We investigate the objectives of agricultural bank managers and their impacts on bank efficiency. If managers are non-neutral toward risk, then banks may appear inefficient when they are not. We find non-neutrality toward risk and efficiency gains due to firm size, loan shares, asset shares, and...

This study derives a demand model for small firm finances using a portfolio allocation theory. The assumption of the manager versus the firm as the primary financial decision-maker of small firm is tested. We employ empirical techniques that allow for indirect utility estimation in a...

Stricter immigration policies that affect an estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants, 40% of whom are hired as farm workers, can potentially leave the highly labor-dependent organic farms more economically vulnerable. The displacement of unauthorized immigrants will expectedly create labor...

The Internet may reduce constraints on a farmer's ability to receive and manage information, regardless of where the farm is located or when the information is used. Using a Count data estimation procedure, this study attempts to examine the key farm, operator, regional, and household...

A stochastic distance function frontier was estimated using data from a national survey of organic farmers to evaluate the effect of farm-specific attributes on efficiency. Farm-specific and regional variables that shift efficiency were incorporated into the multioutput distance function,...

Organic farmers make system-level crop protection decisions that combine complementary insect, disease, nematode, and weed management strategies. Data from a national survey of U.S. organic farmers were used in a multivariate count data model to identify the farm and regional factors influencing...

This paper analyzes computer adoption patterns of U.S. small businesses. First, the association between computer use and firm performance is investigated with a linear model while controlling for various characteristics of the firm and its owner. Then an ordered probit model is used to model...

New store formats including competition from supercenters (driven by Wal-Mart), warehouse clubs, and mass merchandisers have emerged as a major threat to traditional grocery chains. A key issue in the food retailing sector is to understand how the earnings of employees respond to the evolution...

This paper attempts to quantitatively measure the change in the productivity of Danish organic farming in recent years. Based on a translog production frontier framework the technical and scale efficiency on farm level is analysed by following a time trends as well as a general index model...