Recent food recalls and food scares in the United States have increased consumers risk perceptions about food borne illness and decreased their confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply. Results from a continuous tracking of consumer confidence and media coverage of food safety events over a 67 week period between May 2008 and August 2009 are reported in the study. Factor analysis is performed on consumer characteristic statements to identify seven factors. Factor scores for these seven factors are used as inputs in a consumer segmentation procedure. A two step segmentation approach, hierarchical cluster analysis followed by partition cluster analysis is used to create eight consumer segments. An ordered probit model is used to test the hypothesis that media coverage of food safety events affects consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food system. The results show that media coverage significantly and negatively affects consumer confidence in the safety of nations food supply during the sample period. The results also indicate that the effect of media coverage is different for each consumer segment identified in the study. Socioeconomic and demographic factors such as geographic region, media source, household size, age, ethnicity, education, and gender also had significant affects on consumer confidence in the safety of United States food supply. Another finding of study is that media effect varies depending on the media source used by respondents. Television has a negative effect on consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food system, while internet and newspapers have a positive effect on consumer confidence in the safety of the U.S. food system relative to the television. The findings of this study are important and helpful for government agencies and private companies to understand the magnitude of consumer response to mass media, and for adjusting their response to food safety incidents and determining the economic downturn in the sale of their products and for how long into the future. The consumer segments developed in the study can be used for integrating better risk communication strategies directed toward a specific consumer segment.

Economic research was conducted to present estimates of costs per acre associated with fallow sugarcane weed control programs for Louisiana in 2010. The 2010 projected costs are associated with the various phases of sugarcane fallow using different machinery, implements, and weed control practices followed by most growers in the main sugarcane production area of Louisiana. For bermudagrass and johnsongrass weed control treatments, the herbicides applied were Roundup Original Max at 46 oz/A, generic glyphosate at 64 oz/A, DuPont K4 60DG, Trifluralin 4EC at 4 qt/A, and EPTC at 3.5 pt/A. Purple nutsedge weed control treatments included Roundup Original Max at 46 oz/A, generic glyphosate at 64 oz/A, Permit 75DF at 1 oz/A, and Yukon 67.5WG at 6 oz/A. Roundup Original Max at 46 oz/A applied for perennial weed control was more expensive by $30.40 and $15.20 per acre compared with generic glyphosate treatments applied at 64 oz/A. Treatments applied with Roundup Original Max had a higher sugarcane fallow cost compared with treatments using generic glyphosate at current fuel, labor and herbicide input prices. A spreadsheet decision aid was developed which summarizes sugarcane fallow field operations and weed control costs, including equipment used, performance rates, and herbicides applied. These data can be entered by the user for specific farm situations, calculating total variable tillage and weed control costs per acre. Binary and non-binary linear programming were utilized to determine optimal sugarcane fallow weed control programs for bermudagrass, johnsongrass, and purple nutsedge control. The non-binary LP model selected treatments to achieve desired control of bermudagrass, johnsongrass and purple nutsedge and minimum cost program. In comparison, the binary LP model selected only one treatment that had minimum fallow field operation and weed control cost while satisfying minimum weed control levels. Generic glyphosate cost was found to be sensitive to price increases to $0.27 oz/A or above for bermudagrass control, and $0.33 oz/A for johnsongrass and purple nutsedge control. Fuel prices, directly impacting tillage costs, were found to not be sensitive in determining optimal weed control choices.

