Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Consumers’ Preferences And Willingness To Pay For Value-Added Dairy Products In Kentucky - Considering Price, Provenance, And Environmental Product Attributes, Favour E. Esene

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Many medium and smaller dairies are shifting to various kinds of value-added products that may expand in demand nationally aside from fluid milk. This study uses a latent class logit model to investigate the heterogeneity of consumer preferences and willingness to pay for dairy value-added products across four latent classes considering different local and environmental sustainability labels. The dairy products examined for this research are butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. This research revealed that younger consumers, especially those that reside in rural areas, always pay attention to product attributes when they shop for dairy products, mostly the local state …

Three Essays On Health, Food, And Agricultural Economics, Saber Feizy

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation comprises three distinct but interrelated projects that explore the intersection of agriculture, nutrition, and economics. The first project investigates the impact of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) food programs on the health outcomes of its participants. Using fixed effects models and a matching algorithm, the study finds that while conventional fixed effects models indicate a significant effect of CSA participation on diet-related medical expenditures, our modified time-heterogenous fixed effects model did not find a meaningful effect. The results of the matching method are consistent with those of our modified model.

The second project examines racial disparities in the prevalence …

Consumer Measures Of Local Food System Performance And Shopping Behavior Across Covid, Azita Varziri

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays: In the first essay, we utilize a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to measure the residents’ perceptions of the local food system performance. Local food system (LFS) components are classified into related measures that may help explain the overall performance scores provided. LFS performance measures are explored across 15 different communities in the U.S. South. The second essay explores the awareness and performance differences toward farmers markets, including the markets themselves and the corresponding local food product quality, product diversity, and markets infrastructure across different age-range groups and community sizes in Southern states. Finally, in …

Three Essays On Food Safety And Private Food Safety Certifications, Lijiao Hu

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

In the first essay, we provide a comprehensive literature review of the market of private food safety standards. Since the inception of private food safety standards in the late 1990s, producers, processors, retailers, and governments have been increasingly relying on them to provide assurances to food safety. This article first develops a conceptual framework for the market of private food safety standards through the lens of agri-food supply chain logistics, outlining how the key players in the market interact and classifying these interactions into fifteen categories. Second, we classify and review studies based on the interactions identified. Our review supports …

Three Essays On Price Analysis And International Trade, Wei Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The first chapter of this dissertation examines price discovery and volatility spillovers in the coffee spot-futures commodity market over the post-ICA period by employing the PT-IS and bivariate EGARCH models. This research covers two actively traded coffee types, Arabica and Robusta, and utilizes daily time-series price data over 1990:01-2020:04 for Arabica and over 2008:01-2020:04 for Robusta. The empirical results indicate that coffee spot markets play a dominant role in the coffee price discovery for both Arabica and Robusta. The results also show volatility spillovers take place from the coffee spot market to the futures markets. This study helps small-scale coffee …

Three Essays On Grocery Sales Taxes, Lingxiao Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Grocery sales taxes represent a stable tax revenue stream for state and municipal government, but there is rare empirical evidence suggesting grocery taxes may adversely affect health. In addition, the how governments set grocery sales taxes is still unclear. Therefore, based on a novel national dataset of annual county and state-level grocery taxes from 2009 through 2016, the following three essays in the dissertation investigate the health impacts of grocery sales taxes and the causes of grocery sales taxes in a framework of tax competition.

In the first essay, we document the spatial and temporal variation in grocery taxes and …

Farm Level Impact Of Adopting Multiple Component Pricing In The Appalachian Fmmo And Evaluating The Usmca Canadian Cream Trq: A Gsim Approach, Luke Gregory Cummings

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This thesis is composed of two essays regarding the dairy industry of North America. The first essay aims to evaluate the adoption of an MCP pricing system in the Appalachian FMMO. Producers in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina have formally voiced concern about adopting MCP due to concerns over reduced milk value. Using cow-level production data from Kentucky, the effect on farm level prices can be estimated. It is determined Jersey cow herd’s milk value under MCP appreciates 9% in Kentucky, while the impact on Holstein herds is dependent on many factors. The second essay evaluates the potential impact …

Kentucky Forest Sector: Structural Changes And Economic Impacts, Domena Attafuah Agyeman

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The Kentucky forest sector plays a key role in ensuring economic stability and enhanced livelihood for both rural and urban communities in the state. Therefore, it is important to implement policies and measures to sustain and improve the sector. One way to attract attention and engage policy makers in discussions on the need for measures to sustain the sector is to undertake comprehensive assessments that would enhance understanding of economic contributions and impacts associated with activities of the sector. To this end, appropriate analytical tools and techniques must be employed for detailed and accurate estimates. This dissertation has applied input-output …

