MODELING MULTIPLE ADOPTION DECISIONS IN A JOINT FRAMEWORK

A multinomial probit (MNP) model is applied to the modeling of adoptio n decisions by farmers facing multiple technologies which can be adopt ed in various combinations. This model allows for full investigation o f the interactions between decisions to adopt or not adopt several tec hnologies. Estimation is carried out in a Bayesian framework employing Gibbs sampling to circumvent past difficulties encountered in maximum likelihood estimation of the MNP model. The model is estimated for a sample of U.S, apple growers with four possible sustainable production technology bundles. The results show that adoption decisions are most significantly influenced by off-farm labor supply.