Noel D. Uri

Perceptions on the use of no-till farming in production agriculture in the United States: an analysis of survey results

Abstract A number of economic and environmental benefits are associated with the use of no-till in production agriculture in the United States. There are lower labor, energy, and machinery costs associated with no-till farming relative to conventional tillage systems and other types of conservation tillage. Reduced erosion and runoff associated with no-till also lead to a number of environmental benefits, including a reduction in water quality impairment. The objective of this study is to assess farmers’ perception of their actual use of no-till. An analysis of the Agricultural Resource Management Study survey data for 1996 shows that for soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), spring wheat, and durum wheat, farmers’ perceptions are consistent with reality. In the case of corn (Zea mays L.), however, nearly 18% of corn farmers believe they are using no-till, while in actuality, only slightly more than 12% are using this tillage system. In order to properly associate the benefits of no-till with its use, it is important that farmers’ perception of what constitutes no-till and their actual use of no-till be consistent.

Measuring productivity change in telecommunications

Incentive regulation in the form of price caps is now an important regulatory tool in the telecommunications industry in the United States. As part of the implementation of incentive regulation, there is a need to measure accurately the change in productivity. In this paper an approach is introduced that not only provides a measure of the change in productivity but the technique also allows for a decomposition into two mutually exclusive and exhaustive components - changes in technical efficiency over time and shifts in technology over time. Using data on four output measures and six input measures for three time periods for 19 individual LECs, the indicate that productivity increased by about 34% between 1988 and 1998 or about 3.0% per year. This growth is due primarily to innovation rather than improvements in efficiency. Of the 19 LECs in the sample, 12 were operating efficiently throughout the entire 1988-1998 period. Of the remaining 7, 5 showed a slight improvement in efficiency while the efficiency of two declined. In the aggregate, however, efficiency improved. Finally, a comparison is made between two methods of estimating the change in productivity. The conventional-growth-accounting approach and the Malmquist index approach yield somewhat different results. Essentially the same data are used so that the primary difference is most likely in the technique applied.

Changing productive efficiency in telecommunications in the United States

Abstract The issue explored is whether incentive regulation in the telecommunications industry in the United States has resulted in an increase in productive efficiency. After providing an overview of the nature of incentive regulation, the methodology for measuring the effects of incentive regulation on productive efficiency is reviewed. This methodology is data envelopment analysis (DEA) and allows for the measurement of both technical efficiency and allocative efficiency of individual local exchange carriers. The results of empirically implementing the DEA approach indicate that in the aggregate there is little change in technical efficiency. In fact, average technical efficiency in 1989 was the same as in 1998. Next, while outputs continued to grow at about their historical rate across LECs, the sizeable increase in the two types of capital increased inputs well above their historical average rates for some LECs leading to short-run allocative inefficiency. On average, however, allocative efficiency shows no identifiable trend between 1988 and 1998. Finally, in the aggregate, total economic efficiency, what incentive regulation in the telecommunications industry in the United States was designed to promote, does not have a demonstrable trend between 1988 and 1998.

A Note on Soil Erosion and Its Environmental Consequences in the United States

Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reduction ofsoil depth can impair the lands productivity, and the transportof sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. Since1933, soil conservation policies have existed in the UnitedStates. Originally they focused on the on-farm benefits ofkeeping soil on the land and increasing net farm income.Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goals increasinglyincluded reductions in off-site impacts of erosion. As aconsequence of conservation efforts associated with explicitU.S. government policies, total soil erosion between 1982 and1992 was reduced by 32% and the sheet and rill erosion ratefell from an average of 4.1 tons per acre per year in 1982 to 3.1 tons per acre in 1992. Wind erosion rate fell from anaverage of 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.4 tons per acre peryear over the same period. Still, soil erosion is imposingsubstantial social costs. These costs are estimated to be about

Agriculture and the Environment – The Problem of Soil Erosion

37.6 billion annually. To further reduce soil erosion andthereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number of policyoptions available to induce farmers to adopt conservationpractices including education and technical assistance,financial assistance, research and development, land retirement,and regulation and taxes.

