Special investigation of the Iowa Department of Economic Development Film Office and the Film, Television and Video Production Promotion Program for the period May 17, 2007 through September 21, 2009

Special investigation of the Iowa Department of Economic Development Film Office and the Film, Television and Video Production Promotion Program for the period May 17, 2007 through September 21, 2009

The Effects of Expanding Ethanol Markets On Ethanol Production Feed Markets And the Iowa Economy, June 30 2001

Report produced by Iowa Departmment of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Strip Tillage Effects on Crop Production and Soil Erosion, 2002

Report produced by Iowa Departmment of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Dairy Food Consumption, Production, and Policy in Japan, August 2005

We explore and investigate Japanese dairy markets. We first provide an overview of consumer demand and how it evolved after World War II. Using historical data and econometric estimates of Japanese dairy demand, we identify economic, cultural, and demographic forces that have been shaping consumption patterns. Then we summarize the characteristics of Japanese milk production and dairy processing and policies affecting them. We next describe the import regime and trade flows in dairy products. The analysis of the regulatory system of the dairy sector shows how its incentive structure affects the long-term prospects of various segments of the industry. The paper concludes with policy recommendations of how to reform the Japanese dairy sector.

Production and Abatement Distortions under Noisy Green Taxes, October 2005

Pigouvian taxes are typically imposed in situations where there is imperfect knowledge on the extent of damage caused by a producing firm. A regulator imposing imperfectly informed Pigouvian taxes may cause the firms that should (should not) produce to shut down (produce). In this paper we use a Bayesian information framework to identify optimal signal-conditioned taxes in the presence of such losses. The tax system involves reducing (increasing) taxes on firms identified as causing high (low) damage. Unfortunately, when an abatement decision has to be made, the tax system that minimizes production distortions also dampens the incentive to abate. In the absence of wrong-firm concerns, a regulator can solve the problem by not adjusting taxes for signal noise. When wrong-firm losses are a concern, the regulator has to trade off losses from distorted production incentives with losses from distorted abatement incentives. The most appropriate policy may involve a combination of instruments.

Behavior of Asphalts During Production of Asphaltic Concrete Mixes, HR-107, 1965

When mixing asphalt in thin film and at high temperatures, as in the production of asphalt concrete, it has been shown that asphalt will harden due essentially to two factors: (1) losses of volatiles and (2) oxidation. The degree of hardening as expressed by percent loss in penetration varied from as low as 7% to about 57% depending on mixing temperatures, aggregate types, gradation, asphalt content, penetration and other characteristics of asphalts used. Methods used to predict hardening during mixing include loss on heat and thin film oven tests, with the latter showing better correlation with the field findings. However, information on other physical and chemical changes that may occur as a result of mixing in the production of hot-mix asphaltic concrete is limited, The purpose of this research project was to ascertain the changes of asphalt cement properties, both physical and chemical, during mixing operation and to determine whether one or more of the several tests of asphalt cements were critical enough to indicate these changes.