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on Agricultural Economics |
|
Issue of 2005‒12‒09
twenty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | Anderson, Kym; Valenzuela, Ernesto |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of global merchandise trade distortions and services regulations on agricultural value added in various countries. Using the latest versions of the GTAP database and the GTAP-AGR model of the global economy, our results suggest real net farm incomes would rise in developing countries with a move to free trade, thereby alleviating rural poverty - despite a terms of trade deterioration for developing countries that are net food importers or are enjoying preferential access to agricultural markets of high-income countries. We also show, for several large developing countries, the contribution of their own versus other countries' trade policies |
| Keywords: | agricultural value added; CGE modeling; economic welfare; trade policy reform |
| JEL: | C68 D58 F17 Q17 |
| Date: | 2005–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5337&r=agr |
| By: | Mahabub Hossain |
| Abstract: | This paper was prepared as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the PETRRA project. It provides an overview of the progress made so far in agricultural, rural development and poverty reduction. It discusses the role of agriculture in poverty reduction in Bangladesh. It documents major challenges in further reduction of poverty in Bangladesh and opportunities for addressing the challenges. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Poverty alleviation, Agriculture, Rural Development, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | I3 Q25 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:39&r=agr |
| By: | Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India) |
| Abstract: | The RFIs operating in Maharashtra have not only shown slower growth in their loan advances and other operational indicators during the period between 1991 and 2000 but also poor performance thereafter. The credit cooperatives in particular have shown significantly high NPAs in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, Vidarbha region not only shows very low magnitudes of credit flow through cooperatives but also decline in share of loan for cotton crop vis-à-vis other field crops. One of the adverse effects of slowing down in loan advances for cotton crop is seen on the farming community of this region where a significant number of cotton growers have committed suicide either due to lack of loan advances to them or because of pressure created by various financial institutions in terms of recovery of loan despite crop failure. With a view to revive the agricultural credit delivery system, there is need to tackle twin problems facing the system, viz., growing NPAs with falling CD ratios and poor recovery performance of RFIs, aside from adopting innovative approaches like linking of SHGs and NGOs with mainstream financial institutions. In brief, the focus of rural credit delivery system should be on strategies that are required for tackling issues such as sustainability and viability, operational efficiency, recovery performance, small farmer coverage and balanced sectoral development. |
| Keywords: | Resurrection of Credit Delivery in India |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512003&r=agr |
| By: | Hueth, Brent; Ibarburu, Maro; Kliebenstein, James |
| Abstract: | We study business organization and coordination of specialty-market hog production using a comparative analysis of two Iowa pork niche-marketing firms. We describe and analyze each firm's management of five key organizational challenges: planning and logistics, quality assurance, process verification and management of “credence attributes,” business structure, and profit sharing. Although each firm is engaged in essentially the same activity, there are substantial differences across the two firms in the way production and marketing are coordinated. These differences are partly explained by the relative size and age of each firm, thus highlighting the importance of organizational evolution in agricultural markets, but are also partly the result of a formal organizational separation between marketing and production activities in one of the firms. |
| Keywords: | Specialty hogs; coordination; contracting; organizational design; niche markets |
| Date: | 2005–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12479&r=agr |
| By: | Uttam Kumar Deb |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the state of negotiations as regards agriculture and the developments in the context of the July Package. The paper also brings out the major points of contentions and analyses possible impacts of various negotiating proposals for Bangladesh’s agricultural sector and its economy. Moreover, the paper comes up with possible strategies for Bangladesh in view of the ongoing negotiations on agriculture in the WTO. |
| Keywords: | WTO-General Council, Agriculture, July Package, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | F10 Q17 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:53&r=agr |
| By: | Adriana Ignaciuk (Wageningen University); Rob B. Dellink (Wageningen University) |
| Abstract: | By-products from agriculture and forestry can contribute to production of clean and cheap (bio)electricity. To assess the role of such multi-product crops in the response to climate policies, we present an applied general equilibrium model with special attention to biomass and multi-product crops for Poland. The potential to boost production of bioelectricity through the use of multi-product crops turns out to be limited to only 2-3% of total electricity production. Further expansion of the bioelectricity sector will have to be based on biomass crops explicitly grown for energy purposes. The competition between agriculture and biomass for scarce land remains limited, given the availability of relatively poor land types and substitution possibilities. The importance of indirect effects illustrates that the AGE framework is appropriate. |
