The Pacific salmon market may often be characterized by
disequilibrium conditions and less than perfect information. Thus the
study of the decision-making behavior, especially short-run pricing,
of wholesale market participants in this industry requires the use of
alternative models to the conventional, price-taking, perfect
competition model of the firm.
This...
The United States invests tens of billions of dollars in higher
education each year. This had led many researchers to estimate the
marginal and average rates of return to these expenditures. Past
works, however, have been partial in scope. That is, they have
counted only the benefits of higher education...
Expanding groundfish production on the West Coast and in the
United States in total, over the past decade, has increased
competition in the groundfish market. During the same period,
regulations have evolved to control production in the groundfish
industry for the purpose of conserving the resource. Other
regulations exist to...
Absentee-owned manufacturing plants made up a significant
portion of the manufacturing sector in Oregon. In both 1969 and
1979, more than a quarter of the state's wage and salary
manufacturing workers were employed by manufacturers whose home
offices were located in other states or nations. Although the
orthodox economic view...
The peppermint industry is the largest commercial herb industry
in the United States. Oregon is the largest peppermint producing
state with nearly 60 percent of the total United States peppermint
oil production. There is a need for economic information about current
and future prospects for the national peppermint industry as...
By 1976 extended fisheries jurisdiction had been
declared by most coastal states and territories of the
world. The new regime of property rights was expected to
affect seafood production costs which, in turn, could impact
on seafood trade and the competitive positions of
producing countries. In theory this policy should...
This study analyzes the impact of the 1980 Staggers
Rail Act (SRA) on Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington,
Idaho and Montana) wheat transportation.
A minimum cost uncapacitated transshipment network
flow model is employed to simulate the origination and
destination pattern of grain flows before (1977) and after
(1985) the SRA. The...
Borrowed funds finance a majority of equipment purchases and
production costs in agriculture. The costs of borrowing, however,
have not been stable nor has the determination of interest payments
remained the same in recent years. As interest rates become increasingly
volatile and variable rate loans replaced constant rate
loans, the...
Agricultural economists have devoted considerable attention to
the financial stress situation of agricultural producers. Many
studies have been conducted in various regions of the U.S. in an
attempt to better understand the causes of the problem. The costs
associated with farm financial stress imply corresponding benefits to
be realized by...
Governments have employed special capital gains taxes to curb speculation in real estate and raise public revenue. Economic theory suggests that the introduction of a gains tax with a declining rate structure over time will induce prospective buyers to reduce their demand for land and will induce sellers to offer...
During the two decades 1960-1980 the Japanese government was
faced with a problem of declining domestic demand for rice and a
persistent over-production which created mounting surpluses stored
at public expense. In an attempt to remedy the situation the
Japanese government imposed production controls on rice and offered
incentives to...
From 1979 through 1984 the economic bases of rural
Oregon counties have undergone structural change. Nonwage
income, especially transfer payments, has played an
important role in these changes. Demographic changes in
rural counties have contributed to the growth in unearned
income.
The economic structure of rural Oregon counties was
estimated...
Tropospheric ozone is a pollutant which has detrimental effects on crop yields. The level of ambient ozone can be reduced by environmental policy changes and enforcement. The purpose of this study was to estimate the welfare effects of such changes in ambient ozone using recently available plant response data and...
The overall objective of the research reported here is to
empirically measure the ability of farmers to mitigate the impact of
rising electricity prices by substituting relatively inexpensive
alternative inputs. A dual cost methodology is employed because it
allows theoretically consistent derivation of own price and factor
substitution elasticities, conditional...
Altitudinal variations in upland regions of the earth create
variable climatic zones and conditions. Plant and animal
communities must adapt to these conditions, and when they reach
their tolerance limits for environmental conditions at the upper
levels of a zone, they cease to exist in the environment. Humans
also utilize...
