Measuring efficiency of the Farm Credit System

The paper measures the U.S. Farm Credit System’s technical efficiency from 2000 to 2009 using a stochastic frontier production function model with quarterly unbalanced panel data. The paper's results suggest that the FCS has not efficiently utilized their inputs. On an average, the system realizes only 9.7% of their technical abilities in raising their loans, leases and investment. The efficiency of the whole system is estimated to slightly increase over time even during financial crisis period from 2007. Among the system, a significant difference in efficiency between the 5 Banks and the Associations has been found. On average, the Banks have higher technical efficiency of 62.4% compared to that of 7.7% of the associations. The efficiency of the latter increases by a small rate over time during 2004-2009 periods while efficiency of the former is more time-varying and experiences the opposite pattern. No evidence about the impact of financial crisis on the system efficiency was found.Farm Credit System, agricultural lenders, technical efficiency, financial crisis, stochastic frontier production function, financial reform, Agricultural Finance,

Forecasting Housing Prices: Dynamic Factor Model versus LBVAR Model

The purpose of this paper is to compare the forecasting power of DFM and LBVAR models as they are used to forecast house price growth rates for 42 metropolitan areas in the United States. The forecasting performances of these two large-scale models are compared based on the Theil U-statistic.Housing market, DFM, LBVAR, dynamic PCA, Demand and Price Analysis,

Dynamic Analysis of Land Prices with Flexible Risk Aversion Coefficients

Land Economics/Use, Risk and Uncertainty,

THE EFFECTS OF HOLDING NONFARM RELATED FINANCIAL ASSETS ON RISK-ADJUSTED FARM INCOME

A discrete stochastic, programming model is formulated to study the gains from diversification when farming operations are augmented with off-farm financial assets that are not highly correlated with returns from farming. We extend past research by considering the dynamics of accumulating these financial assets and the farm's leverage and tenure position. Results show that farmers' income level and stability can be improved by including nonfarm financial assets in their portfolios.Agricultural finance, Certainty equivalents, Discrete stochastic programming, Land investments, Off-farm investments, Agricultural Finance,

FACTORS AFFECTING COMMERCIAL BANK LENDING TO AGRICULTURE

A tobit econometric procedure was used to examine the effect of selected demand and supply factors on nonreal estate agricultural lending by commercial banks in Texas. Results show that banks have reduced their agricultural loan portfolios in response to increased use of interest sensitive deposits after deregulation. Moreover, almost half of this decrease came from banks that stopped making agricultural loans. Also, results show that banks affiliated with multi-bank holding companies lend less money to agriculture relative to their assets than do independent banks.Agricultural lending, Commercial banks, Deregulation, Tobit, Agricultural Finance,

In Search of the "Bank Lending Channel": Causality Analysis for the Transmission Mechanism of U.S. Monetary Policy

The bank lending channel states that changes in monetary policy cause changes in bank loans thus causing changes in real income. This implies the Federal Reserve can influence real income by controlling the level of intermediated loans. We apply a new method to test for an operative bank lending channel in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Combining an error correction model with directed acyclic graphs, we explore the existence of a bank lending channel and the effectiveness of U.S. monetary policy since 1960. This paper shows when an operative bank lending channel existed, explains its impact, and evaluates other channels of monetary policy.Financial Economics,

COMMERCIAL BANKS' RESPONSE TO COSTLY DEPOSITS IN A DEREGULATED ENVIRONMENT

The study examines balance sheet changes at Texas commercial banks following the 1980 bank deregulation. A comparison of selected deposit and asset variables for 1978 (pre-deregulation) and 1987 (post- deregulation) reveals a rapid increase in costly deposits and a decline in the proportion of loans in general, and agricultural loans in particular, relative to total bank assets. Although a weak Texas economy during this time period contributed to the observed asset reallocation, banks were also responding to the increased deposit costs and interest rate volatility following deregulation. This conclusion is consistent with previous findings cited in the study.Commercial banks, Agricultural loans, Bank deregulation, Financial Economics,

THE LAW OF ONE PRICE: DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRY MARKET INTEGRATION

The Law of One Price (LOP) is important to models of international trade and exchange rate determination. This study investigates a variant of the LOP applied to developed and developing countries. The competing hypothesis are (1) that one price prevails in both developed and developing countries and (2) that one price prevails in developed countries and another single price in developing countries. Using data from an internationally competitive commodity (soybean meal), we found evidence favors the first hypothesis, although two large developing countries under study are active participants in regional trade integration, which may bias them against the first hypothesis.law of one price, developing countries, error-correction model, directed graphs, Demand and Price Analysis,

The Causality of Foreign Direct Investment and Its Effects on Economic Growth: Re-estimated by a Directed Graph Approach

This paper uses the directed acyclic graph approach to analyze the causal patterns among foreign direct investment and other economic, social, and political variables, including GDP per capita as a proxy for economic growth. We find that economic growth causes FDI inflows for developing countries, while FDI induces economic growth for developed countries. Also, stock market is found to be an intermediary that amplifies the influence on FDI from many causal variables of FDI.FDI, economic growth, DAG, Financial Economics,

An Analysis of the Banana Import market in the U.S.

Demand, banana, import, market power, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,