Retail buyers of fresh Georgia peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] generally prefer a lead time... more Retail buyers of fresh Georgia peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] generally prefer a lead time of 2-3 weeks for promotion purposes before peaches are shipped. Thus, a viable forward contract market for growers and retail buyers has potential provided an information base can be established for forward price negotiations. For this reason, a price forecasting model for Georgia peaches was developed that can be used to predict price 3 weeks ahead and estimate the probability that the price in 3 weeks will exceed a benchmark price. A similar procedure may be used for other fresh produce items.
A cost analysis of a computerized marketing system for fresh fruits and vegetables encompassed un... more A cost analysis of a computerized marketing system for fresh fruits and vegetables encompassed unit cost comparisons by regional size of operations, single vs. multiple commodities, and conventional vs. computerized marketing. Regions pertinent to this study were the southeastern and eastern United States, where the Southeast was a subset of the East. Selected commodities for the cost analysis were tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai], sweet corn (Zea mays L.), snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group). Unit cost comparisons by region and single vs. multiple commodities depicted the importance of volume traded through the computerized system as it relates to economic efficiency. The analysis indicated that computerized marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables can be less costly than conventional marketing.
This study examined factors contributing to the development of the produce industry in Georgia an... more This study examined factors contributing to the development of the produce industry in Georgia and means of overcoming barriers to entry into the national fresh fruit and vegetable market. A survey of produce growers in Georgia was conducted in 2003–04. Information obtained from the respondents included economic and operational characteristics of grower enterprises and more specifically factors limiting production, expected operational changes, and marketing practices. Grower tendencies were ascertained from survey responses with respect to sales using regression analysis. Factors found important in overcoming barriers to national market entry stem from the degree of specialization and sophistication of producers.
Stochastic frontier analysis is used to evaluate the technical and allocative efficiencies for ba... more Stochastic frontier analysis is used to evaluate the technical and allocative efficiencies for banks classified based on industry specialization (agricultural and non-agricultural banks) and solvency condition (non-critical and critical banks). The analytical framework allows for comparisons of input utilization decisions that could translate to cost savings and enhanced operating efficiencies.
This paper is designed to identify predictors of eventual bank failure as well as factors that co... more This paper is designed to identify predictors of eventual bank failure as well as factors that could enhance the survival ability of agricultural and non-agricultural banks. This study utilizes a split-population survival model that addresses two shortcomings of the basic duration model. First, this model departs from the restrictive assumption of the traditional model that all bank observations in the sample would eventually fail. Second, this model provides for a clear distinction between the determinants of the probability of failure and factors influencing the timing of the failure. The results of this study suggest that failure to allow for a split population among sample banks represents an important misspecification with serious implications in identifying the determinants of the timing of bank failure, more than just the probability of failure.
This study provides a different perspective in revisiting the racial and gender discrimination is... more This study provides a different perspective in revisiting the racial and gender discrimination issue at the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method, this study analyses disparities in approved loan amounts among racial and gender classes of borrowers. This study's results indicate substantial differentials in approved loan amount gaps between racial and gender classes, favouring white and female
Western Agricultural Economics Association, Aug 25, 2006
This article makes an initial attempt to design catastrophe (CAT) bond products for agriculture a... more This article makes an initial attempt to design catastrophe (CAT) bond products for agriculture and examines the potential of these instruments as mechanisms for transferring agricultural risks from insurance companies to investors/speculators in the global capital market. The case of Georgia cotton is considered as a specific example. The CAT bond contracts are based on percentage deviations of realized state average yields relative to the long-run average. The contracts are priced using historical state-level cotton yield data. The principal finding of the study is that the proposed CAT bonds demonstrate potential as risk transfer mechanisms for crop insurance companies.
