Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Introduction To Metaeconomics, Gary D. Lynne

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Metaeconomics is fundamentally about the problem of having too much emphasis on the Market or too much emphasis on the Government. It is about the essential need to bring empirical reality and ethics into finding balance: It is essential to achieving a good capitalism. Why? Well, because of the natural tendency to excessive Greed. As DeWaal (2009) would have it, we live in an age of Empathy: Ego based Greed is out. The Greed needs to be tempered, balanced, and perhaps bounded, with Empathy-based ethics. And, as Metaeconomics makes clear, it is because there is a dual nature of human …

Is The World Converging To A ‘Western Diet’?, Azzeddine Azzam

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Objective: To test the nutrition transition hypothesis of global dietary convergence to a ‘Western diet’.

Design: Consumer-waste-adjusted FAO Food Balance Sheets are used to construct for each country a Western Diet Similarity Index (WSI), expressed as a ratio of calories from animal-sourced foods, oils, fats and sweeteners to total per capita calories. β-Convergence and associated speed are estimated by growth regressions using 1992–2013 panel data. Speed of convergence, a non-linear function of income per capita, globalisation and urbanisation, determines the steady-state or long-term global WSI. The long-term global WSI is compared with the WSI of the group of countries with …

Net Return Distributions When Metaphylaxis Is Used To Control Bovine Respiratory Disease In High Health-Risk Cattle, Elliott James Dennis, Ted C. Schroeder, David G. Renter

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study’s objective was to estimate net returns and return risk for antimicrobial metaphylaxis options to manage bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in high health-risk feedlot cattle. The effectiveness of antimicrobials for metaphylaxis varies by cattle population. How differing antimicrobial effectiveness translates to net return profitability for heterogeneous cattle populations is less understood. Net returns and return risk were assessed using a net return simulation model adapted to allow for heterogeneity in high health-risk cattle placement characteristics and antimicrobial choice to control BRD. The net return model incorporated how antimicrobials modify BRD health and performance outcomes. Health and performance outcomes were …

The Effect Of Presenting Relative Calorie Information On Calories Ordered, Christopher Gustafson, Eliana Zeballos

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

In this research, we tested the effect of a novel method of presenting calorie information—highlighting relative differences in calories among ingredients. We conducted an online hypothetical food choice experiment where 633 participants selected the ingredients for a sandwich from five categories: meat/protein, cheese, spread/ dressing, bread, and vegetables. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four calorie information conditions: 1) a condition in which no information about calories was provided, 2) a condition in which calorie information was provided for each ingredient, 3) a condition in which calorie information was presented relative to the highest calorie item, and 4) …

What Is The Use Value Of Irrigation Water From The High Plains Aquifer?, Federico García Suárez, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study provides an estimate of the gross value of irrigation water from the U.S. High Plains

Aquifer. We estimate a yield function for aggregated crop biomass production, based on countylevel

observations for 1960–2007. This study found that irrigation increases total biomass yield in this

region by an average of 51%. We estimate the average gross annual value of irrigation as of 2007 to

be $196 per acre, for a total of about $3 billion across the aquifer. We also estimate that on average

across the aquifer, exposure to 24 hours of temperatures above 33C (one degree day) reduces biomass …

The Effects Of Irrigation And Climate On The High Plains Aquifer: A County-Level Econometric Analysis, Felipe De F. Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin, Karina Schoengold

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the central area of the United States (U.S.). This region produces more than 9% of U.S. crops sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. However, these withdrawals have diminished the stock of water in the aquifer. In this paper, we investigate the aggregate county-level effect on the HPA of groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, of climate variables, and of energy price changes. We merge economic theory and hydrological characteristics to jointly estimate equations describing irrigation behavior and a generalized water balance equation for the HPA. Our …

The Opportunity Cost Of Preserving The Brazilian Amazon Forest., Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Richard Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We estimate the trade-off between forest preservation and agricultural production for the Legal Amazon region, using census and deforestation

data for municipalities in 2006.We use a directional distance function to represent the production possibility frontier, and then calculate the shadow

price of reducing deforestation in terms of agricultural income foregone. Results indicate that, on average, to preserve 1 ha of forest, $797 in annual

agricultural GDP must be foregone. Using a discount rate of 10% and average forest carbon density of 132 tons per hectare, these results imply an

average shadow price of $16 per ton of CO2 permanently sequestered.

Wildlife Viewing: The Impact Of Money-Back Guarantees, Takahiro Kubo, Taro Mieno, Koichi Kuriyama

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Wildlife sightings are not always guaranteed. To address this risk, tour operators often offer a money-back guarantee as a refund mechanism. However, studies have overlooked the influences of such refund mechanisms on tourists' tour participation decisions and tourism revenue. We conducted choice experiments to examine the impact of such mechanisms using a case of Amami rabbit tourism in Japan. We found that the guarantee significantly influences the tourists’ decision-making and tour revenue. In particular, we found that the expected tourist participation rate and tour guide revenue vary drastically depending on the probability of the rabbit encounter. The maximum expected revenue …

The Cost Of Forest Preservation In The Brazilian Amazon: The “Arc Of Deforestation”, Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We estimate the trade-off between agricultural production and forest preservation for the municipalities in Brazil’s agricultural frontier, the so-called “arc of deforestation,” using census and deforestation data for 2006. We use a nonparametric directional output distance function that allows us to identify the gradients of the production possibility frontier, which are the trade-offs of interest. We found that, on average, $979 is forgone in annual livestock, timber, and grain revenues to conserve 1 hectare of forest. This translates, ceteris paribus, to an average present value of costs to permanently sequester CO2 of $16.36/t, higher than most previous estimates.

