Previous adoption and diffusion literature had only studied innovations oriented towards operating inputs. This thesis examines the adoption and diffusion of a strategic investment--land leveling. Logit analysis is used to identify the characteristics of adopters of dead level fields. The diffusion of dead level fields is fitted to a logistic function. The data revealed three intra-period diffusion curves that seem to be responses to non-relative price stimuli. The diffusion of the strategic investment--dead level fields--seems to be increased only by government action.

The purpose of this study was to analyze price variations across the city of Tucson to determine whether any systematic patterns of noncompetitive pricing existed and to explore their causes. Prices were examined for three alternative baskets which consisted of (1) national brand items; (2) house brand items; and (3) the cheapest brand items. Also, several characteristics pertaining to firm size, competition level, and neighborhood demographics were examined to determine their effects on the price of the national brand basket. And finally, average weekly prices were examined to determine the effect of the week on the prices of the three alternative baskets. Ordinary least squares regression equations showed that only those variables related to the competition level were significant in influencing the price of the basket. In addition it was found that price differences were brand specific. That is, BRAND1 prices were found to be higher on the south side of town, whereas BRAND3 prices were highest on the north side of town. Similar results were found when looking at the number of close rivals, stores within the same chain, and the week of the month.

The study estimated changes in the terms of trade of three Kenyan exports--tea, coffee, and pyrethrum--to test the validity of the theory of deterioration in the terms of trade for primary products. Several different measures of the terms of trade were considered. The results show no evidence of a secular deterioration. They also indicate that the terms of trade measure is extremely sensitive to the choice of the price index for manufactured goods. To evaluate the impact of domestic policies, costs and returns of the three exports were examined. The results show that the impact of policy distortions on profits is far greater than the impact of expected future world price declines. Future export expansion still is possible because policy changes can offset the effect of low world prices.

<p> Increasing demand in local food markets in WV offers a new or enhanced income generation opportunity to small producers. An ostensible gap in supply to meet this demand sparks an investigation of the factors that influence producers' decisions, as reflected by their behavior and intentions, to participate and expand in local food markets. The factors that influence both the behavior of current commercial producers and potential new entrants are identified through analysis of data collected through a survey of producers identified by field professionals. Specifically, the influence of motivational and place-based sociocultural characteristics, based on guidance from social psychology Theory of Planned Behavior, is examined within an economic framework of market participation and supply. Interest among non-commercial producers is identified and poses to be a plausible source of enhanced supply in local food markets in addition to expansion among current producers. Models of market participation behavior and supply response, using a probit model and OLS regression, indicated significant influence of motivational factors such as reasons for entering farming, influence of social context, and attitudes towards diversification of income to reduce risk. Probit model results indicate that past concerns such as time limitation and perceptions of lack of profitability limit intentions to participate in the market among current non-commercial producers, whereas past concerns about food safety and distance to market do not appear to limit those intentions. Probit model results of expansion intentions indicate the predominant influence of access to resources and farm-level factors as opposed to motivational factors on expansion. The importance of farm succession to sales volume and expansion intentions is salient. Interventions that will be successful at facilitating new entrants to market and expansion among current commercial producers must be tailored to producer values and sociocultural norms in addition to addressing resource barriers and skills. Specifically, facilitation of farm succession, implementation of marketing models that overcome distance to market and producer time and risk constraints, and education and technical assistance that is sensitive to sociocultural norms and values in general are potential leverage points. The analysis of market participation in addition to supply volume is determined to be an important aspect of analysis of supply response in local food markets in WV.</p>

