GOAL PROGRAMMING AND MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING IN FARM PLANNING: AN EXPOSITORY ANALYSIS

Several paradigms can be used to analyse multiple-criteria decision-making problems. Of these goal programming is probably the most widely used one, at least in management science. Goal programming seems to offer considerable potential for application to multiple-criteria problems in farm planning. However, its applications in agricultural economics have been few and far between. Even these attempts seem to suffer from some serious misconceptions. In this paper an effort is made to explain the structure of a goal programming model by deriving it from the familiar paradigm of linear programming. This is done to put the potential usefulness of goal programming and its relationship to linear programming in perspective, and to encourage further applications to multiple-criteria decision-making in farm planning.     

TOWARDS PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR MULTIPLE USE MANAGEMENT*

The general acceptance of multiple use as a desirable management goal has not been matched by practical guidelines to implement and achieve that goal. As Pearse [5] rightly noted, the most serious obstacles to applying multiple use principles are usually the lack of appropriate data and lack of established methodology. This study did not face prohibitive problems in valuing extra-market goods, but as with all multiple use studies, it did face the problem of applying the standard economic model of the multi-product firm. It is hoped this particular empirical application of the model contributes generally to the provision of guidelines for multiple use management.     

Technical efficiency of sawnwood production in Ondo and Osun states,Nigeria

This study quantified technical efficiency and the determinants of observed technical inefficiency of sawmills in Nigeria. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 170 sawmillers in Ondo and Osun states, while questionnaire was used to obtain data from them between October and December 2003. The stochastic frontier approach was used to estimate technical efficiency of both small- and medium-scale sawmills, while the ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis was used to estimate the determinants of the observed technical inefficiency. Empirical results indicate that medium-scale sawmillers are more efficient than their small-scale counterparts. However, both groups of sawmillers in Nigeria have potentials to expand their output.     

Measurement error and panel data1

The underidentification of linear models with measurement error does not necessarily extend to panel data models, as has been shown by GAiliches and Hausman (1986). We discuss and extend some of their results for a simple case and address particular issues concerning identification and asymptotic variances.