| Keywords: | Applied general equilibrium (AGE), Biomass, Energy policy, Renewable energy |
| JEL: | D58 H23 Q28 Q42 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.133&r=agr |
| By: | Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics Deemed to be a University , Deccan Gymkhana, Pune – 411 004 Maharashtra , India) |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to evaluate the present and future prospects of developing and developed countries in agricultural exports in general and in horticultural exports in particular. The study also evaluates the behaviour of international export prices for agricultural commodities, both for developing and developed nations. In general, this study provides an insight into the direction in which various developed and developing countries are heading for insofar as their agricultural and horticultural exports are concerned in the changed market conditions. The study has made a few major observations. First, the study shows decline in market share of developing countries’ in world agricultural exports in the face of marginal increase in their market share in world fruits and vegetable (F&V) exports during the period between 1981 and 1997. Second, although the study shows lower market share of developing countries’ in world F&V exports during the period between 1981 and 1997, the growth in F&V exports as proportion of total agricultural exports is noticed to be much faster for developing countries’ as against the developed countries’ during the same period. Third, though agricultural exports of Least Developed Countries (LDC) have grown only marginally between 1981 and 1997, the growth in their F&V exports is seen to have been tremendous, especially after the late eighties period. Similarly, Socialist Countries of Asia (SCA) and developing countries of Oceania have also shown sharp increases in their F&V exports after the late eighties period. Fourth, while except America, other Africa and Oceania, all the developing countries have shown decline in their market share in total F&V exports of Developing Market Economies (DME), Asia shows rise in its market share not only in agriculture but also in F&V exports of DME. Another major observation of this study is in terms of instabilities in export prices. The instabilities in export prices of agricultural commodities, including horticultural ones, are noticed to be more sharp for developing world as compared to developed world. The study, therefore, has categorically emphasized upon the fact that the future growth in horticulture production and trade, especially of developing world, will mainly depend on future price mechanism and also on the import demand of these high value crops in various regions of the world. |
| Keywords: | Liberalization and Horticultural Exports of Developing Countries |
| JEL: | F1 F2 |
| Date: | 2005–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpit:0512001&r=agr |
| By: | Fabrizio De Filippis (University “Roma Tre”); Valeria Costantini (University “Roma Tre”); Riccardo Crescenzi (University “Roma Tre”); Luca Salvatici (University of Molise) |
| Abstract: | The paper aims at understanding the structural features of the bargaining coalitions in the Doha Round of the WTO. We provide an empirical assessment of the preferences of each negotiating actor looking at general economics indicators, development levels, structure of the agricultural sectors, and trade policies for agricultural products. Bargaining coalitions are analyzed by grouping countries through a cluster analysis procedure. The clusters are compared with existing coalitions, in order to assess their degree of internal homogeneity as well as their common interests. Such a comparison allows the detection of possible “defectors”, i.e. countries that according to their economic conditions and policies seem to be relatively less committed to the positions of the coalition they join. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural trade negotiations, Bargaining coalitions, WTO, Cluster analysis |
| JEL: | F13 Q17 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.99&r=agr |
| By: | Kristina Toderich (Samarkand Academy of Sciences, Uzbekistan); Munimjon Abbdusamatov (State Control on Water Use and Preservation of Water Resources, Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan); Tsuneo Tsukatani (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a description of current state of water resources assessment in Tajikistan, their use for the agriculture development and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures. The Vakhsh and Pyandzh River Basins and its tributaries in Tajikistan were directly surveyed during an expedition within the framework of a Joint Research Project: Investigation of natural resources of Central Asia and reconstruction of agriculture in Afghanistan, that is supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Japan Grant in Aid for Scientific Joint Research, 2003, No. 15252002), that is represented by professor Dr. Tsuneo Tsukatani, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Kyoto Institute of Economics, Kyoto University, Japan. The field expedition was carried out in September 2003 according to the Joint Project Research Program to study the natural resources and contemporary state of irrigation in Pyandzh River basin. |
| Keywords: | water resources, cropping system, irrigation infrastructure, Tajikistan, Subsurface drip irrigation, SDI, Pyandzh, AmuDarya, Kumsangir, Vakhsh |
| Date: | 2004–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:585&r=agr |
| By: | Mahabub Hossain |