This study uses economic experiments to examine agricultural producers’ incentives to supply permanent and/or temporary credits to a carbon offset market. Their decision to partake in an investment project with an uncertain outcome and a flow of information about future conditions was mimicked through two types of games in the laboratory. The timing games consist of a three-period investment project in which subjects must decide if and when to invest, knowing that they can delay their decision until more information about the future outcomes is known. Their behavior was compared with the theoretical solution based on expected value calculations and an assumption of risk neutrality; further analysis then explores the possible causes of non-optimal results. Next, bidding games tested the choice to delay the investment until the outcome was certain as both the expected value of the gamble and the variance between possible payoffs increase. Participants were also asked to state the minimum compensation they would be willing to accept to sell the gamble. The option value component was measured as the difference between the value of the game with an option to delay and the value of the game without the option to postpone investment. The last element of the experiment was a game to determine the risk preference of the subjects. The experimental results show non-optimal behavior in the timing and bidding games, although risk-aversion predictions fit the data quite well. Stated willingness-to-accept values observed in the bidding games were on average close to the predicted levels. Option values were found to be increasing as the risk level and expected value of the gambles increase, switching from a negative to a positive value. / Cette étude utilise l’économie expérimentale à fin d’examiner les facteurs qui peuvent pousser les producteurs agricoles à fournir des crédits compensatoires de carbone permanents et/ou temporaires. Leur décision de participer à un projet d’investissement avec des revenus incertains et une source d’information sur les conditions futures est étudiée à travers deux types de jeux dans le laboratoire. Le premier jeu consiste à décider si et à quel moment les participants veulent investir dans un projet de trois périodes, sachant qu’ils peuvent attendre et obtenir plus d’informations sur les conditions futures avant de prendre leur décision. Leur comportement est comparé aux solutions théoriques basées sur des calculs de valeurs attendues; une analyse plus approfondie examine aussi les causes possibles des résultats non optimaux. Le deuxième jeu teste le choix de retarder la décision d’investir jusqu’à ce que les conditions futures soient déterminées, lorsque la valeur attendue du projet et la variance entre les résultats possibles sont augmentés. Les participants doivent aussi révéler la compensation minimale qu’ils seraient prêts à recevoir en échange de la vente du projet d’investissement. La valeur d’option est calculée en soustrayant la valeur du jeu qui comporte l’option de retarder l’investissement à la valeur de ce même jeu mais qui ne contient pas l’option de délai. Finalement, les participants doivent répondre à une dernière question qui mesurera leur préférence de risque. Les résultats démontrent des stratégies d’investissement non optimales dans plusieurs cas, mais les prédictions d’aversion de risque se rapprochent beaucoup plus des données obtenues dans l’expérience. Les valeurs des compensations minimales du deuxième jeu sont en moyenne près des niveaux prédits. Les valeurs d’option augmentent au fur et à mesure que le niveau de risque et la valeur attendue$

The commons dilemma is a situation where a group of individuals jointly use a resource, and an individual's rational decision to utilize the resource is sub-optimal from the perspective of the group. As a result, this can lead to overexploitation of the resource or underinvestment in its management. This dilemma can often be seen in common-pool resources (CPR). This situation is described by the CPR game, in which subjects decide how much they want to appropriate the CPR, which may return negative payoffs depending on how much they appropriate as a group. This thesis modifies the standard CPR game to represent the situation where two groups of users with different utility functions are spatially linked in the CPR. An example of this situation would be an upstream community that appropriates a river's water resource, which results in a change in the quantity or quality of the river, through pollution or extraction, to the downstream community that also utilizes the river. This thesis proposes a new experimental design to the standard CPR game that takes into account the heterogeneous utility functions of the two communities and the spatial dimension of the problem. Heterogeneity in interests may or may not increase efficiency in appropriating CPR. Behavioural implications are drawn from the re-designed CPR game. / Un dilemme communes est une situation où un groupe d'individus utilisent une ressource et une décision rationnelle pour exploiter cette ressource de manière optimale dans la perspective de ce groupe. Comme résultat, cela peut mener à la surexploitation des ressources ou le sous-investissement dans ce management. Ce problème peut souvent être vu dans un common-pool resource (CPR). Cette situation est décrite par le jeu du CPR, qui a pour objet de décider combien ils veulent pour s'approprier le CPR, ce qui pourrait entrainer en retour un remboursement négatif dépendant de combien ils s'approprient/s'intègrent comme un groupe. Ce papier modifie les standards du jeu du CPR pour représenter la situation où deux groupes d'utilisateurs avec deux différentes fonctions utilitaires sont liés dans l'espace au CPR. Un exemple à cette situation serait l'impact qu'aurait une communauté en amont d'une rivière, à travers la pollution ou l'extraction, sur la communauté située en aval. Cette thèse propose une nouvelle étude expérimentale au jeu du CPR standard qui prend en compte les fonctions hétérogènes de ces deux communautés ainsi que la dimension spatiale de ce problème. L'hétérogénéité peut ou non augmenter l'efficience d'un CPR approprié. Des implications comportementales sont décrites par le nouveau jeu du CPR.

