IMPLICIT PRICES OF PRAWN AND SHRIMP ATTRIBUTES IN THE PHILIPPINE DOMESTIC MARKET

Improving quality is a major goal in the global seafood market due to increasing consciousness among buyers, who are becoming "quality consumers" rather than "quantity consumers." This paper uses the hedonic approach to determine the marketable characteristics of prawn and shrimp in a domestic market that prioritizes export of quality products to a more lucrative market. Using price and attribute data for prawn and shrimp purchased from the Philippine domestic market, we estimate a log-linear hedonic price model with combined continuous and dummy explanatory variables. The estimation results show significant implicit prices of attributes, such as: tail length, freshness, product form, species, color, size, ease of preparation, discoloration, protein, and carbohydrate content. Longer tails and banana species are highly valued. Peeling and breading to ease preparation obtain a high premium. Freezing, although commonly practiced, receives the highest discount among forms of preservation. As the characteristics of local consumers and the market in the Philippines are similar to other competing Asian exporters such as Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the results presented in this paper will be applicable to these exporting countries.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Evaluating Quality Improvement in Nonhomogeneous Agricultural Commodities: The Case of Australian Beef

This paper develops conceptual and empirical frameworks for assessing the economic benefits from agricultural research which enhances the amount of a desirable characteristic in each unit of a heterogeneous commodity. The commodity is assumed to comprise two or more joint products accruable in fixed proportion. Quality improvement is perceived as an increase in the proportion of a joint product with more of a more-valued characteristic and, as such, is modelled as a shift in the supply curve of a joint product rather than via a shift in commodity demand. A proxy variable is constructed to measure an intertemporal quality change and to estimate the associated size of the supply shift. An application of the framework to the Australian beef industry indicates that the per unit amount of the characteristic 'freshness' in beef has increased over the last two decades. Substantial social benefits can be obtained by research which enhances the quality of Australian beef carcasses. A larger share of the total benefits accrue to beef producers

Evaluating Quality Improvement in Nonhomogeneous Agricultural Commodities: The Case of Australian Beef

This paper develops conceptual and empirical frameworks for assessing the economic benefits from agricultural research which enhances the amount of a desirable characteristic in each unit of a heterogeneous commodity. The commodity is assumed to comprise two or more joint products accruable in fixed proportion. Quality improvement is perceived as an increase in the proportion of a joint product with more of a more-valued characteristic and, as such, is modelled as a shift in the supply curve of a joint product rather than via a shift in commodity demand. A proxy variable is constructed to measure an intertemporal quality change and to estimate the associated size of the supply shift. An application of the framework to the Australian beef industry indicates that the per unit amount of the characteristic 'freshness' in beef has increased over the last two decades. Substantial social benefits can be obtained by research which enhances the quality of Australian beef carcasses. A larger share of the total benefits accrue to beef producers.Livestock Production/Industries,

Determinants of Willingness to Purchase Organic Food: An Exploratory Study Using Structural Equation Modeling

The global organic food market has grown tremendously over the past decade. The present study investigated the determinants of willingness to purchase organic food among consumers in a Malaysian city, using a questionnaire survey. The Theory of Planned Behavior informed the research framework and hypotheses. Using structural equation modeling, attitude, subjective norms and affordability (behavioral control) were modeled to impact intention or willingness to pay (WTP) for organic food. WTP in turn predicted actual purchase. Attitude and subjective norms exerted significant positive effects on WTP while the effect of affordability was not significant. Attitude further impacted subjective norms and affordability, thus indicating that efforts to promote consumption growth should focus on influencing consumer attitudes