| Abstract: | This paper was presented at the dialogue on Promoting Rural Non-farm Economy: Is Bangladesh Doing Enough? The paper presents the findings of the surveys, conducted in 1987 and 2000, on the importance of the rural non-farm activities as a source of rural development and factors affecting participation in it. It estimates the duration of employment and the level of productivity, to examine whether the expansion of the rural non-farm economy (RFNE) is caused by "push" or "pull" factors. It also assesses whether access to capital is a constraint to expansion of RFNE. It analyzes the expenditure pattern of rural and urban households to assess the demand for nonfarm goods and services. It provides an overview of strategies and policies for the development of the rural non-farm sector. Finally, the study highlights the actions required for promotion of the rural non-farm economy of Bangladesh. Nature and Impact of Women's Participation in Economic Activities in Rural Bangladesh: Insights from Household Surveys. |
| Keywords: | Economy Bangladesh |
| JEL: | A14 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:40&r=agr |
| By: | Angrist, Joshua; Kugler, Adriana D. |
| Abstract: | Natural and agricultural resources for which there is a substantial black market, such as coca, opium, and diamonds, appear especially likely to be exploited by the parties to a civil conflict. On the other hand, these resources may also provide one of the few reliable sources of income in the countryside. In this paper, we study the economic and social consequences of a major shift in the production of coca paste from Peru and Bolivia to Colombia, where most coca leaf is now harvested. This shift, which arose in response to the disruption of the 'air bridge' that previously ferried coca paste into Colombia, provided an exogenous boost in the demand for Colombian coca leaf. Our analysis shows this shift generated economic gains in rural areas, primarily in the form of increased self-employment earnings and increased labour supply by teenage boys. There is little evidence of widespread economic spillovers, however. The results also suggest that the rural areas which saw accelerated coca production subsequently became much more violent. Taken together, these findings support the view that the Colombian civil conflict is fuelled by the financial opportunities that coca provides. This is in line with a recent literature that attributes the extension of civil conflicts to economic rewards and an environment that favours insurgency more than to the persistence of economic or political grievances. |
| Keywords: | civil war; resource curse; rural development |
| JEL: | J20 J43 O13 O18 O54 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5324&r=agr |
| By: | Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India) |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to assess the performance of various credit cooperatives operating in different districts and regions of Maharashtra with the extension to evaluating the viability of these institutions in forward and backward regions of the state. In this study, the credit cooperatives operating in Maharashtra have not only shown slower growth in their institutional finance coupled with much slower growth in their membership but also faster growth in outstanding loans as against their loan advances during the reform period. The reason for this dismal scenario is traced in adverse environment created by the financial sector reforms, which have reduced the entire rural credit delivery through cooperatives to a moribund state. Since the financial sector reforms accorded greater flexibility to cooperatives to invest in non- target avenues like shares and debentures of corporates, units of mutual funds, bonds of public sector undertakings, etc., this has adversely affected credit flow from these major institutions operating in rural Maharashtra as most of their loans meant for farm finance are diverted to investments. The credit cooperatives in Maharashtra are also noticed to be beset with several other deficiencies, which mainly relate to their low operational efficiency, high incidence of overdue, low level of recovery, distributional aspects of their loan advances, coverage of SC/ST members, etc. The findings of this investigation clearly show lackadaisical approach of PACS towards SC/ST members, particularly in terms of their coverage, pattern of loan advances to them and recovery pattern. The deficiencies do not confine to this but extend to other concurrent issues. Wide variation in total and crop loan advances across various districts and regions is other important issue that need to be taken cognizance of in ensuring effective rural credit delivery through PACS operating in Maharashtra. Although decline in their loan advances with rise in GCA is another issue, the most important one among all is the mounting overdue and NPAs of cooperatives operating in both forward and backward regions of Maharashtra. Due to substantially high NPAs, while BDCCB operating in backward region has shown gross inefficiency in its functioning during the reform period, the SDCCB operating in forward region is marked with deterioration in its financial health during this period. In order to rejuvenate rural credit delivery system through cooperatives, the major problems facing the system, viz., high transaction cost, poor repayment performance, mounting NPAs, distributional aspect of credit, coverage of SC/ST members, etc., need to be tackled with more fiscal jurisprudence reserving exemplary punishment for willful defaults, particularly large farmers. |
| Keywords: | Strategies For Efficient Rural Credit Delivery |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512002&r=agr |
| By: | Deepak Shah (Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, B.M.C.C. Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India) |
