Results of a nationally representative survey of US farmers link previously validated survey measures of risk aversion and interpersonal trust to farmers’ intended use of online venues for transacting used equipment. Other factors affecting online purchase propensity includes the quality of...

When products are differentiated and quality is highly subjective (e.g., fashion or art), novel (e.g., a new feature), or difficult to verify prior to purchase (e.g., credence attributes), consumers may turn to price as a signal of quality. Products containing genetically modified (GM)...

Real options theory is employed to measure the value of investing in organic wheat production using precision agriculture technology. Results reveal that an option to wait until market uncertainty is resolved is valuable. Information obtained via precision agriculture technology is also valuable...

The ag-biotech industry underwent considerable consolidation in the last decade in part to take advantage of economics of scale and scope. The paper investigates the impact of such consolidation on inventive activity at the firm level. Careful attention is paid to the role of firm size,...

Empirical evidence from research on Bt maize in Kenya puts to rest most concerns raised against GMOs (not responding to farmers' needs, expensive, benefiting agro-business, risk of decreased biodiversity), but does indicate that contamination of local varieties is likely and buildup of insect...

Consumer attitudes towards genetically modified foods (GMFs) play a crucial role in the development of the technology. Both government and food manufacturers of agricultural products in the US and China are optimistic about the potential market for these foods. This paper compares two national...

Traditional measures of the benefits of technological change use producer prices. Consumer-oriented measures are more appropriate but they require knowledge of price impacts. They may diverge in the presence of distortions. This paper shows that in general equilibrium they are interrelated...

We investigate the temporal and spacial nature of productivity growth and its components in Chinese agriculture from 1980-1995 using nonparametric Malmquist procedures. The results indicate that the high rate of technical progress and deterioring efficiency performance coexisted in Chinese...

This paper develops a model of farmer decision-making to examine the extent to which uncertainties about the performance of site-specific technologies (SSTs) and about the weather impact the value of these technologies. The model uses the jointly estimated risk and technology parameters to...