2020-2021 Seminar Series

Fall 2021

November 12
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Alexandra Hill

Colorado State University

Haste Makes Waste: Evidence on Speed and Quality Trade-offs in the Workplace

Abstract Understanding the determinants of labor productivity is central to economics, but empirical work often considers a single aspect of productivity – speed. This paper asks whether focusing on speed misses spillovers to quality. Using novel high frequency data on the speed and quality of strawberry harvesters, we find evidence to support the old adage that haste makes waste: increases in worker speed are accompanied with decreases in the quality of their work. We find that peer speed and wage changes increase worker speed and decrease output quality; mechanisms that increase speed by ten percent cause quality to fall by 1.5 to 1.7 percent.

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Spring 2020

January 24
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Mariah Ehmke

University of Wyoming

Parental Economic Behavior and Immunization Hesitancy in Rural Wyoming

Abstract  Over the last twenty years, risks associated with preventable communicable diseases have risen due to parental immunization hesitancy. Research on causes and consequences of immunization hesitancy tends to focus on traditional public health analysis of urban communities. This research is unique as it applies economic analysis, especially behavioral economic analysis, to parents’ immunization decisions in rural communities of the Intermountain West. The objective of the research is to measure the role of parental economic behavior in child immunization outcomes. The data were collected using economic experiments and a questionnaire administered to 198 parents. Preliminary findings indicate increasing risk aversion is associated with greater DTaP utilization. Other measures of economic behavior not significant. Further, findings indicate participants’ decisions are influenced by family and social relationships more than physician and institutional advice. The results suggest strategies to encourage herd immunity in rural areas of Wyoming need to target parents with risk-seeking behavior via social networks.

February 21
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Aaron Smith

University of California, Davis

Food vs. Fuel? Impacts of the North Dakota oil boom on agricultural prices

Abstract Farmers and politicians in North Dakota and nearby states claim dramatic increases in shipments of crude oil by rail in 2013-14 caused service delays and higher costs.  We investigate these claims accounting for other potential sources of rail congestion.  We show that grain price spreads between the market hub and regional elevators expanded significantly when crude oil shipments increased. However, the incidence of those effects was borne mostly by buyers paying higher prices at the hub, rather than farmers receiving lower prices. The effects differ by the type of grain being transported.  Wheat markets were affected much more than corn and soybeans, most likely because shipping delays were more costly for wheat than corn and soybeans. When rail capacity is scarce, railroads use railcar auctions to price discriminate over the time sensitivity of a shipment.

March 20
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Tanya Rosenblat

University of Michigan


2018-2019 Seminar Series

Fall 2019

September 27
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Jill McCluskey

Washington State University

Can Income Predict Food Safety Risk in Retail Food Environments?

Abstract In this study, we model the relationship between food safety and the average income in the surrounding community. Using data on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes collected from grocery store delis, we find that stores located in census tracts whose residents are in the lower quartiles of income have higher L. monocytogenes prevalence. The only other statistically significant sociodemographic variable is the category of "other races," which includes Asian, American Indian, and mixed-race residents.  We argue that a store's census-tract income is useful in predicting the prevalence of L. monocytogenes, and thus low-income status should be considered as a risk factor.

October 4
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Jerry Skees

Global Parametrics

Introducing Global Parametrics: A Dialogue with the Founder

Abstract Global Parametrics (GP) is a commercial enterprise with a social mandate which aims to develop financial disaster risk management solutions to counter the risk of natural disasters in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). GP investors are DFID (British) and InsuResilience Investment Fund (Germans). GP aims to lead the market in providing access to sustainable risk transfer services by bringing together climate and seismic sciences, financial engineering and risk-taking capacity to offer tailored solutions to those investing in efforts to aid the poor and vulnerable. GP should also be positioned to develop effective indexes that can be replicated on a global scale. GP owns a global risk hazard platform that allows us to structure financial solutions to help firms manage direct loss and business interruption caused by extreme weather (drought, excess precipitation, heat waves, extreme weather events that drive animal and plant disease, etc.) and other catastrophe events (tropical cyclone, earthquake, volcanoes, flood, etc.).

