Price elasticities and flexibilities for frozen dessert products were estimated from weekly scanner data, with emphasis on functional form selection, system misspecification testing, and endogeneity testing. Reciprocals of elasticities and elasticity matrix inversion were invalid means of...

An evaluation of the risk-reducing effectiveness of the Livestock Gross Margin–Dairy (LGM-Dairy) insurance program, using historical futures price data, predicts economically significant reductions in downside margin risk (24–41%) across multiple regions. Supply analysis based on...

Some suppliers of broilers without giblets (WOG) offer customers a choice between paying Urner Barry's WOG quote or a formula price based on futures prices. From a buyer's perspective, the formula price examined in this study is second-degree stochastic dominant. The formula price allows the...

We propose a market-based approach to reducing the environmental risk posed by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The dual problems of hidden information and hidden action faced by policymakers are considered alongside the competing incentives faced by the CAFO manager in a multiple...

While a carbon market offers substantial opportunities for US agriculture, regional differences in such a market are often ignored. This paper focuses on the advantages and challenges for agriculture in the South. The potential of two promising options are analyzed: conversion from cropland to...

This article challenges the traditional model of the economist as a humble technocrat who simply provides analysis given the preferences of policy decision-makers. Since decision-makers rarely reveal their preferences, it is important that the would-be policy research/analyst know the political...

The 1996 Farm Act and the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act are recent examples of policy changes that have increased risks for U.S. farmers. New products are emerging to help farmers manage risks. This article examines some of the policy changes, farmer responses, and new risk-sharing products....

This study demonstrates how contingent valuation techniques can be used in a cost-benefit analysis of a food safety policy issue. The analysis focuses on banning a specific post harvest pesticide used in fresh grapefruit packinghouses. Benefits of the ban are measured using consumers' aggregated...