| Abstract: | The rural lending institutions in Maharashtra not only encompass traditional formal sector credit but also new generation credit organizations. The present study specifically focuses on credit experiences of various categories of farmers, including landless households, with these lending institutions with the overall objective of suggesting policy measures relating to ensuring smooth flow of credit to them. The study provides two differing views insofar as the functioning of various lending institutions in Maharashtra is concerned. While new generation lending institutions such as SHGs have shown high rate of interest on loan advances, the traditional lending institutions such as cooperatives and commercial banks are seen to beset with other deficiencies, viz., absence of human capital investment and consumption loans, especially for illness, marriage, and other contingencies. These credit institutions have also shown high transaction cost and delay in delivery of credit, besides showing other deficiencies. The study has emphasized upon the need for both formal and informal credit agencies to have simplified loaning procedures with major focus on extension of credit facilities to poorer sections of the rural community, balanced sectoral development, sustainability and viability, operational efficiency and small farmer coverage. Other suggestions of this study encompass efficient use of ‘Kisan Credit Cards’, group lending through SHGs, etc. Further, as the credit delivery through commercial and cooperative banks invariably depended on ownership of land, the landless households are adversely affected in terms of access to credit and are noticed to be neglected section of rural community. It is, therefore, felt in this study that ownership of land as the criterion for the distribution of credit should be relaxed and group responsibility be introduced by formal credit institutions to safeguard the interest of overall rural community. Identification of poorer groups within the landholding categories is another suggestion of this study with a view to help them to rise above the poverty line by providing them access to credit. |
| Keywords: | Credit Delivery in India: Experiences with Formal and Informal Lenders |
| JEL: | G |
| Date: | 2005–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wpa:wuwpfi:0512004&r=agr |
| By: | Francesco Bosello (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Jian Zhang (EEE Program, Abdus Salam International Center of Theoretical Physics) |
| Abstract: | The economy-wide implications of climate change on agricultural sectors in 2050 are estimated using a static computable general equilibrium model. Peculiar to this exercise is the coupling of the economic model with a climatic model forecasting temperature increase in the relevant year and with a crop-growth model estimating climate change impact on cereal productivity. The main results of the study point out on the one hand the limited influence of climate change on world food supply and welfare; on the other hand its important distributional consequences as the stronger negative effects are concentrated on developing countries. The simulation exercise is introduced by a survey of the relevant literature. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Computable general equilibrium models, Agriculture |
| JEL: | D58 C68 N50 Q54 |
| Date: | 2005–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.94&r=agr |
| By: | Kristina Toderich (Department of Desert Ecology and Water Resources ResearchCSamarkand Division of the Academy of Sciences); Tsuneo Tsukatani (Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the results of a field expedition work along the rivers Vakhsh and Pyandzh in Tajikistan and Afghanistan within the framework of a Joint Research Project: Investigation of natural resources of Central Asia and reconstruction of agriculture in Afghanistan, supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Japan and represented by professor Tsuneo Tsukatani, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Kyoto Institute of Economics, Kyoto University, Japan; also supported by a Grant in Aid for Scientific Research, The Ministry of Education and Culture of Japan, 2003 (Monbusho International Scientific Joint Research Program, No. 15252002), represented again by professor Tsuneo Tsukatani. The field expedition was carried out in September 2003 according to the Joint Project Research Program to study the natural resources and the contemporary state of irrigation systems in the Pyandzh River basin. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Desertification, Environmental policy, Farming system, Irrigation system, North Afghanistan, Pyandzh River, Rangelands improvement, Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI), Water quality |
| Date: | 2004–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:584&r=agr |
| By: | Mahabub Hossain; Muazzam Husain; S.K Datta |
| Abstract: | This paper has been prepared as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the PETRRA project. It discusses the benefits and risks of rice biotechnology research and genetically engineered varieties developed from such research. It assesses the potential benefits of biotechnology for rice improvement in the context of Bangladesh. The paper collated perceived risk of biotechnology. It reports the findings of a survey on knowledge, perceptions and attitude of civil society to identify the constraints to adoption of rice biotechnology in Bangladesh. It also raises some issues for debate that may assist the government to take up positions on this issue vital to achieving and sustaining food and nutrition security in Bangladesh. |
| Keywords: | Rice, Biotechnology, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | Q25 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:37&r=agr |
| By: | Duflo, Esther; Pande, Rohini |
