This paper applies growth optimization with downside protection as a portfolio selection technique. The model is based on power-log utility functions that combine portfolio growth maximization with the behavioural tenets of prospect theory. We use three assets (a farm return index, a stock...

This study employs a dynamic continuous time model to calculate farm and total farm/financial/off-farm investment portfolios. Data are from the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association records. Results are derived for classes of farms sorted by farm profitability. It is shown...

This paper investigates the extent to which an active agricultural policy directed to the return and/or the variability of return in farming that is understood and anticipated, where the political process creates parameter uncertainty and noise about the precise timing of reform, influences the...

This paper investigates, through a dynamic stochastic adjustment model the extent to which an active agricultural policy can be the source of volatility in agricultural investment. It is shown that noise in formulation of agricultural policy has adverse effects even in cases where earlier...

This paper reexamines foreign currency markets for evidence of fractional integration, and extends the extant literature in several important dimensions. First, we utilize a new semiparametric wavelet-based estimator, which is far superior to the more prevalent GPH estimator on the basis of mean...

This study analyzes how rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) in Senegal were able to overcome the collective action dilemma, maintain institutional performance, and remain sustainable over time. This study models cooperation among members as well as the performance and...

Relatively few farmers regularly use tax-favored retirement accounts to diversify long-term farm assets with nonfarm savings. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 creates new investment opportunities for both IRAs and regular capital assets. Complex tradeoffs exist among new tax incentives, possible...

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...

Repeat borrowing is critical for the long-term financial viability of microfinance institutions (MFIs), which provide financial services to low-income households in developing countries. Repeat borrowers reduce MFI administrative costs, lower risks, and increase institutional productivity. In...