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Showing papers in "American Journal of Agricultural Economics in 1972"


Journal ArticleDOI
Theodore Schultz1

4,827 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role of education in social stratification systems was first spelled out in some detail by the late Pitirim A. Sorokin in his classic book, published in 1927, Social Mobility as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: OCIOLOGISTS' interest in education dates back to the earliest days of the discipline. Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Lester F. Ward, Emile Durkheim, Charles H. Cooley, Edward A. Ross-to mention only a few-were writing on the sociological aspects of education more than a half century ago. Although their interests were more in education as a basic institution for melioration and for passing on the social and cultural heritage from generation to generation, they were not unaware of some of the consequences of educational attainment for the individual and for society. The role of education in social stratification systems, however, was first spelled out in some detail by the late Pitirim A. Sorokin in his classic book, published in 1927, Social Mobility [33]. Sorokin correctly saw the school to be a major channel of vertical circulation and emphasized the extent to which the school served as a mechanism of social testing, selection, and distribution of individuals within different social strata, thus determining the properties of the different social classes. Much later, Talcott Parsons [18] elaborated on Sorokin's theme in his well-known article, "The School Class as a Social System: Some of Its Functions in American Society." Parsons stressed not only the selection and allocation functions of the

343 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a statiscal test is devised for testing the hypothesis of constant returns to scale in all factors on the profit function, and both the profit and the factor demand function are estimated jointly, using data from Indian agriculture.
Abstract: The concept of the profit function provides an alternative approach to the analysis of production. First, a brief exposition of the theory of profit function is presented. Then the profit function and the factor demand functions are formulated within the Cobb‐Douglas framework. A statiscal test is devised for testing the hypothesis of constant returns to scale in all factors on the profit function. As an application, both the profit and the factor demand function are estimated jointly, using data from Indian agriculture.

183 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model for empirical evaluation of loan rates, support and diversion payments, and acreage restrictions is developed and tested for U.S. corn acreage in the United States.
Abstract: Acreage supply relationships for corn in the United States are analyzed for 1948–70. Emphasis is on the effect of changes in government policies because similar programs for acreage control and price support are the most likely form of future policies. A model for empirical evaluation of loan rates, support and diversion payments, and acreage restrictions is developed and tested. More than 95 percent of the variation in U.S. corn acreage during the study period can be associated with the selected policy variables. The approach suggested in this research appears to be applicable to other crops heavily influenced by government policy.

141 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a replacement principle is derived which applies to both appreciating assets such as forests and depreciating assets, such as equipment, and the resulting replacement criterion provides a definition of opportunity costs appropriate for the replacement decision.
Abstract: Using a general model of asset replacement, a replacement principle is derived which applies to both appreciating assets such as forests and depreciating assets such as equipment. The resulting replacement criterion provides a definition of opportunity costs appropriate for the replacement decision. The theory is presented graphically for the continuous time case, and two discrete-time examples are considered. Theoretical implications of changing discount rates and market forces are considered as they affect replacement policies.

131 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found that non-monetary outputs of ranch ownership are the most significant factors in explaining high sale prices of Arizona ranches, including land fundamentalism, rural fundamentalism and conspicuous consumption/speculative attitudes.
Abstract: This paper extends the argument that cattle ranching and ranchers can be better understood by viewing the ranch resource as generating both production and consumption outputs. It was found that nonmonetary outputs of ranch ownership are the most significant factors in explaining high sale prices of Arizona ranches. Land fundamentalism, rural fundamentalism, and conspicuous consumption/speculative attitudes are the most important of these consumption outputs. The analysis suggests that small town viability and growth in the arid Southwest, and possibly in the West as a whole, may be more likely to occur if rural development policies are not predicated on the economic impact of surrounding ranches.

106 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors used quadratic programming to calculate the variance-efficient mean income path and associated lower income bounds and suggest a way to select an optimum farm plan under risk based on the farmer's own self-assessed income-risk preference function.
Abstract: This paper uses quadratic programming to calculate the variance-efficient mean income path and associated lower income bounds and suggests a way to select an optimum farm plan under risk based on the farmer's own self-assessed income-risk preference function. An empirical example from a Midwest corn-soybean farm is presented.

