Unlike most other mature industries, family firms, partnerships, and cooperatives dominate the agricultural production sector, with few corporations and limited access to capital derived from a source other than retained earnings and existing owners. However, the use of external equity capital...

World oil prices have been high since 1973, compared to average production costs and historical norms, because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has functioned as a viable price-setting and output-restricting institution. Prices increased sharply in 1973-1974 and 1979, and...