Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Engagement In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Civic And Political Participation And Views Of Community Leadership: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans have participated in community involvement activities but they have not been as involved in some political activities. However, most rural Nebraskans have spoken with their pocketbooks on political and social issues by either buying or boycotting products because of the social and political values of the company providing them. And, many rural Nebraskans have signed a written petition about a political or social issue and have contacted a local public official to express their opinion.

Certain groups are more likely than others to have participated in community and political involvement activities. While younger persons are more likely …

Assessing Alabama Consumer Attitudes And Beliefs About Locally Or Regionally Produced Livestock And Products, Nii O. Tackie, Jannette R. Bartlett, Akua Adu-Gyamfi

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Abstract

Local and regional food production has gained increased interest of consumers in recent years. The study, therefore, focused on assessing consumer attitudes and beliefs on local or regional livestock products. Data were obtained from a convenience sample of 432 participants from South Central Alabama, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including chi-square tests. A majority of respondents thought using chemicals and additives in locally or regionally produced beef or goat meat was a serious hazard. Therefore, many were willing to pay more for meat certified as locally or regionally produced. Also, most agreed or strongly agreed with statements on …

Chutes And Ladders: Climate Variability And The Decision To Enter Sex Work In India, Kate Pennington

Master's Theses

There is widespread consensus that climate change will drive large-scale changes in poverty distributions, migration, and participation in risky informal labor markets, especially for poor households in developing countries which are both more likely to depend on the environment for their livelihood and less able to insulate against climate shocks. Within poor households, gender inequality means that women and children will bear a disproportional amount of welfare losses. I examine the impact of climate variability on migration and participation in risky informal labor markets for a particularly vulnerable population: female sex workers in India. Using a unique survey of 5,498 …

Unintended Consequences Of Enforcement In A Fisheries Institution: Results From An Artefactual Experiment In Tanzania, Spencer Maccoll

Master's Theses

Overfishing and the destruction of fishing commons in developing countries is a growing problem. Policymakers and local community leaders are looking for solutions to keep their fishing commons sustainable. Fines and enforcement mechanisms are commonly suggested to help preserve the commons. This paper discusses a novel artefactual experiment conducted throughout several fishing communities in Tanzania to determine the effect of enforcing a ban on illegal fishing gear on fishing behavior. Results indicate that the fishers in the enforcement treatment group depleted the fish stock significantly faster than the unenforced control group. One possible explanation for this result is that the …

Consumption Smoothing And Labor Supply Allocation Decisions: Evidence From Tanzania, Dustin Davis

Master's Theses

This paper tests the hypothesis that agricultural households engage in intermittent wage labor as a way to smooth consumption in the face of idiosyncratic shocks to agricultural income. Using data on agricultural households from the Tanzanian LSMS-ISA National Panel Survey and global commodity price data as a source of plausibly exogenous variation, the sensitivity of wage labor to farm income shocks is estimated. The idiosyncratic shock to post-harvest income is estimated by incorporating pre-harvest information, including local farm-gate prices as instrumented by global commodity prices. The results show that households are more likely to select into wage labor and work …

Fishing For A Sustainable Future: Aquaponics As A Method Of Food Production, Richard Ramsundar

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis compares and explains the advantages aquaponics farming has over modern industrial intensive farming. Through a comparison natural capital usage, conservation, recycling and cost, the thesis advocates for the expansion of aquaponics usage in urban settings. The thesis also explains the history of intensive farming and aquaponics in America, the science of how aquaponics operates, the economic and environmental costs of modern intensive farming versus aquaponics farming, and the social implications of aquaponics. Lastly, I propose a policy that reallocates farm subsidies by modifying the Farm Bill. Then I propose policies that support creating a new standard of farm …

Resistance, Acquiescence Or Incorporation? An Introduction To Land Grabbing And Political Reactions ‘From Below’, Marc Edelman, Ruth Hall, Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Ian Scoones, Ben White, Wendy Wolford

