AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Agricultural economics is a field of applied economics. Its scope and its relationship to other social and natural science disciplines has changed over time in response to (a) the social, economic and technical changes impinging on the agricultural sector and (b) progress in economic theory and in other related social and natural science disciplines. The substance of agricultural economics in the United States at the present time can best be understood by reviewing the historical origins of the field and its recent evolution in relation to developments in economic theory, statistics and econometrics.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA IN AGRIBUSINESS AND AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

We summarize undergraduate agribusiness and agricultural economics curricula for 112 US institutions. Relative to agricultural economics majors, agribusiness majors on average take fewer courses in math, economics, and general agricultural economics; and more courses in agribusiness, general business, and general agriculture.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Assessing the Impact of Cap-and-Trade Climate Legislation on Agriculture in the Northern Plains: A Policy Simulation with Farmer Preference and Adaption

cap-and-trade, carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation, agricultural impact, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Professionalisation of Australian Agricultural Economics: 1920 - 1970

Australian agricultural economics was on the verge of professional recognition at the beginning of the 1950s. The discipline had emerged from the Second World War in a strong position due primarily to the work of the State Departments of Agriculture, the Economics Departments of the banks, and the pioneering efforts of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Agricultural economics as a field of study was being taken up by economics and agricultural science students alike, and research projects in agricultural economics were burgeoning. This paper investigates the factors which contributed to the professionalisation of agricultural economics in Australia after the Second World War. All vocations aspire to professional status but, even when it does receive professional recognition, a vocation is often still questioned regarding the legitimacy of that status. It is therefore significant to explore the origins and evolution of the agricultural economics profession in order to discover the reasons why it came into existence and the process by which the professionalisation occurred. The changed economic environment during and after the Second World War meant that agricultural economists were given opportunities to present a convincing case to pursue the professionalisation of their discipline. The distinguishing and overruling characteristic of a profession is the possession of specialized knowledge which has been acquired as a result of prolonged training. The knowledge is intellectual and based on the exploration of a recognized field of study. The way in which this knowledge is obtained is an important part of the professionalisation process. This paper identifies the economists and scientists who established the discipline of agricultural economics in Australian universities and set it on the path to professionalisation. The second most important aspect of professionalisation is the formation of a professional society for members and the development of a professional journal to disseminate research and other general information to members. The formation of the professional organisation associated with agricultural economics in Australia is examined in this paper. Australian agricultural economics was at the peak of its influence in the 1970s. All the mainland universities had at least one professor of agricultural economics, there was a strong professional association, annual conferences, and bi-annual outlook conferences, and three separate professional journals were in publication. The value of the agricultural economics profession was widely accepted throughout the policy community.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Influence of Course Delivery Method and Proctoring on Performance in Introductory Economics

This work was published in the Review of Agricultural Economics. See Wachenheim, C.J. 2009. Final Exam Scores in Introductory Economics Courses: Effect of Course Delivery Method and Proctoring. Review of Agricultural Economics 31(3), pp. 640-652.Online, Assessment, Education, Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

INVOLVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS IN GRADUATE AGRIBUSINESS PROGRAMS: AN UNCOMFORTABLE LINKAGE

Departments of agricultural economics face a changing environment. Some argue for the adoption of the Master of Agribusiness degree. I argue that agribusiness in not well differentiated from agricultural economics and that the forte of agricultural economics departments is teaching applied economics, not teaching management. Furthermore, in today's dynamic, open economy, a good understanding of economics is more valuable than ever before. Rather than leave our area of strength, we should look to improve our current degree programs given today's business needs.Agribusiness, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Performance of Smallholder Agriculture Under Limited Mechanization and the Fast Track Land Reform Program in Zimbabwe

agricultural mechanization, fast track land reform, agricultural development, Stochastic Frontier model, technical efficiency, agribusiness management, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Abstracts of Selected Papers, NAREA Annual Meetings, Burlington, Vermont, June 7-10, 2009

Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Political Economy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Public Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Consumption of Food in the United States, 1909-52

This publication revises and brings to date the detailed information on per capita consumption of all major food commodities in continental United States, including the basic data on supplies and distribution from which the consumption estimates are derived. Sources and methods are described and evaluated; indexes of supply-utilization, production, and per capita civilian consumption are developed; the nutritive value of the food supply is estimated and appraised; and some supplementary information useful for the analysis of the consumption of and the demand for food is presented. In Consumption of Food in the United States, 1909-52, there is presented for the first time an "index of supply-utilization" of farm products having food use. This new index breaks down the combined utilization of such products, on a farm-value basis, both according to sources of supply and according to use and disposition

The new institutional economics

This paper summarizes the potential contributions of the new institutional economics to agricultural policy research, with particular emphasis on developing countries. The paper provides an overview of the new institutional economics and its several branches of thought. It then describes the future challenges facing world agriculture and shows the potential applications of new institutional and transaction costs economics to agricultural policy analysis in this new world environment. The paper concludes by providing specific examples of interest in the area of agricultural market research in developing countries that can be analyzed using the new institutional economics.Institutional economics. ,Agricultural policy Developing countries. ,Research ,