Statistical Evaluation of Biofuel Role in Land Use Change

Posted: 13 Nov 2009 Last revised: 22 Mar 2015

See all articles by Kobi Ako Abayomi

Kobi Ako Abayomi

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE); Duke University - Department of Statistics

Valerie Thomas

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE)

Dexin Luo

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE)

Date Written: November 11, 2009

Abstract

We investigate the effect of biofuels on land use change through a case study of U.S. corn production. Currently, agricultural models are used to estimate the effect of biofuel production on crop production and, correspondingly, land use change. As biofuel production grows, the models can potentially be validated with statistical analysis of changes in crop production. Determination of the influence of biofuel production on other uses of the biofuel feedstock - such as for food or animal feed - cannot be evaluated with standard statistical methods because the uses of an agricultural crop are constrained: total crop use is always the sum of the constituents. We develop a general method for these compositional distributions, and apply this method to determine competition between biofuel feedstock production and other uses of the same feedstock. We find evidence of competition among corn yield constituents, particularly with respect to ethanol production.

Keywords: Land Use, Biofuel, Ethanol, Competition, Dependency, Empirical Copula, Compositional Data

JEL Classification: N50, O13, Q20, C14, C15

Suggested Citation

Abayomi, Kobi Ako and Thomas, Valerie and Luo, Dexin, Statistical Evaluation of Biofuel Role in Land Use Change (November 11, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1504333

Kobi Ako Abayomi (Contact Author)

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) ( email )

765 Ferst Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332-0205
United States

Duke University - Department of Statistics ( email )

Durham, NC 27708-0204
United States
6462457182 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.columbia.edu/~kaa71

Valerie Thomas

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) ( email )

765 Ferst Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332-0205
United States

Dexin Luo

Georgia Institute of Technology - The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) ( email )

765 Ferst Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332-0205
United States

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