ERRONEOUS INFERENCES REGARDING THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ON RICE PRODUCERS- COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGGREGATE, MEAN, AND STRUCTURAL DATA

The objective of this paper is to examine an empirical example of how misleading inferences may be when using aggregate averages in an attempt to understand the general effects of current conditions or changes in Government farm programs. Although contiguous distributional data is not developed, the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Hottel, J. Bruce, Martin, J. Rod, Moore, Don S
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.08.1973
Edition2181
Subjects
Crop Production/Industries
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Summary:The objective of this paper is to examine an empirical example of how misleading inferences may be when using aggregate averages in an attempt to understand the general effects of current conditions or changes in Government farm programs. Although contiguous distributional data is not developed, the position taken in this analysis is that (1) the production structure is so diverse that general observations and information constructed from secondary ,data are often inadequate to properly evaluate the effect of agricultural programs, but (2) some central tendencies exist within the production structure so that some meaningful delineations can be made with adequate stratification. It is contended that a relevant delineations must include data pertaining to the ownership of major resources used in production and the debt structure of farm resource owners and users.
DOI:10.22004/ag.econ.284675