Since the seminal work of Adam Smith, markets have been considered an efficienttool for co-ordinating the behaviour of economic agents. The basic characteristicof a market economy is that the complex system of interaction amongindividuals is not centrally coordinated. Under the assumption of...

Since the enactment of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, owners and operators of farms and ranches have opportunities to evaluate new estate planning strategies for the transfer of farm businesses to subsequent generations. However, with provisions of the Act to be...

Food safety problems such as the BSE and dioxin crises focused attention on traceability systems and the certification of such systems. This study analyzes the status and perspectives of traceability systems and certification schemes, and reviews their potential costs and benefits. Results...

The new EU Animal Health Strategy suggests ashift in emphasis away from control towards preventionand surveillance activities for the management of threatsto animal health. The optimal combination of theseactions will differ among diseases and depend on largelyunknown and uncertain costs and...