October 11
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Amanda Countryman

Colorado State University

Teaching Tactics to Engage Diverse Learners

Abstract Educators face numerous challenges while teaching undergraduates, graduates and professionals. This seminar will explore innovative teaching strategies to reach students with diverse learning styles and backgrounds, and instructional methods to overcome theory-averse attitudes. Teaching tips and tactics will be shared for novel approaches to managing classroom structure, content delivery, assessment design, and course evaluation.

November 1
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Nathan Hendricks

Kansas State University

Marginal Cost of Carbon Sequestration through Forest Restoration of Agricultural Land in the Southeastern United States

Abstract We analyze the cost-effectiveness of carbon sequestration through afforestation via the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We use the correlated random effects (CRE) probit model to estimate the impact of an increase in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments on land use transitions. The CRE model allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity and exploit exogenous variation in returns over time. Our estimates are used to simulate land use change and carbon sequestration supply curves over different time horizons. At the average historic CRP rent rate, 2.09 million tonnes of carbon are sequestered annually at a marginal cost of about $45 per tonne of carbon under the 1-year horizon---equivalent to removing 453,379 passenger vehicles from the road each year. Increasing the rent to reflect a payment of $62/tonne of carbon increases annual carbon sequestered by 1.40 percent, 7.02 percent, and 14.08 percent over 1, 5, and 10-year time horizons.

September 21
1:45-2:45
Filley Hall 210

Dr. Paul Winters

International Fund for Agricultural Development

Can irrigation investment improve social outcomes? Evidence from the Philippines

Abstract Paul Winters is the Associate Vice-President of the Strategy and Knowledge Department at the International Fund for Agricultural Development. He was a professor of economics at American University and has worked at the Inter-American Development Bank, the University of New England, and the International Potato Center. His research areas include rural development and smallholder agriculture.

November 1
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Nathan Hendricks

Kansas State University

Marginal Cost of Carbon Sequestration through Forest Restoration of Agricultural Land in the Southeastern United States

Abstract We analyze the cost-effectiveness of carbon sequestration through afforestation via the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We use the correlated random effects (CRE) probit model to estimate the impact of an increase in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments on land use transitions. The CRE model allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity and exploit exogenous variation in returns over time. Our estimates are used to simulate land use change and carbon sequestration supply curves over different time horizons. At the average historic CRP rent rate, 2.09 million tonnes of carbon are sequestered annually at a marginal cost of about $45 per tonne of carbon under the 1-year horizon---equivalent to removing 453,379 passenger vehicles from the road each year. Increasing the rent to reflect a payment of $62/tonne of carbon increases annual carbon sequestered by 1.40 percent, 7.02 percent, and 14.08 percent over 1, 5, and 10-year time horizons.

November 1
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Nathan Hendricks

Kansas State University

Marginal Cost of Carbon Sequestration through Forest Restoration of Agricultural Land in the Southeastern United States

Abstract We analyze the cost-effectiveness of carbon sequestration through afforestation via the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We use the correlated random effects (CRE) probit model to estimate the impact of an increase in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments on land use transitions. The CRE model allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity and exploit exogenous variation in returns over time. Our estimates are used to simulate land use change and carbon sequestration supply curves over different time horizons. At the average historic CRP rent rate, 2.09 million tonnes of carbon are sequestered annually at a marginal cost of about $45 per tonne of carbon under the 1-year horizon---equivalent to removing 453,379 passenger vehicles from the road each year. Increasing the rent to reflect a payment of $62/tonne of carbon increases annual carbon sequestered by 1.40 percent, 7.02 percent, and 14.08 percent over 1, 5, and 10-year time horizons.

Spring 2019

January 8
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Geoffrey Cockfield

University of Southern Queensland

Examining differences in Australian and US agricultural policy: Advocacy, institutions and instruments

Abstract Australia and the US are both developed, anglophone, Euro-colonial nations with similar agricultural production systems and some common export commodities. Both countries have cultural and political narratives about the importance of agriculture and rural communities, both were influenced by the resurgent market ideology of the 1980s and participate in WTO and a range of bi-lateral agreements. Australia is also relatively exposed to US cultural and political trends and ideas. Despite these commonalities and the potential for policy transfer, the agricultural policies of the two countries are notably different. In particular, Australia has drastically reduced effective support to farmers with almost no on-going agricultural programs, in contrast to the extensive programs in the US.

