A few years ago, it was unlikely anyone would write a paper on public policy and regulation. The field was reasonably well-developed, the issues well-defined, and the consequences of policy alternatives agreed-upon. It was generally agreed that the purpose of government regulation of business was to cure competitive imperfections in the marketplace. Most scholars agreed the regulatory agencies were largely captured by the regulated interests, and there was a comfortable and cooperative relationship between the regulator and the regulated. Most of the agencies were organized on an industry-by-industry basis, i.e., Interstate Commerce Commission, Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Federal Communications Commission. The Congressional Acts creating the regulatory agencies were general statements which conferred extremely broad powers to the agencies, and provided little specific policy guidance except to tell the agency to act in the public interest.

Data collected from a sample of New York banks were used to assess factors expected to influence the profitability of the various loan programs of commercial banks. Loan loss and loan service costs were lower for farm loans than for either installment or commercial loans. Although not required to maintain compensating balances, farmer time and demand deposits represented 23 percent of outstanding loan balances. The high rate of turnover on farm mortgage loans resulted in an average loan repayment period of 6.2 years, only 40 percent of the original financing period. Lower farm loan costs indicate that banks could charge 3/4 percent lower interest on farm loans than commercial loans.

Despite massive off-farm migration and relatively prosperous agricultural years, estimates of returns to factors of production indicate that labor earnings in agriculture remain low. This is primarily caused by farm factor market characteristics and the resulting tendency of any increase in farm income to be capitalized into land values.

It was an unexpected pleasure to be invited to speak before the opening session of the Northeast Agricultural Economics Council. I assume that I am not here on the strength of my earlier writings on “American Triracial Isolates” or “The Increase in Divorce Among Separated Persons as a Factor in Divorce Since 1940”. Clearly it is the perceived significance of shifts in the distribution of population in this decade that brings a demographer — and a noneconomic one at that — to occupy this place on your program.

Bangor, Maine's, claim to fame is its statue of Paul Bunyan and my little Company only sells about 2 percent of New England's electricity. Why, then, our interest in population redistribution in the Northeast. Well, it's because we have a capital budget of $180 million for the next decade and for every family of four we expect, but doesn't materialize, we've shot $10,000 of somebody's money. I’d like to tell you how we go about forecasting. In one approach we start with population and build our forecast block by block. In a second approach we start with national projections and back into regional demography almost as a byproduct.

Differential grain transportation rates between the Northeast and South have been identified as a possible source of comparative disadvantage for Northeastern broiler producers. Low cost barge transportation into the South provides competition for railroads resulting in generally low transportation rates in the South. Barge transportation is low cost in part because the Federal improvements of waterways have resulted in a toll-free waterway system. Solutions for a transportation model were found with and without the subsidy. The results indicate that subsidy removal is unlikely to affect interregional broiler production and consumption.

Since the early 1960's, educators writing in the Journal of Farm Economics and its successor, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, have recommended three major curricular changes in agricultural economics programs. First, the curricula should be broadened and diversified, that is, offering more choice of electives of a general nature as opposed to more technical required couses [Hess, Kellogg, Sparks, Sledge, Spitze]. Second, more emphasis should be directed in terms of required formal courses in the written and oral communication skills [Kellogg, Koch, Mather, Sledge, Spitze]. Third, in support of broader curricula, an increase in courses in social sciences and humanities should be required [Hess, Koch, Manderscheid, Sparks, Spitze].

This paper develops the methodology used to investigate the pricing efficiency of farm level corn prices in a minor surplus production area (Western New York) located within a much larger regionally deficit, producing area. The results indicate that from January 1975-June 1976, farm level corn prices in Western New York were not competitively efficient. However, Western New York corn prices were competitively efficient after mid June 1976. A conclusion is that Western New York corn prices became competitively efficient after two new relatively large buyers located in the area.

During the past fifteen years, many changes have taken place in the curriculum of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland. Twelve new courses have been added, ten courses dropped and a new non-thesis Master's degree developed since the 1963–64 academic year.

The “Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1976” are expected to insure about two-fifths of all hired agricultural workers. Large interstate variations in the proportion of workers insured result from their differing work histories and state's qualifying provisions. Of these insured workers, three-tenths will receive benefits, ranging from about $250 to $1,000 depending upon the state benefit schedule and the worker's employment history. Average benefits amount to 14 percent of earnings of the workers which average $3,613. Nearly one-fourth of the beneficiaries will exhaust their benefit entitlements.

