Despite the rapid producer adoption of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) in recent years, the economic advantage of hybrid rice in the mid-Southern United States remains disputed. This study compares the economic risk and return of three popularly sown hybrid rice varieties: XL723, Clearfield® (CL)...

The interconnections of agriculture and energy markets have increased through the rise in the new biofuel agribusinesses and the oil–ethanol–corn linkages. The question is whether these linkages have a causal structure by which oil prices affect commodity prices and through these links,...

This study investigates the optimal agricultural land use allocation and nitrogen application to arepresentative Japanese farm. The site-specific nature of numerous agri-environmental issues necessitates analysis ata disaggregated level in order to capture the underlying heterogeneity of...

This article tests the efficiency of the hog options market and assesses the impact of the 1996 contract redesign on efficiency. We find that the hog options market is efficient, but some options yielded excess returns during the live hogs period but not during the lean hogs period. Our findings...

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 Neoclassical theory of production establishes a dual relationship between the profit value function of a competitive firm and its underlying production technology. This relationship, usually referred to as the duality theory, has been widely used in empirical work to estimate production...

We theoretically examine a farmer’s coverage demand with area and individual insurance plans as either separate or integrated options. The individual and area losses are assumed to be imperfectly and positively correlated. With actuarially fair rates, the farmer will fully insure with the...

This report sets out some broad ideas about how poverty evaluation could be conducted for ACIAR research projects. As with good benefit–cost analysis, there are good practices that need to be observed when undertaking poverty analysis. While poverty is a broad concept, and can be addressed...

Published in BioResources, Volume 4, Number 3, 2009, Pages 1070-1087.