James Madison, an Early American Entrepreneur: The Plantation Owner and Farmer

Graduate Histor

Effects of Environmental Regulation on Economic Activity and Pollution in Commercial Agriculture

Research on environmental regulation’s effects on economic activity has largely focused on manufacturing, ignoring one of the major polluters in the U.S. – commercial agriculture. As livestock production has become increasingly mobile, regulation has become an important criterion in firm location. This article extends the literature on environmental regulation’s economic effects to commercial agriculture by exploiting a series of regulations adopted in North Carolina in the 1990s. During this time, the state’s hog production more than tripled as a consequence of welcoming state legislation. This sudden growth creates an opportunity to study how environmental regulation affects the location of economic activity, the externality costs of legislation aimed at economic growth, and the effects of swine on air pollution. The last of these foci is of particular importance to upcoming federal regulation of large-scale livestock production under the Clean Air Act. By exploiting the distinct trend breaks in hog production in North Carolina, I am able to non-parametrically control for trends in the rest of the country as well as trends in North Carolina prior to the enactment of the lax regulations. I find that the laws led to an additional 11% increase per year in hog production in North Carolina relative to the rest of the U.S., as well as a 10% increase per county per year in ambient air pollution. Through a series of falsification tests and examinations of alternative hypotheses, I conclude that the air pollution is attributable to the hogs; a doubling of production yields a 92% increase in ambient air pollution. The magnitude of the changes in air pollution is large enough to result in significant public health effects, totaling in cost to at least 20% of North Carolina’s hog production revenue.Livestock, externality, regulation, public health, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Q5,

Climate Change Policy and the Adoption of Methane Digesters on Livestock Operations

Methane digesters—biogas recovery systems that use methane from manure to generate electricity—have not been widely adopted in the United States because costs have exceeded benefits to operators. Burning methane in a digester reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manure management. A policy or program that pays producers for these emission reductions—through a carbon offset market or directly with payments—could increase the number of livestock producers who would profit from adopting a methane digester. We developed an economic model that illustrates how dairy and hog operation size, location, and manure management methods, along with electricity and carbon prices, could influence methane digester profits. The model shows that a relatively moderate increase in the price of carbon could induce significantly more dairy and hog operations, particularly large ones, to adopt a methane digester, thereby substantially lowering emissions of greenhouse gases.methane, methane digesters, manure, livestock, climate change, greenhouse gases, carbon offset, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Variation in Environmental Regulations in California and Effects on Dairy Location

In recent decades, urban encroachment and increasing environmental regulation have impacted California’s dairy industry. A complicated set of environmental legislation affects dairies in the state, and can differ depending on location, creating the possibility for within-state pollution havens. This article details the regional, state, and federal environmental regulation of California’s dairy industry, and examines data to see if it matches a hypothesis of regulation affecting dairy location. Using county-year data, we show evidence of changing dairy location within the state matching times of local legislative action. The Central Valley gained production, while the more regulated and urban-affected Los Angeles area lost. Large dairies have increased by 150 percent in the Central Valley, even as the number of small farms in the region declined by 40 percent. More rigorous analysis is necessary to discern the relative impacts of land prices and regulation on dairy location.pollution haven, California, dairy, environmental regulation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Effects of Clean Water Act Regulations on Firm-Level Decisions in Agriculture

U.S. environmental regulations often vary by the size of the operation, with larger operations facing more regulatory stringency. When the size distribution of firms is heavily skewed, regulation size thresholds can reduce transaction costs for regulatory agencies while bringing most production within a regulatory framework. However, size-based regulation may have unintended consequences if operations downsize, slow their growth, or enter at a smaller size in order to avoid regulation. These unintended consequences from regulation may include less pollution abatement and diminished economic efficiency. In this study we examine recently revised Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations targeting large-scale livestock operations to identify and quantify farm responses to this regulation. We find statistical evidence that farms adjust size in order to avoid regulation. Additionally farms in states with relatively higher costs of regulatory compliance experience on average 23% less growth than comparable farms in other states, net of prior state-level trends in growth. In these states, regulated farms also experience a 5.8% greater chance of exit.livestock, Clean Water Act, growth, regulation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Q5,

Carbon Markets and Methane Digesters: Potential Implications for the Dairy Sector

Anaerobic digesters that capture and burn manure methane can provide a renewable source of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Paying producers for these emission reductions—either directly or through a carbon offset market—could substantially increase digester adoption. However, there is likely to be wide variation in the scale, location, and characteristics of adopters, so these policies could have long run structural implications for the livestock sector. Using a model of digester profits and data from a nationally-representative survey of dairy operations we estimate the likely distribution of digester adoption and profits under different carbon price scenarios.anaerobic digester, carbon offsets, climate change, distribution, livestock, methane, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q12, Q16, Q42, Q54, Q58,

The Potential Effects of Climate Change on the Productivity, Costs, and Returns of U.S. Dairy Production

Climate change could affect the costs and returns of livestock production by altering the thermal environment of animals thereby affecting animal health, reproduction, and the efficiency by which livestock convert feed into retained products (especially meat and milk). In the United States, concentrated livestock operations are located in a variety of climatic regions, suggesting that the industry could adapt to future changes in temperature and weather patterns resulting from global warming. However, this adaption could be costly. We use nationally representative data on dairy producers coupled with finely-scaled climate data to empirically examine how producers’ costs, returns, and production systems vary across U.S. regions as a function of the local climate.climate change, dairy, temperature humidity index, economics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q5,

Contact That Can Kill: Orders of Protection, Caller ID Spoofing and Domestic Violence

The Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) was created as a means of providing protection and remedies to domestic violence victims through orders of protection. The orders of protection can insulate victims from abusers through a variety of ways such as mandating that the abuser be prohibited from contacting the victim by any means. Under the IDVA, any violation of the order is a crime. As technology advances, abusers begin using more and more technology as a means to circumscribe orders of protection. One such technology, Caller ID spoofing, is particularly problematic. This technology enables abusers to easily contact, stalk and harass victims in violation of orders of protection, while concealing the abuser’s identity. Thus, when an abuser violates an order of protection with Caller ID spoofing, it is very difficult to prove. This allows caller ID spoofing to perpetu-ate the psychological and emotional abuse inherent in domestic violence relation-ships. The Illinois criminal justice system must recognize that caller ID spoofing is covered under the IDVA so it may begin addressing and prosecuting violations of orders of protection involving this technology. Ultimately, the best way to protect victims of domestic violence in Illinois and across the nation is by eliminating access to and banning all forms of caller ID spoofing technology

Strontium and samarium diffusion in diopside

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1982.Microfiche copy available in Archives and ScienceBibliography: leaves 226-235.by Mark Albert Sneeringer.Ph.D