Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between Live Music And Enjoyment Of Wine, Janey Helene Cowan

Agribusiness

This study was performed in order to determine the relationship between enjoyment of music in a live setting and enjoyment of wine consumed while at the concert. Surveys were collected from 113 respondents throughout the summer of 2011 at San Luis Obispo’s “Concerts in the Plaza.” J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines was the wine sponsor throughout the summer concert series, which represented a wide variety of musical genres. Overall, 80% of the sample was women, 69% drank white wine, and 93% had tried J. Lohr wines before the event. With regard to wine opinion, 57% of the sample maintained the …

The Economic Returns To U.S. Public Agricultural Research, Julian M. Alston, Matthew A. Anderson, Jennifer S. James, Phillip G. Pardey

Agribusiness

We use newly constructed state-specific data to explore the implications of common modeling choices for measures of research returns. Our results indicate that state-to-state spillover effects are important, that the research and development lag is longer than many studies have allowed, and that misspecification can give rise to significant biases. Across states, the average of the own-state benefit-cost ratios is 21:1, or 32:1 when the spillover benefits to other states are included. These ratios correspond to real internal rates of return of 9 or 10 per annum, much smaller than those typically reported in the literature, partly because we have …

Using System Dynamics Modelling Approach To Develop Management Tools For Animal Production With Emphasis On Small Ruminants, L. O. Tedeschi, C. F. Nicholson, E. Rich

Agribusiness

Small ruminants are important assets in several regions of the world. They account for more than half of the domesticated ruminants. Despite the growth in goat production in the world (more than 2% per year), research related to goat production is less than desired. One underused but potentially valuable approach for research on small ruminants is simulation modelling. Models of the components of small ruminant systems can enhance the financial returns and reduce negative environmental impacts. These models can be used to assess many dimensions of small ruminant production, from rumen dynamics to economic policies designed to support small ruminant …

The Costs Of Increased Localization For A Multiple-Product Food Supply Chain: Dairy In The United States, Charles F. Nicholson, Miguel I. Gomez, Oliver H. Gao

Agribusiness

There is increased interest in greater localization of food supply chains but little evidence about the effects of localization on supply-chain costs. Assessing these effects is complex in multiple-product, multi-process supply chains such as the dairy industry. In this study, we develop a spatially-disaggregated transshipment model for the US dairy sector that minimizes total supply-chain costs, including assembly, processing, interplant transportation and final product distribution. We employ the cost-minimizing solution as benchmark to compare alternative scenarios of increased supply chain localization. Our results indicate: (1) short-run limits to increased localization, (2) modest impacts on overall supply-chain costs, and (3) large …

Factors That Influence Prices For Cool-Climate Wines: A Hedonic Analysis Of The Market For Riesling, Christiane Schroeter, Jennifer L. Ritchie, Bradley J. Rickard

Agribusiness

The price of wine represents various characteristics that differentiate each bottle, assuming that the majority of consumers use price as a signal of quality. The objective of this study is to analyze the drivers of Riesling prices, since this varietal continues to gain popularity and can be grown in all climates, including cool-climate regions. We expand the use of quality ratings by including interaction terms to express wine-quality and price-quality relationships. The results suggest that higher price premiums are associated with wines that earned high expert rating scores, and this emphasizes the importance of market-perceived quality signals.

When Do Fat Taxes Increase Consumer Welfare?, Jayson L. Lusk, Christiane Schroeter

Agribusiness

Previous analyses of fat taxes have generally worked within an empirical framework in which it is difficult to determine whether consumers benefit from the policy. This note outlines on simple means to determine whether consumers benefit from a fat tax by comparing the ratio of expenditures on the taxed good to the weight effect of the tax against the individual’s willingness to pay for a one-pound weight reduction. Our empirical calculations suggest that an individual would have to be willing to pay about $1500 to reduce weight by one pound for a tax on sugary beverages to be welfare enhancing. …

Application Of A Simulation Model For Assessing Integration Of Smallholder Shifting Cultivation And Sheep Production In Yucatán, Mexico, David Parsons, Charles Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramírez-Aviles, Jerome H. Cherney, Danny G. Fox

