This paper examines the relationship between uncertainty and investment decisions by food and non-food firms. Using hysteresis and the real options paradigm, we review why uncertainty might cause firms to delay investment. In particular, our model looks for a negative relationship between...

Theoretical arguments suggest that diversification has both value-enhancing and value-reducing effects. Several finance studies have found that the average diversified firm is worth less than a portfolio of comparable single-segment firms. In agriculture, farms have different characteristics and...