Australia's climate is characterized by highly variable rainfall. As a consequence, many aspects of riverine ecosystems need both very wet and very dry periods to function effectively. This contrasts with water demands from industrial and agricultural sectors, which place a premium on access to...

Technical efficiency has been widely studied in the literature, but in its pursuit, many of the inputs used can impact on the environment. Environmental effects can be modelled as undesirable output or, as has been the case in more recent studies, as conventional inputs. This paper examines the...

The paper presents an integrated framework of biophysical and economic modelling as a novel approach towards precision agriculture research. A theoretical economic model determining the optimal number of precision agriculture management units within a given field of land is presented. The model...

This paper presents a multi-product price linked spatial equilibrium model of world steel trade. The model is used to analyse the impacts of the safeguard trade barriers brought about by the United States in order to protect their domestic industry from so called unfair competition. Emphasis is...

Agriculture contributes significantly to the emissions of greenhouse gases in the EU. By using a farm-type, linear-programming based model of the European agricultural supply, we first assess the initial levels of methane and nitrous oxide emissions at the regional level in the EU. For a range...

This paper develops methods to quantify weather derivatives and yield index insurance. These are exotic options that differ from financial options in several ways. The underlying random variable is not a price but a quantity such as millimeters of rainfall. Instead of option "pricing", a method...

The view that the price of water is too low and that water does not flow to its highest value end use, have led many analysts to conclude that a market for water, in which price can adjust to accommodate changes in the supply and demand for the product, is essential. However, this solution...

An exotic disease incursion management model was developed to estimate the regional economy effects of a potential karnal bunt incursion in south eastern Queensland. By developing an agent based spatial model that integrates the biophysical aspects of the disease incursion with the agricultural...

The dynamic process of market globalisation dictates that biological, technological and institutional changes have the capacity to alter the way in which future biosecurity policies are formulated and endorsed. This paper proposes a method of carrying out biosecurity risk profiling for the...

It is notoriously difficult to assess the economic value of research aimed at improving research capacity, particularly in enhancing human capital. In this paper, a framework is developed and an analysis is undertaken of the value of training for scientists in wheat rust resistance in India. The...