These are challenging times for policy; intense partisan and ideological polarization pervades the land, serving to confound the policies that should connect citizens and shaking confidence in the representatives elected to craft them. A recent poll found that 85 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing; two-in-ten people think Congress fails to […]
The Japanese beef market’s lessons for trade policy
For ten consecutive years, Japan has increased its meat consumption; consumption increased by 3.4 percent last year over the previous year to produce the highest level of growth in five years. Beef consumption, in particular, is expected to grow nearly 4 percent this year after two straight years of decline. Japan is already one of […]
Juggling bills may be key at-risk indicator for food insecurity
Pawning family valuables or paying one bill while letting another bill slide may be warning signs that someone is at risk for being food insecure. A new University of Illinois study uses data collected from people who visit food pantries to show that these financial coping strategies can help identify people who are very […]
The Economic thinking behind Walmart’s New Investment Strategy
Walmart, which was founded in 1962, has been the bellwether of the retail industry for over 50 years. Apparently, they are not satisfied with the current traditional retail industry, because the company is planning to rely more on its e-commerce sector. In October 2016 the investors of Walmart were informed that the company would cut […]
The risks that U.S. fuel Industry is facing under the background of climate change: in the form of a slump in fuel price
Introduction Climate change, exhibited as global warming and frequent extreme weather events, has a great impact on our world, including the U.S. fuel Industry. Recently, there has been a debate between the energy industry and public about whether or not we should price the risk from climate change in the energy production industry. According to […]
Designing a Health Service Program for Rural Uganda: Application of Expected Utility Theory
Introduction: A large proportion of the population in rural East Africa live beyond walking distance to a clinic. Their access to healthcare is further compromised by poverty, limited health infrastructure, lack of health information, severely limited qualified health personnel, and lack of familiarity with the practices, assumptions, and culture of modern health care. This has […]
Flood insurance – who needs it?
Hurricane Harvey is a tragedy. One college friend of mine lost his house completely, and another the roof, floors, and drywall. Both are wonderful men, Texas Tech graduates. The thought on my mind tonight is flood insurance. I hope they both had policies in force, but am afraid to ask. Most homeowners carry a form […]
Limited Impact of Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Under Current Funding Levels
Established in the 2008 Farm Bill and re-authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) aims to promote biomass production for bioenergy and bio-products by providing growers and bio-refineries with subsidies for biomass production. The total budget for the BCAP is limited to $125 million over 2014-2018 by the 2014 Farm […]
Coffee farmers face dangerously low profits, experts warn at 6th Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance
Coffee prices have always been a source of uncertainty for all the agents of the value chain, especially small coffee farmers that have seen their livelihoods worsened every time prices drop. The most recent Consultative Forum on Coffee Finance took the subject of price volatility and increasing production costs as its main focus, seeing how […]
Transforming a competitive market into an imperfect market by cooperative power
Introduction The US milk market is characterized by five links. Farmers, who produce the milk and sell it through cooperatives to huge dairy processors, who transform it into the different products, like packed fluid milk, cheese or yogurt. Then retailers sell those products to consumers. In this market we can find a combination of government policies […]