Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Consumer Attitudes And Labeling Regime Key To The Market Potential Of Food Nanotechnology, Miah Tran, Amalia Yiannaka, Konstantinos Giannakas

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

Research shows that, even though most consumers lack knowledge and understanding of the technology, they nevertheless have strong opinions as to its potential risks and benefits. Advocates are determined to not repeat the mistakes of biotechnology. Understanding the factors determining the market acceptance of food nanotechnology and its potential impact on the different interest groups involved can inform the design of effective policies and strategies governing food nanotechnology innovations.

Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Creates Winners And Losers Among Consumers, Producers, And Retailers, Konstantinos Giannakas, Alejandro Plastina, Daniel Pick

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

Public Law 107-171, the United States Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, required country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts. While the aim is to benefit domestic consumers by allowing them to make informed decisions, the effects of COOL have been the subject of a heated on-going debate. Advocates of COOL argue the existence of an “overwhelming” consumer support for country of origin information and benefits that substantially outweigh the costs of this labeling regime. Opposing groups have expressed concerns about the potential competitive disadvantage that non-integrated producers might face due to …

Consumer-Oriented Gm Products Can Hurt Producers, Konstantinos Giannakas, Rim Lassoued

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

Despite their important agronomic benefits to agricultural producers, GM products (GMPs) have been facing a, rather strong, consumer opposition. This opposition varies significantly between countries and so does the countries’ regulatory response to products of biotechnology. While the US treats biotech products as substantially equivalent to their conventional counterparts and does not require their segregation and labeling, the European Union (EU), based on its “precautionary principle” and consumers’ “right to know,” has instituted a mandatory labeling regime that is regarded as the strictest in the world.

Food Labeling Standards Have Significant Welfare And Distributional Impacts, Konstantinos Giannakas, Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, Alexandre Magnier

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

Discussions on the appropriate regulatory norms for genetically modified (GM) foods date back to the early 1980s. Thirty years later, a consensus on what such norms should be remains elusive. Some countries, including the United States and Canada, consider GM foods substantially equivalent to their conventional counterparts and do not require segregation and labeling of these products. Others, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and China have introduced mandatory labeling regimes.

Empathy Nudging Increases Conservation Of Farming Land, Natalia V. Czap, Hans J. Czap, Gary D. Lynne, Mark E. Burbach

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

One of the major challenges of environmental policy with regard to conservation is that it must often rely on voluntary and non-selfish actions of individuals. Traditionally policy makers rely on direct regulation and financial incentives, but both approaches face problems. Regulations may lead to resentment and the costs of perfect enforcement are prohibitively high. Financial incentives can be perverse and may lead to unintended consequences, including crowding out of intrinsic motivation. In addition, behavioral economics and economic psychology studies demonstrate that the assumptions of the neoclassical economic models (such as self-interest only, rationality, and willpower) on which the policy design …

2013 Farm Bill: An Experimental Test Of The Senate And House Proposals, Natalia V. Czap, Hans J. Czap, Gary Lynne, Mark E. Burbach

CAFIO: Policy Research Group Policy Pagers

The 2008 Farm Bill currently guides agricultural and related environmental/conservation policy. Versions proposed by the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, to be implemented in the 2013 Farm Bill after differences are resolved, aim to achieve environmental (and other food related) goals, while also seeking significant spending cuts. While both versions propose to eliminate the Direct Payments program, they differ with respect to how other crop supports should work and whether crop insurance subsidies should be linked to conservation practices. The Senate Bill supports a policy design based on cross‐compliance, that is, crop insurance subsidies are conditional on …

Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Impacts And Reform Strategies, Jennifer E. Good

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that …

World Hunger, Keegan Flanigan, Garrett Cruz

Anthropology 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

U.S. to Mauritania Comparisons

• 40% of food processed in the United States is thrown away
• 1.3 billion tons of food, more than 1/3 of the world's food production is lost or wasted annually.
• If food waste in the United States was reduced by 15%, the amount of food could feed 25 million people (five times the population of Mauritania) for a year.

