Many studies have done econometric estimates of how climate alters crop yields and or land rents in an effort to gain information on potential effects of climate change. However, an important related factor, the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, and in fact a driver of climate...

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/22/11.

The effect of stochastic factors on soil carbon makes the quantity of carbon generated under a sequestration project uncertain. Hence, the quantity of sequestered carbon may need to be discounted to avoid liability from shortfalls. We present a potentially applicable uncertainty discount and...

The welfare benefits from potential rice yield-enhancing and water-saving research programs and their distributional implications under alternative farm program provisions are compared. This is done in an ex ante surplus maximization framework by using a multiregional, price endogenous...

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...