37,906 research outputs found
EVALUATING MEASURES TO IMPROVE AGRICULTURAL INPUT USE
This paper provides guidelines to assist policymakers and analysts in (1) identifying promising public and private actions for promoting agricultural intensification by improving the availability and profitability of agricultural inputs; and (2) evaluating the relative costs and benefits of alternative actions. The guidelines are illustrated by reference to a study of phosphate fertilizer promotion in Mali originally conducted by IFDC researchers.Farm Management,
FINANCIAL AND RISK ANALYSIS OF MAIZE TECHNOLOGY IN ETHIOPIA, BASED ON CERES-MAIZE MODEL RESULTS
This paper presents a financial and risk analysis of improved versus traditional maize production technology in Ethiopia, based on yields simulated with the CERES-Maize crop growth model (Schulthess and Ward, 2000). The purpose is to analyze the potential performance of the SG2000/Ministry of Agriculture program technology under less favorable meteorological conditions (rainfall level and distribution), and in areas with lower agroecological potential than those covered by the SG2000/MOA program through 1998. At the time of this study, expansion of the MOA program into lower potential zones seemed likely. Results show that use of fertilizer and improved seed is highly profitable under a variety of assumptions about crop growth conditions, maize prices, and fertilizer costs. Risk is examined using simple sensitivity and breakeven analysis, and stochastic dominance analysis.Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,
Calibration of shielded microwave probes using bulk dielectrics
A stripline-type near-field microwave probe is microfabricated for microwave
impedance microscopy. Unlike the poorly shielded coplanar probe that senses the
sample tens of microns away, the stripline structure removes the stray fields
from the cantilever body and localizes the interaction only around the
focused-ion beam deposited Pt tip. The approaching curve of an oscillating tip
toward bulk dielectrics can be quantitatively simulated and fitted to the
finite-element analysis result. The peak signal of the approaching curve is a
measure of the sample dielectric constant and can be used to study unknown bulk
materials.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Toward a Bias Corrected Currency Equivalent Index
Measuring the economic stock of money, defined to be the present value of current and future monetary service flows, is a difficult asset pricing problem, because most monetary assets yield interest. Thus, an interest yielding monetary asset is a joint product: a durable good providing a monetary service flow and a financial asset yielding a return. The currency equivalent index provides an elegant solution, but it does so by making strong assumptions about expectations of future monetary service flows. These assumptions cause the currency equivalent index to exhibit significant downward bias. In this paper, we propose an extension to the currency equivalent index that will correct for a significant amount of this bias.Currency equivalent index, monetary aggregation, money stock
Removal and Remand: When Does a Federal District Court Lose Jurisdiction over a Case Remanded to State Court
Fertilizer Consumption Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa
Crop Production/Industries, Downloads December 2008 - July 2009: 12,
Dynamic Analysis of Soil Fertility Improvement: A Bioeconomic Model for Senegal
Land Economics/Use, Downloads July 2008 - June 2009: 8,
Alternative Approaches for Promoting Fertilizer Use in Africa, with Emphasis on the Role of Subsidies
Crop Production/Industries, Downloads December 2008 - June 2009: 5,
DETERMINANTS OF FERTILIZER ADOPTION BY AFRICAN FARMERS: POLICY ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK, ILLUSTRATIVE EVIDENCE, AND IMPLICATIONS
Crop Production/Industries,
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