The goat (Capra hircus) industry in the United States is still in its infancy, but with a promisi... more The goat (Capra hircus) industry in the United States is still in its infancy, but with a promising trend for growth (Gelaye and Amoah 1991). The consumption of goat meat, known as chevon or cabrito, in the United States has grown sharply in recent years (Getz 1998; Gipson 1999). The increase is driven by the popularity of chevon with the diverse ethnic groups that immigrate yearly to the United States. In the past, the scarcity of chevon and the pressure to integrate into society in the United States discouraged immigrants from holding onto culinary traditions. In recent years, there has been a switch in philosophy to one that encourages people to celebrate their diverse cultural backgrounds. This has led to the rediscovery of traditional foods involving chevon, creating the need for increased supply. The demand for chevon has drawn producers to the fl edgling industry. Currently, a major part of demand is met by imports, mainly from Australia and New Zealand (Stanton 2003). This paper determines the relationship between the increase in immigrant population and the increase in meat-goat production in the United States between 1987 and 1997. Data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture (2002) and the U.S. Census Bureau (1997) were used for this analysis. The main concern was the relatively thin body of published literature regarding chevon demand, the level of production of meat goats, and prices received by producers. The data available for meat goats produced in the United States are too limited to allow extensive analysis. The following sections are devoted to a discussion of the product (meat goat), supply, producers, chevon demand, the consumer, and consumer demographics.
Recent literature, largely from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, ind... more Recent literature, largely from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, indicates that substantial changes have occurred in the produce industry in recent years. With the rise of retail mass merchandisers and increased concentration in the retail food industry, the procurement power of these large firms reportedly has also increased. With direct buying and contracting, market intermediaries such as brokers and wholesalers allegedly are being bypassed. As a result, these market intermediaries ostensibly are also consolidating, becoming fewer and larger with increased emphasis on servicing the food-service industry. However, the findings of this study indicate that there is no convinc ing evidence that the market structure of the U.S. produce industry has markedly changed since the early 1980s. While supermarket concentration has increased noticeably, the same cannot be said for produce market intermediaries such as brokers and wholesalers.
While the population of the world is continually growing, there are doubts that the food supply w... more While the population of the world is continually growing, there are doubts that the food supply will be sufficient to keep pace. Although 14% of the world is undernourished today, an exponentially increasing population could be catastrophic if agricultural production lags too far behind. This paper attempts to forecast agricultural yield given the recent advent of genetically modified crops as a means to see whether this technology has the potential to help supply the world with food in the future. Through regression, a model was developed to make predictions of corn yields as a case study on how biotechnology might affect future agricultural production.
The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing fi... more The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing field of trade between the United States and the six CAFTA-DR partner countries. Half of U.S. farm products gain immediate tariff-free access to the markets of the CAFTA-DR region. All Tariffs will be eliminated in 20 years. Under CAFTA-DR, tariffs on an important U.S. fresh fruit export to the region, fresh apples, declined from an initial base of 15%-25% in CAFTA-DR countries to zero immediately upon enforcement. The specific objective of this research is to analyze the impact of tariff elimination under CAFTA-DR on the trade of U.S. fresh apples. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used for the analysis involving an excess-supply-excess-demand model with monthly trade data from January 2000 to December 2010. The more telling empirical results indicate that for each of the six CAFTA-DR countries, tariff elimination positively promotes U.S. apple exports to this region.
The elimination of the quota and price support program in 2004 meant limited government intervent... more The elimination of the quota and price support program in 2004 meant limited government intervention and made U.S. tobacco producers more vulnerable to market risks. In this paper we provide an examination of the situation in the U.S. tobacco industry before and after the buyout and identify how the enacted policy change affected the U.S. tobacco industry in terms of supply and demand. The supply and demand system is estimated using the generalized method of moments (GMM). The results suggest that the buyout, which began with lowering the price for tobacco as well as increasing the cost of production, had a negative impact on the number of farmers in the United States as it declined substantially after 2004. However, tobacco producers who remained in the industry apparently became more efficient and more competitive on the world tobacco market in the face of lower tobacco prices. Improved overall competitiveness of the U.S. tobacco industry along with changes in U.S. consumer tastes...
Expansion of the cotton industry depends on economic growth. Models were specified to estimate U.... more Expansion of the cotton industry depends on economic growth. Models were specified to estimate U.S. domestic and export demand with and without structural change. The results indicate that domestic demand increases with per capita GDP and decreases with rising oil prices. U.S. export demand for cotton expands with lower beginning stocks in the rest of the world and rising per capita income.
This study employs a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model to study the relationship betw... more This study employs a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model to study the relationship between survival time and bank-specific determinants of failure of commercial and agricultural banks during the recent recessionary period. Results indicate that non-performing consumer and commercial loans have seriously impaired banks’ financial health and survival.
