Assessing Opportunity Costs Under Conflicting Objectives: Application to Profitability, Pesticide Reduction, and Crop Production

Assessing Opportunity Costs Under Conflicting Objectives: Application to Profitability, Pesticide Reduction, and Crop Production | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Assessing Opportunity Costs Under Conflicting Objectives: Application to Profitability, Pesticide Reduction, and Crop Production Jean-Philippe Boussemart, Maé Guinet, Salomé Kahindo, Nicolas Munier-Jolain, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6269365/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study proposes a method to evaluate opportunity costs when shifting between competing objectives. We compare three strategies: profitability maximization (baseline), output production maximization and input cost minimization. Our analysis is conducted in two stages. First, using a log-linear production technology and incorporating output prices, we correct for inefficiencies to position all decision-making units (DMUs) on the efficiency frontier, ensuring a relevant comparison. In the second stage, we estimate opportunity costs and related price elasticity when switching strategies. Using a panel of 458 arable farms in the Meuse region (France) observed over 27 years (1991–2017), we analyze the tradeoffs between farmers’ objectives for profitability maximization, the society’s objective to maximize crop production and the environmental concern for pesticide use minimization. The first stage of analysis identifies potential improvements within each objective. In the second stage, when all practices are projected on the frontier, we compute the margin per ha loss when switching from the farmers’ objective of profitability maximization to any of the alternative scenarios and the price elasticities related to these switches. Importantly, our analysis indicates that reducing pesticide use is economically viable, while maximizing production may lead to greater financial trade-offs. activity analysis opportunity cost competing objectives profitability maximization sustainable agriculture Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 31 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Mar, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 24 Mar, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 22 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 20 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6269365","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":435401892,"identity":"99b783cb-943d-4029-b44a-35e74d09466c","order_by":0,"name":"Jean-Philippe Boussemart","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IESEG School of Management, Univ. 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