This study explored factors influencing consumers' beverage consumption. Consumers drank greater shares of beverages perceived as healthy and, in most cases, drank smaller shares of a beverage when they perceived alternative beverages as more healthy. One exception was carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages; the share of their consumption increased as health perceptions of 100 percent juice increased and vice versa. Another important determinant of beverage consumption share was objective and subjective health knowledge. Beverage drinking habit, which was measured by whether a beverage was consumed daily or weekly, was the most significant factor in explaining a beverage's diet share.

This paper examines the factors influencing farmer participation in crop insurance schemes, but unlike previous studies that focus on total demand, participation is disaggregated into entrants and those exiting. Modeling entry and exit decisions separately illustrates that the effect of a given variable is often muted by aggregation. In addition, the approach in this paper distinguishes between price and yield variables rather than total returns and is consequently able to demonstrate that price variables are particularly important for farmers considering enrolling in crop insurance, while yield variables and other risk management opportunities are more important for farmers who have been in the program but are deciding to exit. The result suggests that moral hazard is reduced significantly by calculating the coverage yield level for an individual producer on the basis of a moving average of past yields for that farmer. While yield and its variance are particularly influential in the participation decision for farmers currently enrolled, its significant impact on the insurance decision for all farmers highlights the importance of crop insurance as a potential adaptation strategy to weather events.

The provision point mechanism mitigates free-riding behavior in economic experiments. In two contingent valuation method surveys, we implement the provision point design. We ask respondents for their perceptions about the success of the provision point mechanism. We find that respondents who believe that the provision point would not be met are more likely to say no to a contingent valuation dichotomous choice question. The scenario rejection that arises may result in biased willingness-to-pay estimates.

The method of computing wealth shares accruing to lowest and highest quintiles, along with the concepts of the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient, are used in conjunction with data from the 1996 and 1999 Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS) survey to measure the distribution of wealth among U.S. farm operator households. Findings show that the distribution of wealth in 1996 was slightly more concentrated than in 1999, with the farm wealth component contributing significantly more toward measured concentration in both years than the nonfarm wealth component. The robustness of the findings under varied value judgments concerning society's level of aversion to wealth concentration is also examined.

In understanding decreases in demand after exposure to media-induced food scares, aggregate data are almost exclusively presented without taking into consideration potential confounding variables. However, a better approach may be to use an experimental design coupled with targeting homogeneous willingness-to-pay (WTP) subgroups based on similarities in behavioral, psychological, and demographic characteristics of those who are most vulnerable to food scare information. This is accomplished through experimental economics and an analysis strategy called a classification and regression tree (CART). A stigma framework—which guides conceptual understanding of effects of media-induced food scares—suggests controlling contextual variables to better approximate ceteris paribus. To this end, we conducted an experiment that exposed people to information about mad cow disease and then asked them to bid their willingness-to-pay for an actual hamburger. The CART found distinct homogeneous WTP subgroups of individuals that could be used by government and industry professionals to create interventions to reduce potential consumer concern and producer losses.

Latent class analysis is applied to a hedonic price model to examine the presence of heterogeneity in consumer valuation of quality attributes in the Beninese rice market. Three classes of consumers are found in proportions of 5, 56, and 39 percent. We employ a partial equilibrium model and find modest gains in consumer surplus from an increase in head rice and reduction in chalkiness. The results provide evidence of market sorting, which should be taken into consideration in upgrading rice value chains. Also, it is important to assess potential gains from quality improvement to determine priorities for research and development.

Lifestyle landowners value land for its amenities and ecological characteristics and could play an important role in managing and conserving native vegetation in multifunctional rural landscapes. We quantify values of ecosystem services captured by owners of rural lifestyle properties in Victoria, Australia, using a spatial hedonic property price model. The value of ecosystem services provided by native vegetation is maximized when that vegetation occupies about 40 percent of the area of a lifestyle property. Since the current median proportion of native vegetation is 15 percent, most lifestyle landowners could benefit from increasing the area of native vegetation on their properties.

