DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A Cost of Tractability? Estimating Climate Change Impacts Using a Single Crop Market Understates Impacts on Market Conditions and Variability

Abstract

Scientists estimate that U.S. Corn Belt crop yields will increase or decrease, on average, and become more variable with climate change. Corn and soybean farming dominates this region, but studies typically do not assess the joint impact of new distributions of corn and soybean yields on markets. We use a structural economic model with projections of climate-driven yield changes to simulate these effects. Our findings suggest that a narrow focus on a single crop in this key growing region risks underestimating the impact on price distributions and average crop receipts, and can lead to incorrect signs on estimated impacts.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States). Agricultural and Applied Economics Dept.
  2. Univ. of California, Merced, CA (United States). Sierra Nevada Research Institute
  3. Univ. of California, Merced, CA (United States). Sierra Nevada Research Institute; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Div.
  4. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDA
OSTI Identifier:
1567070
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 39; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2040-5790
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; climate change adaptation; NARCCAP; Corn Belt yields; statistical yield model

Citation Formats

Thompson, Wyatt, Gerlt, Scott, Campbell, J. Elliott, Kueppers, Lara M., Lu, Yaqiong, and Snyder, Mark A. A Cost of Tractability? Estimating Climate Change Impacts Using a Single Crop Market Understates Impacts on Market Conditions and Variability. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1093/aepp/ppw023.
Thompson, Wyatt, Gerlt, Scott, Campbell, J. Elliott, Kueppers, Lara M., Lu, Yaqiong, & Snyder, Mark A. A Cost of Tractability? Estimating Climate Change Impacts Using a Single Crop Market Understates Impacts on Market Conditions and Variability. United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppw023
Thompson, Wyatt, Gerlt, Scott, Campbell, J. Elliott, Kueppers, Lara M., Lu, Yaqiong, and Snyder, Mark A. Wed . "A Cost of Tractability? Estimating Climate Change Impacts Using a Single Crop Market Understates Impacts on Market Conditions and Variability". United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppw023. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1567070.
@article{osti_1567070,
title = {A Cost of Tractability? Estimating Climate Change Impacts Using a Single Crop Market Understates Impacts on Market Conditions and Variability},
author = {Thompson, Wyatt and Gerlt, Scott and Campbell, J. Elliott and Kueppers, Lara M. and Lu, Yaqiong and Snyder, Mark A.},
abstractNote = {Scientists estimate that U.S. Corn Belt crop yields will increase or decrease, on average, and become more variable with climate change. Corn and soybean farming dominates this region, but studies typically do not assess the joint impact of new distributions of corn and soybean yields on markets. We use a structural economic model with projections of climate-driven yield changes to simulate these effects. Our findings suggest that a narrow focus on a single crop in this key growing region risks underestimating the impact on price distributions and average crop receipts, and can lead to incorrect signs on estimated impacts.},
doi = {10.1093/aepp/ppw023},
journal = {Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy},
number = 2,
volume = 39,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Nov 02 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Nov 02 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 5 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: 2016 Iowa Corn Yield PDF

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Adaptation of Agricultural and Food Systems to Climate Change: An Economic and Policy Perspective
journal, September 2010

  • Antle, J. M.; Capalbo, S. M.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 32, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppq015

Why a Global Carbon Policy Could Have a Dramatic Impact on the Pattern of the Worldwide Livestock Production
journal, September 2011

  • Avetisyan, M.; Golub, A.; Hertel, T.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 33, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppr026

Climate change impacts on global agriculture
journal, July 2013


Economic Implications of Potential ENSO Frequency and Strength Shifts
journal, April 2001

  • Chen, Chi-Chung; McCarl, Bruce A.; Adams, Richard M.
  • Climatic Change, Vol. 49, Issue 1/2, p. 147-159
  • DOI: 10.1023/A:1010666107851

Response of corn markets to climate volatility under alternative energy futures
journal, April 2012

  • Diffenbaugh, Noah S.; Hertel, Thomas W.; Scherer, Martin
  • Nature Climate Change, Vol. 2, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1491

In this issue
journal, June 2012


Copula-Based Models of Systemic Risk in U.S. Agriculture: Implications for Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Contracts
journal, October 2014

  • Goodwin, B. K.; Hungerford, A.
  • American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 97, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/ajae/aau086

Climate change projections of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP)
journal, July 2013


How Do Biofuel Use Mandates Cause Uncertainty? United States Environmental Protection Agency Cellulosic Waiver Options
journal, November 2012

  • Meyer, S.; Thompson, W.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 34, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/pps033

Climate change effects on agriculture: Economic responses to biophysical shocks
journal, December 2013

  • Nelson, Gerald C.; Valin, Hugo; Sands, Ronald D.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222465110

U.S. Agriculture and Climate Change: New Results
journal, March 2003


Assessing agricultural risks of climate change in the 21st century in a global gridded crop model intercomparison
journal, December 2013

  • Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Elliott, Joshua; Deryng, Delphine
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222463110

A Microeconometric Analysis of Adapting Portfolios to Climate Change: Adoption of Agricultural Systems in Latin America
journal, August 2010

  • Seo, S. N.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 32, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppq013

Second generation biofuels and food crops: Co-products or competitors?
journal, July 2013


How does petroleum price and corn yield volatility affect ethanol markets with and without an ethanol use mandate?
journal, February 2009


The New Markets for Renewable Identification Numbers
journal, January 2010

  • Thompson, W.; Meyer, S.; Westhoff, P.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 32, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppq021

Effects of US biofuel policies on US and world petroleum product markets with consequences for greenhouse gas emissions
journal, September 2011


On Technological Change in Crop Yields
journal, October 2014

  • Tolhurst, Tor N.; Ker, Alan P.
  • American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 97, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/ajae/aau082

Modeling linkages between climate policy and land use: an overview
journal, September 2009


How does increased corn-ethanol production affect US natural gas prices?
journal, May 2010


Impact of copula choice on the modeling of crop yield basis risk
journal, November 2011


The Economics of Grain Price Volatility
journal, March 2011

  • Wright, B. D.
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 33, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppq033

Works referencing / citing this record:

Incorporating Sub‐National Brazilian Agricultural Production and Land‐Use into U.S. Biofuel Policy Evaluation
journal, January 2019

  • Carriquiry, Miguel; Elobeid, Amani; Dumortier, Jerome
  • Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 42, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppy033

Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.