Empirical Studies in Production Economics and International Agricultural Development Issues

This dissertation is composed of two manuscripts in Production Economics and two manuscripts in International Agricultural Development. The first two manuscripts focus on production economics, and both are an exploration of nitrogen use and its impact on continuous corn production and profitability in Colorado. The first manuscript titled "Switching Regression Stochastic Plateau Production Functions––A Comparison of Alternative Specifications" proposes an alternative approach for estimating crop yield response functions using a frequentist approach. The second manuscript titled "Profitability Effects of Different Tillage Systems in Continuous Corn Rotations" explores the interaction between different tillage systems and nitrogen fertilization in irrigated continuous corn production in northeastern Colorado. We find that strip tillage is better suited for continuous corn production under the agro-climatic conditions in northeastern Colorado.

The third and fourth manuscripts focus on international agricultural development and analyze the role of factors that influence the agricultural development of small-holder farmers in Ecuador, namely, markets, food value chains, risk preferences, and risk perceptions. The third manuscript titled "Does the Use of Specialty Varieties and Post-Harvest Practices Benefit Farmers? Cocoa Value Chains in Ecuador" analyzes the impact of the use of specialty cocoa varieties on small-scale farmers' income. It finds that the use of specialty cocoa varieties has a low impact on small-scale cocoa producers' income, and that post-harvest practices may lead to substantial price responses irrespective of the type of cocoa grown. Finally, the fourth manuscript titled "Linking Risk Preferences and Risk Perceptions of Climate Change Using Prospect Theory" explores how farmers' risk preferences correlate with their perceptions of climate risk. It finds that farmers that behave in accordance to the assumptions of prospect theory are more likely to perceive greater risks from climate change, that is, they are more likely to perceive the risks associated with climate change as being more threatening at a personal level. Since risk perception is a necessary prerequisite for adaptation, the results presented in this manuscript, have important policy implications for process of adoption of new technologies aimed at mitigating effects of climate change.