CONSUMER ATTITUDE TOWARD CHARGE CARDS IN THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY

Presents results of a consumer attitude survey in Dallas, Texas area and found convenience the most important advantage of charge cards and the most important fear-overspending.Consumer/Household Economics,

AGRIBUSINESS COMMUNICATION WITH FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Agribusiness,

DISCUSSION: TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND COMPETITION POLICY: INFLUENCES ON AGRIBUSINESS AND INVESTMENT IN NAFTA COUNTRIES

Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS OF EMERGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

ON MARKET DEVELOPMENT FOR FOOD PRODUCTS

Industrial Organization,

PRICING EFFICIENCY IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETS: DISCUSSION

Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,

ENTROPY MEASURES OF SPATIAL CONCENTRATION IN POULTRY PROCESSING

Livestock Production/Industries,

TEMPERATURE PROBABILITIES AND THE BAYESIAN 'NO DATA' PROBLEM

Crop Production/Industries,

Energy Uncertainty: Implications for the Food Supply Chain

Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

USING REAL OPTIONS TO EVALUATE PRODUCER INVESTMENT IN NEW GENERATION COOPERATIVES

New Generation Cooperatives have emerged as a contemporary means for farmers to invest in further processing activities. This paper considers real options as the basis for evaluating producer investment in a start-up cooperative that involves technological uncertainty. The investment and risk inherent in producer membership in an NGC is analyzed using real options theory logic. Real options theory has recently been extended to technology positioning projects and how the extent of uncertainty influences the value of a technology "option". Conventional net present value formulas have been shown to be limited when the conditions of the investment require substantial commitment under uncertainty, such as investments in technology. Implications for producers are drawn from the analysis. Producers always have the alternative of not investing in the initial start-up but waiting and buying in at a later time, perhaps when less uncertainty prevails. Results indicate that producers are better able to evaluate investment in a NGC using real options.Agribusiness,