Economic Efficiency, Structure and Scale Economies in the U.S. Dairy Sector

This study uses a new dataset based on the 2000 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, the most recent national survey of dairy producers in the United States. A shadow cost function is employed to decompose and analyze economic efficiency and scale economies. The study details the development of the data employed in the analysis and focuses on the estimation of scale relationships across farms in different regions and of different sizes. Preliminary results point to important scale economies and suggest that surviving small farms are on average more economically efficient but can exploit scale economies to a much lesser degree than larger farms. The preferred specification of the cost function does not show a region of decreasing returns to scale.Industrial Organization,

Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Change in the U.S. Hog Industry, 1992-2004

There have been dramatic structural changes in the U.S. hog industry in the last two decades that have coincided with substantial increases in farm productivity. This study used a stochastic frontier analysis to measure TFP growth between 1992 and 2004 and to decompose the TFP growth into four components: technical change and changes in technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and allocative efficiency. The study finds that productivity gains in the twelve year study period are explained almost entirely by technical progress and by improvements in scale efficiency. The study also disaggregates TFP growth in the Southeast and Heartland to better understand the implications of large spatial shifts in production. Results indicate that regional differences in TFP growth in the 1992-1998 and 1998-2004 periods can be explained primarily by changes in scale of production. Results indicate that despite large increases in the scale of production, there remains substantial scope for further scale efficiency gains, particularly in the Heartland where farms operate at a smaller average scale compared to in the Southeast.Livestock Production/Industries,

Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Change in the U.S. Hog Industry

The U.S. hog industry has experienced dramatic structural changes and rapid increases in farm productivity. A stochastic frontier analysis is used to measure hog enterprise total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1992 and 2004 and to decompose this growth into technical change and changes in technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and allocative efficiency. Productivity gains over the 12-year period are found to be explained almost entirely by technical progress and by improvements in scale efficiency. Differences in TFP growth rates in the Southeast and Heartland regions were found to be explained primarily by differences in farm size growth rates.hog production, scale efficiency, stochastic frontier, technical change, total factor productivity growth, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, D24, Q12,

Profits, Costs, and the Changing Structure of Dairy Farming

U.S. dairy production is consolidating into fewer but larger farms. This report uses data from several USDA surveys to detail that consolidation and to analyze the financial drivers of consolidation. Specifically, larger farms realize lower production costs. Although small dairy farms realize higher revenue per hundredweight of milk sold, the cost advantages of larger size allow large farms to be profitable, on average, even while most small farms are unable to earn enough to replace their capital. Further survey evidence, as well as the financial data, suggest that consolidation is likely to continue.Dairy farming, economies of scale, economies of size, dairy farm structure, milk costs, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Une étude pilote sur le congé parental de pères au Tirol

La présente étude porte sur les pères en congé parental au Tirol. Les auteurs constatent que les réflexions systématiques à propos des pères en congé sont rares. Les auteurs tentent de répondre à la question suivante : le congé parental a-t-il des implications sur l'attachement père-enfant ? L'étude pilote porte sur un échantillon de 15 dyades père-enfant. La description et l'analyse du comportement d'interaction père-enfant ont été effectuées à l'aide du Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) élaboré par Crittenden (1988, 2000).A pilot study of fathers on parental leave in Tirol The current study examines fathers in parental leave in Tirol. The authors have come to realise that systematic reflections concerning fathers on leave of their work are rare. The authors attempt to answer the following question: does parental leave have implications on child/father attachment? The pilot study examines a small sample of 15 father/child couples. The description and analysis of father/child interactions was elaborated with the Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) designed by Crittenden (1988, 2000).Un proyecto piloto sobre el permiso parental en Tirol El estudio trata de los padres en permiso parental en Tirol. Los autores constatan que son muy pocas las reflexiones systématicas sobre los padres en permiso. ¿Tiene el permiso parental implicaciones sobre el apego padre-hijo? Los autores tratan de responder a esta pregunta en un estudio piloto con una muestra de 15 dyadas padre-hijo. La descripción y el analisis del comportamiento de la interaccion padre-hijo han sido realisadas con la ayuda del Child Adult Relationship Index (CARE-Index) elaborado por Crittenden (1988, 2000)

THE COOPERATIVE FIRM AS MONITORED CREDIT

Abstract. We develop a nancial-contracting theory of the cooperative rm where production requires three generic tasks: working, managing, and monitoring. Workers provide an intermediate input (or labor directly); managers convert the workers' input into a nal output; and directors monitor managers. We model the cooperative rm by letting the workers act also as directors. We show how bundling the labor and monitoring tasks can expand the scope for equilibrium market activity, even when doing so results in a strictly positive deadweight loss. Our theory provides new insight with respect to a substantial theoretical and empirical literature on the life cycle of worker-managed rms, and with respect to a complementary body of anecdotal evidence on the causes of worker buyouts and cooperative degeneration. Our theory is also consistent with dierences between the board compensation policies of cooperative rms, where members typically receive little more than travel and per-diem reimbursements, and of investor-owned rms, where members receive substantial pay often based in part on rm nancial performance

Speech and language therapy/pathology: Perspectives on a gendered profession

Background: The Speech and Language Therapy/Pathology (SLT/SLP) profession is characterised by extreme ‘occupational sex segregation’, a term used to refer to persistently male or female-dominated professions. Men make up only 2.5% of all SLTs in the UK, and similar imbalance is found in other countries. Despite calls to increase diversity in the allied health professions more generally, research into the reasons for occupational sex segregation and gender as a potential key factor remains scarce. Aims: This study aims to explore the potential role of gender/ gendered discourses in people’s decision to pursue a career in SLT/SLP. It seeks to illustrate how gendered assumptions/ expectations/ discourses continue to construct SLT as a ‘gendered’ profession, and to make some recommendations in this area for SLT recruitment and practice. Methods & Procedure: The study adopted a qualitative design which elicited research participants’ views, knowledge and experiences (in their own words) in relation to the research questions. Data collection involved two iterative phases: preliminary data phase – which involved semi-structured interviews with newly qualified SLT graduates and practising SLTs, and completion of questionnaires by undergraduate SLTs – and main/ focus group phase. In the focus group phase, reported in this paper, six focus groups in total were held with SLTs, teachers of speech and language therapy, and careers advisors in London, UK. The data were analysed qualitatively using grounded theory principles, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis. Outcomes & Results: The findings extend our knowledge and understanding of gender as a parameter of people’s motivations and perceptions, which can influence their choice of career (e.g. as regards, pay and flexibility). The findings also show that discourses around women as carers, nurturers, and communicators constitute key ways through which the SLT profession continues to be constructed as ‘women’s work’. The topic of structural gender inequalities in the profession was also discussed in the data. Some recommendations for change, with implications for SLT recruitment and practice, were made by the participants themselves. Conclusions & Implications: Gender imbalance in SLT needs to be researched further, in order to help address inequalities, re-evaluate professional practices, and develop service delivery in the profession. This area also needs to be researched via analysis that goes beyond gender distribution in numerical terms, to consider the complex perceptions or discourses around gender and work. Cross-disciplinary and comparative perspectives in future research would also be fruitful