Sweet Sorghum As Feedstock In Great Plains Corn Ethanol Plants: The Role Of Biofuel Policy, Richard Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Subir Bairagi, Ismail Dweikat

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This research examines whether sweet sorghum, a crop considered more drought-tolerant and suitable for semi-arid areas than corn, could result in an economically viable sweet sorghum ethanol pathway in the Great Plains. We find that that if the D5–D6 RIN price spread exceeds the $0.35/gal recently experienced, the benefits of the pathway would be equivalent to about $90/acre of sweet sorghum, or $0.38/gal of ethanol. Because of sparse cultivation potential, only four the six existing plants in the Nebraska–Colorado High Plains area might expect transportation costs to be low enough for economic feasibility.

Input Use Under Crop Insurance: The Role Of Actual Production History, Taro Mieno, Cory Walters, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The impact of crop insurance on changes in input use has attracted much attention by economists. While there are a number of studies on this topic, they frame moral hazard in inputs use in a static model. However, when agricultural producers are forward-looking, they would make input allocation decisions realizing that their decisions would affect their future actual production history. This, in turn, affects the probability and size of future indemnity payments. Thus, moral hazard should be framed in a dynamic input use decision model. We first show theoretically that under certain feasible conditions, a static analysis always results in …

Value Of Arrival Metaphylaxis In U.S. Cattle Industry, Elliott James Dennis, Ted C. Schroeder, David G. Renter, Dustin L. Pendell

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Although several studies have estimated economic impacts of antimicrobials for growth promotion, little is known about economic impacts of the common animal health management strategy known as metaphylaxis: administering antimicrobials to groups of animals to prevent disease. This article develops a new framework to map animal disease to producer profitability and determine societal economic impacts surrounding metaphylactic use of antimicrobials in beef cattle production. Results indicate the direct net return value of metaphylaxis to the U.S. fed cattle industry is at least $532 million. Beef producer surplus losses of $1.8 billion would be associated with eliminating metaphylaxis.

Benefits Of Public R&D In U.S. Agriculture: Spill-Ins, Extension And Roads, S L. Wang, A Plastina, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, E. Ball

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper uses panel data for the 1980-2004 period to estimate the contributions

of public research to US agricultural productivity growth. Local and social

internal rates of return are estimated accounting for the effects of R & D

spill-in, extension activities and road density. R & D spill-in proxies were constructed

based on both geographic proximity and production profile to examine

the sensitivity of the rates of return to these alternatives. We find that

extension activities, road density, and R & D spill-ins, play an important role

in enhancing the benefit of public R & D investments. We also find …

A Nonparametric Frontier Measure Of Marketing Efficiency: An Illustration With Corn Ethanol Plants., Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This article extends nonparametric measures of efficiency to accommodate the concept of marketing efficiency, which measures changes in net revenues brought about by firms’ use of marketing channels other than spot markets. The measure is appropriate for firms operating under atomistic competition with imperfect information. The proposed measure displays two important features: (a) it uses the alternative of a spot price-based counterfactual to distinguish marketing from allocative efficiency, and (b) it allows for the fact that firms operate in different spot markets and have access to diverse sets of prices. We illustrate this approach with a unique dataset from ethanol …

Measurement Of Commodity Price Risk: An Overview Of Brazilian Agricultural Markets, Daniel Henrique Dario Capitani, Fabio Mattos

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study explores different procedures to estimate price risk in commodity markets. Focusing on Brazilian agricultural markets, the paper proposes to assess both dispersion and downside risk measures using five different approaches (volatility, coefficient of variation, lower partial moments, value at risk and conditional value at risk). Results suggest that some commodities have large price variability but small downside risk, while other commodities show small price variability and large downside risk. Thus, there is no single answer to the question of which commodity exhibits more price risk, but rather distinct answers depending on how risk is perceived by different individuals. …

Biomass From Marginal Cropland: Willingness Of North Central Us Farmers To Produce Switchgrass On Their Least Productive Fields, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Mustapha Alhassan

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Ability Of Rural Electric Cooperatives To Retire Capital Credits, Jeffrey S. Royer

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the ability of rural electric cooperatives to retire member equity under three strategies: (1) replacing equity with term debt to provide for an immediate one-time retirement of capital credits, (2) reducing the rate at which equity is accumulated and relying more on term debt to finance asset growth so margins can be used to accelerate the retirement of capital credits, and (3) adjusting the electric rate to generate additional margins for retiring capital credits. Analyses suggest that the average distribution cooperative could employ these strategies to expand capital credits retirement substantially without weakening its financial condition.