76 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This chapter focuses on process analysis and the neoclassical theory of production, which states that any analytical science can study only partial processes, that is, only slices of actuality.
Abstract: This chapter focuses on process analysis and the neoclassical theory of production. Any analytical science can study only partial processes, that is, only slices of actuality. Every analytical process, therefore, can be but a partial process. To determine such a process, an analytical boundary is required. This boundary must include the duration of the process and the geographical frontier, which separates the process from the rest of actuality at all times. What an analytical process does can be described only by listing everything that crosses its frontier and at what time. To study what happens inside an analytical process, the process must be divided into other processes by drawing new boundaries. In drafting the list of the elements that cross the frontier, it must be kept in mind that a partial process being an artificial slice of actuality, such a process is inexistent both before the origin of its duration, t = 0, and after the end of that duration, t = T .

68 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The case against continuous exponential growth in the physical coordinates of our economy has already been made [1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 24] but has not yet won majority acceptance.
Abstract: T HE case against continuous exponential growth in the physical coordinates of our economy has already been made [1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 24] but has not yet won majority acceptance. Rather than repeat the arguments establishing the necessity and desirability of a steady-state economy, I will confine myself to a critique of a number of counter-arguments and objections which have been raised against the steady-state view by those who remain committed to the orthodox growth paradigm. What follows then is a kind of catechism of pro-growth fallacies, sophistries, casuistries, obfuscations, nonsequiturs, question-beggings, and misunderstandings, which, if properly refuted, should indirectly make the case for a steady-state economy.

62 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is not the new technology which is the primary cause of accentuated imbalances in the countryside as discussed by the authors, but the fact that the credit service does not serve those for whom it was originally intended, that the extension services are not living up to expectations, that panchayats are political rather than development bodies, that security of tenure is a luxury of the few, that rents are exorbitant, that for the greater part tenurial legislation is deliberately miscarried, or that wage scales are hardly sufficient to keep soul and body together.
Abstract: It is not ... the new technology which is the primary cause of the accentuated imbalances in the countryside. It is not the fault of the new technology that the credit service does not serve those for whom it was originally intended; that the extension services are not living up to expectations; that the panchayats are political rather than development bodies; that security of tenure is a luxury of the few; that rents are exorbitant; that for the greater part tenurial legislation is deliberately miscarried; or that wage scales are hardly sufficient to keep soul and body together. [25] Wolf Ladejinsky--1969

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used corn and wheat fertilizer response data from the Argentine Pampa region to determine the production conditions under which use of fertilizer would be economical, and calculated the social gains from alternative fertilizer price policies.
Abstract: Because economic return from fertilization is stochastic, a precise assessment of the risk in fertilizer investment is critical, especially in less-developed countries. Using corn and wheat fertilizer response data from the Argentine Pampa, production conditions under which use of fertilizer would be economical are determined. Government protection of an obsolete fertilizer industry, high fertilizer prices, and inadequate tax breaks for users retard development of modern fertilizer technology. Despite current prices, fertilization would be possible on a majority of Argentine farms. Lack of use is attributed to the unavailability to farmers of technical and economic information. Social gains from alternative fertilizer price policies are calculate.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a polynomial price lag model is used for milk production and a geometrically declining price lag is used to detect the response of agricultural production to price changes.
Abstract: For much of agricultural production, output response to some given price change is hypothesized to increase first through time and then decline. To detect this type of response, a polynomial price lag model is estimated for milk production. For comparison purposes, a geometrically declining price lag model is also estimated. Although the estimates of long‐run supply elasticities do not critically depend on the type of model used, the response for each period of time and for various short‐run intervals does.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the long-term changes in relative prices of the productive services of the factors of production and find that rent per acre in countries with high per capita incomes declines over time relative to the price of human time.
Abstract: HEN data and theory talk to each other there is hope for economics. We are very much in need of such talk with a view of explaining the long-term changes in relative prices of the productive services of the factors of production. When we leave the equilibrium static state and endeavor to bring theory to bear on the economic processes that change these prices relative one to another, our factor price economics is wanting. Modern economic growth theory puts this issue aside on the convenient assumption that these prices do not change relative to each other. The classical economists, however, had more courage and a broader perspective of economic processes, and their theories continue to influence our thinking about long-term changes in rents relative to wages and relative to the price of the services of reproducible capital. By their theory, rents would necessarily rise relative to wages. But the data have been hard on this theory. We were all taught that the rent paid for the services of land must rise relative to the price of other factor services in accordance with the rise in Ricardian Rent as a consequence of population increases and of economic growth because of the highly inelastic supply of land. But what we observe in countries where per capita incomes are high is that rent per acre declines over time relative to the price of human time. In the United States, for example, the total real compensation per hour at work of all manufacturing production workers increased between 1929 and 1970 more than four times as much as did the rent of farm

