On defining geographic markets

A number of different approaches for empirically defining a geograhic market are explored in this paper. It is demonstrated that the rest proposed by Horowitz, and even a generalization of it,provide conflicting and inconsistent results. Correlation analysis, while appealing in its simplicity, has the potential for providing misleading results. Finally, the notion of causality as applied here, seems to be a promising approach to the issue.     

Government policy and the development and use of biopesticides

Biopesticides developed and used in the future will emerge against the backdrop of the environmental effects associated with the use of conventional pesticides and government policies designed to control these effects. In the final analysis, farmers' choices on pesticides will be influenced by the prevailing costs and benefits of conventional pesticides and their alternatives including biopesticides. The outlook for pesticide use is complicated, though some directions can be perceived. There are a number of factors that will serve potentially to impact pesticide use which in turn will affect the development of biopesticides. These include pesticide regulation, the FAIR Act, the crops planted, the management of ecologically-based systems, and consumer demand for ‘green' products.     

Experimental methods: Between-subject and within-subject design

In this article we explore the issues that surround within-subject and between-subject designs. We describe experiments in economics and in psychology that make comparisons using either of these designs (or both) that sometimes yield the same results and sometimes do not. The overall goal is to establish a framework for understanding which critical questions need to be asked about such experimental studies, what authors of such studies can do to ameliorate fears of confoundedness, and which scenarios are particularly susceptible to divergent results from the two approaches. Overall, we find that both designs have their merits, and the choice of designs should be carefully considered in the context of the question being studied and in terms of the practical implementation of the research study.     

The pattern of demand in the United States.

The objective of this paper is to examine the demand for goods and services in the United States using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). The focus is on testing the theoretical properties of demand. The model fits the data well. The suggestion is that food, clothing, housing and transportation are necessities while medical care and recreation are luxuries. The notion of homogeneity is generally accepted while symmetry is soundly rejected. Finally, negativity is shown to hold.     

The industrial demand for energy

This paper uses a constant elasticity of substitution production function to examine the extent of factor substitutability in the production of industrial goods. Subsequently, the degree of interfuel substitution is estimated and it is demonstrated that all energy sources are substitutable. Finally, the stability of the demand for various energy sources is empirically tested for and it is concluded that over the period of investigation the demand has in fact remained unaltered.     

A dynamic demand analysis for electrical energy by class of consumer

Conclusion In the preceding discussion, the price responsiveness of consumers has been estimated. The results not only indicate consumer reaction to changes in price is significant, but also they should completely dispel any argument over the efficacy of the market mechanism to restore equilibrium between supply and demand. Note, however, that demand is relatively inelastic, implying that a large change in price is needed to induce a sufficient change in the quantity demanded for the restoration of equilibrium. If the problem is to curtail the sales of electricial energy, the solution is obvious. The author would like to thank Joseph R. Antos and J. Wilson Mixon of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for helpful comments. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the policies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the views of other BLS staff members.     

A note on spatial and temporal price and allocation modeling: Quadratic programming or linear complementary programming?

This paper presents a clarification of the specific conditions under which the linear complementary programming (LCP) formulation, instead of the quadratic programming (QP) formulation, is applicable in such areas as spatial and temporal price and allocation modeling. An important condition for the use of the LCP formulation is that the coefficient matrix of the demand and/or supply functions is asymmetric. Dynamic formulations can be treated as a LCP but it is demonstrated that the problem can be reformulated in a standard QP format.     

Modeling oil refinery operations

This paper develops a model to analyze the relative responsiveness of refined petroleum product output to changes in the relative prices of these products. A scheme is devised and implemented that shares out total production into motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil, kerojet fuel, and other refined products. A multinomial logit specification is used whereby the share of each of these products is a function of relative prices, a seasonal factor, and the relative amount of crude output to total product output. Finally, the structural stability of the estimated relationships are tested for and the null hypothesis of stability is not rejected.     

Banks,bankruptcy, and public regulation

In a simple state-preference model with a complete capital market, some surprising implications of equilibrium in the banking industry are derived. For example, to limit a bank's probability of bankruptcy, it is sufficient for public regulators to control the composition and relative size of its portfolio or marketable securities. Generally, its loans need not be restricted. Also, under most publicly subsidized deposit insurance, bankers select very risky portfolios of bonds and loans with or without any risk adjustment in the insurance premium. In fact, with many types of subsidized insurance, public monitoring of bank loans is essential.