An interregional equilibrium model of a type developed by Takayama and Judge is used as a basis to derive the optimal allocation and pricing of regulated supplies of water in a river basin. The model assumes that a river basin authority acts as the sole public utility distributor of water over time and that the capacity to supply water within any time period may be constrained by the physical structure of the system. The potential usefulness of such a model is demonstrated and the results discussed. Models of this type have considerable potential for empirical research in the field of water resources.
A spatio-temporal equilibrium model that incorporates intraseasonal demands for irrigation water is developed for the situation with a (constrained) competitive market for water. An application of the quadratic programming model, which utilizes demand and supply estimates relating to an intensive irrigation area in southeastern Australia, is used to derive optimal short-run allocation and pricing patterns for the resource. Extensions of the model to cover multiple dam river basins and additional water uses seem conceptually straightforward, but the limitations' imposed by its deterministic partial equilibrium character should be recognized.
Deriving acceptable farm plans where ,hput-output coefficients are stochastic is a complex problem. Previous fmmulations have required many simplifying assumptions about the stochastic variable& in the analysis. This paper presents an alternative approach based on the mean absolute deviation, which permits solution by a conventional linear Prow-. g algorithm whilst avoiding some d those assumptions previously required. The formulation also incorporates a stochastic objective function. Examples are provided using the situation of stochastic feed supply with reference to representative sheepgrain farms on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Results from these suggest that this alternative approach is a distinct improvement on earlier stochastic formvlatioos which utilize linear programming algorithms.
An apparently successful test of a “step function” hypothesis about the effect of technological change in the agricultural sector is reported. The effects of weather and other factors on wheat yields are also analyzed. A notable feature of the research was the lack of significance of an ordinary time trend variable, used as a surrogate for technological change, when a detailed specification of these factors was developed. Overall, 98.6 percent of the variance of the dependent variable in the sample was accounted for by a regression relationship involving seven weather and four non‐weather variables, only one of which related to technological change. The potential value of this relationship for forecasting crop yield is indicated by the fact that the standard error of forecast was substantially less than the standard deviation of errors for the present system of pre‐harvest yield estimation.
An inter-temporal equilibrium model is developed for the purpose of optimizing the scheduling of production in Australian sugar mills. An application of this quadratic programming model is then discussed, and the procedures used to estimate coefficients are outlined. Two tentative conclusions are that mills tend to commence crushing before the optimal starting date and that in many cases they would have been unable to cover their marginal processing costs when producing No. 2 Pool sugar in recent seasons.
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