| Abstract: | The construction of large dams is one of the most costly and controversial forms of public infrastructure investment in developing countries, but little is known about their impact. This paper studies the productivity and distributional effects of large dams in India. To account for endogenous placement of dams we use GIS data and the fact that river gradient affects a district's suitability for dams to provide instrumental variable estimates of their impact. We find that, in a district where a dam is built, agricultural production does not increase but poverty does. In contrast, districts located downstream from the dam benefit from increased irrigation and see agricultural production increase and poverty fall. Overall, our estimates suggest that large dam construction in India is a marginally cost-effective investment with significant distributional implications, and has, in aggregate, increased poverty. |
| Keywords: | dams; development planning; program evaluation |
| JEL: | H23 H43 O12 O21 |
| Date: | 2005–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5325&r=agr |
| By: | Jonathan Brooks; Olga Melyukhina |
| Abstract: | The ultimate impact of multilateral and own-country agricultural policy reforms will depend on the extent to which those reforms “pass-through” across national borders, within countries, and from local markets down to the household level. At the heart of policy pass-through is the question of “price transmission”, i.e. the extent to which price changes in one market lead to price changes in another market... |
| Date: | 2005–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:2-en&r=agr |
| By: | Suan Pheng Kam; Manik Lal Bose; Tahmina Latif; M A H Chowdhury; S Ghulam Hussain; Mahbub Ahmed; Anwar Iqbal; L Villano; Mahabub Hossain |
| Abstract: | This paper was presented at the dialogue on Mapping Poverty for Rural Bangladesh: Implications for Pro-poor Development. The dialogue was organised as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the PETRRA project. The study reported geographical concentration of rural poverty in Bangladesh for 425 upazilas in 2000-01. The study measured and mapped incidence of poverty (using Headcount Index), intensity of poverty (using Poverty Gap Index) and severity of poverty (using Squared Poverty Gap Index). It has analyzed factors contributing to the spatial concentration of poverty. It is hoped that the findings of the study would be helpful in identifying target areas and priorities for agricultural R&D interventions and poverty reduction programmes. |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Rural Poverty, Bangladesh |
| JEL: | I3 |
| Date: | 2004–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdb:opaper:38&r=agr |
| By: | Anna Alberini (University of Maryland); Alberto Longo (University of Bath) |
| Abstract: | This paper applies the travel cost method to visits to cultural sites in Armenia by domestic visitors. Respondents intercepted at four cultural monuments provided information on their visitation patterns, experience at the site, perception of the state of conservation of the monuments, and rating of the quality of the services and infrastructures. We combine actual trips with stated trips under hypothetical programs that would enhance the conservation of the monuments and improve one of (i) the cultural experience at the site, (ii) the quality of the infrastructure, or (iii) the quality of the services, and use the combined actual and stated trips to fit a panel data model. Our investigation shows that that there are significant use values associated with the four study monuments, and that conservation programs and initiatives that improve the cultural experience, or simply make it easier for the respondent to reach and spend time at the monument, are valued by domestic visitors and would encourage higher visitation rates. |
| Keywords: | Valuation of cultural heritage sites, Non-market valuation, Travel cost, Consumer surplus, Contingent behavior |
| JEL: | Z10 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.112&r=agr |
| By: | Davis, Morris; Heathcote, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | A house is a bundle comprising a physical structure and the plot of land upon which the house is built. Thus changes in house prices reflect changes in the cost of structures and value of land. In this paper we apply this insight to construct the first constant-quality price and quantity indexes for the aggregate stock of residential land in the United States. We document that the value of residential land exceeds annual GDP, and that the dynamics for the prices of residential land and residential structures are quite different. For example, the real price index for residential land almost tripled between 1975 and 2005, while the real price of structures increased by only 24 percent. Fluctuations in house prices at business cycle frequencies, including the recent boom, are primarily driven by changes in the price of land. |
| Keywords: | housing; land prices |
| JEL: | R14 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2005–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5333&r=agr |
| By: | Edward B. Barbier; Michael Rauscher (University of Rostock) |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at a model in which two countries trade agricultural and manufactured commodities. The manufactured-goods sector produces with increasing returns to scale under conditions of monopolistic competition. It is shown that an increase in land endowment (or an increase in agricultural productivity) can have negative welfare implications for both countries. This outcome can result under three different scenarios: asymmetries across countries, i.e. a North-South model, a neoclassical labor market in the home country's instead of a Lewisian market, and alternative utility functions. |
