This article shows how the solution to the promotion problem--—the problem of locating the optimal level of advertising in a downstream market--—can be derived simply, empirically, and robustly through the application of some simple calculus and Bayesian econometrics. We derive the...

This note shows how the solution to the promotion problem—the problem of locating the optimal level of advertising in a downstream market—can be motivated simply, diagrammatically, and without the need to resort to complicated mathematical arguments. The optimality condition is for...

We examine the role that habit plays when producers determine their hedge ratio. Data were collected from U.S. cotton growers in which they indicated their hedging position in 2001 and 2002 as well as their perceived profitability, land ownership structure, and income. To account for...

What makes agriculture especially deserving of an active government safety net? What is different about agricultural production? Are we concerned about a safe and reliable food supply or about farmers' incomes and returns to assets? Those who make farm policy base their arguments on all of these...