Feature Screening of Ultrahigh Dimensional Feature Spaces With Applications in Interaction Screening

Data for which the number of predictors exponentially exceeds the number of observations is becoming increasingly prevalent in fields such as bioinformatics, medical imaging, computer vision, And social network analysis. One of the leading questions statisticians must answer when confronted with such “big data” is how to reduce a set of exponentially many predictors down to a set of a mere few predictors which have a truly causative effect on the response being modelled. This process is often referred to as feature screening. In this work we propose three new methods for feature screening. The first method we propose (TC-SIS) is specifically intended for use with data having both categorical response and predictors. The second method we propose (JCIS) is meant for feature screening for interactions between predictors. JCIS is rare among interaction screening methods in that it does not require first finding a set of causative main effects before screening for interactive effects. Our final method (GenCorr) is intended for use with data having a multivariate response. GenCorr is the only method for multivariate screening which can screen for both causative main effects and causative interactions. Each of these aforementioned methods will be shown to possess both theoretical robustness as well as empirical agility

Intra-firm Trade and Transfer Pricing in Multinational Agribusiness Firms

Multinational firms (MNFS) have been a favorite target of political criticism from both the political left and the political right. To be sure, the pervasive economic power of large MNFs has from time to time been abused in both the political and economic arenas (see Kindleberger [19841). When sufficient evidence of abuse has been exposed, national governments and supranational institutions have been quick to act in promulgating regulations and conventions to curb irresponsible corporate practices. One such practice of MNFs that has been noted since the middle 1960/s is manipulative transfer pricing -- the use of intra-firm prices for intermediate products traded between divisions of an MNF to avoid tax payments. Regulating transfer pricing has grown more complex since the problem was first recognized as have the structure of MNFs and the environment in which they operate. Concomitantly, the complexity of economic models of MNF issues has increased. Several economics articles have attempted to model different aspects of intra-firm trade and transfer pricing. They have done so in a variety of ways and have succeeded in describing MNF behavior for a number of rather specific situations. In reviewing the literature on transfer pricing, it became apparent to me that the trend was toward developing a "theory of the multinational firm" but that the body of works lacked generality. I was also disturbed by the lack of discussion of intra-firm trade issues in the agricultural economics literature. This thesis is intended to bring some order to the discussion of these issues and to propose a more general model of the multinational firqm, more along the lines of traditional economic firm theory. The approach is purely economic: the political, financial, and managerial issues surrounding intra-firm trade and transfer pricing are not paid the attention they would deserve in a more comprehensive analysis of MNF behavior.Agricultural Economic

Long-Term Economic Consequences of Alternative Carbon Reducing Conservation and Wetlands Reserve Programs: A BLS Analysis

Three alternative Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) scenarios and a targeted Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) scenario were analyzed using the Basic Linked System (BLS) of applied general equilibrium models to project their likely economic impacts on the agriculture sector of the United States. The programs are proposed as means of reducing carbon emissions from agriculture. The CRP scenarios each reflect different assumptions about the size of future programs and alternative uses of CRP land. Specifically, two alternative proposals--a 40 million acre CRP and a 50 million acre CRP--are compared with a baseline scenario consisting of a 17.5 million acre CRP, considered a likely outcome after current contracts expire. The results of the model give the economic impacts of the two larger CRP proposals relative to the 17.5 million acre baseline over the period 1996-2030. A 5 million acre WRP targeted to bottomland capable of supporting hardwood tree growth is run in conjunction with the baseline CRP and the results are compared with those obtained under the baseline alone. Among the impacts presented are changes in U.S. agricultural production, consumption, acres, yields, producer and consumer prices, government program costs, and net farm income for crop and livestock production. Impacts on producers, consumers, and government expenditures are presented in the summary table. Overall, the results are as one would expect. In the CRP scenarios, acreage planted and production of major crops is lower under the larger programs and producer prices are concomitantly higher. Feed grains are most significantly affected, causing feed prices to be higher under the larger CRP scenarios. Livestock production is generally lower under the larger programs, reflecting higher feed costs. Per capita consumption of most commodities changes only slightly, although consumption of grain products and most meat fall by 1 to 2.5 percent after the programs have been fully implemented. Producer net returns increase for crop producers, but are significantly lower for livestock producers. Government price support payments to crop producers fall by more than the cost of the programs. The programs lower overall net farm income and make consumers generally worse off with slightly lower consumption and higher retail prices. Similar but less dramatic results are obtained when the WRP scenario is added to the CRP baseline. The decline in overall economic welfare due to these programs will have to be balanced against the benefits of carbon emission reductions from them