This study is an analysis of Thailand's rice export sector with reference to three major issues: government trade policy, trade performance, and the structure of trade preferences. In analyzing the rice trade policy, particularly the rice premium, both theoretical and empirical analyses were undertaken in order to measure and evaluate the policy's effects on exports and domestic prices. A dynamic simultaneous equation econometric model for Thailand's rice economy was formulated and estimated for the period from 1959 to 1976. The study then measured the relative competitiveness of Thai rice exports in the world markets during the period from 1952 to 1976 by quantitatively decomposing the export growth into the four separate components of market, growth, competitiveness, and interaction effects. And, finally, to detemine the trade preference structure of major rice exporters and importers, a probablistic trade flow model was employed. The theoretical findings of this study indicated that the government trade policy reduced rice export volumes and lowered domestic rice prices below the no intervention equilibrium levels. Concerning the effectiveness of the rice premium policy in stabilizing domestic rice prices, the analytical results suggested that the policy would be relatively effective only if the export demand for Thai rice was highly elastic with respect to the export price. Since this price elasticity was estimated to be only 1.07, the premium policy was not very effective in insulating the domestic rice market from external price fluctuations. In terms of dynamic multipliers, the study showed that an increase in the export premium of one unit (one baht per metric ton) would result in a rise in the export price of about 3.7 cents and a fall in the export volumes of about 155 metric tons. The analysis also indicated that for any one thousand metric ton increase in U.S. concessional rice sales, the export price of Thai rice would fall by 9 cents per metric ton. In both cases, the effect on paddy production was insignificant in the short-run due to a time lag in the farmer's production response. To examine some premium policy alternatives, two policy simulation experiments (a no export premium experiment and a no premium increase experiment) were performed. The results of both experiments suggested that while farmers would benefit from high paddy prices in early years, they might suffer from lower prices in some future years because of the accumulated production expansion effect. For the second issue, the study found that the major causes of the serious decline in Thailand's rice exports over the period from 1952 to 1976 were the following: (1)the heavy concentration of these exports in slow growth or declining markets, and (2)the inability of these exports to penetrate the high growth markets in order to compensate for the market losses in the stagnant markets. This was confirmed by the trade preference structure that was extracted from a probabilistic model of rice trade flows, which showed that Thai rice received high preference in the slow growth Far East markets.

Consumers are becoming more aware of the quality attributes of different commodities found in the market and are choosing products that closely match their tastes and preferences. The consumer behavior model postulated by Lancaster (1966), says that products are consumed for the characteristics they possess, other than the product itself, and are associated with consumer preferences/utility. For example, in the case of rice, the quality characteristics (attributes) have important price based implications in terms of incentives for producers and consumers. This study empirically analyzes the relationship between price and product attributes towards consumer's choice for rice in Benin, using the hedonic pricing approach and discrete choice modeling at the household level. The results of econometric estimation indicate that consumers pay a premium for grain size, aroma, color, wholeness and cleanliness of grain and convenience attributes across the different regions studied. Consumers (rural and urban) prefer parboiled and imported rice over domestic rice and raw rice. Country of origin was found to influence rice preference indirectly through perceived quality. Socioeconomic factors are not important in consumer purchasing decisions. The results from this study suggest that both domestic and imported rice varieties have positive and negative implicit prices this emphasizes the importance of quality based attributes in future breeding programs to make domestic rice more competitive to imported rice. / Les consommateurs sont de plus en plus conscients des caractéristiques des différents produits rencontrés sur le marché et choisissent des produits qui correspondent le mieux à leurs goûts et préférences. Les caractéristiques de la qualité du riz ont des implications importantes pour les producteurs, les chercheurs et les décideurs politiques. Cette étude analyse la relation entre le prix et les attributs des produits et des préférences des consommateurs pour le cas du riz au Bénin, en utilisant l'approche des prix hédoniques et la modélisation des choix discrets et les données sur les ménages. L'analyse est basée sur la nouvelle théorie du comportement du consommateur de Lancaster (1966), qui postule que les produits sont consommés plus pour les caractéristiques qu'ils possèdent que le produit lui-même et sont associées à des préférences/utilité des consommateurs. Les résultats indiquent que les facteurs les plus importants sont la taille du grain, l'arôme, les corps étrangers, la couleur, le temps de cuisson et la présence de brisures. Les résultats montrent également que les consommateurs sont en mesure de différencier le riz local du riz importé et arrivent à exprimer leurs préférences sur la qualité. Bien que le riz soit déficitaire au Bénin et que la recherche sur les variétés à haut rendement continue d'être privilégiée, l'amélioration de la qualité du riz basée sur les caractéristiques sus identifiées devrait permettre d'amoindrir la concurrence entre les riz importé et local. Les décideurs politiques doivent examiner les incitations réelles et les contraintes à l'amélioration de la qualité au niveau des exploitations rizicoles.