This study is designed to analyze bank failures from the technical efficiency standpoint under a ... more This study is designed to analyze bank failures from the technical efficiency standpoint under a stochastic cost frontier framework and evaluate the reliability of the technical efficiency measure as a determinant of the financial health of banks and probability to succeed or fail at the height of the current recessionary period. Results of this analysis confirm that successful agricultural banks have been operating more efficiently than surviving nonagricultural banks. This result helps to refute the contention that farm loans are at a relatively higher level of riskiness.
The objective is to analyze the effects of country- and firm-specific factors on the return on eq... more The objective is to analyze the effects of country- and firm-specific factors on the return on equity in the beverage and tobacco and food and consumer-products industries for 11 industrialized nations. The results indicate that country- and firm-specific factors are important in explaining variation in return on equity within countries but not generally across countries or time.
The Food Stamp Act of 1964 (with subsequent amendments) charges the U.S. Department of Agricultur... more The Food Stamp Act of 1964 (with subsequent amendments) charges the U.S. Department of Agriculture with extending the benefits of the program to all households willing and eligible to participate. This duty was reinforced by a federal court ruling in 1975 (Beckel and MacDonald; Bennett et al. vs. Butz et al.).Because of the importance of the Food Stamp Program (FSP), numerous studies have been conducted to gauge its intended effectiveness. Areas of study have included nutritional benefits of the program, impact on food expenditures, identification of ways to improve the rate of program participation, and identification of socioeconomic characteristics that may be important indicators of participation or nonparticipation in the program (for example, see Davis and Neenan; Lane; Neenan and Davis 1977, 1978; Salathe; Scearce et al.; Smith and Rowe; West; USDA, 1976, 1978).
Farmland offered for its productive or consumptive value may be viewed as a class of goods charac... more Farmland offered for its productive or consumptive value may be viewed as a class of goods characteristic of product differentiation. Using the generalized Box-Cox transformation, an unrestricted hedonic model was employed to derive implicit valuations of parcel attributes. Results suggest that the significance and level of importance of attributes on land pricing depends on the spatial extent of markets in Georgia. Differences in the productive or consumptive use of farmland may imply that different factors and functional forms are appropriate to different farmland markets.
Retail buyers of fresh Georgia peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] generally prefer a lead time... more Retail buyers of fresh Georgia peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch.] generally prefer a lead time of 2-3 weeks for promotion purposes before peaches are shipped. Thus, a viable forward contract market for growers and retail buyers has potential provided an information base can be established for forward price negotiations. For this reason, a price forecasting model for Georgia peaches was developed that can be used to predict price 3 weeks ahead and estimate the probability that the price in 3 weeks will exceed a benchmark price. A similar procedure may be used for other fresh produce items.
A cost analysis of a computerized marketing system for fresh fruits and vegetables encompassed un... more A cost analysis of a computerized marketing system for fresh fruits and vegetables encompassed unit cost comparisons by regional size of operations, single vs. multiple commodities, and conventional vs. computerized marketing. Regions pertinent to this study were the southeastern and eastern United States, where the Southeast was a subset of the East. Selected commodities for the cost analysis were tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai], sweet corn (Zea mays L.), snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata group). Unit cost comparisons by region and single vs. multiple commodities depicted the importance of volume traded through the computerized system as it relates to economic efficiency. The analysis indicated that computerized marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables can be less costly than conventional marketing.
This study examined factors contributing to the development of the produce industry in Georgia an... more This study examined factors contributing to the development of the produce industry in Georgia and means of overcoming barriers to entry into the national fresh fruit and vegetable market. A survey of produce growers in Georgia was conducted in 2003–04. Information obtained from the respondents included economic and operational characteristics of grower enterprises and more specifically factors limiting production, expected operational changes, and marketing practices. Grower tendencies were ascertained from survey responses with respect to sales using regression analysis. Factors found important in overcoming barriers to national market entry stem from the degree of specialization and sophistication of producers.
Stochastic frontier analysis is used to evaluate the technical and allocative efficiencies for ba... more Stochastic frontier analysis is used to evaluate the technical and allocative efficiencies for banks classified based on industry specialization (agricultural and non-agricultural banks) and solvency condition (non-critical and critical banks). The analytical framework allows for comparisons of input utilization decisions that could translate to cost savings and enhanced operating efficiencies.
