Abstracts of Second- and Third-Place Undergraduate Papers

The purpose of this project was to determine the significant demographic characteristics affecting consumers' choice to buy fair trade coffee and to assess the existence of a premium for fair trade coffee. Abinary logit and contingent valuation model were used. Certain demographic and attitudinal characteristics, such as being an undergraduate student and frequently purchasing socially responsible goods, were significant in explaining consumers' choice of whether or not to purchase fair trade coffee. A price premium for the average person sampled was identified at $0.18 (CDN) above the average coffee price (assumed to be $1.50/cup (CDN)). This is the first study we found that ascertains an exact willingness to pay for a cup of fair trade coffee. Such information would be useful in marketing fair trade products although further studies with larger and more diverse samples would be useful in increasing the significance of the results.     

Abstracts of Second- and Third-Place Undergraduate Papers

This paper presents an analysis of the demand for hunting licenses in Alberta from 1968 to 2004. Regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of some of the commonly thought reasons for the decline in hunting participation in Alberta; specifically, the effects of changes in wildlife certificate prices, species license prices, income levels, and the proportion of the population living in urban areas. I found that hunting appears to be an inferior good since the income elasticity of demand was elastic—as provincial income levels increase, it is expected that less people will participate in hunting. In addition, the price elasticity of demand was inelastic indicating that raising license prices could theoretically generate increased revenues for wildlife management. I further hypothesize that if hunting participation needs to be increased for wildlife management purposes, it can be accomplished by decreasing the prices of licenses without directly affecting the revenue generated. Ultimately, we must realize that many of the hypothesized reasons for the decline in hunting participation in Alberta are qualitative and non-economic in nature and are thus difficult to include in most analyses. Whereas price and income are important determinants of hunting demand, they are only part of the story.     

Abstracts of Second- and Third-Place Undergraduate Papers

There has been a high degree of differentiation of shell eggs in the last few years, likely due to historic decreases in egg consumption and growing interest in functional foods. The main variable that interests egg producers is the factor that compels consumers to pay more for certain egg attributes. Knowledge of this would allow producers to develop more effective marketing strategies. An intercept consumer survey was developed in order to elicit the effects of health consciousness and behavior on a consumer's intent to purchase eggs, and to purchase eggs with perceived health benefits. Survey questions pertained to the respondent's health consciousness, health behavior, demographic characteristics, and other attitudinal values. Multifactor health consciousness and health behavior scales were used based on those found in previous health and economic literature. The main focus of this study was to link demographics and attitudes with health consciousness and behavior of consumers, as well as linking health factors to egg consumption. Using average health consciousness and health behavior scores as well as Principal Component Analysis, health consciousness and behavior factors were calculated, and ordinary least squares regressions were estimated to link those scores and factors to demographic and attitudinal variables, and to link egg consumption to the health scores and factors, demographics, and attitudes. The Principal Component factors estimated were found to provide more explanation of egg consumption than simple health consciousness and health behavior averages. Consumers who are most occupied with their health purchase more eggs, those with relatively poor health behavior purchase fewer eggs and consumers who are concerned about the environmental effects of farm production in general eat more eggs.     

Macroeconomics and Undergraduate Agricultural Economics

This paper focuses on macroeconomics in undergraduate agricultural economics curricula. We briefly review some of what leaders in the agricultural economics and economics professions, macroeconomics teachers, and textbook authors say about what is important, what should be taught and learned in modern undergraduate macroeconomics courses. We also report on a survey of faculty of agricultural economics departments who have responsibility for undergraduate instruction in 50 U.S. agricultural economics undergraduate programs. The surveys provide information on the current status of economics courses in their programs and the relative importance of different macroeconomic subjects to students in undergraduate agricultural economics.     

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Abstracts of Award-Winning Theses

This thesis determines the tradeoff between producer welfare and the provision of environmental benefits, through reduced soil erosion and fertilizer applications, on agricultural working land. A land-use allocation model of two Iowa counties is formulated as a mathematical programming problem, building upon the Takayama and Judge framework. Slope is used to reflect terrain heterogeneity, such that the spatial allocation of land-use practices impacts economic and environmental outcomes via a yield damage function and differentiated rates of soil erosion. The model differs from prior empirical models in that it includes both crop and livestock production, which gives the model the flexibility to choose whether the two activities are optimally nonseparable.
Price policy analysis indicates that the land use allocation is relatively insensitive to changes in commodity prices, i.e., altering commodity-based support payments is insufficient to attain environmental improvements. Several "green" policy instruments are simulated to estimate the cost to producers of reducing environmental damages. Limiting soil erosion with either a regulatory standard or a per unit tax reduces the average return to land by 10%. Shifting current income support payments into a system of payments for conservation land management practices, similar in essence to the Conservation Security Program, cannot attain the same soil erosion reduction with less cost to producers. Overall, the inelastic response of land use practices to commodity prices indicates that targeting the use of productive inputs, as opposed to commodity outputs, may be a more efficient means of attaining environmental improvements.     

Abstracts of Award-Winning Theses

Costa Rica has long been a leader among developing countries in the design of and experimentation with innovative environmental programs. Since 1997, Costa Rica's "Pagos de Servicios Ambientales" (Payments for Environmental Services) Program has provided payments to more than 4,400 farmers and forest owners for reforestation, forest conservation, and sustainable forest management activities. The econometric analysis of a survey of farmers and forest owners, including both PSA participants and nonparticipants, shows that farm size, human capital and household economic factors, and information variables significantly influence participation in PSA program alternatives. Large farmers and forest owners are disproportionately represented among program participants.     

Abstracts of Award-Winning Theses

This thesis investigates the demand for water supply improvements in Queretaro, Mexico. Queretaro currently lacks adequate water supply services, and it is of interest to know if residents would be willing to finance improvements to the water supply system.
The data for this work were collected with two in-person surveys of Queretaro's households. The first survey was administered to a stratified random sample of 629 homes with piped water services. The second survey was conducted with a semi-random sample of 207 households in informal settlements that do not have private water services. This thesis is one of the first studies in Mexico that demonstrates that residents are willing to pay a significant amount of money for water supply improvements. This study also provides some of the first evidence from Latin America that residents from informal settlements are willing to pay a considerable proportion of their income for water service improvements.