There are many unsettled questions as one attempts to address the subject of this paper. The obvious ones are “What is Reaganomics?” and “What is rural development?” Back of those are many questions having to do with whether policy as it is now being enacted and implemented is actually Reagonomics, or whether it is the end product of the usual leavening process that takes place as political rhetoric is translated into political action and programs. Similarly, public programs at the local level are an amalgam of actions by local, state, and Federal governments. How does one sort out the effects of one of these when all are going through a transition?

Whereas considerable effort has been expended in prior research in discussing the appropriateness of alternative measures of income in expenditure studies, this paper looks in depth at the impact of incorporating a broad range of demographic variables in the expenditure analysis. Food expenditures away from home are used to analyze the additional gains in explanatory power and the impact of demographic variables on income elasticities. Considerable divergence of results is found under the alternative measures of income.

The hedonic pricing technique was used to measure that component of house price attributable to proximity to a city park, using data on sale prices and characteristics of houses in Worcester, MA. Aggregation of these residual values over all houses in the neighborhood of a park provided an estimate of the value of the park, to which was added an estimate of recreation benefits from extrazonal users. The policy question of park system development or contraction was addressed by comparing these benefits with operating costs to gain a net measure of parkland value.

Data on farm numbers are widely discussed and frequently misinterpreted. These numbers comprise one of the nation's oldest and most basic statistical series. As such they are a fundamental part of our agricultural data system. This paper argues that American farms should be classified into three separate categories for both descriptive and analytical purposes. Such divisions will allow us to understand more fully the changes in farming which have occurred and the implications of changes now in progress. Rates of change in size distributions, productivity and net income may be examined in perspective. Public understanding of the policy issues involved will be enhanced.

The shift-share approach is used to examine changes in the competitive position nationally of tourism in the Northeast, using lodging receipts as an index of tourism. The Northeast share of national lodging receipts, which declined from 1972 to 1977, was heavily influenced by a lack of substantive growth in New England and the Middle Atlantic regions. This parallels population trends, but does not necessarily reflect a dismal future for tourism in the Northeast.

Your program chairman asked that I direct my remarks to the subject of impacts of Reagan economics on agriculture. I do so with some trepidation since it is not clear which parts of current economic policies should be attributed to the Reagan administration, the Congress, the Federal Reserve Board, and preceding administrations. Further, I have some doubt as to what economic policy is, or is about to become, at any specific point in time. In reviewing current policies and programs, I also shall attempt to identify longer-run policy issues which might command our attention as agricultural economists.

Marketing costs and contributions to production costs for fresh vegetables marketed through four direct marketing alternatives and through wholesale channels are compared. Budgets derived from empirical observations were the bases for the comparisons. The results favor an elaborate roadside market, which sells a large quantity of items purchased for resale. Farmers’ markets and pick-your-own operations were also found to be potentially more profitable than wholesale marketing.

This paper summarizes some results of a Sea Grant-funded economic input-output study of marine-related activity in the Southern New England Marine Region. Data were obtained from 390 personal interviews; in addition, a wealth of secondary data was used. Type I and Type II income and employment multipliers were estimated for each of the nineteen marine-related industries included in the model. The results provide a basis to assist analysts concerned with assessing the impacts on regional income and employment of marine-related policies or developments proposed for the Region.

The Northeast is the major calf-killing region in the country with the bulk of the calf supply composed of week old dairy bull calves of approximately 100 pounds (USDA, Livestock and Meat Stat.). Until recently this by-product of the dairy industry had little alternative uses. Currently, however, the meat grade standards have been relaxed to the point where it is possible for a properly fed Holstein steer to grade at or near choice with live weight below 1200 pounds. This regulatory change has made dairy bob calves more potentially valuable as feeder calves.

