Valuing Catastrophic Citrus Losses

Courts are often required to estimate changes in welfare to agricultural operations from catastrophic events. For example, courts must assign damages in lawsuits, such as with pesticide drift cases, or determine "just compensation" when the government takes private land for public use, as with the removal of dairy farms from environmentally sensitive land or destruction of canker-contaminated citrus trees. In economics, the traditional method of quantifying producer losses is estimating changes in producer welfare, but courts rarely use this method. Instead, they turn to substitute valuation methods that may not fully capture welfare changes, such as changes in land value, tree replacement value, and total revenue. This study examines various measures for valuing the back-to-back catastrophic freezes that occurred in the Florida citrus industry in the 1980s. We first use the traditional method to determine the welfare change due to a freeze (1) for a citrus grove that loses one crop and is able to return to full production the next year, and (2) the lower measure of welfare loss due to a citrus grove that loses all of its trees and is abandoned or is replanted. The lower measure is used to simulate the legal doctrine of avoidable consequences. These measures are then compared to substitute valuation measures that have been used by courts to determine welfare changes. For case 1, total revenue overestimates losses by 35.6%. For case 2, total revenue overestimates losses by 55.3%, tree replacement value underestimates losses by 93.6%, and changes in land value underestimates losses by 13.2%.citrus, perennial crops, catastrophic loss, damages, freeze, Crop Production/Industries,

Valuing Catastrophic Losses for Perennial Agricultural Crops

Courts are often required to estimate changes in welfare to agricultural operations from catastrophic events. For example, courts must assign damages in lawsuits, such as with pesticide drift cases, or determine 'just compensation' when the government takes private land for public use, as with the removal of dairy farms from environmentally sensitive land or destruction of canker-contaminated citrus trees. In economics, the traditional method of estimating changes in producer welfare is the computation of lost producer surplus, but courts rarely use this method. Instead, they turn to substitute valuation methods that may not fully capture welfare change, such as changes in land value, tree replacement value, and total revenue. This study examines various measures for valuing the back-to-back catastrophic freezes that occurred in the Florida citrus industry in the 1980s. We first use the traditional method to determine the welfare change due to a freeze (1) for a citrus grove that loses one crop and is able to return to full production the next year (simulating destruction of annual crops), and (2)the lower measure of welfare loss due to a citrus grove that loses all of its trees and is abandoned or is replanted. The lower measure is used to simulate the legal doctrine of avoidable consequences. These measures are then compared to substitute valuation measures that have been used by courts to determine welfare changes. For case 1, total revenue overestimated losses by 35.6%. For case 2, total revenue overestimates losses by 55.3%, tree replacement value underestimates losses by 93.6%, and changes in land value underestimates losses by 13.2%.citrus, perennial crops, catastrophic loss, damages, freeze, Crop Production/Industries,

Further insights into aspects of the EU illicit drugs market: summaries and key findings

This publication presents key findings and summaries of selected reports from the study ‘Further insights into aspects of the EU illicit drugs market’ (Trautmann, Kilmer and Turnbull, forthcoming 2013), which provides an analysis of characteristics and operations of the EU’s illicit drugs market, as called for by the European Commission. This study is a follow-up of the earlier European Commission study, which presented an analysis of the developments of the global illicit drug markets, the drug problems and drug policy responses in the period 1998-2007 (Reuter and Trautmann 2009). The discussions of that study resulted in a number of further research questions. Some of the questions considered most important by the European Commission have been put together in a call for a further analysis of the EU illicit drugs market and responses to it, focusing on a number of aspects in the following four areas: A. An analysis of specific characteristics, mechanisms and factors that govern the EU illicit drugs market, including a conceptual framework for thinking about the structure of drug suppliers in the EU, an assessment whether there have been significant shifts in how drugs are supplied in the EU and an assessment of the extent to which drug suppliers are involved in different drugs and other criminal activities. B. A detailed analysis of the size and share of the EU illicit drug market, providing an estimate of the volume of the ‘EU market’ in illicit drugs (production and trafficking), providing an estimate of the profits generated by this market, analysing whether the EU drugs market is more supply or demand driven and exploring various aspects of drug use: user types, availability and consumption estimates. C. A detailed analysis of a number of potential policy impacts on the EU drug market(s) in recent years, assessing the impact of opioid substitution treatment (OST) on the European heroin market and the impact of policy changes on two EU drug markets. D. Scanning the future – trends in the market and policy responses, exploring expert views on future key trends of the illicit drug markets and policy responses in the EU

Motivating communities to shop locally : implications of ethical behavior marketing for independent businesses

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-183).Local independent businesses are critical to the economic health and quality of life of communities. This thesis examines whether marketing can motivate people to consciously and reliably support local independent businesses in their community. The first chapter provides an introduction to the problem, explains why marketing can be a solution, and describes how one emerging type of organization - the Independent Business Association - is currently engaged in this process. Chapter 2 reviews the literature on social marketing to develop a framework for analyzing marketing campaigns, and the literature on ethical consumerism to recognize trends and identify characteristics of the typical ethical consumer. Chapter 3 uses a social marketing framework to examine four ethically-motivated organizations who market products to consumers: SERRV, Ten Thousand Villages, TransFair USA, and CISA. Each case study discusses the organization's marketing goals, strategies (positioning and target markets), and tactics (product, price, place, and promotion). Chapter 4 provides recommendations to Independent Business Associations for creating marketing campaigns that encourage community support for local independent businesses, and makes conclusions based on the research.by Erin B. Neel.M.C.P