Publications and Research

Political reactions ‘from below’ to global land grabbing have been vastly more varied and complex than is usually assumed. This essay introduces a collection of ground- breaking studies that discuss responses that range from various types of organized and everyday resistance to demands for incorporation or for better terms of incorporation into land deals. Initiatives ‘from below’ in response to land deals have involved local and transnational alliances and the use of legal and extra-legal methods, and have brought victories and defeats. The relevance of political reactions to land grabbing is discussed in light of theories of social movements and …

Economic Impact Of The Pork Industry On South Dakota, Gary Taylor

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Economic Impact Of The Beef Industry On South Dakota, Gary Taylor

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

The Curious Case Of Solu Khumbu: A Study Of The Effects Of Tourism In The Town Of Junbesi, Hannah Cho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Before 1953, the year that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summited Everest, almost all Sherpas were subsistence farmers, traders, and herders. But ever since the 1980’s, Sherpas have taken over the trekking industry in this region. The increase of tourism and the monopolization of this industry have altered the livelihoods of Sherpas in Solu Khumbu. However, most tourism related research on Solu Khumbu has been done primarily on upper Khumbu, which has been affected by tourism drastically differently than Solu. I will be doing a case study of how the changes in tourism have affected Junbesi, a popular agriculture based …

Extractivist Agribusiness Model: Analysis Of Social Resistances Emerging In Response To The Extractivist Agribusiness Model: A Case Study Of The Industrial Belt Of Gran Rosario, Alexa González

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In regards to human rights and environmental rights, there is a paradox that exists between the rhetoric and actions of the government regarding agribusiness. While the Argentine government increasingly connects their rhetoric to the promotion of these rights, they have allowed transnational corporations to modify the agricultural model in a way that exploits the land for the production of commodities. People living in fields where biotechnology is operated and urban-industrial zones where the commodities are exported report health problems and deaths in light of the corporations’ presence. Confronted with the degradation of their fundamental rights, those whose lives are being …

Corn Use In South Dakota, Henry Brown, Matthew Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Signed Peer Reviews As A Means To Improve Scholarly Publishing, Linwood H. Pendleton

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Peer review is a necessary process with a long history of complaints, including over-solicitation of a small number of reviewers, delays, inadequate numbers of reviewers, and a lack of incentives to provide strong reviews or avoid reviews with little helpful information for the author. In the era of Web-based distribution of research, through working paper or project reports, anonymous peer reviews are much less likely. The Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics will use signed peer reviews and an open communication process among authors, reviewers, and editors. This approach, to be developed over time, should lead to stronger communication of …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

The Evolution Of Non-Market Valuation Of U.S. Coastal And Marine Resources, Douglas Lipton, Dan K. Lew, Kristy Wallmo, Peter Wiley, Anthony Dvarskas

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

At the federal level, particularly within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), regulatory and programmatic needs have driven the continued development and application of non-market valuation approaches to marine and coastal resources. The evolution of these valuation approaches not only entails adopting the recommendations of the 1993 NOAA blue ribbon panel on contingent valuation, but also an expansion of stated preference approaches with increased use of stated preference choice experiments. Revealed preference approaches have also advanced with more sophisticated random utility models. We provide an overview of this evolution in the areas of natural resources damage assessment, protected resources, …

Developing A Comparative Marine Socio-Economic Framework For The European Atlantic Area, Naomi S. Foley, Rebecca Corless, Marta Escapa, Frances Fahy, Javier Fernandez-Macho, Susana Gabriel, Pilar Gonzalez, Stephen Hynes, Regis Kalaydjian, Susana Moreira, Kieran Moylan, Arantza Murillas, Michael O'Brien, Katherine Simpson, Dugald Tinch

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Availability and easy access to a wide range of natural and human-activity data on the oceans and coastal regions of Europe is the basis for strategic decision-making on coastal and marine policy. Strategies within Europe’s Integrated Maritime Policy, including the Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic Area, Blue Growth, Maritime Spatial Planning and Marine Data and Knowledge, require coherent and comparable socio-economic data across European countries. Similarly, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires member states to carry out economic and social analysis of their waters and the reformed Common Fisheries Policy includes a social dimension requiring socio-economic data. However, the availability …

Assessing The Economic Costs Of Water Pollution In The Yangtze River, China, Xiaoli Zhang

