Recommended Citation
Postprint version. Published in American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Volume 70, Issue 4, November 1, 1988, pages 837-847.
Copyright © 1988 Oxford University Press. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in American Journal of Agricultural Economics following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1241925.
NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Wayne H. Howard was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.
Abstract
A dual model is used to examine the dynamic structure of the U.S. dairy industry. Properties implied by the theory of the competitive firm and independent adjustment of two quasi-fixed inputs, labor and herd size, are tested and not rejected. Instantaneous adjustment, however, is soundly rejected for each quasi-fixed input. Input adjustment to optimal levels is estimated to take about two years for labor and ten for cows. Quality adjustments of the labor and cow series do not fully embody the technological change that has occurred in this industry over the study period.
Disciplines
Agribusiness | Agricultural and Resource Economics | Business
URL: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/agb_fac/36