We extend data envelopment analysis (DEA) to decompose the economic efficiency of a sample of ethanol plants into internal (technical and allocative) and boundary (marketing) sources. This decomposition allows us to evaluate the channels through which different plant characteristics affect plant...

The objective of this paper is to characterize the production of roses at the region of Barbacena and to identify its transactionattributes, that is, asset specificity, transaction frequency, and uncertainty. The research is based on the theoretical framework of theNew Institutions Economy which...

O presente artigo refere-se ao estudo e comparação dos padrões sazonais de comportamentodos preços do amendoim no período de janeiro 1996 a dezembro de 2005. Constata-se quefatores sazonais, safra e entressafra, de fato influenciam o comportamento e a oscilação depreços no mercado de...

De modo geral, assume-se, com freqüência, que na agricultura operam-se retornos constantesde escala. É interessante verificar essa hipótese para o caso da fruticultura, um setor dinâmico,ou seja, com elasticidade-preço da demanda maior do que um. Para ver isso, adotou-se umaabordagem da...

Under the TRIPs Agreement, all member-countries of the World Trade Organization are required to provide an "effective" system of plant variety protection within a specific time frame. In many developing countries this has led to a divisive debate about the fundamental desirability of extending...

Whereas water is an important input in rice production, China faces severe problems with increasing demand for water and limited water resources. In conventional paddy production, one of the most important irrigated crops, a significant amount of irrigation water is lost due to percolation and...

This research estimates the annual economic impact of the fire ant on key urban sectors in Texas. A study was conducted in 1998-1999 in the 5 metroplexes of Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston to estimate the costs of controlling and managing fire ants (Lard, et al). This study...

The imported fire ant has become a major economic pest to various sectors of the Texas economy. In order to determine the economic impact of this pest on selected urban areas, an economic study was conducted in 1998-1999 in the 5 metroplexes of Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston...

This report evaluates the U.S. and world sugar markets for 2004-2013 using the Global Sugar Policy Simulation Model. This analysis is based on assumptions about general economic conditions, agricultural policies, population growth, weather conditions, and technological changes.Both the U.S. and...

The prospective commercialization of GM traits leads to several strategic questions for agbiotechnology and seed firms. Important issues addressed in this study include the method of trait commercialization by agbiotechnology firms and variety production decisions by seed firms. Specifically,...