Risk analysis of new maize technology in Zaire: a portfolio approach

Risk associated with the adoption of new maize technology and the impact of mandatory cotton production on traditional farmers in the Kasai Oriental Region of Zaire are evaluated within a portfolio context using a quadratic programming model. Seasonal net returns for farm plans including four levels of maize technology in combination with staple food crops are evaluated, with and without mandatory cotton production. The results indicate that cropping systems that include new maize technology are risk-efficient relative to local maize varieties while mandatory cotton production is not risk-efficient at the prevalent price and yield levels in the farming system.     

Experimental Evidence on Alternative Environmental Valuation Methods

Experimental methods are central to assessments of environmental valuation approaches that are operationally meaningful. Existing lab experiments focus attention sharply on the neglect of hypothetical bias. They also offer constructive solutions to correct this bias, and beg for validation in field experiments.     

Future S&T management policy issues—2025 global scenarios

This article presents four scenarios depicting science and technology (S&T) management dilemmas of the next two decades. The scenarios concern the balance between risk and promise, between the need to steer the directions of S&T, to minimize risk, and the need to maintain a free and unconstrained S&T agenda. These scenarios were constructed in the third year of the Millennium Project's study of this topic. The scenarios were formed in an interactive process with the project's international participants. The key policies that were found to be useful in all of the scenarios include (1) when considering the possibility of the misuse of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists, include the possibility of misuse by a single individual, acting alone; (2) establish mechanisms and techniques for making possible the explicit unintended consequences of scientific research and technology, including malicious uses; (3) for desirable technologies, where it may not be possible to avoid significant risks, develop mitigation strategies in parallel; (4) teach science ethics.     

The Economics of Erosion and Sediment Control in Southwestern Ontario

This paper compares the costs of off-farm damage from sediment displaced through erosion from southern Ontario cropland with the costs of erosion control to farmers using available conservation tillage techniques. The SOILEC model is used to simulate the long-run on-farm profitability of alternative tillage systems. The Guelph model for evaluating the effects of Agricultural Management systems on Erosion and Sedimentation (GAMES) is used to estimate changes in sediment delivery rates under different production systems. The results of the analysis indicate that the off-farm gains from the use of conservation tillage generally exceed the on-farm costs of erosion control for southwestern Ontario growing conditions. Le présent document compare les coûts des dommages causés à l'extérieur des régions agricoles par le déplacement des sédiments sous l'effet de l'érosion des terres agricoles du sud de l'Ontario aux coûts des techiques de conservation du sol devant être utilisées par les agriculteurs pour lutter contre l'érosion. Le modèle SOILEC est utilisé pour simuler la rentabilitéà long terme, pour les agriculteurs, d'autres techniques de travail du sol. Le modèle Guelph pour évaluer les effets des systèmes de gestion agricole sur l'érosion et la sédimentation (GAMES) a également été utilisé pour estimer la variation du taux d'écoulement des sédiments en fonction de différents systèmes de production. Les résultats de l'analyse indiquent que les gains à l'extérieur de la ferme résultant de l'application de techniques de conservation sont en général supérieurs aux coûts des mesures de lutte contre l'érosion devant être utilisées à la ferme, dans les conditions de culture s'appliquant au sudouest de l'Ontario.     

THE EFFECT OF TAX PREFERENCES ON HEALTH SPENDING

In this paper, we estimate the effect of the tax preference for health insurance on health care spending using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys from 1996-2005. We use the fact that Social Security taxes are only levied on earnings below a statutory threshold to identify the impact of the tax preference. Because employer-sponsored health insurance premiums are excluded from Social Security payroll taxes, workers who earn just below the Social Security tax threshold receive a larger tax preference for health insurance than workers who earn just above it. We find a significant effect of the tax preference, consistent with previous research.     

Dominant CEO,Deviant Strategy,and Extreme Performance: The Moderating Role of a Powerful Board

This study examines the effect of dominant CEOs – defined as CEOs who are very powerful relative to other executives in their top management teams – on firm strategy and performance. Based on a sample of 51 publicly traded, single‐business firms from the US computer industry for the period 1997–2003, our results suggest that firms with dominant CEOs tend to have a strategy deviant from the industry central tendency and thus extreme performance – either big wins or big losses. Further, powerful boards weaken the tendency of dominant CEOs towards extremeness and, more important, improve the likelihood of dominant CEOs having big wins versus big losses. This study reconciles the pessimistic and heroic views regarding dominant CEOs, and suggests that the notion of power balance should be considered in a broader context.     

哥伦比亚大学风投的新目标：环保型技术

一年一度的公报又来了，再次向人们展现了一些令人瞩目的高管薪酬计划。这些计划引起了股东、劳工组织和一些分析师们的热烈关注，因为他们认为首席执行官的薪酬和他们的业绩之间有冲突。埃克森石油公司（Exxon）的前首席执行官李·雷蒙德在消费者饱受汽油价格飞涨的关头享受着4亿美元的高薪退休了。然而，他应该这样吗？     

A SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER SELECTION METHODOLOGY: EMPIRICAL TEST AND SUGGESTED APPLICATION

With the expanding global economy, no managerial position requires a broader set of skills than that of the supply chain manager. Understanding the complexities of filling this vital managerial position, recent conceptual research has called for the development of a tool designed to identify the top candidates for supply chain positions. This research presents a full test of a three hurdle methodology for supply chain manager selection. Empirical results reported here suggest that managers must possess superior general mental aptitude, need for achievement, and adaptability for firms to maximize performance.     

Modelling employment durations of NHL head coaches: turnover and post‐succession performance

Match‐level National Hockey League (NHL) data are used to identify factors likely to trigger the departure of a team's coach, and to measure the short‐term impact on subsequent match results. There is a statistically significant link between individual match results and the job departure hazard for up to 15 games prior to the point of departure. The hazard depends on the team's current standing within its conference relative to a pre‐season forecast, recent performance in the Stanley Cup, the coach's age and previous employment with his present team as a player. After controlling for a mean‐reversion effect, teams that changed their coach within‐season are found to perform worse subsequently than those that did not, but the negative effect is short‐lived. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.