Thomas I. Wahl

Applied General Equilibrium Assessments of Trade Libereralisation in China

No abstract available.

CHINA'S RURAL HOUSEHOLD DEMAND FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

A two-stage budgeting LES-LA/AIDS system is sued to estimate rural household demand in China with special emphasis on changes in demand for fruit and vegetable commodities across different income groups. The own-price elasticity for food was found to be more elastic than that for clothing, housing, durable goods, and other items. Within the food group, price elasticities range from -1.042 to -0.019. Grain, with an expenditure elasticity of almost unity, is an important staple food for the average rural household. Vegetables are important nonstaple foods relative to fruits. Lower value vegetables are the most price elastic in the vegetable group. Fruits are more price elastic than vegetables, with grapes being the most price elastic. Different income groups share a common demand function.

The Effects of Decision Making on Futures Price Volatility

Existing literature on commodity futures price volatility emphasizes time to expiration and the resolution of uncertainty. In this paper we stress the supply and demand inflexibilities arising from decision making. A decision made on the supply (demand) side makes future supply (demand) responses less elastic. Therefore, a shock arising after a decision is made is more effective in changing the futures price than a shock before the decision is made. The results support the time-to-maturity hypothesis, but do not conflict with the state variable hypotheses of futures price volatility. Evidence supporting the impacts of inflexibilities are presented for corn, soybean, and wheat contracts. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.

Effects of Information on Consumers' Willingness to Pay for GM-Corn-Fed Beef

There has been growing public opposition against genetically modified (GM) foods. Using a dichotomous choice contingent valuation methodology, we analyze the factors that affect the willingness to pay for GM-corn-fed beef by consumers in Spokane, Washington. The mean discount required to choose the GM-fed beef is small at 8% compared to other studies in Europe and Japan. Further, half the sample was provided information about biotechnology, and the effect of this information is analyzed.

Dynamic Adjustment in the Japanese Livestock Industry Under Beef Import Liberalization

Dynamic adjustment of Japanese livestock markets is analyzed under two alternative import policies: the 1988 Japanese Beef Market Access Agreement (BMAA) and complete liberalization of Japanese beef import policies. Modeling problems associated with these policies include the change from a quota to a tariff, the incorporation of a meat demand system derived from utility-maximizing behavior into a livestock policy model, complementarity, and changes in the degree of producer supply responsiveness under alternative policies. An econometric model of the Japanese livestock industry is used to simulate and compare the impacts of the two policies from 1988 through 1997.

A hedonic price analysis of quality characteristics of Japanese Wagyu beef.

Understanding the implicit valuations of beef characteristics in the Japanese market has important policy implications for the U.S. beef industry. Hedonic price analysis was used to estimate beef characteristics values in Japan. Japanese Wagyu beef auction data were used in the analysis.

Fluid milk consumption in urban Qingdao, China*

This study relates the social-demographic characteristics of urban Chinese consumers to their consumption of fluid milk. A Tobit model is estimated drawing on individual consumer survey data collected in urban Qingdao in China in 2005. The major results of this study indicate that fluid milk consumption in urban Qingdao is much higher compared to China’s national level. The effect of increased income on milk consumption is positive, as expected. The expansion of modern food retailers also appears to play a positive role by facilitating consumers’ fluid milk consumption and influencing their food shopping patterns. The young and old consume significantly more fluid milk than the middle-aged. Health consciousness of the elderly and the openness of youth to new foods appear to be fuelling these consumption patterns. If the findings of this study apply to other urban regions in China, then as urbanisation continues so also will the trend of increasing fluid milk consumption in China.

Labor market distortions and China's WTO accession package:: an applied general equilibrium assessment

Abstract The economic implications of Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization have been analyzed using applied general equilibrium techniques. We explore the consequences of trade reform in the presence of labor market distortions. A formal model of imperfect labor mobility is incorporated into a large-scale, stochastic applied general equilibrium framework with which the consequences of Chinas trade reform for net welfare are considered. The simulations suggest that distortions in Chinas labor market, including imperfect labor mobility, rural-urban migration, dual urban markets and surplus rural labor, have significant effects on trade liberalization outcomes and in some cases produce unexpected second-best results. Journal of Comparative Economics 31 (4) (2003) 774–794.

Discount Schedules and Grower Incentives in Grain Marketing

In this paper, the authors develop a microeconomic optimization model of grain elevator cleaning and commingling decisions when the firm is faced with different discounting schedules. Using generalizations of Jensens inequality, it is shown that a convex (concave) discount schedule encourages commingling (cleaning). However, a separate market for cleanings may qualitatively alter the optimal arrangement of grain. Wheat elevator records are studied to discern whether alternative discount schedules provide elevators with opportunities to cover the costs of rearranging grain composition. Rearrangement activities appear to be marginally profitable for some dockage levels.

The economics of sprout damage in wheat

Sprouting of wheat due to untimely rains is a frequent occurrence in major wheat-producing areas throughout the world including the United States. This paper examines the local, regional, national, and international effects on supply and demand of incidence of sprouting under different institutional arrangements for controlling entry of sprouted wheat into food markets. The USDA Swopsim model is used to examine the international effects of various levels of sprouting among major suppliers.