Biomass as Sustainable Energy: The Potential and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture

This paper addresses the economic feasibility and impacts on U.S. agriculture of establishing a biomass crops industry capable of producing 8 quads methanol or 9.4 quads ethanol by the year 2030 from grasses grown as biomass feedstocks. The results suggest that such an industry could become commercially viable and that the agricultural economy would benefit. Producers of traditional and biomass crops would benefit most. While consumers and livestock producers would be worse off as a result of higher crop prices, society would gain from reduced government payments to crop producers and from lower levels of air pollution

Book Reviews

Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and PracticeEdward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2012, 193 pp. paper, $17.99 ISBN: 978-0310-49223-8Reviewed by Ruth Anne Reese Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New TestamentMurray J. Harris Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2012, 304 pp. cloth,$42.99 ISBN: 978-0310-49392-1 Reviewed by Dale F. Walker The New Testament: A Historical and Theological IntroductionDonald Alfred Hagner Grand Rapids: Baker Academic 2012, 896 pp. cloth, $49.99 ISBN: 978-0-8010-3931-7 Reviewed by Randall Hardman Contextualization in World Missions: Mapping and Assessing Evangelical ModelsA. Scott Moreau Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications 2012, 429 pp. paper,$28.99 ISBN: 978-0-8254-3389-4 Reviewed by Robert A. Danielson The Right Church: Live Like the First ChristiansCharles E. Gutenson Nashville: Abingdon Press 2012, 194 pp. paper, $14.99ISBN: 978-1-4267-4911-7Reviewed by Brian Yeich Interfaith Dialogue in PracticeDaniel S. Brown, Jr., ed. Kansas City: Rockhurst University Press 2012, 160 pp. paper,$30.00 ISBN: 978-1-886761-32-2 Reviewed by Robert A. Danielso

Atrazine and Water Quality: An Evaluation of Restricting Atrazine Use on Corn and Sorghum to Postemergent Applications

Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide for corn and sorghum and the most commonly encountered in ground and surface water. In addition to water quality problems, atrazine poses hazards through atmospheric transport, food residues, and exposure of applications and wildlife. If atrazine use is restricted, substitute herbicides will come into wider use, increasing the likelihood of occurrence of their own sets of potentially undesirable side effects and imposing cost or efficacy penalties

Agricultural Policies and Soil Degradation in Western Canada: An Agro-Ecological Economic Assessment - The Environmental Modeling System

An environmental modeling system is being constructed around the EPIC model that will be interfaced with an economic component (RS-CRAM) within an integrated modeling system to analyze agricultural policies such as GRIP for western Canada. A description of the major EPIC subcomponents is provided, including the most important data inputs. An environmental database also has been constructed for EPIC. This database consists of: (1) soil layer and landform data in separate databases for each Prairie Province, (2) ARA 31-year daily historical weather data (precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature) in EPIC format, (3) EPIC weather generator tables for each ARA, and (4) EPIC wind arrays for selected climate stations in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan

Agricultural Policies and Soil Degradation in Western Canada: An Agro-Ecological Economic Assessment - The Integration of Enviornmental and Economic Components

This report describes the interface between RS-CRAM (resource sensitive Canadian Regional Agriculture Model) and the environmental components of the integrated modeling system for crops, crop sequences, and management systems representative of western Canadian agriculture. An experimentally designed set of EPIC (Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator) simulations were performed to generate erosion output that was then used to construct wind and water erosion metamodels (response functions) for several Canadian provinces