An option-value model is developed to analyze the impacts of output price uncertainty, high sunk costs of adoption, and site-specific conditions on the optimal timing of adoption of two interrelated site-specific technologies, soil testing and variable rate technology (VRT). The model...

This analysis is motivated by recognition that anti-poverty interventions often affect both the level and composition of assets held by beneficiaries. To assess the conventional view that assets uniformly improve childhood development through wealth effects, we use three waves of panel data from...

This paper presents a multi-market model of animal disease control that extends the current literature by accounting for spatial and inter-temporal relations in both epidemiological and economic variables. The model is applied to Foot and Mouth Disease control in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay,...

This paper develops an option value model to examine the extent to which output price uncertainty creates incentives to adopt two interrelated components of site-specific technologies sequentially. It analyzes how the impact of uncertainty on the sequential adoption decision differs across...

This paper examines the impact of price uncertainty on farmers' adoption decision in site specific crop management using an option value model. It shows that price uncertainty could lead farmers to delay the investment 3 to 25 years as opposed to the net present value rule. Immediate investment...

"Recent increases in cereals prices raise questions about agricultural priorities in Ghana. This report presents an application of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to the problem of identifying opportunities to enhance agriculture’s contribution to economic growth and poverty alleviation...

This paper demonstrates that the conventional Domestic Resource Cost (DRC) indicator is biased against factor-intensive, low-input techniques, and that a simple Social Cost-Benefit (SCB) ratio is generally a more appropriate measure of economic efficiency. The potential policy significance of...

Whether farmers form price expectations adaptively or in a forward-looking manner has implications for supply response analysis and for the implementation of agricultural policy reform. This paper examines the formation of price expectations by Kenyan export-crop farmers who market their produce...

Over the years, the sugar sector has experienced tremendous growth which has been driven by increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO 2013), raw sugar production rose from 135,000 tons in 1990 to 430,500 tons by 2012,...

This paper applies an option-pricing model to analyze the impact of uncertainty about output prices and expectations of declining fixed costs on the optimal timing of investment in site-specific crop management (SSCM). It also analyzes the extent to which the level of spatial variability in soil...