Graduate Courses for Agriculture and Resource Economics (AREC)

Schedule of Classes: Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer
(Only current and next semester available)

AREC 404 Applied Price Analysis (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
An introduction to the economic analysis of price behavior, with applications to agricultural commodities. The use of price information in the decision-making process, the relation and supply and demand in determining price, and the relation of prices to grade, time, location, and stages of processing in the marketing system.

AREC 405 Economics of Production (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
The use and application of production economics in analysis of firm and policy decisions. Production functions, cost functions, multiple product and joint production, and production processes through time.

AREC 425 Economics of Food Sector (3 credits)
Corequisite: ECON306, ECON326, or equivalent. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC425 or AREC489B. Formerly AREC489B.
Economic analysis of food sector issues, including food safety, agricultural biotechnology, and coordination mechanisms in the food supply chain.

AREC 427 Economics of Commodity Marketing Systems (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
Basic economic theory as applied to the marketing of agricultural commodities. Current developments affecting market structure including contractual arrangements, cooperative marketing, vertical integration, and governmental policies.

AREC 433 Food and Agricultural Policy (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Polcy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
Economic and political context of governmental involvement in the farm and food sector. Historical programs and current policy issues. Analysis of economic effects of agricultural programs, their benefits and costs, and comparison of policy alternatives. Analyzes the interrelationship among international development, agricultural trade and general economic and domestic agricultural policies.

AREC 435 Commodity Futures and Options (3 credits)
Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week. Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent; and BMGT230, ECON321 or equivalent.
The economics and institutional features of commodity futures and options markets. Students will develop a basic understanding of the underlying price relationships between cash and futures markets and will apply this information to business risk management decision making.

AREC 445 Agricultural Development, Population Growth and the Environment (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
Development theories, the role of agriculture in economic development, the agricultural policy environment, policies impacting on rural income and equity, environmental impacts of agricultural development.

AREC 453 Natural Resources and Public Policy (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
Rational use and reuse of natural resources. Theory, methodology, and policies concerned with the allocation of natural resources among alternative uses. Optimum state of conservation, market failure, safe minimum standard, and cost-benefit analysis.

AREC 454 The Economics of Climate Change (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON306 or ECON326. Restricted to Agricultural and Resource Economics majors (0111C and 0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics Concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricultural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03). Other students will be taken off the holdfile on the first day of class as space allows. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC454 or AREC489C. Formerly AREC489C.
The role of economics in the formation of climate policy; basic concepts of environmental economics including efficiency, externalities, and policy instruments; economic models of intertemporal decisions and decision making in the face of uncertainty. Applied economic analysis of specific issues and current policy initiatives.

AREC 455 Economics of Land Use (3 credits)
Restricted to Agricultural & Resource Economics majors (0111C &0111O), Environmental Science and Policy Environmental Economics concentration majors (2299D), and those minoring in Agribusiness Economics (#AG01), Environmental Economics and Policy (#AG02), or Resource and Agricutural Policy in Economic Development (#AG03) Other students will be taken off the hold file on the first day of class as space allows. Prerequisite: ECON306, ECON326 or equivalent.
Fundamentals of location theory. Microeconomics of land use decisions, including determination of rent and hedonic pricing models. Impacts of government decisions on land use, including regulation (e.g., zoning), incentives (transferable development rights), provision of public services, and infrastructure investments. Impacts of land use on environmental quality, including issues relating to sprawl, agricultural land preservation, and other topics of special interest.

AREC 489 Special Topics in Agricultural and Resources Economics (3 credits)
Repeatable to 9 credits.

AREC 610 Microeconomic Applications in Agricultural and Resource Markets (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Prerequisite: ECON 603.
Applications of graduate level microeconomic analysis to the problems of agricultural and natural resource production and distribution including demand for agricultural output, the nature of agricultural supply decisions, farm labor issues, land rental and acquisition, and exploitation of natural resources.

AREC 620 Optimization in Agricultural and Resource Economics (3 credits)
Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Prerequisite: differential calculus and one course in matrix or linear algebra.
Mathematical theory of optimization as it is used in agricultural and resource economics. Topics include necessary and sufficient conditions for nonlinear programming and related Kuhn-Tucker and saddle point theory, convexity and concavity, existence and uniqueness, duality and the envelope theorem, the discrete maximum principle, and control theory and dynamic optimization.

AREC 623 Applied Econometrics I (4 credits)
Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week.
Fundamentals of mathematical statistics for applications in econometrics. Development of the standard linear model and computer applications in applied econometric problems.

AREC 624 Applied Econometrics II (4 credits)
Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week.
Variations of the standard linear model and simultaneous equations estimation. Application of econometric tools including nonlinear regression, nonlinear simultaneous equations estimation, qualitative econometric models including logit, probit, and tobit models, varying parameters models, unobserved variables, time series models, and model selection procedures.

