We study the difference in the volatility dynamics of CBOT corn, soybeans, and oatsfutures prices across different delivery horizons via the smoothed Bayesian estimatorof Karali, Dorfman, and Thurman (2010). We show that the futures price volatilitiesin these markets are affected by the...

We analyze time-varying volatility in crude oil, heating oil, and natural gas futuresmarkets by incorporating changes in important macroeconomic variables and majorpolitical and weather-related events in conditional variance equations. We allow eachmarket to respond to positive news different...

The U.S. peanut program has limited peanut production since 1949. Unlike the programs for grains, cotton, and rice, the 1996 FAIR Act left the peanut program largely intact. As before FAIR (and since 1977) the right to grow peanuts for the domestic edible market is embodied in marketing quota,...

Pollination by honeybees plays an important role in modern agriculture. Some crops are greatly dependent on honeybees (almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, and cherries are examples) while the yields and quality of other crops are significantly enhanced by honeybee pollination. The importance...

We analyze demand substitution relationships among fish in the snapper/grouper complex in the southeast United States. Monthly data from 1977 to1992 are used to form a set of six fish aggregates. The dockside demands are analyzed in an empirical inverse demand system, developed for the purposes...

This study examines issues that arise when modeling risk associated with fed cattle production. While research concerning crop yield and revenue risks are numerous, studies focusing on production risk in livestock are much less frequent. The first essay evaluates the relationship among four...

Government programs that restrict production and increase prices to particular groups of producers have a long history in the United States. The purpose of this research is to analyze the implications of such a program for peanuts in three independent essays. The first essay focuses on the...

This research extends the literature on the revealed preference analysis of macroeconomic aggregates in multiple ways. The relevance of recent methodological changes in data construction is our first topic, as Varian's (1982, 1983) nonparametric tests are run on U.S. consumption series built...

This dissertation studies the demand for imported and domestic demand models for meat and livestock. The first essay focuses on the separability between import and domestic meat demand and the performance of static versus dynamic models of consumer behavior. A new dynamic system of demand...

This dissertation includes three essays that consider the role of quality variation within agricultural production when consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences for quality. The first essay, 'The Welfare Benefits of USDA Beef Quality Certification Programs,' estimates the consumer...