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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

The objective of the paper was to bring together some of the preexisting theoretical treatments of dummy variables in regression analysis and to present them in such a way as they could be more effectively used and interpreted. This will enable researchers to select the particular representation that best suits their hypotheses. Four alternatives were exhibited for both a one-way analysis of variance and a one-way analysis of variance with a covariate. The predicting equations were presented in the text of the paper along with numerical examples and their interpretations. The derivations of the predicting equations and variable definitions were presented in the Appendix.