A dual cost function approach is developed as an alternative to time series and simplistic approaches for estimating farmers' expected operating rates of return on assets. A translog restricted cost function is estimated using data provided by 152 North Carolina dairy farmers over the period...

A capitalization approach is used to estimate econometrically the effects of exchange rate, interest rate and tax law changes on thoroughbred yearling prices. The analysis found that exchange rate and tax law changes have significantly influenced yearling prices since the early 1980s. Another...

Whether or not privatization facilitates rural development depends upon what rural development means. In practice, rural development often is the result of a struggle between rent defenders and rent seekers. A positivist concept of rural development is proposed, and the institutions of public...

Problems of instability and disequilibrium in U.S. agriculture are synthesized within a single conceptual framework. Agricultural and non-agricultural sector offer curves are used to illustrate why it may not be feasible to achieve and maintain equilibrium and price stability in U.S....

The economic viability of the Boll Weevil Eradication program in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia is assessed based on a five-year survey of producers. Results indicate the program increases yield 100 pounds per acre. This implies a 19 percent internal rate of return for producers over a ten year...

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the strategic forces shaping U.S.-Mexico trade relationships and the possibilities of extending the trade agreement to the rest of the Americas. The paper concludes that constituency interests, party loyalty, the proportion of a state's population of...

Market forces, when viewed from the perspective of faculty salaries alone, clearly indicate that the highest and best use of a faculty member's time and expertise is no longer university employment. As a result, many productive faculty members are becoming increasingly dissatisfied, and many top...

Several common flexible functional forms are evaluated for Texas agricultural production utilizing three procedures. Nested hypothesis tests indicate that the normalized quadratic is the marginally-preferred functional form followed by the generalized Leontief. Predictive accuracy results are...

This study analyses the effects of specific agricultural and exchange rate policies on tobacco production in the Dominican Republic. Direct protection resulting from output and input subsidies and taxes was positive on average from 1966 to 1988, but total protection was negative when exchange...

A set of ordinary and inverse demand systems for U.S. quarterly meat consumption is estimated for use to measure the effects of U.S. meat trade on consumers' welfare. The approach is useful to incorporate all direct- and cross-commodity effects into price forecasting and the Hicksian...