Agency theory explanations for agricultural contract designs are often observationally equivalent to perfect information explanations. Further in order to test properly the hypothesis that moral hazard is important one must first test and accept the hypothesis that agents respond to contract...

We utilize an unusual data set, involving fifteen tomato growers over four years, to analyze the impact of incentive contracts on behavior. Each grower delivers processing tomatoes under a price incentives contract and for a fixed price per ton. Our comparison of the quality of the tomatoes...

Prior to the 2000 planting season, some industry observers predicted acreage of genetically modified crops would decline dramatically. However, actual 2000 plantings presented a puzzle. Farmers reduced their acreage of genetically modified corn, but concurrently increased their acreage of...

Farmers now choose production systems rather than individual inputs. This change may limit biotechnology innovation rents. We model a corn farmer's production choice among four systems: traditional, herbicide-resistant, insect resistant, and high-oil. We compare actual seed and chemical prices...

Controversy over the use of genetically engineered (GE) crops may have induced some farmers to disadopt these seeds, making a traditional diffusion model inappropriate. In this study, we develop and estimate a dynamic diffusion model, examine the diffusion paths of GE corn, soybeans, and cotton,...

Privatization and market liberalization are widely considered to be complementary reforms in transition economies. This paper challenges this view and closely related "big bang" approach to economic reform. Our analysis suggests that when pursued too vigorously, privatization may actually impede...