Sensitivity analysis has become an important tool to test the robustness of estimated economic models. In this paper we propose the use of simulation-based sensitivity analysis to identify the fundamental structure of the economy. To show the possibilities of this technique, we provide empirical evidence on the path of structural change occurring in the Chicago economy by running simulation in ...

To maximize herd profits, dairy farmers are faced with the complex dilemma of minimizing costs that are associated with rearing heifers while ensuring or enhancing lifetime economic productivity. Decisions about heifer management interact with underlying biological aspects of growth, thereby influencing future profitability. A thorough understanding of these biological interactions is lacking. ...

Nearly all economic models of the household have implications for how characteristics of the children in a family affect human capital investments in their siblings. Much evidence suggests that perceived returns to investing in sons is higher than investing in daughters in many economies (often due to cultural practices rather than inherent productivity differences). When this is so – and where...

This short note studies formally the common practice of log-linearizing stochastic economic models. We make precise the conditions under which stability of the original model can be inferred from that of the linearized model. A transformation to recover the stochastic equilibrium of the former from that of the latter is provided.

This paper demonstrates how currently underutilised economic modelling techniques can enrich the analysis of animal disease problems. Increasingly, analyses of animal health programmes are expected to address a range of economic and social questions. These expectations can be addressed by better integration of epidemiological modelling with economic techniques whose application to animal health...

Scenario analysis constitutes a valuable deployment method for scientific models to inform environmental decision-making, particularly for evaluating land degradation mitigation options, which are rarely based on formal analysis. In this paper we demonstrate such an assessment using the PESERA-DESMICE modeling framework with various scenarios for 13 global land degradation hotspots. Starting wi...

Submitted: Jun 26, 2013; Accepted: Jul 22, 2013; Published: Jul 25, 2013 Abstract: In the conditions of social and institutional transformations’ retardation the study of issues concerning transition shift to sustainable economic development seems to be urgent and strategic direction of scientific researches and development. The aggravation of the global economic, social and environmental probl...

Money is the prime incentive in economic models. Recent evidence makes it clear that people are also greatly concerned about how their incomes compare with those of others, suggesting that rank may be a strong motivator as well. Three experiments in Vietnam assessed whether students in realworld learning environments were concerned with their performance rankings. The results showed that concer...

Perturbation and matched asymptotic expansion methods are shown to be useful to the study of land economics. In the context of residential land management theory, the present study complements a previous analysis of locational equilibrium economic models for residential land in Wan [1977] and extends it beyond absentee ownership to include public ownership and mixed ownership. The dependence of...