Parameters of an econometric acreage response function were estimated for barley in the Northwest using pooled time-series and cross sectional data. Barley acreage was found to be significantly affected by the price of barley, the price of wheat and wheat acreage (a proxy for the "cross-planting" substitution component of government...
Many parts of the West are experiencing substantial growth pressures that have increased the demand for water. These new demands come at a time when most of the water in the West has been fully appropriated by traditional uses such as agriculture, mining, and industry. Some attempts are being made...
The present highway funding system, especially fuel taxes, may become less reliable revenue sources in the future, while the transportation public agencies do not have the sufficient financial resources needed to meet the increasing traffic demand. Regarding the socio-economic impact of road privatization, a wide range of approaches and models...
This dissertation addresses issues of strategic behavior of firms in lobbying, brand and generic advertising, and advertising-price relationships in imperfectly competitive markets.
In the first study, we investigate conditions under which lobbying can improve social welfare and show that this type of lobbying will be undersupplied from society’s perspective. We...
Development along the Oregon coast is continuing in areas that are known to be hazardous, in spite of strict zoning and other laws. The coast commonly sees erosion that can wash away cliffs and undermine structures as well as accretion that can bury houses in sand. However the much more...
Increasing water demand for growing municipalities, for water-based recreation
and for fishery and wildlife habitat has intensified pressure on the existing resource. Reallocation of water from existing uses to other, higher-valued uses is receiving greater attention due to constraints on development of new water supplies. A key to reallocation is...
This dissertation consists of two essays that address code-sharing alliances in the U.S. domestic airline industry.
The first essay examines the economic impact of code-sharing using data from the complementary code-sharing agreement between Southwest and ATA Airlines. This code-share agreement is found to decrease air fares and increase passenger volumes...
Recently, in an attempt to produce robust production frontier estimators, Aragon et al. [2005, Nonparametric frontier estimation: a conditional quantile-based approach. Econometric Theory 21, 358-389] and Martins-Filho and Yao [2008, A smooth nonparametric conditional quantile frontier estimator. Journal of Econometrics 143, 317-333] considered the estimation of nonparametric α- frontier models...
This dissertation addresses two main issues involving alcohol markets. In the first, we employ both parametric and nonparametric methods to analyze the market structure and estimate the degree of market power in the U.S. brewing industry. In the nonparametric case, we use the variations in the excise tax to test...