Pull Factor Estimates for Retail Sales in West Virginia Counties

Pull factors provide a measure of retail trade capture. Pull factors for total and twelve subcategories of retail sales for all West Virginia Counties are analyzed based on 1997 Census of Retail Trade data. A method for estimating missing data points and the use of Rand-McNally trade regions both facilitate estimation of the pull factors. Results indicate that hypothesizes concerning pull factors for central places in West Virginia generally hold. However, other elements influence pull factor estimates. The most important of these is the impact of state sales tax policy, which reduces pull factors for border cities through lessened retail activity in food and drinking establishment and gas stations. Study results imply that state government may wish to rethink its sale tax policy

A Nonparametric Analysis of Efficiency for a Beefpacking Firm: Implications of Federal Food Safety Regulations

Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

ALTERNATIVES FOR SMALL FARM SURVIVAL: GOVERNMENT POLICIES VERSUS THE FREE MARKET

This paper briefly outlines a topology of small farms and then considers the role of the government versus the market in key public policies such as commodity income support, environment, stability, research, and rural development. A number of options are explored for public policy to better serve small farms, including drastic alternatives such as graduated property taxes on farmland, with exemptions or lower rates for small farms. These and other alternatives are not necessarily recommended. Improved extension education and human resource development offer some of the most promising public policy opportunities to help small farmers.Government, Limited resource, Market, Programs, Research, Rural, Scale, Small farm, Farm Management,

Economic Impacts of the Zero Tolerance Directive on the Cost Structure of Beef Packing Companies

Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

The State of Innovation and New Product Development in the North American Lumber and Panel Industry

Softwood lumber and structural and non-structural panel manufacturers in North America were surveyed to develop a better understanding of the state-of-the-art within these sectors with respect to innovation and new product development. The 160 responding mills were heavily oriented towards process innovation as compared to product or business systems innovation. Overall, respondents lack a systematic approach to new product development and the use of new product development tools. Firms actively use financial analyses and process-related testing, but seldom use customer-centric, marketing-related new product development tools and steps. Very few differences were found among the three sectors of the industry. Forest products firms may benefit from a more well-balanced portfolio approach to innovation and a more structured approach to new product development

The Impact of "Deregulation" on Regulator Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

This paper examines how regulators set local prices in response to the changes brought on by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“Telecom Act”). We are particularly interested in the extent to which state regulators set prices that promoted efficiency or were influenced by private-interest groups who had secured rents under a regime of regulated monopoly. Using regional Bell operating company (RBOC) data, our empirical results indicate that private interests continue to influence the structure of retail and wholesale prices, although their influence appears to be waning. We find that changes to the regulatory structure, as measured by federal approval of RBOC Section 271 applications that open up markets to competition and universal service subsidies, resulted in a re-balancing of retail prices and lower overall price levels.competition, political contributions, private interest, public interest, regulation, telecommunications, universal service

AN ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE REGIONAL COTTON BASIS

Few empirical basis studies have examined the basis in multiple regions and few have concentrated on cotton. This paper addresses this topic, examining consumption market factors that affect the cotton basis in five U.S. cotton production regions. The seemingly unrelated regression results indicate that the following factors are significant in explaining the basis: total U.S. cotton stocks and the ratio of foreign cotton stocks to foreign mill use in the Southeast and North Delta regions; regional stocks, the opportunity cost of storage and the foreign stocks to use ratio in the West Texas region; and regional stocks, total U.S. stocks, the opportunity cost of storage, and the foreign stocks to use ratio in the Desert Southwest and San Joaquin Valley regions. All significant coefficients have the hypothesized signs except the coefficient for the opportunity cost of storage and the coefficient for the ratio of foreign stocks to foreign mill use in two regions. The results indicate that the cotton basis in different regions is typically affected by different factors.cotton basis, futures markets, Marketing,

Transportation Investment and GDP, Some Concepts, Data, and Analysis

This report provides statistics on capital investment by sector (government, private business, and households), asset type (infrastructure, rolling stock, and other equipment used by transportation industries), and by mode of transportation (air, highway, water, mass transit, railroad, and pipelines). The investment dataset represents transportation investment before deducting depreciation of the existing capital; and this data is presented as a percentage of GDP, and wherever useful, as a percentage of total gross fixed capital formation. The report also provides a review of the literature that examines the linkage between transportation investment and economic performance, a survey of similar statistical works undertaken by other U.S. government agencies and agencies of foreign countries, a discussion of data sources and procedures used to develop the dataset, and a descriptive analysis of transportation investment in relation to GDP. The descriptive analysis is not intended to determine a causal relationship between transportation investment and economic development, which is beyond the scope of this report

Beyond The Horizon

Student affairs professionals have an obligation and an opportunity to support students moving through the college-years stages of psychosocial development by helping them use technology in approrpriate ways

Beyond The Horizon

Student affairs professionals have an obligation and an opportunity to support students moving through the college-years stages of psychosocial development by helping them use technology in approrpriate ways