Farming Fish in a Transitional Economy: A Case for East Timor

This case study evaluates the economic potential for a grow-out mariculture enterprise in East Timor while highlighting how such a business venture could help engage a transitional nation in foreign trade, increase employment opportunities and encourage community based projects that promote sustainable resource use.aquaculture, mariculture, grouper, East Timor, transitional economy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q22,

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RETAILER AND CONSUMER CONCERNS ABOUT SEAFOOD SAFETY: EVIDENCE FROM SURVEY DATA

Seafood, retailer and consumer safety concerns, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

HAWAII PUBLIC OPINION ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO) TECHNOLOGY

This article studied Hawaii public opinion on agricultural products and processes using GMO technology. We used telephone to interview the people in each island of Hawaii. We found out that the favorability rating toward the attributes of GMO technological application differ based on the nature of GMO benefits. And sociodemographic variables played a significant difference in the preference of using GMO technology on producing agricultural products and process. Most significant associations were gender and island of residence. Age, education and ethnic background significantly also influenced the attitude of respondents toward some of GMO attributes. The fewest significant associations were heard of GMO and income.Consumer/Household Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Consumer Preferences for Imported Kona Coffee in South India: A Latent Class Analysis

Considering India as a potential export market for 100% Kona coffee, this study explores consumer preferences for imported, specialty, high-end Kona coffee in South India. Conjoint choice experiment with latent class analysis is used and results indicate that India offers an export market potential for Kona coffee, provided it caters to consumer preferences. Results show a significant preference for strong taste. The relative importance of price is lower than taste but majority are also adverse to higher prices. However,15% of the sample population does not care about price but does care about taste, indicating the possibility of a high-end niche market segment. Based on the results, marketing strategies and policy recommendations have been suggested.India, US Coffee Export, Kona Coffee, Conjoint Choice Experiment, Latent Class Analysis, Agribusiness, Q13,

Trade-offs between Shopping Bags Made of Non-degradable Plastics and Other Materials, Using Latent Class Analysis: The Case of Tianjin, China

white pollution, plastic bag ban, conjoint choice experiment, willingness to pay, latent class analysis, China, degradable plastics, cloth, paper, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q1,

IDENTIFYING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESSES FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

CBM was used to set economic development priorities and identify sustainable businesses for Enosburg Falls, Vermont. A modified CBM corrected limitations found in the first study. Results show that business in Depository and Non-depository financial institutions, dairy processing, and industrial machinery & equipment sectors are desirable and compatible for Enosburg Falls to target.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

IMPACTS OF THE NORTHEAST INTERSTATE DAIRY COMPACT ON THE WIC PROGRAM: EVIDENCE FROM BOSTON AND HARTFORD

This paper examines the impacts of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact (Compact) on the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program using an autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) model and data from Boston and Hartford. While the results for Boston indicate that the difference between the net fluid milk price paid by WIC program and the forecasted fluid milk price with no Compact in effect was not significant over the period of July 1997 to June 1998, the results for Hartford suggest that the net price paid by WIC was significantly greater than the forecasted price with no Compact in effect over the same period. A similar analysis of the changes in markups suggests that the increase in the net fluid milk price paid by the WIC program in Hartford was largely due to increased markups.Food Security and Poverty,

CONJOINT ANALYSIS OF THE MID-ATLANTIC FOOD-FISH MARKET FOR FARM-RAISED HYBRID STRIPED BASS

Conjoint analysis was used to examine buyer preferences toward farm-raised hybrid striped bass at the wholesale, retail, and restaurant levels. Low price and round form were found to be important attributes in the product preference rating for the wholesale and retail markets. The filleted form contributed the most to restaurants' preference rating. Following these, larger fish size was preferred by all markets.Agribusiness,

THE IMPACT OF THE TOURISM SECTOR ON THE VERMONT ECONOMY: THE INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS

There are only few states in the United States where state income relies heavily on tourism industry, and Vermont is one of them. Vermont has the advantage in possessing spectacular landscape, clean environment, and attractive agriculturally based rural community, which provide an excellent opportunity for tourism industry development. Vermont economy also benefits from the tourists' activities because: (1) tourists contribute significant amount of income to Vermont economy, especially from ski business; (2) tourists' expenditures in Vermont become a significant source of state tax income; and (3) to sustain tourism industry in Vermont helps to preserve rural community environment as well as nature beauty in Vermont. Although tourism industry is very important to Vermont, there is limited information associated with the economic impacts from the tourism industry to Vermont economy. The objectives of this article include: (1) to quantify the economic activities of tourism-related sectors in Vermont in order to create a tourism industry; and (2) to estimate the economic impacts of the tourism industry on Vermont economy in terms of total output, Gross State Product (GSP), employment, and dependency and inter-industry linkages between tourism industry and other industries in Vermont. Three surveys have been designed to gather data for tourists' activities and expenditures: (1) a nation-wide visitor survey in order to understand the profiles and expenditures of Vermont tourists; (1) a lodging business survey to estimate total revenue and cost structures for three sizes of the lodging businesses - small, medium, and large; and (3) a ski resort survey to estimate ski total revenue and cost structure and its contribution to recreation industry in Vermont. Further analysis in tourism impacts on Vermont economy is carried out by running a input-output model using Impact analysis for PLANing (IMPLAN) software. Several interesting results are concluded from this study. For the profile of the visitors, the majority tourists coming to Vermont are domestic pleasure travelers, every visiting domestic household spends approximately $323.66 for every trip to Vermont, and 75$29,000, and finally winter average revenue for a ski area is $19 millions of dollars ($4.3 millions of dollars in summer/fall). The impacts of tourism industry on Vermont economy include: (1) tourism industry counts for 15% of the total state output value, 22% of the state employment, and 26% of the indirect business tax; (2) for every million dollars spent by tourists in Vermont - 35 jobs are created, additional 690 thousands of dollars worth output will be generated, employment compensation will increase by $540,546 dollars, and indirect business tax will increase by$127,807 dollars. It has been shown that Tourism industry contributes significantly to Vermont economy relative to Agriculture and Manufacturing industries.tourism, Vermont, Input-Output model, Visitor survey, Lodging survey, Ski Survey, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Analysis of Farm Household Preferences in the Management of Invasive Species: The Case of Miconia in Hawaii

A major threat to Hawaii's ecosystem is the spread of invasive plant species. One such species is Miconia calvescens. Given that this plant was originally introduced to Hawaii by the horticulture industry and has negative effects on agricultural productivity, it is logical to find the farm households' preference for the control of Miconia. Using Conjoint Choice Experiment methodology, this study designed a survey to measure farm households' preferences for Miconia calvescens control program attributes. Results of the surveys indicate that the farm households are willing to support Miconia control programs if they prevent severe soil erosion and loss of biodiversity.Miconia, invasive species, Hawaii, farmers, Conjoint Choice Experiment, valuation, Crop Production/Industries,