The crop insurance purchase decision for a group of Kansas farmers is analyzed using data from 1990sa period that experienced many changes in the federal crop insurance program. Farm-level data are used. Results indicate a reduction in the elasticity of the demand for crop insurance with respect...

This paper assesses the impacts of decoupled government transfers on production decisions of a sample of Kansas farms observed from 1996 to 2001. Our model allows for risk, risk attitudes and the intertemporal investment decisions. We also allow for different adjustments of the decision...

This paper assesses the impacts of decoupled government transfers on production decisions of a sample of Kansas farms observed from 1996 to 2001. Our model allows for risk, risk attitudes and the intertemporal investment decisions. We also allow for different adjustments of the decision...

The growing importance of economic factors in farmers decision to go organic has raised interest in characterizing the economic behavior of organic versus conventional farms. Published analyses so far have not considered differential uncertainties and farmers risk preferences between...

Our paper looks at how price volatility in the Brazilian ethanol industry changes over time and across markets by using a new methodological approach suggested by Seo (2007). The main advantage of Seo’s proposal over previously existing methods is that it allows to jointly estimate the...

The extent to which crop insurance programs have resulted in additional land being brought into production has been a topic of considerable debate. We extend a multi-equation structural model of crop acreage response, insurance participation, CRP enrollment, and input usage developed in Goodwin...

Replaced with revised version of paper 08/24/07.

In the US forestry industry, wildre has always been one of the leading causes of damage. This topic is of growing interest as wildre has caused huge losses in recent years. Among all causes, lightning has always been the leading hazard. Unlike human related wildres for which timber owners may be...

In this study, we propose a new approach to estimating optimal dynamic cross-hedge ratios. In particular, we apply copula models to discuss the use of corn futures contracts to cross hedge grain sorghum, and the use of Kansas wheat futures contracts to cross hedge barley. Hedge (or cross-hedge)...

The US crop insurance program previously used a simple average of equally weighted historical loss cost data to serve as the backbone for estimating crop insurance premium rates. This article develops a procedure for weighting the historical loss cost experience based on longer time-series...