WAGE DETERMINATION FOR REGULAR HIRED FARM WORKERS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR GEORGIA

Regular hired farm workers, performing 150 days or more of farm work annually, became increasingly important in the 1970's. The number of regular hired workers in the United States increased by almost 50 percent during the decade, while the number of seasonal workers, operators, and unpaid family workers declined. Pricing of regular hired labor is investigated through estimation of three nested wage determination models in a case study analysis for Georgia. Micro-level data on individual workers were used to analyze the effects of general human capital, farm worker duties, local labor market conditions, and farm characteristics on wage rates.Labor and Human Capital,

Quarterly Storage Model of U.S. Cotton Market: Estimation of the Basis under Rational Expectations

The paper outlines an approach to estimation and analysis of the futures basis in the U.S. cotton market under weakly rational expectations. Given the model specification derived from the underlying dynamic profit optimization problem of the dealers, the intermediary market model is estimated using the self-organizing state-space (SOSS) approach. Estimation results are used to evaluate the prediction power of the method and test the main assumptions about the existence and consistency of the subjective rational expectations incorporated in the model.Crop Production/Industries,

A MARKETING ANALYSIS OF U.S. CHICKEN EXPORTS TO CHINA

China is the second largest market for U.S. poultry exports. The growth potential for chicken exports to China is great, given their large population, low per capita consumption, rising incomes, and recent inclusion in the WTO. In this study, we estimated excess supply and demand equations for US exports of frozen chicken parts to China.International Relations/Trade,

FINANCING THE DISPOSAL OF UNWANTED AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES

The disposal of accumulated agricultural pesticides is an expensive proposition due to the hazardous nature of these materials. States have inititated unwanted pesticide collection efforts based on several funding options. Through an evaluation of regulations, funding options and comparison of amounts of pesticides collected to expenditures for pesticides, our paper offers some recommendations for future state collection efforts. It may be advantageous to give greater weight to efficiency considerations for the disposal of existing unwanted pesticide stocks, while equity considerations may be emphasized for the disposal of anticipated future stocks.Environmental Economics and Policy,

THE IMPACT OF LOCAL LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS ON THE OFF-FARM EARNINGS OF FARM OPERATORS

Local labor market characteristics are theoretically relevant to the determination of off-farm earnings of farm operators, but the empirical analysis of these effects has been hindered by a lack of appropriate data. This study employs the new census public use micro-data sample, PUMS-D, to investigate the effect of local labor market characteristics on off-farm earnings of farm operators. The PUMS-D data allow local characteristics to be defined on a labor market area basis, rather than on a political boundary basis. For a sample of Georgia farm operators, local labor market size, unemployment rates, and industrial structure were found to have significant impacts on off-farm employment and earnings.Labor and Human Capital,

REAL EXCHANGE RATE DETERMINANTS IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES: Do Macroeconomic Fundamentals and Political Risk Play a Role?

Replaced with revised version of poster 07/21/11.International Relations/Trade, Risk and Uncertainty,

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATIONS WITH ENDOGENOUS SYSTEM SIZING

This paper is concerned with analysis of economic feasibility of solar energy systems. Methodology for estimating energy output from different sized systems is briefly presented, and this is used to determine technical coefficients for a mixed integer model which optimizes the size of the solar heating unit for a particular use. An empirical example of hot water heating on a Georgia dairy is presented. Cost curves are provided for the dairy example to illustrate the effect of sizing on the economic feasibility of solar heating and to elucidate the structure of the optimal sizing decision.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE U.S. MEXICAN WINTER MARKET TRADE DISPUTE

On March 11, 1996, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, the Florida Bell Pepper Growers Exchange, the Florida Farm Bureau, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and other U.S. tomato producers filed a petition with the International Trade Commission (ITC) for economic relief from the effects of increased tomato imports from Mexico under Section 202 (a) of the Trade Act of 1974. A second petition was filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce under Section 733 (a) of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930, charging that Mexican tomatoes were being dumped on the U.S. market at prices less than fair market value (LTFV) and were the cause of material injury to the domestic industry. Florida growers blame their recent loss of market share and depressed prices during the 1995-96 winter season on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. The reduction in trade barriers due to NAFTA allegedly resulted in a flood of Mexican tomato imports, which have depressed domestic prices and resulted in declining profits, employment and investments. These allegations constitute the legal criteria for a petition seeking economic relief from imports sold at less than fair market value. The ITC investigated the first petition and rejected it on July 2, 1996. The antidumping petition continued during the summer and fall, 1996, until trade negotiations resulted in a compromise agreement that suspended the investigation. On October 11, 1996, the U.S. and Mexican tomato growers reached an agreement suspending the dumping case and establishing a minimum import price for fresh tomatoes at $0.2068 per pound ($0.45/kg) or $5.17 per 25-pound box. The price floor appeared low enough to allow for competitive improvements and disposal of temporary oversupplies in the market. Thus the wholesale price of tomatoes from the two regions would be approximately equivalent, restoring a "level playing field."International Relations/Trade,

FINANCING THE DISPOSAL OF UNWANTED AGRICULTURAL PESTICIDES

Since the mid 1980s, it has been recognized that significant quantities of unwanted pesticides are being retained by agricultural producers in barns and other out buildings throughout the United States. State governments have responded to the hazards posed by these pesticides by implementing programs to collect and dispose of them. This paper reviews issues related to costs and funding of pesticide collection and disposal programs. Primary and secondary information on states' approaches to and experiences with unwanted pesticide removal is presented. Differences in the theoretical impacts of various collection funding methods on reducing unwanted pesticide stocks and allocating disposal costs are discussed.Environmental Economics and Policy,