Considering Macroeconomic Indicators in the Food versus Fuel Issues

In this study, a Structural Vector Autoregression model (SVAR) is employed to decompose how supply/demand structural shocks affect food and fuel prices within fuel and corn markets. Results indicate that the relative importance of each structural shock in explaining the variation of corn prices is different. Our findings support the hypothesis that corn prices increase as a response to those positive demand shocks in the short run, while in the long run, global competitive agricultural commodities markets as well as positive supply shocks respond to commodity price shocks, restoring prices to its long-run trends. In conclusion, fundamental market forces of demand and supply as well as real economic aggregated demand shocks were the main contributors of the 2007-2008 food price spike.Food, fuel, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimates of the Welfare Impact of Intragenic and Transgenic GM Labeling Policies

Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Demand Curve Effects in Experimental Auctions: The Effect of Quantity Already Owned

Most studies utilizing experimental auction mechanisms to elicit consumers’ willingness to pay are designed to avoid potential substitution or demand-curve effects that may influence bid prices. However, previous research and auction designs have not considered the potential impact on bid prices of commodity inventories held by auction participants that were obtained through transactions outside of the auction. This omission may present a problem for interpreting and analyzing auction data. Using bids from a random nth-price auction of fresh vegetables conducted in a laboratory style setting, we test whether participants’ outside inventories affect bidding behavior. We find that bidders do in fact consider their inventories, resulting in lower bid prices by individuals with quantity already owned.Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

Improving the Nutrient Content of Food through Genetic Modification: Evidence from Experimental Auctions on Consumer Acceptance

This paper assesses consumers’ acceptance of nutritionally enhanced vegetables using a series of auction experiments administered to a random sample of adult consumers. Evidence suggests that consumers are willing to pay significantly more for fresh produce with labels signaling enhanced levels of antioxidants and vitamin C achieved by moving genes from within the species, as opposed to across species. However, this premium is significantly affected by diverse information treatments injected into the experiments.Bayesian analysis, experimental auction, food products, genetic modification, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

An Ethanol Blend Wall Shift is Prone to Increase Petroleum Gasoline Demand

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced a waiver allowing an increase in the Fuel-Ethanol blend limit (the “blend wall” ) from 10% (E10) to 15% (E15) on October,2010.Justifications for the waiver are reduced vehicle fuel prices and less consumption of petroleum gasoline, leading to energy security. In this paper, employing Monte Carlo simulations and Savitzky-Golay smoothing filter, an empirical study examines this waiver revealing an anomaly where a relaxation of this blend wall elicits a demand response. Under a wide range of elasticities, this demand response can actually increase the consumption of petroleum gasoline and thus lead to greater energy insecurity. The economics supporting this result and associated policy implications are developed and discussed.Blend wall, Energy security, Ethanol, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

BaCu3O4: High Temperature Magnetic Order in One-Dimensional S=1/2 Diamond-Chains

The magnetic properties of the alkaline earth oxocuprate BaCu3O4 are investigated. We show that the characteristic Cu3O4 layers of this material can be described with diamond chains of antiferromagnetically coupled Cu 1/2 spins with only a weak coupling between two adjacent chains. These Cu3O4 layers seem to represent a so far unique system of weakly coupled one-dimensional magnetic objects where the local AF ordering of the Cu2+ ions leads to an actual net magnetic moment of an isolated diamond chain. We demonstrate a magnetic transition at a high N\'eel temperature T_{N}=336 K

Fel Oscillators with Tapered Undulators: Inclusion of Harmonic Generation and Pulse Propagation

We review the theory of FEL oscillators operating with tapered undulators. We consider the case of a uniform tapering and introduce a parameter which characterizes the effect of the tapering on the gain and on the saturation intensity. We analyze the effect of the tapering on the FEL dynamics by including the pulse propagation effects too. We analyze the importance of tapering as a tool to model the optical pulse shapes and to control the higher harmonic intensities

Vortex fluctuations in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d crystals

Vortex thermal fluctuations in heavily underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Tc=69.4 K) are studied using Josephson plasma resonance (JPR). From the data in zero magnetic field, we obtain the penetration depth along the c-axis, lambda_{L,c}(0) = 229 micrometers and the anisotropy ratio gamma(0) = 600. The low plasma frequency allows us to study phase correlations over the whole vortex solid (Bragg-glass) state. The JPR results yield a wandering length r_{w} of vortex pancakes. The temperature dependence of r_{w} as well as its increase with applied dc magnetic field can only be explained by the renormalization of the tilt modulus by thermal fluctuations, and suggest the latter is responsible for the dissociation of the vortices at the first order transition.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let