Coping with Risk in Agriculture (Cabi) [Paperback]

J B  Hardaker (Author), R B M  Huirne (Author), J R  Anderson (Author), G  Lien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0851998313 | ISBN-13: 978-0851998312 | Edition: First

The popular first edition of this standard text on risk analysis and management in agriculture has been almost wholly revised. The second edition includes much new material. There is a revised chapter on incorporating decision makers' preferences into the analysis of risky choices that recognizes and gives consideration to some recently published challenges to the legitimacy of the expected utility hypothesis. While it is argued that the theory is still the best way to handle risk aversion, at least in prescriptive analyses, more attention is given to the practical problems of utility function elicitation. It is shown how estimates of (or ranges of) degree of risk aversion might best be obtained and consistently applied. The new edition has a much more thorough treatment of stochastic simulation, including some novel yet simple methods for dealing to stochastic dependency between uncertain quantities. The treatment of policy aspects of risk in agriculture has been revised and extended to account for such important current issues as new approaches to crop insurance, the management of serious animal and crop diseases and food safety issues. As with the first edition, the book contains a blend of theory with simple illustrative examples to enable readers to see how the principles being discussed can be made operational using modern software.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Brian Hardaker, Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of New England (Emeritus). Ruud B. M. Huirne, Professor of Farm Management, Wageningen University. Jock R. Anderson, Adviser, World Bank, Washington, D.C..

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: CABI; First edition (March 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851998313
• ISBN-13: 978-0851998312
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice overview, February 19, 2011

By 

HowardChuang - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Coping with Risk in Agriculture (Cabi) (Paperback)

This book gives a nice overview of techniques that have been used by agriculture economists to facilitate risky decision-making. Someone who has received solid training in microeconmic theory, mathematical statistics, & operations research will benefit from reading this book. For example, the practical meaning of certain equivalens & risk aversion now becomes much more clear to me. On top of that, I find some tools that combine stochastic simulation and expected utility are useful to consulting and research.

One word of caution, this is not the right book for someone who is seeking for a rigorous theoretical treatment. Nonetheless, this piece itself is valuable to an analytical mind from both scholastic and pragamatic viewpoints.