Examining The Effects Of Public Policies And Addiction On Purchase Of Tobacco Products With Causal Inference And Machine Learning Methods, Xueting Deng

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

My three essays explore the effects of tobacco policies and addiction on the consumption of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Recently, jurisdictions imposed taxes and other regulations on e-cigarettes, with the hope to raise tax revenues and address health concerns regarding e-cigarette use, especially youth addiction. My first essay in Chapter 1 focuses on the effects of e-cigarette taxes on sales of e-cigarettes. It compares the two types of tax policies on sales of e-cigarettes, cigarettes, and smoking-cessation products. This comparison provides information for lawmakers on decisions of taxes regarding the perspectives of revenue generation and tobacco control. Second, after …

Three Perspectives On Innovation In European Agriculture: From Public Research To The Circular Economy, Michele Vollaro

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The dissertation examines the idea that current and future challenges faced by the European agricultural sector call for a multidimensional approach combining the classical path of productivity growth with more stringent commitments to environmental protection, and more incisive mitigation and adaptation actions to mitigate climate change, all within a policy context of a transition toward the cyclical management of resources (inputs, outputs and wastes) inspired by the circular economy concept. The three essays of the dissertation aim to show: that agricultural productivity in Europe is supported by complementarities between public and private investments in agricultural research with remarkable results in …

Optimal Supplemental Coverage Option Crop Insurance Decision For Kentucky Commodity Crop Producers, Jerzy Z. Jaromczyk

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The 2018 Farm Bill has reopened commodity program enrollment for producers, and thus renewed interest in the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) of the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP). This thesis examines the potential risk management benefits afforded to Kentucky corn, soybean and wheat producers by the SCO.

A simulation model is used to rank downside-risk minimization of the common Multi-peril Crop Insurance Policies (MPCI) policies both with and without the SCO for various farm-level yield risk and farm- to SCO area-level yield correlations.

The study found that the SCO endorsement was a component of every optimal insurance choice for all …

Reducing Survey Hypothetical Bias Through Revealed Behavior Priming: A Case Of Student Preference For Beef Served By University Dining, Gaby De Nascimento Mandlhate

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Economists are still searching for methods to reduce/eliminate Hypothetical Bias (HB). Different methods have been previously applied some with success and others without. In this study, we aimed to further test the cognitive dissonance approach (CD) through a learning design method to estimate the WTP for five beef attributes: Non-quality, Kentucky Proud, Appalachian, Grass Fed and a mix of 25% Non-quality and 75% Kentucky Proud, using a one and one half bounded model. To test the CD, 881 participants from the University of Kentucky, were randomly assigned to a real/hypothetical market for a battery recycling project at first and afterwards …

Special Problems In Agricultural Economics, Alexander Ogden Swartz

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

According to the USDA Economic Research service, farm-level prices are on the decline. This decline in prices particularly hurts smaller scale operators with many needing to rely on off-farm income in order to ensure they remain in operation. This thesis studies two problems of key interest to the Southeast region and the State of Kentucky by investigating dairy management practices and the environmental benefits of hemp production. As dairy prices have been on the decline and dairy co-ops have tightened their restrictions on somatic cell count (SCC) levels, dairy farmers and farm managers must decide the best course of action …

Evaluating Water Management Policy In Saudi Arabia Using A Bilevel, Multi-Objective, Multi-Follower Programming Approach, Jawad Alhashim

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Over the past five decades, the Saudi government has adopted many agricultural policies aimed to: achieve self-sufficiency of food, increase the participation of the agricultural sector in the economy, and reduce the consumption of irrigation water. Due to conflicts among government objectives and the incompatibility of farmers' objectives with those of some agricultural policies, the government has not been able to fully achieve its objectives.

To accomplish its goals the government, or decision maker needs to understand the farmer, or follower, reaction when s/he adopts a new decision. The dissertation aims to build a model that achieves government goals of …

Agricultural Technology Adoption And Contract Participation As A Mechanism For Enhancing School Lunch Programs: The Case Of Women Farmers In Ghana, Georgette Owusu-Amankwah

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The dissertation consists of three studies that seek to identify school caterer and women farmer constraints that have hindered the buy-local policy mandate of the Ghana School Lunch program, and to explore gendered agricultural technology adoption and contract participation strategies that could facilitate the policy mandate.

