The MODERE, the Ministry of the Environment Irrigation Decision Model, is a simulation tool whichuses mathematical programming methods to reveal the implicit multiattribute objective function lyingbehind the observed cropping decision. The model takes different criteria such as profit...

Cooperative business firms are prevalent in agribusiness, yet no concise generalizedmodel exists to demonstrate how and why cooperative firms differ from, and may beselected over, the more common investor owned business firm. It is shown within ageneric transaction game that cooperatives fill...

According to Karl Popper, economics and agricultural economics should be deemed scientificif the theories (hypotheses) are subject to strict tests. The testing of agro-economic theories goes back 50 years in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan, and these methods are becoming increasingly part of...

This study investigates the case of a Zambian institution providing credit for smallholder agribusiness commercialization and compares this lender’s model with the major microfinance institutions, to identify specific mechanisms employed by the lender and how these have been adapted to suit...

This dissertation studies the role of the collective action sector for rural development. A combination of formal modeling, historical and institutional analysis, and econometric methods is used in this research. I develop microeconomic models to analyze the determinants of peasants' decisions...

Contingent valuation (CV) is a surveying technique used to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) by individuals for non-market goods (goods for which no market of exchange exists). Many CV studies have shown the existence of hypothetical bias which occurs when individuals are asked a...

This research examines groundwater protection programs as a case study of investments to address long-term environmental health risks. The value individuals place on reducing their risk of exposure to chemical contaminants is estimated using stated preference methodology, accounting for the...

As progress has been made on tariff reduction by recent trade agreements, barriers to freer international trade arising from nontariff sources have become more prominent. Regulation of product quality and in particular food safety can be a major source of such barriers. Lowering them requires...

The three essays in this dissertation address issues pertinent to hypothetical bias in the contingent valuation (CV) mechanism. Empirical evidence gathered through several experiments conducted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is used to provide a better understanding of the cause...

This dissertation explores the interconnection between land ownership inequality and functioning of rural factor markets in Turkey. It investigates the effectiveness and efficiency of land and labor markets in generating and distributing economic opportunities within agriculture and, thereby, in...