The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of catfish imports and tariffs on the U.S. catfish industry, with particular focus on the U.S. International Trade Commission ruling on Vietnam in 2003. Given the importance of Vietnam to the U.S. catfish market, it was assumed that catfish import prices would increase by 35 percent if the maximum tariff was imposed on catfish from Vietnam. With the tariff, domestic catfish prices at the wholesale level would increase by $0.06 per lb, and farm prices by $0.03 per lb. Processor sales would increase by 1.66 percent. Total welfare at the wholesale level would increase from $69.2 million to $71.7 million, an increase of about 3.63 percent, and processor and farm revenue would increase by 4.4 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. These results represent the greatest possible benefit and suggest modest gains for the U.S. catfish industry.

This paper explores the emerging concept of place-based economic policy. It reviews recent literature on place-based economics policy, especially regional competitiveness policy, and explores the adoption and diffusion of this concept by economic development practitioners and social science researchers. It attempts to answer the question: Are place-based economic policy and the underlying conceptual foundations lasting innovations, or are they fads which economic development practitioners and social scientists will adopt until another fad emerges? The conclusion is that economic development practitioners and social scientists do tend to respond to fads. To ensure that regional economic development policy is not dominated by fads, social scientists must get out in front of economic development practitioners far enough to thoroughly develop and test regional competitiveness and other place-based economic theories.

A growing body of literature demonstrates that many behavioral anomalies observed in stated-preference elicitation methods such as the contingent valuation method are also observed in actual choices and vice versa. This presentation furthers the argument that such parallel behaviors should be viewed as a strength of stated-preference methods. Three well-known anomalies observed in both stated preferences and actual choices are first reviewed to lay the foundation for this argument. A number of lesser-known anomalies are then presented to demonstrate the wider prevalence of parallel anomalies in stated preferences and actual choices.

Converting coastal waters to farmed production of seafood may generate conflicts with other resource users. This study explores the impact of marine aquaculture development on coastal homeowners. Using single-family home sales from 2012–2014 and spatial data on coastal aquaculture activity, we employ hedonics to assess the impacts of mariculture development in three study areas of Maine, USA. Our results suggest modest impacts on residential property values with significant spatial variation across study areas. This spatial variation represents a challenge for managers and highlights the potential benefits from coordinating the development of aquaculture to balance resource users' objectives with industry growth.

Technical efficiency for cotton growers is examined using both stochastic (SFA) and nonstochastic (DEA) production function approaches. The empirical application uses farm-level data from four counties in west Texas. While efficiency scores for the individual farms differed between SFA and DEA, the mean efficiency scores are invariant of the method of estimation under the assumption of constant returns to scale. On average, irrigated farms are 80% and nonirrigated farms are 70% efficient. Findings show that in Texas, the irrigated farms, on average, could reduce their expenditures on other inputs by 10%, and the nonirrigated farms could reduce their expenditures on machinery and labor by 12% and 13%, respectively, while producing the same level of output.

I directly estimate the acre-for-acre impact of crop insurance participation on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment at the county level. The government may be sponsoring competing interests if subsidized insurance expands production at the expense of CRP. I employ an instrumental variables technique to correct for endogeneity in insurance decisions. Results suggest that an additional 1,000 acres insured reduces CRP enrollment by about three acres, though effect sizes vary by region. Local policy initiatives such as conservation compliance incentives could help offset local environmental consequences of converting land from CRP to insured production.

Most of Southern California's wetlands have disappeared despite being critical ecosystems with many valuable attributes. Many of the wetlands that remain are in relatively urban areas, are severely degraded, and may not function properly. Using hedonic spatial error models, we measure the economic value of living near an urban multi-use wetland in Long Beach, California. Both sales prices and estimated values are used in the analysis. Results show that proximity to wetlands increases residential property values in the focus area. This analysis provides important information for policymakers to justify ongoing restoration projects and prevent further degradation of urbanized natural resources.

