389 research outputs found
Do Transaction Costs and Risk Preferences Influence Marketing Arrangements in the Illinois Hog Industry?
Studies of hog industry structure often invoke risk reduction and transaction costs explanations for empirical observations but fail to directly examine the core concepts of risk behavior and transaction costs theories. Using a more unified conceptual framework and unique survey and accounting data, this study demonstrates that that risk preferences and asset specificity impact Illinois producers’ use of contracts and spot markets as suggested by theory. Factor analytic methods limit measurement error for indirectly observable risk and transaction costs variables employed in logit regressions. In particular, related investments in specific hog genetics and specific human capital regarding the production process increase the probability of selecting long-tem contracts over spot markets. Producers who perceive greater levels of price risk and/or are more averse to it appear more (less) likely to use long-term contracts (spot markets), and hence, to make such investments.risk behavior, transaction costs economics, risk attitude and risk perception, asset specificity, contracts, hogs, Agricultural Finance,
Do Transaction Costs and Risk Preferences Influence Marketing Arrangements in the Illinois Hog Industry?
Risk reduction and transaction costs are often used to explain contracting in the U.S. hog industry with little empirical support. Using a unified conceptual framework that draws from risk behavior and transaction cost theories, in combination with unique survey and accounting data, we demonstrate that risk preferences and asset specificity impact Illinois producers’ use of contracts and spot markets. In particular, producers’ investments in specific hog genetics and human capital are related to selection of long-term marketing contracts over spot markets. Producers who perceive greater levels of price risk and/or are more averse are more (less) likely to use contracts (spot markets).asset specificity, contracts, hogs, risk attitude, risk behavior, risk perception, transaction costs economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,
Is Storage at a Loss Merely an Illusion of Spatial Aggregation?
The storage-at-a-loss paradox—stocks despite inadequate price growth to cover storage costs—is an unresolved issue of long-standing interest to economists. Alternative explanations include risk premiums for futures market speculators, convenience yields from holding stocks, and mismeasurement/aggregation of data. Statistical analyses of regional and elevator corn and soybean price growth in Illinois suggest limited aggregation effects and reveal a pattern of regional- and elevator-level backwardations in the presence of Illinois corn stocks that is inconsistent with aggregation explanations for storage at a loss. Interviews with elevator managers support the existence of convenience yields.aggregation, convenience yield, corn, intertemporal arbitrage, regional and elevator data, soybeans, storage at a loss, Agribusiness, Marketing,
Is Storage at a Loss Merely an Illusion of Aggregation?
The storage at a loss paradox of positive inventories despite inadequate spot-futures price spread coverage of storage costs is an unresolved issue of long-standing interest to economists. Alternative explanations include risk premiums for futures market speculators, convenience yields from having inventories on hand, and the mismeasurement/aggregation of data. T-test analyses of disaggregated data suggest soybean price behavior consistent with intertemporal arbitrage conditions and corn price behavior that may imply convenience yields.Marketing,
Risk Attitude & the Structure of Decision Making: Evidence from the Hog Industry
We investigate the importance of an appropriate representation of behavior, risk attitude, and related characteristics for owner-managers making marketing decisions. We assess whether managerial/firm characteristics directly affect the decisions or if their influence occurs indirectly through impacts on risk aversion. The findings, which support an indirect effect, indicate that failure to represent the relationship between risk aversion, other characteristics, and behavior appropriately can mask the effect of risk aversion. A more complete understanding of the structure of decision making may assist economists and policymakers in designing and targeting mechanisms to transfer risk.behavior, contract, hogs, marketing, risk attitude, Agribusiness, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, Q13,
Statistical physics and stromatolite growth: new perspectives on an ancient dilemma
This paper outlines our recent attempts to model the growth and form of
microbialites from the perspective of the statistical physics of evolving
surfaces. Microbialites arise from the environmental interactions of microbial
communities (microbial mats). The mats evolve over time to form internally
laminated organosedimentary structures (stromatolites). Modern day
stromatolites exist in only a few locations, whereas ancient stromatolitic
microbialites were the only form of life for much of the Earth's history. They
existed in a wide variety of growth forms, ranging from almost perfect cones to
branched columnar structures. The coniform structures are central to the heated
debate on the oldest evidence of life. We proposed a biotic model which
considers the relationship between upward growth of a phototropic or
phototactic biofilm and mineral accretion normal to the surface. These
processes are sufficient to account for the growth and form of many ancient
stromatolities. These include domical stromatolites and coniform structures
with thickened apical zones typical of Conophyton. More angular coniform
structures, similar to the stromatolites claimed as the oldest macroscopic
evidence of life, form when the photic effects dominate over mineral accretion.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Proceedings of StatPhys-Taiwan
2004: Biologically Motivated Statistical Physics and Related Problems, 22-26
June 200
A case for biotic morphogenesis of coniform stromatolites
Mathematical models have recently been used to cast doubt on the biotic
origin of stromatolites. Here by contrast we propose a biotic model for
stromatolite morphogenesis which considers the relationship between upward
growth of a phototropic or phototactic biofilm () and mineral accretion
normal to the surface (). These processes are sufficient to account
for the growth and form of many ancient stromatolities. Domical stromatolites
form when is less than or comparable to . Coniform structures with
thickened apical zones, typical of Conophyton, form when . More
angular coniform structures, similar to the stromatolites claimed as the oldest
macroscopic evidence of life, form when .Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physica
WMAP constraints on scalar-tensor cosmology and the variation of the gravitational constant
We present observational constraints on a scalar-tensor gravity theory by
test for CMB anisotropy spectrum. We compare the WMAP temperature
power spectrum with the harmonic attractor model, in which the scalar field has
its harmonic effective potential with curvature in the Einstein
conformal frame and the theory relaxes toward Einstein gravity with time. We
found that the present value of the scalar coupling, i.e. the present level of
deviation from Einstein gravity , is bounded to be smaller than
(), and () for . This constraint is much stronger than the bound from the solar
system experiments for large models, i.e., and 0.3 in
and limits, respectively. Furthermore, within the framework
of this model, the variation of the gravitational constant at the recombination
epoch is constrained as , and
.Comment: 7 page
Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Of Co(oh)2 Nanoparticle-coated α-fe2o3 Nanorings
The production of hydrogen from water using only a catalyst and solar energy is one of the most challenging and promising outlets for the generation of clean and renewable energy. Semiconductor photocatalysts for solar hydrogen production by water photolysis must employ stable, non-toxic, abundant and inexpensive visible-light absorbers capable of harvesting light photons with adequate potential to reduce water. Here, we show that α-Fe 2O3 can meet these requirements by means of using hydrothermally prepared nanorings. These iron oxide nanoring photocatalysts proved capable of producing hydrogen efficiently without application of an external bias. In addition, Co(OH)2 nanoparticles were shown to be efficient co-catalysts on the nanoring surface by improving the efficiency of hydrogen generation. 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