WHO CHOOSES TO OWN A MANUFACTURED HOME ?

Little research has been conducted on the choice of dwelling by U.S. homeowners. Few studies have included manufactured housing into the dwelling choices available to homeowners. This study focuses on the effects of demographic and socioeconomic variables on a household’s choice to own a manufactured home. A multinomial logit model was used to determine what type of households chooses to own a manufactured home when other traditional dwelling choices are available. I found that income and education play a major role in dwelling choice.Manufactured Housing; Housing Choice; Dwelling Choice, Multinomial Logit

POLITICAL MARKET IMPACTS ON MEXICAN IMPORT PERMITS FOR WHITE CORN

Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

How Beneficial is Tourism? An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Tourism in Il N'gwesi, Kenya

This paper is a study of the economic effects of tourism in Il N'gwesi, Kenya. This group ranch has been greatly influenced by tourism and conservation efforts in recent years. It neighbors several conservation and tourism centers and in 1996 members set aside 80% of their communal land for a conservation area and initiated a community run Eco Lodge. This paper studies the potential negative effects of tourism on Il N'gwesi as well as which variables impact conservation friendly expenditure decisions. A statistical analysis reveals that group ranch members perceive that there had been inflation in the prices of land, food, and goods and services. However, close to 100 percent of households do not believe that the inflation is due to the Eco Lodge. A statistical analysis of perceptions of wildlife and conservation reveal that there is no significant difference in how households value wildlife and conservation, regardless of whether they have suffered from wildlife damage or not. Probit models were used to evaluate how respondent characteristics and types of employment influence household choice of expenditure. This revealed that providing people with economic incentives to make conservation friendly decisions does not appear to be working in Il N'gwesi.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

ENDOGENOUS PROTECTION IN THE MEXICAN CORN AND SORGHUM MARKET

Trade relations between the United States (U.S) and Mexico are increasingly interrelated and important ever since the ratification of NAFTA in 1994. With the advent of NAFTA, tariffs on many agricultural products were lowered or are in the process of being lowered. Mexico implements a tariff-rate quota for corn which is to be phased out by 2009. This quota is divided among the various Mexican corn importers with "cupos", which are import permits. Import permits are administrative trade barriers that can be defined as any obstacle that appears and disappears as market conditions change. It is widely recognized in the literature that administrative trade barriers create numerous obstacles to the international exchange of agricultural products. In this paper a conceptual structural model of international marketing margins and trade uncertainty is specified that links the private market to political factors influencing administrative trade barriers. In doing so, this systematically links trade models specified by Gallagher (1998) and others, which characterize private markets under uncertainty but ignore direct influences from political markets, to work by Trefler (1993) and others, which focus on endogenous trade protection. The general objective of this study is to increase the understanding of the impact of institutional aspects on agricultural trade. The specific objectives are to quantify the impact of import permits for white and yellow corn on international marketing margins between the U.S. and Mexico for white corn, yellow corn, and sorghum, as well as approximate the impact of changing political market variables on total welfare. Conceptually understanding the underlying processes and estimating empirical relationships for these objectives leads to important insights into the effect of the Mexican government's policy of allocating corn import permits have on the price and quantity of corn and sorghum. A complete structural model of white corn, yellow corn, and sorghum is specified, wherein import demand equations are generalized to incorporate simultaneous variables of trade protection (Trefler 1993) and then estimated with a simultaneous tobit estimator. The results provide interesting insights into the way that import permits work in Mexico. Interestingly, generalizing the import demand equations to account for trade protection dramatically alters international marketing margins for white corn and sorghum in a manner consistent with findings in Trefler. However, yellow corn appears unaffected. Further, political and industry interests driving trade protection in Mexico are found to influence import demand. For example, political pressure from corn and sorghum producers has a negative affect on the import demand for corn and sorghum. These results are consistent with other conjectures and findings in public choice analysis, which indicate that increases in import penetration will increase lobbying efforts from domestic firms to decrease imports. These results indicate that as grain producers lobby for a decrease in import permit allocations the import demand for these grains decreases, meaning that they have succeeded in their efforts to reduce import competition. In all, these insights provide the means to better understand how subtle trade barriers affect the trade flow between countries.Crop Production/Industries,