Least cost solutions for a three million gallon a day land application of municipal wastewater system are estimated for three levels of capital cost subsidy: no subsidy, 75 percent, and 85 percent. Irrigation of reed canarygrass is superior of alfalfa, corn, forests, and natural vegetation (weeds). The cost of a full year irrigation of reed canarygrass ranges from $493,000 to $565,000 depending upon the assumed value of reed canarygrass. If the local municipality minimizes its costs while receiving subsidies, inefficiencies result. Total costs to society can increase in excess of 65 percent of the minimum cost solution.

Agricultural economics became a formalized program at the University of New Hampshire fifty one years ago. During the first thirty five years, the program was primarily a traditional agricultural economics program emphasizing farm management, agricultural marketing, agricultural policy and related subjects. However, during the past fifteen years, the program has undergone profound changes and evolved into one which places emphasis on natural resource economics and community development. In this paper, I will discuss the evolution of the agriculture/resource economics at the University of New Hampshire and look at the changes in course offerings, student enrollment, faculty staffing and factors that have been responsible for the changes that have occurred. Then, I will discuss some of the factors that may influence the future trends in the Resource Economics teaching and research program during the next few years.

About 15 years ago a national effort was mounted to provide equal employment opportunity to any person based on the individual's qualifications without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, age or national origin. This effort included executive orders which contained guidelines for hiring, promotions, transfers and discharges. The orders specified that additional job opportunities would be made available to persons who had not previously been given adequate opportunities.

The recent reversal in the intraregional migration into non-metropolitan areas has generated a great deal of interest in the problems of local government finance. Of specific concern are the changes in local government expenditures and revenues that have accompanied population growth and decline and related shifts in population composition in nonmetropolitan areas of the Northeast. Using a supply and demand framework, it is argued that the approach used in previous studies of examining the relationship between growth rates and various fiscal variables leads to biased inferences regarding the impact of growth. By analyzing the impacts of changes in the socioeconomic make-up of the population which often accompany growth and decline, the study increases the understanding of fiscal strains on local governments resulting from population shifts.

The Research Program Steering Committee on Marketing and Competition was created in 1977 by the Northeast Experiment Station Directors. It was one of ten such committees asked to develop a master research program to identify research areas of high priority, coordinate and consolidate current research programs, implement new approaches, and coordinate future research plans. This particular committee was asked to cover research programs in “Marketing and Competition” (RP 6.03). The Master Program, still in the development stage, is an indicative plan. It is designed to indicate needed areas of research and priorities and suggests a mechanism for encouraging the allocation of resources in the indicated directions. The effect on research priorities will depend on how well we did our job, on how seriously the limited number of involved researchers take our suggestions, and on the impact we all have on the allocation of funds and human resources.

The Bishop-Simpson model, a variant of the traditional shift-share approach, is utilized for investigation of the development of the southern New Hampshire regional economy over time. Emphasis is placed on the strengths of the new technique in counteracting some of the limitations of traditional shift-share analyses. The B and S technique gives a clearer picture than the traditional shift-share approach of the relative advantages and disadvantages for region in terms of its specialization in slow or fast growing industries.

A mail/telephone technique is discussed which achieved a 79 percent response rate at a cost per usable survey which was only about 50 percent above the general average costs for using mailed questionnaires. With proper follow-up techniques this method is capable of yielding even higher response rates at a cost far below personal, face-to-face interviews.

Public decision makers generally and especially those in the executive branch of the Federal government are demanding increasing amounts of information on which to base research policy and budget decisions. Zero-based budgeting provides a mechanism for revealing the priorities of an organization in a very specific context. The Congress in more general terms is requesting advice on research priorities. Such developments as (1) the proposed cuts in formula grant funds (e.g., Hatch funds) and increases in competitive grant funds contained in FY 1979 executive budget for the USDA, (2) substantial critical testimony before Congressional committees by spokesmen for groups who believe they are underserved by the Land-Grant system (e.g., low income and minority groups), and (3) a possible tax revolt growing out of the recent California referendum, suggest that these demands for information are likely to increase rather than decrease.

There is increasing evidence that research funding sources are requiring additional assurances that the expenditure of their resources is in the “highest and best use.” Legislative calls for sunset provisions and mandated evaluations plus administrative moves toward grant rather than formula funding emphasize the push for more direct accountability. The objective of this paper is to outline the work of a committee charged with assisting the directors of agricultural research and extension in the nation's land grant universities in their requests for funds for high priority research.

Multicollinearity is one of several problems confronting researchers using regression analysis. This paper examines the regression model when the assumption of independence among the independent variables is violated. The basic properties of the least squares approach are examined, the concept of multicollinearity and its consequences on the least squares estimators are explained. The detection of multicollinearity and alternatives for handling the problem are then discussed. The alternative approaches evaluated are variable deletion, restrictions on the parameters, ridge regression and Bayesian estimation.