We formulate and estimate a farm level simulation model of agricultural crop production, and apply it to a scenario with increasing yield variability. The objective function is of the mean-variance utility type with a positive mathematical programming (PMP) cost function, and it is estimated...

This article studies the influence of risk on farms’ technical efficiency levels. The analysis extends the order-m efficiency scores approach proposed by Daraio and Simar (2005) to the state-contingent framework. The empirical application focuses on cross section data of Catalan specialised...

We develop a Bayesian framework for estimating non-stationary Markov models in situations where macro population data is available only on the proportion of individuals residing in each state, but micro-level sample data is available on observed transitions between states. Posterior...

In this paper we develop a new methodological proposal to incorporate risk into a farm level Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model. Our model presents some innovations with respect to the previous literature and estimates simultaneously the resource shadow prices, the farm non-linear...

The biological nature of agricultural production processes induce a higher degree of uncertainty surrounding the economic performance of farm enterprises. This has contributed to the development and acceptance of forms of public intervention aimed at reducing income variability that have no...

Because objectives influence behavior, there should be thoughtfulness of economists on stating objective functions. In contrast, most farm economists work with the assertion that farmers maximize income. A major question is, are there alternatives? It is the aim of this paper to get a deeper...

The agronomic characteristics of willow and miscanthus make these crops highly susceptible to risk. This is particularly true in a country such as Ireland which has limited experience in the production of these crops. Issues such as soil and climate suitability have as yet to be resolved. The...

Using data for 2002-2005 on a representative survey of French farms (FADN-RICA), we investigate the different factors that lead farmers to insure against crop risk. Our analysis takes into account a mix of both standard individual, financial and agricultural criteria. Cross-sectional and...

This paper evaluates the consequences of considering environmental and economic risk in the analysis of cost-effective nitrogen abatement options in crop production. A farm-level mathematical programming model incorporating nitrogen leaching variability, field time variability, yield...

This paper investigates the farm level impacts of multiple peril yield and revenue insurance in an expected value-variance framework. The analysis is conducted using stochastic simulation jointly with numerical optimisation. Simulation is used to compute the means and variances of revenues as...