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The Korean agricultural sector faces increasing challenges such as an aging population, labor shortages, and the liberalization of agricultural markets. To overcome these challenges, the Korean government has striven to enhance the competitiveness of agriculture by introducing AI-based technologies to the agricultural sector, labeling this as smart farming. This study estimates farm-level benefits of adopting smart farming technologies, robotic milking systems, in Korean dairy farms. The benefits are estimated by comparing the productivity (i.e., the savings of labor input, increased calf production, and increased milk production) of adopting and non-adopting farms. Our study uses the propensity score matching method to address potential problems from confounding factors, sample selection bias, and the small number of adopters. Our results show that farms that adopted robotic milking systems produced 0.10 to 0.11 more calves per year than farms that did not adopt the system. The adopters also increased milk production by 2.44 kg to 2.88 kg per head/day, while reducing labor input by 0.15 to 0.30 per head/week. However, the reduced labor input was not statistically significant. When the analysis was extended to regard the farm characteristics, the labor input became significant from small and family-run farms. We also found that the increase in the number of calves produced per head was statically significant from small farms, family-run farms, and farms with successors. The increased milk production per head was statistically significant from large farms, farms employing hired workers, and farms with successors. Our findings suggest that the Korean government continue promoting smart farming technologies such as the robotic milking system to increase the adoption rate. The findings can also provide useful information about target markets of this technology, which can be used to increase the adoption rate and ultimately enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the Korean dairy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study assesses the performance of a threshold vector error correction model (TVECM) for the analysis of spatial price transmission. We specifically determine how inference about price regimes and the process of price adjustment to the established long-run equilibrium is affected when the stochastic transaction cost is exogenously or endogenously determined in fixed and flexible threshold models. The study first generates non-stationary but cointegrated price series and transaction costs based on true price transmission parameters: percentage of violations of spatial equilibrium, speed of price adjustment, threshold and inaction band using Monte Carlo simulations. Then, the generated data are used to estimate TVECMs under various assumptions on transaction cost variation and threshold specification. Finally, estimates of price transmission parameters are compared with the true parameters to evaluate the performance of model specifications. Our results indicate that the flexible TVECM accounting for transaction cost variation outperforms the standard fixed TVECM, which is consistent with findings from many previous studies in the literature. Our study also finds that although the flexible TVECM performs better than the fixed TVECM, it may not fully address the limitation of linear models when a real-world data represents a complex nonlinearity in the spatial price transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives of our study are to develop a procedure for intertemporal comparison of both technical and cost efficiency and estimate farm efficiency for the Korean rice industry from 2003 to 2017. The newly developed base‐year procedure excludes frontier shift and price effects from the standard procedure for intertemporal comparison. An adjusted central limit theorem for sample T‐tests is applied to avoid potential bias from efficiency scores by the Data Envelope Analysis. Our empirical results show that the two procedures yield different scores and trends. The standard approach indicates declining efficiency, while the base‐year method shows overall improvement in farm efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates data aggregation bias in estimating market power in the U.S. beef packing industry using New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) models and shows empirical procedures that can alleviate the bias. Unlike many earlier studies in estimating market power exertion, our study examines the data aggregation bias when market-level data are used in place of firm-level data and show how the bias could be reduced. We first derive data aggregation bias analytically, then empirically investigate the aggregation bias by estimating both firm and aggregate industry models. Because the firm-level data are not available, we use simulated data generated from the Monte Carlo simulation method. Hybrid models, combining limited firm-level data with aggregate data, are also estimated to illustrate how the aggregation bias could be reduced. Our results show that aggregate models with industry-level data tend to underestimate market power exertion in the U.S. beef packing industry, and the aggregation bias is statistically significant at the 1% level. Comparing results from hybrid models with firm-level estimates, we find that hybrid models reduce the bias but do not remove the aggregation bias significantly. The sensitivity analysis shows that market power estimate and aggregation bias are sensitive to functional forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainability turfgrass attributes such as low-input and stress-tolerance attributes, while considering potential trade-off relationships between aesthetic attributes and sustainability attributes. To address our objectives, our study conducts a choice experiment and estimates two mixed logit models. The first model includes low-input, winter kill, and shade-tolerance attributes as predictor variables, and the second model extends the first model by adding interaction terms between the aesthetic and sustainability attributes. Another choice experiment is conducted under water policies with various water rate increase and watering restriction scenarios. Results from the mixed logit models show that, overall, higher low-input cost reduction, less winter-damaged, and more shade-tolerant grasses are preferred, and that the direct effect of aesthetic attributes on consumers' preferences is strong, but the indirect effects represented by the interaction terms are generally statistically insignificant. Our results indicate that consumers like to have a pretty lawn, but no strong consideration is given to the aesthetics of their lawn when selecting low-input and stress-tolerant turfgrasses. Our choice experiment under water policy scenarios suggests that water pricing is more effective than watering restriction in increasing consumer demand for water-conserving turfgrasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a discrete choice experiment to estimate turfgrass producers' willingness to accept (WTA) values using different logit models and specifications to capture respondents' attention. We first estimate the mixed logit model and a generalized multinomial logit model with and without eye-tracking variables to demonstrate the importance of accounting for individuals' differing levels of attention during an experiment. Our study finds that marginal WTA values are biased when individuals' attention changes are not properly accounted for in the model specification. This finding leads to our second objective, to determine whether attention changes can be fully captured in the absence of eye tracking data by testing six alternative model specifications. All six models are able to detect learning and fatigue effects but are unable to fully capture changes in attention. Of the six alternative models tested, the two models that implement panel data offer more reliable and significant results, suggesting the type of data and model specification used may play an important role in diagnosing attention changes when compared to various heterogeneity models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the National Incidence Study (NIS) of Child Abuse and Neglect suggest no racial difference in child maltreatment, although there are more black children within the child welfare population. This study found selection bias in the NIS design caused by the exclusion of family, friends, and neighbors that resulted in differences in NIS cases and cases handled by the Child Protective Services. (DB)

This study combines a discrete choice experiment and eye-tracking technology to investigate producers' preferences for sod attributes including winterkill reduction, shade tolerance, drought tolerance, salinity tolerance, and maintenance cost reduction. Our study results show that sod producers valued drought tolerance the most, followed by shade tolerance, winterkill reduction, salinity tolerance, and lastly, a 10% maintenance cost reduction. Choice survey data revealed the existence of attribute nonattendance, i.e., respondents skipped some attributes, but statistical tests detected no clear evidence about the role of individuals' attention changes on their willingness-toaccept estimates. Estimates using a scale heterogeneity multinomial logit model indicate an overall learning effect as respondents made choices in the survey. Producers' willingness-to-accept were generally higher than consumers' willingness-to-pay for the improved sod variety attributes, except for the drought tolerance attribute. However, the rankings for these attributes were the same between consumers and producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines effects of packers' inventory and market power on their price adjustment behaviour in the U.S. beef industry. Econometric model used in the study allows inventory and market power variables to influence the speed-of-adjustment parameters in a three-regime threshold error-correction model. Results show that the two variables have a statistically significant impact on packers' price adjustment behaviour when price decreases but not when price increases. When price decreases, inventory tends to accelerate the adjustment process whereas packers' market power slows down the adjustment process. The hypothesis of symmetric adjustment towards long-run equilibrium during increasing and decreasing phases of price is not rejected when the effects of inventory and market power are considered in explaining packers' price adjustment behaviour. However, when these two effects are ignored in the model specification, the hypothesis of symmetry is rejected such that the speed of adjustment in the increasing phase of price is faster than the adjustment speed in the decreasing phase of price, i.e. 