THE INFLUENCE OF WORKING CAPITAL ON FARM ORGANIZATION — HOW APPROPRIATE IS A LINEAR PROGRAMMING ANALYSIS?*

Effective limitations on farm working capital are not easily identified but behaviour consistent with such limitations is observed. Using a linear programming analysis, the results of having limited working capital are shown. It is also shown that the value of the working capital resource is so high that farmers make every endeavour to keep it free from limitation.     

THE ELASTICITY OF DEMAND FOR THE EXPORTS OF A SINGLE COUNTRY — A RECONSIDERATION

One country's exports of a particular commodity are usually imperfect substitutes for similar exports from other countries. Consequently, the price elasticity of export demand involves unknown cross elasticities between sub-groups of the commodity. However, there are constraints on the relative magnitudes of all the sub-group elasticities. These make it possible to assess the degree to which the whole commodity elasticity divided by the market share is an over-estimate of the export elasticity.     

PROMOTION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTS — A VIEW FROM THE CLOISTER*

This paper is a discourse on how promotion may contribute to the efficiency of consumption. The view is taken that, through its addition to the quantity of search with respect to product characteristics, promotion may enable consumers to allocate their expenditures more efficiently and yield additional revenue to producers of the promoted product. The central plea is for consistency in the identification of promotion objectives, the implementation of the promotion program and monitoring of the outcome. In an idiosyncratic way, the promotion objectives are framed as being related to price and income elasticities and it is argued that promotional outcomes should be monitored in terms of these elasticities. Supply shifts may complement promotion strategies to the advantage or disadvantage of producers and the outcomes in terms of producer surplus are examined for particular promotion strategies and shifts in linear supply functions.     

20世纪90年代中后期以来我国粮食进出口贸易的回顾和分析

20世纪90年代中后期以来中国粮食进出口贸易在总量和结构上都呈现出净出口逆转的态势和南进北出的新特点。加入WTO后则出现了粮食进出口总量上双双增长和进出口方向转变的新局面。这是发挥中国粮食生产和贸易的比较优势的结果。     

THE DEVELOPING FRAMEWORK FOR THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM — A COMMENT

The application of Kula's sum of discounted consumption flows method to forestry investment gives a more favourable result than NPV, but leads to some curious consequences. In particular, the immediate future generation may not be provided with a timber resource by the present generation, while being expected to provide such a resource for its own successors. The method does not in fact treat future generations equitably: downward revision of the social discount rate, possibly to zero, is a better means of achieving this objective.     

ULYSSES REVISITED — A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAFE MINIMUM STANDARD RULE

The Safe Minimum Standard (SMS) Rule has been developed as a decision rule involving environmental assets, particularly species, that face some risk of extinction. The SMS rule has been presented by Bishop (1978) (1979) and Randall (1991) as a better decision process than the use of cost benefit analysis (CBA). This paper explores the relationship between the SMS rule and CBA. It shows that there is a tandem effect in operation because the use of both rules rely on the same underlying preferences in society. There is potential for the two rules to achieve the same results, and doubt over whether the SMS rule is an independent control over CBA. Instead, the SMS rule may simply operate as a nagging mechanism for issues of particular interest. Its use can be seen as a signal to switch to a more intensive examination of costs and benefits, and justified in this format because the benefits of more accurate decisions outweigh the costs of operating the SMS rule. The application of the SMS rule will vary according to the justification for its use.     

A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF US EXPORT WHEAT PRICING AND MARKET SHARES

The economics of a higher loan rate to support US wheat prices is analysed. Utilising optimal control theory, a dynamic wheat trade model is developed. The basic premise underlying the model is that the United States finds itself having transient monopoly power in the wheat market. An expression for the optimal pricing policy which maximises the present value of expected profits over the indefinite future is derived. Results from both the theoretical and empirical models demonstrate that the US wheat pricing strategy depends on its costs relative to competitors' costs, the discount rate and the competitors' response function. The main policy implication of the analysis is for the dominant wheat exporting country constantly to seek to lower costs relative to competitors and to maintain a price exceeding unit cost without encouraging competitors' expansion.     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL TRACTOR INVESTMENT MODELS

An implicit rental price approach is used to analyse the determinants of farm tractor investment at the aggregate level. Three models, based on different assumed factor substitutabilities, are compared. Variations in the rental price of tractors appear to have less effect on demand than variations in factors affecting the profitability of the cropping enterprise as a whole. The implications for forecasting and for policy instruments, such as the investment allowance, are discussed.     

Multiple Leasing under Cropshare Tenancy — A Note

This paper attempts to explain the perplexing tendency to multiple leasing by both landlords and tenants in some countries. It shows that if the negotiation of share contracts involves significant transaction costs and there is some uncertainty regarding the output on tenanted plots, a risk-averse landlord maximizing expected utility will find it in his advantage to subdivide his land among several tenants and also permit his tenant to lease land from other landlords.     

内湖与江河网箱养鱼效果的比较分析

通过网箱养殖效果的比较分析,证实对水质要求较高的鱼种适合江河网箱养殖,而耐低氧的鱼类,则适合肥沃的内湖养殖.