Climate is the primary determinant of agricultural productivity. In many parts of the world, including the United States, one can trace much of the year-to-year variations in climate to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon. In 1997-98 the world experienced a severe El event and this is...

Hurricanes have caused substantial damage in parts of the U.S. Damages are increasing, perhaps as part of a natural cycle or perhaps in part related to global warming. This paper examines the economic damages that hurricanes cause to U.S. agriculture, estimates the increased damage from an...

We develop a real option model of the irreversible native grassland conversion decision. Upon plowing, native grassland can be followed by either a permanent cropping system or a system in which land is put under cropping (respectively, grazing) whenever crop prices are high (respectively, low)....

This paper develops a spatial equilibrium model suitable to analyze the economic impacts of measures (such as isolation distances and buffer zones) meant to ensure coexistence between GM and non-GM crops. We show that policies that put the cost of such measures exclusively on GM producers lead...

Rate setting procedures for United States crop yield and revenue insurance contracts employ methods that presume correlations to be state invariant. Whether this is true matters. If yield-yield correlations strengthen when crops are subject to widespread stress, then diversification...

Many decisions in agriculture are made over combinations of inputs and/or practices that may be complements. The presence of complementarity among producer decisions can have deep implications for market outcomes and for the effectiveness of policies intended to influence them. Identifying...

In this study, the linear approximate version of the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model is estimated using data from the Lithuanian household budget survey covering the period from July 1992 to December 1994. Based on the estimated coefficients of the model, Hossain and Jensen estimated...

Meat consumption patterns have changed in the United States. A cursory inspection of the disappearance statistics for meat in the United States reveals that generally, the consumption of red meats has decreased or remained constant while the consumption of poultry and other meats has increased....

A simultaneous equation model of the soybean sector in Taiwan is developed and estimated. The model integrates domestic supply and demand for soybeans, soymeal, and soyoil, in addition to the livestock market. The impacts of economic growth and policy changes upon the soybean market are...

Argentina is the world's second largest exporter of grains, oilseeds, and oilseed products. Traditionally, Argentina's economic policies have taxed the agricultural sector, which produces goods for exports, to subsidize the mostly insulated industrial sector. Despite this unfavorable treatment,...