Research results indicate that growers wishing to enter the hog finishing sector, or expand an existing operation, will be able to do so with relatively less equity than would be possible without a production contract. ...

Much of the less developed world faces the problems of feeding an ever increasing population. Improved agricultural productivity is the key to improved food security and economic returns in these regions. Much of the ...

The development of small farm sector of the dry zone plays a major role in agricultural development in Sri Lanka. Past efforts towards developing these small farms have met with little success. This study investigates a ...

This dissertation presents three studies that seek to understand how the interaction between economic and natural systems affects the efficiency of policy instruments to regulate environmental externalities. In the first ...

Fall armyworm (FAW) is a voracious pest, which has ravaged maize yields in Sub-Saharan Africa since they were first reported in 2016. Their exact impact on maize yields is unclear, with a wide discrepancy in the existing ...

National Parks have become an integral part of global life in both developed and developing countries during the last century. Today, there are more than 1,200 national parks and nature preserves around the world. The U.S. ...

In this thesis, I study how routinization-the process of codifying and automating job tasks-influences regional employment change. I examine two questions. First, does routinization drive employment change in US metropolitan ...