The purpose of this thesis is to present the results of a study
of the impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program, Title XII of the
Food Security Act of 1985, on the economies of small communities
located in Gilliam, Morrow and Umatilla Counties in Oregon. These
counties are representative of...
Forward pricing is a marketing tool available to Pacific
Northwest white wheat growers for reducing price risk.
The cash forward contract is the traditional pricing mechanism
used for this purpose. In September 1984, another option
for forward pricing was made available through the introduction
of a new futures market for...
The ocean fishery is an example of a common property
resource industry. Behavior of commercial fishermen is
determined by a complex set of economic, environmental and
social factors. All of these factors contribute to the
individual fisherman's success.
Fishermen learn to cope with the variability inherent
to their occupation. Two...
Government intervention in food grain markets is a common feature of most LDCs. Inasmuch as liberalizing markets is difficult for some of these governments, researchers have offered suggestions to reduce detrimental affects of intervention. The general advice for pricing policy has been for governments to set prices at c.i.f. or...
This study expresses the hypothesis that historical patterns of national beef cow herd accumulation and liquidations (the cattle cycle) have been related to investment incentive differences across cow ages through time, resulting each year in changes in herd age structure,
performance and potentials for adjustment in subsequent years. A review...
Many natural resources such as water and forests have become more intensively used in recent years. Often, this has made it necessary to reallocate these resources from less to more efficient productive usage. The knowledge of the existing tradeoffs between alternative uses are necessary to make reallocative decisions. However, these...
The crop rotation decision is important to farmers because of its
impact on profitability, financing and risk exposure. This thesis
addresses the problem of farm level crop rotation selection under perfect
and imperfect knowledge of prices, yields and costs. The problem
is addressed by first estimating production functions for irrigated...
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the salmon
demand of Japanese households. The specific goals are to illuminate
the substitutional relationship between salmon and other foods and to
examine seasonal and regional differences in salmon demand.
To analyze substitutional relationships and seasonal
differences, monthly data on consumption...
A model was developed to simulate winter wheat production on
irrigated farmland similar to that found near Hermiston, Oregon. The
simulated farm is irrigated with a side roll sprinkler system. A well
is located adjacent to the wheat field and the water is delivered by
an electrically powered pump. The...
A model of agricultural decision making is developed and tested in this thesis. The expected value of utility evaluated under alternative outcomes is directly maximized in a nonlinear programming model. Two features of the model distinguished it from traditional risk programming models. First, alternative attitudes towards the assumption of risk...
The Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976
took effect on March 1, 1977. By this Act the United
States extended its management over fisheries to 200
nautical miles from shore. Extended fishery jurisdiction
was expected to promote industry development and expand
the contribution of the fishing industry to the...
Oregon has grown strawberries commercially since the early 1900's.
More than 90 percent of strawberries produced in Oregon has traditionally
been delivered to processors. The strawberry acreage has declined from
a high of 18,300 acres in 1957 to the lowest level of 5,000 acres in
1978. The increasing harvest costs...
Fishing firms in Oregon operate in a complex and dynamic physical, biological and institutional environment. Within this environment, managers of these firms will attempt to maximize some objective function which may include profit. This maximization is dependent upon the level of output, or the levels of inputs. Given a relationship...
This study is directed toward an investigation of
the longer term aggregate consequences that arise from
producer behavior in a production environment
characterized by risk and uncertainty. In particular,
the papers included herein examine circumstances under
which individual actions may result in adverse long term
consequences in the aggregate market,...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the
source of the external trade statistics in measuring the price
responsiveness of foreign demands and relative price competitiveness
of the major exporting countries in trade of agricultural commodities
in international markets. In particular, the papers included in this...
Eutrophication is the accelerated aging process of a lake which
generally decreases the water quality in terms of aesthetic and recreational
uses. At Liberty Lake, near Spokane, Washington, eutrophication
has become a problem. Many individuals and agencies are interested in
the benefits that occur when the lake's water quality has...