This paper builds a model determining optimal capacities of diversion dams or water transfer projects. The model incorporates stochastic inflows to the dams and the role of the dam capacity in reducing overflows, and gives a closed-form expression of the marginal benefit of capacities....

Do transgenic crops cause agrobiodiversity erosion? We hypothesize that they increase productivity and reduce production risk and may therefore reduce farmer demand for on-farm varietal diversity, especially when only a few transgenic varieties are available. We also hypothesize that varietal...

The cost-effectiveness of alternative green payment policies designed to achieve a targeted level of abatement by heterogeneous microunits is analyzed. Abatement costs and implications for production and government payments are compared using a simulation model for controlling drainage from...

Over the last 150 years, agriculture has been subject to several waves of innovation which have significantly altered its institutional structures, its products and the way it is practised. Mechanical, biological and chemical innovations have, in turn, reduced labour requirements, increased...

Consumer resistance is a key barrier to the diffusion of genetically modified foods (GMFs). Several studies have shown that consumers in general have a negative attitude toward GMFs. Through analysis of a survey conducted in Israel, we find consumer attitudes toward GMFs to be context specific,...

New discoveries in the life sciences and the challenge of climate change are leading to the emergence of the bioeconomy where basic methods of advanced biology are applied to produce a wide array of products while also improving environmental quality. The emergence of the bioeconomy is a...