Contracts are widely used by agricultural processors for purchasing inputs not only in developed countries but also in developing countries such as China. The total number of formal, written contracts between farmers and food processors is increasing rapidly in China, and the formal contracts...

We analyze the potential impact of continuing the existing U.S. sugar program, replacing it with a standard program, and implementing the standard program with multilateral trade liberalization. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), duty-free sugar imports from Mexico will...

Contractual breaches are very common in developing countries such as China. In order to prevent breaches of contract, the contractual designs between farmers and agricultural processors (Dragon Head Firms) in China are innovating in two ways: organizational innovations and contractual...

ABSTRACTSTaxes on environmental externalities have long been recognized in the economics literature as a cost-effective mechanism for reducing the costs of environmental degradation. However, in recent years there has been substantial interest in other possible benefits from environmental taxes,...

This dissertation consists of three essays on consumer behavior and demand analysis. The three essays incorporate quality variation, non-market goods and habit-persistence, respectively, into the framework of traditional consumer behavior analysis from a theoretical perspective. The essays also...

Global trade system is witnessing an unprecedented increase in food safety and quality standards. Changes in the structure of the world trade affect the welfare of farmers and consumers, destinations of exports, and the dynamics behind the exporters compliance decisions with these non-tariff...

In recent years, the focus in the study of household behavior has shifted from the household as a homogeneous unit (unitary model) to the different individuals comprising the household (collective model). There are several issues (such as preferences heterogeneity among household members,...

If the average real income of the an American citizen had grown at a rate of 2% over the last 30 years, rather than actual 1%, it would have increased current per capita income by roughly 34%. For the period of 1970 to 2000, the annual per capita income growth rates for the counties of the...

Traditionally, information collection for water quality management has been focused on biological data to describe environmental conditions, and stressor-condition-response relationships. While this kind of information is essential, other types of information e.g., economic information about the...

The study examines the economic potential of an algal biodiesel industry in the US using a simulation-based partial equilibrium modeling approach. Different scenarios are constructed under various assumptions, and the price, cost, and demand and supply structure of the algal biodiesel industry...