AGEC 317 Economic Analysis for Agribusiness and Management

About Your Instructor Dr. Oral Capps, Jr. , Executive Professor Office: 330 B Blocker Building Phone: 979 -845 -8491 E-mail: ocapps@tamu. edu Office hours: TR 9: 30 a. m. to 10: 30 a. m. TR 3: 30 p. m. to 5: 00 p. m. W 9: 30 a. m. to Noon W 1: 30 p. m. to 3: 30 p. m. or by appointment

About Your Instructor, (con’t) Ph. D. , Agricultural Economics, Virginia Tech, 1979 M. S. , Statistics, Virginia Tech, 1979 M. S. , Agricultural Economics, Virginia Tech, 1977 B. S. , Mathematics, Virginia Tech, 1975 Research areas: applied microeconomics, agricultural marketing, food distribution, and applied econometrics. Co-Director, The Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center (AFCERC) Webpage: http: //agecon 2. tamu. edu/people/faculty/capps-oral Holder of the Southwest Dairy Marketing Endowed Chair (since September 2001).

Your TA: Section 501 Office: E-mail: Telephone: Office hrs: TBA

Your TA: Section 502 Office: E-mail: Telephone: Office hrs: TBA

AGEC 317 Goals: Ø Ø Ø Better understand managerial and economic issues in agribusiness management Provide exposure in using formal quantitative analysis to solve economic problems Provide a differentiated product in analyzing real world problems and gain confidence in thinking like an economic or business analyst Textbooks (Reference only): Ø Managerial Economics, Twelfth edition by Mark Hirschey (Chapters 1 -9 and 16)

Prerequisites for AGEC 317 Ø Ø Ø AGEC 217 MATH 142 or equivalent STAT 303 or equivalent ECON 323 or equivalent Junior or Senior classification, AGEC or AGBU majors

Topics Ø Review of Key Algebraic Concepts/Calculus Ø Demand Analysis Ø Demand Estimation Ø Risk Analysis Ø Regression (Estimation and Inference) Ø Forecasting Ø Optimization via the use of Calculus Ø Linear Programming

Key Dates Ø Exam 1: September 30 Ø Exam 2: October 28 Ø Exam 3: December 2 Ø Class Project Team Selection: September 24 Ø Last Day to Q-drop: November 5 Ø Bonfire 1999 Remembrance Day: November 18 Ø Class Project Due: November 24 Ø Thanksgiving Holiday: November 25 -26 Ø Last Day of Fall Semester classes: December 7 Ø Final Exam Days for AGEC 317: December 10 or December 15

Specific Expectations Ø Ø Understand demand supply relationships Solve optimization problems (either calculus-based or linear programming) Ø Conduct regression analysis and interpret results Ø Conduct tests of hypotheses within a regression analysis Ø Make projections or forecasts Ø Understand decision-making under uncertainty Ø Ability to communicate quantitative results to decisionmakers

Evaluation of Student Performance Ø Exam 1 100 pts Ø Exam 2 100 pts Ø Exam 3 100 pts Ø Class Project 100 pts Ø Ø Daily Review Questions Bonus Points (up to 40 pts) Final Exam (Cumulative) Optional

Steps Toward Success Ø Have a positive attitude!!! Ø Come to lectures, class participation Ø Review lecture notes Ø Speak up in class if you are confused or require clarification on concepts Ø Come to help sessions Ø Work diligently on the class project Ø Check material on my webpage

Help Sessions Ø For Exam 1 September 29 7: 30 p. m. to 9: 00 p. m. , 149 BLOC Ø For Exam 2 October 27 7: 30 p. m. to 9: 00 p. m. , 149 BLOC Ø For Exam 3 December 1 7: 30 p. m. to 9: 00 p. m. , 149 BLOC Ø Help sessions also are scheduled every Wednesday evening beginning September 8 from 7: 30 p. m. to 9: 00 p. m. in 149 BLOC

Can We Study in a Group? Ø Yes!!! Studying in a group is encouraged. Ø For the class project, working in a team of five individuals is required. Ø But. . . Ø You take individual responsibility for learning the material Ø Make sure YOU can do the assignments Ø The assignments are very similar to in-class test questions