This report is part of an educational series on Texas state and local taxes and public expenditures. State and local government expenditures per capita and per $1,000 of personal income in Texas are compared with those of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. For each expenditure the...

We compare nonparametric and nonstructural market power tests using data from the cigarette manufacturing industry. Tests are implemented to examine both monopoly and monopsony power exertion by cigarette manufacturers. Results indicate that market power in the tobacco industry, previously...

Monopsony power by cigarette manufacturers in procuring domestic and imported tobacco is investigated using a nonparametric method previously developed by Love and Shumway. Their test is extended to assess monopsony market power in multiple input markets. Results indicate that cigarette...

Experimental subjects receive a different presentation of a food product's potential health risk reductions if people habitually eat it, and then asked to bid for the product. Results suggest that the bids vary across the groups that receive differing risk information.

Agribusinesses in the cattle-beef sector use information from both external sources and proprietary sources in the management decision making process. This research reports the results of personal interviews with employees at all levels of the beef market channel, covering the information...

The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (FAIR Act) introduces several significant changes to farm commodity legislation. While these changes impact all program commodities, they have prompted considerable concern for the future of the Texas rice industry. Changes in the farm...

Understanding the role of health information in food and nutrient demand has become an important issue over the last decade. Endogeneity and measurement error are two empirical problems that are inherent in this type of analysis. While some type of instrumental variables estimation would appear...

The Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA) amendments of 1990 strengthened air pollution regulation as it affects stationary sources such as cotton gins. Because investments in air pollution systems are sometimes substantial, a financial burden may be placed on gin plant firms that results in insolvency...

Churchill County, Nevada had approximately 23,000 residents, with an estimated 13,500 who relied on private wells for water supply in 2002. This study examined exposure to arsenic in water supplies among residents with private domestic wells and factors related to householder choice to consume...