Stephen Devadoss

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Student Class Attendance and Performance

This study quantifies the effects of student behavior, teacher attributes, and course characteristics on class attendance and performance. Several notable factors that influence attendance and grades are motivation, prior grade point average (GPA), self-financing by students, hours worked on jobs, quality of teaching, and nature of class lectures. This study provides strong empirical evidence of the positive influence of class attendance on student performance. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.

An analysis of the impact of climate change on crop yields and yield variability

This paper develops an econometric model of stochastic production functions to quantify the impacts of climatic variables on the mean, variance, and covariance of crop yields. The estimates of the production function parameters and their elasticities are utilized to analyse the impacts of the projected climate change on agriculture. The results show that the climate change will have modest effects on the mean crop yields, but will significantly reduce the variance and covariance for most of the crops considered. The results have implications for allocations of agricultural land among crops and for crop production mix.

Impacts of trade liberalizations under the Uruguay Round on the world sugar market

The impacts of the Uruguay Round policy provisions on the world sugar market show that these policies will stabilize the world sugar price at slightly higher levels than in the baseline. Global sugar consumption will increase as a result of the income growth caused by the Uruguay Round. Economic resources will be allocated more efficiently among the sugar industries of the various countries. However, the impacts on the sugar industries in countries with strong producer supports will be rather small because the negotiation process of the Uruguay Round has accommodated the changes in sugar policies already implemented by individual countries in the past few years. Low-cost sugar producing countries will benefit from the higher world sugar price, and consumers in countries with protected markets will benefit from lower domestic prices.

PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND ITS COMPONENTS IN CHINESE AGRICULTURE AFTER REFORMS

This study uses nonparametric Malmquist procedures to investigate the temporal and spatial nature of productivity growth and its components in Chinese agriculture over the period 1980-95. The results of this study indicate that total factor productivity grew at 2.4% annually with technical change augmenting the growth by 3.8% while efficiency change reduced productivity growth by 1.3%. For all provinces, 288 out of a total of 442 cases experienced productivity growth while the rest showed productivity regression during this post-reform period. Coexistence of improvement in technical change and retardation in efficiency change indicates the lack of success in diffusing the existing agricultural technology. Continuing innovation and efficiency improvement through capital investment, modern input use, and greater competitive market pressures are important for augmenting productivity growth in Chinese agriculture. Copyright 2001 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Estimation and decomposition of technical efficiency for sugarbeet farms

This study computes technical efficiency for Idaho sugarbeet farms and decomposes it into pure technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and congestion efficiency using nonparametric procedures. The results indicate that the average efficiency is 0.88 with 45% of the farms in the sample exhibiting full efficiency. Improper scale operation and input overutilization are the major sources of inefficiency for remaining farms. Technical efficiency is independent of farm size. A Tobit model was used to examine the impacts of variables such as farm size, specialization, tenancy position, hired labour, location, and managerial ability on efficiency. Inefficiency in sugarbeet production results in a shortfall of potential revenues not only for producers, but also for landlords and processors.

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF TROUT AS A FOOD ITEM

The impacts of socioeconomic/demographic characteristics, experiences and preferences of consumers on trout purchasing decisions were estimated using Probit and Ordered Probit regression techniques. Data from a survey of consumer purchasing behavior and personal attributes were used to deduce factors that led to either a high or low likelihood of purchasing trout products. Analysis of data pertaining to whole trout and value-added products yielded consistently different characteristics of consumers who show a high affinity toward purchasing one or more of such products. Results from these analyses were used to suggest techniques for marketing whole trout and value-added trout products to specific segments of the consumer population.

A comprehensive analysis of farmland value determination: a county-level analysis

This study develops a comprehensive model of farmland value determination to analyze the effects of various economic variables such as net farm income, government payments, macroeconomic factors, and demographic conditions on farmland values for the counties along the Snake River valley in Idaho. Land values, net farm income, and population show considerable variation among the counties. Therefore, use of county level cross-sectional and time-series data helps to assess the impacts of various factors on land values more accurately. The empirical results show that net farm income, wheat yield, population, and credit availability have positive effects, and property tax rates, interest rates, and debt to asset ratio have negative effects on farmland values.

A spatial equilibrium analysis of trade policy reforms on the world wheat market

Since a few countries produce most of the worlds wheat, and consumption is widespread across the world, wheat is one of the most commonly traded agricultural commodities. In recent years, the wheat market has been going through difficult phases as wheat prices are depressed. The fall in wheat prices is attributed to a supply glut and restrictive trade barriers. This study develops a large-scale spatial equilibrium trade model for wheat to analyse the effects of removing trade barriers (tariffs and subsidies) on each countrys/regions price, supply, demand, trade, welfare, and bilateral trade flows. The results show that trade liberalization leads to an increase (decrease) in prices in the exporting (importing) countries. Production and exports increase in the exporting country, and consumption and imports increase in the importing country. Consequently, the volume of trade also increases. The welfare of most countries rises, and thus, world welfare also rises.

Impacts of foreign direct investment and advertising on the export demand for US frozen potatoes

Import demand for US frozen potatoes is estimated for Japan, Mexico, Philippines, and Thailand. Each country represents a different tier of import volume and market development (Japan-largest, most developed; Thailand-smallest, least developed). Import demand in Japan is primarily influenced by own-price and income. In the three smaller and newer markets, however, potato industry advertising and foreign investments by the US food service industry are found to be significant factors influencing import demand. Results suggest substantial growth potential exists in the export market for US frozen potatoes.

Contributions of Immigrant Farmworkers to California Vegetable Production

A major concern with immigrants coming into the United States is that they adversely affect domestic workers through job competition and wage depression. We study the displacement and wage reduction effects of immigrants in California vegetable production, which is labor intensive, and 95% of the farmworkers in California are immigrants. Our findings show that this concern is not valid in vegetable production because the addition of one new immigrant displaces only 0.0123 domestic workers, and wage reduction is inconsequential. But one immigrant worker increases the vegetable production by