Agribusiness

Simulation models are effective tools to examine interactions between livestock, cropping systems, households, and natural resources. Our study objective was to use an integrated livestock and crop model to assess the outcomes from selected suites of management decisions observed in smallholder sheep-cropping systems of Yucatán, Mexico. The scenarios contrasted specialized systems versus mixed farming, and evaluated the outcomes of increased crop-livestock integration. Mixed enterprise scenarios involving sheep provided more income than specialized enterprises, and capitalized on a lower price of on-farm maize grain, efficient utilization of surplus labor, and availability of common land. Labor and management income was greatest for …

Development And Evaluation Of An Integrated Simulation Model For Assessing Smallholder Crop-Livestock Production In Yucatán, Mexico, David Parsons, Charles F. Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramírez-Aviles, Danny G. Fox, Luis O. Tedeschi, Jerome H. Cherney

Agribusiness

Mixed farming systems constitute a large proportion of agricultural production in the tropics, and provide multiple benefits for the world’s poor. However, our understanding of the functioning of these systems is limited. Modeling offers the best approach to quantify outcomes from many interacting causal variables in these systems. The objective of this study was to develop an integrated crop–livestock model to assess biophysical and economic consequences of farming practices exhibited in sheep systems of Yucatán state, Mexico. A Vensim™ dynamic stock-flow feedback model was developed to integrate scientific and practical knowledge of management, flock dynamics, sheep production, partitioning of nutrients, …

Behavioral Economics: A New Heavyweight In Washington?, Sean B. Cash, Christiane Schroeter

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

A Case Study On Contracted Seasonal Workers And Farm Labor Contractors In The Stockton Area, Cristal Verduzco

Agribusiness

This study was conducted to define the current situation between contracted seasonal workers and farm labor contractors in the Stockton area. Specifically, this study focuses on the perception workers have of farm labor contracted employment. It also addresses the perception farm labor contractors have on the contracting business.

To gather the information needed to compare perceptions, interviews with twelve contracted seasonal workers and two farm labor contractors were conducted in Stockton. The analysis process consists of a detailed account of the problems workers and farm labor contractors encounter in the farm labor contracting business.

The results of these interviews concluded …

A Comparison Of Costs And Returns For Organic And Conventional Cabernet Sauvignon Grape Production In San Luis Obispo County, Amanda N. Johansen

Agribusiness

This study examined the differences in costs and profitability for established conventional and organic Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Edna Valley region of San Luis Obispo County, California. The study used a partial budgeting approach to compare cost and profitability for established vineyards for 2009, and thus ignored transition costs. Data were obtained from UC Davis cost studies for organic and conventional grape production in other regions of California in previous years. Adjustments made to these costs to account for changes in input use, input costs and grape prices in San Luis Obispo County during the 2009 growing season.

The …

Second Time Is A Charm: The Impact Of Correcting Missed Exam Questions On Student Learning, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determined the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

A Study Of The Economic Effects Of Imposing Fair Trade Coffee Consumption In San Francisco, Alexander Preston Magginetti

Agribusiness

Noting the rising sales of eco-friendly and fairly traded goods in the United States, this study examines the effects of implementing a policy that would limit the supply of non-fair-trade coffee in San Francisco. The goal of this policy would be to increase the sales of the fair-trade coffee market in the United States, and benefit fair-trade coffee growers by mandating the sale of fair-trade coffee in San Francisco. This study focuses on the economic effects of the policy on consumers and producers of fair-trade coffee, regular coffee, tea, and soda.

“Fair trade” began at the end of World War …

Tasting Room Insights From San Luis Obispo County, Kathryn Vogt, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract.

Obesity Economics For The Western United States, Mariah D. Ehmke, Tina Willson, Christiane Schroeter, Ann Marie Hart, Roger Coupal

Agribusiness

The estimated obesity-related health care costs across the Western region in 2008 were $16.2 billion (this is an inflation-adjusted estimate based on the work of Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang (2004)). 25 The Western populations, the percentage of obese adults in each state, and the estimated annual obesity-related expenditures by state are summarized in Table 1. The cost estimates include only direct health care expenditures related to obesity. The actual cost of obesity is much higher and includes not only obesity-related illness and disease, but also indirect costs resulting from missed work days and lower worker productivity as well as valued …

Managing Maize Production In Shifting Cultivation Milpa Systems In Yucatan, Through Weed Control And Manure Application, David Parsons, Luis Ramirez-Aviles, Jerome H. Cherney, Quirine M. Ketterings, Robert W. Blake, Charles F. Nicholson

