Global Prospects for Dairy in Argentina and Chile: Evidence from Field Visits and Model Simulations, August 2006

We assess the international competitiveness of the dairy industries in Argentina and Chile, combining recent market intelligence gathered from field visits with quantitative simulations of global policy reform scenarios. Both countries exhibit strong potential for export growth but face significant internal and external barriers to expanding their dairy industries. Global policy reforms would resolve some of the international obstacles to their expansion. Argentina has great potential, but it is handicapped by its current macroeconomic policies, trade policy distortions, and the uncertainty associated with policy implementation. Chile is more limited in terms of natural capacity for expansion, but it has a positive trade and investment environment.

U.S. Universities’ Net Returns from Patenting and Licensing: A Quantile Regression Analysis, September 2006

In line with the rights and incentives provided by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, U.S. universities have increased their involvement in patenting and licensing activities through their own technology transfer offices. Only a few U.S. universities are obtaining large returns, however, whereas others are continuing with these activities despite negligible or negative returns. We assess the U.S. universities’ potential to generate returns from licensing activities by modeling and estimating quantiles of the distribution of net licensing returns conditional on some of their structural characteristics. We find limited prospects for public universities without a medical school everywhere in their distribution. Other groups of universities (private, and public with a medical school) can expect significant but still fairly modest returns only beyond the 0.9th quantile. These findings call into question the appropriateness of the revenue-generating motive for the aggressive rate of patenting and licensing by U.S. universities.

Optimal Design of Permit Markets with an Ex Ante Pollution Target, August 2006

In this paper, we examine the design of permit trading programs when the objective is to minimize the cost of achieving an ex ante pollution target, that is, one that is defined in expectation rather than an ex post deterministic value. We consider two potential sources of uncertainty, the presence of either of which can make our model appropriate: incomplete information on abatement costs and uncertain delivery coefficients. In such a setting, we find three distinct features that depart from the well-established results on permit trading: (1) the regulator’s information on firms’ abatement costs can matter; (2) the optimal permit cap is not necessarily equal to the ex ante pollution target; and (3) the optimal trading ratio is not necessarily equal to the delivery coefficient even when it is known with certainty. Intuitively, since the regulator is only required to meet a pollution target on average, she can set the trading ratio and total permit cap such that there will be more pollution when abatement costs are high and less pollution when abatement costs are low. Information on firms’ abatement costs is important in order for the regulator to induce the optimal alignment between pollution level and abatement costs.

Economies of Feedlot Scale, Biosecurity, Investment, and Endemic Livestock Disease, September 2006

Infectious livestock disease creates externalities for proximate animal production enterprises. The distribution of production scale within a region should influence and be influenced by these disease externalities. Taking the distribution of the unit costs of stocking an animal as primitive, we show that an increase in the variance of these unit costs reduces consumer surplus. The effect on producer surplus, total surplus, and animal concentration across feedlots depends on the demand elasticity. A subsidy to smaller herds can reduce social welfare and immiserize the farm sector by increasing the extent of disease. While Nash behavior involves excessive stocking, disease effects can be such that aggregate output declines relative to first-best. Disease externalities can induce more adoption of a cost-reducing technology by larger herds so that animals become more concentrated across herds. For strategic reasons, excess overall adoption of the innovation may occur. Larger herds are also more likely to adopt biosecurity innovations, explaining why larger herds may be less diseased in equilibrium.

Local Roads Maintenance Workers’ Manual, June 2006

This manual describes best roadway maintenance practices for Iowa's local roads and streets, from the center line to shoulders, ditches, and drainage, with chapters on public relations, bridge maintenance, and snow and ice control. Each chapter contains safety tips, information(as appropriate) on managing quality control, and a list of references for further information.

A-1 Monthly Public Assistance Statistical Report Family Investment Program, August 2006

A-1 Monthly Public Assistance Statistical Report Family Investment Program August 2006

F-1 Food Assistance Program State Summary, August 2006

The Food Assistance Monthly Participation Report is a monthly summary of Food Assistance program participation, Statewide and for each Iowa county. Breakouts are reported for participants also in the FIP program, those only receiving Food Assistance, and those that are receiving economic assistance under other programs (primarily Medicaid). This report may also be known as the F-1 Report.

The Traveler, October 2006

News from the Iowa Tourism Office

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, August 2006

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, August 2006

ABD e-News - September 1, 2006

Weekly Newsletter

ABD e-News - September 8, 2006

Weekly Newsletter

ABD e-News - September 22, 2006

Weekly Newsletter

ABD e-News - September 15, 2006

Weekly Newsletter

ABD e-News - September 29, 2006

Weekly Newsletter

City of Bondurant, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Supplementary Information, Schedule of Findings, June 30, 2006

City Audit Report