Donald W. Larson

An Assessment of Student Acceptance and Performance in Distance Education with Two-Way Interactive Compressed Video

This paper summarizes the debate concerning the value of distance education, reports distance education experiences in agricultural economics courses at The Ohio State University, and analyzes the effects of “distance” on student performance in and acceptance of the distance course. Results suggest that distance and “live” students performed equally in the same course, and they evaluated the course experience in a similar manner. These results provide some assurance that distance education, at least using the two-way interactive synchronous learning model of the courses in this study, does not place the distant student in jeopardy. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.

Linking of U.S. monetary policy and exchange rates to world soybean markets

The linkage between macroeconomic policies and agricultural commodity trade has become an important research issue of agricultural economists. This paper investigates the macroeconomic linkage of soybean trade competition between the exporting countries of the United States, Brazil, and Argentina in the EC-12 and Japan import markets. It is argued that U.S. monetary growth may have important impacts on the competitive position of U.S. soybean exports through exchange rates. Two relationships are investigated: (a) the effects of U.S. monetary growth on the agricultural trade weighted exchange rates, and (b) the responsiveness of agricultural commodity prices and U.S. exports to exchange rate movements. Results indicate that a weak dollar increases imports of soybeans and soymeal significantly which serves to increase the equilibrium world price and increase both U.S. and Brazilj Argentina exports in the long run. However, during periods of more expansionary U.S. monetary policy there is little evidence of significant increases in market share position for U.S. soybeans and soymeal in world markets.

Pre-Harvest Pricing Strategies in Ohio Corn Markets: Their Effect on Returns and Cash Flow

This paper contributes to the debate on whether pre-harvest pricing strategies can improve returns over cash sales at harvest. It also examines cash flow needs of such strategies. The analysis is conducted for Ohio corn produced from 1986 through 1999. The pre-harvest strategies evaluated (short futures, long put, synthetic long put, put-call fence) did not statistically improve returns over cash sales at harvest. However, if implemented during or before planting, these naive strategies reduced the standard deviation of annual gross income. Substantial cash flow may be incurred, either to establish the strategy or meet margin calls. Therefore, assessments of pre-harvest pricing strategies should include cash flow needs, along with return and risk. Key Words: cash flow risk, pre-harvest pricing strategies, price risk.

Factors Affecting the Supply of Off-Farm Labor Among Small Farmers in Taiwan

Many low-income countries have achieved rapid economic growth in recent years, but the benefits of this growth often have been concentrated in the hands of few individuals. Poverty among small farmers is still one of the most serious problems confronting these countries. Two main strategies have been used to deal with the small farmer problem. The first strategy has stressed development of new technology and production services to increase the productivity and profitability of the resources used in agriculture. This approach often benefits large farmers more than small farmers because the limited land hold-

REGIONAL SHORT-RUN EFFECTS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION IN BRAZIL

We use a single-country multi-regional computable general equilibrium model to evaluate regional short-run impacts of reduction in import tariffs resulting from recent free trade area agreements, on poverty and distribution of income in Brazil. Results show that trade can reduce inter-regional income inequality, but poor urban households lose with trade liberalization. Trade policy alone is not sufficient for achieving more equitable income distribution goals in Brazil. Without greater investment in human and physical capital, incomes in most regions of Brazil are likely to lag behind incomes in the South/Southeast, the most developed regions in the country.

Changing competitiveness in world soybean markets

Competitiveness in world markets is the foundation upon which the GATT negotiations and the New Economic Order are built. In this article the changing competitiveness in world soybean markets is evaluated relative to government policy and natural resources. The landed cost of soybeans at Rotterdam and Japan favors Argentina and Brazil over the US. For soybeans and soybean products combined, the US has steadily lost export market share from about 95% in the early 1970s to 45% in 1990. The Brazilian share has grown to 30% and the Argentine share to 16% in this same period. A fundamental shift from the export of soybeans to more soybean product exports has occurred largely because of policies favoring product exports from Argentina and Brazil.

Spatial organization of marketing facilities in developing countries: A case study of oilseeds in Sudan

Little attention has been devoted to the study of spatial organization of marketing facilities in developing countries, even though such studies would be most useful for a wide range of marketing problems. The results of such studies could be valuable to private and public decision-makers in developing countries whose policies and decisions determine the number, size and location of marketing facilities. The spatial organization model developed in this paper for application to the oilseeds industry in Sudan demonstrates the relevance of this research technique for developing country studies of marketing facilities. A linear programming transshipment model is utilized to determine the optimal spatial organization of oilseeds in Sudan when the costs of oilseed assembly, processing and distribution of oil and cake to final destinations are considered simultaneously. The optimal spatial organization of oilseed processing plants was determined for six alternative solutions. Model results indicate that the optimal organization of processing plants would be obtained with fewer and larger plants, resulting in lower transportation costs.

Spatial and seasonal price differences: A case study of sorghum producers in Sudan

Abstract Spatial and seasonal price difference for sorghum in the Sudan are investigated. Results indicate that the producers share of the consumer price is low. Seasonal price spreads indicate an excess return to the storage function. Causes of these large price differences are poor marketing infrastructure and government policy.

A DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS OF GRAIN MARKET STRUCTURE IN SELECTED STATES OF THE SOUTH AND CORNBELT

Scherers industrial organization model is modified to characterize the grain marketing system. The modified model identifies the important relationships between economic characteristics and the type of grain facilities found in three states; Alabama, Illinois, and Ohio. Multivariate linear discriminate analysis is used to identify the important basic supply, demand, and transportation variables within and among these states. It is concluded that the structural differences among selected grain marketing regions can be explained by regional differences in basic supply, demand, and transportation variables. The findings suggest that Scherers industrial organization model can be adapted to explain the diverse structure of the grain marketing system in selected states.

The Effects of Maize Market and Policy Reforms on Price Discovery and Competitiveness in Zimbabwe, 1991–1997

Abstract Maize is Zimbabwes staple food. An adequate supply of maize is essential to food security and domestic stability. A series of droughts and government mismanagement of the economy led to a maize production and food security problem in the 1980s. Zimbabwes maize marketing system was transformed dramatically from a government monopoly to a competitive market system in which prices are determined by market forces in the 1990s. This paper examines the steps that Zimbabwe took towards maize market reform and the benefits of that reform. The movement to a competitive market led to formation of a commodity exchange to improve price discovery and increase price transparency. De-regulation has increased entry and competitiveness from new private sector hammer millers and traders. Farmers, millers, and traders face new profit opportunities and new price and financial risks that have increased management responsibilities. Consumers enjoy lower cost maize meal products and more convenient service. The benefits of the 1991–1997 reforms indicate what could be achieved in the long run if prices are determined by the market, rather than by the government.