2002-2003 Edition
Texas A&M University Graduate CatalogTexas A&M University Graduate Catalog
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Department of Agricultural Economics

S.H.Amosson, C. Anderson, Jr., D. P. Anderson, D. A. Bessler, F. O. Boadu, D.M. Burton, J. G. Butler, O. Capps, Jr., G.M.Clary, J. R. Conner, E. E.Davis, G. C. Davis, R. A. Dietrich, R. A. Edwards, L. L. Falconer, D. E. Farris, D. U. Fisher, S. W. Fuller, C. E. Gilliland, R. C. Griffin, W. L.Griffin, M. S. Haigh, C.R.Hall, W. L. Harman, W.A.Hayenga, J. L. Johnson, E. Jones, L. L. Jones, R. D. Kay, D.A.Klinefelter, T. O. Knight, R. D.Knutson, R. D. Lacewell, C. F. Lard, D. J. Leatham*, L. A.Lippke, K. K. Litzenberg, H. A. Love, B. A. McCarl, J. M. McGrann, P. D. Mitchell, J. W. Mjelde, R. M. Nayga, A.G.Nelson(Head), J. P.Nichols, J.L.Outlaw, T. Ozuna, D. I. Padberg, J. B. Penson, Jr., E. C. Price, Jr., J. W. Richardson, M. E.Rister, C.P.RossonIII, V. Salin, I. W. Schmedemann, R.B.Schwart,Jr., C.E.Shafer, C.R.Shumway, J. W. Siebert, E.G.Smith, K.W.Stokes, H. Talpaz, M.L.Waller, G.W. Williams, R. T. Woodward, M. Zey

* Graduate Advisor

The Department of Agricultural Economics engages people in the use of economic analysis for making decisions involving agribusiness (including food and fiber production, supplying inputs, processing products and marketing), natural resources and communities. Students are taught to develop their leadership, analytical and communication skills. Disciplinary research and graduate education enhance the use of economic principles and research methods in solving economic problems facing society. Applied research programs emphasize the analysis of business and public policy issues.

In planning a student's program, the need for broad training, rather than narrow specialization, is recognized. Students (regardless of their primary interests) are encouraged to take not only advanced courses covering various fields within the department but also essential supporting courses in other departments. Students are expected to acquire a knowledge of economic theory, its application to contemporary agricultural production, agribusiness and resource problems, and the ability to employ analytical techniques in making policy and business decisions.

The teaching and research activities are grouped broadly as follows: agribusiness management and finance, production economics, markets and trade, policy analysis, and resource economics. The present and expanding program of research in the department affords the student a wide choice and capable guidance in thesis or dissertation research.

Master of Science, Master of Agribusiness and Master of Agriculture degrees are offered. MS students may choose between the thesis option (recommended for those students who plan to go on for further graduate studies) and the non-thesis option. Students who choose the MS non-thesis option take a greater number of courses. The Master of Agribusiness degree program is non-thesis, interdisciplinary and jointly administered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Mays Business School. This professional curriculum is designed to provide a broad preparation for economic, financial and marketing analysis of agribusiness, food and fiber industry decisions.

The PhD program concentrates on the theory, quantitative tools and methodology required of the professional applied economist. Field areas offered within the PhD program include: Agribusiness and Managerial Economics, Markets and Information Economics, Resource and Environmental Economics and Policy and Trade. No foreign language is required for students pursuing a PhD program in agricultural economics. For more information about program requirements and employment opportunities, contact the department's graduate office.

(AGEC)
601. Commodity Futures and Options Markets. (3-0). Credit 3.

Price risk management using agricultural commodity futures and options markets, theories of hedging and formulation of optimal hedging strategies, applied hedging strategies evaluated with emphasis on options relative to futures. Offered in even-numbered years. Prerequisites: One course in calculus and one course in statistics.

