The organic wheat supply chain in Canada operates in a relatively new sector for which there is very little public information to aid in price discovery. Organic wheat producers must use available information in order to decide when to sell their wheat and whom to sell to. The relatively low degree of market information, especially for producers, suggests a problem of information asymmetry, which may have ramifications for efficiency and the distribution of rents in the organic wheat supply chain. The literature on Transaction Cost Economics, Agency Theory and the Economics of Information is used in the thesis to theorize differences between methods of selling organic wheat that vary in terms of vertical coordination. The analysis involves a comparison of selling to large and small grain companies, selling through Producer-Owned Firms (POFs) and selling directly to processors. The theory predicts that producers gain from using a POF because of savings in transaction costs and higher prices. These theorized differences in transaction costs and price are due to increased sharing of information between the producer and the marketing agent, enhanced producer control over the marketer, and incentive for the marketer to provide producers with a high price. These benefits can also be realized by selling directly to a processor, but only if the producer can effectively and efficiently perform his or her own marketing functions. Average cost, price and profit margins are used as a metric for comparing each of the four governance structures. A survey of organic wheat producers in Saskatchewan was undertaken in order to collect data on organic Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) transactions. The results indicate that governance structure has a statistically significant effect on organic HRSW prices and on producer transaction costs. The analysis concludes that the producer receives the greatest profit margin from selling through the vertically coordinated POF, while a marketer receives the greatest profit margin if it operates as a large grain company and purchases HRSW on the spot market. The results also suggest that organic producers that eliminate the middleman and sell directly to processors cannot market as efficiently and effectively compared with producers that use a POF. The results of this thesis emphasize that increased coordination between producer and marketer through a POF can be advantageous for the producer, but not necessarily for the marketer, due to the difference in the distribution of rents.

The organic wheat supply chain in Canada operates in a relatively new sector for which there is very little public information to aid in price discovery. Organic wheat producers must use available information in order to decide when to sell their wheat and whom to sell to. The relatively low degree of market information, especially for producers, suggests a problem of information asymmetry, which may have ramifications for efficiency and the distribution of rents in the organic wheat supply chain. The literature on Transaction Cost Economics, Agency Theory and the Economics of Information is used in the thesis to theorize differences between methods of selling organic wheat that vary in terms of vertical coordination. The analysis involves a comparison of selling to large and small grain companies, selling through Producer-Owned Firms (POFs) and selling directly to processors. The theory predicts that producers gain from using a POF because of savings in transaction costs and higher prices. These theorized differences in transaction costs and price are due to increased sharing of information between the producer and the marketing agent, enhanced producer control over the marketer, and incentive for the marketer to provide producers with a high price. These benefits can also be realized by selling directly to a processor, but only if the producer can effectively and efficiently perform his or her own marketing functions. Average cost, price and profit margins are used as a metric for comparing each of the four governance structures. A survey of organic wheat producers in Saskatchewan was undertaken in order to collect data on organic Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) transactions. The results indicate that governance structure has a statistically significant effect on organic HRSW prices and on producer transaction costs. The analysis concludes that the producer receives the greatest profit margin from selling through the vertically coordinated POF, while a marketer receives the greatest profit margin if it operates as a large grain company and purchases HRSW on the spot market. The results also suggest that organic producers that eliminate the middleman and sell directly to processors cannot market as efficiently and effectively compared with producers that use a POF. The results of this thesis emphasize that increased coordination between producer and marketer through a POF can be advantageous for the producer, but not necessarily for the marketer, due to the difference in the distribution of rents.

In the last three decades, depending on advances in communication technologies, there is a popular discussion that urban functions can be located independent from space. In other words, each urban function can locate to any zones of a city due to communication technology-based connections, in a so called deterritorialization. These new sprawl-based locations can be seen in the central business districts (CBD) of cities, especially by producer service functions. This thesis will investigate the validity of deterritorialization-based post-modern theoretical studies concerning recent transformation of CBDs based solely on the Western city, with reference to the distribution of such activities in Ankara and its CBD structure. Producer services can be used to test the space relations of urban functions due to their complexity and more flexible connection capacities. For this purpose, first the concepts and the fields of concepts that are based on CBDs and producer services are examined. Thereafter, these theoretical and analytical frameworks are tested in a comprehensive evaluation of urban and central growth. Ankara has been chosen as the subject of the case study due to the new locational nodes in the city and the significant threat of decline in the CBD of Kizilay, which is still the main core of city. The relations between urban space and the locational preferences of producer services in Ankara are assessed to illustrate the reterritorialization-based movements within the urban space. Finally, the implications and contributions of the study and also suggestions for possible further studies are presented as concluding remarks.