Economic Impact Of Agriculture On South Dakota, Gary Taylor

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Economic Impact Of Garvan Woodland Gardens, Katherin A. Deck, Viktoria Riiman

Publications and Presentations

The study is organized as follows. First, the facilities and programs at Garvan Woodland Gardens are described in detail. Next, information on visitor and member counts, employment and volunteers, and financial information from the Gardens are provided. Finally, the results of the economic impact analysis from the IMPLAN input‐output model are presented for employment, value‐added, and output impacts on the Hot Springs area and the state of Arkansas. The detailed employment and output impacts by industry are available in the Appendix. Estimated employment impacts are compared to the county and state employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to …

Valuing Improvements To Coastal Waters Using Choice Experiments: An Application To Revisions Of The Eu Bathing Waters Directive, Stephen Hynes, Dugald Tinch, Nick Hanley

Working Papers

Planned changes to the European Union’s Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7 EC) will force member states to produce improvements in a number of parameters of coastal water quality. This study uses the choice experiment method to estimate the economic benefits attached to such improvements, based on a sample of recreationalists on beaches in Ireland. The analysis indicates that improvements in all of the bathing water related attributes studied result in positive willingness to pay, and also show evidence of scope effects. Using random parameters and latent class modelling techniques, potential heterogeneity in preferences is then investigated and shown to be present …

Ocean Governance: The New Zealand Dimension Full Report, Michael Vincent Mcginnis

Working Papers

The primary goal of this report is to provide interested members of the public and policymakers with a general overview and a description of the types of principles, planning tools, and policy instruments that can be used to strengthen and improve marine governance in New Zealand. As extractive uses (hydrocarbons and minerals, in particular) ramp up and others are explored and brought on line in the marine areas of New Zealand, the need will increase for a more integrative, ecosystem-based approach to marine governance.

This study is based on the following types of analysis:

• a review of the literature …

Effects Of Natural Resource Abundance On Institutions: Which, Where And When?, Luisa Blanco, Jeffrey Nugent, Graham Veenstra

School of Public Policy Working Papers

Much research has gone into the effects of oil and other natural resources on growth in which political institutions are often seen as the link between the two. Since institutions are difficult to measure and change very slowly over time, the analysis has largely been confined to cross-country comparisons, most frequently investigating the effects on levels of democracy. This paper builds on recent analyses of the effects of oil endowments, prices and exports on democracy to examine the effects on several different types of institutional change, making use of panel data on over 100 countries between 1975 and 2005 wherever …

South Dakota Agricultural Land Market Factors, Burton Pflueger, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

South Dakota Agricultural Land Cash Rent Values: 2012, Burton Pflueger, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

South Dakota Agricultural Land Values: 2012, Burton Pflueger, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

The Meeting School: An Alternative Mode Of Education, Hallel Parsons

Capstone Collection

What role do spirituality, community, and farming play in contemporary US education? As a farm and faculty intern at a small, private, Quaker boarding high school in rural NH I gained an interesting perspective on this subject. Using Robert G. Hanvey’s working thesis: An Attainable Global Perspective: Education for a Global Perspective as a standard by which to measure my experience at The Meeting School, I explore the implications of an education founded upon the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and equality (SPICE), within the context of an intentional community committed to organic farming as a means to …

What Factors Influence Consumers’ Decisions To Purchase Energy Star Appliances?, Rosamond Mate

Economics Honors Projects

This paper examines how differences in operating costs and market availability affect ownership of Energy Star dishwashers and clothes washers. I use logistic regressions and data from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey and the EPA’s Energy Star program to quantify these effects. Results indicate that controlling for temporal changes is very important; after doing so I find that differences in availability of efficient appliances do not affect ownership patterns. Overall, the frequency of appliance use does not increase the household’s responsiveness to electricity prices, which suggests that consumers do not fully value efficiency when choosing among appliances.

Arsenic Contamination In Groundwater In Vietnam: An Overview And Analysis Of The Historical, Cultural, Economic, And Political Parameters In The Success Of Various Mitigation Options, Thuy M. Ly

Pomona Senior Theses

Although arsenic is naturally present in the environment, 99% of human exposure to arsenic is through ingestion. Throughout history, arsenic is known as “the king of poisons”; it is mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic. Even in smaller concentrations, it accumulates in the body and takes decades before any physical symptoms of arsenic poisoning shows. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the safe concentration of arsenic in drinking water is 10 µg/L. However, this limit is often times ignored until it is decades too late and people begin showing symptoms of having been poisoned.

