The objective of this study is to explore the possibilities of improving production and income on small farms through better allocation of resources. It pertains to the area that represents the low potential cereal crops zone (LPCZ) of Ethiopian highlands in the Shoa region. The basic primary...

This study investigates non-parametrically the optimizing behavior of a sample of 289 Kansas farms under profit-maximization and cost-minimization hypotheses. The study uses both deterministic and stochastic non-parametric tests. The deterministic results do not support strict adherence to...

African agricultural production is modeled as a sequential decision process, with men's labor first allotted to clearing, then women's labor allotted to harvesting. A switching regression is then used to measure the constraints due to clearing labor capacity and harvesting labor capacity. The...

A meta-analysis is perfonned to review empirical estimates of technical efficiency (TE) in developing country agriculture. The objective of the study is to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that influence estimates of mean TE. A data set of 51 observations of TE from 32 studies...

Economists investigating consumer demand have accumulated considerable evidence showing that consumers generally have subjective preferences for characteristics of products and that their demand for products is significantly affected by their perceptions of the product's attributes. However, the...

This paper develops a theory of the family farm in conditions of uncertainty where attention is focussed on the labour-input decisions. Specifically, the farm family is faced with two labour decisions, namely with respect to hired labour and to family labour. The framework for analysis is...

Evidence is forwarded of a will for rationalisation of higher education, research and technology transfer processes; but the actions which have taken place in all three structures have, in contrast, produced irrationality and inefficiency. Tertiary education institutions are proposed as the...

This paper examines partial agricultural land and labour productivity in 1975 and 1980, for different world regions. The results suggest that land and labour productivity are higher in developed countries relative to developing countries. However, agricultural labour productivity differences are...