The first study documents the constraints that have minimized caterer purchases of school food items from local farmers. The study presents an overview of the Ghana School Lunch Program and the buy-local policy mandate issued to school caterers. Survey data and descriptive analysis are employed to document and discuss the constraints that prevent school …

Utilizing Large Scale Datasets To Evaluate Aspects Of A Sustainable Bioeconomy, Gwanseon Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation combines large scale datasets to evaluate crop prediction, land values, and consumption of a crop being considered to advance a sustainable bioeconomy. In chapter 2, we propose a novel application of the multinomial logit (MNL) model to estimate the conditional transition probabilities of crop choice for the state of Kentucky. Utilizing the recovered transition probabilities the forecast distributions of total acreages for alfalfa, corn, soybeans, tobacco, and wheat produced in the state from 2010 to 2015 can be recovered. The Cropland Data Layer is merged with the Common Land Unit dataset to allow for the identification of crop …

Essays On Health Economics Using Big Data, Samane Zarebanadkoki

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays addressing different topics in health economics. In the first essay, we perform a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles examining consumer preference for the main electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) attributes namely flavor, nicotine strength, and type. The search resulted in a pool of 12,933 articles; 66 articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Current literature suggests consumers preferred flavored e-cigarettes, and such preference varies with age groups and smoking status. Consumer preference for nicotine strength and types depend on smoking status, e-cigarette use history, and gender. Adolescents consider flavor the most important factor trying e-cigarettes …

Capitalization Of Green Space And Water Quality Into Residential Housing Values, Willie B. Bedell

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This thesis investigates how proximity to parks, historic district designations, and water quality are valued at residential housing prices. The first essay argues that the negative influences of parks and historic districts, if not noticed, could promote negative externalities and unincentivized investments. I find a negative impact on housing values for a close proximity to a park, suggesting disamenities in park features. When the boundary discontinuity and park amenities are considered, I find a positive valuation for a park. Overall, these results imply a mixed influence of parks on homeowners. From the historic district standpoint, I find a positive valuation …

Essays On U.S. Beef Markets, Elham Darbandi

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation includes three essays on U.S. beef market. Each essay has looked at this market from a different point of view. The first essay investigates the price adjustment along the different levels of this market. The second essay discusses the impact of food safety incidents on export levels in this market. The third essay considers the environmental loading of U.S. beef market. A summary of each article is as follows.

The first essay (chapter 2) analyzes price adjustment of the U.S. beef sector with a focus on the Great Recession. To this purpose, the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) …

Willingness-To-Pay For Attributes Of Health Care Facilities In Rural Kentucky, Emmanuel Owusu-Amankwah

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Background: As rural hospitals in Kentucky face insolvency, stakeholders must assess the value of rural hospitals as well as alternatives such as rural clinics and private physician offices.

Objective: To identify the value of attributes of healthcare facilities based on Kentucky’s rural residents’ willingness-to-pay (WTP).

Methods: A survey instrument was created and distributed to ten counties in rural Kentucky. A conditional logit model was used to obtain baseline values and then a mixed logit model was used to address heterogeneity among consumers in estimating WTP. WTP values incorporated respondents’ demographic characteristics and their health status from self-reported frequency of use …

Essays On Environmental Economics And Policy, Mehdi Nemati

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Environmental goals such as urban water conservation and pollution control regulations are typically achieved through price and non-price methods. This dissertation offers an analysis of the non-price approaches, including the rationing of water for particular users, installation of particular technologies, and adoption of particular certifications to achieve environmental goals. To begin, an analysis of California’s 2015 urban water conservation mandate was performed. Results indicate that the average welfare loss of the mandate is $6,107 per acre-foot of restriction in Northern California and $2,757 per acre-foot of restriction in Southern California. In terms of monthly household-level willingness-to-pay (WTP) to avoid the …

The Impact Of Biofuel Policies On Overshooting Of Agricultural Prices, Mahdi Asgari

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The Federal Reserve has increased nominal interest rates since early 2016. It is expected that commodity prices will drop in response to this monetary intervention. The overshooting hypothesis explains that commodity prices are more flexible than manufacturing prices and therefore are more volatile. In this situation, it is expected that agricultural commodities decline significantly (i.e., overshoot) and gradually return to their long-run equilibrium. This adjustment behavior has implications for income stability and financial viability of farmers.