This paper is designed to identify predictors of eventual bank failure as well as factors that co... more This paper is designed to identify predictors of eventual bank failure as well as factors that could enhance the survival ability of agricultural and non-agricultural banks. This study utilizes a split-population survival model that addresses two shortcomings of the basic duration model. First, this model departs from the restrictive assumption of the traditional model that all bank observations in the sample would eventually fail. Second, this model provides for a clear distinction between the determinants of the probability of failure and factors influencing the timing of the failure. The results of this study suggest that failure to allow for a split population among sample banks represents an important misspecification with serious implications in identifying the determinants of the timing of bank failure, more than just the probability of failure.
This study provides a different perspective in revisiting the racial and gender discrimination is... more This study provides a different perspective in revisiting the racial and gender discrimination issue at the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Employing the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method, this study analyses disparities in approved loan amounts among racial and gender classes of borrowers. This study's results indicate substantial differentials in approved loan amount gaps between racial and gender classes, favouring white and female
Western Agricultural Economics Association, Aug 25, 2006
This article makes an initial attempt to design catastrophe (CAT) bond products for agriculture a... more This article makes an initial attempt to design catastrophe (CAT) bond products for agriculture and examines the potential of these instruments as mechanisms for transferring agricultural risks from insurance companies to investors/speculators in the global capital market. The case of Georgia cotton is considered as a specific example. The CAT bond contracts are based on percentage deviations of realized state average yields relative to the long-run average. The contracts are priced using historical state-level cotton yield data. The principal finding of the study is that the proposed CAT bonds demonstrate potential as risk transfer mechanisms for crop insurance companies.
The goat (Capra hircus) industry in the United States is still in its infancy, but with a promisi... more The goat (Capra hircus) industry in the United States is still in its infancy, but with a promising trend for growth (Gelaye and Amoah 1991). The consumption of goat meat, known as chevon or cabrito, in the United States has grown sharply in recent years (Getz 1998; Gipson 1999). The increase is driven by the popularity of chevon with the diverse ethnic groups that immigrate yearly to the United States. In the past, the scarcity of chevon and the pressure to integrate into society in the United States discouraged immigrants from holding onto culinary traditions. In recent years, there has been a switch in philosophy to one that encourages people to celebrate their diverse cultural backgrounds. This has led to the rediscovery of traditional foods involving chevon, creating the need for increased supply. The demand for chevon has drawn producers to the fl edgling industry. Currently, a major part of demand is met by imports, mainly from Australia and New Zealand (Stanton 2003). This paper determines the relationship between the increase in immigrant population and the increase in meat-goat production in the United States between 1987 and 1997. Data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture (2002) and the U.S. Census Bureau (1997) were used for this analysis. The main concern was the relatively thin body of published literature regarding chevon demand, the level of production of meat goats, and prices received by producers. The data available for meat goats produced in the United States are too limited to allow extensive analysis. The following sections are devoted to a discussion of the product (meat goat), supply, producers, chevon demand, the consumer, and consumer demographics.
Recent literature, largely from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, ind... more Recent literature, largely from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, indicates that substantial changes have occurred in the produce industry in recent years. With the rise of retail mass merchandisers and increased concentration in the retail food industry, the procurement power of these large firms reportedly has also increased. With direct buying and contracting, market intermediaries such as brokers and wholesalers allegedly are being bypassed. As a result, these market intermediaries ostensibly are also consolidating, becoming fewer and larger with increased emphasis on servicing the food-service industry. However, the findings of this study indicate that there is no convinc ing evidence that the market structure of the U.S. produce industry has markedly changed since the early 1980s. While supermarket concentration has increased noticeably, the same cannot be said for produce market intermediaries such as brokers and wholesalers.
While the population of the world is continually growing, there are doubts that the food supply w... more While the population of the world is continually growing, there are doubts that the food supply will be sufficient to keep pace. Although 14% of the world is undernourished today, an exponentially increasing population could be catastrophic if agricultural production lags too far behind. This paper attempts to forecast agricultural yield given the recent advent of genetically modified crops as a means to see whether this technology has the potential to help supply the world with food in the future. Through regression, a model was developed to make predictions of corn yields as a case study on how biotechnology might affect future agricultural production.
