The Varying Impacts of Agricultural Support Programs on U.S. Farm Household Consumption

Farm households are economic agents whose income is derived from farm, off-farm, and government sources. This article uses farm-level data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and recent advances in the econometric theory of dynamic pseudo-panels to show that farm households consume various sources of income differently at the margin. Particular attention is given to a specific type of lump-sum government transfer payment intended to be decoupled from (independent of) farm production decisions. The results suggest that relatively decoupled government subsidies have a greater marginal effect on farm household consumption than subsidies that are tied to market conditions.     

美国以自然资源保护为宗旨的土地休耕经验

美国土地休耕制度包括一系列水土保持计划和以土壤侵蚀度为主要指标的水土保持评价标准,它通过一系列耕地保护计划来推行。回顾美国农业耕作土地采取休耕政策及其实施情况,讨论了值得我国学习和借鉴的土地休耕计划的政策的成本费用等问题。     

Regional Impacts of a U.S. Hog Slaughter Plant Closing: The Thorn Apple Valley Case

As the 1998 U.S. hog market collapse unfolded, Thorn Apple Valley ceased hog slaughter operations at its Detroit, Michigan plant. We examine the impacts on Michigan live hog prices relative to Eastern Corn Belt hog prices. Results indicate that Michigan producers' relative price advantage diminished after the closure as procurement competition changed. As the impacts of the 1998 hog market collapse were absorbed, Michigan producers' relative price advantage became consistently negative. Examination of Michigan's market hog production distribution indicates postclosure shifts away from production in areas geographically near to Thorn Apple Valley and growth in counties geographically closer to alternative packers.     

Estimating Investment Rigidity within a Threshold Regression Framework: The Case of U.S. Hog Production Sector

This article addresses the issues of investment/disinvestment asymmetry and a possible existence of a sluggish regime in the demand for a quasi-fixed input in the U.S. hog production sector. Adopting a new threshold estimation procedure, quarterly data from 1970 through 2002 are used to estimate a regime-dependent investment demand equation for a quasi-fixed input, taking sows as a proxy. The results support the existence of three regimes over alternative specifications precluding the sluggish regime, confirming the existence of asset fixity in hog production. The results also highlight the importance of accounting for investment rigidity when estimating hog supply and variable input demands.     

How U.S. Farm Programs and Crop Revenue Insurance Affect Returns to Farm Land

A simulation model incorporating price and yield variability is used to examine the impact of government farm program and crop revenue coverage (CRC) insurance payments on the probability distribution of returns to land. Results indicate that Marketing Loan Program payments have the greatest impact on both the mean and standard deviation of returns. Agricultural Market Transition Act payments shift the distribution of returns without changing the variability, creating a reduction in relative risk. Market loss assistance payments increase the mean, reduce variability, and increase skewness. When combined, farm programs substantially increase the value that risk-averse producers place on the residual returns to land and substantially reduce the certainty equivalent value of CRC.     

Agricultural Trade among NAFTA Countries: A Case Study of U.S. Meat Exports

The U.S. NAFTA partners are important markets for U.S. meat exports. A source-differentiated almost ideal demand system is used in this study to estimate meat demand in Canada and Mexico. Empirical results suggest that while a U.S. price increase in the Canadian market is expected to increase U.S. sales revenues; it would decrease sales revenues in the Mexican market. Furthermore, an increase in meat expenditures in Canada and Mexico is expected to increase the demand for U.S. meats, while the bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreaks have had a negative effect on U.S. and Canadian beef market shares. Finally, a decomposition of the causes of changes in demand for U.S. meats over time is performed.     

退耕还林:林木收益权的法律局限和预期收益分析

本文对《森林法》和《退耕还林条例》等相关法律法规分析表明,退耕农户从其依法享有的采伐利用权所获得的收益受到严格限制,而且,退耕农户的补偿收益和景观开发收益具有较强的不确定性.对林木预期收益测算表明,退耕农户经营林木的收益具有很强时滞性.     

退耕还林工程生态效益监测探讨

生态效益监测是评价退耕还林工程实施成效的重要组成部分。文章描述了退耕还林工程生态效益监测的现状,给出了退耕还林工程生态效益监测的一些初步成果,分析了效益监测中存在的监测站点少、监测体系不健全、监测经费严重不足、技术含量不高等问题,提出了构建监测体系、规范监测方法、加大资金投入、实现数据共享等对策建议。     

A Political Economic Analysis of U.S. Rice Export Programs to Japan and South Korea: A Game-Theoretic Approach

The Uruguay Round Agreement on agriculture has contributed to the increase in U.S. and world rice trade since 1994. Despite this, the Japanese and Korean rice markets continue to be characterized by high levels of trade intervention. This article attempts to analyze both import markets incorporating econometric estimates and public choice theory in a game-theoretic framework. Various scenarios are analyzed. The results show that the overall Nash equilibrium occurs with a 4% tariff reduction for Japan and Korea under the U.S. Market Development Program, which includes the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.     

农户采纳保护性耕作技术影响因素研究

本文基于山西、河北、天津、北京四个省份调研样本的基础上,对保护性耕作技术体系中的秸秆还田和免耕播种两项技术农户采纳情况分别构建logit模型,定量分析农户采纳这两项技术的主要影响因素.分析结果表明,农户对两项技术的采纳倾向都受到政府的强制或补贴措施、粮食商品化程度、户主身体健康状况三个因素的正向影响.此外,秸秆还田技术的采纳还受到秸秆是否有经济用途、农户劳均土地块数两个因素的负向影响;免耕播种技术的采纳还受到家庭人均受教育程度、户主年龄、农户对免耕播种技术的评价三个因素的正向影响.     

A Political Economic Analysis of U.S. Rice Export Programs to Japan and South Korea: A Game Theoretic Approach

The Uruguay Round Agreement on agriculture (UR) has contributed to the increase in U.S. and world rice trade since 1994. Despite this, the Japanese and Korean rice markets continue to be characterized by high levels of trade intervention. This paper attempts to analyze both import markets incorporating econometric estimates and public choice theory in a game theoretic framework. Various scenarios are analyzed. The results show that the overall Nash equilibrium occurs with a 4% tariff reduction for Japan and Korea under the U.S. Market Development Program, which includes the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program.     

The U.S. Federal Crop Insurance Program

The US. Federal Crop Insurance Program has evolved from a government-run yield insurance program for wheat farmers to a public-private partnership that provides a variety of yield and revenue insurance products to producers of over 100 different crops. US. policy-makers continue to struggle with defining an appropriate role for the federal government in helping crop farmers manage revenue risk. New approaches using area-yield or weather-based options may hold promise for the future