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Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael R. Langemeier / The wheat industry has experienced significant changes in recent years due to extreme market volatility in commodity markets. The challenge for farmers, seed dealers, and seed companies, therefore, is to determine value and price amid a rapidly fluxuating market environment. Locally, seed dealers must price seed wheat at a level that is both fair to the farmer with consideration to their local cash market, and yet profitable to the seed company. Ehmke Seed in Lane County, Kansas, is one such seed dealer struggling with determining price in an ever-changing market environment. This study analyzes pricing models based on historical seed prices and the local cash grain market. Twenty-five years of seed wheat prices at Ehmke Seed were compared to local cash wheat and grain sorghum prices at the Garden City Cooperative Elevator in Garden City, Kansas, with a margin analysis conducted on the models with respect to Ehmke Seed’s cost of production. This study also provides a statistical analysis of the competing price models to compare their reliability. A more dependable method of pricing will help Ehmke Seed come to a better understanding of alternative marketing options for wheat, and serve as a basis to help understand how future wheat varieties, such as transgenic wheat, may potentially be priced in the future.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / Micronutrient machines have been used successfully in the beef industry, however, their use was mostly for the addition of antibiotics into the rations. Their use in the dairy industry has been very limited. Feed cost is over 50% of the total cost on a typical dairy farm, thereby creating an area where minor changes in cost per cow can impact the bottom line. Because of the high feed cost on dairy farms, income over feed cost (IOFC) is one of the bench marks as to the overall farm financial health. The feed rations also impact animal health incidences and reproduction efficiencies. Micro machines can add small amounts of a desired nutrient or product, generally less than 56 grams (± 2 oz) into the cattle's daily total mixed rations (TMR). These micronutrients are generally expensive, and their inclusion into the rations of only cows that need that particular micronutrient is one benefit of a micro machine. Micro machines also take out the human error of mixing small accurate amounts and can easily track inventories. Benefits also include the control of on-farm shrink through dust control, and environmental stewardship of resources. Lastly, by creating options to accurately add micronutrients, milk production may be increased and health incidences reduced. The dairy industry is a virtually an untapped field for this technology and this research will explore if there is a benefit from their use. As feeding systems have evolved and milk production has continued to climb, innovative technologies will continue to be implemented. Increased financial pressures will also continue to cause producers to become more efficient with their resources. As production increases in any field, fine tuning of inputs becomes more exact. The rumen inner workings and how feedstuff blends affect rumen micros and the pH levels is an area in which there is much research completed, however, much more is still needed. The addition of micro machines to fine tune rations for dairy farms TMR rations can be a profitable way to manage income over feed cost, not only by saving money spent on micronutrients but by increasing production and reducing herd health incidences.

Esta dissertação destina-se a realizar um estudo sobre o mercado imobiliário de lançamentos residenciais, mais especificamente apartamentos, no Município de São Paulo, tendo como base a utilização de preços hedônicos. Este trabalho baseia-se, principalmente, na abordagem da Teoria do Consumidor, de Lancaster, bem como em estudos relativos à precificação hedônica, de Court e Griliches, e em aplicações relativas ao mercado imobiliário, como a de Aryeetey-Attoh. Por meio de uma pesquisa qualitativa com especialistas, para a definição das variáveis hedônicas explicativas, e de uma pesquisa quantitativa, para a coleta de 480 dados amostrais relativos a preços de lançamento compreendidos entre os meses de abril de 2002 e março de 2003 e atributos para cada faixa de renda distrital de São Paulo, aplicam-se as técnicas de regressão conhecidas como cross-section, onde algumas especificações semilogarítmicas são propostas, escolhendo-se, para cada faixa de renda, a que apresenta o melhor ajuste estatístico. O método proposto permite a verificação do “pacote” de atributos que é mais representativo para a valorização dos imóveis residenciais em lançamento no Município de São Paulo, possibilitando a comparação da importância relativa de cada um para cada faixa de renda distrital. Portanto, permite-se o estudo de estratégias e de gerenciamento de projetos, designados para cada tipo específico de empreendimento imobiliário, de acordo com as preferências dos consumidores e das características das localidades. / This study intends to make a research about the real estate market, more specifically new apartments, in the Municipality of Sao Paulo, using hedonic prices theory. This work is based on the approach to Consumer Theory, by Lancaster, on some hedonic price studies, by Court and Griliches, and on real estate market applications, like Aryeetey-Attoh´s. Using a qualitative research with specialists, to define the independent hedonic variables, and a quantitative research, to provide 480 sample data related to launching prices occurred between April 2002 and March 2003 and attributes for each segment of low, middle and high income in the Municipality of Sao Paulo, it is used the regression techniques known as cross-section, in which some semilogarithmic specifications are suggested, choosing, for each income, the one that offers the best statistic adjust. The proposed method allows the verification about which attributes interfere the most in the price of real estates in Sao Paulo and it compares the relative importance of each one of these attributes whenever there are changes in social classes. Thus, it allows the study of strategies and project management, designated to each kind of real estate, according to the consumers’ preferences and locality characteristics.