Agribusiness

Milpa cultivation involving cutting an area of forest, burning, and planting crops has existed in the Yucatán Peninsula for more than three millennia. Fallow periods are short and decreasing, leading to a productivity collapse of the system. Technologies that increase yield and maintain plots under cultivation have the potential to decrease the land area needed for family food production, resulting in more mature forests. This study was undertaken to examine the relative importance and potential interactions of declining fertility and increasing weed pressure in reducing maize (Zea mays L.) yields, and to examine the effectiveness of combinations of weed …

Modeling Feedback Between Economic And Biophysical Systems In Smallholder Agriculture In Kenya: The Crops, Livestock And Soils In Smallholder Economic Systems (Classes) Model, Emma C. Stephens, Christopher B. Barrett, Douglas R. Brown, Johannes Lehmann, David Mbugua, Solomon Ngoze, Charles F. Nicholson, David Parsons, Alice N. Pell, Susan J. Riha

Agribusiness

We investigate natural resource-based poverty traps using a simulation model of smallholder farms in highland Kenya. Simulation modeling allows for detailed examination of the complex interactions and feedback between farm-household economic decision-making and long-term soil dynamics, which may contribute to persistent poverty among smallholders in this region. We examine the effects of changing initial endowments of land, labour and stocks of on-farm soil organic matter on the long-term welfare of these households. We find that larger farms are better able to cope with both labour shocks and deteriorating natural capital than smaller farms, with smaller farms remaining poor and unable …

Setting Agricultural Science Strategy In Tumultuous Economic Times, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey

Agribusiness

The international competitiveness and prosperity of U.S. agriculture depends on steady and rapid productivity growth fueled by public agricultural research and development (R&D). Agricultural science benefits consumers and the environment, not just farmers. Enhanced productivity as a result of agricultural R&D means that consumers have access to a more abundant, cheaper, safer, higher quality, and more diverse and convenient food supply, produced with less stress on natural resources and the environment. From a global perspective, productivity growth allows agricultural production to increase faster than demand; food has become much cheaper over time in spite of a rapidly growing world population …

The Economics Of Agricultural R&D, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Jennifer S. James, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

Agricultural research has transformed agriculture and in doing so contributed to the transformation of economies. Economic issues arise because agricultural research is subject to various market failures, because the resulting innovations and technological changes have important economic consequences for net income and its distribution, and because the consequences are difficult to discern and attribute. Economists have developed models and measures of the economic consequences of agricultural R&D and related policies in contributions that relate to a very broad literature ranging across production economics, development economics, industrial organization, economic history, welfare economics, political economy, econometrics, and so on. A key general …

Structural Changes In U.S. Agricultural Production And Productivity, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

The structure of U.S. agricultural production changed dramatically during the 20th Century. Major technological innovations transformed the relationship between agricultural inputs and outputs, and contributed to rapid increases in agricultural productivity. However, evidence is mounting that suggests we have entered a new era, with substantially lower rates of productivity growth. In this article, we examine trends and spatial patterns in agricultural input use, production of outputs, and productivity. We focus on productivity growth over the period 1949–2002, and find a statistically significant slowdown in productivity growth after 1990.

Economics And Policy Context For The Biological Management Of Soil Fertility (Bmsf) In Ethiopia, Habtamu T. Kassahun, Charles F. Nicholson, Dawit Solomon, Amy S. Collick, Tammo S. Steenhuis

Agribusiness

Many developing countries implement programs and policies to increase or maintain soil fertility, with the objectives of increased crop yields and decreased poverty. However, few countries give emphasis to the biological management of soil fertility (BMSF) compared to more traditional approaches. Ethiopia emphasizes the use synthetic fertilizers to increase food security and reduce poverty, with little attention to BMSF. This paper examines the long term fertilizer consumption and agricultural productivity response trend and discusses the potential for BMSF to promote agricultural productivity and reduce poverty in Ethiopia. The paper also discusses the Economics and Policy Context for BMSF for the …

Dynamic Market Impacts Of Generic Dairy Advertising, Charles F. Nicholson, Harry M. Kaiser

