**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE U.S. CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM CURRENTLY HAS A PRIMARY ROLE IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO PROMOTE THE ECONOMIC STABILIZATION OF AGRICULTURE. POLICY EFFECTIVENESS DEPENDS ON ATTAINING HIGH PARTICIPATION, BOTH FOR ACRES COVERED AND COVERAGE LEVELS CHOSEN. THE GOVERNMENT FACES A TRADE-OFF BETWEEN THE GOALS OF MAINTAINING HIGH PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND REDUCING PROGRAM COSTS. THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN EXPENSIVE IN LARGE PART BECAUSE FARMER DEMAND HAS BEEN WEAK EVEN THOUGH THE GOVERNMENT COVERS ADMINISTRATION COSTS, REQUIRES ACTUARIALLY FAIR PRICING, DESIGNS PRODUCTS TO TARGET RISKS FACED, AND PROVIDES LARGE PREMIUM SUBSIDIES. HOWEVER, WEAK DEMAND FOR CROP INSURANCE IS IN STARK CONTRADICTION WITH STANDARD ECONOMIC THEORY. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF FARMERS INSURANCE DECISIONS WOULD SUPPORT POLICY CHANGES TO ACHIEVE HIGHER PARTICIPATION AND MORE EFFECTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT AT THE SAME COST OR MEET BUDGET CUTBACKS WITH LITTLE DETRIMENT. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT'S OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO DEEPLY CHARACTERIZE PREFERENCES FOR CROP INSURANCE AND INFORM POLICY DECISIONS WITH INSIGHTS FROM ECONOMICS AND PSYCHOLOGY. THERE ARE 4 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: (1) TRANSLATE DECISION THEORIES SUCH AS EXPECTED UTILITY THEORY, VERSIONS OF PROSPECT THEORY, AND DISAPPOINTMENT AVERSION THEORY TO CROP INSURANCE AND FORMULATE THEORY-BASED HYPOTHESES; (2) IDENTIFY PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS AND FORMULATE DATA-BASED HYPOTHESES WITH COUNTY- AND UNIT- LEVEL DATA; (3) EVALUATE ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS WITH EXPERIMENTS THAT TEST HYPOTHESES AND FOCUS ON HETEROGENEOUS HEURISTICS, REFERENCE POINTS, PROBABILITY FORMATION, AND CHOICE CONTEXTS; (4) ASSESS EXPECTED IMPACTS OF POLICY OPTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN REGULARLY PROPOSED TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE OF THE FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM.