Economics Commons^™

The History Of Emission Trading Programs And The Future Of Agricultural Sequestration Carbon Offsets, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Agricultural carbon credits based on sequestering (i.e. storing) additional soil carbon are a relatively recent phenomenon in the effort to address global warming. Businesses have purchased ag sequestration carbon credits to help meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction pledges. Ag sequestration carbon credits are difficult and expensive to accurately measure and usually represent only temporary GHG reductions, not permanent ones. A major USDA study is underway to examine the advantages and disadvantages of ag sequestration carbon credits and their use in achieving voluntary business GHG reduction plans. This paper takes a quick look at (1) the development of the acid …

Rural Development Hubs, A Possibility For Nebraska?, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

The Aspen Institute, Community Strategies Group conducted an analysis of 43 Rural Development Hubs from across the country to discover their strategies, organizational structures, regional roles, and practices. Their aim was to learn how rural regions can help investors, policymakers and other local and regional decision-makers better serve their regions. The following provides an overview of their findings detailed in the report: Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure. The report provides an opportunity for further discussion on the potential role of Rural Development Hubs in Nebraska. Rural Development Hubs are defined as a “place-rooted organization working hand-in -glove …

Reintroducing Hemp (Rongony) In The Material Palette Of Madagascar: A Study On The Potential Of Hemp Clay Components And Its Impact On Social And Ecological Communities., Henintsoa Thierry Andrianambinina

Masters Theses

When mentioning the word hemp, especially in the local language of Madagascar, the literal translation does not set it apart from marijuana, as they are both called “rongony” - creating the stigma around hemp as the negative stereotype of marijuana. However, the material has been used by the ancestors of Madagascar, as well as across cultures, in its fibrous form to produce fabrication like textile goods and packaging. During colonization, the prohibition of hemp intensified, and since then, any activity related to either of these plants is prohibited and will end in severe punitive measures. This thesis explores the strengths …

They Shrank The Futures Contracts! Mini Futures Contracts: What They Are And How To Use Them, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

Mini futures contracts (or e-mini, since they are traded electronically) were first developed in the late 1990s based on futures contracts that already existed. The main characteristic of mini contracts is that they represent a fraction of standard-size contracts. For example, the first mini contract was launched in 1997 and based on the S&P500 futures contract. The size of the standard futures contract is $250 times the value of the S&P500 index, while the size of the mini futures contract is $50 times the value of the S&P500 index. If the index is at 4,200 points, the total value of …

Nebraska National Agri-Marketing Association (Nama) Is Back On Track, Ashton Humphreys, Rosalee A. Swartz

Cornhusker Economics

UNL’s National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student organization is one of more than thirty student chapters across the U.S. and Canada. NAMA’s objective is to make students aware of the many career opportunities in agricultural marketing. Building strong connections between students and professionals in marketing, advertising, communications, promotion, sales, and public relations is the key to this objective. NAMA members also have opportunities to develop leadership and team-building skills through club activities and involvement. Two years of COVID created a leadership and experience gap for UNL NAMA. Officers from 2018-2019 had graduated. Monthly meetings were suspended for some time, followed by …

Depreciation Changes Ahead, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed in 2018, a lot of time and focus was placed on all the things that were changing quickly and the things that were 5-6 years out became back burner problems. Amazingly enough, we are now at the stage of the bill where things are starting to phase out. These changes will start to impact tax returns starting in 2023 and will continue increasing taxable income through 2025. The first change is the phase out of the Bonus depreciation. This law has been on the books since 2001 (there was no …

The Unintended Consequences Of China’S One-Child Policy, Wesley Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published a book entitled The Population Bomb in which he argued that rapid population growth would overwhelm the world’s capacity to feed, house, and otherwise care for the coming millions of people. At that time, the world population was about 3.5 billion growing at an average annual rate of 2.06 percent (World Bank 2023). At that rate of growth, the world’s population would have been expected to double to 7.0 billion by 2001. In fact, population growth rates fell after the 1960s and world population reached only 6.2 billion in that year. Fears of a population …

Pursuing Antiracist Public Policy Education: An Example Connecting The Racist History Of Housing Policy To Contemporary Inequity, Craig W. Carpenter, Tyler Augst, Harmony Fierke-Gmazel, Bradley Neumann, Richard Wooten

The Journal of Extension

We review the antiracism concept and contextualize it in Extension public policy education and the Extension system itself. Despite public policy education having a long history in Extension on a wide variety of issues, missing from this programming is the pursuit of antiracism. As a programmatic example, we review some historical causes of present-day housing inequities and an associated example approach for pursuing antiracism in housing policy education. Finally, we conclude by noting additional opportunities to pursue antiracism in Extension public policy education. In doing so, we emphasize that public policy education cannot be “nonracist” if it is not antiracist.

The Trade Impact Of Economic Integration Agreements, Byungyul Park, John C. Beghin

Cornhusker Economics

A year ago, Cornhusker Economics reported on the substantial trade integration that has been taking place globally in recent decades (see Beghin, 2022). With this proliferation of Economic Integration Agreements (EIAs) through regional and bilateral trade agreements and customs unions since the 1990s, many economists have investigated the effect of these agreements on merchandise trade. Early investigations struggled to find robust findings. They reached two opposite conclusions, with an eventual rejoinder on their limitations. Some investigations found statistically insignificant or negligible effects of EIAs on trade flows. Other investigations found significant effects, sometimes negative, of EIAs on trade. See Park …

Rising Interest Rates: What They Mean For You And The Economy, Timothy L. Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Discusses rising interest rates what they mean for agricultural workers and the economy.

Don’T Talk To Me Until I’Ve Had My Coffee: An Analysis Of Colombia’S Changing Coffee And Agricultural Sector In The Face Of Climate Change, Nita Vemuri

Senior Projects Spring 2023

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Abstract

“With each year that passes, Atlantic and Pacific cyclone generating areas have experienced higher sea surface temperatures and increases in the intensity and duration of tropical storms.” (Sherbinin et al., 2007) While climate change remains a myth to some, it has become a reality for many, especially those whose livelihoods depend on climate-vulnerable fields and occupations. Latin American countries are especially subjected to climate change consequences because of their vast agricultural sectors and their reliance on ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) patterns, “There is a clear relationship …

Would Ai Stocks Estimate Be As Surprised To Usda Stocks Reports As Private Market Analysts?, Asif Mahmud Chowdhury

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The USDA survey-based Quarterly Agriculture Stocks (QAS) reports are the primary source of information regarding the relative supply of U.S. corn, soybeans, and wheat for the last fifty years. Research has examined USDA stock reports and their relevancy to the market (e.g., Isengildina-Massa et al., 2021). In addition, private industry analysts estimate expected quarterly grain stock reports before USDA releases them. Market information firms such as Bloomberg and Reuters publish a subset of these estimates a few days before the USDA reports. Previous research has found that when industry analysts have significant differences in stock expectations compared to what the …

Determinants Of Performance In Smallholder Farmer Groups In Uganda, David Agole, Connie D. Baggett, John C. Ewing, Edgar P. Yoder, Margaret N. Mangheni

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

The performance of farmer groups is critical for the success of the farmer-led Agricultural Extension approach currently used in Uganda. This study examines factors affecting performance of farmer groups accessing agricultural extension and advisory services from the National Agricultural Advisory Services in Eastern Uganda. The study collected data 200 members of 19 farmer groups in Eastern Uganda. Performance of farmer groups was the dependent variable, which was perceived to be influenced by individual members’ objectives, participation culture, power distance, structure of task, perceived equity, reward allocation and participation in group activities. Farmer group performance had a statistically significant positive relationship …

How Effective Are The Russian Sanctions?, Wesley Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to extensive economic, financial, trade, and other types of sanctions directed at individual Russians and the Russian economy. The long-term negative effects of the war on the Russian economy may be even more severe and the broader impacts of the conflict mean that it will have serious repercussions for future global economic, political, and diplomatic relations.

Innovation In Futures Markets: Event Contracts, Speculation, And Hedging, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

The CME Group has recently launched a new type of contract whose payoffs are based on specific events. These contracts are called event contracts but are also known as prediction contracts or information contracts. They are short-term contracts that expire at the end of each trading day. Traders can take positions in these contracts as they predict whether the price of a given asset will finish the trading day above or below a set value.

Discusses: How are they traded? Main characteristics of event contracts. Event contracts offered by CME group and event examples on October 21, 2022. Why were …

On The Market For "Lemons": When Low Quality Does Not Drive High Quality Out Of The Market, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray E. Fulton

Cornhusker Economics

In a research article published in Nature's Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s4l 599-020-00658-w) we identify the conditions under which the introduction of a low -quality product does not drive its high-quality counterpart out of the market but, instead, ends-up coexisting with it. Using a theoretical framework of heterogeneous consumers and producers in the context of a market for quality- ( or vertically-) differentiated products supplied by producers differing in their production efficiency, we show that the equilibrium quality configuration in a market depends on both the unobservability of product quality by consumers and the relative costs …

The Storm In World Fertilizer Markets Continues, John C. Beghin

Cornhusker Economics

This article updates the recent article on world fertilizer markets by Beghin and Nogueira (2021), which noted the perfect storm affecting global fertilizer markets through high demand, droughts affecting fertilizer supply, high fossil energy prices, COVID 19-related supply-chain disruptions, and trade policies, all conspiring to elevate fertilizer nominal prices to levels not seen since 2008. In the last 10 months, the Ukraine-Russia war and associated trade sanctions have exacerbated the disruptions in fossil energy, grain, vegetable oil, and fertilizer markets already present in 2021. On the more hopeful side, some United States trade policy developments will help reduce US fertilizer …

Exploring The Impacts Of Lead Farmer Selection On Community Social Learning: The Case Of Farmer-To-Farmer Model: A Review Of Literature, Willis Ochieng, Colby J. Silvert, John Diaz

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education

Agricultural extension has shifted towards community-centric, farmer-centered, and participatory approaches that enhance rural change through a social learning lens, resulting in the emergence of the farmer-to-farmer extension model. The purpose of the study was to understand lead farmer selection criteria within the farmer-to-farmer model and their impacts on community social learning. We applied Torraco’s (2005) integrative literature review method to guide our discussion around lead farmer selection processes, types of lead farmers selected and their impacts on social learning. The study indicated farmer-to-farmer extension model has the potential of re-invigorating the provision of agriculture extension services owing to its low …

Discrete Choice Experiments In Agricultural And Food Economics: Two Essays On Information Provision Modalities, Uncertainty Adjustment, And Hypothetical Bias, Monsoïa Arsène Juste Agossadou

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stated discrete choice experiments are extensively used in applied economics to study preferences and valuation for new products, as well as costs and benefits of new policies and programs. Moreover, information provision experiments widely use the method to examine information effects on different outcomes. This thesis explores two methodological issues in discrete choice experiments: (i) information provision modalities and (ii) hypothetical bias. The first study examines the effect of information modality by testing the effect of using combined text script and audio clip (treatment) versus only text script (control) to convey information in discrete choice experiments. Specifically, the study elicits …

Comparing The Performance Of Cooperative Plans For Equity Accumulation And Retirement, Jeffrey S. Royer

Cornhusker Economics

Equity allocated to members plays a crucial role in financing agricultural cooperatives. Although retained earnings not allocated to members have become an increasingly importantsource of equity in recent years, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data show thatallocated equity still accounted for 55.5 percent of the $47.5 billion in total equity held in U.S.cooperatives in 2020. [1] Allocated member equity differs from unallocated equity fromretained earnings in that it is owned by individual members and there is an expectation thatit will be redeemed in cash when it is eventually replaced by newer allocations. A recent study has examined the comparative performance …

The Farm And Ranch Hired Labor Market, Larry Van Tassell

Cornhusker Economics

The historical causality between increased agricultural mechanization and reduction in farmlabor is a well-known relationship. The reduction in both family and hired farmworkers onU.S. f arms from 1950 to 2000 is presented in Figure 1. In 1950, the nearly 10 million farmlabor force was composed of 23.5% hired farm workers. In 2000, the last year this data wasavailable, farm labor had reduced to 3.19 million workers and was comprised of 35.4% ofthose workers being hired. The reduction in total farm workers and the trend of reduced farmlabor and a relative increase in hired farm labor appears to have stabilized during …

Valuation Of Soil Health Ecosystem Services. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #5, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, we present estimates for ecosystem services from soil health using two approaches for four different services. One approach generates estimates based on soil-health practices, and the other approach is based on improvements in soil-health indicators. For soil- health practices, such as adopting best-management practices on annual corn, we utilize a set of off-the shelf empirical models widely used to estimate ecological functions on farm landscapes. For soil-health indicators, we make estimates by linking these tools with soil data and statistical models describing how soil-health parameters influence the interaction of soils with water and their environment. We provide …

Western Australian Regional Development Trust Annual Report 2021-22, West Australian Development Trust

Western Australian Regional Development Trust Annual Reports

The Trust is an independent statutory advisory body to the Minister, established under the Royalties for Regions Act 2009 (Act).

The functions of the Trust are to provide advice and make recommendations to the Minister:

• for the purposes of sections 5(2) and 9(1) of the Act; and
• on any other matter relating to the operation of the Fund that is referred to it by the Minister.

In addition to its monitoring and advisory role, the Trust also works to engage and enhance relationships with key regional stakeholders and influencers to promote greater collaboration and innovation in the delivery of regional …

2022 Nebraska Agricultural Custom Rates With Statewide Survey Summary, Glennis Mcclure

Cornhusker Economics

With rising operational costs for agricultural machine hire and services, rates reported on the 2022 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Custom Rates Survey were mostly higher than rates reported on the 2020 survey, ranging from 6% to nearly 20% greater on some common custom services. For example, state average custom rates for harvesting corn and soybeans per acre increased to $41.63 and $40.18 from $39.34 and $37.29, respectively, two years ago. Planting row crop average rates across Nebraska range from $20.17 per acre (no coulters, without band applicator) to $23.50 per acre for ridge planting with band applicator,up 6% to 8% from …

Commodity Marketing For High School Students, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

Agricultural commodities play a major role in Nebraska’s economy and are central to the life of many families in the state. Learning the main concepts of commodity marketing becomes essential for young Nebraskans considering careers in the agricultural industry or in farming. Therefore, in the last 10 years, the Department of Agricultural Economics has been expanding its curriculum in commodity marketing and merchandising, as has already been discussed in this space a few years ago (“Commodity Trading Room Comes Online at UNL,” 6/29/2016). Following the same ideas, we are now expanding our efforts to offer a program in commodity marketing …

Complying With Cecl – Applying The Scale Method To Nebraska Community Banks, Jeffrey Stokes, Jared Stauffer

Cornhusker Economics

Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) is a new expected credit loss accounting standard that was first introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 2016. This new method is meant to replace the current Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) standard. CECL requires the estimation of expected losses over the life of a loan, while ALLL is based on historic, or incurred, losses. This change largely affects banks, but other financial institutions that hold or trade securities can also be subject to the rule. Although CECL was introduced in 2016, the implementation of the rule has had a …

The 30x30 Program: A Federal Land Grab?, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

In January 2021, the Biden Administration issued a climate policy executive order.[2] [or EO].[3] Section 216 of the Biden climate EO, Conserving & Protecting our Nation’s Lands & Waters, directed the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Commerce (which includes NOAA, the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) to prepare a report “recommending steps that the United States should take, working with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen and other key stakeholders to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30% of our lands and waters …

Grocery Store Transitions To Multi-Own Ership - Opportunities And Challenges, Marilyn Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

Independent grocery stores, stores whose owners operate fewer than four outlets, play a vital role in Nebraska communities. These stores help ensure food access for residents, particularly in rural areas. The recent decline in Nebraska’s total number of rural grocery stores is attributed to the closure of these independent stores, which are often owned by individuals or small groups. Finding qualified, motivated owners to purchase and operate independent grocery stores presents pressing challenges for many rural communities. Despite challenges, research shows that rural Nebraska communities perceive their independent grocery store to be an important community amenity. This suggests rural communities …

North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center Helps Producers Manage Risks, Christine Lockert, Brad Lubben, Sheila Aikanathan Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

Farmers and ranchers face many risks and challenges in production agriculture every day. Changing market fundamentals, farm policy reforms, and crop insurance program developments defined the risk environment that led to the authorization of agricultural risk management education as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000. The educational efforts that have followed have been designed to help producers manage the full range of production, marketing, financial, legal, and human risks that are all part of agriculture. In the more than two decades since, the risks facing producers have continued to grow. Producers managed through both the opportunities of …

The Coming Global Food Crisis, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Inflation driven by rising prices for food, energy, and other consumer goods has become a major concern in the United States and other high-income countries. A far more serious issue is the effect of rising food prices on low-income households in many developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Global food prices had been rising in 2020 and 2021 as a result of supply shortages caused by adverse weather conditions exacerbated by climate change, war and civil strife in various countries, and economic shocks in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent disruption of global supply chains …