The general objective of the study was to determine the economically optimal crop cycle length for major sugarcane varieties currently being produced in Louisiana. The specific objectives of the project included the specification of the mathematical acreage relationships which directly impact the production of a vegetatively propagated perennial crop in a whole farm context; the development of producer decision rules to be used to determine breakeven sugar levels on third stubble sugarcane crops for major varieties in the state; the evaluation of the impact of changes in production factors on developed crop replacement rules; and the optimal cycle length for current variety combinations in a whole farm context. Third stubble breakeven yield results indicate that on average, third stubble should be kept in production if its production exceeds 5,063 pounds of sugar per acre. If sugar per acre yields of plantcane, first stubble and second stubble were averaged, third stubble should be kept only if its production exceeds 74.3% of that average. Results of changes in production factors such as raw sugar price, diesel price, planting ratio and harvest costs indicated that this 74.3% was not significantly affected when the changes were analyzed in a whole farm context. A maximum net return goal of $147,198 was achieved using variety HoCP 00-950 as the only variety planted in the whole operation, when there were no acre limitations on individual variety. Another scenario where no single variety should exceed 50% of the total planted area of the farm was developed and results showed that a maximum net returns goal of $145,154 was achieved by planting 500 acres of variety L 99-266 and 500 acres of variety HoCP 00-950. Finally, a third scenario where no single variety should exceed 30% of the total planted area was developed and results showed that a maximum net returns goal of $129,104 was achieved by planting 100, 300, 300 and 300 acres of varieties HoCP 96-541, L 99-226, L 99-233 and HoCP 00-950, respectively. For all scenarios, results showed that production should be kept until third stubble; therefore, the crop cycle length should be five years.

Increasing environmental concerns, population, and changing preferences of consumers towards healthier foods, and agronomic practices have all aligned to provide not only food and fiber, but also sustainable practices useful to the environment. Cover crops, a type of agricultural technology, provide private and public benefits, which are vital for organic production. The objectives of this study are: 1) Identify determinants of cover crop adoption; 2) analyze how nitrogen management varies by farm relative to adoption or non-adoption of this technology; 3) estimate the change in the probability of adoption of cover crops due to farm, regional and operator characteristics by non-adopters; and 4) estimate the change in intensity in nitrogen use by cover crop adopters due to farm, regional, and operator characteristics. To address our objectives, we developed a two-stage simultaneous equation model where the first stage provides information on the factors affecting adoption of cover crops using a probit model. To better understand the effects of cover crops on the amount of nitrogen use by producers we use a left-censored tobit model and incorporated the adoption of cover crops as an endogenous variable. To estimate the intensity of the effect of adoption of cover crops, we used the McDonald and Moffitt (1980) decomposition of the marginal effects. The results of the probit model showed that producers age, experience, experience squared, all conservative payments, using other producers (who grow cover crops) and organic fertilizer dealers as information sources when making nitrogen management decisions had a significant effect on cover-crop adoption. The results of the tobit model showed econometrically that cover crop adoption had a significant effect on nitrogen use by producers. Three other variables that had a significant effect on nitrogen use by producers were field slope of 12% or more, rented field, and off-farm work.

The coast of Louisiana, with more than three million wetland acres, accounts for about 40 percent of the nations total wetlands. Louisiana is estimated to have lost more than 1.2 million acres of its coastal wetland in the last century. Although 75% of Louisianas coastal wetlands are privately owned, little has been done to encourage private landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. This dissertation examines the factors that influence the decisions of the landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects. We develop a theoretical framework for understanding the landowners decision-making process in the presence of high uncertainty and increasing restoration costs. The condition under which landowners will invest in wetland restoration and maintenance is derived under the assumptions of risk aversion and relatively high restoration costs. The validity of the theoretical model is tested using data from a mail survey of private wetland landowners in coastal Louisiana that was conducted in Fall of 2009. Two econometric (Tobit and double hurdle) models are estimated to determine the importance of various factors including risk aversion on the probability and the level of private coastal wetland investments. The Likelihood ratio (LR) test shows that the double hurdle model statistically outperforms the Tobit model. The results suggest that the decision to invest in wetland restoration and how much to invest appear to be determined by different processes. The results of the double hurdle model show that risk plays an important role in landowners decisions to invest in wetland restoration and maintenance activities. Landowners who are risk averse make less investment in wetland restoration and maintenance projects than other landowners, and landowners who own properties that are located in risk prone areas are less likely to invest in wetland restoration than other landowners. In addition, the results show that landowners attitudes toward conservation, income related to the property, participation in government wetland programs, ownership structure, and wetland property size are all important determinants of the landowners investment decisions. The analysis emphasizes the need to incorporate risk into the design of wetland incentive programs to encourage private landowners to undertake wetland restoration projects in coastal Louisiana.

