Bill B. Golden

Factors Influencing Kansas Agricultural Farm Land Values

Land transactions typically involve a substantial investment of time and money for parties involved in the sale. Because of the size of the investment and infrequency of purchases/sales, significant personal interaction between buyer and seller often results. In this study, farmland sales in 104 of 105 Kansas counties from 1986–2000 were examined to quantify the influence of personal relationships and changes over time. Transactions between related parties resulted in a 43% discount on the per acre sales price. Results indicated that social capital effects have increased over time, with the discount on sales between related parties growing 2% per year. (JEL Q12, Q14)

Economic efficiency of short-term versus long-term water rights buyouts

Because of the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, water districts, regional water managers, and state water officers are becoming increasingly interested in conservation policies. This study evaluates both short-term and long-term water rights buyout policies. This research develops dynamic production functions for the major crops in the Texas Panhandle. The production functions are incorporated into optimal temporal allocation models that project annual producer behavior, crop choices, water use, and aquifer declines over 60 years. Results suggest that long-term buyouts may be more economically efficient than short-term buyouts.

Agency Theory Issues in the Food Processing Industry

The objective is to identify significant determinants of performance for food processing firms over the 1992 to 2003 time period, focusing particularly on the issue of family control. Variables measuring firm effects such as asset size, governance, income distribution, and risk are used to explain return on equity. This study builds upon previous research by including a measure of income distribution in the food processing industry. Governance variables are found to be significant determinants of return on equity. The results found no evidence of agency problems in family-controlled firms during this time period.

Combining hedonic and negative exponential techniques to estimate the market value of land

Given the importance of land valuation to various stakeholders, the objective of this research is to estimate a theoretically sound model to model the market value of land in Kansas, accounting for urban influence and site specific characteristics. The model is estimated using data on all sales of agricultural land in Kansas between 1996 and 2004. Results indicate that the upward, urban pressure on price is greater for Kansas City relative to Wichita. Kansas City had a much slower rate of decay than either Wichita or cities with a population of more than 10,000.

Groundwater Policy Research: Collaboration with Groundwater Conservation Districts in Texas

The unique nature of the Ogallala Aquifer presents interesting and confounding problems for water policymakers who are coping with changing groundwater rules in Texas. The purpose of this article is to link previous efforts in water policy research for the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas with current collaborations that are ongoing with regional water planners. A chronological progression of economic water modeling efforts for the region is reviewed. The results of two recent collaborative studies are presented that provide estimates of impacts of alternative policies on groundwater saturated thickness, water use, net farm income, and regional economic activities.

Potential economic impacts of water-use changes in Southwest Kansas

This research considers three policy scenarios aimed at reducing groundwater consumption in three high priority subareas of southwest Kansas. The three policy scenarios include: (1) a Status Quo scenario where there is no change in water-use policy, (2) an Immediate Conversion to Dryland scenario where all groundwater pumping is halted, and (3) a Reallocation scenario, which allows only a 40% reduction in saturated thickness in 25 years. Each policy scenario is simulated under normal versus drought weather conditions. Results suggest that, from both a community and producer perspective, groundwater conservation policy can generate positive economic gains.