This study examines the impact of macroeconomic shocks on the efficiency of small farmers. We estimate single- and multiple-factor efficiency measures for Indonesian rice farmers in years before, during, and after the country's macroeconomic crisis. We find that productive efficiency declined by...

The structure of the pork production, slaughter, and processing sectors in Mexico has changed significantly since implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and with rising income and increased urbanization. Today, Mexico's pork industry has become more integrated and...

Income, region, education, and household demographics are among the significant determinants of alcohol expenditures according to this study. The authors examine the determinants of household alcohol expenditures by using a nonnormal and heteroskedastic double-hurdle model to accommodate zero...

Food assistance programs play an important role in meeting the basic needs of low-income households. We consider the complex interactions among food stamps, labor force participation, and food insecurity status of low-income households under different program designs and economic conditions. The...

China's bilateral trade in food and agricultural products has grown dramatically since the country's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, the country faces significant problems related to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) compliance because of increasing concerns about food...

Hypothetical bias is a persistent problem in stated preference studies. We propose and test a method for reducing hypothetical bias based on the cognitive dissonance literature in social psychology. A central element of this literature is that people prefer not to take inconsistent stands and...

A 1996 welfare act that allows states more leeway in designing their own welfare programs is expected to dramatically change the role of local governments with respect to human service delivery programs. It is important that policymakers and local officials understand how changes are likely to...

Production data on more than 11,000 state and collective farms in Ukraine were obtained through the VASKhNIL Research Agreement between the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University and the Ukrainian Institute of Agrarian Economics. Of particular interest to...

A mixed probit model was applied to survey data to analyze consumers' willingness to buy apples with cosmetic damage caused by the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) disease complex. The analysis finds consumers will pay a premium for organic production methods and for apples with low amounts of...

Beef is a heterogeneous commodity, which makes it difficult to compare beef prices in an international level. This paper evaluates several methods of comparing beef prices to be used in measuring both comparative advantage and protection. The most suitable method is one that compares the prices...