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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2005‒07‒11
six papers chosen by |
| By: | Leeuwen, Eveline S. van (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the local-regional-supra-regional orientation of small-scale farms and firms in rural areas. Due attention is given to the role of local centres (villages, towns) for the functioning of rural areas. With help of a quantified indicator spatial linkages related to sales and purchases of small enterprises are shown. Furthermore the allocation of labour to the local economy is taken into account. The degree of embeddedness of small local firms in rural areas appears to be fairly strong, which means that they play a significant role in the local economy in several ways |
| Keywords: | local economy; rural areas; small enterprises |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2004-21&r=agr |
| By: | Levent, Tuzin Baycan (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | Urban green spaces play a key role in improving the liveability of our towns and cities. The quality and viability of cities depend largely on the design, management and maintenance of urban green as well as on open and public spaces that make up an important social constellation and offer a visual representation of urban quality. Actually, urban green spaces may be seen as an important contribution to a sustainable development of cities. However, the full potential of green spaces is not always realized, so that current management practices are sometimes sub-optimal. From a policy perspective, the results of several case studies have highlighted critical policy needs and priorities for the development and management of urban green spaces. It is, therefore, of strategic importance to compare and evaluate urban green space policies for identifying the best practices with a view to proper policy recommendations and guidance for urban society and planning authorities in order to improve the quality of life in modern cities. Against this background, the present study investigates urban green spaces from a policy evaluation perspective and analyses in a comparative sense European cities in order to obtain strategic and policy relevant information on the key features of urban green. The study aims to compare and evaluate the current management practices in various European cities on the basis of the actual performance of urban green space policies. The data and information used for comparison and evaluation are based on extensive survey questionnaires filled out by relevant departments or experts of municipalities in European cities which aim to share their experience in innovative green space policies and strategies. As a rather novel methodological contribution, a recently developed artificial intelligence method, i.e. rough set analysis, is deployed to assess and identify the most important factors that are responsible for successes and failures of urban green space policies. Our approach is able to reveal the most critical policy variables |
| Keywords: | urban society; green spaces; european cities; comparison |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2004-22&r=agr |
| By: | Edelman, Mark |
| Abstract: | The WTO decisions and evolving farm bill context appear to generate some opportunities for designing incremental and new policy mechanisms that would add to the incomes of farmers and rural people without further eroding the competitiveness of U.S. farmers by capitalizing direct payments directly into land values. Payment reform and diversification strategies could be designed to make an enhanced contribution to jobs, income, and economic growth rates in the Ag-dependent counties that have experienced slower jobs and income growth. Such criteria could be an important element in “red state/blue state” analyses by political scientists. Given the growing dependence of farmers on off-farm income and concerns about brain drain migration, development of community and regional approaches to stimulating new ventures by building community entrepreneurial capacity, identifying actionable migration strategies, and creating community mechanisms to attract local reinvestment of wealth transfer are likely to become increasingly important attributes in creating future opportunities for income, economic growth, and quality of life in rural America. |
| Date: | 2005–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12390&r=agr |
| By: | Edelman, Mark; Burke, Sandy C. |
| Abstract: | This project examined local perceptions regarding the factors that contributed to community vitality or the lack thereof during the decade of the 1990s in order to provide lessons learned, best practices and innovative ideas for other community leaders in Iowa and other states. Researchers identified eight non-metro communities ranging in population from 1,100 to 11,000. Two communities of similar size were selected from each regional quadrant of the state. One of the two communities from each quadrant exceeded the state average population growth rate for the decade of the 1990s. The other lost population. An interdisciplinary assessment team conducted on-site interviews with a cross-section of local leaders from local government, economic development, education, and healthcare in each community. A total of 75 community leaders from the eight communities were interviewed for this project. Draft reports were developed from field notes and local interviewees were given an opportunity to review the drafts for their community prior to publication. Loss of a major employer and organizational capacity to respond was identified a the major explanatory factor in explaining the difference in population growth and decline for the period. |
| Date: | 2005–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12392&r=agr |
| By: | Dubois, P.; Jullien, B.; Magnac, T. |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a model of dynamic interactions where conmmitment is limited and contracts are incomplete to explain the patterns of income and consumption in village economies of less developped countries. Households can insure through both formal contracts and informal agreements, that is, agreements specifying voluntary transfers that need to be self-enforceable. This theoretical setting nests the case of complete markets when all riks can be insured by formal contracts and the case where only informal agreements are available. We derive a non-linear system of equations of interest for income and consumption. A key prediction of our model is that income and consumption are affected by lagged consumption as a consequence of the coexistence of formal and informal contracting possibilities. Using semi-parametric specifications, we prove identification, derive testable restrictions and estimate the model using data from Pakistan villages. Empirical results are consistent with the economic arguments. Incentive constraints due to self-enforcement bind with positive probability and formal contracts are used to reduce this probability. ...French Abstract : Les auteurs développent un modèle d'interactions dynamiques avec engagement limité et contrats incomplets pour expliquer les profils de revenu et de consommation dans les économies villageoises des pays en développement. Les ménages peuvent s'assurer à travers des accords formels et informels, c'est-à-dire, des accords spécifiant des transferts volontaires qui doivent être auto-exécutoire. Ils obtiennent un système d'équations non linéraires de revenu et de consommation. Une des prédictions clé du modèle et que le revenu et la consommation sont affectés par la consommation retardée à cause de la coexistence de contrats formels et informels. En utilisant une spécification semi-paramétrique, les auteurs prouvent l'identification et ils dérivent des restrictions testables qu'ils estiment sur des données du Pakistan. Les résultats empiriques confirment leurs arguments économiques. |
| Keywords: | RISK SHARING; CONTRACTS; INCOMPLETE MARKETS; INFORMAL TRANSFERS ; ECONOMETRIE; CONTRAT; RISQUE; PAYS EN DEVELOPPEMENT; MENAGE ; PAKISTAN |
| JEL: | C14 D13 D91 L14 O12 Q0 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rea:inrawp:200501&r=agr |
| By: | Jonathan Conning (Hunter College, City University of New York); Christopher Udry (Economic Growth Center, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | This review examines portions of the vast literature on rural financial markets and household behavior in the face of risk and uncertainty. We place particular emphasis on studying the important role of financial intermediaries, competition and regulation in shaping the changing structure and organization of rural markets, rather than on household strategies and bilateral contracting. Our goal is to provide a framework within which the evolution of financial intermediation in rural economies can be understood. |
| Keywords: | Rural Finance, Financial Intermediation, Agricultural Credit |
| JEL: | O16 Q14 O17 O12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egc:wpaper:914&r=agr |