The adoption of incentive regulation and its effect on technical efficiency in telecommunications in the United States

ABSTRACT Soil erosion has both on-farm and off-farm impacts. Reduction of soil depth can impair the lands productivity, and the transport of sediments can degrade streams, lakes, and estuaries. Since 1933, soil conservation policies have existed in the United States. Originally they focused on the on-farm benefits of keeping soil on the land and increasing net farm income. Beginning in the 1980s, however, policy goals increasingly included reductions in off-site impacts of erosion. As a consequence of conservation efforts associated with explicit U.S. government policies, total soil erosion between 1982 and 1992 was reduced by 32 percent and the sheet and rill erosion rate fell from an average of 4.1 tons per acre per year in 1982 to 3.1 tons per acre in 1992 while the wind erosion rate fell from an average of 3.3 tons per acre per year to 2.4 tons per acre per year over the same period. Still, soil erosion is imposing substantial social costs. These costs are estimated to be about

Productivity Change, Technical Progress, and Efficiency Improvement in Telecommunications

37.6 billion annually. To further reduce soil erosion and thereby mitigate its social costs, there are a number of policy options available to induce farmers to adopt conservation practices including education and technical assistance, financial assistance, research and development, land retirement, and regulation and taxes.

Conservation practices in U.S. agriculture and their impact on carbon sequestration.

Abstract Incentive regulation has become an important regulatory tool in the telecommunications industry in the United States. The issue explored here is whether incentive regulation has resulted in an increase in efficiency. After providing an overview of the nature of incentive regulation, a methodology for measuring technical efficiency and its change is introduced. This is a multiple-output/multiple-input distance function approach to measuring technical efficiency. The results of implementing this approach for 19 local exchange carriers for the 1988–1999 period indicate that in the production of local service, intrastate toll/access service, and interstate access to local loops, there was no change in technical efficiency between the 1988–1990 period and the 1991–1999 period, something that incentive regulation was specifically designed to promote.

Conservation practices in US agriculture and their implication for global climate change

Implementation of incentive regulation intelecommunications requires the accurate measurementof the change in productivity. An approach isintroduced that not only provides a measure of thechange in productivity but also allows for adecomposition into two mutually exclusive andexhaustive components – changes in technicalefficiency over time and shifts in technology overtime. Using annual data on four output measures andsix input measures for the period 1988 to 1998 fornineteen individual local exchange carriers, theresults indicate that productivity increased by about5.0 percent per year. This growth is due primarily toinnovation rather than improvements in efficiency. Ofthe nineteen LECs in the sample, thirteen wereoperating efficiently throughout the entire 1988–1998period. Of the remaining six, two showed a slightimprovement in efficiency while the efficiency of fourdeclined. In the aggregate, however, there wasvirtually no change in efficiency. Finally, acomparison is made between two methods of estimatingthe change in productivity. The conventional growthaccounting approach yields a lower estimate of therate of change in productivity than does the Malmquistindex approach. The difference between theseestimates is interpreted as the lower bound of thebias associated with the conventional growthaccounting approach to measuring the growth inproductivity.

The Potential Impact of Conservation Practices in US Agriculture on Global Climate Change

Increase in the use of conservation practices byagriculture in the United States will enhance soilorganic carbon and potentially increase carbonsequestration. This, in turn, will decrease the netemission of carbon dioxide. A number of studies existthat calibrate the contribution of various individual,site-specific conservation practices on changes insoil organic carbon. There is a general absence,however, of a comprehensive effort to measureobjectively the contribution of these practicesincluding conservation tillage, the ConservationReserve Program, and conservation buffer strips to anchange in soil organic carbon. This paper fills thatvoid. After recounting the evolution of the use ofthe various conservation practices, it is estimatedthat organic carbon in the soil in 1998 in the UnitedStates attributable to these practices was about 12.2million metric tons. By 2008, there will be anincrease of about 25%. Given that there is asignificant potential for conservation practices tolead to an increase in carbon sequestration, there area number of policy options that can be pursued.