There is a paucity of data and basic research needed for policy analysis in Morocco. Subjective estimates for elasticities are currently used in making policy recommendations. An Almost Ideal Demand System model is used to estimate demand elasticities for beef, mutton, poultry, and fish in...

Nonfarm investors might benefit from diversifying their portfolios by investing in the agricultural sector. Such diversifying investments could include investments in agricultural stocks or long-only futures positions through index funds. The papers in this session investigate the...

Small communities sometimes increase their local sales tax rate in order to maintain or expand public services. The question addressed here is what is the net effect of changing sales tax rates on revenues from sales taxes? Using both semiparametric and nonparametric regression, we find retail...

Many previous studies provide pricing models of options on futures spreads. However, none of them fully reflect the economic reality that spreads can stay near full carry for long periods of time. We suggest a new option pricing model that assumes that convenience yield follows arithmetic...

While considerable research has estimated liquidity costs of futures trading, little comparable research is available about options markets. This study determines effective bid-ask spreads in options and futures markets for Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) wheat. Effective bid-ask spreads are...

The Indian government procures rice from wholesalers or producers at a price below the market price and then distributes it to low-income consumers at a subsidized price. This paper uses a simulataneous equations econometric model to evaluate the effects of this policy on supply/demand of rice...

Niger has two separate marketing channels for grain: one is the official system operated by the government; the other is a parallel channel of private traders. Researchers or policymakers wanting to study effects of price policies on producers are faced with two sets of prices. This paper seeks...

This paper reports the results of a study of the effects of the Indian government's consumer subsidies on wheat demand. Results indicate consumption of subsidized wheat is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The public distribution of wheat in most states had little effect on demand in...

ACox nonnested test is conducted using a fast double bootstrap (FDB) method to select among three competing functional forms (linear response plateau, quadratic, and Mitscherlich-Baule) to model forage yield response to nitrogen applied with swine effluent. The quadratic is rejected in favor of...