Agribusiness

Generic advertising of fluid milk and cheese represents the principal promotional activity undertaken with the $370 million per year provided by dairy farmers and fluid milk processors. This article describes a stock-flow-feedback simulation model that includes 17 intermediate and final dairy products, short-term and long-term milk supply response and government policies that influence the impacts of generic advertising on net revenues for dairy farmers. Permanent increases in generic advertising expenditures increase net revenues for dairy farmers, with a cumulative net benefit to cost ratio of 2.8. Permanent decreases produce a larger reduction in net revenues and indicate a net benefit …

Agricultural R&D Policy: A Tragedy Of The International Commons, Jennifer S. James, Philip G. Pardey, Julian M. Alston

Agribusiness

Over the past 50 years public agricultural research has contributed enormously to humanity, enabling the supply of food to grow faster than demand in spite of a rapidly growing population, income growth, and shrinking natural resources. Nonetheless, in many countries we see waning public support for agricultural R&D, especially in Africa, a diversion of research resources from farm productivity towards other agendas, and early warning signs of a slowdown in agricultural productivity. The world has continued to collectively underinvest in agricultural R&D because of domestic and international market failures associated with appropriability problems. Governments have failed to effectively address these …

Pet Wine Bottles: Will Consumers Accept Them?, David Baird, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract

Applying Experimental Economics To Obesity In The Family Household, Mariah D. Ehmke, Travis Warziniack, Christiane Schroeter, Kari Morgan

Agribusiness

The objective of this study is to identify experimental economic tools that can be employed to explain the role of economic behavior in overweight and obesity in the household. We identify three economic experiments that can be used to understand how parent-child economic relationships relate to obesity. Loss aversion experiments are discussed as a tool to understand challenges some individuals face in achieving a healthy diet. Finally, testbed experiments are introduced as a means to test and understand new policies and incentives for better health at the household level.

Economic Factors And Body Weight: An Empirical Analysis, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson L. Lusk

Agribusiness

With this study, we investigate the effects of changes in economic factors on body weight by constructing a utility theoretic model. The model is empirically estimated by combining data on individuals’ body weight, demographic and physical activity information, and state level measures pertaining to the prices of food away from home, food at home, and wages. By combining these data sources, we aim to estimate directly the weight effects of price and income changes. The empirical analysis suggests that decreasing the price of food at home could decrease body weight, a finding which has important public policy implications.

Do College Students Learn By Correcting Missed Exam Questions?, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determines the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

Determining The Impact Of Food Price And Income Changes On Body Weight, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson Lusk, Wallace Tyner

Agribusiness

We develop a theoretical model to identify conditions under which price and income changes are most likely to change weight. Although it is intuitive that raising the price of high-calorie food will decrease consumption of such goods; it is not clear that such an outcome will actually reduce weight. Our empirical analysis demonstrates a case where a tax on food away from home, a food intake category blamed for much of the rise in obesity, could lead to an increase in body weight; a finding which emphasizes the need to employ economic modeling when developing public policy to reduce obesity.

Bargaining Rationale For Cooperative Generic Advertising, Jennifer S. James

Agribusiness

The beggar-thy-neighbour aspect of commodity advertising means that benefits to one commodity from advertising come at the expense of other commodities. The effect can be mitigated by cooperation among groups as shown by Alston, Freebairn and James (AFJ). A drawback to AFJ’s analysis is that some cooperative outcomes require side payments from one producer group to another. This paper offers a bargaining solution as an alternative to cooperation in the case where cooperative side payments would be needed. We show that while bargaining without side payments is not as effective as cooperation at reducing beggar-thy-neighbour effects, it is a welfare …

Effect Of Management Decisions On Farm And Household Outcomes In An Integrated Crop-Livestock Agro-Ecosystem In Yucatan, Mexico, David Parsons, Jerome H. Cherney, Charles F. Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramirez-Aviles, Luis O. Tedeschi

Agribusiness

Mixed farming systems are defined by Sere and Steinfeld (1996) as those in which more than 10% of the dry matter fed to livestock comes from crop by-products or stubble, and more than 10% of the value of production comes from non-livestock farming activities. More simply, they are systems where livestock rearing and crop cultivation are, to a greater or lesser extent, integrated components of one farming system. The more integrated systems are characterized by interdependency between crop and livestock activity, optimizing circulation of locally available nutrients. The less integrated systems are those in which crop and livestock activities make …