorest countries in Central America, Honduras and Nicaragua. The first essay analyzes the main determinants of farm labor productivity and off-farm labor supply by heads and spouses in rural Nicaragua....

The first essay proposes to test the Grossman and Helpman "Protection for Sale" model using data from the U.S. food processing industries at the 4-digit level. The Grossman and Helpman model departs from previous frameworks of trade protection in that it provides micro-foundations to the...

This dissertation provides a robust assessment of value surfaces and the potential for benefit transfer (BT) in the international context of coral reef. Environmental values are considered as useful tools to improve management of these declining ecosystems. Nevertheless, primary valuation is...

The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of the introduction of an environmental product standard on trade flows and social welfare. Since product standards may affect the environmental friendliness of a product, we build a theoretical framework that allows us to:...

The timber harvesting and investment behavior of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners is critical to the national timber budget. Nearly sixty percent of the commercial timber land in the United States is held by NIPF owners, yet these lands supply less than one-half of the annual timber...

This dissertation consists of three essays of empirical industrial organization. Chapter one applies the Becker-Murphy (1988) theory of rational addiction to the case of carbonated soft drinks, using a time-varying parameter model and scanner data from 46 U.S. cities. The empirical results show...

This study empirically investigates the political and economic factors influencing post-independence cereals pricing (Maize, wheat and rice) in Kenya. The study applies interest group theories of government and rent seeking as advanced in public choice literature to explain Kenya's cereal price...