603. Land Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Application of economic, financial, legal and related concepts and tools for decision making in land management, real estate development and appraisal of land and attendant resources; public and private property rights and current land and resource management issues emphasized; real estate valuation methods and use of electronic information systems studied. Prerequisite: AGEC 422 or equivalent.

604. Natural Resource Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Critical evaluation of policies and procedures in natural resource development and use; identification of problems in resource development, the political-economic decision-making processes and analytical tools which can contribute to economic decisions. Prerequisite: ECON 323. Cross-listed with BUSH 663.

605. Rural Real Estate Appraisal and Organization. (3-0). Credit 3.

Concepts of property rights and their valuation; factors affecting the value of these rights are related to general economic theory to explain real estate market process; specific applications of appraisal techniques in valuing urban and rural real properties. Prerequisite: AGEC 422.

607. Research Methodology. (3-0). Credit 3.

Scientific method in economic research: problem identification and selection, hypothesis testing, assumptions, model selection, data communication; evaluation of research studies and development of thesis prospectus or equivalent. Prerequisite: MS or PhD graduate classification.

611. Production Economics I. (3-0). Credit 3.

Economic theory and methods for analyzing agricultural production decisions; problems are treated regarding the technical unit and the firm; both neoclassical theory and methods for evaluating decisions under uncertainty are emphasized. Prerequisites: ECON 607; MATH 142.

614. Global Food and Agribusiness Policy. (3-0). Credit 3.

Public policies and programs affecting agriculture and agribusiness; development of policies and programs, identifying relevant issues, reviewing means to attain desired goals, and development of methods to evaluate the consequences of alternative farm policies on U.S. agriculture, agribusiness, trade and resources. Prerequisites: AGEC 619 or ECON 607; MATH 142.

619. Managerial Economics in Agribusiness. (3-0). Credit 3.

Practical application of operational and strategic decision-making tools to agribusiness, focusing on important managerial and economic principles and understanding needed to carry out these functions. Prerequisites: ECON 323; MATH 142; STAT 303.

621. Econometrics for Agribusiness. (3-0). Credit 3.

Econometric application and practice; analysis and interpretation of economic data for decision making and microcomputer implementation. Prerequisites: MATH 142; STAT 303; corequisite: AGEC 430 or ECON 323; ECON 311.

622. Agribusiness Analysis and Forecasting. (3-0). Credit 3.

Design, construction, use and evaluation of simulation, forecasting and optimization models to solve applied problems confronting decision makers in agribusiness. Prerequisite: AGEC 621 or approval of instructor.

625. Environment of Agribusiness. (3-0). Credit 3.

Analysis of the economic, social, political, technological and legal forces that impact the way in which global agribusiness firms compete; emphasis on intensive case study analysis. Prerequisites: AGEC 314 or MKTG 321; ECON 202.

629. Strategic Agribusiness Management. (3-0). Credit 3.

Practical application of operational and strategic decision-making tools to agribusiness; emphasis on problem recognition and economic analysis related to production, marketing and finance decisions facing agribusiness firms. Prerequisites: AGEC 621 and 625; ECON 607.

630. Financial Analysis for Agribusiness Firms. (3-0). Credit 3.

Application of financial planning and analysis to agribusiness firms; capital budgeting and selection of investments; the role of debt structure and liquidity in firm growth and stability; alternatives for gaining control over financial resources, managing risk and maintaining business efficiency over time. Prerequisites: ACCT 640; FINC 635.

635. Consumer Demand Analysis for Food and Agricultural Products. (3-0). Credit 3.

Analytical and empirical treatments of consumer behavior; use of neoclassical theory and modern adaptations in consumer demand analysis; specification, estimation, interpretation and evaluation of models of consumer behavior with emphasis on food commodities. Prerequisites: ECMT 676; ECON 629.

