Denise Stanley

The economics of the adoption of BMPs: the case of mariculture water management.

Abstract How shrimp mariculture interacts with the natural environment is a topic receiving growing attention from industry members and environmental organizations. The farms’ use of water, and subsequent discharge problems, represent important inter- and intra-industry externalities. The non-point source nature of the pollution problem suggests direct effluent regulation is unfeasible, and voluntary adoption of best management practices is the current approach favored by the industry and international organizations. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of one such management practice, reduced water exchange. Significant reductions in pond pumping diesel costs, alongside possible reductions in pond productivity and shrimp size, are expected from this technique. Social benefits could follow from the reduction of nitrogen and other effluent loadings. But adoption problems are expected due to the current inability to value longer-term private and social benefits of the practice and the risk-creating nature of the technique. Voluntary compliance with sustainable practices could be enhanced by complementary policy tools and a role of governments in coastal zone management.

The Economic Impact of Mariculture on a Small Regional Economy

Abstract This case study of southern Honduras explores whether new exports act as staples or promote enclave development. Aquaculture exhibits low backward and strong forward linkages. However, reliance on imported inputs is likely to increase as vertical integration, disease and quality concerns grow. In addition, there are only minor fiscal linkages through municipality taxes, and the region has received a minor share of the surpluses generated. Shrimp farmers have tended to use reinvestment to deepen, rather than widen, their activities. Any moderate consumption linkages remain dependent upon the ecological health of the export sector itself.

DETERMINANTS OF INTRAINDUSTRY TRADE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND INDUSTRIAL NATIONS

This paper investigates determinants of intraindustry trade between the United States and twenty-two industrial nations. Included here are country-level characteristics suggested by modern models of monopolistic competition and trade and industry-level variables relating to imperfect competition, scale economies, and product differentiation. Country-level determinants of intraindustry trade include relative factor endowment differences, relative country size differences, distance, trade orientation, and the trade balance. Measures of factor intensity, scale economies, market structure, and product differentiation are included as country-level variables. Findings generally support predictions of modern trade theories. [F1]

Explaining persistent conflict among resource users: The case of Honduran mariculture

Numerous examples of environmental degradation and conflict among resource users have arisen in areas impacted by mariculture. In particular, instances of mangrove deforestation, destruction of the bycatch fishery, and estuary water pollution are growing concerns. This article presents an in‐depth case study of Honduran mariculture to explain the persistence of these conflicts among resource users. Different explanations for the persistence of externalities—based on the resource type, information problems, resource tenure, and the role of the state—are integrated in an analysis of three environmental conflicts. The article concludes that the link between tenure and environmental degradation is incomplete, and establishing an indirect relationship between users ‘ actions and environmental quality is an important first task.

Can Technology Improve Large Class Learning? The Case of an Upper-Division Business Core Class

Larger classes are often associated with lower student achievement. The author tested the hypothesis that the introduction of personal response systems significantly improves scores in a 250-seat classroom, through the channels of improved attendance and engagement. She focused on how continuous participation with the technology could change learning results. The author found that overall attendance rose when the response system was introduced. Regression results show student exam performance during the semester with technology was improved significantly by I-Clicker points per session rather than attendance, while the reverse holds true regarding unannounced quizzes.

Strategy and Etiquette for Graduate Students Entering the Academic Job Market

This article highlights important issues for graduate students seeking academic employment in agricultural economics. Emphasis is placed on developing a strategy to provide clear and reliable signals that the candidate will be a successful assistant professor, not just a successful graduate student. Publishing, teaching, and grant writing are identified as three important areas in which credible signals must be delivered. Advice regarding the interview process is also provided.

Wealth Distribution and Imperfect Factor Markets: A Classroom Experiment

Abstract The author presents a simple exercise to demonstrate how initial property distribution can affect final wealth patterns in developing areas of the world. The simulation is a variant of the Monopoly board game in which students role play different members of a market in which they each face different rules of credit access and salary patterns. The property distribution and new mortgage rules reflect the reality of many developing areas. The simulation can be completed in one full class period and has proven successful in making students more sensitive to wealth distribution issues. Students have suggested several variations of this simulation to make it applicable across more settings.

The Effectiveness of Financial Literacy Instruction: The Role of Individual Development Accounts Participation and The Intensity of Instruction.

We examine improvements in financial knowledge for 8th-grade participants in our financial fitness camp, part of our multifaceted financial literacy program. Eighty-three students enrolled in the camp, and 59 had individual development accounts (IDA). We address several issues raised in the literature by focusing on low-income, predominantly Hispanic students, varying the treatment intensity, comparing outcomes for students in our IDA program with those who are not, addressing the potential endogeneity of IDA participation, and testing for selection bias. Financial knowledge increased by approximately 12 percentage points from camp participation. Standardized Language Arts scores, rather than treatment intensity or IDA participation, most affected gains in financial knowledge. There was no evidence of selection bias. Parents with high “present bias” were less likely to enroll their students in the camp, implying that integrating financial literacy education in the regular school curriculum will better serve students in such families.

Risk management in gathering economies

Abstract This article extends the literature on the interplay of environmental risk and welfare into the setting of coastal fisheries gathering. It reviews the sources of covariate and idiosyncratic production risk creating income shocks to gatherers and discusses the institutions that best mediate shocks across different settings. We rely upon a principal-agent framework between larva-gathering agents employed by boat-owning principals who supply seed to shrimp farms. Two datasets from a Central American fishery are used to test the hypotheses concerning contractual performance across environments. Which contract provides the highest mean income (and variation) depends upon the underlying production catch data. In the farm production records dataset with strong catch trends, a simplified relative payments contract would perform better in reducing income risk in locations of stronger covariate shocks, but at the price of significantly lower mean earnings for gatherers. In areas of idiosyncratic shocks, such as localised water pollution, piece-rate contracts would perform better. Objective risk exposure to gatherers was lower under relative payments, supporting the hypotheses. Actual results in the Honduran case were conditioned by imperfect labour markets and the substitutability of hatchery larva.

Efficiency and equity tradeoffs: incentive-compatible contracts revisited

Abstract While the efficiency of certain contractual choices has been well established, less attention has been given to the distributional outcomes of contracting in natural resource-based industries. Data from a case study of seed gatherers in Honduras demonstrates that workers paid under a relative payment system receive an earnings premium of about 25%, of which 40% cannot be explained by observed differences in worker productivity. A theoretical agency model is outlined in the appendix to explain why workers under tournaments necessarily enjoy a higher return than those under piece-rates, implying a more skewed income distribution as suggested in the efficiency wage literature.