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Water pollution of the Yangtze River basin is very serious. Studies have shown that from the upper to the lower river, the water volume decreases and development and pollution increase, especially in trans-boundary areas. The Yangtze Estuary is located at the intersection of Jiangsu Province and Shanghai where the waters flow directly into the East China Sea. The estuary provides drinking water to many people and serves multiple other functions, including agricultural irrigation, tourism, and aquaculture. It plays a pivotal role in the local social and economic development and in people’s general wellbeing. Directly or indirectly, the pollution of the …

What Have We Learned From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster? An Economist’S Perspective, Daniel R. Petrolia

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This paper outlines what we have learned about the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil disaster from the economics discipline as well as what effect the DWH disaster has had on the economics discipline. It appears that what we know about the economic impact of the DWH spill today is limited, possibly because such analysis is tied up in the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process and other state-led efforts. There is evidence, however, that the NRDA process has changed over time to de-emphasize economic valuation of damages. There is also evidence that economists may be producing fewer …

Optimism In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans are the most positive about their current situation as they’ve been in all 20 years of this study. Just over one-half (53%) of rural Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago (the highest proportion in all 20 years of this study, tied in 2008). This is up slightly from 50 percent last year. And, rural Nebraskans’ outlook on their future is the most optimistic in all 20 years of this study. Almost one-half of rural Nebraskans (48%) believe they will be better off ten years from now (the highest of all …

Operations And Profitability Of Snail Dredging In Laguna, Rizal And Pasig City, Eden Piadozo, Mj Malabayabas, Dominic Hamada, Roberto F. Ranola Jr.

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The objective of this study is to provide a better understanding of the snail dredging industry and its current situation. Specifically, it describes the snail dredging activities done in selected areas in Laguna Lake, determines the profitability of snail dredging, and identifies the market destinations of the snails dredged. Snail dredging has been banned because of its adverse effects on the lake environment. However, the study finds that snail dredgers continue to operate all year round. On a daily basis, dredging operations range from 4 to 10 hours. Snails dredged from Laguna Lake are brought to the provinces of Pampanga …

Decoy Effect And Student Preference With Regard To Usb Flash Drives, Jeff Arapoc

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Standard economic theory assumes that individuals make decisions that are consistent across different choice situations. Behavioral economics challenges the standard economic theory account of individual behavior. This budding field suggests that consumer preference for one option over another changes as a result of adding another option. This study aims to determine the effect of a decoy option on consumer preference for USB flash drives. A quasi-experiment was conducted among 100 UPLB students wherein each respondent was initially asked to choose between two kinds of flash drive. The researcher then adds a decoy option to test if the respondent will change …

Farmers’ Willingness To Pay For An Alternative Irrigation Policy To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Rice Farming In The Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System, Fezoil Luz C. Decena, Impa Buayon

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The practice of continuous flooding of rice fields in the national irrigation systems has attendant issues, including the inefficient use of water, unequal distribution of water along the irrigation canals, and greenhouse gas emissions. An ex-ante analysis was conducted to evaluate alternative policy options in the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems, using both market and non-market approaches. The market approach estimated the greenhouse gas avoided and water savings due to the shift in policy. The non-market approach used choice experiment to estimate willingness to pay of farmers to shift the current to an alternative policy. The study concludes that …

Price Cointegration And Leadership In Regional Tilapia And Roundscad Markets In The Philippines,1990-2007, Yolanda T. Garcia

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

This study aims to investigate the price dynamics between the wholesale and retail prices of roundscad and tilapia in the regional markets of the Philippines. It also seeks to analyze how the observed dynamics in these prices could be linked to the development in market-related infrastructures that can promote trade, e.g., telecommunication and transportation facilities. Results of the study reveal that there is a general decrease in the number of regions that show cointegrated wholesale and retail prices over time in both fish species. Moreover, price leadership under the “Granger-causality” sense (of either wholesale or retail price) seems to diminish …

Building Disaster Resilience To Address Household Food Security: The Case Of Sta. Rosa-Silang Subwatershed, Roberto F. Ranola Jr., Mi Cuesta, Bam Zaraf

