Elasticities for U.S. Wheat Food Use by Class

We conceptualize wheat for food use as an input into flour production and derive demand functions to quantify price responsiveness and economic substitutability across wheat classes. Cost, price, and substitution elasticities are estimated for hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red wheat, soft white winter, and durum wheat. In general, hard red winter and spring wheat varieties are much more responsive to their own price than are soft wheat varieties and durum wheat. Morishima elasticities indicate that hard red winter and hard red spring wheat are economic substitutes for milling purposes.elasticities, wheat by class, economic substitution, Monte Carlo, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C15, C30, Q11,

WHOLESALE DEMAND FOR USDA QUALITY GRADED BOXED BEEF AND EFFECTS OF SEASONALITY

This study quantifies the differential in demand between different USDA quality grades of beef and the interaction between quality graded beef and other meats. We provide estimates of meat retailer own and cross price demand elasticities for USDA Choice and Select boxed beef. Results indicate that meat retailers have more elastic demand for lower quality graded beef. Seasonal analysis indicates demand for both beef quality grades becomes highly price inelastic during the summer "cook-out" months. The two beef quality grades are strong substitutes during the fall and winter. However, Select beef is not a substitute for Choice beef in the spring and summer.beef, chicken, demand, pork, quality, USDA Choice, USDA Select, wholesale, Demand and Price Analysis,

VALUING CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSFERABLE DEER HUNTING PERMITS IN KANSAS

The novel use of transferable deer hunting permits in Kansas has altered property rights to a traditionally government rationed good, providing the institutional framework and incentives for competitive market activity. This paper investigates how attributes of the permit itself, spatial determinants, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the consumer-hunter influence market price. Findings provide valuable insight into factors that are important to Kansas interest groups, its economy, and to structuring transferable permits for wildlife programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

SPATIAL HEDONIC ANALYSIS OF VETERINARIAN INCOME

We investigate a hedonic model for veterinarian income using survey data from the American Veterinarian Medical Association. Diagnostic testing indicates the presence of spatial autoregression in the hedonic income model, which is accounted for by incorporating a spatial component into the regression model. The results provide unique empirical findings about determinants of veterinarian income and spatial patterns, as well as insight useful for governments and academic institutions planning programs and the veterinarian industry.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Impacts of Gluten Imports on U.S. Food Wheat Use

Gluten imports, wheat food demand, U.S., International Relations/Trade,

Welfare Implications of Washington Wheat Breeding Programs

We calculate the welfare effects of the WSU wheat breeding programs for producers and consumers in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, the United States and the rest of the world. We develop a partial equilibrium multi-region, multi-product, multi-variety trade model for wheat that provides consumer, producer and total surplus for each wheat class and region. Our results provide evidence suggesting that WSU wheat breeding programs have increased welfare in Washington State, in the United States and the rest of the world.welfare, wheat breeding programs, economic surplus, partial equilibrium, Agribusiness, F14, F17, Q11, Q16, Q18,

Invasive Species Management: Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the U.S. Beef Industry

A conceptual bio-economic framework that integrates dynamic epidemiologicaleconomic processes was designed to analyze the effects of invasive species introduction on decision-making in a livestock sector (e.g., production and feeding). The framework integrates an epidemiological model, a dynamic livestock production model, domestic consumption, and international trade. The integrated approach captures producer and consumer responses to, and welfare outcomes of, livestock disease outbreaks, as well as alternative invasive species management policies. Scenarios of foot-and-mouth disease are simulated to demonstrate the usefulness of the framework in facilitating invasive species policy design.bio-economics, livestock, invasive species, foot-and-mouth disease, beef cattle production, Livestock Production/Industries,

Invasive Species Management: Foot-and-Mouth Disease in the U.S. Beef Industry

A conceptual bioeconomic framework that integrates dynamic epidemiological-economic processes was designed to analyze the effects of invasive species introduction on decision making in a livestock sector (e.g., production and feeding). The framework integrates an epidemiological model, a dynamic livestock production model, domestic consumption, and international trade. The integrated approach captures producer and consumer responses and welfare outcomes of livestock disease outbreaks, as well as alternative invasive species management policies. Scenarios of foot-and-mouth disease are simulated to demonstrate the usefulness of the framework in facilitating invasive species policy design.livestock, invasive species, foot-and-mouth disease, beef cattle production, Livestock Production/Industries,

INFORMATION THEORETIC ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS ESTIMATORS IN THE PRESENCE OF HETEROSKEDASTICITY

Finite sampling properties of information theoretic estimators of the simultaneous equations model, including maximum empirical likelihood, maximum empirical exponential likelihood, and maximum log Euclidean likelihood, are examined in the presence of selected forms of heteroskedasticity. Extensive Monte Carlo experiments are used to compare finite sample performance of Wald, Likelihood ratio, and Lagrangian multiplier tests constructed from information theoretic estimators to those from traditional generalized method of moments.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

ENDOGENOUS PROTECTION IN THE MEXICAN CORN AND SORGHUM MARKET

Trade relations between the United States (U.S) and Mexico are increasingly interrelated and important ever since the ratification of NAFTA in 1994. With the advent of NAFTA, tariffs on many agricultural products were lowered or are in the process of being lowered. Mexico implements a tariff-rate quota for corn which is to be phased out by 2009. This quota is divided among the various Mexican corn importers with "cupos", which are import permits. Import permits are administrative trade barriers that can be defined as any obstacle that appears and disappears as market conditions change. It is widely recognized in the literature that administrative trade barriers create numerous obstacles to the international exchange of agricultural products. In this paper a conceptual structural model of international marketing margins and trade uncertainty is specified that links the private market to political factors influencing administrative trade barriers. In doing so, this systematically links trade models specified by Gallagher (1998) and others, which characterize private markets under uncertainty but ignore direct influences from political markets, to work by Trefler (1993) and others, which focus on endogenous trade protection. The general objective of this study is to increase the understanding of the impact of institutional aspects on agricultural trade. The specific objectives are to quantify the impact of import permits for white and yellow corn on international marketing margins between the U.S. and Mexico for white corn, yellow corn, and sorghum, as well as approximate the impact of changing political market variables on total welfare. Conceptually understanding the underlying processes and estimating empirical relationships for these objectives leads to important insights into the effect of the Mexican government's policy of allocating corn import permits have on the price and quantity of corn and sorghum. A complete structural model of white corn, yellow corn, and sorghum is specified, wherein import demand equations are generalized to incorporate simultaneous variables of trade protection (Trefler 1993) and then estimated with a simultaneous tobit estimator. The results provide interesting insights into the way that import permits work in Mexico. Interestingly, generalizing the import demand equations to account for trade protection dramatically alters international marketing margins for white corn and sorghum in a manner consistent with findings in Trefler. However, yellow corn appears unaffected. Further, political and industry interests driving trade protection in Mexico are found to influence import demand. For example, political pressure from corn and sorghum producers has a negative affect on the import demand for corn and sorghum. These results are consistent with other conjectures and findings in public choice analysis, which indicate that increases in import penetration will increase lobbying efforts from domestic firms to decrease imports. These results indicate that as grain producers lobby for a decrease in import permit allocations the import demand for these grains decreases, meaning that they have succeeded in their efforts to reduce import competition. In all, these insights provide the means to better understand how subtle trade barriers affect the trade flow between countries.Crop Production/Industries,