In this article I discuss the nature of ethical dilemmas and responsibilities. I begin by noting that there are two types of dilemmas, philosophical and behavioral. I distinguish between them, give examples, and explain why it is important to understand their differences. I also use the...

We investigate the relationship between exposure to "authoritarian" or "autocratic" institutions for prolonged periods of time and long-term economic development. Specifically, we examine how the length of time a country's regime was authoritarian between 1920 and 2000 is correlated with...

According to New Institutional Economics, transactional activities, governance structures, institutions and beliefs and values are related hierarchally. Each element must be aligned with the adjacent level for transaction costs to be minimized. This framework is applied to the question of...

This paper examines technical efficiency of more separated ownership and control (SOC) grain and oilseed farms relative to combined ownership and control (COC) in the U.S. Theory has provided specific benefits to why SOC firms can be more efficient, thus more likely to survive, despite SOC being...

According to New Home Economics, valuations of household production based on opportunity cost and market price methods should produce similar estimates. Data from the National Survey of Family and Households are used to assess the extent to which the opportunity cost and market price methods of...

We empirically examine the reporting on biotechnology in Kenyan and international newspapers between 2010 and early 2014. We identify news articles that reported on biotechnology and analyze their use of words to determine if there is a balance in the reporting of perceived risks and benefits....

This paper distinguishes between two types of ethical problems. A Type I ethical problem is one in which there is no consensus as to what is ethical. A Type II ethical problem is one in which there is a consensus as to what is ethical, but incentives exist for individuals to behave unethically....

Genetically modified cassava is currently being developed to address problems of diseases that threaten the food security of farmers in developing countries. The technologies are aimed at smallholder farmers, in hopes of reducing the vulnerability of cassava production to these diseases. In this...

Promoting ethical behavior in business requires an understanding of why and when seemingly good people do unethical things. Research on this issue consists of theoretical models of moral decision-making and empirical studies of the ethical sensitivity, attitudes and behaviors of people in a...

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that governance structure and contractual form are two distinct concepts and that they should not be used interchangeably in both theoretical and empirical studies of transaction cost economics. Specifically, the choice of governance structure does not...