The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing fi... more The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing field of trade between the United States and the six CAFTA-DR partner countries. Half of U.S. farm products gain immediate tariff-free access to the markets of the CAFTA-DR region. All Tariffs will be eliminated in 20 years. Under CAFTA-DR, tariffs on an important U.S. fresh fruit export to the region, fresh apples, declined from an initial base of 15%-25% in CAFTA-DR countries to zero immediately upon enforcement. The specific objective of this research is to analyze the impact of tariff elimination under CAFTA-DR on the trade of U.S. fresh apples. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used for the analysis involving an excess-supply-excess-demand model with monthly trade data from January 2000 to December 2010. The more telling empirical results indicate that for each of the six CAFTA-DR countries, tariff elimination positively promotes U.S. apple exports to this region.
The elimination of the quota and price support program in 2004 meant limited government intervent... more The elimination of the quota and price support program in 2004 meant limited government intervention and made U.S. tobacco producers more vulnerable to market risks. In this paper we provide an examination of the situation in the U.S. tobacco industry before and after the buyout and identify how the enacted policy change affected the U.S. tobacco industry in terms of supply and demand. The supply and demand system is estimated using the generalized method of moments (GMM). The results suggest that the buyout, which began with lowering the price for tobacco as well as increasing the cost of production, had a negative impact on the number of farmers in the United States as it declined substantially after 2004. However, tobacco producers who remained in the industry apparently became more efficient and more competitive on the world tobacco market in the face of lower tobacco prices. Improved overall competitiveness of the U.S. tobacco industry along with changes in U.S. consumer tastes...
Expansion of the cotton industry depends on economic growth. Models were specified to estimate U.... more Expansion of the cotton industry depends on economic growth. Models were specified to estimate U.S. domestic and export demand with and without structural change. The results indicate that domestic demand increases with per capita GDP and decreases with rising oil prices. U.S. export demand for cotton expands with lower beginning stocks in the rest of the world and rising per capita income.
This study employs a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model to study the relationship betw... more This study employs a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model to study the relationship between survival time and bank-specific determinants of failure of commercial and agricultural banks during the recent recessionary period. Results indicate that non-performing consumer and commercial loans have seriously impaired banks’ financial health and survival.
This study is designed to analyze bank failures from the technical efficiency standpoint under a ... more This study is designed to analyze bank failures from the technical efficiency standpoint under a stochastic cost frontier framework and evaluate the reliability of the technical efficiency measure as a determinant of the financial health of banks and probability to succeed or fail at the height of the current recessionary period. Results of this analysis confirm that successful agricultural banks have been operating more efficiently than surviving nonagricultural banks. This result helps to refute the contention that farm loans are at a relatively higher level of riskiness.
The objective is to analyze the effects of country- and firm-specific factors on the return on eq... more The objective is to analyze the effects of country- and firm-specific factors on the return on equity in the beverage and tobacco and food and consumer-products industries for 11 industrialized nations. The results indicate that country- and firm-specific factors are important in explaining variation in return on equity within countries but not generally across countries or time.
The Food Stamp Act of 1964 (with subsequent amendments) charges the U.S. Department of Agricultur... more The Food Stamp Act of 1964 (with subsequent amendments) charges the U.S. Department of Agriculture with extending the benefits of the program to all households willing and eligible to participate. This duty was reinforced by a federal court ruling in 1975 (Beckel and MacDonald; Bennett et al. vs. Butz et al.).Because of the importance of the Food Stamp Program (FSP), numerous studies have been conducted to gauge its intended effectiveness. Areas of study have included nutritional benefits of the program, impact on food expenditures, identification of ways to improve the rate of program participation, and identification of socioeconomic characteristics that may be important indicators of participation or nonparticipation in the program (for example, see Davis and Neenan; Lane; Neenan and Davis 1977, 1978; Salathe; Scearce et al.; Smith and Rowe; West; USDA, 1976, 1978).
Farmland offered for its productive or consumptive value may be viewed as a class of goods charac... more Farmland offered for its productive or consumptive value may be viewed as a class of goods characteristic of product differentiation. Using the generalized Box-Cox transformation, an unrestricted hedonic model was employed to derive implicit valuations of parcel attributes. Results suggest that the significance and level of importance of attributes on land pricing depends on the spatial extent of markets in Georgia. Differences in the productive or consumptive use of farmland may imply that different factors and functional forms are appropriate to different farmland markets.
Uploads
Papers by James Epperson