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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Influence Of Technological Change On Grain Elevator Pricing Efficiency, Brian Schmiesing, Steven Blank, Steven Gunn
The Influence Of Technological Change On Grain Elevator Pricing Efficiency, Brian Schmiesing, Steven Blank, Steven Gunn
Economics Staff Paper Series
The introduction of unit train technology is found to increase the pricing efficiency of a case study elevator. Daily prices are found to be more correlated with destination market prices and nearby futures contract prices after the subterminal was introduced. The increased ability to physically arbitrage between markets integrated the elevator into the regional and national grain market. The subterminal technology altered the price behavior of the elevator beyond simply changing the level of prices received by producers.
Comparing Faculty And Alumni Expectations Of Future Agricultural Economics Curriculum Content, Steven Blank
Comparing Faculty And Alumni Expectations Of Future Agricultural Economics Curriculum Content, Steven Blank
Economics Staff Paper Series
This paper assesses both faculty and alumni expectations of future agricultural economics programs by reviewing the results of two surveys, one completed by each group. In general, faculty and alumni agree about the areas of greatest curriculum and/or resource need, but there are some differences. In the future, departments will continue to be challenged to balance their curriculum between what students want (agribusiness) and what they need (basic education).
Accounts Receivable Management At Local Cooperatives: A Review Of Actual Practices And Strategies For Improvement, Brian Schmiesing, Julie Bleyhl
Accounts Receivable Management At Local Cooperatives: A Review Of Actual Practices And Strategies For Improvement, Brian Schmiesing, Julie Bleyhl
Economics Staff Paper Series
Accounts receivable represent a major operating expense for local cooperatives. For example, the average local Minnesota cooperative affiliated with a major regional cooperative in 1983 had 35 percent of their total current assets being accounts receivable and credit costs associated with accounts receivable represented 2.5 percent of the credit sales revenue. In contrast, local net savings were only 1.2 percent of sales. Effective accounts receivable management is particularly important in a period of financial stress in agriculture, high interest rates on borrowed capital and narrow local cooperative margins. This paper will review the actual accounts receivable management practices of local …
Policy Interdependence, Causality And Supply Response In World Markets: The Case Of U.S. And Australian Tobacco, Steven Blank
Policy Interdependence, Causality And Supply Response In World Markets: The Case Of U.S. And Australian Tobacco, Steven Blank
Economics Staff Paper Series
The economic impact of international policy interdependence is illustrated using the world tobacco market as an example. The price discovery process is assessed using U.S. and Australian data. It appears that world tobacco prices are set through an oligopolistic rule-of-thumb pricing system with the U.S. being the tacit price leader. As a result, there has been a causal relationship between U.S. and Australian tobacco prices . However, no direct supply response to U.S. prices was observed in Australian markets.
Price Dependence And Futures Price Theory, Steven Blank
Price Dependence And Futures Price Theory, Steven Blank
Economics Staff Paper Series
A new interpretation of commodity futures price theory is evaluated because, currently, many products exhibit price behavior which cannot be explained with existing theory. A method for classifying products according to the particular price theory relevant to them is provided. The classification method uses the futures price dependence enforced by arbitrage opportunities in spot markets as its base. The futures markets for beef cattle and corn are used as examples.
Determining An Effective Teaching/Research Composition For Agricultural Economics Faculty Positions, Steven Blank
Determining An Effective Teaching/Research Composition For Agricultural Economics Faculty Positions, Steven Blank
Economics Staff Paper Series
Making more efficient use of resources in agricultural economics departments is an important challenge of this period of budget stress (Stanton and Farrell). Beattie noted that during such periods “. . . something must be done to relieve the pressure lest our universities be forced to reduce the quantity and/or quality of their output" (p. 209). In suggesting a direction for necessary action, Beattie used an analogy from the theory of the firm to argue for a strategy of "revenue maximization" on the part of agricultural economics departments. To achieve an efficient resource allocation "a university department, like a multi-product …
Role-Playing, Case Studies And Simulation Games As Teaching Aids In Applied Economics Courses, Steven Blank
Role-Playing, Case Studies And Simulation Games As Teaching Aids In Applied Economics Courses, Steven Blank
Economics Staff Paper Series
This paper assesses the impact of introducing role-playing, case studies and simulation games into undergraduate courses in applied economics. An educational impact model is used in a qualitative evaluation of the teaching aids and to generate hypotheses. Quantitative results of two experiments are used to test the hypotheses. Results indicate that each aid can improve students' performance when used in appropriate situations. However, there is a definite trade-off between student contact time requirements and the effect of these aids.