“Substantial downzoning” is defined as the exercise of police power to significantly reduce the legally permitted density on undeveloped land in a community. This contentious practice is typically challenged by those who perceive the action to limit their market opportunities (e.g., farmers and developers), their sympathizers, and others who prefer the status quo. Supporters tend to be those who perceive positive benefits (e.g., environmentalists, conservationists, and homeowners) and those who see it as a supplement to other preservation techniques, based on concerns over such things as growing public costs of land acquisition, limited effectiveness of existing alternatives, or the perceived urgency to act to manage growth.

Given the complexity of the issue and the lack of previous research, this paper develops a conceptual model of the public choice to “substantially downzone” and presents specific hypotheses to be empirically tested, using New Jersey as a case study. The probability of implementing substantial downzoning is found to increase with (i) the amount of open space that remains to be protected, (ii) declining farm population, (iii) recent growth in non-farm population, (iv) recent growth in land values, and (v) the presence of alternative growth management tools. Results also suggest its use as a substitute for other preservation tools when the financial and/or political ability of communities to afford other approaches is limited. Hence, the likelihood of substantial downzoning may increase over time if alternatives become more difficult to implement.

Existing empirical evidence on the impact of macroeconomic variables on agriculture remains mixed and inconclusive. This paper re-examines the dynamic relationship between monetary policy variables and agricultural prices using alternative vector autoregression (VAR) type model specifications. Directed acyclic graph theory is proposed as an alternative modeling approach to supplement existing modeling methods. Similar to results in other studies, this study's findings show that over the time period analyzed (1975–2000), changes to money supply as a monetary policy tool had little or no impact on agricultural prices. The primary macroeconomic policy instrument that affects agricultural prices is the exchange rate, which is shown to be directly linked to interest rate, a source of monetary policy shock.

Food security in many developing countries has been threatened by several factors such as unequal land distribution, ineffective land reform policies, inefficient agricultural value chains, and an increasing number of climate disasters. In Nigeria, these threats are exacerbated by rapid population growth and extreme weather events, which have resulted in farmer-herder conflicts in most agrarian communities. This paper examines the differential impacts of the incidence and severity of farmer-herder resource use conflicts on food insecurity of rural households in Nigeria. We employ a two-stage predictor substitution model to estimate survey data collected from 401 rural households in Nigeria. The empirical results show that both the incidence and the severity of farmer-herder conflicts significantly increase food insecurity, and the severity of these conflicts has a larger impact than their incidence. The estimates of the conditional mixed process models confirm the robustness of our results. Additional analysis reveals that the incidence and severity of farmer-herder conflicts positively and significantly affect food insecurity, measured by the number of days with limited varieties of food eaten. Our findings highlight the importance of policy interventions that address ongoing farmer-herder conflicts in affected countries like Nigeria to enhance food security from a sustainable development perspective.

This paper attempts to ascertain the requirements (in terms of ownership of factors of production) for successful adaptation to the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture. We estimate stochastic production frontiers for wheat in two Indian states: Haryana (which has been significantly affected by the Green Revolution) and Madhya Pradesh (where the Green Revolution has had much less effect). In Haryana, but not in Madhya Pradesh, larger farm size and ownership of land and machines positively influence technical efficiency. Thus, with the Green Revolution advancing, land consolidation and vesting of clear ownership rights of land and capital with farmers becomes important.

A conceptual model links agricultural profits, capital gains, interest rates, and property taxes to the sale of agricultural land by profit-maximizing owners. The model motivates an empirical analysis of New Jersey data from 1949 to 1990. Results suggest that nonagricultural considerations may overpower the economic incentives provided by such policies as farmland assessment. Consequently, alternative policies (e.g., purchase of development rights and land use zoning) may be needed to sustain agriculture in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Design of government policies that seek greater adoption of anaerobic digesters can benefit from a greater understanding of the motivations for adoption. Using a nationwide survey of U.S. dairy and swine producers, this study seeks to determine how policies, peer group influences, environmental beliefs, and farm characteristics affect the decision to adopt a digester. Results suggest that neighborhood effects, farm type and size, and nonmarket benefits of anaerobic digestion are important for predicting whether or not a producer will consider this technology for manure management. However, the decision to actually adopt is more dependent on government policies and economic considerations.