AREC 625 Economic Welfare Analysis (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 825. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 625 or AREC 825.
The measurement of economic well-being for producers, consumers, and resource owners. Topics include competitive equilibrium, Pareto optimality, market failure, public goods and nonmarket welfare measurement, multimarket considerations, existing distortions, and second best. Applications in economic welfare analysis of agricultural and resource policies are discussed.

AREC 632 Agricultural Policy Analysis (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 832. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 632 or AREC 832.
The economics of agricultural policies. Methods for analyzing costs and benefits of price supports, import restraints, and other policies for producers, consumers, and taxpayers. Farm programs of the U.S., other industrial countries and developing countries including interventions in both domestic markets and international trade are covered along with their consequences for factor owners and related commodity markets. Theories of the farm problem and possible remedies are offered.

AREC 645 Environment and Development Economics (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 845. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 645 or AREC 845.
Considers neoclassical and endogenous growth models; international trade theory; the role of property right institutions and factor markets; the environmental impact of trade liberalization in developing countries and the environmental effects of increasing international capital mobility; empirical studies relating the environment to growth and globalization; and policy analyses.

AREC 689 Special Topics in Agricultural and Resource Economics (3 credits)
Subject matter taught will be varied and will depend on the persons available for teaching unique and specialized phases of agricultural and resource economics. The course will be taught by the staff or visiting agricultural and resource economists who may be secured on lectureship or visiting professor basis.

AREC 699 Special Problems in Agricultural and Resource Economics (1-2 credits)
Intensive study and analysis of specific problems in the field of agricultural and resource economics, providing in-depth information in areas of special interest to the student.

AREC 753 Economics of Renewable Natural Resources (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AREC 610; and AREC 620; or permission of department.
Basic models of renewable natural resources. Current research issues concerning natural resources with emphasis on problems in commercial and recreational fisheries, forestry, water, fugitive wildlife, and agriculture. Policies to correct related market failures.

AREC 785 Advanced Economics of Natural Resources (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON 603 and AREC 623 or permission of department. Also offered as ECON 785. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 785 or ECON 785.
The use of exhaustible and renewable natural resources from normative and positive points of view. Analysis of dynamic resource problems emphasizing energy, mineral, groundwater, forestry, and fishery resources; optimal, equilibrium, and intergenerational models of resource allocation.

AREC 799 Master's Thesis Research (1-6 credits)

AREC 815 Experimental and Behavioral Economics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: AREC623, AREC624, and ECON603; or equivalent. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC815 or AREC869A. Formerly AREC869A.
This course discusses recent experimental and behavioral economics literature. Discusses experimental methods, recent experimental findings and new behavioral theory that adjusts standard neoclassical models in order to explain observed behavioral patterns, which commonly occur but are paradoxical for traditional models.

AREC 825 Advanced Economic Welfare Analysis (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 625. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 625 or AREC 825.
Theory of economic welfare measurement, problems of path dependence in evaluating multiple price changes, welfare measurement under risk, general equilibrium welfare measurement with multiple distortions, and applications in evaluation of agricultural and resource policies.

AREC 829 Topics in Applied Econometrics (3 credits)
Two hours of lecture and two hours of discussion/recitation per week. Prerequisite: AREC 623 and AREC 624 or permission of instructor.
Topics in applied econometrics. Topics vary from year to year.

AREC 832 Advanced Agricultural Policy Analysis (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 632. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 632 or AREC 832.
Research problems in agricultural policy that include models and methods for explaining the consequences and causes of intervention in agricultural commodity markets. Quantitative, market level analysis of the implications of uncertainty, strategic behavior in international trade, second-best policies, the general equilibrium analysis of intervention, and the political economy of collective action in farm policy.

AREC 845 Environment and Development Economics (3 credits)
Also offered as AREC 645. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: AREC 645 or AREC 845.
Considers neoclassical and endogenous growth models; international trade theory; the role of property right institutions and factor markets; the environmental impact of trade liberalization in developing countries and the environmental effects of increasing international capital mobility; empirical studies relating the environment to growth and globalization; and policy analyses.

AREC 846 Development Microeconomics (3 credits)
Prerequisite: ECON603; and AREC623/AREC624; or equivalent. Formerly AREC869E.
Development economics with focus on issues applicable to rural development and agriculture in developing countries. Focuses on both theory and empirical application of theory.

AREC 859 Advanced Topics in Natural Resource Economics (1-3 credits)
Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
Intertemporal considerations in natural resource problems including irreversibility and stochastic control. Nonmarket welfare measurement and nonconsumptive values, option/quasi-option and existence values, applications to extinction and uncertainty, and alternative expectations in common property resource problems.

AREC 869 Advanced Topics in Agricultural Economics (1-3 credits)
Repeatable to 9 credits if content differs.
Frontiers of research in agricultural policy, agricultural production, international trade, and agricultural development. Decision making under risk and related market institutions, principal agent analysis, optimal policy design, technology adoption, market structure, land and credit markets, information markets, and income distribution.

AREC 898 Pre-Candidacy Research (1-8 credits)

AREC 899 Doctoral Dissertation Research (1-8 credits)

 

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