Tree Based Intercropping (TBI) integrates the use of crops and trees on the same land unit. Such systems can provide a variety of economic, environmental and social benefits in comparis on with mono-cropping agriculture system. The specific objectives of this thesis were to determine the productivity, profitability, and practicality of TBI systems relative to mono-cropping system in Canada. Predicting the productivity, profitability and practicality consisted of several steps. First of all, a comprehensive process-based mathematical model called Ecosys© were used to estimate the trees growth. Secondly, a economic analysis model (Farm-SAFE) was used to determine the profitability and feasibility of TBI system relative to mono-cropping system. / The evaluation of mono-cropping and TBI systems was undertaken for selected tree and crop species. Selected tree species were hybrid poplar, Norway spruce and red oak and crops species were wheat, corn, soybean and barley. The results of this study suggested that TBI systems can under certain circumstances provide a productive, profitable and feasible alternative to mono-cropping system. Tree and crop production was invariably more efficient in the use of land when combined in TBI systems hybrid poplar than when separated in mono-cropping system. Farmers can use a combination of fast-growing specie (hybrid poplar) and slow-growing specie (red oak) simultaneously to increase their profit by using TBI agriculture system. / Sur la base des arbres Intercropping (TBI) intègre l'utilisation des cultures et des arbres sur l'unité même terre. Ces systèmes peuvent fournir une variété d'avantages économiques, environnementaux et sociaux en comparaison avec des mono-système de culture agricole. Les objectifs spécifiques de cette thèse étaient de déterminer la productivité, la rentabilité et l'applicabilité des systèmes TCC par rapport à la monoculture système au Canada. Prédiction de la productivité, la rentabilité et le caractère pratique consistait en plusieurs étapes. Tout d'abord, un processus exhaustif basé sur le modèle mathématique appelé Ecosys © ont été utilisées pour estimer la croissance des arbres. Deuxièmement, un modèle d'analyse économique (Farm-SAFE) a été utilisée pour déterminer la rentabilité et la faisabilité du système de TBI par rapport à la monoculture du système. / L'évaluation de la monoculture et des systèmes de TBI a été entrepris pour l'arbre choisi et les espèces cultivées. Espèces d'arbres sélectionnés ont été le peuplier hybride, l'épicéa et le chêne rouge et des espèces de cultures étaient le blé, le maïs, le soja et l'orge. Les résultats de cette étude suggère que les systèmes de TBI peuvent dans certaines circonstances, constituer une alternative productive, rentable et faisable de monoculture système. Arbre et la production des cultures a été invariablement plus efficace dans l'utilisation des terres lorsqu'elles sont combinées dans les systèmes de TBI (peuplier hybride et l'épinette de Norvège) que quand ils sont séparés en mono-système de culture. Les agriculteurs peuvent utiliser une combinaison d'espèces à court terme (peupliers hybrides) et espèces à long terme (chêne rouge) simultanément pour augmenter leur profit en utilisant TBI système agricole.

The proposed Domestic Emission Trading System in Canada included an offset market that was expected to provide cost-efficient carbon offsets to the Large Final Emitters. The objective of this thesis was to design an economic experiment that incorporated this institutional design. The experimental design included both regulated and non-regulated sectors and is based on a “cap and trade” carbon emission model. Three markets are included in the experimental design: timber, carbon, and electricity. The electricity sector represents the regulated sectors with a carbon emission cap while the forestry sector represents the non-regulated sectors, i.e. they do not have a carbon emission cap. The decision making framework of the forestry sector is based on a joint-product model; i.e. timber and carbon. The price of carbon offset credits impacts both timber and electricity supply. / Le système d’échange de droits d’émission envisagé au Canada incluait un marché compensatoire qui devait fournir aux grands émetteurs finaux des crédits compensatoires pour le carbone rentables. L'objectif de cette thèse était de concevoir une expérience économique qui incluait cette conception institutionnelle. L'expérience a été conçue pour inclure des marchés réglementés et non-réglementés et elle est basée sur un modèle “cap and trade” d’échange d’émissions de carbone. Elle a été menée sur trois marchés : celui du bois, celui du carbone et celui de l’électricité. Le marché de l’électricité représente les marchés réglementés avec un cap sur émissions de carbone tandis que le secteur forestier représente les marchés non-réglementés, c.-à-d. il n’y a pas de cap sur émissions de carbone. Les décisions de production dans le secteur forestier sont basées sur un modèle de production conjoint ; c.-à-d. celui du bois et du carbone. Le prix des crédits compensatoires pour le carbone ont une influence sur l’offre de bois et d’électricité. La réglementation de l’émission du carbone est incorporée dans l’expérience en utilisant une courbe de l’offre coudée pour l’électricité. Les prévisions de la théorie et du comportement ont été faites en se basant sur les incitatifs proposés dans l’expérience ainsi que sur l’expérience d’expériences antérieures.