ISO 14000 STANDARDS: VOLUNTARY ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE AS A TRADE FACILITATION STRATEGY?

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Meta-Regression Estimates for CGE Models: A Case Study for Input Substitution Elasticities in Production Agriculture

The selection of appropriate parameters for computable general equilibrium (CGE) models critically affects the results of applied economic modeling exercises. Valid and reliable parameter selection models are needed, and typically comprise direct estimation, expert opinion, or copycatting of results from seminal studies. The purpose of this study is to use meta-analysis to summarize and more accurately estimate elasticities of input substitution, specifically between labor and other inputs in agricultural production. We construct a comprehensive database of elasticity estimates through an extensive literature review, and perform a meta-regression analysis to identify structural sources of variation in elasticity estimates sampled from primary studies. The use of meta-analysis contributes to improved baseline analysis in CGE simulations because it allows for the computation of input parameters tailored to a specific CGE model setup. We correct for variations in research design, which are typically constant within studies, and account for bias associated with undue selection effects associated with editorial publication decision processes. Improved accuracy and knowledge of the distribution of imputed input parameters derived from a meta-analysis contributes to improved performance of CGE sensitivity analyses.meta-analysis, cross-price elasticity, input substitu¬tion, agricultural production, CGE parameters, Demand and Price Analysis, C13, C68, Q13,

ISO 9000 Standards: Implicit Barrier or Trade Facilitation Strategy?

International Relations/Trade,

Agriculture and the World Trade Organization: Does Membership Make a Difference?

Recent empirical studies have estimated the trade flow effect of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). One important, although largely untested, conclusion from this literature is that the GATT/WTO has worked well if we ignore trade in agriculture – one of the institution’s seemingly apparent failures. This article investigates this conclusion using a large panel of agricultural and non-agricultural trade flows, the latter of which serves as our benchmark. The results are impressive: the multilateral institution has delivered significant positive effects on members’ agricultural trade relative to trade between non-members. Further, despite their special and differential treatment, membership has provided important trade flow benefits for developing and least-developed country agricultural exports. These findings are robust across a large number of specifications and slices of the data. Although there are few sectors as politically sensitive, participation in the GATT/WTO appears to be a significant determinant of agricultural trade flows.WTO, membership, trade, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy,

Does the World Trade Organization Promote Trade? An Empirical Assessment of Agricultural and Non‐Agricultural Trade Flows

In this paper we ask whether the GATT/WTO has actually failed to increase members’ agricultural trade. Surprisingly, there is very little empirical econometric support to shed light on this question despite the fact that agricultural trade is often at the forefront of multilateral negotiations. We address this issue by considering GATT/WTO effects across agricultural and non‐agricultural sectors. Despite much ‘hoopla and hype’ that the GATT/WTO has done nothing to boost members’ agricultural trade, our results suggest that the multilateral institution has delivered significant positive effects on agricultural trade over the period 1980‐2004. Moreover, in many cases the trade flow effect of membership in the GATT/WTO exceeds that of non‐agriculture, merchandise trade. The results have important policy implications when one considers the growing body of literature that often presumes that the GATT/WTO has done nothing to stimulate members' agricultural trade.International Relations/Trade,

Assessing Domestic Demand for Organic and ‘Locally Grown' Produce on An ‘Organic Island': Dominica's Dilemma

The economy of Dominica faces a unique set of challenges. As with many other Caribbean nations, Dominica has historically been dependent upon agriculture. Over the past several hundred years, the island's economy has been largely supported through the concentrated mono-cropping of a variety of export-oriented crops including coffee, limes, vanilla, and bananas (FAVACA, 2008). Today, approximately 45% of Dominica's labor force is employed in the agricultural sector (FAVACA, 2008). While neighboring countries have economically benefited from tourism, due to its lack of white sand beaches, Dominica is not a typical tourist destination. Taking advantage of its landscape, rainforests, and diversity of natural wildlife, in an effort to diversify its economy Dominica has instead catered to eco-/wellness tourists. Bridging its agricultural foundations with the ecological preservation needed to support its tourist industry, the government of Dominica has signaled its interest in transforming Dominica into an Organic Island (‘Organic Dominica') by 2015. Through this initiative, sustainable, organic agricultural production methods will be encouraged. Complementing this, a ‘Buy Organic, Locally Grown' campaign has been proposed to encourage domestic and regional consumption of Dominica's agricultural outputs and food products. As such, ‘Organic Dominica' has the potential to simultaneously address ongoing national concerns surrounding food security, foreign exchange availability, domestic un/underemployment, and environmental preservation. Before and since proposing this policy, surveys were conducted to identity the major stakeholders in (organic) agricultural production, and current and potential markets for organic production. It remains, however, to quantify Dominica's capacity to produce organic goods, the scale of the potential market, and the price premia that organic production could command. This information is critical to determining the appropriate initial level of producer support and marketing programs required to successfully promote the production and consumption of Dominica's organic outputs and propel Dominica toward the desired status of a model ‘Organic Island'.contingent valuation, willingness to pay, Caribbean, organic, locally grown, food, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, Marketing, O13, O54, Q01, Q13, Q18,

ECONOMIC REPLACEMENT OF A HETEROGENEOUS HERD

A model was developed and used to determine the optimal slaughter weights of pigs with heterogeneous growth raised in a 1,000 head barn and marketed in truckload groups. Explicitly recognizing the heterogeneity of pig weights and marketing the herd over time in truckload batches can substantially increase profit.Marketing,

BACK TO THE BASICS: WHAT DOES THE MARKET TELL US ABOUT BASIS?

This study explores market forces that affect harvest grain basis for corn, soybeans, and wheat in a grain deficit market. The findings indicate that implied basis (cash forward bid less harvest futures), nearby HHO price, and log of open interest on the harvest futures contract can be used to predict 33 to 99 percent of the variation in harvest basis at selected South Carolina locations.Marketing,

US agricultural university students\u27 mental well-being and resilience during the first wave of COVID-19: Discordant expectations and experiences across genders

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic\u27s first wave led to declining mental health and life satisfaction outcomes for college students, especially women. While women in undergraduate agricultural programs outperformed men academically prior to and during the pandemic, the achievement may have come at personal cost, especially for those women with fewer personal and environmental resiliency resources. Our research objective was to expand on personal, social, and environmental factors linked with lower mental health and life satisfaction scores for students in agriculture during the pandemic. We measured the influence of such factors across gender-based mental health and life satisfaction outcomes. Our data were collected from 2030 students using an on-line survey across six land-grant university college of agriculture in agriculturally as many distinct regions of the United States. We estimated OLS and Ordered Probit models of their mental health and life satisfaction self-assessments. Our findings reveal students\u27 mental health and life satisfaction were reduced due to a paucity of personal (e.g., less future orientation or graduate school aspirations, food and housing insecurity, and personal health risks) and environmental (e.g., lower quality on-line learning experiences, isolation, family health risk, discrimination experiences) resiliency resources. Our results suggest women were more likely than men to be adversely affected by reduced resiliency resources. These findings suggest university emergency response policies need to address students\u27 needs for housing and food security, on-line course development and delivery, tele health and mental health resources, broad social inclusion and diversity to decrease risk of female attrition and support all students in agricultural degree programs