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to test the accuracy of linear programming for E,V farm plans and concluded that it is more reliable than previously thought, and a linear programming approximation using the mean absolute deviation was used to derive efficient E, V farm plans when a suitable quadratic programming computer code is not available.
Abstract: A linear programming approximation using the mean absolute deviation can be used to derive efficient E,V farm plans when a suitable quadratic programming computer code is not available. This note reports a Monte Carlo simulation study designed to test the accuracy of this method, and concludes that it is more reliable than previously thought.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The generalized power production function includes as special cases the Cobb-Douglas, the Transcendental, and the CobbDouglas with variable returns to scale as discussed by the authors, which can be estimated by ordinary least squares without simultaneous equation bias under the behavioral assumption of maximization of expected profits.
Abstract: The generalized power production function includes as special cases the Cobb-Douglas, the Transcendental, and the Cobb-Douglas with variable returns to scale. It can be estimated by ordinary least squares without simultaneous equation bias under the behavioral assumption of maximization of expected profits.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a technique for delineating changes in income and employment dimensions of rural counties or similar units is presented, where shift share analysis is portrayed as a descriptive tool with potential use in rural development research.
Abstract: This note presents a technique for delineating changes in income and employment dimensions of rural counties or similar units. Shift‐share analysis is portrayed as a descriptive tool with potential use in rural development research. A model to isolate sectoral income and employment changes in four rural counties is briefly discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a procedure is suggested to facilitate a trade-off between simplicity and precision in the specification of the harmonic model, and two empirical examples illustrating this procedure are presented.
Abstract: The harmonic model has important properties which enable OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) to be used to estimate efficiently a stable seasonal pattern. These properties are considered, and a procedure is suggested to facilitate a trade-off between simplicity and precision in the specification of the model. Two empirical examples illustrating this procedure are presented.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an estate management model that considers interrelationships between estate creation and transfer, as well as the uncertainty of the parent's(s') death is developed, which is conceptualized as an adaptive sequential decision problem and the simulation model used in the empirical analysis is briefly reviewed.
Abstract: This article develops an estate management model that considers interrelationships between estate creation and transfer, as well as the uncertainty of the parent's(s') death. The estate management problem is conceptualized as an adaptive sequential decision problem and the simulation model used in the empirical analysis is briefly reviewed. Empirical results suggest that high growth rate creation and transfer plans which include substantial lifetime gifts are essential elements of high response estate management strategies. Implications for business organization and coordination of the entry and exit processes of farmers are briefly discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The shift from the traditional cheap rice policy to a recent policy of high price supports is due to the decline in the role of rice as a wage good as discussed by the authors, and the rapid rise in per capita income and the dramatic transformation of Japan's industrial structure contributed to the policy change.
Abstract: Until only a decade ago, Japan's rice policy had been primarily designed to procure "cheap" rice for the industrial population from domestic and colonial producers. For the promotion of industrialization and economic growth the price of rice, the principal wage good, had been kept low to prevent the rise in the wage rate of urban industrial workers. The shift from the traditional cheap rice policy to a recent policy of high price supports is due to the decline in the role of rice as a wage good. The rapid rise in per capita income and the dramatic transformation of Japan's industrial structure contributed to the policy change.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a five-equation demand model of the U.S. shrimp market was estimated using annual data for the period from 1950 to 1968, and prices, consumption and ending stocks were jointly determired variables; predetermined variables were shrimp supplies and consumer income.