'rockets and feathers' effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the full bilateral market power of processors and retailers in the U.S. beef industry. Our full bilateral imperfect competition model allows potential market power exertion from all adjacent upstream and downstream markets of processors and retailers. Empirical results show the presence of market power from processors and retailers in both output and input procurement markets of the U.S. beef industry. Estimates of conjectural elasticities and market power indices suggest that processors' market power exertion is greater than the exertion of retailers' market power in the U.S. beef industry. Results of the goodness‐of‐fit statistics indicate that flexible frameworks work better than restrictive models in representing the bilateral market structure. Estimates of market power parameters and market power indices are sensitive to the choice of market structure model as well as functional forms of production function. These findings indicate that any erroneous assumptions on market structure and functional form of production function may result in misleading estimates of market power. [EconLit citations: D43, L11, L13, Q13]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examines the characteristics of price transmission along the vertical linkage in the beef industry before and after the implementation of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act (MPR) using econometric procedures such as the Gregory–Hansen structural break test, threshold autoregressive model, threshold error correction model, and nonlinear impulse response functions. Results show the improved speed of price adjustment after the MPR in the supply chain of the beef industry, whereas a limited evidence of the increased price asymmetry is detected. The increased asymmetry is observed mostly through the long‐run regime switching coefficients of threshold autoregressive and error correction models. The price asymmetry mostly disappears in both pre‐ and post‐MPR periods when only short‐ and long‐run price adjustment coefficients are considered. The results also suggest the existence of the threshold cointegration in the vertical price relationship of the beef industry, which supports the use of the nonlinear threshold model in this study.[JEL codes: C22, Q11] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the transmission of wholesale prices to retail prices for differentiated beef products. Specifically, we study vertical price movement for products differentiated by quality grades and primal cuts in the US beef industry. Our study considers two quality grades– United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Choice and USDA Select, and three primal cuts– chuck, round and sirloin. Using threshold-based autoregressive and error correction models, and non-linear impulse response functions, we explore if characteristics of price adjustment differ by quality attributes of the products. Results show that there exists the ‘rocket and feather’ effect in the adjustment of retail prices of most beef grades and cuts in response to changes in wholesale prices, and such asymmetric adjustment effect is more pronounced for higher quality grade (Choice) than lower quality grade (Select). Evidence of similar price adjustment is found from the high-quality cut (sirloin). Our results underscore the differences in price adjustment by product quality in the US beef industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A regime switching error correction model is applied to weekly shipping point and terminal market spinach prices in order to assess the spatial price transmission impact of the 2006 E. coli outbreak on the U.S. fresh spinach market. A food safety index (FSI) related to the outbreak is calculated and used as the regime switching mechanism for 11 alternative farm-to-wholesale spatially separated market pairs. Results suggest not all markets responded uniformly to the FSI. The majority of the markets with alternative sources of spinach exhibited nonlinearities, whereas those which were primarily supplied by California producers did not. In general, shorter adjustment speeds were seen in terminal markets that were closer in proximity to the California shipping point. Southern market pairs exhibiting threshold behavior saw increased efficiency after the outbreak (potentially due to increased self-regulation), whereas the remaining pairs saw a loss in efficiency. [EconLit citations: C32, Q11]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study compares price transmission behaviors between pre- and post-EPA (Energy Policy Act) periods to investigate the impact of increased production of corn ethanol on price transmission behaviors between five regional fed cattle markets in the United States: Colorado, Iowa-Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas-Oklahoma. Econometric models used in this study consider potential nonlinearity and asymmetry in price transmissions using threshold autoregression and threshold error correction methods, and generalized impulse response functions. Overall, the surge of corn ethanol production after the EPA enactment appears to lead lower integration and slower price adjustment between markets, particularly between noncorn-belt and corn-belt markets. Our analysis also finds strong evidence of the existence of threshold effects and limited evidence of asymmetric price responses in the short and long run for both pre- and post-EPA periods. [EconLit citations: C32, Q13]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a general model that estimates market power exertion in a bilateral market relationship for processors and retailers where each may also have market power in their primary input market and output markets, respectively. Monte Carlo experiments are used to generate industry data for market structures such as perfect competition, monopoly, monopsony, bilateral imperfect competition with an integrated processor/retailer, bilateral imperfect competition with separate processor and retailer, and bilateral imperfect competition with four adjacent upstream and downstream markets. Then, new empirical industrial organization models are estimated using the data with models that match the market structure under which the data were generated (true) and with models that reflect alternative market structures (alternative). The general model is derived using the production function approach without imposing the fixed proportion assumption. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate that the general model is preferred to alternative models that presume competitive behaviour by processors in primary input procurement and by retailers in the output market. Results indicate that less flexible models lead to biased market power estimates in the presence of market power in the corresponding input and output markets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT This study estimates the oligopsony power in the U.S. cattle procurement market in consideration of market structure of beef-packing industry, cattle supply, and seasonality. Our conceptual model represents a price-setting monopsonist competing with multiple monopsonists, and the corresponding empirical model includes a time-varying parameter framework so that it can trace the change in packers' imperfect competition behavior in the cattle procurement market over time. The empirical model is applied to three cattle procurement markets in the United States: national, Nebraska, and Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico. Empirical results show the existence of oligopsony market power in the U.S. cattle procurement market. The oligopsony market power is considerably influenced by cattle cycle and seasonality, which indicates that packers tend to increase their margin during the excessive cattle supply period while maintaining lower margin during the short cattle supply period. [EconLit citations: D43, L11, L13, Q13]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of bilateral imperfect competition between processors and retailers and of import supply on optimal advertising intensity, advertising expenditures, and checkoff assessment rates. First, comparative static analyses were conducted on the newly developed optimal advertising intensity formula. Second, to consider the endogenous nature of optimal advertising, a linear market equilibrium model was developed and applied to the U.S. beef industry. Results showed that the full consideration of retailer-processor bilateral market power lowered the optimal values of assessment rates, advertising expenditures, and advertising intensity for the checkoff board whereas consideration of importers increases the optimal values. The results indicate that ignoring the import sector in optimal generic advertising modeling should underestimate these optimal values, whereas ignoring the bilateral market power between processors and retailers overestimates the values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers bilateral imperfect competition between processors and retailers to estimate the trade off between market power and cost efficiency. The model is based on pricing rules from a firm's profit maximization and nests both oligopoly and oligopsony models. An empirical analysis for US beef processors and retailers suggests that processors tend to exercise oligopsony market power in procuring cattle, but they are unlikely to exercise market power on retailers. When retailers and processors are considered as one integrated sector, efficiency effects from the increased concentration in the US beef packing industry are slightly larger than market power effects. When processors’ market power is considered separately from retailers’ market power, the difference between cost saving and market power effects becomes greater. The cost elasticity estimate, 0.99, indicates that a further merger would result in little economies of scale in the future. Therefore, although we find that efficiency effects are currently larger than market power effects, a further increase in concentration in the US beef processing industry could narrow the gap between the two effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many recent studies have evaluated potential market power in the U.S. cattle procurement market using either new empirical industrial organization (NEIO) models or auction models. The model derived here shows the NEIO model holds in some cases, while the auction theory can fully describe market power in other cases, and in some cases neither model is adequate. An empirical analysis using an experimental cattle procurement data set found both the NEIO and structural auction models yield predictions of price markdowns that are lower than actual markdowns. Results from hypothesis tests indicate the NEIO model has the most explanatory power, but neither theory alone can completely explain price markdown behavior. [JEL Classifications: L13, Q13, Q18]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on two important issues faced by researchers working on choice experiments: how to find the optimal number of alternatives in each choice set and the number of choice sets in each survey. The authors first develop survey instruments with different numbers of choice sets and alternatives. Then, a heteroscedastic logit model is developed to relate the varying number of alternatives and choice sets to changes in the error term by parameterizing the scale factor of the heteroscedastic logit model. The authors study the effects of two simultaneous forms of complexity on the consistency of respondents' choices, i.e., the number of choice sets per questionnaire and the number of options per choice set. Their findings suggest that respondents' choices do vary with the amount of information given resulting in an optimal five options and six choice sets per survey. Results from the marginal effects and willingness to pay (WTP) estimates indicate that varying the number of alternatives and choice sets can also affect consumers' marginal WTP estimates. [EconLit citations: Q110; Q130; Q180]. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, many commodity groups have shifted promotion expenditures from generic advertising to non-advertising activities such as in-store promotion programs. Accordingly, corresponding evaluation methods need to be developed to identify the benefits of these non-advertising programs. We develop a general framework to assess product sales performance of in-store shelf-space management programs in retail stores. The framework was applied to the evaluation of dairy case management programs in the Northwestern Hudson Valley market, New York. Simulation results on fluid milk product sales indicate that preferred product locations vary between smaller convenience stores and larger supermarket retailers. On average, the dairy case management program was estimated to improve product sales 6 to 10% at the retailer level. [Econlit subject codes: M300, Q130] © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 583–597, 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the potential quality bias in price elasticities in cross-sectional demand analysis and develops a framework that can be used to avoid this problem. Both analytical and empirical results indicate that ignoring quality adjustment in either prices or quantities can cause biased price elasticities, which may lead to erroneous marketing decisions and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the double-hurdle model typically used in cross-sectional data is extended to panel data structures. The new double-hurdle model can account not only for the censored nature of commodity purchases, but also for the dynamics of the purchase process. In this model, a flexible error structure is assumed to account for state dependence and household-specific heterogeneity. In the empirical application for milk purchases, it is found that generic advertising increases the probability of market participation as well as the purchase quantity and incidence. Temporal dependence is also found in both purchase and participation equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the roles of advertising strategies and market environments in explaining changes in advertising effectiveness in the fluid milk market in New York City, New York. Econometric model for the nature of advertising parameters; Determinants of effectiveness of advertisement; Results and discussion.

This paper examines how aging and underemployment affect household income and household income disparity between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. Our study uses household panel data from South Korea for the period 2009–2016, which include, on average, 6721 representative households each year. A three-step regression analysis was conducted to estimate the aging and underemployment effects on household income and the income disparity between agricultural and non-agricultural households. First, we estimate aging and underemployment effects on household income from all households using a year fixed-effect longitudinal model. Second, our study investigates whether the marginal effect of aging and underemployment on household income differs between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. Finally, we simulate the estimated model to illustrate how government policies could help reduce the income disparity. Our results show that aging and underemployment affect household income negatively overall. The negative marginal effect of the two factors was greater in the agricultural sector than in the non-agricultural sector. Results from policy simulations suggest that the implementation of proper government policies to address aging and underemployment problems in agricultural households could significantly reduce the income disparity between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined the impacts of alternative measures of advertising exposure on the evaluation of advertising effectiveness. Correlation between gross rating points and advertising expenditures; Evaluation of the generic milk advertising program in New York City, New York; Conclusions.

Investigates the racial disparities in home ownership and home equity among preretirement-aged households in the United States. Computation of the proportion of the racial gap explained by discrimination in housing and credit markets; Definition of home equity; Factors affecting home ownership and/or home equity.

Examines the responsiveness of fluid milk sales to generic milk advertising in the state of New York. Conceptual fluid milk demand model; Discussion of some specific issues related to model estimation; Impact of New York state advertising on farm prices and profits.

Determines the economic impacts of modified soybeans on the United States soybean and associated industries. Focus on soybeans with modified protein and amino acid compositions; Areas of soybean variety development; Development of a simulation model.