The development of an efficient processing infrastructure is critical for the budding cellulosic ethanol industry. Developing a diverse feedstock portfolio is one crucial part of this process which can lead towards economically feasible cellulosic ethanol production. Cellulosic ethanol production requires the production and transportation of large quantities of biomass. Sugarcane and other dense grasses offer a compelling path towards a successful biomass supply chain. The Louisiana sugar belt already has an infrastructure adapted to the task of biomass supply, and taking advantage of this is one key way that a cellulosic ethanol plant can benefit from the regions endowment. Additionally, the area has very large and sophisticated biomass processing facilities in the form of sugar mills. Finally, production of renewable energy from biomass is an area that is filled with economic uncertainty, both from the market and from economic policy. Dealing with this uncertainty will be crucial to any firm that attempts to operate in the cellulosic ethanol industry in the foreseeable future. This study focuses on several possibilities for aiding the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry, including feedstock development and building upon and within existing agricultural infrastructure. The Louisiana sugarcane belt is the target area of the study, which concentrates on sugarcane bagasse, energy cane, and sweet sorghum as cellulosic feedstocks. This study examines several possible scenarios and feedstock combinations, finding that a combination of sugarcane bagasse, energy cane, and sweet sorghum could supply a profitable cellulosic ethanol plant situated in the Louisiana sugar belt. By collocating with a sugar mill, a cellulosic ethanol plant can gain further advantage in the form of reusing capital and other fixed costs. This collocation is found to offer substantial benefits to both the cellulosic ethanol processor and the sugar mill, offering a diversified revenue stream, which enhances both operations. Finally, by employing real options analysis to the question of uncertainty in the market, it is found that a cellulosic ethanol plant can separate feedstock decisions from production and capacity decisions in a manner that mitigates downside potential from at least some types of market and policy shocks. This is found to greatly enhance the value of the firm in cases where unpredictable negative shocks occur

<p>The United States of America is an indebted nation in the early years of the new millennium, changing from $469 billion in 1973 to $14 trillion in 2010, as spending is justified on the basis that it promotes GDP growth which in turn increases societal benefits. Despite the benefits of debt, its effectiveness and the transmission mechanisms of fiscal policy are still on debate. Consequently, the economic effects of U.S. government debt accumulation are studied in three empirical research articles. </p> <p> The dissertation is composed of five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction wherein the problem statement, the purpose, objectives and justifications are discussed. Then, the three articles are presented. The analyses used dynamic econometric models and data in the post Bretton Woods system of monetary management. Finally, the results are summarized in the fifth chapter.</p> <p> The first article studied the effects of government debt on employment and the unemployment rate. The results indicate that debt has positive effects on employed labor in the economy in the long run, and it was found effective at retaining and decreasing the unemployment rate. Moreover, an unemployment rate shock produced a hump-shaped response of government debt. The second article studied the effects of government debt on exports. The causality tests did not provide evidence to support a relationship among those variables; however, the response of exports to a debt shock was positive and hump-shaped. Finally, the third article studied the transmission of U.S. government debt shocks into the Mexican economy; the results indicate that debt produces positive externalities as its GDP grows. Moreover, Mexican GDP is favored by increasing U.S. GDP; furthermore, a positive U.S. employment shock produced a hump-shaped response of Mexican GDP.</p> <p> In conclusion, U.S. government debt depreciates the currency which leads to price fluctuations of output and the inputs of production; in turn, the economy is likely to experience growth in exports, GDP, and employment that favors the economic growth of Mexico through trade.</p> <p> Finally, future research endeavors in the economics of government debt accumulation may contemplate to study the cooperative interdependence among political institutions involved in fiscal and economic policies. </p>