Combining Habitat Loss And Agricultural Intensification Improves Our Understanding Of Drivers Of Change In Avian Abundance In A North American Cropland Anthrome, John Quinn, Tala Awada, Federico Trindade, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Consumption With An Essential Exhaustible Resource Re-Examined, Juan Sesmero, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Variable Cost Function For Corn Ethanol Plants In The Midwest, Juan Sesmero, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nebraska Historical Prices, Seasonal Price Patterns, And Futures Basis Beef Cattle, 2001–2015, Jacob Birch, Kate Brooks

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Introduction This publication is designed to help cattle producers with acquisition and merchandising decisions for calves and fed cattle. Western Nebraska prices for various sex and weights of cattle are provided. Feeder and live cattle futures bases are calculated using Nebraska average cash prices and the average nearby futures prices from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Historical For the intended purposes of this publication, prices are reflected from 2001 through 2015. Historical prices prior to 2001 are available, but have lower bearing on current pricing strategies. Prices have been exceedingly volatile due to competition for feeds and short supply of feeders. …

Economic Feasibility Of High Omega-3 Soybean Oil In Mariculture Diets: A Sustainable Replacement For Fish Oil., Subir Bairagi, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Tom Clemente, Cory Hungate, G. Key

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

U.S. Agricultural Productivity: A Review Of Usda Economic Research Service Methods, Richard Shumway, Barbara Fraumeni, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Jon Samuels, Spiro Stefanou

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is There A Slowdown In Agricultural Productivity Growth In South America?, Federico Trindade, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Piecemeal Reform Of Trade And Environmental Policy When Consumption Also Pollutes, Mark R. Metcalfe, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We incorporate endogenous (price-responsive) consumption pollution into a dual trade model to assess welfare effects of coordinated trade and environmental piecemeal reform in a small, open and distorted economy. Pollution is generated by production and consumption. Producers control the level of pollution and face incentives to abate both types of pollution. We identify sufficient conditions for welfare-improving reforms of trade and environmental policies. An additional domestic environmental policy instrument must be imposed on exportables because of their supply response to foreign environmental taxes.

Measurement Of U.S. Agricultural Productivity: A 2014 Review Of Current Statistics And Proposals For Change., Richard Shumway, Barbara Fraumeni, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Jon Samuels, Spiro Stefanou

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Theory Of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Neoclassical Primer, Jeffrey S. Royer

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This monograph provides an introduction to the neoclassical theory of agricultural cooperatives. The neoclassical theory of cooperatives has been useful for generating insights into the behavior of cooperatives in various market structures, helping cooperatives develop business strategies consistent with their objectives, and informing public policy decisions concerning cooperatives. This monograph describes the application of neoclassical theory to farm supply and marketing cooperatives within various market structures in both the short and long run. Topics covered include the stability of cooperative price and output solutions, strategies for reducing the cost of producing a farm input sold to members and for raising …

Requiring Pollutant Discharge Permits For Pesticide Applications That Deposit Residues In Surface Waters, Terence J. Centner, Nicholas Eberhart

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Agricultural producers and public health authorities apply pesticides to control pests that damage crops and carry diseases. Due to the toxic nature of most pesticides, they are regulated by governments. Regulatory provisions require pesticides to be registered and restrictions operate to safeguard human health and the environment. Yet pesticides used near surface waters pose dangers to non-target species and drinking water supplies leading some governments to regulate discharges of pesticides under pollution discharge permits. The dual registration and discharge permitting provisions are burdensome. In the United States, agricultural interest groups are advancing new legislation that would exempt pesticide residues from …

The Impact Of Environmental Regulation On The Structure Of The Us Hog Industry, Gibson Nene, Azzeddine M. Azzam, Karina Schoengold

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Abstract: This paper develops a comparative statics model of long-run industry equilibrium in the presence of size-based environmental regulation stringency and applies the model to the United States hog industry. The economic model shows that when size-based environmental stringency is also size-biased, large farms downsize, expand, or do neither depending on how environmental stringency shifts their marginal production cost relative to their average cost. Empirical testing using data from the top-ten hog producing states suggests that environmental regulation stringency has limited impact on small farms and leads to a reduction in the number of large farms. We cannot reject positive …

Accounting For Product Substitution In The Analysis Of Food Taxes Targeting Obesity, Zhen Miao, John C. Beghin, Helen H. Jensen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We extend the existing literature on food taxes targeting obesity. We systematically incorporate the implicit substitution between added sugars and solid fats into a comprehensive food demand system and evaluate the effect of taxes on sugars and fats. The approach conditions how food and obesity taxes affect total calorie intake. The proposed methodology accounts for the ability of consumers to substitute leaner low-fat and low-sugar items for rich food items within the same food group. This substitution is integrated into a calibrated demand system in addition to the substitution among food groups, using recent food intake data and existing demand …