Data from a 1979 New York survey were analyzed to develop a systematic multivariate typology of small farmers (i.e., operators of small farm businesses) which would be useful in designing and targeting public programs. Farm business size, operator's age, and off-farm employment were the most important dimensions of variation. A typology was constructed by successive dichotomization of low and moderate sales volume farms; operators 49 years of age and under, and 50 and over; and families with and without off-farm income. Means for economic and social indicators were computed for each of the resulting eight categories. Low sales volume farm families with relatively old operators and without off-farm employment were found to experience very low total family incomes. Suggestions are made regarding how public extension and research programs may be developed and targeted with specific categories of the most needy small farmers in mind.

A pilot tree fruit pest management program in Wayne County, New York was evaluated. Thirty-three blocks of fruit were matched for 26 participants in the pilot program and for 23 nonparticipants. Participants reduced pesticide costs and total pest management costs in comparison to nonparticipants. Factors which will affect the adoption of Integrated Pest Management in other locations include the attitudes of growers, farm size, and the density of fruit production. Integrated Pest Management programs are economically feasible for several other areas of high tree fruit density in the Northeast.

Economic and environmental analyses of manure handling systems have implications for programs to regulate agricultural nonpoint sources of water pollution and programs to subsidize manure handling practices. Previous economic analyses in the literature are discussed. Manure systems are evaluated in a consistent framework to determine construction and operating costs. The effect of soil type on nutrient conservation is examined for two hypothetical farms. Dissolved phosphorous runoff is estimated for the farms varying storage capacity and soil type. Costs of phosphorus reduction by handling system, housing type and soil type are examined. Conclusions for cost-sharing policy are drawn.

This paper summarizes selected findings of a study of faculty advisors and advising programs in departments of agricultural and resource economics. Undergraduate advising program characteristics in the Northeast are contrasted with those in other regions. Interdepartmental advising loads, advising budgets and allocation of advising resources are measured. Differences were found in advisor selection, training, support, coordination, rewards and evaluations. Advising programs were generally strong in advisor accessability and weak in career follow-ups. Advising faculty members in the Northeast generally earned lower salaries and taught more terms during the year than nonadvising faculty members. Continued program documentation, support and rewards are recommended.

In any society a loss of confidence in the capacity of contemporary institutions and leadership to deal with current problems creates anxieties and feelings of loss of control. A classical reaction to such stress is efforts to return to earlier, presumably simpler, institutional forms and lifestyles, thereby regaining control and the lost sense of purpose and direction. Today in the Northeast, as in much of the nation, many people are alarmed by the recent disturbances and shocks to the American way of life: the energy shortage, the threat of nuclear disaster, high unemployment and prices, faltering state and local finances, and a recurring credibility gap at all levels of government. The perceived inability of institutional forms to deal with these concerns has fostered a re-examination of individual, local and regional goals and a rediscovery of more traditional values based on self-reliance. One manifestation of this phenomenon is the promotion in the region by some professionals and laymen alike of a policy of self-sufficiency in agricultural production.

The role of community attachments in decision-making models of migration is evaluated. Findings of a block model analysis (with multiple partials) are reported with data from a longitudinal study. Findings indicate that attachments to community only partially explain willingness to move.

In the April, 1981, issue of this Journal, Prindle and Livezey (PL) address the very important question of how a dairy farm manager should attempt to adjust production in response to expected seasonal production patterns of the dairy cow, monthly milk prices and variable milk production costs. The authors construct a representative farm linear programming model to address this important question.

Rural governments in the Northeast purchased credit ratinqs for a high percentage of their general obligation bonds sold in 1977. This paper examines the effect credit ratings had on the interest cost of GO bonds sold by nonmetro governments in the Northeast. The results suggest that the decision to purchase a rating may be a costly error under certain circumstances.

An economically viable rural American is generally accepted as a desirable national goal, but few policy guidelines or comprehensive programs1 for attaining this goal have been developed. One reason for the current “piece-meal” approach in pursuing rural development goals is the lack of knowledge about basic economic interactions between the factors influencing the level and distribution of economic activities in rural areas. A second reason is the tendency to design rural development research and extension programs to attain quick payoffs which results in descriptive studies which emphasize what rather than why certain events are occurring in rural areas.