No abstract

Concern for the potentially harmful side effects of agricultural chemical inputs, especially pesticides, highlights the need to accurately determine the economic levels of their use. We consider three model specification issues: interaction of direct production inputs with damage control inputs in damage abatement, justification for a priori exclusion of production inputs from the abatement function, and the motivations and consequences of alternative stochastic specifications. Empirical analysis using farm-level data shows that misspecification of the stochastic element in the production function can overestimate the marginal physical productivity of pesticides and grossly underestimate the responsiveness of demand to increases in pesticide prices. Copyright 1997, Oxford University Press.

Just-Pope production functions have been traditionally estimated by feasible generalized least squares (FGLS). This paper investigates the small-sample properties of FGLS and maximum likelihood (ML) estimators in heteroscedastic error models. Monte Carlo experiment results show that in small samples, even when the error distribution departs significantly from normality, the ML estimator is more efficient and suffers from less bias than FGLS. Importantly, FGLS was found to seriously understate the risk effects of inputs and provide biased marginal product estimates. These results are explained by showing that the FGLS criteria being optimized at the multiple stages are not logically consistent.

This paper examines economic, sociocultural, and behavioral risk factors that influence the compensating price difference (premium paid) between sex with and without a condom for female sex workers (FSWs) in U.S.-Mexico border cities. Field data collected in Ciudad Juarez on the price of sex with and without a condom for the same FSW respondent allowed calculation of the price premium for unprotected sex based on these paired prices, holding unobservable characteristics constant. A Tobit model was used to identify the factors determining the price premium. Key predictors of a larger price premium for sex without a condom included: length of time as a FSW; number of male clients; and participation in HIV education. Key predictors of a decrease in the price premium for unprotected sex included: age; a bad financial situation; frequent alcohol consumption before or during sex; and frequent drug use before or during sex.

The production of certain agricultural products follows an alternate bearing pattern of large and small crops. Many agricultural products also experience seasonal shifts in demand. Such patterns present a natural opportunity for profitable inventories. This paper applies state‐space modeling techniques to the problem of modeling cyclical patterns in supply and demand and presents an application to the determination of inventory levels for such agricultural products using linear quadratic control.