Has the "Farm Problem" Disappeared? A Comparison of Household and Self-Employment Income Levels of the Farm and Nonfarm Self-Employed

This study tests the impact of household and demographic factors on the economic well-being of the farm and nonfarm self-employed using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Parametric and nonparametric techniques are used to test for statistical differences in self-employment and household income levels. Further, household and demographic factors are tested for their effect on self-employment income using a censored tobit regression model. The farm self-employed report significantly higher levels of self-employment income. Results reveal that several household and demographic factors significantly impact self-employment income levels for the farm and nonfarm self-employed, with key differences in impacts.self-employment, farm households, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Lump Sum versus Annuity: Choices of Kentucky Farmers during the Tobacco Buyout Program

Our study uses the data collected during the implementation of the tobacco buyout program in Kentucky to evaluate how rural households, diverse in income, age, family structure, location, education level, and other characteristics, made a choice between annuities and a lump-sum payment. Subjects in our field experiment did not have to retire or change their employment, as did subjects in many field studies of the choice between annuities and lump-sum payments, which allowed us to evaluate the relationship between the option choice and a decision whether to exit the tobacco market. Our results suggest that while discounted utility theory gives acceptable predictions of the farmers’ behavior, other factors have to be taken into consideration. First, there are consistent biases that describe individual intertemporal behavior, such as availability bias or acquiescence bias. Second, there is a certain degree of heterogeneity in individual intertemporal preferences that correlates with their personal characteristics, such as education and production status. Third, our analysis revealed that the decision to exit the tobacco market positively correlated with the decision to take a lump-sum payment.annuity, family business system, intertemporal choice, lump sum, tobacco buyout, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing, G11, H31, J10,

Does Experience Determine Performance? A Meta-Analysis on the Experience-Performance Relationship

The impact of experience on entrepreneurial performance has been widely tested. Although experience is expected to positively impact performance, results are varied. This research synthesizes the current literature by determining systematic sources of variation through both exploratory and ordered probit analyses. Results reveal that start date for data collection and form of experience tested pose a major impact on the probability of obtaining a positive estimate for the experience-performance relationship. This research further emphasizes the need for tightened standards across the experience-performance literature in order to equip both academics and practitioners with better information.Entrepreneurship, Experience, Performance, Meta-Analysis, Agribusiness, Labor and Human Capital,

Multiple Generation Farm Households: What Determines Primacy in Management?

This study identifies factors that influence primacy between generations in the management structure of U.S. family farms. The paper fills an important gap in the farm succession literature by exploring succession (in management of the farm) as an incremental process. Estimation with cross-sectional data from the USDAERS’ Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and a limited dependent variable model is used to explain the decision for older generation operators to retain primary farm management duties with a junior operator serving a secondary role. We identify a number of statistically significant attributes that explain variation in the elder farmer’s role (primary versus secondary) in management of the farm. Our results suggest that transferring primary operator status is more influenced by family members’ characteristics and less so by farm financial and operating characteristics.Farm Household, Succession, Farm Management,

A Competing Values Approach to Small Family Business Succession

Agribusiness,

Political allocation of U.S. agriculture disaster payments in the 1990s

Legislation passed during the 1990s attempted to move U.S. agriculture disaster relief to a more market oriented process. The failure of this legislation has been attributed to the political system behind agricultural disaster relief. This paper explores the impact of political influence on the allocation of U.S. direct agriculture disaster payments. The results reveal that disaster payments are not based solely on need, but are higher in those states represented by public officials key to the allocation of relief. The effectiveness of legislation aimed at promoting more efficient disaster payments systems, such as crop insurance, over direct cash payments is also examined.Agriculture ; Disaster relief