This dissertation addresses issues of strategic behavior of firms in oligopoly markets. In the first study we analyze how generic advertising affects brand advertising and firm profits in differentiated oligopoly markets. We develop two models, one with vertical differentiation and another with horizontal differentiation. In the case of vertical differentiation,...
This dissertation explores the intricacies associated with the use of distance functions in empirical studies. It focuses on the measurement of advertising efficiency and investigates the properties of the models that seek to approximate the abatement costs of socially undesirable outputs. The first manuscript is devoted to the development of...
A cost function characterizes a firm's cost-minimizing behavior. It is defined
as a function of the level of outputs produced and the prices of factors which enter
the production process. Econometric estimation of a cost function allows one to test
hypotheses regarding the structure of cost and the structure of...
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of commodity promotion activities on the United States' hazelnut farmer's economic welfare. Commodity promotion activities, such as generic advertising and research, are the responsibilities of government mandated commodity commissions, such as the Hazelnut Marketing Board (HMB). The HMB is a...
Marketing cooperatives that operate on a pool basis allocate net returns on the basis of the "economic value" of the raw products each member has delivered. Economic values ideally reflect the raw products' expected contributions to pool net return. In a competitive market, raw product prices would reflect these expected...
Small manufacturing firms often serve a domestic market but would like to expand their sales overseas. It is difficult for a small firm to develop overseas contracts and relationships, however, in part because of their small size, and because the advantages of their products may not always be obvious. The...
The main purpose of this research is to provide the
commercial seafood industry of the Pacific Northwest
information on preferences of restaurateurs, retailers, and
wholesalers for whole albacore, low-value added albacore
products (chunks, medallions, and steaks), albacore loins,
and high-value added albacore products (hot smoked and lox).
All of these...
This thesis examines how two grass seed industries
respond to changes in the production environment. Two sets
of factors are necessary to understand what adjustments
would be made. First, it is necessary to know the nature of
the markets and whether market power is being exerted.
Second we need to...
This thesis seeks to analyze the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality, in this case measured by forest cover, and analyzes whether this relationship is consistent with an Environmental Kuznets Curve. Additionally the relationship between population density and forest cover was analyzed. A simple theoretical model is derived that...
Optimization programming techniques were applied to
develop the least cost formulations for Pacific whiting
surimi-based seafood (PWSBS). To develop the quality
constraint functions, texture and color of whiting surimi
gels were determined by torsion test and colorimeter,
respectively. Whiting surimi gels were produced by heating
at 90°C for 15 min....
A regime-switching model for market integration study is extended to incorporate dynamic trade flow information and risk perceptions based on an expected utility framework. An application of the extended model to the US-China soybean markets analysis shows that: One, the positive arbitrage rent uncounted-for in the extended model has been...
This dissertation contains theoretical and empirical analyses on common property
fisheries resources. The theoretical analysis focuses on a highly migratory fish stocks
(HMFS) fishery, and examines the inefficiency caused by non-cooperative harvest. The
empirical analysis focuses on a high seas fishery and conducts an empirical test on the
effects of...
This thesis investigates the incentives for the conservation of biodiversity with
multiple decision-makers by comparing the market equilibrium solution to the social
optimum under different assumptions. Geographic land areas are modeled to permit two
conflicting uses: conservation of biodiversity or conversion of the land for some
economic activity. Two main...
Recent changes in public timber supplies in the Pacific Northwest have increased the
importance of the role private timber plays in the forest products industry and local
communities. Most economic models of timber supply, however, have emphasized
national or regional markets where data are adequate and statistical testing methodologies
relatively...
The present study employs a normalized restricted quadratic profit function approach to estimate lumber and plywood supply and Marshallian factor demand elasticities for four region-product combinations in Oregon for the period 1970-2010. The four log demand functions will be employed as the "demand side" of the log market model of...
Researchers rely on bioeconomic models to guide research and generate fishery management advice for commercial fisheries. Due partly to a paradigm shift towards ecosystem based fishery management, increasing complexity in the characteristics of the problems has meant that bioeconomic simulation models are becoming more prevalent in the fisheries literature. However...
The relevance of domestic and foreign capacity utilization rates in forecasting
future inflation rate has been investigated empirically, using five industrialized
countries for which the comparable data are available.
It has been found that capacity utilization rates, both domestic and foreign,
have a long run stable relationship with domestic inflation...
This dissertation addresses two topics on market imperfections. First, chapter
2 presents a theoretical model that focuses on problems associated with informational
asymmetry. The model presents a dynamic signaling game between a monopolist
manufacturer and a monopolist retailer, where demand is uncertain and only the
retailer is privately informed. This...
Increases in the prices of scholarly journals have exceeded the general rate of inflation for the last decade and more. In the face of this "serials crisis," libraries have found it increasingly difficult to maintain essential journal collections. This thesis investigates the causes of the serials crisis in biology using...