Abstract: A five‐equation demand model of the U.S. shrimp market was estimated using annual data for the period from 1950 to 1968. Prices, consumption, and ending stocks were the jointly determired variables; predetermined variables were shrimp supplies and consumer income. Exvessel price variations resulted largely from variations in domestic landings. Imports reduced the general level of ex‐vessel prices but did not contribute substantially to price variability except in isolated instances. Large price drop occurred during periods of recession when increases in demand were slowed and stock began to build, while landings and imports increased substantially over the previous year.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed use of separable programming for selecting farm enterprises which are efficient in terms of expected income and income variance for a croplivestock farm in the Columbia Basin of Washington.
Abstract: This paper proposes use of separable programming for selecting farm enterprises which are efficient in terms of expected income and income variance. An empirical application on a croplivestock farm in the Columbia Basin of Washington is presented. The effects of removing statistically insignificant covariance terms and the error introduced by the linear approximation are explored.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an open econometric model is developed to estimate the simultaneous relationships prevailing among the demand, supply and price, and export variables within the Canadian beef cattle sector.
Abstract: Limited information is available concerning the relationships existing among demand, supply, and price within the Canadian beef cattle sector. Since the sector is very dependent on exports to the U.S.A., an open econometric model is developed to estimate the simultaneous relationships prevailing among the demand, supply and price, and export variables. The two‐stage least squares procedure is adopted to obtain a solution. It was estimated that by 1975 both Canadian domestic demand for beef and farm prices of beef will increase, but exports of live cattle will decline. The model also revealed that the price and production levels of feed grains are important factors in accommodating the expansion of demand.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article investigated the effects of U.S. minimum wage legislation on farm wage rates and employment by a reduced-form supply-demand model of the hired farm labor market and found that the extension of minimum wages to some farm labor has significantly increased farm wages and reduced employment.
Abstract: Effects of U. S. minimum wage legislation on farm wage rates and employment are investigated by a reduced‐form supply‐demand model of the hired farm labor market. Results indicate the extension of minimum wages to some farm labor has significantly increased farm wages and reduced employment, as the marginal productivity theory of factor demand would predict.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of minimum wages on agricultural employment in the southern U.S. were investigated and the principal result was that the introduction of minimum wage decreased the employment of hired and total labor.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of minimum wages on agricultural employment in the southern U. S. The principal result was that the introduction of minimum wages decreased the employment of hired and total (hired plus family) labor. Estimates of employment reduction of hired labor due to minimum wages are provided.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model was developed to estimate the price and icome elasticities of demand of all items in one budget category (like food) and the cross-price elasticity of these items with all others.
Abstract: This study assumes that consumer expenditures occur in a stepwise fashion in which income is fist allocated to budget categories and then to optimum quantities within each category. With this assumption, a model was developed to estimate the price and icome elasticities of demand of all items in one budget category—like food—and the cross-price elasticities of these items with all others. The approach permits one to specify the changes in expenditure levels on budget categories from cross-section information and the flexibility of money. The model was empirically applied to Argentine consumption data.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For example, the accuracy of the first forecast of crop production tended to underestimate crop size and the size of year-to-year changes in production over the 1929-1970 period as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Accuracy of USDA crop forecasts increased moderately over the 1929–1970 period. However, USDA's first forecasts of crop production tended to underestimate crop size and the size of year-to-year changes in production. USDA also undercompensates for errors in earlier forecasts when developing revised crop forecasts.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors fitted harmonic regressions to monthly data to provide a low cost alternative means of predicting prices at three market levels in the beef industry and to provide information on time interrelationships among these market levels.
Abstract: Harmonic regressions were fitted to monthly data to provide a low cost alternative means of predicting prices at three market levels in the beef industry and to provide information on time interrelationships among these market levels. The results have limited prediction potential and support preconceived ideas concerning time interrelationships.