Sunk costs play a significant role in shaping industry conduct and development outcomes associated "with the resource extraction sector. Their role is explored here by: (1) developing analytical models that show specifically how sunk costs influence investment behavior and outcomes; and (2)...

Agricultural growth in uplands of tropical developing countries is associated with deforestation, land degradation, and diminished watershed function. Using time-series price data from an upland Philippine watershed, we examine market integration and quantify product market links through which...

This paper examines spatial spillovers associated with the adoption of organic dairy farming. We hypothesize that neighboring farmers can help to reduce the uncertainty of organic conversion by lowering the fixed costs of learning about the organic system. A spatially explicit 10-year panel...

This paper investigates the productive value of crop biodiversity, with an application to a farming system in the Tigray region in the highlands of Ethiopia. We examine a general measure of the productive value of crop biodiversity and its components. Using Ethiopian farm-level data,...

This paper investigates the dynamic effects of rainfall shocks on agroecosystems productivity. The analysis estimates a panel data model of cereal production in southern Italy. It documents the adverse effects of a reduction in rainfall on the agroecosystem productivity both in the short run and...