Two Basic Option Strategies For Producers: Buying Puts And Shorting Calls, Brian Schmiesing
Two Basic Option Strategies For Producers: Buying Puts And Shorting Calls, Brian Schmiesing
Economics Staff Paper Series
Beginning in the Fall of 1984, agricultural producers and agribusinesses will be confronted with another dimension of the deregulation trend in American Industry. Options on domestically produced agricultural commodities once again can be traded. As the country debates the 1985 Farm Bill, producers and agribusinesses must be making every effort to be prepared for the possibility of greater dependence on the market oriented policies in agriculture. In a free market environment, options, and their associated strategies must be considered as part of producer and agribusiness market strategies. This paper describes the basic terms and types of options, examines two option …
Agricultural Economics In Multidiscipline Research And Extension: Leading, Following, Integrating, Thomas Dobbs
Agricultural Economics In Multidiscipline Research And Extension: Leading, Following, Integrating, Thomas Dobbs
Economics Staff Paper Series
Multidiscipline agricultural research and extension provide special challenges to natural and social scientists. Each discipline, including agricultural economics, has unique strengths which can contribute to the effectiveness of multidiscipline programs. Each also faces special challenges and difficulties in such endeavors. This paper is intended to convey some of the major roles and challenges concerning involvement of agricultural economics in multidiscipline research and extension. It ls hoped that a better understanding of these roles and challenges will enable agricultural economists and their col leagues in other agricultural disciplines to more effectively work together. Thus, the intended audience for this paper includes …
Changing Times In South Dakota Agriculture: Implications For Our Citizens, Larry Janssen
Changing Times In South Dakota Agriculture: Implications For Our Citizens, Larry Janssen
Economics Staff Paper Series
We are living in times of rapid change in agriculture and in rural America. Hog and beef confinement systems, automated feeding systems, pesticides, four-wheel drive tractors and personal computers are innovations that did not exist or were seldom seen on farms 25 years ago. Interstate highways, factories in small cities, subterminal elevators and consolidated schools are examples of the changing landscape in rural America. In times of rapid change, many people are concerned about the future of agriculture, family farms and rural communities. In this paper, recent trends in South Dakota agriculture are presented and analyzed. Major implications of these …
Political Vs. Economic Incentives, B. Delworth Gardner
Political Vs. Economic Incentives, B. Delworth Gardner
Faculty Publications
H this paper is the best challenge that can be brought against the New Resource Economics (NRE) and its advocacy for privatization of the public lands, we are likely to see both around for a long time. If there is fallacy in the idea of privatization, it is not illuminated in the arguments of this article. The paper misrepresents what the NRE is, shows little comprehension of the basic concepts on which it rests, and completely reverses the basic nature of the privatization solution. I hope to demonstrate as much in this critique.
Two Agricultural Economists Look At Rural Sociology, B. Delworth Gardner, Carole Frank Nuckton
Two Agricultural Economists Look At Rural Sociology, B. Delworth Gardner, Carole Frank Nuckton
Faculty Publications
At the invitation of the editor, we shall attempt to describe our perceptions as agricultural economists of what is known to us as rural sociology. We should say right off that we are complimented that this invitation has been extended to us. We think that a comparison of our two disciplines has been useful to us, if only to clarify our thinking about our own. We emphasize that our perceptions are based on limited contact, and we have made no systematic study of your discipline. Even to attempt the critique and analysis of the kind requested of us presumes an …