My dissertation concerns two separate issues. The first issue is examined in Essay One, and the second issue is examined in Essays Two and Three.
The first essay develops an economic model of the determination of the rental rate of leased farmland in the United States. Particular attention is placed...
This research provides state economic development planners and forest policy
makers with new economic information about the wood remanufacturing industry. An
overview describes each industry sector's employment, payroll size, and estimates of
annual growth rates. This helps planners determine which sectors are likely to provide
the most economic benefit to...
Using a panel data set on the local telecommunications companies reporting to the FCC
for 1988-95, this paper investigates the subadditivity of the cost function, as well as
technical and allocative inefficiency of the U.S. local telephone industry. The subadditivity
test on the estimated translog cost function indicates that certain...
The elasticity of excess demand held by foreign buyers of United States agricultural products is critical for understanding the impacts of changes in farm policy and is a parameter that is much debated. The objective of my study is to estimate this parameter for major U.S. export crops, including wheat,...
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...
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...
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...
This thesis consists of two essays on applied microeconomics issues. The first
essay presents a hedonic price econometric model of vacant commercial land. The second
essay presents cost frontier analysis on the industry and firm's performance of the U.S.
Motor Carrier industry.
Our hedonic price econometric model includes two new...
Increased competition brought about by trade liberalization has raised the stakes
for improving productivity in U.S. and Canadian food processing. A key element of
productivity growth is technological change, which in turn results from R&D investment.
The present study employs an econometric model to assess rates of technological change
and...