A five-year, 0-1, mixed integer programming model was developed to analyze the effects of 1990 Farm Bill legislation on the crop-mix decisions made on cotton farms. Results showed that, when compared to the 1985 Farm Bill, the 1990 Farm Bill can result in higher whole-farm income despite new "triple base" provisions limiting payment acres. The increase in income results from elimination of limited cross-compliance provisions and the change to a three-year base calculation. The model was also used to assess the likely impact of possible changes in the current legislation.

Agricultural economists who serve as educators in emerging democracies have the opportunity to contribute to economic development by building human capital. A channel for educators to share lessons learned in these countries could benefit individuals preparing for assignments in foreign countries. Understanding the cultural and social differences in decisionmaking systems is critical to successful educational program development and implementation. Individuals in the emerging democracies often need training in management and market economics to apply at institutional as well as personal levels. Similar training for recipients of economic development funds could result in more effective application of funds.

Retirement/recreation communities (RRCs) have been promoted as a way for some rural regions to develop their economies. RRCs can have substantial economic impacts (changes in employment and income) and fiscal impacts (changes in local government revenues and costs) on rural communities. Because the magnitude and direction of these impacts are site-specific, assessments of RRCs as a rural development strategy should consider both the economic and fiscal impacts for a given region. This paper presents a case study of the economic and fiscal impacts of Tellico Village on Loudon County, Tennessee.

Three hog genotypes are simulated to determine how producer profits, economically optimal slaughter weights, and carcass component weights change under three pricing models. Live weight pricing pays more for the fatter barrows whereas a three component (separate payments for fat, lean, and byproducts) and six component (separate payments for major primal cuts, other lean, fat, and byproducts) pricing system pay more for the leaner gilts. Implications for selection of genetic stock and pricing system are presented.

The United States has for long had the world's premier system of higher education. No other country has anything that comes close to our major research universities (whether they be private or public), and that includes our international competitors, Germany and Japan. Our society expects a lot of our universities, and much more than other countries expect of theirs. For example, we were the only country in the world that turned to our universities (and especially to our land grants) to deliver an important part of our foreign policy in the form of economic and technical assistance to the developing countries.

Major changes affecting Agricultural Economics include: level and sources of funding, increased accountability, a renewed emphasis on teaching, increasing university and college linkages, an evolving student base, and the continuing adoption of educational technology. Major implications include: broader faculty teaching involvement, agribusiness program development, expanding multidisciplinary majors, Ph.D. program modifications for teacher preparation, expanding professional M.S. degrees, graduate program size and specialization reductions, alternative financing of graduate education, and faculty training in teaching methods. Teaching represents a major growth opportunity for Agricultural Economics, but it remains to be seen whether the discipline takes advantage of this opportunity.

Discussion of changes taking place in American agriculture followed by a review of the traditional model of extension suggests there is dissonance between what is needed to inform contemporary agriculture and what extension actually does. The paper further suggests that difficulty in packaging the newly needed information in ways that achieve the institutional maintenance objectives of extension explain a part of the system's decadence and reluctance to change. Since the intellectual problems of market failure, even political market failure, are within the domain of economists, diffidence by agricultural economists to those issues within the Land-Grant system can make a difference.

The political and economic environment in which agricultural research is conducted is changing. The methods of funding research are changing, food markets are international in scope, and the public is demanding greater accountability in higher education. These trends are creating new tensions within the agricultural research system, and the heightening of these tensions requires that a new equilibrium be established between the system's public mission and the competing public demands on the system (Danbom). This new equilibrium will determine the structure and performance of the agricultural research system in the coming decade.

This study analyses the effects of specific agricultural and exchange rate policies on tobacco production in the Dominican Republic. Direct protection resulting from output and input subsidies and taxes was positive on average from 1966 to 1988, but total protection was negative when exchange rate policies are considered. Tobacco policies were quite volatile and resulted in increasing production in the 1970s but decreasing production in the 1980s. Overall, tobacco production was 4.8 percent less than it would have been had there been no policy interventions. Several reasons are provided for the policies.

A capitalization approach is used to estimate econometrically the effects of exchange rate, interest rate and tax law changes on thoroughbred yearling prices. The analysis found that exchange rate and tax law changes have significantly influenced yearling prices since the early 1980s. Another serious price-reducing event was the 1986 tax law change. Both of these factors have counteracted the positive impact of increased purse rates on yearling prices.

The recent availability of Chapter 12 bankruptcy and the more frequent use of lender liability suits by borrowers are factors that may be adversely affecting the supply of agricultural loans. An experiment using hypothetical loan applications was undertaken involving 34 banks in western Arkansas. Responses were used to estimate the impacts of these legal procedures on banks' lending behavior. The estimated models indicate Chapter 12 is not a significant factor in the loan approval process. Lender liability has marginal significance in lowering the probability of granting an intermediate term loan.

Two methodological approaches were applied to estimating the number of non-bearing trees in the absence of such data using data for the Southern USA pecan industry. The first approach distinguished between bearing and non-bearing phases of a tree life and directly estimated the number of non-bearing trees. The second focused on indirect estimating of the non-bearing tree number from changes in production. This approach relaxed the assumption of maintaining maximum yields for infinite period as used in earlier studies. Empirical applications used two data sets from the pecan industry. The comparison of empirical results suggested that the first method was more accurate than the alternative approach in predicting the number of newly planted trees over an extended period of time. Additional data collection will allow for further application of available methodology to the pecan industry.

Survey data of 2,538 dairy farmers located in 12 southern states were used to analyze the factors influencing farmers' choice of milk handlers. Results from a qualitative response model indicate that a combination of price and non-price factors contribute to dairy farmers' attitudes toward their milk handlers. Specifically, the decision to change milk handlers was significantly influenced by prices paid and deductions charged. However, non-price factors including field services, friendly personnel, and loyalty to a handler contributed to the longer term affiliation of dairy farmers with their milk handlers.

Problems of instability and disequilibrium in U.S. agriculture are synthesized within a single conceptual framework. Agricultural and non-agricultural sector offer curves are used to illustrate why it may not be feasible to achieve and maintain equilibrium and price stability in U.S. agriculture. Empirical evidence on resource disequilibrium and instability in the ratio of prices paid and received by farmers is presented.

A set of ordinary and inverse demand systems for U.S. quarterly meat consumption is estimated for use to measure the effects of U.S. meat trade on consumers' welfare. The approach is useful to incorporate all direct- and cross-commodity effects into price forecasting and the Hicksian compensating variation measurement.