Impact of Entry and Exit on Agribusiness-Trucking Industry Efficiency: Stochastic Frontier Analysis

In this paper, the impact of entry and exit of firms on the overall efficiency of the industry is examined in the efficiency framework, using agribusiness-trucking firms for the period 1994-2003. Specifically, industry efficiency is compared with and without firms that enter and exit using panel stochastic frontier analysis.Agribusiness,

Market Structure Conduct Performance (SCP) Hypothesis Revisited using Stochastic Frontier Efficiency Analysis

Use of efficiency measures as a proxy for performance to test the market structure-conduct-performance (SCP) hypothesis is explored. Utilizing Battese and Coelli specification, we estimate stochastic frontier production function and SCP equations with output and efficiency measures as endogenous variables. An empirical application to U.S. trucking carries over the period 1994-2003 with emphasis on the agricultural commodity and refrigerated food products carriers is examined. Results reveal that the variables average haul, average load and market concentration significantly affected the efficiency of firms with 2-8 number of years within each firm.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Exchange Rates Impacts on Agricultural Inputs Prices using VAR

The effects of the U.S. dollar exchange rate versus the Mexican peso are evaluated for four traded nonfarm-produced inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, farm machinery, and feed) in the U.S. Unit root tests suggest that the exchange rate and the four input price ratios support the presence of unit roots with a trend model but the presence unit roots can be rejected in the first difference model. This result is consistent with a fixed price/flex price conceptual framework, with industrial prices more likely to be unresponsive to the exchange rate than farm commodity prices.exchange rate, pass-through, law of one price, SUR, VAR, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, F14, F31, F36, F42, C23,

An Inter-Sector Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita On The Agribusiness Industry In Mississippi

This study evaluates the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the agribusiness industry and related sectors in Mississippi. Input-output analysis was used to determine the economic impact of these disasters on the Mississippi agribusiness sector and related sectors in the state's economy.agribusiness, economic impact, input-output analysis, temporal effects, agribusiness sector, related sectors, Agribusiness,

An Assessment of the Efficiency of Agribusiness Trucking Companies: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the issue of efficiency in the U.S. motor carrier industry using DEA and SFA. While both methods used the same variables, the resulting efficiency scores were significantly different. This leads to the question of which method is a better measure of efficiency.Public Economics,

The Economic impact of Repealing Mississippi's Grocery Tax

Results from the analyses indicate that repealing the 7 percent grocery tax would produce modest gains in grocery sales but major increases in the purchases of other goods and services. Revenues from the sale of additional groceries would be exempt from taxes, thus producing only employment and labor income. With the state loosing almost $202 million in tax revenues, it is not clear if the gains in employment would be enough to offset the revenue losses.Agribusiness, Public Economics,

An Efficiency Assessment of Refrigerated-Food-Products Trucking Carriers in the United States

Agribusiness,

Does the WTO Increase Trade? The Case of U.S. Cocoa Imports from WTO-Member Producing Countries

Replaced with revised version of paper 06/08/2010.Gravity models, Exports, Market liberalization, Cocoa, Fixed Effects, Random Effects and Pooled Models, International Relations/Trade, F10, F13,

Increased Cocoa Bean Exports under Trade Liberalization: A Gravity Model Approach

Gravity models were developed to estimate the potential bilateral exports of cocoa under trade liberalization by the sixteen major cocoa producing countries to the US using panel data from 1989 to 2003. The results indicate that differences between resource endowment, relative size of economies, and the sum of bilateral GDP of U.S. and exporting countries are the major determinants. Thus, as trade is liberalized, farmers share of the world price of cocoa increases and this raises exports.Gravity models, Bilateral exports, Market liberalization, Cocoa, Fixed Effects Model, Random Effects Model, Pooled O.L.S., International Relations/Trade, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, F10, F13,

Novel nanostructures in transition metal chalcogenide systems

This thesis discusses the synthesis of transition metal chalcogenide nanostructures (where the chalcogen is either sulfur, selenium or tellurium) through the use of standard chemical vapour transport (CVT) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques. The resultant structures are characterised with a variety of methods and comparisons of their properties are made with their bulk counterparts. A discussion into how some of these structures form during the reaction is also given. Highly symmetrical, isotropic, nickel disulfide (NiS2) nanocubes have been synthesised via a Physical Vapour Transport (PVT) method in which sulfur vapour generated in situ is reacted with nickel-coated silica substrates. Systematic studies demonstrate the effect of the reactant ratio, substrate, metal layer thickness and reaction temperature on the synthesis and growth process. The evolution of structure and composition has been followed by diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The size of the NiS2 cubes can be varied from below 200 nm to 1 -2 1m across. Magnetic properties of the disulfide nanomaterials have been determined using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Initial experiments also demonstrate that related CVT techniques can be exploited to produce alternative compositions in the Ni-S system with varying morphologies that can be controlled via chemical and physical reaction parameters. Surface Assisted Chemical Vapour Transport (SACVT) methods have been employed to grow flower-like nanostructures of titanium disulfide (TiS2) and titanium trisulfide (TiS3) on titanium coated silica substrates. Systematic studies demonstrate the role of the reactant ratio and reaction temperature on the synthesis and growth process. The evolution of structure and composition has been followed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXD) and electron microscopy techniques such as and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Magnetic properties of the disulfide nanomaterials have been determined using SQUID and Raman spectroscopy has been used to confirm the identity of the sulfides. Investigations into nanostructured materials of the group IV transition metals zirconium and hafnium resulted in the successful synthesis of nanostructures of zirconium trisulfide/selenide (ZrS3/Se3) and hafnium trisulfide/selenide (HfS3/Se3). The unusual effects on structure that can occur when reactant time and synthesis temperature are varied and when a balance between these two factors is successfully found, nanostructures other than tubes and wires can be formed. Each of these systems were characterised with a variety of techniques including, TEM, PXD and SQUID