This research contributes to the overshooting literature by including the energy sector in the overshooting model. The interlinks between energy and other sectors in …

Three Essays On The Application Of Machine Learning Methods In Economics, Abdelaziz Lawani

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Over the last decades, economics as a field has experienced a profound transformation from theoretical work toward an emphasis on empirical research (Hamermesh, 2013). One common constraint of empirical studies is the access to data, the quality of the data and the time span it covers. In general, applied studies rely on surveys, administrative or private sector data. These data are limited and rarely have universal or near universal population coverage. The growth of the internet has made available a vast amount of digital information. These big digital data are generated through social networks, sensors, and online platforms. These data …

Environmental Values, Stated Preferences, And Hypothetical Bias, Jerrod M. Penn

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Contingent Valuation (CV) methods are a primary tool in environmental economics to ascertain non-use or other values not observable through existing market mechanisms. Because common CV approaches typically rely on hypothetical answers from surveys in order to generate welfare estimates, these are often labelled stated preferences. Results from stated preference methods often diverge from those obtained when actual preference or behavior are involved. This divergence is commonly known as Hypothetical Bias (HB). This dissertation addresses HB as it applies to environmental applications. To begin, a meta-analysis using a sample of studies many times larger than previous works was performed. Its …

The Role Of Snap And Habit Formation On Household Consumption Behavior, Shaheer Burney

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This collection of essays examines the impact of two antecedents of household food consumption: SNAP and habit formation to nutrients. Household food choice invariably plays a substantial role in health outcomes such as obesity. Low-income households may be especially vulnerable to obesity as they face a more restricted set of food choices due to income constraints and may have less information on healthy eating relative to high-income households. This dissertation unravels this dynamic by providing causal estimates of the effect of two major determinants of food choice.

Chapter 2 and chapter 3 test the impact of SNAP participation on consumption …

The Margin Protection Program For Dairy: A Forecast & Ad Hoc Regional Analysis, Jessica A. G. Richard

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This study examined The Margin Protection Program for Dairy’s impact on the “effective margins” or margins realized by dairy producers in various regions. Each selected margin and percentage of production history offered by the national policy was analyzed in a forecasting, national and regional manner. Couplet margins were simulated for fifteen regions from 2017 through 2020. Five scenarios were analyzed for the change in MPP’s effects under a 15%, 10%, and 5% drop in the price of milk as well as a 50% increase in the price of corn and a scenario where milk decreases 15% while corn prices simultaneously …

Export Demand Estimation For U.S. Corn And Soybeans To Major Destinations, Sayed Y. Saghaian

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The United States is the leading producer and exporter of corn and soybeans in the world. The United States exports 20% of the world’s corn and 30% of soybeans in a typical year (USDA, ERS). The U.S., being the top producer and exporter of these commodities, is also confronting major rivals such as Argentina, Brazil, and Ukraine, which are increasing their exports and causing the U.S. to lose some of its market share. In order to stop this decline in market share, the U.S. can adopt and implement different policies to manage resources and employ advanced technology more effectively.

In …

Essays On Organic Food Marketing In The U.S., Bo Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation examines organic food marketing from three aspects: household demand for organic food, household choice of retail formats accounting for preference organic food preference, and farmers’ joint adoption of organic farming and direct marketing methods. In Chapter Two, given the fast growth of private label milk and organic milk in the U.S., we estimate a censored demand system to study the demand relations among types of milk differentiated by brand types and organic status, using recent Nielsen Homescan data. We find that sociodemographic factors still play important roles in a household choice of milk types, and fluid milk is …

Natural Resource, Regional Growth, And Human Capital Accumulation, Na Zuo

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The dissertation research will comprise three essays on the topic of the resource curse hypothesis and its mechanisms. The phenomenon of low economic growth in resource-rich regions is recognized as the “resource curse”. These essays will contribute to an understanding of the regional resource-growth relation within a nation.

Essay one tests the resource curse hypothesis at the U.S. state level. With a system of equations model, I decompose the overall resource effect to account for the two leading explanations — crowding-out and institution effects, thus investigate whether the institutions mediate the crowding-out effects. I did not find evidence of an …

Three Essays On Food Safety Regulations And International Trade Of Agricultural Products, Jun Ho Seok

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation investigates food safety regulations and international trade of agricultural products dividing into three aspects: the signalling effect from U.S. strict food safety regulations on U.S. vegetable exports, political determinants of sanitary and photosanitary non-tariff barriers, and the impact of trade barriers on employment in developing countries. In chapter 2, we investigate the impact of high U.S. maximum residue limit (MRL) standards on U.S vegetable exports to 102 countries utilizing the hierarchical model. MRL, which is one of non-tariff barriers with respect to food safety, is applied to home and foreign countries at the same time. Thus, firms in …