This is the current situation for Vietnam, …

How Does Climate Change Affect Agricultural Stability In Southeast Unguja? An Assessment Of The Threats To Agriculture And Food Security From Rising Temperature And Changes In Predictability And Intensity Of Rainy Seasons., Eloise Reid

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The relationship between climate change, agriculture, and food security on the island of Unguja was studied. Informal interviews were carried out in the south-eastern coastal communities of Bwejuu, Paje, and Jambiani in order to gain perspective and awareness of local knowledge concerning changes in climate and it's affects on crop production. Formal interviews were conducted in Stone Town with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Environment, the Sustainable Management of Land and the Environment office, private climate change experts and environmental consultants, and local NGO's to gain insight on what aspects of climate change are most detrimental in the …

Confronting Agrarian Crisis And Deconstructing Farmer Debt: The Story Of Sulthanpur Village, Andhra Pradesh, Erica Dejong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a climate of globalized politics and neoliberal economics, it can be difficult to isolate the impacts of agricultural and economic policy on the lives of the rural poor in India. Hidden behind a veil of economic growth, pro urban, and pro industry governments, the stories of small and marginal farmers have been overlooked in the name of different development priorities. This study endeavors to put the agrarian poor back into the scholarship spotlight by deconstructing livelihood crises and farmer debt in Sulthanpur Village, Andhra Pradesh. This effort is important because although Andhra Pradesh has the highest rate of farmer …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Mongolian Herding Communities: Investigating The Current Prevalence Of Ecomigration And Community Perceptions Of And Responses To Migration In The Countryside, Rachael Diniega

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The livelihoods of Mongolian herders depend on rangeland conditions, which are being threatened by land degradation and climate change. These changes may cause some Mongolian herders to move to a different land. Thus, the prevalence of ecomigration today and the perceptions and responses of herding communities to migrants were examined to understand ways government could form adaptation policy to climate change in the future. Interviews were conducted with both migrant and host herders as well as government officials in Mungunmorit, Tov and Delgerkhan, Khentii, including the state reserve Herlen Bayan-Olaang. A survey was used to evaluate the prevalence of ecomigration …

2011 Corn Pest Risk Survey Results, Scott Fausti, Jonathan Lundgren, Emmanuel Opoku

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Consumer's Willingness To Pay For Locally Produced Ground Beef: A Case Study, Kuo-Liang Chang, Keith Underwood, George Langelett, Pei Xu

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Chapter 3, Daily Life In Intimacy And Community In A Changing World: Sikaiana Life 1980-1993, William Donner

Sikaiana Ethnography

This chapter is a discussion of daily life on Sikaiana in the Solomon Islands , 980-1993. It describes daily routines, work and events.

A related website can be found at www.sikaianaarchives.com

Natural Resources In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Use And Priorities: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Many rural Nebraskans say they already recycle a lot and face no barriers. However, many rural Nebraskans cite lack of programs and difficulty getting materials to drop-off sites as barriers to recycling. Persons living in or near smaller communities are more likely than persons living in or near larger communities to say their community doesn’t offer recycling. However, most rural Nebraskans say their community offers either curbside pickup or drop-off recycling for all of the materials listed with the exception of glass bottles.

Most rural Nebraskans are in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline, but think it should be …

Quality Of Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being And Church Life: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, Philip Schwadel

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans are positive about their current situation. And, they continue to be generally positive about their future situation. Over one-half (51%) of rural Nebraskans think they are better off than they were five years ago and just under one-half (45%) think they will be better off ten years from now. Certain groups remain pessimistic about their situation. Persons with lower household incomes, older persons, and persons with lower educational levels are the groups most likely to be pessimistic about the present and the future.

When asked if they believe people are powerless to control their own lives, most …

Effect Of Nutrition Merchandising And Consumer Preferences On Willingness To Pay For Local Tomatoes And Strawberries In Kentucky And Ohio, Lyudmyla Kompaniyets

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This project investigates the impacts of nutrition merchandising on consumers’ willingness to pay for local tomatoes and strawberries. The data come from survey of Kentucky and Ohio residents in June 2011. Two thousand one hundred twelve individuals from Kentucky and Ohio were surveyed, to find out the impact of selfawareness of health benefits and health benefits information on their willingness to pay. The consumers were offered one of the three survey versions. The versions varied by how much nutrition information was provided to the consumer related to both strawberries and tomatoes – otherwise identical. A had the most, B had …

Willingness To Pay For Country-Of-Origin Labeled, Traceable, And Bse-Tested Beef, Kar Ho Lim

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

While previous studies have investigated country-of-origin effect from various angles, it remained unexplored the extent to which Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) affects U.S. beef imports from specific countries. Using choice-experiment data, willingness to pay (WTP) for Australian, Canadian beef in addition to other enhancement attributes were estimated with a Mixed Logit Model and a Latent Class Model. The results revealed unobserved taste heterogeneity and important differences in the WTP between the imported and domestic steak. The Latent Class Model estimated the range of discount needed for consumers to switch from U.S. to Canadian steak was a range from $1.09 …