Simple and Multiple Cross-hedging of Millfeeds

Marketing,

LEAD-LAG RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PORK PRICES AT THE RETAIL, WHOLESALE, AND FARM LEVELS

Livestock Production/Industries,

RETAIL FOOD STORE INVENTORY BEHAVIOR

A stock-adjustment model is applied to monthly retail food store inventory data from 1968 through 1988. Estimates of the speed-of-adjustment coefficient (.34 to .75) are higher than estimates from previous research, indicating that periods of inventory disequilibrium in food retailing are short-lived. The results indicate that inventories are insensitive to financial carrying costs. The hypothesis that parameters of the model are constant over the sample period cannot be rejected, indicating that changes in food retailing (e.g., electronic scanning and diversification of product mixes) have not affected inventory behavior.Marketing,

Predicting Time Series Turning Points with Arima Models

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

DISCUSSION: METHODS FOR EVALUATING ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

Marketing,

AN ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE NET PRESENT VALUE CAPITAL INVESTMENT DECISION MODELS

We have found that the disagreement between Returns-to-Assets (RTA) and Returns-to-Equity (RTE) proponents is not confined to agricultural economics. Depending on the course they are taking and the accompanying text, students are likely to learn that there is a "right" way to calculate Net Present Values (NPVs), either by the RTA method or the RTE method. In most cases, only one of the two methods is discussed and illustrated with numerical examples. Less common are texts that compare the two methods, discuss their underlying assumptions, or show how the NPVs from the two methods can be reconciled. The paper is organized as follows. The first section of the main body of the paper provides a comparative overview of the RTA and RTE methods; the second section discusses our textbook survey; the final section offers our conclusions. Appendix A contains a brief history of the theoretical development of discounted cash flow (DCF) concepts. Appendix B contains additional details on defining components of NPV models. Finally, Appendix C is a listing of some additional references.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

HANDLING DURABLE AND NONDURABLE FARM INPUT DECISIONS USING A SINGLE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Students in economics are taught that the optimal usage of a nundurable input occurs when the value of its marginal product (VMP) equals its marginal cost (MC). However, this fundamental condition has rarely been extended to durable inputs. Even advanced textbooks have done little to compare and contrast the optimality conditions for durables versus nondurables. This paper outlines and compares a common VMP-MC decision for (1) nondurables in a single-period time horizon, (2) durables in a finite planning horizon, and (3) durables in an infinite planning horizon.Agricultural Finance,

Discussion and Presentation of the Disability Test Results from the Current Population Survey

In accordance with Executive Order 13078, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology interagency workgroup, identified the goal of placing a small set of questions within the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure disability. A set of potential questions was drawn from existing surveys, cognitively tested, and placed in the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) for testing. Based on an analysis of the NCS data, a set of seven questions was identified. These seven questions were then cognitively tested to ensure that they would work within the CPS context. This question set was placed in the February 2006 CPS for field testing. The two primary goals of the test were to compare the CPS disability rate to that obtained from the NCS, and to evaluate the effect on CPS response rates in the following month. Analysis of the test data revealed a lower overall disability rate as measured in the CPS than in the NCS, with lower positive response rates for each question. The data did not indicate that there was an adverse effect on the response rates for households that had received the disability questions.Disability, Current Population Survey