February 22 
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 47

Marc Bellemare

University of Minnesota

Producer Attitudes toward Output Price Risk: Experimental Evidence from the Lab and from the Field

AbstractIn a seminal article, Sandmo (1971) showed that when faced with a risky output price, a risk-averse producer would in theory hedge against price risk by producing less than she would if she instead had been faced with a certain price equal to the mean of the risky price distribution. A number of agricultural and food policy instruments (e.g., administrative pricing, buffer stocks, marketing boards, and variable tariffs) as well as a substantial amount of research contributions are predicated on the idea that producers dislike output price volatility. We test Sandmo’s prediction experimentally, both in the lab with US college students and in the field with Peruvian farmers. We find no support for Sandmo’s prediction, either in the whole sample or in the restricted sample of risk-averse subjects. Moreover, we find that our subjects increase their production in response to price risk at the extensive margin but decrease it in response to price risk at the intensive margin. Looking at alternative explanations for our subjects’ behavior, we find no support for the safety-first decision criterion or for the hypothesis that our subjects maximize expected profit rather than expected utility, but we find suggestive evidence in support of prospect theory.

March 29 
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Jesse Tack

Kansas State University

Using Cross-country Data to Estimate the Yield Impact of Genetically Engineered Corn

AbstractAgriculture has historically experienced one of the highest rates of productivity growth in the U.S. economy, but recent evidence suggests this growth is beginning to slow. The growth decline has coincided with concerns about food price spikes, social instability, increases in food insecurity, growing world population, drought, and climate change. This confluence of problems has prompted interest in determining whether certain technologies can promote gains in crop yields, and none has been more controversial than biotechnology. Many previous studies have investigated whether adoption of genetically engineered (GE) crops has increased yield, and the consensus from the micro-level data and experimental studies is that adoption of GE crops are associated with higher yield. However, ample skepticism remains, with high profile popular publications purporting that GE crops have failed to live up to their promise of yield increases. Here we combine U.S. and French corn yield data spanning 1980-2015 to estimate yield gains associated with GE adoption. This is an especially relevant comparison given the similarity of growing conditions in both countries coupled with the fact that GE corn has not been adopted in France due to regulatory restrictions, which provides an exogenous source of variation that can be exploited using quasi-experimental methods. We consider several possible identification approaches including (i) using only U.S. data in a fixed-effects regression framework; (ii) adding French data as a natural control in the same fixed effects framework; and (iii) utilizing propensity score methods to determine the “best matching” treatment and control groups across countries. Results suggest a yield gain of approximately 17-22 bu/acre depending upon the approach. Ongoing work is seeking to better understand whether these gains are heterogeneous across locations and the drivers thereof.

April 5
3:00-4:30
East Campus Union

Jayson Lusk

Purdue University

Consumer Trends and Impacts on Agricultural Productivity and the Future Food System

Lusk is the author of Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology are Serving up Super Foods to Save the World and The Food Police: A Well-Fed Manifesto About the Politics of Your Plate. He is a frequent commentator on food and food policy and has been called one of the most prolific food and agricultural economists of the past two decades. Lusk has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics and a B.S. in food technology from Kansas State University. His a fellow and past president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. His more than 200 journal articles are among the most cited agricultural economics research. He blogs about food and agricultural policy at his website jaysonlusk.com/

April 26
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Antoine Champetier

Visiting lecturer at the University of California, Davis and visiting researcher at ETH Zurich

Economics of the supply functions for pollination and honey: Marginal costs and supply elasticity

Abstract: We report new data and estimates of beekeeper costs and revenues, which include data on each activity undertaken by honey producers and pollinators, including labor, transport costs and materials for pest and disease management. We use these data, recent surveys and USDA NASS information to develop and characterize supply functions for (1) pollination services to crops that bloom in the late winter (dominated by almonds) and (2) pollination services to crops that bloom in the spring, and (3) U.S.-produced honey. The positions and shapes of these supply functions are crucial to understanding how the honeybee industry will respond to changes in demand for pollination services, and other market conditions, including shifts in honey import supply, and forage availability affected by climate change.

June 7
3:00-4:30
Filley Hall 210

Keith Coble

Mississippi State University