| Keywords: | international trade, labor surplus economy, land expansion, monopolistic competition, North-South model. |
| JEL: | F12 J61 O15 O18 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ros:wpaper:53&r=agr |
| By: | Habiyaremye, Alexis (United Nations University, Institute for New Technologies) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the poverty traps problem of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and their dependence on a few primary export commodities in their trade relationships with the rest of the world. We argue that traditional approaches to development and industrialization have failed to take account of the necessity of building appropriate technological capability for SSA countries to acquire, master and effectively apply modern technologies. Taking lessons from the failure of these traditional approaches, w e place the national systems of innovation (NSI) approach and the adequate technological capability building (TCB) at the source of economic diversification needed to reduce dependence on primary commodities and disentangle poverty traps in SSA countries. |
| Keywords: | systems of innovation, technology policy, economic development, industrialization, poverty, capability building, primary commodities, natural resources, sub-saharan africa |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unuint:200509&r=agr |
| By: | Chiara M. Travisi (DIG, Politecnico di Milano); Roberto Camagni (DIG, Politecnico di Milano) |
| Abstract: | Sound empirical and quantitative analysis on the relationship between different patterns of urban expansion and environmental or social costs of mobility are still very rare in Europe and the few studies available provide only a qualitative discussion on this. Recently, Camagni et al. (2002) have performed an empirical analysis on the metropolitan area of Milan, aimed at establishing whether different patterns of urban expansion generate different levels of land consumption and heterogeneous impacts of urban mobility. Results confirm the expectation that higher environmental impact of mobility is associated with more extensive and sprawling urban development, more recent urbanisation processes and residential specialisation. The present paper enlarges further the empirical analysis to seven Italian metropolitan areas (namely, Bari, Florence, Naples, Padua, Perugia, Potenza and Turin) to corroborate previous results for the Italian context. The novelty of the present paper is threefold. Firstly, we are interested in exploring the changes occurred to the intensity of the mobility impact across a ten-year period, from 1981 to 1991, corresponding to the Italian economic boom years. Secondly, using an econometric analysis in cross-section, we consider several metropolitan areas at once, being therefore able to explore whether there are significant differences in the way the model explains variations in the mobility impact across various Italian urban areas. Finally, we propose a conceptual interpretation of the causal chain in the explanation of the mobility impact intensity and we test it using Causal Path Analysis. |
| Keywords: | Urban mobility, Sprawl, Environmental sustainability, Collective costs |
| JEL: | Q56 R14 R41 |
| Date: | 2005–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.102&r=agr |
| By: | Nathalie Rousset (LEPII - Laboratoire d'économie de la production et de l'intégration internationale - http://www.upmf-grenoble.fr/lepii/ - CNRS : FRE2664 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II); René Arrus (LEPII - Laboratoire d'économie de la production et de l'intégration internationale - http://www.upmf-grenoble.fr/lepii/ - CNRS : FRE2664 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II) |
| Abstract: | Le changement climatique fait peser des risques élevés pour l'agriculture méditerranéenne, qui pourrait voir ses rendements diminuer fortement, en liaison avec la<br />raréfaction des ressources hydriques. L'adaptation anticipative des systèmes agricoles à ces changements apparaît ainsi comme un enjeu majeur pour cette région pour le 21e siècle. |
| Keywords: | eau ; changement climatique ; agriculture ; adaptation |
| Date: | 2005–11–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00006235_v1&r=agr |
| By: | Stéphanie Aulong (Station biologique de la Tour du Valat and UMR LAMETA); Charles Figuières (INRA, UMR LAMETA); Robert Lifran (INRA, UMR LAMETA) |
| Abstract: | Consider a developing country that has the potential for biodiversity conservation, and developed countries that benefit from biodiversity but are not in position to produce it. From the statu quo, some incremental protections of biodiversity would be harmful for the developing country but would benefit the developed contries and the world as a whole; in other words, biodiversity protection is a global public good. The negotiation problem is then: how to organize compensation transfers from the developed countries to the developing country to sustain a higher (Pareto optimal) level of biodiversity, given that: i) each developed country has an incentive to free-ride on transfers conceded by others, ii) no supranational authority exists that has both the necessary relevant information on countries's willingness to pay for biodiversity, and the power to impose a socially beneficial profile of transfers? This paper investigates how, and to what extent, the theory of resource allocation processes can shed light into this issue, and how it can be best tailored and qualified to cope with the problem at hand. The focus is put on the incentive properties of the suggested negotiation processes, and their ability to respect countries' sovereignty. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity, negotiation processes, voting scheme, preferences revelation. |
| Date: | 2005–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iep:wpidep:0505&r=agr |