Transportation rates are vital components in the structure of U.S. grain exports. In this paper we study the dynamic properties of corn and soybean prices, and barge, rail and ocean shipping rates using time series analysis on monthly 1992-2001 data. Using Error Correction Model and Directed...

An anticipated increase in lock delays on the upper Mississippi River has generated concern about its future navigational efficiency. The objective of this paper is to identify selected factors affecting lock delay on the River's busiest locks and to examine the impact of lock delay on grain...

The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 granted railroads freedom to establish rates and enter into confidential contracts with grain shippers. Recent legislation (1986) required that certain contract terms be disclosed. This study shows rail rates in the Plains region commenced an upward trend after...

This paper uses county-level data from California to test whether ethnic fragmentation and other measures of diversity and social capital are systematically related to spending on productive local public goods that affect rural quality of life. The specific focus of this paper is the impact of...

This paper presents a cost function for the pupil transportation industry in Minnesota. In-house provision of transportation was not shown to be more costly than outsourcing. Large contractors may seek the most profitable contracts in urban and suburban areas, while showing little interest in...

This paper estimated the fiscal impact of a job creation tax credit, a proposed incentive for establishments participating in the Indiana enterprise zone program. State unemployment insurance files were utilized with GIS to obtain enterprise zone data. Labor demand and labor supply were...

New policy is being developed that incorporates not only innovative means of disposal, including the integration of source reduction and recycling, but also innovative approaches to funding disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). This study was conducted to determine if a higher marginal price...

The paper extends the work of Deller et al (2001) by introducing a spatial component in a structural growth model to capture the role of spatially distributed variables using county-level data. The premise of the analysis is that what is true at a national level may provide a partial or...

As traditional methods of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) become increasingly expensive due to increased regulation, many local governments are considering cooperation as a waste management strategy. A theoretical model is used to specify a partial observability probability model in...

The costs of tax relief for New York agricultural landowners is compared with the willingness-to-pay for farmland protection as measured in valuation research. Under an income tax rebate, the program cost is positively related with the perceived household benefits, whereas this trend is reversed...