Abstract Electricity is an indispensable power in our modern life and it has an important impact on our daily life and the development of a nation¡¦s economy. Traditionally, it has been controlled and protected by the government, thus it has caused the power producers pay no attention to cost and efficiency. Through the electric power industry liberalization, the market will have more competition and it can increase the efficiency in management. The foundation of the electric power industry liberalization is the industry structures and market systems. Different industry structures will have different market systems thus producing different impacts in electric power industry. The power producers must use different strategies regarding to different management and circumstances to insure their best interests. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the circumstances and structures of electric power industry in Taiwan, This paper also talks about the strategies under different electric power market systems and management from the viewpoints of independent power producers. The power producers in Taiwan are in a difficult situation. Under the development of electric power industry liberalization, the government must consider the conditions of power producers, therefore, the authorities must speed up making rules and regulations and establishing electric power market systems. The government needs to set up a fair competition and efficient environment. Take the consideration of their own benefits, the independent power producers might use the following strategies: Build up less pollution facilities to reduce the cost of electricity. Borrow money from banks to increase the price of electricity. Using the strategy of bidding to gain more profits. Keywords¡GElectric power industry liberalization,Electric power industry structure,Independent power producer,Strategy

The broad objective of this thesis involves investigation of the role agriculture might play in a society wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction effort. Specifically, the breakeven price for carbon emission offsets is calculated for agriculturally based emission reducing practices. The practices investigated in the Texas High Plains involve reduced tillage use, reduced fallow use, reduced crop fertilization, cropland conversion to grassland, feedlot enteric fermentation management and digester based dairy manure handling. Costs of emission reductions were calculated at the producer level. The calculated offset prices are classified into four cost categories. They are: negative cost, low cost (less than $20 per ton of carbon saved), moderate cost ($20 through $100 per ton of carbon saved), and high cost (over $100 for tons of carbon saved). Negative cost implies that farmers could make money and reduce emissions by moving to alternative practices even without any carbon payments. Alternatives in the positive cost categories need compensation to induce farmers to switch to practices that sequester more carbon. All fallow dryland crop practices, dryland and irrigated cotton zero tillage, dryland and irrigated wheat zero tillage, irrigated corn zero tillage, cotton irrigated nitrogen use reduction under minimum tillage and dryland pasture for all systems, and anaerobic lagoon complete mix and plug flow systems fall in the negative cost category. Dryland and irrigated wheat under minimum tillage are found to be in the low cost category. Cotton dryland under minimum tillage and cotton irrigated with nitrogen use reduction under zero tillage fell into the moderate cost class. Both corn and cotton irrigated minimum tillage are found to be in the high cost category. This study only considers the producer foregone net income less fixed costs as the only cost incurred in switching to an alternative sequestering practice. More costs such as learning and risk should probably be included. This limitation along with other constraints such as use of short run budget data, lack of availability and reliability of local budgets, overlooking any market effects, and lack of treatment of costs incurred in selling carbon offsets to buyers are limitations and portend future work.

Development of stewardship programs for management of end-of-life mattresses (ELM) is a global challenge for governments. Metro Vancouver is the first Canadian regional government to ban mattresses at local landfills. The next step is for manufacturers and retailers to work with local governments in developing stewardship programs that successfully divert and recycle mattresses across British Columbia (BC). This thesis examines how mattress industry stakeholders in BC could effectively implement province wide mattress stewardship policy that will ensure maximum public participation and will be environmentally sound as well as cost effective. Research was conducted by way of a literature review, a case study approach of Metro Vancouver's mattress recycling bylaw and model, and exploratory interviews with BC stewardship program leaders, Sleep Country Canada, government waste management planners, and mattress recyclers.

The modern disconnect between agricultural producers and consumers in Canada is a result of an increasingly smaller percentage of society taking part in the ‘making’ of food. Fruit breeding —the practice of selectively breeding two fruit varieties to create a genetically superior offspring— is a scientific process found at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, B.C. Canada that orchardists use to produce more while investing less. This thesis attempts to reveal the fruit breeding process by establishing an architectural procession through the agricultural landscape in order to reconnect consumer and producer. Further, the design of this thesis explores the development of an architecture of place in order to establish a deeper connection with the fruit breeding process for the visitor.

This thesis investigates the affect of non-emergency food aid on producer prices and production quantities for cereal grains within the recipient country’s economy. The decision to evaluate developmental or non-emergency food aid (NEFA) stems from a lack of research on a macro scale of disaggregated food aid categories and their implications on developing country producers. The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region is the world’s largest recipient of direct transfer non-emergency food aid leaving the region most susceptible to the ambiguous affects of these food aid allocations. The results for this research suggests that not only are there no detectable disincentive effects but that there is little explanatory power from non-emergency food aid based on the 12 sample countries within the region. Additionally, an estimation of NEFA’s relationship with imports suggests that rather then an addition to total supply, the international trade composition is flexible.

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