636. Agribusiness Markets and Applied Welfare Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3.

Theory and practice of consumer and firm behavior in markets; the effects of various policies on markets; welfare measurement applied to problems related to the farm economy; food and resource processing; resource allocations decisions. Prerequisites: AGEC 635 and 661; ECMT 676; ECON 629 and 630.

637. Production Economics and Dynamic Optimization in Agricultural Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Production under certainty and uncertainty with emphasis on agribusiness firm behavior; economic theory and analytical and numerical methods related to dynamic optimization problems. Prerequisites: AGEC 661; ECMT 675; ECON 629 and 630.

641. Operations Research Methods in Agricultural Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Theory and practice regarding the application of operations research tools to agricultural economics problem areas. Mainly concentrates on optimization approaches. Prerequisite: AGEC 622.

643. Applied Simulation in Agricultural Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Design, construction, validation and use of Monte Carlo simulation models for risk analysis of economic systems; parameter estimation and simulation of multivariate probability distributions in econometric and behavioral models used for business and policy analysis under risk. Prerequisites: AGEC 661; ECMT 676.

652. International Agricultural Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Traditional trade theory encompassing the concepts of comparative advantage, the Hecksher-Ohlin-Samuelson model, the gain from specialization and trade, partial equilibrium analysis of free trade, violation of the free trade model, welfare effects of trade, trade creation and diversion, introduction to growth and development theories, the relationship between trade and development and related concepts. Prerequisites: ECON 607; MATH 142.

659. Ecological Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Study of the relationships between ecosystems and economic systems; understanding the effects of human economic endeavors on ecological systems and how the ecological benefits and costs of such activities can be quantified and internalized. Prerequisite: Graduate classification. Cross-listed with RENR 659.

661. Applied Econometric Methods in Agriculture. (3-0). Credit 3.

Application of econometric methods in a theoretical framework for the analysis of agricultural markets and farm firm behavior; emphasis on specifying and estimating agricultural production and demand functions and agricultural sector models; selected topics according to student needs. Prerequisite: ECMT676.

671. Fundamentals in Agribusiness and Managerial Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Economic theory and methods for analyzing operational and strategic problems facing managers of food, fiber and resource businesses; financial, marketing and management topics, including principal-agent, bargaining power, contract theory and business forecasting. Prerequisites: ECON 629 and 630.

672. Fundamentals in Agricultural Markets and Information Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Application of information economics theory for analysis of vertical and horizontal relationships between firms along the supply chain. Prerequisites: BAEN 636 and 661; ECMT 676; ECON 629 and 630.

673. Fundamentals in Resource and Environmental Economics. (3-0). Credit 3.

Economic theories and empirical regularities related to the use and management of the environment and natural resources; valuation techniques, externalities, and intertemporal resource management. Prerequisites: AGEC 635, 636, 637; ECON 629 and 630.

674. Food and Agricultural Trade and Policy Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3.

Trade policy, farm policy, macroeconomic policy, resource policy and development policy; analysis of policy impacts outside perfect competition and free trade assumptions. Prerequisites: AGEC 614 and 652.

681. Seminar. Credit 1 each semester.

Objectives are to define research problems, develop research problem statements with objectives and hypothesis and specify relevant models to accomplish the objectives and develop the skills in written communication.

684. Professional Internship. Credit 1 to 4.

A work-study course for Master of Agribusiness program in agricultural economics.

685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 4 each semester.

Directed individual study of a selected problem in the field of agricultural economics.

689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.

Selected topics in an identified area of agricultural economics. May be repeated for credit.

691. Research. Credit 1 or more each semester.

Thesis or dissertation research.

693. Professional Study. Credit 1 to 9 each semester.

Approved professional paper undertaken as the requirement for the Master of Science Non-Thesis. May be taken more than once, but not to exceed 3 hours of credit towards a degree.

695. Frontiers in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. (3-0). Credit 3.

Exploration of advanced topics in the fields of agribusiness and managerial economics, markets and information economics and resource and environmental economics. May be taken up to two times in the same semester. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.