Speciation of phosphorus in a fertilized, reduced-till soil system: in-field treatment incubation study

Citation: Khatiwada, Raju, Ganga M. Hettiarachchi, David B. Mengel, and Mingwei Fei. “Speciation of Phosphorus in a Fertilized, Reduced-Till Soil System: In-Field Treatment Incubation Study.” Soil Science Society of America Journal 76, no. 6 (2012): 2006–18. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2011.0299.Phosphorus management in reduced-tillage systems is a great concern for farmers. Conclusive positive results of deep-banding P fertilizers compared with broadcast application and the chemistry of reduced-tillage systems remain unclear. Knowledge of the dominant solid P species present in soil following application of P fertilizers and the resulting potential P availability would help us understand and efficiently manage P in reduced-tillage systems. The objective of this research was to study the influence of placement (broadcast vs. deep-band P), fertilizer source (granular vs. liquid P), and time on the reaction products of P under field conditions. Changes in soil pH, resin-extractable P, total P, and speciation of P were determined at different distances from the point of fertilizer application at 5 wk and 6 mo after P application at a rate of 75 kg ha−1 to a soil system that was under long-term reduced tillage. Resin-extractable P was lower for broadcast treatments compared with deep-band treatments for both time periods. Resin-extractable P was greater in the liquid P-treated soils than in the granular P-treated soils. Speciation results showed that granular P fertilizers tended to form Fe–P-like forms, whereas liquid forms remained in adsorbed P-like forms in the soil 5 wk after application; moreover, speciation results showed granular P fertilizers precipitated less when deep-banded. During the 6-mo period following application, reaction products of broadcast granular, broadcast liquid, and deep-band granular fertilizers transformed to Ca-phosphate or mixtures of Ca-, Fe- and adsorbed-phosphate-like forms, whereas deep-band liquid P remained as mainly adsorbed P-like forms. Deep-banding of P would most likely provide a solution that is both agronomically and environmentally efficient for reduced-till farmers

Illicit substance use among university students from seven European countries: A comparison of personal and perceived peer use and attitudes towards illicit substance use

Objective: To compare European students' personal use and approval of illicit substance use with their perceptions of peer behaviours and attitudes, and investigate whether perceptions of peer norms are associated with personal use of illicit substances and attitudes. Method: This study used baseline data fromthe Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE (SNIPE) project involving 4482 students from seven European countries in 2012. Students completed an online surveywhich included questions on personal and perceived peer illicit substance use and personal and perceived peer attitude towards illicit substances. Results: 8.3% of students reported having used illicit substances at least once in their life. 49.7% of students perceived that the majority of their peers have used illicit substances more frequently than themselves. The perception was significantly associated with higher odds for personal illicit substance use (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.53–2.54). The perception that the majority of peers approve illicit substance use was significantly associated with higher odds for personal approval of illicit substance use (OR: 3.47, 95% CI: 2.73–4.41). Conclusion: Students commonly perceived that their peers used illicit subtances more often than themselves. We found an association between the perceived peer norms/attitudes and reported individual behaviour/ attitudes

A feasibility trial to examine the social norms approach for the prevention and reduction of licit and illicit drug use in European University and college students.

Background: Incorrect perceptions of high rates of peer alcohol and tobacco use are predictive of increased personal use in student populations. Correcting misperceptions by providing feedback has been shown to be an effective intervention for reducing licit drug use. It is currently unknown if social norms interventions are effective in preventing and reducing illicit drug use in European students. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of a multi-site cluster controlled trial of a web-based social norms intervention aimed at reducing licit and preventing illicit drug use in European university students. Methods/Design: An online questionnaire to assess rates of drug use will be developed and translated based on existing social norms surveys. Students from sixteen universities in seven participating European countries will be invited to complete the questionnaire. Both intervention and control sites will be chosen by convenience. In each country, the intervention site will be the university that the local principal investigator is affiliated with. We aim to recruit 1000 students per site (baseline assessment). All participants will complete the online questionnaire at baseline. Baseline data will be used to develop social norms messages that will be included in a web-based intervention. The intervention group will receive individualized social norms feedback. The website will remain online during the following 5 months. After five months, a second survey will be conducted and effects of the intervention on social norms and drug use will be measured in comparison to the control site. Discussion: This project is the first cross-national European collaboration to investigate the feasibility of a social norms intervention to reduce licit and prevent illicit drug use among European university students. Final trial registration number DRKS00004375 on the ‘German Clinical Trials Register’.This study is funded by the European Commission, Directorate General Justice, Freedom and Security (JLS/2009-2010/DPIP/AG