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The Laguna Lake Region is one of the places in the Philippines that are most vulnerable to natural disasters because of their location and ecological condition. Among the natural calamities that regularly hit the country, one of the most frequent and disastrous is flooding. The most affected are the poor who are faced with the double risk of being food insecure and living in conditions that are very vulnerable to natural hazards. The most negative and long-term effect of flooding is reduction in food security because flooding erodes the asset base of households that in turn results in the adoption …

Socio-Economic And Environmental Assessment Of A Microcontroller-Based Coffee Roasting Machine: Implications For Market Potential And Technology Commercialization, Ruel M. Mojica, Marilyn M. Elauria

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The study assesses the socio-economic and environmental performance leading to the commercialization of the micro-controller-based coffee roasting machine for smallscale roasting operations. Key informant interview and coffee farmers’ survey were conducted to assess the farmer- respondents’ perceptions of coffee roasting machines and availability of resources. Results show that the designed coffee roaster almost fits the farmers’ criteria in selecting coffee roasting machine. Coffee farmers perceived the machine to be a very good technology as evidenced by its highly acceptable rating. Investment analysis reveals that using the roaster for custom work would be a profitable business with an IRR of 76% …

Effects Of Extension Services On The Technical Efficiency Of Rice Farmers In Albay, 2014-2015, Bm Bathan

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Through the Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) program, extension services in the form of trainings and seminars, and education and communication materials were provided to rice farmers in Albay. Using farm-level input-output data covering the wet season of 2014 and the socio-economic and farm-specific characteristics of randomly sampled 30 farmer beneficiaries and 30 non-beneficiaries, a stochastic production function and technical inefficiency model were estimated. Results of the study reveal that beneficiaries have higher input utilization, yield and technical efficiency than non-beneficiaries. Furthermore, the amount of seed and fertilizer significantly and positively affects the yield of rice. In addition, the …

Economic Impacts Of Smallholder Oil Palm (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq.) Plantations On Peatlands In Indonesia, Roberto F. Ranola Jr., Asa Jose Sajise

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

Oil palm smallholders on peatlands have contributed significantly to economic development in rural areas by augmenting income and reducing poverty. However, these plantations also cause adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, haze and peat fires, deforestation, water supply disruption and biodiversity loss. The objective of the study is to determine the economic impacts of developing smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands in Siak District Riau Province, Indonesia. Cochran sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Cost benefit analysis was used to determine the economic impacts of the smallholder oil palm plantations. Results reveal that the development of 94,726 …

Sampling Strategies For Finite Population Using Auxiliary Information, Florentin Smarandache, Rajesh Singh

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The present book aims to present some improved estimators using auxiliary and attribute information in case of simple random sampling and stratified random sampling and in some cases when non-response is present. This volume is a collection of five papers, written by seven co-authors (listed in the order of the papers): Sachin Malik, Rajesh Singh, Florentin Smarandache, B. B. Khare, P. S. Jha, Usha Srivastava and Habib Ur. Rehman. The first and the second papers deal with the problem of estimating the finite population mean when some information on two auxiliary attributes are available. In the third paper, problems related …

The Economic Impacts Of Forest Pathogens In Washington State: A Hedonic Approach, Logan Blair

All Master's Theses

An increase in the incidence of forest pathogens in the Western US has created new resource management issues. In this research I employ a dataset of 170,141 housing transactions in twelve Western Washington counties to quantify the impacts of parasitic forest damage on the proxy real estate market. Specifically, I estimate a set of hedonic fixed effects models to control for omitted variable bias and spatial autocorrelation. Results show statistically significant impacts on property values in the presence of species specific and aggregate defoliation, suggesting new information for forestry management and policy.

Does Financial Literacy Contribute To Food Security?, Katherine Grace Carman, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Food insecurity, not having consistent access to adequate food for active, healthy lives for all household members is most common among low income households. However, income alone is not sufficient to explain who experiences food insecurity. This study investigates the relationship between financial literacy and food security. We find that low income households who exhibit financial literacy are less likely to experience food insecurity.