Selected Topics in Alabama’s Environmental Horticulture Industry: The Economic Impact of Alabama's Green Industry and Migrant Labor in Alabama's Horticulture Industry

Abstract

The environmental horticulture industry, known as the green industry, constitutes the states highest selling and fastest growing agricultural crop sector. The author, in collaboration with Deacue Fields and Kenneth tilt, conducted an extensive mail out survey of industry firms, which provided the data for this study. This thesis contains two separate papers, prepared for subsequent publication. The first paper uses an input-output model to estimate the industry’s total economic impact, which includes direct and indirect measures of output, value added, tax revenue, and employment. The second paper uses the seemingly unrelated regression model to examine the role of migrant workers in the industry’s labor force, by estimating their effects on average wage levels and worker productivity, as well as producer hiring decisions.