The thesis seeks to find some satisfactory concept of income and contrasts economic income concepts with accounting concepts. The case for price-level accounting is set out by illustrating from various case studies the deviation of income in real terms from reported income, and by considering the theoretical arguments in favour of price-level accounting. Arguments against price-level accounting then follow. Principles underlying the two main schools: the purchasing power historical cost system and the current cost system are next considered followed by a demonstration and appraisal of the application of several price-level accounting systems that have been proposed. Finally a reconciliation between economic and accounting concepts of income is attempted, and a position in favour of price-level accounting is supported. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

The proposition presented in this thesis is that the use of the "Agreed Charges" by the Canadian railroads was designed merely as an instrument to improve their place in the growing intermodal competition in Canadian transport. However, the thesis has revealed potential effects for the Canadian economy extending beyond this purpose. These effects grow out of the influence that Agreed Charges have had on the marketing "reach" of Canadian manufacturers, and the consequential location of industry. The competitive purpose of Agreed Charges is reviewed by a study of their origin and effects in transportation in England preceding any experience with them in Canada. This is followed by reference to Canadian legislation of 1938 which presented the detailed legislation authority for Agreed Charges as they developed in Canada. The basic competitive purpose of the new rate device is evaluated by a study of its effects on the railroads and their competitors. The effects of Agreed Charges on the Canadian economy going beyond this competitive purpose is then studied through describing and appraising the influence which they had on the inter-regional marketing of a number of. products. Through this study the influence shows itself in permitting enlarged production in certain regions in Canada by extending the marketing areas beyond those that could be reached without Agreed Charges; and it shows itself in the preferences it gave to Canadian manufactured products over competitive products from abroad. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Colombia's telecommunication industry has changed drastically in the last decade. Among the most salient events, a series of mergers between some of the industry's largest providers which resulted in a reduced number of competitors. One would expect that this reduction in the number of competitors would translate into higher prices. However, competition is at such high level that the media even talk about a "price war". My dissertation aims to shed light on the causes of this apparent inconsistency between a smaller number of competitors and more competitive outcomes. I start by showing that, in effect, the latest of these mergers, the one between Comcel and Telmex, had a pro-competitive effects on the provision of broadband. Next I show that the services provided by Comcel and Telmex were complements and that the pro-competitive effects of the merger can be explained by this complementarity. Finally, I study the effects of price discrimination under oligopolistic competition. In chapter 1 I assess the ex-post short-run effect on broadband provision of the Comcel-Telmex merger. Employing administrative data about the universe of plans and firms providing wired telecom services, I use several difference-in-difference specifications to obtain estimates for the effect of the merger on price and download speeds of plans provided by the merging firm and its rivals. My estimates suggest that, in markets affected by the merger, download speeds rose by .6 Megabits per second on average. The average increase in the markets resulted from increases in the plans offered by the merging firm (1.2 Mbps) and increases in the speeds of plans provided by its rivals (.5 Mbps). In chapter 2 I study mergers of firms producing complementary goods. Mergers of firms producing complementary products have ambiguous effects on consumer welfare. The merged firm may lower prices because the merger internalizes the profits originated by the complementarity. But with the merger the firm gains the ability to bundle and with bundles the firm can exert price discrimination, increasing the prices of standalone products. I employ a comprehensive, administrative data set, which records prices, market shares, and plan attributes of the universe of Colombia’s telecom carriers, to assess which effect dominates. I estimate a random-coefficient discrete choice model of consumer demand model for bundled and standalone telecom products, in which the degree of substitutability or complementarity among products is an essential parameter of interest. I find that major telecom products display a mix of substitutability and complementarity, but in general hardwired and mobile services are perceived as complements by Colombian households. My counterfactual experiments using the estimated model, indicate positive net effects of mergers with complements: despite a small increase in the price of standalone goods, consumer surplus increases by around 7 million dollars per quarter. Finally, in chapter 3, I study price discrimination in an oligopolistic setting. Economic theory is not conclusive about the effects of banning third degree price discrimination under imperfect competition. Price discrimination can enhance competition if the firms practicing don't agree on the ranking of their markets. In this case, price discrimination can lead to lower prices in all markets. Thus, forcing the firms to charge uniform prices can increase their profits and reduce consumers' surplus. Using data on prices, market shares and characteristics of telecommunication services sold under price discrimination by Colombian telecom providers, I estimate a model of competition. The estimates allow me to simulate a counterfactual scenario in which firms lose their ability to exert price discrimination within a city. Simulating a ban on price discrimination has negligible effect on consumer surplus and increases profits slightly.

Responsible Investment considers environmental, social and corporate governance criteria. These criteria, as an investment strategy, aim to have a positive impact on society as well as maximize financial returns. The concept of Responsible Investment is becoming more prominent and important to investors, both internationally and locally, with evidence from the negative reaction of share prices to recent events such as the BP oil spill. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange, in collaboration with FTSE4Good, has developed Responsible Investment criteria. The aim of the criteria is to ensure global alignment, with regards to environmental criteria, and also ensure local relevance, with criteria that deals with issues such as black economic empowerment, skills development and HIV/Aids. This research examines the share price behaviour of companies that are recommended by analysts as ‘Top Companies’ on the basis of their compliance to set Responsible Investment criteria, with specific reference to the annual ‘Top 20 Companies’ as recommended by the Financial Mail magazine. Using event study methodology, the short- and long-term behaviour is studied for the 140 companies mentioned in the list from 2003 up until 2009. Positive, significant abnormal returns of around 2% are observed in the first 10 days following the announcement for the companies mentioned in the list for the first time. No positive abnormal returns are however observed for longer-term holding periods of up to 200 days following the announcement. The result suggests that the Financial Mail analysts’ annual recommendation is of value only to low transaction cost, short-term traders. Longer-term investors, who buy the recommended shares, generally receive returns similar to the market rate of return. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Both open-form and closed-form formulas are developed to compute duration for two types of fixed-rate mortgages: the level or constant payment mortgage and the constant amortization mortgage. Because holding periods are often less than maturity, duration formulas are also developed for mortgages that are paid prior to maturity. The duration formulas are used to compare the risk and price behavior of the two types of mortgages. Under any scenario, the constant amortization mortgage exhibits less interest rate risk than the constant payment mortgage. The durations of both mortgage types are monotonically increasing functions of maturity when the mortgages are held to maturity. When the mortgages are subject to prepayment, however, durations may, under certain circumstances decline with original maturity.

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