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Now showing 1 - 10 of 29
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    A comparative analysis of Ethereum gas price oracles' performance and a mechanism for Ethereum gas price prediction post-EIP-1559
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2022) Barada, Ibrahim; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Laura Stanley
    Blockchain transactions compete for limited space in blockchain blocks. Miners prefer to include transactions with higher fees into new blocks. Ethereum released EIP-1559 as an upgrade for its transaction pricing mechanism. The improvement proposal aims to stabilize the transaction pricing mechanism and improve the predictability of gas prices. In the context of Ethereum, gas price oracles predict fees such that transactions submitted at those fees make it into a block within a target delay. In practice, however, Ethereum gas price oracles are inaccurate, which makes it difficult for distributed applications to operate predictable services in terms of price and performance. To understand and measure oracle accuracy we define new gas prediction performance metrics. We demonstrate that oracles underprice transactions, causing them to miss the delay target. We also show that oracles overprice transactions, causing them to meet the delay target, but at a higher-than-necessary cost. As a result of oracles inaccuracies, users tend to either wait longer or pay more than sufficient gas prices for a transaction to get into a block. We provide a comparative analysis of five gas price oracles pre and post-the release of EIP-1559 showing their performance in terms of accuracy of acceptance, underpricing, and overpricing. We also discuss the factors that influence oracle accuracy and the effects of those inaccuracies in terms of time and money wasted. We apply our predefined metrics to study the performance of oracles pre and post-EIP-1559. We observe that EIP-1559 improved the transaction acceptance rate and shortened acceptance delays. On the other hand, we observe that EIP-1559 increased transaction overpricing. The current gas price prediction mechanisms required further investigation after the release of EIP-1559. Hence, we devised a new mechanism to predict gas prices of EIP-1559-compatible transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. The mechanism allows users to calculate gas prices based on the current block utilization and base fee. We measured the probability of acceptance, time wasted, and money wasted and noticed an increase in the probability of acceptance and a decrease in both time and money wasted in comparison to the currently existing oracles.
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    Retained interest in seedstock bulls: a transaction cost analysis
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Kaiser, Rebecca Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. Rucker
    Seedstock cattle producers invest in bulls to introduce high quality genes into their cattle herds. Because the genetic traits bulls pass on to their calves are sometimes unobservable before breeding season, the quality of the bull at the time of the sale is uncertain. Some producers choose to sell bulls with retained semen interest, which grants them rights to the specified percentage of revenues from semen sales from the bull after it has been sold. This thesis examines the practice of retained semen interest in bulls and its effects on sale prices for the bull. After adapting the theory of auctions and share contracts and developing a theory of retained interest, I empirically test my hypotheses that 1) if there is more uncertainty regarding the attributes of the bull, the producer will be more likely to use a retained interest contract, and 2) a retained interest contract increases the value of a bull. I use a logit model to test the first hypothesis and hedonic price model, estimated using OLS, to test the second model. I find evidence to support both predictions, which supports my transaction cost model of contract choice. After controlling for quality, producers are more likely to retain interest in bulls that have greater variation in their quality. Also, bulls that are sold with retained interest earn significant premiums compared to bulls sold with lump sum prices. These results add to the transaction cost and share contract economic literature, as well as inform seedstock producers about the economic costs and benefits of retaining semen interest.
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    Price relationships in the U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2018) Gumbley, Thomas J.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Anton Bekkerman
    This study estimates the price dynamics in the U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry, measures information flow efficiency in spatially separated fertilizer markets, and measures to what extent structural changes in corn and natural gas markets may have altered these price dynamics and information flow relationships. A vector error correction model is used to measure the short-run and long-run relationships between nitrogen fertilizer markets, natural gas markets, and corn markets. The results show that price information flows from the central market of New Orleans to inland regional markets. The efficiency of this information flow increased in the period after the Renewable Fuel Standards increased the demand for corn.
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    Impacts of copula modeling and parametric variation on revenue policy premium rates in multiple peril crop insurance
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2015) Simonds, Seth Neil; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Vincent H. Smith; Joseph Atwood (co-chair)
    Federally subsidized multiple peril crop insurance is the primary mechanism by which U.S. farmers receive public income. This study investigates the role of copula modeling in developing revenue product premium rates for multiple peril crop insurance. Simulation and empirical experiments are used to examine the viability of a ratemaking practice that relies on an assumed Normal copula. This study shows that the assumption of a copula cannot be statistically justified and that premium rates generated within copulas and between alternative copulas can diverge as a function of the marginal price and yield distributions, their relationship and the level of protection a producer elects. The current ratemaking practice does not account for the imprecision of premium rates implicit to a copula based approach. A copula selection method is proposed and examined in order to reduce premium rate imprecision resulting from copula misspecification. A non-copula based ratemaking method may better meet the overt policy objectives of multiple peril crop insurance.
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    The effects of anti-price gouging laws in the wake of a hurricane
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2015) Tarrant, Michael Steven; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randal R. Rucker
    The southeastern coast of the United States is vulnerable to hurricanes and the destruction they cause. Previous literature has explored hurricanes' impacts on growth in coastal counties of the United States, but not the inherently linked effects of anti-price gouging (APG) laws, which prohibit firms from significantly increasing prices during a declared state of emergency. The relationship between APG laws and economic growth following a hurricane is estimated with a fixed effect model and county-level quarterly wage data for the period 1990-2012. Results suggest that hurricane-stricken counties are worse off in the presence of APG laws, with the most pronounced negative effects in the accommodations industry. The deleterious effects of APG laws, however, are short-lived; affected counties appear to rebound once the laws are no longer in effect. As the first paper to empirically examine the economic effects of APG laws, these results counter common political thinking and provide empirical support of standard economic theory regarding price ceilings.
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    Estimating the aggregate U.S. agricultural supply function
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1979) LaFrance, Jeffrey Thomas
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    Price and substitution elasticities for wheat related to price policies for wheat
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1958) Liu, Charles Yen-Do
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    A dynamic price and supply model of the U.S. pork industry
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1984) Black, Cecil Dee
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    The development of a milk pricing formula at the processor-distributor level for Montana
    (Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1966) Vesterby, Marlow Clayton
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