Spatial and temporal issues are often important concepts within agricultural economics research. Understanding these issues and developing models that incorporate spatio-temporal frameworks can lead to more accuracy in answering important economic questions. This thesis uses the spatio-temporal...

Invasive alien trees and shrubs pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services in South African fynbos ecosystems. An ambitious initiative, the Working for Water program, commenced in 1995 to reduce the extent and impact of plant invasions. Despite substantial progress, the...

Different international plant protection organisations advocate different schemes for conducting pest risk assessments. Most of these schemes use structured questionnaire in which experts are asked to score several items using an ordinal scale. The scores are then combined using a range of...

Asian gypsy and nun moth introductions into the United States, possibly arriving on imported Siberian coniferous logs, threaten domestic forests and product markets and could have global market consequences. We simulate, using the Global Forest Products Model (a spatial equilibrium model of the...

Agricultural and wildlife trade is subject to sudden, disruptive import restrictions arising fromconcerns over sanitary and phytosanitary safety and the conservation of natural resources.These restrictions can create significant international price differences that encourage thesmuggling of...

Herein we model the widespread dispersal and management of an invasive species as a weak-link public good. The risk of introduction is driven in part by economic activity, is influenced by policies directed at the risk, and economic activity responds/adapts to the risk. Framed around recent...

Rice is an important cereal to Ghana’s economy and agriculture. While there is huge potential for lowland rice cultivation in northern Ghana, erratic rainfall and low and degrading soil fertility remain the key constraints of production. The present study analyzes the adoption decision and the...

Based on grounded theory and thematic analysis of 70 in-depth interviews conducted over 32 months (from November 2007 to June 2010) with domain scientists, computational technologists, supercomputer center administrators, program officers at the National Science Foundation, social scientists,...

Solar photovoltaics have received government support in the form of rebates, tax credits and net metering tariff mechanisms. The intended goal of these incentives is to encourage innovation in the manufacturing and installation of these systems, which is expected to eventually help overcome the...

New agricultural technologies are promoted in developing countries to bring about some combination of economic, environmental, and or health benefit. All of these benefits are considered to improve the livelihoods of the households that adopt them. However, the adoption of these new innovations...