Public Policy in the 21st Century: Is Prairie Agriculture Becoming Like Any Other Industry? Does it Matter?

The question addressed in this paper is whether Prairie agriculture has become like any other industry. The implication is that a positive response would lead to the conclusion that it should therefore be treated like any other industry rather than being accorded the special status that it has enjoyed for more than a century
We show that, as net farm incomes have declined over the past 35 years, Prairie farmers have responded by seeking other (non-farm) sources of income. At the time of the 1996 census, net farm income accounted for only 31 percent of farm family income (down from 75 percent in 1967). By 1999, the contribution of net farm income was even lower than in 1996
In spite of the dwindling contribution of net farm income to farm family income, average farm family income in Saskatchewan has exceeded average provincial household income for all but two years between 1971 and 1998, Under these circumstances, it is necessary to ask why it is in the public interest to subsidize an activity which, in recent good times, produced 31 percent of the income of a subset of the population whose household incomes were 10–15 percent above the provincial average
Based on income levels, it is probably no longer necessary to accord farm families special status in the public policy arena. However, other policy considerations (immobility of resources, the role of agriculture in the rural economy, environmental considerations, food safety and security, for example) remain, differentiating agriculture from other industries     

On exploiting scale economies

Indivisibilities give rise to scale economies in the provision of many local public services. Exploitation of these scale economies often requires that the activities of several communities be coordinated. In this study we analyze the game analog to a simple waste collection system in order to determine the requirements for the design of a financing system that will sustain optimal participation in a regional service system plan. We find that market based pricing in the face of scale economies created by indivisibilities will generally not support an optimal partition of communities into service districts. We also find that characterization of the game structure of local public service delivery systems is feasible and provides information for designing appropriate cost-sharing arrangements.     

Cross‐modal Interactions between Color and Texture of Food

Color has a profound influence on human perception. Not only does it cause changes in physiological or emotional states, it can shape what is perceived in other sensory modalities. However, the body of research on these “cross‐modal” experiences has predominantly examined color's influence on taste and smell. As such, the aim of this study was to identify the cross‐modal influence of color on the sense of touch. In four experiments involving food products, the cross‐modal interaction between color and texture was found to be automatic, unlearned, and a moderating effect on perceived texture. Furthermore, results indicate a person's haptic predisposition, or “need for touch,” influences their sensitivity to these cross‐modal effects. This research builds on current theory involving color, presents a number of areas for future research, and discusses managerial implications of color–texture cross‐modal interactions.     

A note on multiproduct economies of scale and economies of scope

Two measures of (local) economies of scale for a firm producing more than two products are derived using measures of product-specific economies of scale and economics of scope. The latter is especially useful for econometric estimation and testing.     

Financial planning and forecasting models: an overview

This article reviews the past progress of financial planning models and takes a brief look into their future. Mathematical models that can be solved via computers to give financial managers insights into the future are the focus of the discussion.     

Minority business development: Where do we go from here?

Summary It is the contention here that the development of secondary markets to add liquidity to minority and small business equity and investors will greatly increase the flow of investment funds to institutions that originate those assets. While that may be true, investment originators can also create derivatives to contain the risk or to speculate in those markets. Also, investment originators can issue bonds or certificates using their minority C & I assets as securities.