The abandonment of fixed exchange rate systems has caused exchange rate movements to become a major concern for traders, policy makers and researchers. During the previous four decades of floating exchange rates, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether exchange rate volatility affected international trade flows. Researchers have not yet reached a general consensus as to the magnitude and direction of the impact of exchange rate volatility on trade flows. This study documents the effect of exchange rate volatility and real exchange rates on bilateral agricultural exports, imports and total trade flows between the United States and OECD countries. The effect of exchange rate volatility is estimated both separately from and in combination with the real exchange rate. In addition, implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and use of the Euro as a national currency (Euro) are included as dummy variables and their effect on trade flows is determined. This study uses panel data, which contains 28 cross-sections and 1148 observations, for bilateral trade flows between the United States and OECD countries from 1970 to 2010. Data analysis is performed as guided by the gravity model which assumes trade flows to be directly proportional to economic mass and inversely proportional to geographical distance. Based on the gravity model, the ordinary least squares procedure is applied as the fixed effect one-way procedure for panel data. Effects of exchange rate volatility and the real exchange rate on agricultural, non-agricultural and total exports, imports and trade (exports +imports) flows were found to be statistically significant and negative. Although we were able to replicate the reportedly established notion that exchange rate volatility has an adverse effect on international trade flows, the negative effect that the real exchange rate has on trade flows is a novel finding and bears further investigation. It is found that exchange rate volatility has a greater impact on the agricultural sector, while the real exchange rate has a greater impact on the non-agricultural sector. Effects of FTAs and the Euro are always positive, with FTAs having a greater impact on the agricultural sector and the Euro on the non-agricultural sector.

Recent unexpected changes (mid-2007- Aug 2011) in agricultural commodity markets have led stakeholders to ask if the volatility of futures prices currently observed are still the result of traditional fundamentals. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to identify those factors that affect monthly soybeans futures price volatility. To accomplish this study, four relevant factors are explored. First, the integration between energy and agricultural markets is accounted for via oil spot prices, as well as a dummy variable to account for the shift in the U.S renewable fuel policy since 2007. Second, the increasing consumption of commodities from China is analyzed by measuring their imports of soybeans from Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. Third, U.S monetary policy is examined by including a U.S dollar index compared to currencies from China (Yuan), Brazil (Real), and Argentina (Peso), which are the main producers, consumers and traders of soybeans. Finally, financial speculation is analyzed by the number of speculative funds (mutual and index funds) available for public investors. Evidence was found that the variability of oil spot prices, soybean imports to China, and the number of index funds are able to explain monthly soybeans future price volatility, from September 2006 to August 2011. Although U.S renewable fuel policy is included in the analysis, there is no statistical evidence of its influence on monthly soybeans futures prices. Similarly, there is no evidence that the U.S dollar index and the number of mutual funds are able to explain past values of soybeans futures price volatility. Excessive volatility in futures price may cause problems for those utilizing futures markets in their business operation, as well as for consumers. While the increasing risk has led to inefficient resource allocation for producers, merchandisers, and speculators, high prices have influenced the food security of developing countries with lower incomes, i.e. affecting the ability of lower income households to get access to soy products used for human consumption.

Socioeconomic and policy information is important to fisheries management in order to assess potential social and economic impacts of proposed fishing regulations. Previous surveys which collect this type of data for the recreational for-hire (RFH) fishing industry in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico were conducted in 1987 and 1997. The third Gulf-wide survey was conducted in 2010 to update the socioeconomic and policy data available on the RFH industry. More specifically, the survey collected captain, vessel, and trip characteristics, firm and trip financial data, targeted species, and opinions on policy issues and hurricane impacts. State license information indicated that 3,315 captains were licensed to operate in the Gulf in 2009. Surveys were sent to 2,305 captains between March and June 2010. Overall, 689 responses were received with an approximate response rate of 33 percent. Because survey administration paralleled events of the Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, data was examined for evidence of recall bias through the use of Discriminant Analysis and logistic regression analysis. These assessments attempted to predict when surveys were completed by examining respondent, operating, and financial characteristics. Evidence of recall bias was not found, and no adjustments were made to financial data. Respondents were categorized using effort and license information into head, charter, and guide boat operating classes. Results of the survey are presented through costs, earnings, and attitudinal profiles for operating classes on the Gulf and state/regional levels. Statistical differences of means between operating classes and states/regions were examined using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Data and results presented under this study constitute the most comprehensive socioeconomic and policy data currently available on the Gulf RFH fishing industry.