We use the October 2008 Countrywide legal settlement as a natural experiment to investigate how borrowers may change their payment behavior to be eligible for loan modifications. We find that the Countrywide modification program induces strategic default among both borrowers current in their...

Organic soymilk has been one of the fastest growing products in the organic food sector in recent years. Due to the shortage of domestically grown organic soybeans, outsourcing became a practice in the industry. It was estimated by some industry insiders that about 50% of organic soybeans...

This paper draws on the theory of product differentiation in a trade context and uses three case studies to highlight the conditions necessary for a successful geographical-origin branding strategy for farm produce in the United States. In so doing, the U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL)...

We study the impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on corn, wheat, and soybean futures prices. The war provides a natural experiment to evaluate whether futures markets are driven by investor herding. Using event study methods, we find that wheat futures prices rose by 30 percent above...

Environmental regulation of agriculture is becoming increasingly important, and growers are increasingly concerned about the effects of regulations on their profitability. Regulations governing the use of a pesticide affect its economic value. Further, growers often face a choice among pesticide...